April 29, 2011

Friday:

I tried to resist it, but the Spring Cleaning Fairy hit me this morning. This happened directly after Liam duped out all of Annabelle's five gallon bucket of toys and threw them around the entire living room. That wouldn't be an issue really, except I was about to sweep. So, I asked Liam to pick them up for me so that I could sweep, and of course, being the awesome kid he is, responded with 'Okay!' and went to start picking them up. I then, for the remainder of the day, gave him the title 'Mr. Helpful'! Which he totally loved. He helped with the toys, he helped with cleaning off the fronts of the stove and cabinets, which consisted of him getting a towel and wrapping it around him as a 'baby wrap', then wrapping me. Next, was cleaning out the fridge. I've been meaning to do this the day before grocery day, but for whatever reason, it's always slipped my mind, and I get home and load yummy, clean, fresh produce in a milk circled, random lettuce/herb dried leaf bits, unknown sticky smudged fridge. I couldn't do it anymore. Liam loved to help with the door. I unloaded all the containers and bottles and wiped it down, and he would have the task of replacing them.

Then....BEST PART OF LIAM'S ENTIRE DAY....my parents dropped off Blaze and Ripley as they went out of town for the weekend. It took some coercing for Liam to go down for a nap. He really wanted to play with the dogs. I finally convinced him that the dogs were taking a nap outside and once he woke up they could come inside and all play together. Let me just say, nap was short, and I wasn't too surprised. Usually, Liam will come and find me as soon as he wakes up after about two hours and spend some time cuddling and snuggling while he wakes up. Nope, not today. He woke up, left his room, saw me in my room on the way out, and walked right on by. Didn't even hesitate. I heard the back door open from my bedroom and all the hounds stampeding in. Liam Heaven.



I think it's hard to determine who is more excited though when you compare Liam and Honey. She gets really crazy. I'm talking rolling around on the floor, running, jumping, wrestling, nipping, tackling, chasing, etc. the other dogs. She just can't contain herself.

April 28, 2011

Thursday:

Since I haven't gone to a birth this week, we went to pick up Nanny Frances to come out and hang out with us so that the kids could get more familiar with them. It was nice to be able to be here when they played so that I could answer questions and make sure she was knew where everything was. She brought over some Popsicle sticks for Liam and her to color on as a 'project'. It really is amazing how simple things get their brains going. Liam loved it. If fact, after she left and he got up from his nap, he went back over to his table and presented to 'work' on them some more. Liam would pick each stick up one by one, and draw a line all the way down the one side, then put it in a vase that I had given him for all his 'finished' sticks. Every now and then he'd switch out the colors. He would say, "I working really hard!". I'm glad he gained such a strong accomplished feeling out of it.

April 27, 2011

Wednesday:

We ran our errands today and the kids, as usual, just went with the flow of it. I know many mom's who have kids my kids' age who are slightly more uncooperative, and I really know how blessed I am. I wish it was something miraculous parenting-wise that I did so I could sell it in a book, but I think I'm just blessed.

In the evening I went to the last class of the childbirth education I had been sitting in on, and Phillip stayed at home with the kids. He calls it 'watching kids', I call it 'solo parenting'. Some would call it simply parenting...but of course, Phillip and I have to complicate things.

He said that for a while he put Liam's hummingbird finger puppet on his finger and made funny noises at the kids while tickling them with it and they really got a kick out of that. He's so good at that kind of stuff. He's pretty playful with them and can always get them to smile and laugh. I'm glad he takes the time to connect with them.

April 26, 2011

Tuesday:

Today is much better in the fit throwing arena compared to yesterday. It's been pretty mellow. Liam still has a bit of chest congestion that he's had for a week or so now. I think it may just be cold or allergies or something. He doesn't have a fever, he still eats, drinks, sleeps and plays normally, so I'm not too worried yet. He even saw me putting the dishes away today and came over and said, "I will help you Mommy!". His favorite task is putting away the silver ware, which is good because this is my least favorite.

