my little helper, kind of

 Liam is kind of obsessed with the watering can.  When it's empty he tries to bring in his car with him.  But he gets annoyed because he hasn't figured out a way to get himself and the can in AND close the door.  When the watering can is full he never waters the plants.  He'd rather jump up and down while holding it so that he gets drenched.  Then he wants to be held.  Of course.

 Like all toddlers, Liam loves water.  However, his favorite water toys are the plastic plant separators that come with a plant six-pack.  He won't let me throw them out.

 I never have to worry about the strawberries from our garden going bad because Liam (and sometimes Jeff) eat them right away.

The only time Liam likes to pretend to water the plants is when the watering can is empty.  Maybe it's because he can run all over the yard with it and not worry about it being too heavy.  Who knows.  My little backyard help is always entertaining.

future wino

Liam loves bottles.  I mean like wine and champagne bottles.  When he sees one within his reach (even in the park when the bottles aren't ours) he wants to run over ti it, grab it, and bring it over to give us.  Umm, thanks?

not undeserved

This is what I saw when I got out of the shower today.  Liam had climbed on top of the dining room table...and gotten stuck.  He is a pro at climbing, but the dining table is just a bit taller than everything else he scales and climbs back down.  Just tall enough for him to get stuck.  Ha.  I've got to give him some credit though.  Liam put on a big display (as soon as he noticed me) of pretending he really wanted to be up there, and wasn't in fact very bored and annoyed at being stuck.  He really is my kid.  Wow.

what happened yesterday when Liam was left with family for an hour

"Do I have something on my face?"

totally stuffing his face like he loves it, so therefore must eat it quickly before an adult has the sense to take it away from him.

For a one year old Liam really has a marvelous sense of good taste.  Dark chocolate (see earlier posting) and red vines are my favorites too.

never a dull moment

this is a child... (with unintentional Tintin hair.  Heehee!)

 This is a child on sugar.  (As of today, Liam can pull out a dining room chair, climb onto it, and then climb onto the dining room table.  He did it in just a few seconds while I was stirring dinner!).  He also climbed onto the kitchen counter from the couch (twice!)

 So here's the story.  Liam was sleeping on my lap while Jeff was watering the garden.  I laid him down on the couch, still asleep while I left the room for a minute.  When I came back a minute later Liam had woken up and was sitting on the couch eating a chocolate bar Jeff had left on the cushion.  By the way, it was a 85% dark chocolate bar!  I was laughing so hard it took me a minute to take the chocolate from him!  He did eat about 4 squares though, and was a bit crazy (Jeff called it bi-polar) for a few hours afterwards.

how to tell if your kid is a music lover

Well, the pictures pretty much tell you everything. 

 This Cookie Monster keyboard is one of Liam's favorite toys

Liam totally loves playing the piano.  He started sticking toys between the keys and their cover so he can play with both hands and not have to use one hand to hold up the cover.  What a little smartie pants. 

Also, we watched the newer Footloose movie last night, and Liam seriously boogied throughout the whole thing.  This kid has got some moves!

here it is, a week overdue, Lia,'s 1st birthday party!

I picked a Pixar "Up" theme because Liam loooves balloons, but I wish I had had time to blow up more balloons than we did.  I was so out of time.  Jeff and I were already going crazy when we woke up last Saturday because (mostly Jeff) we worked really hard all the previous week making our house look pretty.  Then I had issues with my cake frosting which made my mom have to run to the store to regrettably buy frosting, and I had to frost the cake very quickly once the party had already started, so it didn't turn out as pretty as hoped, oh well.  Oh, and about half the guests arrived 40 minutes early, while I was still making the food.  And to top it all off, my grandma was taken away to the hospital in an ambulance for dehydration because she has the eating habits of a 2 year old and hadn't eaten or drank anything all day, in addition to wearing sweats in 85 degree weather.  That being said, I love my grandma and was very relieved that she was ok.  Although I was the one calling 911 which shaking and freaking out because she's 86 and she fainted.  You can tell someone is going to be ok though when you tell them an ambulance is coming and they comment they hope the EMTs are young and good looking.  I am kind of pissed that she didn't take care of herself enough to not miss the cake and presents.  The rest of the party went well though, everyone seemed to have a great time, and we ran out of food exactly at the end of the party, which NEVER happens.  As much as I like to entertain, and see Liam have a great day, it is so nice to know that the stress of the party is over, and the house looks pretty.  Yay!
By the way, sorry for all the venting, blogging is free therapy for me.  And please try to ignore the mess in these photos, just remember, people came early.

