Happy 4th Birthday, Liam!

Dear Liam,

4 years and 1 day ago, you were still in my belly as I sat holding your daddy's hand, listening to a doctor explain to us that even though it was over 3 weeks early, having you was the best option at that point.  We were scared and excited, all at the same time.  It turns out, we had nothing to be afraid of, as you came into this world just fine...perfect just the way you were at that moment. We were amazed by how...well, how ready you seemed to be there with us.

Now, here we are, 4 years later, and we are still amazed by you!  You have grown into such a kind and caring child.  You may be stubborn and frustrating at times (as all preschoolers tend to be) but you also have a heart of gold, and would give a hug to everyone you come across if you could.  I often have other moms stop me at preschool to tell me that it makes their day when they drop their own child off in the classroom in the morning, and see you them coming and go running over to pass out hugs (you are an equal opportunist, too, you hug both the kids and the moms!)

You are thriving in school; you can write you name, you know your ABCs, all of your shapes, identify nearly all of the letters, and you can count to 20.  You have one more year of preschool, and I know you will be more than ready for kindergarten when the time comes (even if I'm not!)

You love to play outside, but you also really love art projects and coloring.  Your favorite shows right now are Paw Patrol, anything on Disney Jr, and you love to watch some of your big brother's shows, like Ninjago :)

Speaking of your big brother, the two of you are inseparable sometimes, and even though you may fight and argue at times, you really are the best of friends.

Liam-3 days old, Jake - 3.5 years old

Liam-11 months old, Jake-4 years old

Liam-15 months old, Jake-4 years old

Liam-18 months old, Jake-4 years old

Liam-2 years old, Jake-5 years old

Liam - 2 years old, Jake - 5 years old

Liam- 3 years old, Jake- 6 years old

Liam- 3.5 years old, Jake- almost 7

Liam, it's been so much fun to watch you grow into your own person.....I know 4 is going to be a great year for you, and we are so excited see you grow even more! 

 

just a few hours old :)

6 months old

1 year old

18 months old

2 years old

2.5 years old

3 years old

3.5 years old

allllllllmost 4 years old :)

Happy birthday, Liam Joseph!  We love you very much!! 

Liam's School Progress Report

Every few months, we receive a progress/assessment report from daycare; I enjoy it, because aside from a brief conversation with his teacher at pick up, it's hard to know what he's really doing there and how things are going (have you ever tried to get a full story out of a 3 year old?  Doesn't always work out that well!)  Here is a summary of the recent progress report we received:

Personal and Social Development
Liam has improved greatly since joining the preschool room with demonstrating self confidence.  He responds warmly to the teachers' greetings and exchanges a few words when arriving to the classroom.  He communicates very well with teachers and peers during activity and free play time.  He is able to transition well from one classroom activity to the next, with prompts.  Liam shows a huge interest in learning, and will participate throughout the day in activities and he is eager to respond to questions and give comments.  He is quiet when we ask him to be, though he sometimes needs to be reminded to keep his hands and feet to himself, which is expected at this age. 

He has a great imagination and loves to play with his peers, though he is often content to engage in a solo activity as well.  He often seeks out the company of teachers instead of his peers.

Language and Literacy
Liam speaks clearly and is understood most of the time.  He is able to communicate his concerns with his teachers and peers most of the time, though he does need to be reminded at times to state his feelings toward his peers when someone invades his personal space, rather than using his hands to move them away. 

Mathematical Thinking
Liam is interested in solving basic math problems, such as counting objects and adding small numbers of objects together to get a total. 

Scientific Thinking
We are just beginning to explore different types of science, but Liam has shown a keen interest in this area.  He asks many follow up questions about science lessons throughout the day.

Social Studies
Liam is able to wait his turn during different transitioning times during the day.  He is also capable of raising his hand during group activity times. 

The Arts
Liam shows much interest in this area as well, he enjoys every art project that we work on as well as music time.  We recently had an "American Idol" game, where Liam was willing to sing a song in front of the whole group, something that he has shied away from in the past.

