Sleepy Monkeys

Juggles?

2010-02-24T06:14:00.000-08:00

So, 2 hours later I'm still laughing about something Liam said this morning. We were eating breakfast (pumpkin pancakes.... yum) and Liam said, "Daddy, show me your juggles?" I just about peed my pants laughing. He was asking Bryan to juggle, but really it could have meant a lot of things. He might be the funniest 2-year-old ever.

Sick!!!

2010-02-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'm sick! I'm congested, coughing, have a low grade fever and yesterday had muscle aches too. I'm really hoping the kids don't get sick too.

Today is also day 4 of potty training Liam. He's doing great. I guess if we're going to be stuck inside we may as well potty train.

This morning Liam made me reenact the presentation of Simba from the Lion King movie using his little sister as the baby lion. He was the monkey and used a golf club with a slinky on the end as his walking stick. He even used his thumb and pretended to smear something across Neala's forehead. I was the mommy lion and he insisted that I lick Neala to clean her.

Throw her outside?

2010-02-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

So it happened. Liam told me today that he wanted to "throw Neala outside". He was upset that I was changing her diaper and outfit and not paying attention to him. He has been so sweet with her, so I was surprised when he decided he wanted her to be thrown outside in the 20 degree weather. You wouldn't know that I spent 2 hours with him at the Ecotarium today. We had fun and he was so well behaved. I guess he got a taste of being an only child again and like it. Actually, Neala was with us but slept the entire time and for the whole ride home. She been taking great naps in her car seat when we are running errands, but only takes cat naps at home. At least she still sleeps well at night!

After the longest break ever from blogging.....

2010-02-13T13:38:00.001-08:00

I'm back!!!!!

I just looked at all my old posts and I'm so sad that I haven't been keeping up with this. I can't believe how much Liam and I have changed since I started blogging. We also have our newest addition Neala to talk about.

Neala was born 11/14/09 at 5:11 am with a speedy 2 hour and 50 minute labor and delivery. Thank you very much Neala! She is a wonderful happy baby and her big brother just adores her. He has asked me every day since the day she came home if we can keep her. He calls her, "baby girl", "princess", "sweetie pie" and "Neala Gracie".

Here are some recent photos of the munchkins.....

A few new things

2009-10-03T09:12:00.001-07:00

I'm horrible at keeping up with this blog. Hopefully a few cute pictures will make it all better.

I recently made Liam a superhero cape. He loves the Disney movie, "The Incredibles" and has aspirations to be Dash, the super fast little boy. I found some wool felt on sale and decided to give cape making a try. It came out pretty cute, so now I have to invest in better fabric and make a new one that will actually hold up in the wash. Since these pictures were taken, I've added snaps to the collar.

So now that I'm sewing a lot more, I've decided that I need a new machine. I have a very basic Brother from Walmart. I've been looking at Janomes and will hopefully have the DC2010 very soon.

Have I mentioned how smart my child is. He made this golf cart out of legos without any help at all. He was so proud of himself.

After a Very Long Break

2009-08-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA. It has been a busy summer full of playing in the yard, taking a dunk in the kiddie pool and going to the farm. Baby #2 will be along in less than 4 months and we are starting to think about all of the things we need to do. We need to redo the nursery to make it girly and Liam needs a big boy room. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!

I'm also thinking about redoing my blog. I think it needs to be revamped, but I haven't decided. Stay tuned.

Here are some sort of recent pics to get you through until the next post.

Wearing Liam in a Mei Tai in 90 degree heat and 25 weeks pregnant. What was I thinking?!

A wool set that I knit for the new baby.

Falling asleep on the couch after a very busy day and no nap.

Liam wearing his underwear on his head. What a goofball!

Happy Birthday Liam!

2009-05-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Liam turned two about a week ago and he had several Birthday parties. I'm pretty sure he thinks that his Birthday is the entire month of May. Here are a couple of photos from his family Birthday party.

Bryan and I also took Liam to Southwick's Zoo for a belated Birthday outing. He loved seeing all the animals and riding on a carousel. I wasn't particularly impressed by the zoo. The lack of bathrooms was particularly annoying since I'm pregnant and have to pee all the time. Bryan and I have been to some really great zoos, so this one just couldn't compare. It was a good size for Liam. He was asleep in the car about 3 minutes after we left.

Davis Farmland

2009-05-20T05:16:00.000-07:00

Liam and I recently took our first summer trip to Davis Farmland in Sterling. He enjoyed it last year, but this year he was so much more fun. He was really interested in the small farm animals. He was a bit intimidated by the llamas and alpaca, but we'll work on that. He loved brushing and patting the "baby goats" and "baby moos". He had his first pony ride and hayride too. We love Davis Farmland and I'm sure we'll make many more trips there this season.

Busy Day

2009-05-07T17:23:00.001-07:00

Liam and I had a busy day. We went to the Children's Discovery Museum in Acton. Liam had a great time. He especially liked playing on the train and in the diner. He made me several ice coffees while we were there. We were there for 2 hours, but he probably would have spent another 2 hours there.

