First Professional Hair Cut

Last Friday (1/4/08), Liam got his first hair cut. We've cut it in the past, but it was due time that we get his hair done by a professional. He didn't want to sit in the barber chair by himself, so Daddy got set up to hold him. They both looked so cute with their drapes on.

Liam made funny faces as the stylist, Kimra, did her work with the trimmer and scissors. She gave him a mirror to hold so Ian could move it when Kimra needed Liam to move his head. She was impressed that he was sitting so still and cooperating so well. So were we, praising him all the while. She did her work extremely fast! (Ian was so impressed that he went back the next week to get his hair done there.)

I was tickled at how grown up Liam looked with his new cut. I took photos of him once we got in the car. He had a cold and is coughing, but it looks like he's posing for the camera like a little model! So funny!

More doings in Indiana

The day after Christmas we met up with my close friend, Kelley, and her family. (Kelley and I have been close since we were 14 years old.) We went to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. I've been wanting to take Liam there. It's a place I loved going to as a kid, so I knew he would LOVE it!

Kelley's family has season passes and they got us in as their guests for free! We were grateful because we knew Liam would only last a couple hours at best, and this is a place you can spend 8+ hours and still not see everything. We'll have to take him back each time we are in Indiana so he can slowly see all the exhibits. Kelley knew what ones he'd specifically enjoy at his age, so we first went to the Dinosaur Exhibit where the kids learn about fossils and can become paleontologists digging up bones.

After dressing up as an egg stealing dinosaur, we moved on to the trains! Besides tons of model train exhibits, they had a real train that you could go inside! The windows were actually flat screen TVs and there was video of scenery passing you by. When I stepped in there, I thought we were moving and lost my balance!

Next was the featured exhibit, Dale Chihuly's blown glass! They had metal frames and glass-like plastic bulbs for kids to make their own sculptures! There was a revolving circle of chairs that you could lean back and stare up at the Fireworks of Glass sculpture, the largest permanent sculpture of blown glass by the renowned artist himself.

Next was a HUGE playzone for toddlers. A big river water table, a sand table, play houses, etc. It was so cool and I wish I had more photos. My camera's battery was dying so I would open it once for each exhibit and get maybe one photo.

After the playzone we went to stand in line for the carousel ride. This is an old fashion classic carousal that I remember riding as a kid. The classic music was booming and I was enjoying myself... Liam, on the other hand, was not too happy about the ride. It was too close to nap time and he didn't want to be on the non-moving horse we were instructed to put him on.

After a stop to the ice cream shop where the kids can pretend to serve up ice cream to customers and enjoy a fake sundae, we headed to the holiday alpine slide. I didn't get a photo of Liam on the slide since we went down from the 2nd floor to the 1st as a family. Liam loved it and we loved watching/hearing his reactions. Here is a photo of the boys standing in line.

We said good-bye to our friends so we could deliver Liam to nap time. He fell asleep within two minutes of getting out of the parking garage. We made it back to my parent's town and kept on driving around so Liam could rest. Ian remembered seeing a beloved White Castle on our way to/from the hotel pool the previous night, so we made our way to the healthiest (snort) burger place in town. (We had to get our fill of goodness we can't find in Utah.)

Liam's Pastime in Indiana

Liam learned about vanity in Indiana. Grandma had a myriad of combs and brushes to fix his hair just right. He worked very hard each day to get the perfect look. No bribe could get him out of that sink. He was sitting pretty.

Snow Video

I was finally able to get the videos off my camera from Liam's first big snow this year. Click here to see the footage. His boots are size 10 or 11 so he was having a rough time staying vertical. Cracked us up. CLICK HERE

Christmas Report

Christmas Eve's Eve (Sunday) we went to church and felt the spirit of Christmas very strongly there. Liam got his own paper Nativity from nursery and was so excited to share it with us! After his nap, Uncle Drew and Uncle Blake came over for our Utah Christmas. We had ham, potatoes and sauteed green beans. Opening presents was a lot of fun. We were in awe of Liam's tower of gifts from his adoring Minnesota grandparents. We all got him stuff too, so he was sure busy opening everything. We soon found out that Grandma made each of us Christmas pajamas. We all smiled at each other with understanding and immediately went to go change so we could get a family pajama photo. (I'll have to upload the photo when Blake sends me the one he took on his camera that had a timer.) It was a moment of family cuteness for sure!

The boys all played guns for the longest time, then we decided Liam better get to bed because we'd have to get him up early the following day.