my little Tigger baby loves the trampoline

sad the balloons tied to the chimney didn't work, but this is more noticeable from the front of the house anyway

Kristin is amazing, she came early and helped sooo much, plus I love catching up

Jeff repainted our previously cream colored door for the party.  Isn't the color pretty?

he also set up our new patio tent the day of the party.  It's nice to finally have some shade in the backyard.

imagine blue frosting instead of white, otherwise perfect.  Skittles are so yummy!

I made cake pops (top right of photo) to look like balloons

Liam thought he was so cool because an ambulance and fire truck came to his birthday!

he ate the whole cupcake (frosting last!) only one year old I've ever seen do that!

best buddies (Liam, Vin and Beau)

my sweet birthday boy!

so much going on (aka a whole slew of pictures) or, why ita pain when my computer doesn't feel like connecting to the internet for a few days

We had such a fun Easter weekend!  Liam made new friends, went on two egg hunts, and played at the playground.  So far, he's not really a fan of play equipment (swings make him cry), but is this not the cutest outfit (and boy) you've ever seen?

Liam seemed to enjoy his first egg hunt, even though he was a bit clueless.  We got some plastic eggs to practice egg hunting with Liam, but Liam hid them before we could practice! 

Liam's famous "scrunchie face".  He does this all the time because he thinks he's funny

love this kiddo!

this kitchen disaster happened in about 2 minutes.  Imagine Liam doing this to the whole house.  That's what my house looks like.  Ugh.

My midget footed kiddo finally fits (close enough) into his cute bear booties.

Liam's favorite book.  A baby animal touch and feel book.

Liam decided that touching the soft bits wasn't enough.  He wanted to lick it.  What a huge goof.

Never allow 18 year olds to hid eggs for a toddler's egg hunt!

examining the goods.  The boys got matching Easter outfits from their Nana.  Aren't they so cute concentrating?

twins are so amusing.  Jeff and Jeremy just happened to keep doing the same poses.  He he!

more twininess

our little family!  (sorry about my boobs, it's hard to find higher cut shirts!)

Liam's favorite DIY fort.  After he takes out all my pot lids and spreads them throughout the house of course.  I found one in my nightstand recently.

I've had wrist pain recently so I went to the doctor today.  Apparently I have tendonitis, so I have to wear the most hideous brace ever for a month.  Ugh.  Anyway, that's what you've missed this last week at our house.  Crazy messy fun.

what is adorable, eats metal, and large amounts of food?yum

I'm getting a bit worried that when Liam is a teenager he will eat me out of house and home.  He's not even one yet and for lunch today he drank 8 ounces of milk and ate a whole banana.  OMG.

Good thing he's cute at least.

fun in the backyard.  This kid loves the outdoors!

a hat for me?

yum.  Metal splatter lid. 

it doesn't get better than this

I love having a trampoline in our yard!

Such a sweet boy.  He even kept his hat on most of the day.  Poor kid has such fine hair I didn't want his scalp to burn.

Liam has midget feet.  I didn't even know Converse came in size 2!  Sad I couldn't get a better picture, but teeny Converse are the cutest!

I can't wait until Liam's birthday party!  We went to his cousin's first birthday party yesterday and Liam really liked the present opening.  Big shock, right?  He wanted to help and then he wanted to play with all the recently unwrapped toys.  I think he was actually a little confused, because his cousin got a set of toy cars that Liam has at home and Liam gave us this look that said, "Um, these are supposed to be in my room.  And why do these have weird packaging on them?  Oh well, I'm just going to barge right in and play with them."  I swear, that is totally what he said.  But to be fair, he did try to share the cars with his cousins.

time flies

I can't believe my little guy is 11 months old today!  Time really does fly.  I love that almost every picture I have of his contains a huge grin, and that he giggles at the drop of a hat.  And, as I write this he is randomly giggling.  Love this kid!