After dishes, I moved the dish drain and found some sort of water bug. I covered it with a little plastic container and told Liam to run and get his bug catcher. He did and the bug has sat on our coffee table all day.

I threw in a piece of oatmeal, wondering if he would eat it, and I guess that's not on his diet. Liam likes to see him crawl and while we were watching him (assuming the bug is a 'he') the bug began licking his feet. Weird. I've never seen a bug do this, and Liam said, "Bug (pronounced Bubmm) taking bath." Sounded right to me! I think it may be time to let the bug out in the yard for his freedom.

April 25, 2011

Monday:

For what ever reason, the kids decided to trade off throwing fits through out the day. I decided they were in need of some one-on-one sit-down-play-time. Liam got out some of his cars and we played with those for a while, then I showed him how we could 'park' them in the 'garage' under the couch. He found much delight in this. He went to get the rest of his cars from the toy buckets in the living room and 'parked' those as well. He then commissioned me to help him dig out all of his trucks, cars, etc from his toy box in his room to 'park' those as well. He didn't like Annabelle playing next to him because she would reach over and grab the cars. We are working on talking nicely, and had much practice today.




As I was getting ready for dinner, Liam asked to play with the Easter eggs we painted yesterday, and his Easter basket. I told him sure, and he headed outside. A little while later, I glanced outside and saw Eggs, randomly placed around the grass, and him walking around with his Easter basket. I guess he decided to do his own Easter egg hunt. It was really cute, and he actually had forgotten where he had hid them. In a way, it made my heart hurt a little, so I went out and helped him find them. On a positive note, this is a great new game we can play with all the Easter eggs of various forms we have now! I may go buy a bag of eggs during the post-season sales!

April 24, 2011

Sunday:

Today was Easter morning, and since all four of us are in one way or the other under the weather, we stayed home from church, but after running across some cute Easter Sunday attire in both the kids' closets, I thought it fit to dress them and take Easter pictures. I'm glad I did. I was trying to get Liam to put his chin on Annabelle's shoulder and smile, but I don't think he could figure out how to do both, he's very technical. As it was right before nap time, and the kids were getting restless, and just as they were starting to get tired of Mom and Dad's smiling tricks, Grandpa and Grandma Linda showed up to bring on some smiles.





After nap, we all sat at the table and painted ceramic Easter eggs that Liam got in his Easter basket. Liam started to paint two of them, and then took more interest in painting his hands. It wasn't long till he wanted to 'wash hands'. I am surprised that he managed to keep his shirt clean though!

April 23, 2011

Saturday:

We told Liam this morning before heading out to run around town that we were going to go to the front park and find Easter eggs for the Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. It was very unwise of us to do this, since we were late and missed it. I felt really bad, but told him that tomorrow, Mom and Dad would fill his Easter basket with goodies and hide it in the house for him to find and then get the goodies and play. I think this made it better.

We headed to the T-Mobile store where Phillip and I got new phones, and thankfully, they had a kid table there will kid size chairs for him to sit at where I gave him some paper and a pen and he then went on to draw some Pad Thai. The store associate commented on how well behaved he was. I agreed.

Since we got home late, we decided on doing Pizza for dinner which Liam was very happy about, the we went to bed. Every night, it's the same. I 'brush teeth' for Liam and he goes potty and puts his 'Jammas' on, Dad 'read story', and then I come in to seal the deal for bedtime as Dad puts the baby gate up. As I kneel down to tell him good-night, he reaches out his arms and I hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek and he lays down. We 'say prayer' and then I cover him up and say, "Who's that snuggled up in bed ready for a snooze?" He grins and giggles and I end with, "It's my little pumpkin and I love you!" Sometimes he'll finish the rhyme for me, which is always a treat for me. I then leave with the promise of giving him a no-cry treat, vitamin and fish oil in the morning if he stays in bed. I've come to love bedtime now.