There you have it, all seems well on the preschool front.  And because what's a post without some cute pictures, here are some shots from this week after school....he had been wearing his beanie cap outside and suffered a bit of hat head when we got home:

"Officially" a Preschooler

I say "officially" because while he moved into that room a few months ago, it was right at the start of their summer camp season so he wasn't really fully immersed in the full experience until last week.  But it was finally September, summer camp was over (can I get a "hallelujah" from my fellow parents who were also sick of the summer camp schlepping of stuff??) and Liam was ready to move into the Preschool 1 room....here are some adorable shots of our little guy on his very first day:

 

"Make sure you get one of my Mickey backpack, mommy!"

He's still super into puzzles and his teachers said during free play choice, he will almost always pick puzzles if they're available.  When he's not doing puzzles, he can be found hanging out with his bestie, Maya, playing house together :)  (when I hear things like that, I REALLY wish we had one of those daycares that had videocameras with live feeds in the classrooms...preferably with audio....can you imagine the scene of cuteness that it must be there??)

His teacher told me just the other day that overall, she's been very impressed with how easily he transitioned into the next room, especially given the fact that he was adamantly against making the switch over.  But now that he's adjusted (and is fully potty trained, I might add!), he really seems to like it. 

She also shared with me a really funny story....she said that of all the boys in preschool 1, Liam is probably the most quiet/reserved.  As I said, he tends to stick to quiet things like puzzles and crafts, and doesn't speak up a whole lot in group situations (he gets that from me!)  They have a little "stage" like area (it's just 3 small stairs that lead to a slightly raised area) where the teacher will sit to read books and talk to the kids during circle time.  Sometimes they will let the kids come up and talk about something, or say their ABCs, etc....but Liam always declines going up there.  Then one day, she asked him if he wanted to come up and sing a song or share anything with the class and instead of shyly shaking his head no or turning away, he said "sure" and climbed right up.  Don't you know that kid who hadn't said much of anything all summer in that room got up on the little stage and belted out nearly all of the words to "Let It Go" from Frozen??  The teacher said she was blown away and was mad at herself for not having her phone nearby to record it for me!  I would have loved to have seen it :)

If you have little ones starting out in a new classroom or school, I hope the school year is off to a great start for you, too!!

Potty treats and FroYo

I've said it time and time again on this blog, but it's worth stating again: I am not above bribery.  The best kinds of bribes are the ones that benefit me, like the last one I used to motivate Liam to keep up his good work using the potty....a trip to the new frozen yogurt shop by our house!  GG was visiting for the weekend, so she got to enjoy the special treat, too.  

You would have thought it was Christmas for these kids, their eyes were huge and their smiles were even bigger as they took in all of the toppings at the bar.  

 

 

 

 

 

Deeeeeee-licious.

Liam's 1st trip to the dentist

With age 3 comes many responsibilities....preschool, potty training (still working on that), and the obligation to get your pearly whites examined on a regular basis.  Liam went to the dentist for the first time the other day, and it was a successful trip...no crying, no cavities!  As I expected him to do based on his visits to the pediatrician, he climbed right up in the chair, talked to the hygienist about his favorite things (his friends from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, playing outside, and going swimming) then leaned back for the exam.  All was well! 

Say cheese!!!  See ya in 6 months :)

Oh, I just can't wait to be THREE!!

Liam turned 3 last month, but due to a bunch of other obligations and out of town trips, this was the first weekend we had a chance to actually celebrate.  We haven't started friend parties for him yet, so it was just going to be us and the grandparents over, but that little boy was set on having a Lion King birthday party (although that was a last minute change, he had been asking for Frozen for months)  As timeless as the Lion King is, it's not super popular right now, so I couldn't find any plates or decorations or anything, so I had to improvise with some stuff found on Pinterest. 

the sign says "Remember Who You Are"

I printed off some coloring pages, Liam made a little masterpiece:

And I found him this adorable Lion King shirt clearanced at Children's Place...little guy, big roar!

Nana and PopPop had brought a street hockey set that the boys opened the night before, so there were family games of hockey taking place at the party:

Nana joins the game

Pappy and PopPop get in on the action

Doesn't he look so grown up here??

We decided to make it easy on ourselves and order the always delicious taco party pack from Mad Mex...it was a hit, and it was nice to just be able to sit around and relax with the family instead of manning the grill or preparing sides.

After dinner, it was time for Liam's favorite part of any party...the cupcakes!!

After that, he opened some fantastic gifts (thank you, everyone!)

Happy birthday to our little lion!! :)