Random Liam Updates

It's been awhile since I've done a Liam update post, and he has quite a few new words!  Right now his words consist of:

Dog-dog, Woof, Jake, GG, Mommy, Daddy, More, Uh-Oh, Yum, No, No way, book

He's obsessed with finding pictures of dogs in books, and staring at our neighbor's dog who is frequently in their front yard across the street.

The kid can still eat like nobody's business.  Favorites right now include lasagna:

And quesidillas (which he insists on eating just like the rest of us, and gets mad if you cut them up):

We have to be careful to shut the pantry doors now, because someone has a habit of sneaking in there and stealing food.  See example picture below: he took a cereal bar out of the closet, stealthily took it into the playroom and apparently was planning on consuming it while riding his zebra. 

"You don't see anything....."

He can identify his hands, feet, toes, head, hair and nose.  

You might not be able to tell in the pictures, but his hair is getting much more blonde.  The last time we had him at the doctor, he weighed in at just a little over 25 pounds and he's currently in size 12-18 month clothing. 

He's been fully transitioned into the Toddler 1 room at school, and he's doing quite well!  They do circle time in that room, and they said he loves it.  They tell the kids it's time for circle time, and Liam will literally just throw down whatever he was playing with, run over to his spot, and plop down.  He "sings" along to the songs, claps his hands, and pays attention to story time and the lesson.  Adorable, right?? 

Back in the game!

It seems like we just finished tball, but the fall season has started back up already!  The first game was supposed to be last weekend, but it was rained out; fortunately, the weather cooperated this past Saturday and we had a beautiful day for some t-ball!

Jake woke up on Saturday morning and was not acting like himself.  He was grumpy, didn't want to eat, didn't want to get dressed for tball, etc....finally, I asked him what was bothering him and he said he was nervous for the game!  He was nervous because he didn't practice the night before (it was raining) and nervous because he wouldn't know anyone.  Poor thing.  I told him that he'd know Maddie (a friend from school, and they played on the same team last year) and that he didn't know his team in the spring when they started either, but then they all became friends.  He cheered up a bit, then he was fine once we got there. 

Being silly with Maddie before the game

 I can already tell what is going to be the biggest challenge for me this year: his name starts with an "L", he's cute, weighs about 25 pounds, and is obsessed with doing everything his big brother does.

Poor thing tried to line up with the team and sit down on the bench.  Then he kept trying to break away and go onto the field and get the balls.  He even joined the team for their snack after the game....I've decided he will be the unofficial mascot of the team this year. 

Jake did a great job, despite his fears, and after the game said he had so much fun.  He had a few nice hits, too!!

Getting some instruction from Coach Daddy

Until they protest.

I will continue to dress them in matching/coordinated outfits until they beg me to stop.  I just cannot help myself. 

Funny related story, when we were on vacation, I bathed both boys after we came home from the beach one day, wrapped Jake up in his towel and got Liam dressed first.  We then moved into Jake's room, and I pulled a shirt out of his dresser and he said:

Jake: A-HA! I KNEW it!
Me: Knew what?
Jake: I just knew I was going to be wearing that shirt today!
Me: Oh yeah?  How did you know that?
Jake: Because you always like to dress me and Liam in the same clothes. 

He caught onto my ways!  You can imagine my joy when one day last week, Jake pulled out a tshirt from his dresser then said "Liam has this same shirt, can we wear them together today?"  Oh buddy, you don't have to ask me twice!!

Who needs toys when you have cups?

In a year from now....

It's hard to believe that in a year from now, I'll be sending my baby boy off to kindergarten.  Kindergarten!!  But for now, I can enjoy him having one last year in his preschool program.  While he's technically still in the same class as last year, with a lot of his same friends, he did get a new teacher for this year, and the kids in his smaller group changed.  Jake does not always deal well with change, and there were a few tears on the first official day of preschool last week. 

That first picture kills me!!  Ugh.  It was hard to put on my brave mommy face for him that morning, and try to get him excited about going....when really, all I wanted to do was scoop him up into my lap, tell him he didn't have to go (as he was begging me to stay home with him), that he could stay with me and I'd make it all better.  But of course, that wasn't feasible and he'd have to face his new class eventually anyway.

So we found a good compromise; he would take in a sheet of stickers to pass out to his friends, both old and new.  He would give them to his new friends as a way of introducing himself, and to his old friends, so that they wouldn't forget him (his exact words!).  We were proud of him that he came up with that solution and eventually went into preschool looking forward to the day.

And of course, I was worried for nothing...when I picked him up that day, he ran over with a huge smile on his face and told me he had a great day and learned a lot of new things. 

It's amazing the things you can do as a mom....I'm crying on the inside for him, but all smiles on the outside, assuring him that it's ok to feel nervous, but oh it's going to be so much fun!  (cue my voice shaking as I was telling him this, trying to not cry myself!)  Big hugs all around, walk out the door, get in my car and say a silent prayer that he doesn't spend all day being sad.  Take a deep breath, go to work, and know deep down that you'll be met at the end of the day with a smiling kid....because you know that he IS that kind of kid.  He's the kind of kid who worries about things, worries about other people, doesn't like to have everything change...but he's also the kind of kid who, despite his fears, wants to make the best of a situation.  Who wants to learn, who strives to make other people happy, to make other people proud of him.  And sure enough, when I picked up that smiling kid at the end of the day and told him how proud I was, he was absolutely BEAMING.

Visiting the Martinis!

Last weekend, we took advantage of the holiday on Monday and headed to VA to visit the Martini Family!  It was outrageously hot on Saturday (is it fall yet??) so we loaded up the kids in a wagon and headed to the pool.  The boys had a blast there, and the parents enjoy any activity that aids in wearing them out.

After going home and having them rest up for a bit, we headed back out for a neighborhood party that involved lots of running around and later on, a movie outside!  The boys didn't make it for much of the movie, it was late at that point and they had been out in the heat for most of the afternoon. 

The next day, we headed to the farm for some potato picking.

Potato picking is exhausting.

The little guys had a good time too....they are, of course, being groomed to be BFF's!

Highlight of the weekend for Liam?  Eating cupcakes from Aunt Missa, of course!

Laaaaaaid back.

"Laid back--with my mind on my binky, and my binky on my mind"