Memorial Day Weekend Trip

Happy Memorial Day, everybody-- and happy start of summer! We celebrated the long weekend in Old Town Alexandria, VA, with Nana and Grandpa. With the exception of some weird sleeping (or lack of sleeping) issues, Liam was a lot of fun and we all had a great time.

We arrived on Friday and went straight for the resort pool. It had been almost a year since Liam had been in water deeper than the bathtub, so he was a little freaked out at first. Thanks to some splashing and water-squirting from Grandpa, though, he got over it pretty quickly! He especially liked being thrown in the air by Daddy and Grandpa (this was the closest I could get on film):

On Saturday, Liam and I met up with one of my college friends Melissa and her ridiculously adorable son Henry (7 mos) at the waterfront. Henry is such a happy and easygoing little guy! The last time we were in Alexandria was for Melissa's wedding, so it was great to see them again and meet their new addition.

On Saturday evening, Liam got to play with babysitter Julia (who was wonderful... but Liam was a little traumatized. Stranger anxiety at its worst!) while the rest of us went to see a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion out at Wolf Trap. It was awesome! Us picnicking on the lawn (definitely the best place to see a show):

Garrison Keillor-- who left the stage and joined us on the lawn for a song:

On Sunday, after Liam forgave us for leaving him, we went down to the waterfront to watch the street performers and run around a little:

We also took a water taxi over to the National Harbor. At the dock getting ready to board (Liam was way more interested in a water bottle than the camera):

On the boat with Grandpa and Nana:

Us at National Harbor:

Best part about National Harbor (for Liam, anyway)? The giant "sandbox" at the waterfront! Yesss!

Liam has spent many hours in Miss Doreen's sandbox, so he was totally thrilled with this little beach.

"Ok... how do I high-five this one?!"

After a great weekend, we loaded everything up on the luggage cart (and I mean everything!) and headed back home to Philly.

Busy Busy

Liam continues to be a very busy little boy and is finding new ways every day to learn and explore. Sometimes dangerous... often funny.

In the dangerous category... trying to climb into his highchair. He's very persistent!



In the noisy category... our little drummer boy:



In the funny category... swiffering the floors! Daddy is thrilled-- surely this will translate perfectly into Liam's first chore, right?-- but I just think it's funny. He really likes anything that he sees grown-ups using and quickly assumes they belong to him. Trust me, don't even try to take away his Swiffer or his broom! He walks around and around the downstairs, pushing them-- often with one in each hand.



Liam likes to find where stuff is hidden in little spaces (such as cracks in the sidewalk) and to figure out how things work (guard your phones, remotes, etc.!). On a recent trip to the park, he was way more interested in the little groove between the rubber playground turf and the sidewalk, where he discovered some new pet rocks!



He has also moved beyond that sticky anteater in his rainforest book and now shows us how everything works! Here he is "teaching" Daddy how to make the Elmo door open on his Sesame Street toy:

Liam's 15-month check-up is coming up next week, and then it's off to Washington DC for Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all our family and friends who are moms and moms-to-be, Happy Mother's Day!

Liam had a bit of a rough night's sleep on Friday night thanks to a little bug he came down with (poor guy!). He was all of 2 grapes into his lunch on Saturday, and while I was making him a sandwich, I looked over and there he was, sound asleep:



I tried to wake him, but he was O-U-T.

So after his nap and finally some lunch, we got on the road to York to visit Nana and GG for Mother's Day. We went straight to GG's house and enjoyed some playing and dinner. Liam had a blast getting wheeled around in GG's little cart:




"See GG? This is how you make noise with a spoon!"