April 22, 2011

Friday:

I can't express how blessed I know I am to have Liam as my son. He's really the sweetest. This morning he came in my room at 8:00 to climb in bed with me and Annabelle who had just woken up, and crawled up next to her and wrapped his arms around her and said, "I snuggle with AnnBelle." It was so sweet. He then started to just talk to her saying things like, "Hey AnnBelle, good morning, you have a good nap? Yeah?" He always chats with her in the car too when we are out running errands, and in the store. She sat in the front of the cart and Liam in the basket as I only had to pick up one thing and didn't have the baby wrap on me. He would reach up and pat her back and talk to her about how she was riding in the cart and how he was in the big cart. He really likes having another little buddy play mate.

April 21, 2011

Thursday:

At dinner, Liam is usually very interactive with Annabelle, except when she starts gagging on chunks of pear. He looks towards her with a sense of concern, shock, worry, and 'what are you doing' kind of look.

After dinner while I was cleaning the dishes, Annabelle was sitting on the rug in the living room and Liam ran up and sat down next to her and said, "You want your sock monkey AnnBelle? Ok!" and he ran and got it. "You want your glow worm AnnBelle? Ok!" and her ran to fetch that "You want your baby doll? OK!" and it went on and on a few more times until he said, "You want your toy bucket? OK!" and then brought the entire bucket over and then one by one pulled out each toy and placed it in her lap. When it was empty, he sat down next to her to play. What a good big brother.

April 20, 2011

Wednesday:

Liam had the best day grocery shopping today and met H-E-Buddy. I was wondering how he would react to a grown man sized plush grocery bag with arms and very large eyes, but Liam was quite entranced. His eyes locked on the walking brown paper bag and I could just pass by without letting Liam get out to meet him. There was a group of seven or eight year old kids on a field trip, but that didn't matter. Liam presented no hesitation to reach out and wave vigorously at H-E-Buddy. He waved back and Liam's face lit up. I let him out of the cart to go say 'hi' and he walked right over, H-E-Buddy was nice enough to separate himself from the bigger kids, crouch down to Liam's height and reach out his arms and welcome Liam with a big hug. He gave him a high five, and the one more hug good-bye so we could go check out our groceries. At the check out, Liam was given 4 Buddy Bucks, since he said 'please' then ended up getting a 20 point and two 50 point stickers and one Instant Winner! We went to get his prize which was a set of 5 stretchy bracelets of different shapes one being a kite, another a boat, a bike, a sun, and Liam's favorite, and H-E-Buddy shape.

April 19, 2011

Tuesday:

Tonight, Phillip and I were both home and we really enjoyed an evening where we didn't have anything pressing to do. For dinner I made sweet potato and black bean stew, our vegetarian dish for the week, and Liam ate two helping of it! He loves sweet potato fries and he loves beans so it worked out nicely. He also discovered he liked cilantro. He ate an onion and said he liked them, but refused to eat them.

Later in the evening, Phillip went in the garage to clean his bike and Liam followed closely behind. I think he liked getting involved with something Dad is really into. Our neighbor came out and so did her cat that usually roams the neighborhood, which Liam was very happy to see. He loves animals so much, and this cat is one of the sweetest, she will come when you call her and will run straight up to Liam and rub against his legs and he will reach down and pet her. I love to see him being so sweet.

April 18, 2011

Monday:

I went to another birth today that I really wasn't planning on, but Liam was very receptive to the situation. I told him that we were going to pick up Nanny Frances, and we did, and when I got home, I told him that I was going to help another mama have a baby. He said, "You stay here with Nanny Frances." I think he was pretty okay with it. When I left I told him I was leaving and he quickly responded with "BYE!", I asked him for a kiss and he gave me one. It was so sweet. When I got home this evening, he greeted me with a warm "HEEEEYYYY!" and since it was bedtime, he wanted me to read him a story, "The goose book!", he said. I read him the story and he went to bed with a little yawn and no fuss. Tomorrow, I can't wait to just hang out at home with my kiddos.

