Springtime!

I usually associate March with dreary, rainy days that border on snow and spring. This March has been entirely different with several lovely days already. Yesterday was up near 70 and today is not far behind. All my tulips are up and my daffodils have buds, but no blooms yet.

Liam and I spent over two hours outside yesterday alternating between the backyard and our nearby park with friends. Unfortunately, my blog won't post the video I took of Liam playing outside in a bucket of soapy water with measuring cups, but as you can imagine, he loved it and was completely soaked from head to toe by the end. He loves water and bubbles. To dry off, we loaded up in the stroller and he dried in the sun at the park.

This was before the soapy water...still dry!

The soccer ball is also lots of fun in the backyard

Today I dressed him in a new t-shirt (currently the only one he owns that fits! Shopping anyone?) he just got from Boppy and Mimi that makes me laugh. They got it in Florida and it has a picture of a lobster saying, "I get snappy without my nappy." This shirt was printed with Liam in mind. Something about him wearing a t-shirt makes him look so much older! Maybe because for the first time in months I've seen his arms while he's wearing clothes?

Sporting his new t-shirt and bubbles that he already dumped out

Running, running!

Whatever the reason, I'm really looking forward to more t-shirt weather, especially with an older boy. I think we're going to have a blast this spring and summer being outside, playing and playing and playing.

Liam's 1st Haircut

How does time pass so quickly? Not only has it been weeks since I blogged last, but it seems like only yesterday that Liam was sporting a dark baby cap of hair. Now, he's almost 17 months(!) and sporting a new big boy haircut.

Yes, it was finally time to cut off the darling baby curls at the nape of his neck and grow him up a little bit. We found a nice salon in town that gives free first haircuts to babies under two. Nice business move for them because I think I might be switching salons for my own hair...

Believe me, my heart melted a bit when Liam walked up to the chair at the salon and the hairdresser put the little cape on him. He's not my baby anymore! He did pretty well during the cut, mostly because we kept giving him cookies. Treats are crucial for times like this. The main problem was he kept getting distracted by everything around him and jerking his head right when the hairdresser was about to make a cut. She did a good job overall though in getting quick cuts in and not getting the scissors too close to his head.

I definitely think he looks more grownup and less like a baby and more like a little boy, which he is of course. He also looks much cleaner and not like he's growing a mullet anymore.

Before picture -- shaggy baby!

Getting started

Asking for more cookies of course

Working on the back

Almost finished!

New big boy haircut from the back

And with papa again at home

Yogurt Face

We're working on teaching Liam to use a spoon when he eats and the results are turning out quite funny. Since he loves any kind of digger, tractor, bulldozer, etc., I started by showing him how to use the spoon to "scoop" like a digger does. He caught on pretty quickly and has since enjoyed giving himself a daily bath in yogurt. The trickiest part for him is keeping the spoon right side up as he has a tendency to turn it over when it's heading toward his mouth resulting in the yogurt ending up in his bib or on him somewhere. Runny applesauce was even worse! I don't mind the mess as I think it's helpful to his learning and he's not purposefully being messy. However, I'm not sure we're quite ready to try oatmeal with milk...

Here's some proof of the "learning process":

7x7

Apparently there are actually people out there reading this blog - thanks! Two friends nominated me for this blog award/challenge, so I thought I'd take some time to respond. I do enjoy reading the blogs of people I know (and some people I don't know), especially friends who are far away.

1. Thank the person (people) who nominated you. Erica and Chrissie, thanks! I know both of these girls from my Taylor days -- yay English Hall -- but now we all live far apart. It is so fun to read both of your blogs and see your sweet babies. I always appreciate your honesty and joy you have about motherhood, being a wife, daughter, etc. I definitely think we should have a visit sometime I am in Pennsylvania!

2. Share Seven Things About Yourself.

Oh my. This takes me back to the early days of email when those emails would go around asking random, time-wasting questions. What is the last thing you said? What did you eat for lunch? And then we'd forward them onto our friends. Why? I have no idea. You know you were there too. Ok, here goes...

1. I eat oatmeal with blueberries, cinnamon and brown sugar every morning. Seriously, if I don't eat this I get hungry pretty quick.

2. I crave salty food over sweets. I would much rather have french fries or Doritos over cookies, etc.

3. I'm usually reading at least three different books at the same time.

4. If I could have one wish granted, I would wish that I would wake up every morning already showered, makeup on, dressed and ready to go.

5. I process things best by writing them down.

6. I am by nature an introvert. This doesn't mean I'm shy or anti-social, it just means I don't get energy from being with people. I like to have my own time to recharge and have one-on-one friendships more than big groups of friends.

7. I love to cook, but wish I could do it a lot better and be more adventurous in my cooking.

3. Share your favorite blog posts in the following categories:

Most Beautiful: I'm obviously biased, but Liam's birth was the most beautiful thing of my life.

Most Helpful: Ferberization!

Most Popular: Based on comments, the announcement that we were having a baby was the most popular post.

Most Controversial: Ha - my thoughts on Twilight...

Most Surprisingly Successful: How our nursery turned out

Most Underrated: Come on people, this CD is the best!

Most Pride Worthy: Our Christmas crafts this year.

4. Nominate Seven Other Bloggers

You are all amazing and I'm happy to share your blogs! No pressure -- I actually turned Erica down the first time she asked me! It is a fun way to go back through your blog and share some blog love.

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Snowy Ski Weekend

This past weekend we journeyed to western Maryland for a ski weekend with my family at Wisp mountain. We went there two years ago, which happened to be the time we announced to everyone that we were pregnant with Liam, so that was a fun memory to have. This weekend is becoming a tradition for our family and a good way to see everyone at a time we normally would not. It is a far drive for us, eight hours one way, but worth it. Both my brothers and their wives came in, along with my parents and my cousin Kristal and her husband from Washington DC.