Christmas Eve we traveled to Indiana. We were informed shortly before we left that Christmas Eve is an ideal day to travel, we had no idea it would be as ideal as it really turned out to be. The airports were sparse with people and everyone seemed to be in high spirits. It was a great day as a family. A day of answered prayers, a Christmas miracle in and of itself. The day went smoothly with anxiety levels under control as we traveled in the skies towards Indiana. Liam was a very good boy, Ian was a very good boy and I was even under control. We didn't lose Liam, we didn't lose our heads, we didn't lose any luggage AND the car rental was a breeze! We made it to my parents' house before 9pm! Lucky because my very close friend, Amy and her family stopped by not 20 minutes after we arrived! I felt so blessed to be able to see them before they hit the road back to their home in Illinois.

Christmas Day we woke up and lazed around the house with my parents, my sister and Liam's cousin, Sierra. I don't think we opened presents until noon. It was great to take everything slow and have kids so young that they weren't nagging us to do things any earlier. It was just another day for them. They of course were the focus as the presents were being opened. They loved each toy that they wouldn't move on to the next present. We did quite a bit of unwrapping for them. They grew tired very quickly and took good naps while the rest of us continued to be lazy. My Aunt Tonya and cousin Jenelle drove down from Michigan to visit with us and eat a late afternoon Christmas feast. It was neat to talk to Jenelle about pregnancy and infancy as she is due with her first baby in February. She is the youngest cousin... always was my baby when we were kids, so it was special to spend time with her as a grown up. Later we went to their hotel to go swimming with the kids. They had a ball! I had remembered suits for me and Ian, but forgotten Liam's so he had just a diaper on. We were determined to keep him covered though that heavy diaper had other ideas. I've never seen one get that huge. We were laughing so hard at the sight each time he came out of the water.

Liam had a bath in his grandparents' whirlpool tub, played some more with Sierra and then they both went to bed.

I'll have to report the rest of the week later. Enjoy the Christmas montage

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Resolution #1 Complete

With the added encouragement from Rose, Liam is free of his binky as of January 2nd, 2008! My goal was to go cold turkey as soon as we were back from Indiana. Rose knew of this so-called goal. I, however, was sick with a cold (and so is Liam) so I wasn't willing to lose sleep until I was feeling better.

So Wednesday, January 2nd, I took Liam to Rose's. I realized I had forgotten the binky for his nap time. Rose immediately scolded me jokingly saying, "I thought you were going cold turkey when you got back from Indiana..." I told her that was the plan, but I was sick and didn't want to lose sleep right now. I would try it on Friday night and take naps with Liam on the weekend to make up for lost sleep (or maybe not). So I went to get the binky and then sat it on her microwave away from Liam's sight.

I picked him up a little after 5pm. Rose had great news. Liam had taken a nap without the binky! SLEPT! for 2.5 hours! I was floored! She said she didn't mention the binky and neither did Liam and he did just fine. I was determined to try it that night. She said she didn't mean to rush me and that it might be different when he is home. I said I was going to try it anyway!

So I did. And it worked! I can't get over it. He got through the whole night without it! He mentions it, but I continue to change the subject and it seems to work. No fighting. I am stunned.

So do you think the local news will pick up my story? I am beyond thrilled. I can't get it off my mind. I was seriously ready for major fits and a few relapses. What a blessing to have a good friend like Rose to initiate the process. I feel so fortunate that Liam really was ready. Hallelujah!

2 years, 2 months!

Dear Son,

I am two days late writing your monthly birthday letter. I don't think I've been caught out of town on one of your birthdays before. So here I am at your grandparents' house in Indiana writing this.

I have been so anxious all of December about traveling with you as a two year old. We were fortunate to have Daddy with us on our way here. I had prayed that you would be especially obedient as we traveled. I also prayed that we would be patient and especially understanding parents on this trip. My prayers were answered more fully than I ever could have imagined! I felt such releif after a long Christmas Eve in the sky with you. You were easily entertained, listened to us and the most important request I had of Heavenly Father is that we never lose sight of you... you were always safe and in our sight all day long. What a blessing!

It was neat, on our last leg of the trip, the pilots met you as we boarded the plane. They wanted to show you the cockpit and let you wear the pilot hat. You were intent on pushing all the buttons and climbing up the side window. Despite the added perspiration for me, I was delighted you got to explore and make a couple pilots smile on Christmas Eve.

Christmas day was so much fun for you! You opened all your gifts, played with your cousin Sierra and you even got to go swimming after nap time! We had a great holiday!