April 17, 2011

Sunday:

Liam was not so excited about going to the nursery this morning, but before we left I asked him, "Do they have playdough in the nursery?", he said "YEAH!". "Do they have balls in the nursery?" "YEAH!", he replied, then said, "I eat snack in nursery!". I think then her remembered how great the nursery really was and didn't throw another fit, and gladly went to the playground when I dropped him off.

At night, while I was rocking Annabelle, I noticed that Liam can could to 14 now. I forget what he was counting, but he went all the way up to 14. I was kinda surprised, pleasantly that is. He's so smart, and really does absorb everything that is going on. We are going to have to be much more careful about what we say and how we talk that's for sure.

April 16, 2011

Saturday:

Early this morning (early to me as I was sleeping off an all night birth) we went to Performance Bike for their grand opening that Phillip had been looking forward too all week. As we headed inside, Liam said, "They DO have bikes here!" I giggled and said, "Yes, the do indeed!" He was very excited. He said, "I get new bike?" I told him gently that wasn't going to happen today and I don't think he really cared, I think he was just trying to understand why we were there. I told him that Dad wanted to take a look around, which turned into Mom getting a bike. Win-Win for me! Liam was excited to just spend the day with both Mommy and Dadn.

April 15, 2011

Friday:

Today we went to the Austin Zoo! Liam had the most fun I think I have ever seen him have. It married both being out doors, and seeing tons of animals. It was so great. We first saw peacocks that roam freely, and Liam would walk up to them and say "HEEEYYY!" It was cute, they would run of course, but I don't think he minded. He and Violet had a bonding experience too as she took him by the hand and said, "Do you want to go see the monkeys?", and Liam would reply, "YEAH!" in his sweet 2 year-old voice, and they would walk together holding hands. This, I think, was Violet's dream come true...Liam holding her hand.

We saw monkeys, tigers, lions, chickens, turtles, goats, sheep, a bear, and all sorts of reptiles, just to name a few. When we checked in to the zoo, we were given 2 bags of food to feed the goats and sheep. One goat got a hold of the bag itself and then snatched it up and ate it right before our eyes and I only managed to grab and tear a piece of the bag. Liam thought this was hilarious. The remaining piece of paper, the then fed to the goat. I'm glad I caught a video of him feeding the second bag to the goat. He and Violet just laughed and laughed at it. Liam wasn't scared at all to feed the goat from his hand, which kinda surprised me. He really has a love for animals.

April 14, 2011

Thursday:

I'm so glad Uncle Daniel gave us the old building plans from his work, as Liam has unlimited painting paper now. We also somehow ended up with almost a hundred brushes and I've accumulated tons of bottles of acrylic paint. Combine that with an old t-shirt and a paper plate and Liam is set for his Art-Fest. He's very neat too, so I don't mind leaving him painting while I do other stuff. It cleans off the tile really easily too, so that's a perk for me. He likes to make hand prints, and today, after he stepped in the paint on accident and then stepped on the paper, he said, "I make TOE print!" Clever guy! What a way to work with painting foe-pas.

I think Liam is probably the sweetest two-year-old in the world. Maybe the sweetest that ever existed. On the way home for Maudies after dinner, Annabelle started to cry, mainly because she was tired and I couldn't find the binky, and Liam goes, "It's alright Annbelle. We going home right right right now!" It was so cute. As she cried, he talked to her, and when we pulled up in the garage, he said, "We home now Annbelle!" It almost bring tears to my eyes how blessed I am to have such a great kid.

April 13, 2011

Wednesday:

So, today I have learned that Liam does not like a fast pace lifestyle. This morning, I got a call of a potential birth today, but knew I had to make formula for Annabelle before I left, that meant going to the grocery store and getting cream for the recipe. So, that meant, get Liam ready, get me ready, get in the car, get the stuff, get home, make formula, all the while making plans for potential childcare for the day. I told Liam we had to run to the store real quick and everything became a fight. He didn't want to take his PJs off. He didn't want to get dress. He didn't want to find shoes, put them on, etc etc etc, you name it, he didn't want to do it. I think he is going to be one of those people who has to know everything about a situation and understand it in order to cooperate. There's nothing bad about this, it just means I have to help him adjust and slow things down for him sometimes.