He also painted with water colors for the first time today. He liked dipping the brush in the water more than the paint, but he enjoyed himself. What a mess! He has been very difficult to entertain these days. I've resorted to messy activities to keep things interesting.

Enjoy the photos!

Wow... I've been MIA.

2009-05-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

It has been a really long time since I posted. Liam requires lots and lots of attention and when I try to sit with my computer he tells me, "Computer away". He wants my full and undivided attention all day long!

His language and vocabulary have exploded. He talks all day long. He says the funniest and most unexpected things. Yesterday he said to Bry, "Come on Daddy... tweet tweet". Tweet tweet is the noise he makes to whistle for the dogs.

Here are a few recent photos. The first one is of Liam eating his favorite weekend treat.... a chocolate covered donut. He usually eats the chocolate off and then may or may not eat the actual donut.

The first two are of Liam wearing his new bike helmet. He loves riding on the back of Buppa's bike. He wore the helmet for at least 24 hours straight after I bought it for him.

Slacking again

2009-04-06T10:20:00.001-07:00

I have been really bad about taking pictures and posting to my blog lately. I'm going to have to fix that later.

Cranky Inspired Shorts

2009-03-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

I have been obsessed with Crankypants for a while. They are adorable, but since I knit I couldn't justify buying them. Besides the fact that Bry might have a fit if I spent that much money on a pair of custom pants for Liam.

Here is the Crankypants website. Her stuff is amazing! http://crankypantsknits.blogspot.com/

Here is my version. They are supposed to be shorts, but I made them a bit too long. Maybe they will still fit next year. They were really fun to knit up.

Computing and Swim Class.... only belong together in a blog post.

2009-03-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

Liam is constantly trying to get his sticky little fingers on my computer. If you have ever seen my screen, you know that he frequently succeeds. Here he is checking his email in his underwear.....

Bryan has been taking Liam to swim classes at the local YMCA for the past couple of months. He had his last class on Saturday. He did really well, but lost steam about 15 minutes into class. We are going to try again in the spring. Here are some photos of his best moves......

Mikey-bone

2009-03-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Liam was watching American Idol with me yesterday and asked me for the mikey-bone (microphone). He likes to sing into a microphone that came with Bryan's rock band game. It is really cute. He is starting to sing along to songs now. It is the best part of riding in the car with him.

Here are a few pictures from today.

New Tote Bag

2009-03-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

I love Amy Butler fabric, so I decided I needed to make myself a bag out of some. I never make anything for myself, so I really enjoyed doing this. It is a reversible bag and I used craft bond to make it more sturdy. There is also a layer of heavy interfacing on the bottom so it isn't flimsy. There are six pockets on the inside. I love how it came out.

Still Sick

2009-02-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

Liam and I have been battling colds for about 10 days now. He hasn't been eating much and then wakes up in the middle of the night asking for food. On the nights he is up, I spend about 2 hours trying to get him back to sleep. All he wants is for me to rock him. The second I stop or change positions he wakes up and tells me, "Mommy rock". It is cute and cuddly for about 30 minutes, then I'm ready for bed. Also, we don't quite fit in the rocker the same as when he was a baby. He also doesn't want Bry at all during the night wakings, which is awesome for me.

Here are a couple of pictures from Liam's playdate with his cousin Tyler. The boys had a lot of fun playing together. They like riding bikes around the house.

I did manage to finish a pair of knit pants for him. They are knit in Purewool, warm ice colorway. He has lots of room to grow into them.

Kellie and Mike's wedding has come and gone.

2009-02-19T10:16:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the wedding is already over. We had a wonderful time and Kellie and Mike looked very happy. I hope that they are enjoying their honeymoon. I don't have many pictures from the wedding because I was too busy chasing Liam, helping Kellie and trying to get myself together. I can't wait to see what the photographers captured.

Here are a few of the photos that I have....

Now that the wedding is over, I'm back to trying to keep up with things around the house and making Liam's summer wardrobe. I'm hoping to have a few pictures of things I've made soon. Stay tuned....

It's 'nowing!

2009-02-03T06:24:00.000-08:00

Even if Bryan and I aren't excited about all of the snow we are having.... Liam is thrilled. He loves to watch it "'nowing" and making snowballs and now he likes to sled.

Have you seen....

2009-01-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

...Liam's nap? We can't find it anywhere. Last week it made an occasional appearance, but it is MIA again. He gets so cranky without one, but he just has no interest. I'm hoping it will return by the end of the week. I need him to nap, just as much as he needs one.

A few more....

2009-01-06T04:06:00.000-08:00

I just pulled a ton of photos off my old laptop

2009-01-05T06:46:00.001-08:00

Well, actually Bry did. Check these out!

Here is the skating video

2008-12-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

This video is from our camera, so the quality isn't great. You'll get the idea though.

Only 362 days until the madness next year!

