dog gone hot

Splish

splash

time out

Now that Liam is a little bit older and more daring, we have been using time outs with him. We try to use all the techniques that Jo Frost has taught us...however I am not sure she has taught me what to do when...

Liam has a small slide in the back yard that he loves to slide on. Today he decided that he was going to stand on the top of the slide and dance. Cute? sure.Safe? Not so much. So he gets his choices, make a good choice (sit down) or time out. I start to count- if I get to 3 and he still has not made a good choice, then it is time out.

Me: 1
Liam: tuuuuuuuu, smiles & laughs

Time out did not work so well that time around!

parade

On Saturday Rensselaer hosted it's annual Memorial Day Parade. It was the first for us to attend and we were excited about seeing Liam's reaction to the parade. Well first off...it was boiling out. Hot, sweaty, sunny and me do not mix. Fortunately we found a shaded spot to sit in. Secondly, there was this family that came along, also trying to squeeze in our shaded area. There was a little girl with the family, 5 at most, who came right up to us & started talking. You could tell the rest of the people she was with really didn't mind her annoying talking to us, because she wasn't bothering them. Long story short, she showed Andrew her boots, which she described to him as "stripper boots". OMG.  3. The parade was major lame. There wasn't even one person riding a horse. Liam wasn't all that thrilled with the parade, can't say I blame him. But he can thank the City of Rensselaer for giving him his first lollipop. The kid is quick. He was holding it in his hand and the next thing I knew he removed the wrapper and was trying to figure out how to eat it.

The poor kid was covered in spf

My face is almost as red as the wagon.

Liam and Andrew

The only cool part of the parade

Waving the flag

Enjoying the mystery flavor

flash friday

Three day weekend filled with: painting the garage(weather pending), Only 8 Frozen Yogurt (chocolate coconut), Memorial Day Parade ( a Rensselaer tradition) and maybe grilling some fish (trying new foods).

Here is a little peek into what Liam is up to these days. 1. His hair is beyond wild in this 2. He really likes ducks 3. He may or may not have thrown up in his mouth at the end of this.

up & at 'em

So for the longest time I have vowed on January 1 to lose weight, become more active & healthier. This year I vowed it again and had a really good start to meeting my goals. I was running just about everyday, watching what I was putting into my mouth and trying really hard. I dropped a size in about a month and was feeling good...until I got sick. That nasty stomach bug that plagued this house numerous times this winter. Then after I was feeling better I got lazy and formed a serious addiction to pop corn. And that brings me to about three weeks ago when I decided I was ready for that change again. So I decided to get a little help and try out a diet system (name to remain anonymous). I tried it for two weeks and last night called the company to see if I could get a refund. First the food is disgusting. Everything is prepackaged, not refrigerated and filled with preservatives and sodium (not sure how that is suppose to get one healthy). Second the food looks and tastes awful. So bad that I could not even eat it. I guess that is why people lose weight. Finally, I always felt hungry.  Along with this nasty food, I have been running again. My alarm goes off at 4:45am and I am hitting the streets by 5:00am. I know, that sounds awful, but really it is a great way to start the day. It is peaceful that time in the morning- hardly any cars, people or sounds. Just the birds chirping and me breathing. It really is a nice way to wake up. Then I feel good & awake for the rest of the day.

I am hoping that with running and making good choices to fuel my body, I will notice some differences again. I even threw out my scale (who am I fooling, I am sure I will break down and buy another one). So here I go, again vowing to lose that weight, become more active and healthier. It needs to be a life change, not just a change for a couple of month.

check up

Liam has his 18th month check up on Tuesday. He is all a whopping 24lbs and 31 inches long. No shots and he doesn't need to return until he is 2 (sigh). He impressed his pediatrician with how much he engaged in "conversation" (blah, blah, blah, dog, blah, blah, blah, wat dat, blah, blah, blah) and that he knew where his ears are. I was pretty impressed with how well he did, too. When we were getting ready to head out of the exam room we heard a baby crying and screaming. Liam looks and says "baby?" to which I reply, "yes, Liam that is a baby crying". Then Liam looks at me and pretends to cry and then laughs. What a little stinker!

long island

Andrew and I headed out to Long Island on Friday to celebrate a friend's marriage. My mom and dad came down to stay with Liam & Olive. They were very excited to be spending the weekend with Liam & O. 