Since there ended up not being a birth today, we went to the grocery store and Liam also got the opportunity to take some pictures. Something I think Phillip has given into and now allows him to do. He's actually pretty good. There are some shots that I think are really neat. Worth framing, maybe selling? Maybe not yet on the selling, but I think he may have some future in this. Here are just a few of my favorites.







After he took the one on the top of Annabelle, he said, "I like take picture you AnnBelle". It was really cute. The last picture I think is the funniest, it's of his belly button. When he took it he said, "I take picture my belly". Funny.

April 12, 2011

Tuesday:

Liam's has stared to talk a lot! It seems like everyday he's grasping more concepts and verbalizing in new ways. He's also started to talk to other kids and tell them to stop doing things when he doesn't like something. Violet or Annabelle will try and take a toy, and he'll say, "No, I'm playing with that!" I think it's good that he is learning to speak for himself, and I'm glad he usually does it in a nice way instead of just yelling "MINE!"

He's also learned locks. This is really a good thing in my opinion. He's never in a situation where I wouldn't want him to know how to unlock doors. In fact, I can see situations where I want him to know how. Like today when Phillip was outside mowing the lawn, Liam kept locking him out at the garage door in the laundry room. Phillip said Liam got a kick out of it, I'm sure he did. Nevertheless, we shall always have our keys on us, just in case.

April 11, 2011

Monday:

I think today I caught a little glimpse of what Heaven is going to be like. It all started in the morning after I had brought Annabelle in bed with us during the night. Liam came in and snuggled up next to me under the covers. We all decided to finally roll out of bed around 8:15 when we all had breakfast, and hung out and played on the couch. Annabelle began to get kinda grouchy just before her nap, so all three of us headed back to her room so that I could rock her in the rocking chair. It wasn't long till she fell asleep, all squishy baby like, when Liam asked to rock in the chair as well. I shifted Annabelle over to my right hip and pulled him on on my left. Both were as cuddly as they have ever been. Annabelle starting to softly snore as her binky began to slip out of her mouth and Liam's eye lids looking heavier and heavier, I laid my head against them and we all cuddled and rocked for a bit. It was the best moment in my motherhood. Once Liam noticed that he was falling asleep, he asked to get down and he did. I laid Annabelle down and Liam and I moved to the living room. We sat on the couch and he said, "I like Annbell." I smiled and said, "I know, she's pretty sweet." I didn't think the day could get much better until nap time, when we got to do it all over again. It's moments like these that fill up your Mom Cup and allow you to make it through the week.

Dinner was the first night I think we all sat at the table and no one had to get up, even once, to get something random, and we all just sat and enjoyed each others' company. Liam has really started to watch Annabelle and talk to her. He said tonight, "You make noise. You don't have batteries (babbies). You don't turn on." Phillip and I found this to be hilarious. Oh the things that go through his mind. Earlier he was telling Phillip how much he liked Annabelle. "We have take care Annbell. We have to take her to hospital." I don't know where he gets this. He wasn't here for her birth, or our re-admittance to the hospital. I don't remember ever telling him this either. I think it's kinda funny that he says such a thing.

April 10, 2011

Sunday:

This morning before we left Gigi and Papa's house, we died Easter eggs. Liam had a blast while he sat in my lap, stirring each egg in it's colored cup. He was so intent on watching them, and I think he was captivated by the white eggs immersing in colored water and coming out pink, green, yellow, orange and blue. He loved it. Of course, he was very neat and clean about it all, and I was the one to spill the blue color all over his and my leg. I'm glad he didn't get my clumsiness.




