Mommy's Birthday Surprise

To celebrate my birthday last weekend, Anthony planned a surprise getaway trip for just the two of us! This was my first time spending the night away from Liam in... well... ever, and I was both nervous and totally excited. Nana and Grandpa came and stayed with Liam for the weekend (which definitely calmed any nerves I had!), and before I left, Liam decided to give me a birthday present: he walked! Now, he had been taking a step or two on his own for the last couple of weeks, but this was the first time he all-out walked halfway across the room. I was too stunned to grab a camera, but I caught a very mini repeat a few minutes later:



As full-time working parents, we'd always hoped we wouldn't miss any firsts, so it meant a lot to us to be there for this!

So after getting over the excitement, we finally headed out for our little trip. Can you tell we're happy to be getting out?!



So where was the mystery destination? Check it out! (Major points for Anthony-- he's the best and the trip was amazing!!)

Liam's 1st (Real) Haircut

Scraggley hair, be gone! As much as I love Liam's locks, it was time to head to a salon and get that mop cleaned up. Here is the "before" pic (sparing you a shot of the mullet-y back):



We decided to go post-nap to a new place at the KoP Mall, Rollercoaster Cuts, as this was the only place in the area we could find that specialized in haircuts for kids. It's run by Six Flags, and there were plenty of distractions for Liam. Except for some mild squirming towards the end, he did great! (And it helped that it was super-fast.) Getting started:



Eyes glued to the flat-screen television showing a silly kid's show:



All done! He wasn't sure what to think... and Mommy and Daddy are definitely still getting used to it. He looks like a totally different kid!



A better "after" shot, while playing on the Mickey Plane:



Liam showing off his new haircut and a mouthful of chompers this morning:

In the mid-50s today... can't wait to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

One Year Old

Happy Birthday, Liam!! Liam turned 1 last Monday, and I just can't believe how short of a time it was that our baby was, well, a baby. This was most definitely the most incredible year for all of us, so there was much to celebrate!

On Saturday, Liam had a few friends over for a little birthday party. Decked out in his b-day hat (but not sure what to make of all the commotion):



Liam's first birthday "cake", which I made him with inspiration from his very favorite book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar; backdrop compliments of little Brigid Sullivan!



Bring on the cake!



Taking every ounce of willpower to not grab that cupcake...



A little video of the destruction that ensued... (that thing was GONE after about a minute!)



Liam opening a present from Aunt Jen:



Since Liam's actual birthday was a Monday and Mommy and Daddy both had to work, Liam got to open some presents first thing in the morning (thanks Grandma and Papa! I think he liked it!!):



Liam posing in his festive t-shirt (pay no attention to the bump on his forehead-- he's got his Mommy's sense of balance):



The birthday celebration continued! Liam opening his present from Aunt Vicki and Uncle Dick:



Liam had his 12-month check-up on Wednesday, and other than his ongoing skin issues, he is a healthy and growing boy! At a little over 26 lbs and 31 inches, he's in 90th percentile (back on the charts!) in both weight and height. We got the green light for cow's milk and all food except nuts... only to discover the hard way that Liam has an allergy to eggs...

PS- ANOTHER snow storm last Friday. Will this winter ever end?! Snowiest winter on record for this area!

Birthday Celebrations in York

Guess who's starting to celebrate his big first birthday...!



We went to York this past weekend for a big triple birthday party! GG's birthday was Saturday, so we joined Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim to surprise her on her special day. It was extra fun because several of Grandpa's cousins were also in town, including Cousin Joanne, whose birthday was Sunday. And since we were all together, we threw in a week-early celebration of Liam's 1st birthday as well!

We had reservations at a hibachi restaurant called Fujihana on Saturday evening, so before we left Liam opened a couple of birthday presents. Thank you to all the Voelkers for their sweet and fun gifts!



We had to wait a little longer than expected at Fujihana, so Liam amused himself by taking "walks" with Great (Great) Aunt Jayne and showing off for the people sitting at the bar...



The wait was definitely worth it! This was without a doubt the most fun Liam (and perhaps his parents as well) had ever had at dinner.



Liam was in full party mode. Want to know what was so funny?



Perhaps it was Jerry getting sake squirt-bottled into his mouth (which was the first but certainly not the last for poor Jerry...)!



Or maybe it was GRANDPA!!



(Sorry Grandpa-- we couldn't resist!)

After dinner, we moved on to cake. Here's GG, Joanne, and Liam (who would rather watch Joanne) blowing out their candles:



Liam got to lick his "1" candle...



... and decided to make a grab for the rest of the cake!



Yup... he liked it!



The next morning, we went to Normandie Ridge for a Valentine's Day brunch, and the party continued. Liam opened his presents from Nana and Grandpa and enjoyed more silliness!



Back at home in KoP, Liam opened his present from Aunt Erin, Uncle Thomas, Sarah, and Pierre, and I'm glad he didn't wait! They got him an awesome Liam-sized sleep sack, and he has been sleeping like a rock star ever since! Thanks guys!!



Big thanks to everyone for such a fun weekend!

Blizzard of '10

Ok, so now we are buried. On Tuesday and Wednesday we got pummeled with another 17" of the white stuff, and this time it was a shoveling nightmare. The snow was so heavy that it was hard to lift, which meant you had to shovel every couple of hours just so it was manageable... but it was coming down so fast that by the time you'd get to the end of the driveway, it looked like you hadn't done anything at all. And by this morning, we were running out of places to put it!

School was cancelled for Mommy and even Daddy's office closed at 11 yesterday, so we were both able to be home. Liam was feeling much better, so he got the green light to go outside and play! Getting geared up in his new snowpants and boots:



Outside on the deck Wednesday morning, before the snow really started to pile up:



Liam made his first snow angel:



Ta daa!!



Then it was time for a little snow snack...



... and a little kiss! And then back inside to get warm!



Villanova was closed again today, so we got another fun day at home together. When Daddy came home, we went back outside to survey the final damage. Liam chilling out (literally):



So much fun!



"Yay for snow! Yay for being too little to shovel!"

Nor'easter

Woke up this morning to a little snow...

All in all we got about 20", so we are pretty much buried!

Liam was itching to play outside (as he spent most of his day staring out and drooling on the windows...), but since he was pretty sick for the past week, no dice. He does at least seem to be starting to feel better after getting a nasty virus followed by double ear infections. We had to call in for reinforcements on Thursday so Mommy could get some things done at work. Thank you, Nana!!

Liam's 1st Haircut

After getting tired of constantly tucking Liam's hair behind his ears, we finally decided a couple of Sundays ago that enough is enough-- it's time for a haircut! I guess it was more like Liam got his "hair cut" rather than that Liam got an actual "haircut", since all I did was trim around his ears. Nonetheless, the result was a lock of hair added to his baby book.

I decided that the best place to do this was the bathtub (which had both pros and cons. Pro: hair is already wet, and you don't get hair all over the place. Con: wet squirmy baby). Here is the "before" pic, which really doesn't do his mop justice. His scraggly hair over the ears was getting out of control.



At least there were lots of distractions...



As soon as I made the first cut, Liam grabbed my comb and squirmed away to get a better look at what I was up to:



Ta da! Squeaky clean and extra handsome for bedtime. Liam posing with his psuedo-hairdresser (who will definitely not be quitting her day job...):

Next up: tackling his growing mullet. I think we'll leave that one to the professionals!