2008-12-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a little hectic this year, but we made it. The ice storm and lack of power seriously delayed a few things. I didn't finish shopping as early as I would have liked, we put our Christmas tree up at 11 pm on Christmas eve and I was only able to finish one of my uncle's mittens. Not to mention the surprise birthday party for my parents 2 days after Christmas. The house is back in order and we are getting back into our routines starting today!

One of my favorite presents that I bought for Liam is a pair of double runner ice skates. They are so cute and retro, I had to buy them. We brought him ice skating the day after Christmas and he had a blast! He wanted to stay on the ice longer, but my back couldn't take holding him up any more. I'm trying to upload a video to youtube. If I'm successful I'll post it here. Here is a picture of his first time skating.

It's been a rough three weeks.

2008-12-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while because we have had a lot going on. I wish I could say they were good things keeping us busy.

Jules, our black lab, was hit by a car and sadly didn't make it. We miss her.

We had a nasty ice storm that left us without power and water for 4 days. Since the ice storm we have also had two snow storms. I'm starting to really regret living in New England. I think it is time for a change.

Here are some pictures of the ice storm. I don't think they really capture how bad it was. Most were taken from the car as we were attempting to drive out of town.

More projects....

2008-12-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

Liam and Bry sharing a cupcake at Emma's princess party. Don't they look like they are enjoying it.

I made this fitted diaper for Liam. It has a robot knit print on the outside and bamboo fleece and bamboo double terry on the inside. It is so soft and cute. The bum it goes on it pretty cute too!

My knitting addiction is getting worse. I have so many projects lined up. I need to become best friends with the owner of our local yarn shop. I stayed up late and knit for 4 hours straight to finish this hat. It is a Hudson Hat knit from a pattern from Ky Baby Knits. I made a few changes to it. Liam wore it around the house this morning. Good thing this kid loves to wear hats.

New Outfit

2008-11-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

I would love to take the credit, but I didn't make this one. This awesome set from Wild Child Woolies came today. I put it on Liam and snapped a couple of picture right away. He was being so goofy, so the pictures are not very good. I wish I could get the wool interlock that I sew to cooperate with me, like Angela from Wild Child Woolies does. She has some serious talent.

On a side note, Liam learned to hold milk in his mouth and slowly let it dribble down his face and onto his brand new shirt. I have to put it in the wash already. He only wore it for a hour or so.

Liam's 18 Month Checkup

2008-11-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

Liam had his 18 month checkup today. He'll be 18 months in 5 days. He is developing great. He has a bigger vocabulary than expected for his age. He says at least 45 words and is putting 2 and 3 word sentences together. He still signs about 60 words. We haven't really added any signs, although he recently made one up for guitar. He is right on target with everything else. He is 30.5 inches tall (5%) and 24 lbs 9 oz (25-50%).

He has also started potty learning. He tells me "the pee" and then he sits on the potty. He is very proud when he goes. I'm not sure how long he will be interested in this, since he is so young, but I'll go with it for now.

New Longies for Liam

2008-11-07T04:42:00.000-08:00

I knit Liam a new pair of pants. I've been working on these off and on for about a month. I'm glad to finally be finished. Now I'm going to knit him a matching hat. I really love the colors in this yarn. I had my eye on it at the Local Yarn Shop for a while!

YMCA Here We Come

2008-11-06T04:26:00.000-08:00

Liam, Bryan and I joined the YMCA yesterday. I'm going to my fitness center orientation and I'm dropping Liam off at the child watch program. I hope he doesn't freak out! I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Mama needs some exercise.

I haven't blogged in a while......

2008-11-02T04:46:00.000-08:00

We've had lots going on, so I haven't had a chance to blog in a while. Here are some pictures from the end of October.

I knit Liam this hat using the Ky Baby Ear Cozy Pattern. I think it is soooo cute. It is knit in a really soft super wash 100% wool. He should stay nice and warm.

We had fun on Halloween. Liam was a bear. We went to a few houses, then he helped to pass out candy at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He was doing a great job until Batman showed up. He was so afraid of him. It turned him off to giving out candy. Before that he was putting candy in the kids' bags and saying "bye" as they left.

Liam also tried his first lollipop. We don't really let him have candy but he chewed the wrapper off of it, so I couldn't say no after all that work breaking into it.

Pumpkins

2008-10-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Liam and I went to Howe's Farm Stand to pick a pumpkin. He had so much fun running around and touching EVERY pumpkin there. We ended up picking a 34 lb. pumpkin and 2 little baby ones. For some reason he calls them "boos". I have no idea where he picked that up, but he insists that they are "boos" not pumpkins.

On a side note.... did you know that pumpkins are a fruit? I had no idea. I assumed they are vegetables like a squash. Hmmmmm. Maybe squash is a fruit too.

Our Little NE Patriots Fan

2008-10-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

Liam loves watching football with Daddy. I made him this fleece jumper and hat for game days. Now he can show his support for his team. I brought him to the grocery store in this outfit and so many people commented on how cute he looked. I love making him one of a kind outfits. I also got to use my new snap press on this one. I'm waiting for some fabric that I recently ordered. As soon as it is in, I'm going to make him some snapping diapers.