I think Liam has learned that even though we leave Gigi and Papa's house, we will see them again. There was no fit, just hugs, kisses and love before we shut the door and headed down the drive, as he said, "We see Gigi Papa again." I'm glad he's got this down, I know it saves him a lot of tears and no one's heart has to ache when the concept of 'goodbye' isn't understood.

He was so amazing all weekend. Even the ride home. He napped for a little over half the trip, then when we got outside of Waco, he woke, then we went to stop at the rest stop in Salado to use the bathroom. He was great about going potty, and then hopped back in his car seat, ate a granola bar, part of a banana and some apple, and by the time he was threw with all the snacking, we were home. I was sure to give him a whole bag of no-cry treats when we got home because he was so good and he because he helped up bring in all the stuff from the car and put it away.

Tonight he also had the enjoyment of banking coins that Gigi and Papa gave him. I told him to first put the quarters in Annabelle's bank, and all the rest, which was ten dollars worth of nickels, dimes, and pennies, in his bank. After the nickles and dimes and nickles and halfway through the pennies, he was done and lost interest for the evening. We put the rest of coins in a plastic egg for him to do another day. It was nice when bedtime rolled around to get back to brushing teeth and reading story in his bed. We read Squawk to the Moon Little Goose and said prayers, said our little pumpkin rhyme, kissed and hugged and then went to bed. He did get up to ask for the Yahtzee game Papa let him have, which silly me, I forgot to make sure it was with his entourage. He got up after that he got up to ask for his flash light, which was lost, so instead of going it a fit of 'I don't know where it is' or an all night search for it, Liam and I decided that Dog, Beeboo, and Yahtzee were enough. He is also still wearing his Spongebob Square Pants band-aid that he's had on his leg all day, and possibly since yesterday. Too funny.

April 9, 2011

Saturday:

The rest of the family came over today. Liam got see his cousin Berkley, which he showed little interest in, and also Aunt Jenny's new nephew Sean and his brother Ben who is just around Liam's age. They both have the cutest curly hair, and I had to always take a second look when Ben walked in and out of the room as I always thought it was Liam. Mudder, Nana and Padad, and Melissa and Uncle Rick were all there too. They loved seeing the kiddos and I'm so glad we got to spend some time with them.

At one point, when Liam was started to throw a grouch fest, Gigi tried laying him down for a nap, which wasn't working. I think the enchantment Gigi radiates, is too much for Liam to find any rest in. So, when she stepped out, I stepped in to play the strong hand mom and institute nap time. We had a melt down. I could tell by him not being able to focus and talk that most of it was due to exhaustion. He's been getting up before dawn after going to bed after 10, so I wasn't surprised at all. I was surprised that his nap lasted almost two and a half hours. He woke in a much better mood, which was good. By then everyone else was gone, which was okay with him, as Gigi and Lenore were still there.

April 8, 2011

Friday:

We had lots of fun with bubbles outside. After about 10 minutes into it, I noticed it was silly to get him changed into his clean clothes from his PJs, as he decided to 'take a bath' in the bubble dish and began rolling his arms and legs in it as he sat in a pool of bubble juice. I went inside for a bit and Jenny later came in with him in hand saying he was done with bubbles. I looked over and his shorts, socks, shoes, and most of his shirt were completely soaked in sudsy bubbly slime. We took a bath, which he enjoyed.

He's been very cooperative. Only once has he done a time out for hitting and other than that, he's given no fuss to nap, bedtime, and only a little to eating. I'm so proud of him.







Later the kids went out to watch Phillip fly his kite as Jenny and I hide the Easter eggs for the Easter egg hunt. I had to go with Liam, holding his hand explaining the process of Easter egg hunting. He had fun though. He was always hesitant to reach for the eggs that were in close proximity of the plants. I think it's a textural thing. We then went to the den and sorted through all the eggs and all the goodies withing. Liam was oh so excited that a lot of the eggs had 'no cry treats in it!' There were also all these little half-inch rubbery creatures in them of all sorts of type, octopus, hippos, mermaids, dogs, squirrels, ducks, birds, etc. Liam loves them, and they all come in there own little storing spheres. Containers, another thing Liam loves.