It was a nice little get away for just the two of us. We got to see friends from "back in the day" and catch up with them. Some have changed, gotten married, matured and others are getting there. We also got to meet the bride to be and catch up with the groom. It was a beautiful wedding, we ate way too much and laughed a lot. We wish Mitch & Christine many years of love!

my handsome date

us

Mitch with his parents

Christine & Mitch

Mitch, you have a little something on your nose

us & Brad

sinner

18 months

Dear Liam,

Happy 18th Month! I feel like you just turned one and here we are, half way to turning two. I suppose now when I am asked how old you are, I should say that you are one year and a half old, rather than saying 18 months. I have gone from describing your age from weeks to months and now years.


Your smile is filling in with teeth. Your hair continues to be curly. Your dad and I are constantly thinking about having it cut, but then we realize how adorable you are with those curls. You give lots of hugs and pats on the back. You have your own little language that your dad and I understand. One of my favorites is one you say "who dat?"( I think you are secretly a Saints fan).You think that running after Olive is the funniest thing ever. You are obsessed with Elmo. You love to dance and sing along with Elmo. You enjoy riding in your wagon and being outdoors. You share and are kind to your friends at daycare. You love it when I do "little piggies". You are so ticklish (this you get from your dad). You love to eat tomatoes. You love fizzy water.  You love having books read to you. You love to read books yourself. You think saying moo moo is funny. I can't wait to see how much you change in the next six months...

You are an adorable little boy, who is the apple of my eye. Your dad and I went to a wedding over the weekend and we talked about how someday we may be celebrating at your wedding. I wonder if we will do the traditional mother/son dance, I wonder who you will marry, or even if you will choose to get married.  I hope your dad and I give can give you an idea of  what a happy, healthy, respectful, loving idea of what a marriage really can be. As always, we will be happy with whatever choices you make in life, as long as those choices make you happy.  I know right now your choices consist of choosing which fruit to eat or which toy to bring with you outside...but as you get older those choices will become more difficult. It always seems like the most important choices are usually the most difficult.

Happy 18th Month, Liam! You continue to amaze me on a daily basis. Thank you for making me such a happy mama.

I love you (to the moon & back)!

Always,
Mama.

flash friday

Happy Friday. Here are a few random pictures from our life right now. We found a great day care for Liam, however there is a wait list...so now we wait. Andrew completed his first 5k last night. I am extremely proud of him. The shitter kicker is that he did great, felt great...that was until he rolled his ankle coming out of the porta-john after completing the race. But really, he did great and I am so proud of him!

Over 9,000 race participants

Waiting for his dad to cross the finish line

Liam carries this around the house and thinks it is the funniest thing, ever. (It is Olive's crush)

The book that gets read on a daily basis at least 15 times

The diva

"mo"

Sweet New Kicks....Mo Power!

buds

Really, how cute are these guys? I know, I might be a tiny bit biased, but seriously...

flash friday

We ended our week with learning that Liam's daycare is closing as of June 30th. We are very disappointed and saddened by this news. So once again we are on the hunt for another daycare. We have about six weeks to figure this all out. But in the meantime here are some silly post dinner photos...6 teeth in total, more popping up through the bottom and  top molars have made their presence known. Liam's new favorite food...tomatoes...he can't get enough!

mother's day

My day started out with Liam bringing me one of his love notes. There were a few hidden notes around the house that shared some of his favorites things about me...eventually all were found and we headed out to breakfast. After breakfast we ventured to the Albany Tulip Fest. The weather was beautiful and it ended up being a fun afternoon.

hot shot

Liam and Billy

smooches

tulips

mama and Liam

us

giggles

fried dough