Our Dinner Conversation

2008-10-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today at dinner we had corn on the cob. Liam loves it! I had a corn holder that had a basketball on the end. Liam kept saying ball.... which actually comes out... "bawwww". At one point he handed me his corn...

Me...."Liam, do you want your corn?"
Liam...."NO, the ball".
Me to Bryan.... "Did he just say no the ball?"
Bryan... "yup".

When did Liam start putting three words together? He had never even put two words together before today. Later he told Bry, "no, the bubbles".

The Power of "NO".

2008-09-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

Liam has discovered the power associated with the word "no". About 3 days ago, he started saying it. Now he repeats it and shakes his head when I ask him to do things. It is still cute. I'm not sure it will be cute for much longer though.

Here are the other words he is currently saying:
no, mama, dada, hi, bye, bubble, nana, papa, bupa (grandpa), mar ma (grandma), ball, baby, what's this, tickle, whee, wow, two, doggie, bat, bee.

He repeats lots of words, but these are the ones that he says on his own.

My Child is Briliant

2008-09-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

I know.... everyone thinks their child is brilliant.

Today Liam took the letter that came with the Signing Time DVDs that we previewed. He pointed to the top of the letter head where the "Signing Time" logo is and said..... "baby". When he wants to watch Baby Signing Time he usually signs baby. I just think it is amazing that he put it all together. He recognized the logo, the sign he has learned and spoke the word.

Baby Signing Time is Back

2008-09-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Liam and I had the opportunity to review the two newest additions to the Baby Signing Time series, “Volume 3: A New Day” and “Volume 4: Let’s Be Friends”. The songs are fun and upbeat. Rachel adds a little extra pizzazz to the songs in these DVD’s. My husband even noticed that the songs are a little more mature. “Strollin” in Volume 3, is one of Liam’s new favorites. As you would expect from the Signing Time DVD’s there is repetition, to help with learning the new signs. The use of families and children in everyday situations helps toddlers recognize objects and make sense of the new signs being introduced. Overall, the format is the same as in Volumes 1 & 2.

Liam was fixated on the television when we first watched them. He picked up new signs immediately. By the end he was signing “pear” and “music”. He dances to the songs and enjoyed seeing the same animated characters as in the first two volumes. I like that these DVDs build on the signs previously learned. Rachel uses some of the signs from the first two DVDs, while teaching lots of new ones. I also felt that the signs in the new DVDs are very appropriate. Months ago, I had purchased a couple of the Signing Time DVDs that are intended for older children. I wanted to teach Liam some of the signs I felt he needed to learn. All of the signs I wanted him to learn are in the new Baby Signing Time DVDs. Too bad they weren’t out then! The Signing Time series has helped Liam learn lots of sings. He is now 16 months old and has over 50 signs. We LOVE Signing Time!

Here's a little bit from Volume 4!

I can't sleep

2008-09-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep because I had an ice coffee at 5 pm and now I'm wired. So, I decided to post some random stuff before I fold laundry.

I haven't eaten pork or red meat in over a year, but I haven't really tried to give up poultry or fish. I hardly ever eat seafood, but I really enjoy it when I do! I've been increasingly grossed out, but chicken and turkey. I can't stand near the deli counter without the smell turning my stomach. I'm thinking about taking a "30 day veg pledge". I'll have to wait until the weekend is over since I just went grocery shopping. I'm going to go to the library tomorrow and take out a couple of cook books to get some ideas. Wish me luck!

Here is a picture of my very camera shy child. He is such a ham! He makes this cheesy face whenever there is anything resembling a camera near by.

And now for a couple of recent projects. I'm knitting Liam a pair of wool longies for the fall. I am further than this now, but this is the only picture I have loaded at the moment. I'm on the second green stripe on the last leg. I think they may be too short. I guess he'll just have to wear tall socks! I just ordered 6 skeins of hand dyed yarn from Uraguay, but it is going to take weeks to get here.
I made this fleece blanket for a friend's son. His 1st birthday is this weekend. It has a cute helicopter print on one side and a coordinating orange fleece on the other side. I hope it keeps him warm!
Ok, that's it for now. My dryer is beeping at me.

Watch This!

2008-09-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Liam is officially a little dare devil! He scares me, but luckily Bryan was there to spot him this time.

Bry and Jules bonding

2008-09-02T18:11:00.001-07:00

Jules doesn't get much attention anymore, so Bry decided to let her in the playroom for a little while. This is what ended up happening. She needs more attention than we are physically capable of giving her. Bry was making a valiant effort today.

Does this look like a dog that ate poop out of one of Liam's diapers today? Thank goodness she didn't eat the actual diaper. It was one that Liam has only worn a handful of times.