Dinner was a little bit of a fit to get him to eat some kind of real food, but with the coaxing of Gigi and the bribe of cake, he got some food in. Then, after cake, he hit a sugar high, which was really cute, because he rarely has sugar, and I think he started to get a little crazy. His energy level went from low to high, and it was like it was streaming out of every part of his being. He was running and talking a million miles an hour, and having just a heck of a time. We've obviously let bedtime run till 10:00pm, so by the time the cake high was coming down, bedtime was just around the corner. Tomorrow is another fun filled day with even more relatives, which I can't wait for Liam to endure!

April 7, 2011

Thursday:

One of the first things Liam said this morning, was "We going Gigi and Papa's house!" He was very excited. We really tried to get out of the house before it got too late and the kids got too tired. We made it just before nap, hoping the kids would sleep in the car. Liam did for a bit, then got kinda grouchy after he woke, understandably. Phillip and I stopped at Starbucks to get some really huge coffees to give us the energy to make it through the second leg. After the coffees, Liam and I resorted to playing 'throw Dog and Beeboo' back and forth in the car. He would throw them all the way up front, and I'd throw them back to him. He had a heck of a time doing it and just laughed and laughed. Phillip also helped out by letting Beeboo and Dog help him drive. I took pictures of this and Liam really thought it was funny. I'm glad we figured something out to be entertaining. Nevertheless, by the time we got to Gigi and Papa's, he was glad to be out of his car seat, and be minutes away from seeing Gigi and Papa.

April 6, 2011

Wednesday:

We picked up Nanny Frances today before we went to the grocery store so she could help out with the kids. I really think Liam is starting to warm up to her. He let her push the cart for a little bit this time, and he ever let her go with him after he got his Buddy Bucks to put in the machine so that he could get some stickers. I think he's really beginning to like her. She even gave him a balloon on the way out of the color of his choice. He really liked that. I think she's slowly beginning to win him over.

April 5, 2011

Tuesday:

Both the kids are a little under the weather today. It may have been all the playing around yesterday in a new environment, the lack of sleep they had from the day before, or just allergies. Who knows. But it's proved to be a trying day in the morning. When nap came around, he was very cooperative, and then after nap, I ran to the store to get some fabric to make curtains for Annabelle's room. After I got home, Violet came over to play while her mommy and daddy went out to dinner. Liam was very excited about his playmate's visit. When they knocked on the door, I said, "Who's knocking on that door?" Liam goes, "Violet knocking on that door!". Sure enough, she was! They played with playdoh, a puzzle, bubbles, colored, and both loved to watch me mash avocados for guacamole for dinner. It's so cute how they talk to each other. They have their own conversations now, and talk back and forth. They share very well, and are always so sweet to each other. I'm so glad Liam has little friends to play with.

April 4, 2011

Monday:

We went to Locomotion Inflatable Play Land. We met up with another mama there who has two boys (five and three) and one girl (two, Liam's age.) Liam had to get a little warmed up to them before he decided to play. He played with car, and they had a ball pit there where the boys were playing in, and Liam would throw the balls back in the pit that they threw out. Liam had so much fun running back and forth, and yelling, and laughing and carrying on. I think we've found a venue for his third birthday party. They have an area there for two's and under, where the bigger kids aren't as intimidating. While me and the other mama sat and gabbed, Liam played in there a lot and with the surrounding trucks and other various toys. I wish I would have taken the camera to take pictures.

Since we were out, we skipped nap, which proved to be a very very bad idea. From about 5:00pm on everything was a yell fest. He wanted to eat, he didn't want to eat, he wanted to blow bubbles, he wanted mom to blow bubbles, he wanted mom to dip the bubble wand and then he blow the bubbles. Each step of the way was just emotionally trying for everyone. Finally, we decided to do bed time a little early. At 7:15pm, we started the process of bedtime. I don't know if anyone in the house could take much more, including Liam, he was pooped beyond measure. Lesson learned, nap is still a nonnegotiable.

