Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas 2010


He made the nice list!



And here are some holiday illustrations by our in-house artist.

Frosty with his leprican leaf hat (clover).



And a decorated tree with lights!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Yes, Butterflies in December

See this? Liam made this for me a week or two ago. How sweet is this? I'd say very!



Update:
Ian informed me after he saw this post that these butterflies were made for him. Liam had drawn the first one and then was told that he had 10 more minutes before bedtime to do 10 butterflies. That explains why his handiwork loses quality towards the end.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Remembering the Good

So, it's been a rough week. Liam has reached a point in his life where he can't control his impulses and anger to the extreme where those around him are getting hurt. I am praying that this next week proves he can handle this new school and his new peers. I hope he treats his teachers with respect. I hope he makes a really special friend.

Every fiber of my body wants him to be happy. So happy that we find him being resilient and easy going once again. We'll continue to dwell on the good moments rather than the sad ones until this phase passes. It's all we can do other than restating how wonderful he is and how much we love him.

A close friend of mine (Jessica) was bursting with mother pride on Friday as she told me about her daughter's first successful dance recital. Her glee and excitement reminded me of my own pride just last month.

I was with my friend Danell and her children at an indoor amusement park for kids. Liam wanted to go on a ride that is much like a roller coaster that goes around in a circle at a high speed then stops and does the same thing backwards.

He hopped on. The ride started. He put those strong arms up in the air and smiled the cutest smile! I stood on the sidelines cheering my unashamed brains out! I was so excited that he was the only kid on that ride unafraid. I couldn't stop screaming and cheering him on!

I was beyond proud! He is going to be my roller coaster buddy one day soon. And what a cool thing that is for me to realize. Pure joy in the thought.



Thursday, December 16, 2010

Heard in the backseat of our car

Liam: "You know, Pirates sleep with one eye open."

Me: "That's right! They have to watch out because they are naughty."

Liam: "I'm stronger than a pirate. I am a really stong little boy!"



Liam: "Guess what, Mom!"

Me: "What Liam?"

Liam: "Santa was peeking into my classroom today and waved at me."

Me: "Wow, you are so lucky. He's really busy you know. Did anyone else see Santa peeking in?"

Liam: "No, just me. Nobody else could see him!"

Sunday, December 12, 2010

A Frankly Put Update

So last Saturday I needed to work and Ian had a game he was going to with Drew. We arranged for our newest friend and neighbor, Haydee to watch Liam while we were both away. 90 minutes after Ian dropped off Liam, Haydee called me to say Liam said he didn't feel well and she said he had a temperature.

Figures. We send him off to a new person and hope it's a positive experience for all and we actually put an illness in her home which houses three boys and a husband.

Ends up I couldn't leave work as a few people had called in sick that day, so Ian had to leave his game early to pick up Liam. He also took it upon himself to take him to the Express Care Clinic to see what was going on. Since Liam had a cough, they chalked it up to a croup virus going around because his lungs and ears were clear... The PA gave him a 5 day dose of a liquid steroid for some reason... we later found out that was useless.

Saturday night was sad. Sunday was sad... though we did go to sacrament meeting and Liam actually slept through that. He was obviously not himself. Sunday night was sad.

Monday I stayed home from work with him all day. We did perler bead projects, watched movies when he needed a rest, played Memory, etc. He rested a lot. He was really sick. Monday night was sad.

Tuesday wasn't any better. Ian took the morning Liam shift and I took the afternoon. That night Ian gave him a blessing.

Hoping and praying for a miracle, I took him to school Wednesday morning around 10am. It took a lot of coaxing. Early that morning Grandma Dixie talked to him on the phone and he committed to getting dressed. Once the major morning flem had passed, I drove him to school. He did well. I didn't get a phone call. He fell asleep around 6:30 that night.

Thursday Liam went to school, but I got a call around noon and was informed that he had another fever and actually said he didn't feel well. I picked him up and he looked horrible. I've never seen a kid look that wiped out and physically ill in the face. He progressively looked better as the afternoon went on. We decided to go out to eat for dinner since he seemed more bouncy. He fell asleep not two minutes into our ride and we thought he'd wake when we carried him into the restaurant. No dice. He slept on the seat of the booth through our whole meal. We took the sleepy child with us on a drive and then decided we better check him out again before we send him to school Friday. He slept all the way to the Express Care and barely came to for his quick exam. It was a sad and funny sight with him that groggy. We were again told that his ears and lungs were clear.