Labor Day

2008-09-02T06:38:00.000-07:00

If getting messy is any indication of a good time, I think Liam had a fun Labor Day. We went to a cookout at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Complete with BBQ Chicken, swinging and playing on the lawn mower (it wasn't running). Liam learned that running down hill came be a blast. Although most of his runs down the hill ended with me catching him right before a major face plant. I don't think I've ever seem him that hot and sweaty.

Teeth, teeth and more teeth!

2008-08-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

Poor Liam is getting four new teeth. He is so miserable. Tonight when he went to bed he stuffed his lovey's ear in his mouth and was chewing it like he hadn't eaten all day. He doesn't know what he wants. He wants to be held, then he wants to get down, but when I put him down he cries to be held. We gave him some motrin, a sippy with water and put him to bed. He fell asleep right away.

Tomorrow Liam and I are only eating healthy foods. This weekend he has had more junk than he had previously had in his entire life. He LOVES pizza, tried french fries, had a couple bites of cookies, tried Junior mints (his first candy) and also ate part of a donut. I am so against junk food for kids, but I have no idea what happened in the past few days.

I also just learned (compliments of Bryan) that there are two ways to spell donut. Apparently doughnut is also commonly accepted. I had no idea!

I lied...... it isn't easy being green!

2008-08-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Remember those Kermit pants from a post ago. I took them off of Liam to eat lunch. Jules found them and chewed two holes in them. I don't think I have enough fabric to make another pair. I'm off to cry now.......

RIP Kermit pants.

Who said it isn't easy being green?

2008-08-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

I made this outfit while Liam was napping today. After last nights dying fiasco I needed to have some success. The pants are Kermit the Frog fleece. I ironed a transfer onto a plain t-shirt. I'm really happy with how they came out. As a former Muppets lover, there can't be a better outfit for my baby.

Daily Update

2008-08-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

I recently bought wool interlock to make longies for Liam. Wool is a great diaper cover, if I haven't mentioned that in previous posts. I had to felt it (make it thicker) yesterday and today I decided to dye it on the stove using Wilton's icing dye. I was going for blue. Check out the pictures to see what happened.

Wool is soaking up beautiful blue color.....

Added vinegar to set dye and it turned purple.....
Purple wool drying.....
What do you think? Is purple for boys too?

On a side note.... Liam had a major temper tantrum and scratched the hell out of my face. I was going to post a pic, but I didn't look very cute. Use your imagination!

Filling a request

2008-08-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

I had a request from one of my faithful blog readers (perhaps the only one) to update, talk less about dogs and more about Liam. I may not write less about the dogs, but I can certainly update and post a few new pics.

Liam is obsessed with airplanes right now. I swear he can hear them from 50 miles away. He will sign plane and look surprised. I have to stop and really listen to hear it. His hearing is way better than mine apparently. He is also talking more. He copies a lot of the words we say, but then never says them again. I think he is storing them away in that little brain for when he is ready to use them. He is up to about 40 signs, so I guess he doesn't need to talk at the moment.

Here are a couple new pics of my little man. He looks like a big boy in them, so consider yourself warned.

Oh Jules!

2008-08-20T09:10:00.001-07:00

Poor Jules doesn't get the love she needs any more. She has decided that when we aren't around she will hang out in Liam's playroom. So when I couldn't find her today, I checked down there. The gate was open (yes, she opens the gate) but Jules was no where to be found. I called her and out she comes from behind one of the the recliners. She was sleeping on Liam's giant stuffed horse behind the chair. She must have been sleeping soundly because although I'm fully aware of the fact that she sleeps in the playroom, I've never actually caught her doing it. I guess the couch, two love seats, two recliners and dog bed that she has to choose from are not comfortable enough.

Weeeeeeee

2008-08-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

I was told that I need to update my blog, so here you go.

Liam has found the swing love. He loves to swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. As soon as we pull up to the house he starts saying, "wee wee". We decided that it was time for us to get a swing set. Bryan and I went to Walmart and bought a wooden swing set for $139 on clearance. Score! Now we just have to get the darn thing set up. Any volunteers?

Liam is getting four more teeth. I can't wait until he is done teething. He has been really cranky for the past two months, since he has been getting teeth nonstop. He should have a mouth full after these come in.

Here are a few pictures of my teething, biting, swinging monster.

Longies for Liam

2008-08-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

I just whipped up a pair of fleece pants for Liam. Fleece is a great diaper cover, so that is what we will be using them for. I was able to make the pattern and sew them and post pics during Liam's nap. Needless to say..... he will be wearing fleece a lot this winter. Maybe I can get an action shot when he gets up from his nap.

My child the biter

2008-08-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Liam is no longer just a cute baby. He is an independent toddler who bites when he doesn't get his way. It really is a good thing he is so cute. Grandma bought him his own chair and he kept standing on it. I told him to sit on his bum and he just laughed at me and jumped up and down on the chair. I took him off of it and he bit me. When I told him, "no biting", he repeatedly showed me his teeth and tried to bite. He laughed and did it again whenever I told him "no". Thinking about it now.... he got worse when I payed attention, he thought it was a game. I think tomorrow, I will try ignoring the unwanted behavior and see if he just stops on his own. By the way, I thought it was really funny and I had a hard time trying to discipline him because I wanted to laugh so bad!