You are saying more and more 3 word phrases. The most reoccurring are "I did at" and "don't do dat" and "no, no, no" (as you correct your meaning when we obviously don't get it).

I have to report that your interest in coloring and drawing has only increased this last month! You are crazy about coloring with markers only. Crayons are for the birds. You concentrate for long periods of time when you are at the table drafting up your artwork. Your favorite gift this year was the aqua doodle (second to your guns). You can't get enough of it. You like us to draw something for you to color in. Sometimes you'll add limbs to the smiley face we draw and sometimes you'll just make lines and circles on your own. It really is something to see you at work! Well done, my little Picasso!

I continue to adore your darling face and sweet demeanor. You have had more of an attitude lately, but you still try to do your best in being obedient. I received many compliments on our trip relating to how handsome you are, how smart you are and how funny you can be. It was fun to introduce you and reintroduce you to so many friends and family. Most everyone seemed taken by your charm. It's sweet to see how appreciated you are by others. I already feel honored and blessed to be your mother, but it's taken to a new level when others see what I witness daily.

I love you, son. Thanks for being the great little man that you are!

Love,
Mom

Random Memory

Today, in the wee small hours of the morning, Liam woke. He couldn't find his binky, so I went to help him. The way his tired eyes blinked up at me after finding it, was so so sweet! He said, "thank you, Mom" ---in the middle of the night. Then did those tired sweet blinks as I tucked him back in.

Here is the memory it reminded me of, with the cute tired eye blinking.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Trimming the Tree and other Christmas Fun

Liam helped me trim the tree last Saturday. He was so excited when he woke up from his nap to find all the Christmas stuff ready for him to help unload and spread all over the place! We started with the lights. He dragged them around for awhile and then tried to help me put them on the tree. Then he was delighted to try to hang the ornaments up. "Try" being the key word. He mainly just handed them to me to put on because somehow they didn't fall when I would do it.

Earlier in the day we had gone around Southern Salt Lake area shopping for a piece of furniture to house the bigger TV. While riding around, we found a sign for Gardner Village. We noted the address and went to find it.

We found it, but we found it was an outdoor shopping experience and it was a bitterly cold day. So we put Liam in the stroller and hoped he'd stay happy. After going in a few shops with lots of wonderful treasures, we finally let Liam have a break as we walked to the bakery to get him a reward for being so good. He carried our bag of treasures all the way there and held tight to it as he shopped the bakery goodies. He had a couple small gingerbread men and was pretty content as we drove to IKEA to scope out another furniture idea.

IKEA was busy busy, but we scouted to our destination and found the piece set up in the showroom. We sat on the comfy furniture as we mulled over the price verses the work to put it together ourselves. All the while, Liam found some kids china set and started dropping the pieces one by one. We put the stuff back, glad that it wasn't broken and bolted out of IKEA.

Liam fell asleep on the way home and transferred well to his crib so I could try to get a nap in too. That didn't work too well for me since I woke up after 20 minutes thinking of all I needed to get done before we leave for Indiana on Christmas Eve. AND I really wanted to run to JC Penney to return a sweater and get a better one for our date that night. So I did just that... and I got Liam an outfit too. (After fighting the parking lot traffic at the mall for 25 minutes... Wowee crazy people holding up the rest of us while they wait 5 minutes for someone to walk to their car, unlock it, load it and load themselves, then leave... I would never do that! Though we do tend to go real slow when we know someone is waiting for our spot because they couldn't possibly park a little further away...)

So, after going to the mall, Liam wakes, we trim the tree. After playing around for awhile, it was time for Liam to try out a new babysitter (Brittany) while we headed to the Energy Solutions Arena for the Jazz game. This little teenage girl did great with Liam and I was so glad we tried her out since our regular, Meagan, was sick and couldn't do it for us. Brittany couldn't believe how well Liam did and how easily he went to bed too! I was just pleased that things went well. I had a list of house rules and Liam's bed time routine written out... I had Shari on call 2 blocks away just in case something happened... I am sure Miss Brittany thought I was a complete basket case, but she smiled and happily said, "No problem!"

It was a great day all around! Liam is such a prince! ...And so is my hubby! We had a great night out!

Finding THE Tree

After visiting Santa on Friday night, we went to go pick out a tree. We hoped the pricing would be down a bit since it was the 14th of December.

After we put Liam's mittens on, he bolted for any lick of snow he could find. He started throwing all the bits of snow at us! We enjoyed his squeals of delight as we shopped for a tree. It didn't take long for us to find one similar to last year's tree.

It was only $26!