Friday I dropped him off at school with the promise that his dad would pick him up in a couple hours. Ian did so and I am glad he was able to. Liam seemed worse than ever. He had coughed more the night before than the entire week combined. He was exhausted. Ian said he fell asleep on the living room floor and he had to transfer him to his bed... then he slept for 2 hours! I got home from work and we took him to a real doctor's office.

The physician said Liam had an ear infection and gave us a prescription for an antibiotic. He was concerned about Liam's nightly coughing fits and was happy to give us a stronger cough syrup with a narcotic in it. He informed us that the steroid he was prescribed on Saturday was a complete mistake, but didn't do any harm either. He enlightened us on the fact that Liam's allergy medication, Singulair that he takes every day is probably doing him no good. All in all, we learned a lot and I felt like a crummy parent.

Friday night was quiet and not sad.

Saturday morning we had a new boy. He slept until almost 9am.

Sunday morning, same story... we had a pretty healthy boy with a lot less coughing.

He wanted to go to church. I was so happy to take him for all three meetings.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Slumber

It amazes me that a boy 5 years of age, still looks like a newborn when he is sleeping. I found this old photo tonight that Skye Johansen took of my baby. I love that sleepy face.

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Candid Perfection

Last night I ordered a 16 x 24 canvas print of this darling photo. It's so fun I can provide myself with professional looking photos these days. Really fun!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

He's got energy


As wonderful as he is... he has energy to spare... and he really wears us out!


Photo taken October 24, 2010

Monday, November 22, 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

Friends in Town



My wonderful friend Danell brought her two children to Utah for a visit last week. She needed to get a big trip in before she has baby Claire next month. I used to go down to Arizona to visit her now and then before I had Liam... then she moved to Atlanta and we both had our first babies. We have talked on the phone about twice a week ever since. She is one of my closest friends even though we are so many miles apart.

We spent a fun weekend together. Here are some highlights.

Sammy was pretty dang shy at first.



We took the children to a local indoor amusement park. After riding rides for a bit, we took a lunch break at the delicious Marie Callendar's and then went back for more amusement.

The children had a lot of fun at Jungle Jim's in Midvale.









After a long day of fun, we got the bathing done and put the short people to bed. After they were really asleep, Danell and I went out to run a couple errands and enjoy some one-on-one time without children. We came home and logged onto hulu.com and played SNL skit after SNL skit and laughed our heads off! It was an awesome evening.

Sunday morning we went to church and then came home for a bite to eat. We went outside to get some photos of Sam and Emma.




Then it was time to say good-bye. It's not fun seeing one of your best friends and her well behaved children drive away. I hope after they get moved to Hawaii in February that we can start planning a trip to go see them!

My beautiful Danell in her 8 month pregnant glory!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Found this

I found this photo amongst a cousin's wedding album. Mikki captured my cutie going for another cupcake...





Sunday, November 14, 2010

An Apple Phase



Cute Liam

Liam was busy scootering while I took photos of Danell's children. That sock hat looks so cute on him!




Tuesday, November 09, 2010

On the way to school

In the car, on the way to school this morning... Liam was grooving to the music and showing me his car seat dance moves every chance he could get me to look. He was being so cute! Cracked me up!

Then, as icing to the setting, he tells me what project he's going to be working on at school today. "Mom, I am going to trace my hand on the paper and then I am going to add the chicken parts to it." I just laughed because I knew what he was talking about since it is close to Thanksgiving. I said to him, "Do you mean turkey?" - "Yeah, Mom, turkey. And then I am going to add the turkey legs!"

SO CUTE - had to share with Miss Robyn once I got him to his classroom. She loved the "chicken parts" comment too!

Monday, November 08, 2010

Liam's Projects - October 2010










Mom, Dad & Liam

"Rainbow."

"Rainbow ice cream cone."


"Camel in the sun."

"Hearts."

"Pumpkin Star with black clouds."

"Dog."


"A Pumpkin Star"

"Just giraffes."


"Cat with whiskers all around him."