Ok, time for bed. Got home from work about an hour ago and I need to get to bed before Liam gets up in 5 hours!

Exciting Day

2008-07-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

I am a procrastinator. There.... I said it. I of course waited until the last day of the month to get my inspection sticker. Apparently, so did everyone else. Actually, I went yesterday but the inspection machine was being serviced and it was going to take 2 hours. When I went back this morning there was a four car wait. I went to the next station. They had a three car wait. I went to the final station..... no wait!!!!! We were in and out of there in 10 minutes. Good thing, since it was starting to cut into Liam's nap time. So, I'll say the same thing I say every year...... next year I'm not going to wait until the last day.

Liam was getting bored in the house today, so we took a ride to a local dairy farm. It is in Barre. It was really cute. We got some vegetables, home made ice cream and fresh milk (in glass bottles). Liam kept saying, "moo" because he could see the cows in the pasture.

Once our bathing suits dry we will head up to the town pool for a dip. It is a bazillion degrees today and really humid. Hopefully we get up there before the thunder storms roll through.

Memory Lane

2008-07-22T16:38:00.001-07:00

Liam at 3 months old. Picture taken by Auntie Kellie.

Liam's first week!
First day home from the hospital.

I just felt like taking a walk down memory lane. Look at how much my little man has grown. I can hardly remember when he was this little.

Is anyone reading this?

2008-07-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Just curious. No one ever comments and I'm getting lonely.

Liam Signing Time

2008-07-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

Liam is totally obsessed with the Signing Time DVD series. For anyone that is not familiar with it, "Signing Time" helps to teach American Sign Language to hearing children. We started signing with Liam at about 4 months old and he started signing back at 9 months. He is 14 months old now and has at least 15 signs. Let's see if I can remember them all.... more, milk, dog, cat (new today), cold, all done, cracker, eat, hi, air plane, car, light, baby, fish, bird, ball, hat, diaper. That's all I can remember off of the top of my head. As soon as he is done eating breakfast he signs "baby". The first video we got was "Baby Signing Time" and he loves the theme song. We actually have to limit how often he watches it. I love that he signs and enjoys the videos, but it was getting to the point that we couldn't be in a room with a TV without him freaking out. Here is a video of Liam signing. Ignore my annoying talking and the TV on in the background.

Anyway.... there is no way he would have 18 words at this age, so signing has really helped us to figure out what he needs. He tells us when he is hungry rather than crying. When he hears an airplane, or anything that sounds like one (i.e. a lawnmower) he signs it. It is also really fun to see him sign something for the first time. He has chosen the signs that are the most important to him. I've been signing lots of other things to him for almost a year, but he only signs the things that are important to him. I'm a huge advocate of signing with babies and toddlers. Let me know if you have any questions.

Monkey Business

2008-07-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

I just finished a monkey shirt for Liam. I fused the applique to the shirt then zig-zag stitched around the outside. What do you think?

Scott and Courtney's wedding

2008-07-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

I might now be recovered from a wedding that Bryan and I went to on Friday. I've been to two NY weddings in two years and have discovered one thing. New Yorkers are serious about getting their party on. Actually, I learned two things. I need to discourage Liam from marrying a girl from NY. If we pay for that kind of wedding, we will be eating cat food in retirement.

We really had a wonderful time. The bride looked beautiful and they both seemed very happy.

Independence Day!

2008-07-07T04:49:00.000-07:00

We went to the parade, celebrated Auntie Kellie's Birthday and played! Here are the pics!

We've been busy!

2008-06-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, but I have lots to share. We went to Davis' Farm Land this week. Liam had a great time. We will be going back soon. They had a toddler splash area that Liam loved.

Liam has also mastered the art of popsicle eating. I'm sure Grandpa is thrilled since he is the Rutland popsicle eating champion and he alone is responsible for the Popsicle Co. staying in business.

Nana and Papa got Liam some new Robeez. He really likes them but likes the package they came in even better. I have noticed that he can run a lot faster now.

My serging skills are improving. Check out the super cute soaker that I made for Liam. I'm looking for a cute and easy pattern for shorts and pants. Liam is soon to have a complete mommy made wordrobe.

Liam is totally obsessed with the "Baby Signing Time" videos. As soon as we start walking down stairs he starts signing "baby". Then he signs frantically until we put it on. His favorite song is "The Pets I Love". He signs "dog", "bird" and "fish". We are still working on the others. He is picking up signs really quickly. He does about 15 signs now.