Liam and Daddy played in the snow while I paid for the tree.

The next morning Liam woke to the bare tree and exclaimed, "TREE!"

I am just as excited to have another beautiful Alpine Fir in our home this year!

The Chain of Events

Visiting Santa Friday Night -








Liam actually gave Santa a high five though!
_

This is how Liam colors

Really. Every time, he about loses his grip on the chair.

Kiss Mom

This morning after family prayers, Daddy asked Liam for a kiss good-bye. Liam obliged and then pointed to me and ordered Daddy to "kiss mom"...

"You want me to give mom a kiss?"

"Yeah!"

He knows that we all get kisses before Daddy leaves and it was darling that Liam wanted to remind Daddy to make sure I got mine!

SWEET!

Manly Men

We generally watch Two and a Half Men on Monday nights. Liam has learned the theme song since we all sing along at the beginning of the show right before we put him to bed. It's so cute when he sings, "men, men, men, men, men, men..."

Sorry

Liam has gotten good at saying sorry when he hurts someone or something. This morning when we were cuddling, he accidentally head butted me and I said ouch. He immediately said, "Oh saw-wee." Then he rubbed my head and said he was sorry a couple more times. So sweet.

In other news: Daddy got his big Christmas present this weekend... a new LCD TV. So Liam got a big present too... a HUGE box to play in. He's been having fun stacking the foam wedges and diving head first into the box. He even figured out a way to make a slide out of it. "WEEEEE!"

Liam's requests

I have to report how Liam asks for a few things:

Pick me up - "Hold you"

Please help me - "Peez help you"

You wanna get me some sugar? - "Treats?"

It's funny each time he says each of these things -- multiple times a day.

I was especially amused this morning when I said, "Can you say 'help me?"

And he replies, "HAPPY!"

Even when I said it slower and with extra annunciation he still replied, "HAPPY!"

P.S. I have to write down that each day when we put Liam's puffy coat on, he taps his belly or rubs the front of his coat and says "coke" real proud. He loves his "coke", ladies and gentlemen. Good thing because it's "koe ow-sigh".

Christmas last year

I watched this montage last week and it made me so excited for the Christmas season! I look forward to compiling our 2007 season this month!

Enjoy~

December First's Snow

The boys woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Ian gets just as excited about the snow as Liam does. It's so cute how they both just sit by the window and watch. It snowed all day long. Liam was beside himself as we ran errands, wanting to touch the snow and take off running in the deep sections if I didn't have a grip on him.

Time didn't permit us to take Liam out to play in the snow any sooner than sun down. He spent the afternoon with his future babysitter. Laura says she is on board to tend him the first of the year. YAY!

Liam and Daddy had a great time in the snow! The pure delight on Liam's face and the snow-ball-throwing chuckles were priceless! Those boots were so big that he couldn't stand up when he'd tip over and watching him walk in them was equally as hilarious! I'll have to post video later.

Liam December 2006 <--------------> Liam December 2007

See all photos HERE.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

News

On Monday, Shari, Liam's sitter, let me know that in January she will no longer be able to tend him. I was surprised that I didn't panic at her words. I was merely saddened because Liam would lose her as a mother and her children as siblings. They have been his family for two years and it broke my heart for him to lose them. Granted he'd see them on Sundays and Megan would still tend him for date nights, but still, I was just so sad.

I immediately had two families in mind that live in our neighborhood. Two wonderful families that both have children and they would have great influence on Liam.

I left messages Monday night and heard back from Laura on Tuesday evening. I told her the situation and the money that could be made. She said that she was tempted to say yes right then and there... but she knew it would be wise to pray about it and talk to her husband about it. She has a two-year-old son and a 7 month old daughter.

Laura called me back not 15 minutes later and said she'd like to give it a try on Saturday... she wants me to drop him off at noon and pick him up at 5 like I would on a week day. She was so sweet as she relayed that I should go on a date with my hubby or a take a nice long nap while she tended him. I was comforted that this path might work out for all of us.

This morning, first thing, my second resource called me back. Michelle has two boys that are ages three and five. Liam loves playing with them and Michelle says Liam is a piece-of-cake-child to tend. So I told her the situation and that Laura was going to give it a try on Saturday. Michelle was just as interested in doing it as Laura. She said to keep her posted on what Laura decides.

What a blessing! The two families I had in mind are both interested. I can't imagine worrying about this situation the whole month of December. I can't get over the fact that we were taken care of in less than a week's time. I am so delighted.

Heavenly Father really watches out for us... Especially Liam. We are very grateful.