April 3, 2011

Sunday:

Church was today and Liam for whatever reason was not big on going to his class. I think he forgot how cool it was. On the way he threw a fit, and when I went to check on him midway through the service, he was still attached to Mrs. Jeniffer's hip. But, when we went to get him out of the class after service, he didn't want to leave. I told him we would be back again. I'm so glad we have such an understanding teacher.

After we got home, we napped, and just before bed we took pictures of the baby wraps that we bought. Liam wasn't interested in being in the pictures, but more so in getting his Sponge Bob camera and standing besides dad and 'taking pictures with Dad' as Phillip snapped shots of me and Annabelle. It was cute. Like father like son.

April 2, 2011

Saturday:

We had ICAN in the morning, which Liam was a big hit at. There were a lot of other 2 year old kids there, so he had a lot of playmates. After that, we went home to nap, which has started to kinda be a fight. Bed time too, we've had to really get him to focus and listen to us in order for him to cooperate. I think it's just a phase.

After nap, we went out again to run a few errands. I had to go to Hobby Lobby and Phillip had to go to Performance Bike, and luckily the stores were right next to each other. Phillip took Liam, to which I think both the boys are now smitten with that store. Phillip said Liam really like seeing all the bikes. I can only imagine.

April 1, 2011

Friday:

Last night was one of the most trying nights as a parent. First, before bed, Liam threw a fit about putting his pajamas on. He took a bath last night, and after the bath, he always asks for me to wrap the towel around him, and then says "You want show Dada." So he does. Well, tonight, Phillip was out running an errand, and wasn't available for the towel wrapping show. So, this brought on fit number one. I finally negotiated for him to brush his teeth with the plan of PJs following after. This worked, till PJ time came, to where fit two was throw on putting on his under wear. For whatever reason, he's been asking for help for the simplest tasks that he's done a million times. Fit three came when it was time to put on his shirt. Then four, with the pants. Finally he was dressed and Dad was home, who was to 'read story'. I thought we were done till 1am rolled around and he was screaming in his bed. I went in, and he would push me away and just scream. Finally, I got him to calm down by scratching his back. Twenty minutes later, he was at it again with going potty. He went potty, and then went on an hour long scream fest. Very trying for me. I sat with him in his room till he calmed down. He insisted that he sleep on the floor and not his bed. Whatever. I figured if it makes him not cry, let's do it. So I left him on the floor. I went in later after he had been calm for a bit and snuggled him and finally got him to agree that the bed was the best place for sleeping and he snuggled with Dog and Beeboo and all his blankets and went to sleep. This morning, he woke at 7am, which was WAY early for me after a night like that. But all day, he's had an extreme amount of energy, to which I can't for the life of me understand why.

March 31, 2011

Thursday:

This morning, Violet came over to visit while her mommy went to one of her prenatal check ups. They played together, and had lots of fun. I think Violet started to get kinda tired because she got a little cranky, and asked to watch tv and sit with me on the couch. I agreed and loaded the movie "UP" on the computer and we snuggled on the couch. I asked Liam if he wanted to join us, and he said no, he wanted to play outside instead. It's so interesting to me how he has such little interest in TV. Maybe that's because I don't and we rarely have it on? Maybe it's just they way he is. I think it's great either way.

Since we had the bake sale yesterday, we went to the grocery stores today. We picked up Nanny Frances on the way. Liam is still a little unsure about her. She absolutely loves the kids. Liam insisted that I push the cart with him in front, and that I put him in the cart, out of his car seat, and I do the buckling and unbuckling of it all. I think he started to warm up to her a little more when she began a game of peekaboo in the grocery store. Liam would smile and giggle, just a little bit, but not too much as he didn't want us to know that he was enjoying himself I think. I think it will take time, but I'm glad she is familiar with this age and knows they all have their quirks.