Despite all of the cute pictures, Liam has been pretty unhappy this week. He has two molars coming in. He has been so cranky. He took a major fit in Trader Joe's, which I'm going to attribute to teething. I only let him have one balloon and he wanted all of them, so he screamed and thrashed throughout the entire store. Some women felt the need to point out how unhappy he was in a very unsympathetic way. She said, "he's really mad!". To which I replied, "REALLY, I HADN'T NOTICED". I refused to leave the store. It takes way too long to drive there and gas is too expensive. By the time we left that place was empty! Perhaps it was a coincidence, but I have a feeling my child had something to do with it.

I think that is enough for now!

My serger is awesome!

2008-06-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

I just got a serger so that I can make Liam some fabulous cloth diaper related things! My first project was a fleece soaker. It is a little off (the picture make it look worse then it really is), but I'm confident they will get better with practice. Did I mention that my child is a goof ball?

Organization.... I need some!

2008-06-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

I just realized that my last two posts were about creepy crawly things so I need to mix it up. So, I am totally annoyed by my own lack of organization. I really need to get it together. Liam officially has four rooms that his stuff has taken over. Some people only have four rooms (or fewer) in their house and they manage to not have stuff everywhere. Since I can't get anything done when Liam is awake I need to work on it this weekend when Bry is home too. I need to declutter in a major way then get storage for everything. I think an Ikea run is in order. Maybe The Container Store too, since that is much easier for me to get to.

Liam is alseep.... got to go get stuff done!

Snakes!

2008-06-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

I really didn't think I was the kind of person that would be bothered by a snake. What is the big deal? It's not like we have venomous snakes or anything big enough to hurt anyone around here. Well I was wrong. I found three snakes in the house today and now I'm totally obsessed. I keep going back to check on them. I know if they are not there next time I check, I'm going to freak out. Moose has defended the house against snakes in the past, so I'm sure he would step up to the plate again! My question is..... how many do we have that I can't find?

So glad I took my socks off!

2008-06-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

This is a public service announcement!

I took my socks off before bed last night and found a nasty tick attached to my foot. Yuck! At least it didn't spend all night stuck in me. So kids.... have some fun, take off your clothes and check your self for ticks before bed. Even better, enlist the help of a friend!

Cloth Diaper Workshop

2008-06-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that I'm obsessed with cloth diapers! I guess that makes me a good person to educate other people about the wonders of cloth diapers. Today I ran a cloth diaper workshop in Boylston. It was fun. I hope I converted a couple of people!

On the other hand, the more people CD, the more difficult it will be for me to get the popular hard to get diapers. I guess it won't matter because Bryan has stopped me from buying anymore diapers.

We're back from Florida!

2008-06-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Not quite the vacation we had planned, but we had some good moments.

The flight home was a disaster. Apparently Jetblue never scheduled a flight crew for our flight. We were all boarded onto the plane and the pilot and copilot never showed up. My guess is that there was never anyone scheduled to fly. They had to call in a pilot from a hotel and a copilot that lived nearby. We ended up leaving 1.5 hours late! Liam was pretty sick of being in the plane by the time we took off. He did sleep for an hour, but was then very difficult to keep busy. He was only happy if he was eating. I believe the quote from Bry is, "sometimes it is good to have a fat kid."

Anyway, we are home and ready to get back into our "normal" routine. The dogs are happy to have us back. Even Moosey was excited to see Liam.

Enjoy a few vacation pics!

Traveling with a child- not recommended!

2008-06-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well we took our first plane trip with Liam today. In short.... it sucked!

Getting through security with a baby in crazy. They made me take his shoes off.... WTF! This is what we had: laptop with bag, diaper bag, backpack, stroller, car seat and purse. We fed Liam right before we boarded the plane, so we thought we were all set. They called early boarding for people with children and by the time we gathered all of our stuff the whole plane was in line in front of us. Our seats were in the very back of the plane, so basically, everyone in an aisle seat got hit with our car seat and possibly a diaper bag or two.

Liam was pretty happy in his seat and did fine when we took off. We were in the air about five minutes before he pooped. The flight attendant told me I could go in the bathroom and change him, "at my own risk", since the seat belt sign was still on. I risked it... and Bry took him out of the car seat and passed him to me. During the pass off, Liam puked all over my shirt and the floor. Once I got him changed, I went in the bathroom and cleaned my shirt in the sink. I spent the rest of the flight in a wet shirt. I'm not sure cleaning it helped. By the end of the flight I smelt like puke, bananas and spoiled milk. I'll be bringing a change of clothes for me on the flight home.

What I learned:

1. Don't over feed your child prior to a flight
2. Get your sh*t together before they start preboarding
3. Bring a change of clothes for me
4. Never fly with a toddler
5. Never fly with a toddler

Haircut follow up

2008-05-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

Well since I forgot to post pictures of Liam's haircut... here it is!

Liam was able to play with Emma this week. He missed his little partner in crime. Besides eating all of her cheese, he played with her toys, checked out her new little brother and may have given her a kiss or two. He also tried on her pink crocs (but we didn't tell daddy).