We weren't sure what to expect with the weather, but snow moved in Friday night and it ended up snowing all day Saturday and into Sunday. The mountain got about 11 inches of fresh snow which was lovely to ski in, but the day was COLD. With the wind chill it was definitely down in single digits. Thankfully we all had enough warm clothes and ski goggles or it would have been really miserable.

Ben shoveling us out

The whole group minus Rob and Liam

Since I didn't get to ski two years ago, Rob was kind to let me take the first skiing shift while he stayed back at the house with Liam. After lunch I stayed back while Liam napped and then in the late afternoon my mom took a turn and Rob and I got to do one run together. (Which "happened" to be a black diamond Rob thought was a blue square...I only fell once on that hill so I didn't hold it against him.)

It felt great to get back to skiing and I realized I had missed it. We certainly don't do much of that in Indiana! It was also fun to spend time with my family and relax with them. We ended the weekend on a sad note with dad getting the stomach bug and Rob thinking he was getting it so I had to drive most of the way home Sunday. He didn't get it thankfully, but some other family members did and that wasn't pleasant.

I only have a few pictures, but I'm sure Ben and Logan will post some more as they are better about having their cameras with them.

Mom set a pretty Valentine's table for dinner on Saturday

Papa and Liam hanging out with books, a favorite pastime of Liam's.

Ben and Heidi wiped out after skiing.

A Weekend Getaway

Looking forward to this past weekend was like looking forward to Christmas. Our whole family had a rough week last week; Rob working double time on multiple projects, Liam cutting all four incisors on top of a virus, a fever and a sore throat and me simply trying to stay afloat with the free lance work I have, dealing with a sick baby and keeping some semblance of tidiness in our house.

Needless to say, a getaway weekend was just what we needed. We drove to Rob's parent's house in Cincinnati on Friday, got Liam settled and walked out the door. It was actually a very strange thing to leave him overnight, considering I have not been apart from him for more than six hours since he was born (ie. this child rarely took a bottle...). I felt like part of me was missing and in some ways it was. If I consider the time he was inside of me, plus the almost 16 months since he was born, that is just about two years of being intimately connected with another person. I was a little sad to leave him, but I knew he was in good hands with my in-laws and that he would do great. Going away with just Rob is an important investment in our marriage, especially after a week like we had.

I don't have any pictures of our date night, but I can assure you it was wonderful. We had an amazing dinner at a little Italian place, took some cake to go and checked into a hotel room nearby. It was so fun to be at a hotel where we didn't have to set up a pack n play and sit in the dark. We drank wine and caught up on season 2 of Downton Abbey instead. And, best of all, we slept in until the late hour of 8:00. Pretty sure that hasn't happened in awhile. After breakfast at Panera we drove back to my in-laws feeling relaxed and refreshed.

And that was about the time the rest of the weekend went downhill fast. Liam was perfect for his Mimi and Boppy and Aunt Lauren and Aunt Ka-ka (Kayla as Liam calls her) while we were gone, but as soon as we walked in the door he was like a different child. We still had a wedding to go to in the afternoon so in the midst of many tears (Liam's, not mine), we all got dressed and headed downtown for Christine and Cameron's wedding. Christine is Rob's cousin.

The wedding was in this gorgeous old church with huge stained glass windows and high ceilings. We didn't know what to expect because apparently they had to pay extra to get the heat turned on (yes, it was very hard to know how to dress for this one), but it actually wasn't too bad. Cameron and Christine are a neat couple who love the Lord and have a hip, funky style, both of which were reflected in the wedding and reception.

Lauren and Kayla and I keeping our coats on until the church warmed up

The view toward the stage.

And to the back

Cupcakes!

Cameron and Christine saying their vows

Unfortunately we missed most of the ceremony due to a child who would not sit still (even for his first lollipop), didn't want to read books and kept throwing his snack on the floor. We spent a lot of time in the lobby. The ceremony and reception were in the same building which was nice as we were able to get Liam some food and that cheered him up. But we had to leave before dancing because Liam went into full out meltdown mode.

There was definitely lollipop bribery going on during the ceremony.

A little happier after the ceremony when he could actually get down and run around.

Our table, minus mom and dad

We got a little creative with the chair covers and actually tied the ribbon around Liam's waist. It worked great in lieu of a high chair!

A little washed out, but the whole family together.

Through the highs and the lows, it was a good weekend and I was thankful that Liam did well while we were gone and that we could get away in the first place thanks to the generosity of our family. Now we're already off to this next week and Liam did much better today so I was also thankful for that.

Making Granola

A happy, messy granola face

Earlier this week I was faced with an early nap wakeup and a lllooonnnggg afternoon. My solution? Have Liam help me make granola. It surprisingly went very smoothly, minus some oil dumped on my kitchen rug, but the rug needed washed anyway.

I simply put the bowl down on the floor (don't worry, none of the granola we ate actually got on the floor) and had Liam help dump things in the bowl. He also was a champ at helping to stir with a big spoon. The most fun part for any kid is licking the bowl and spoon when everything is over and Liam was no exception. At first he wasn't too sure about touching the squishy granola in the bowl, but once he put the spoon in his mouth and discovered it was sweet, he was all over it. He must have carried the spoon around for half an hour after we were finished.

He wasn't as keen on the finished product -- I let it get a little too crunchy in the oven -- but he then discovered the chocolate chips I added (I know, we're very healthy around here!) and that won him over.

Getting down to the good stuff

"Hey, this stuff is good mama!"

Yum!