I wanted to get Liam crocs this summer, but Bryan completely objected. He thinks that they are just for girls. They don't make them small enough for Liam anyway, so I guess I should just stop trying to convince him that crocs are for boys too. Pedipeds and Robeez are my favorite baby shoes anyway, so maybe I should just stick to those. Especially since they make them in daddy approved styles.

So we leave for FL on Monday. I decided to not bring all of our cloth diapers (CD's) with us. I really wanted to, but I feel like we are going to have enough luggage as it is. I would die if our suit case got lost! So Liam is going to have to wear paper diapers for a week. I hope his bum will be ok. Maybe I'll bring six prefolds and a couple of covers just in case.

Liam's at home haircut

2008-05-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

Liam hates having his hair cut and I was sick of paying $17 for them to basically do nothing at the barber shop. I bought scissors and clippers last week. Bryan and I decided to give it a go tonight. Liam freaked out. As soon as the clippers were turned on he flipped and his little hands kept trying to push Bry away. I got him in a hold, so that he was tummy to tummy with me and held his arms under mine. The poor little guy was so upset. He finally just put his head on my chest and didn't even try to get away (although he still cried). It was really pathetic. We were all covered in hair. It actually came out pretty good. I don't have pics, since he had to go to bed, but maybe tomorrow.

random photos

2008-05-25T09:32:00.001-07:00

Back from a conference

2008-05-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

I got back from a nurse educator conference yesterday afternoon. The conference was enjoyable, but the hotel was not very nice. I blew a fuse when I turned my hair dryer on, the television volume didn't work, the smoke detector kept beeping, they charged an extra $25 a night for Liam to stay with us, they wanted another $35 a night for a mini fridge and they made us check out 2.5 hours before the end of the conference. Seriously, I don't think they had people lining up to stay in a crapy hotel in Maine in the middle of May. They also only had two pronged electrical outlets and all of my electronics require a three pronged outlet. I have to admit that the food was good. They made the best strawberry shortcake I've ever had. I don't believe in mixing fruit with dessert, so that is saying a lot! Avoid the Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport Maine!

Eve of my baby turning 1!!!!!!

2008-05-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

Liam will turn 1 tomorrow! Yikes!

We visited with T.J. and Cat today. Their baby is 5 days old (he is super cute). I can't believe that Liam was ever that small. I can't even remember the first few weeks. It must be nature's way of ensuring future procreation. Liam was really gentle with the baby. He kept touching his hand gently with his index finger. It was sweet!

By the way, my child is soooo smart. Bry cut himself earlier today and it got on the carpet. Liam must have watched him clean it up. Later on, I was eating and he took my paper towel and started wiping the floor. I pointed it out to Bry, since usually Liam just shreds paper towels. We made the connection after watching him for a minute or so. It is amazing how quickly he learns things. Now if I could only get him to fold laundry......

Update on my immunization reaction: It still hurts and is swollen, but hasn't gotten any worse. I felt pretty bad last night, but I feel fine today. I will not be getting any immunizations for a long long time (if at all).

F***ing Immunizations!

2008-05-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

I'm up late freaking out about the immunization I got yesterday. I let someone convince me to get the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria & pertussis) immunization and now I regret it. My arm hurts like hell and I have a pretty big lump at the injection site. I commented to Bry yesterday that the person gave it too low and it wasn't given into the muscle. I wonder if that is why I'm having problems today. I have no one to complain to since Bry and probably everyone else is sleeping. I'm not a wimp about this stuff either...... I did have a baby naturally and without any medication. I think I'm more pissed about it not being given in the proper location. Whatever.... now that I've complained, I'm going to bed.

Vince's Lumpectomy

2008-05-14T16:52:00.001-07:00

Poor Vince! As some of you know, Vince had an unsightly lump on his right shoulder. We tried to have it drained, but the vet had no luck. He went in this morning and had a lumpectomy. When he came home he was so groggy from the anesthesia. I had trouble getting him out of the car. He is 115 lbs now, so not exactly easy to lift. He almost fell while walking up just a few stairs. Unfortunately, his activity has to be limited for the next two weeks. It looks like Vince is going to be spending some time in his crate. He is being so good. He has really wants to scratch it.

We will have the biopsy results in a day or two. I'm confident it will be good news.

I'm blogging

2008-05-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally blogging again. It has been a while! Liam has kept me very busy in his first year of life. Thursday is my last day at FSC. I'll need to go clean out the office, but I'll worry about that later. I'll just be working per diem after that.

I bought Liam a mylar balloon at The Dollar Tree last weekend. He said, "Wow" every time we passed the balloons, so I caved and got him one. It has literally provided hours of entertainment. It was the best $1.05 I have ever spent.

Speaking of spending money..... I bought Liam an awesome jogging stroller today. There was a "retirement sale" at a store I drive by on my way home from work, so I stopped in. The stroller wasn't on sale, but I asked if they would be discounting it. They sold it to me for $170 less than retail. Needless to say, I'm so excited. Perhaps more excited than anyone should be about a stroller. This motherhood thing has really taken hold of me!