It was pretty chilly on Sunday, so we had to move our cook-out indoors. Mommy and Liam (who was taking his time waking up from his nap):



Liam loves the pianos at both his Grandma's and his Nana's house (especially since it's the forbidden fruit at Miss Doreen's!), so he was thrilled to get some time to listen to Nana play-- and even "help" her with a song or two. His favorite tune is definitely the "Happy Birthday" song, which we sang to everyone in the house (although it was no one's actual birthday). Four generations:



Liam has really been amazing us with how much he is growing and learning. He has this great Touch and Feel book about animals in the rainforest, and whenever we read it, I take Liam's finger and put it on each of the different textures so he can feel the different plants, animals, birds, etc. His favorite page has a jaguar, a monkey, and an anteater with a long sticky tongue, and Liam loves it when you put his finger on that sticky paper and slowly pull his finger away (it makes a funny *phlip* sound!). About 2 or 3 weeks ago, we were reading that book, and when we got to the anteater page, he grabbed my hand, pulled out my finger, and stuck it right on the sticky paper and slowly pulled it away just like I always do for him. It was the first time I noticed him showing empathy! Who knew such a little gesture could be so amazing and sweet? Seeing that kind of thing develop in another person is truly the most special privilege of being a parent.

As for the other stuff? Yes, Liam is The Biter at daycare, and he is learning to throw a temper tantrum with the best of 'em (which is a whole other, rather hilarious, story for another time), but I wouldn't trade the experience of watching him become his own little self for anything.

Yep, He's a Boy

Just in case anyone was wondering...



Case in point!

How did this come about?! I was holding Liam, who has been dealing with some annoying seasonal allergies, and he started rubbing his face on my shoulder (I think because his little nose itches so much!). He was doing this for several seconds and must have exhaled at some point while he was buried in my shoulder, because "the noise" ensued. He started giggling, and it all went downhill from there!

Visit to Illinois

We got back on Monday evening from a long (yet too short!) weekend in Illinois, where we got to spend some time with family and friends-- and where we were especially excited to meet some of Liam's brand new friends!

We flew into Midway and said a quick hello to the Blues Brothers...



...before getting on our way to the city to meet little Conor McC! Conor was born March 30 and is the sweet second baby of my good friend and college roomie Becky. Here he is waving hello:



Liam had fun catching up with his buddy Elisa, too!



After lunch and a short visit, it was time to head to Milford. Liam was overall a patient and good little traveler, but he was sure happy to get to Grandma and Papa's house and stretch those legs! "Catch me if you can, Papa!"



"And you too, Surabhi!"
He made a lot of folks chase him throughout the weekend...



On Saturday, Liam got to meet his second new friend, Owen G. Liam and Owen are destined to take after their dads and be long-distance BFFs. They started out great, that is until Mommy held Owen...

Now note that when I held Conor the day before, Liam walked up to me, patted me on the shoulder, and declared "MomMAH". As in, "Listen kid, you're cute. But let me make this clear. This is my Mom."

So when I picked up little Owen, this must have been the last straw. Liam sat in front of us, watching intently... and then slowly (and a little dramatically, might I add) the corners of his mouth started to droop, his chin quivered, and then he just crumbled into tears. As in, "How could you do this to me?! I thought I was your baby!!"

Needless to say, my time holding Owen was a bit short-lived. Once I assured Liam that I was still his mommy and that Owen had his own mommy, he took a little time relaxing (and learning that a Digger indeed digs!) with Owen's grandpa and uncles:



And after that, he realized that Owen wasn't so bad after all. And hey-- I think he likes him! The friendship has been saved!



Us with Bill, Kristin, and Owen:



Back at Grandma and Papa's house, Liam enjoyed some silly time with Dad and cousins Toni and Aidan:



My favorite pic of the weekend (Uncle Andrew always gets the best smiles out of Liam! Reminds me of the first time they met!):



The weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend, so we got to enjoy some good walks and even a fun morning at the grade school playground. Aidan and Liam getting ready to go down the slide:



"I LOVE SWINGS!!"



On Sunday afternoon, we had an awesome visit with many of Liam's extended family. Catching up in the kitchen with Uncle David and Aunt Lyn:



Liam also got to hang out with his fave cousin Drake. Can't believe how much these two have grown!

They had a blast playing peek-a-boo behind the curtain!



Time out for kisses for Toni!



Our last night together (for now!)-- Liam with Papa and Grandma:



What a weekend! Liam catching some Zs on Daddy at the airport:

First Trip to the Zoo

The day after Easter, Mommy had the day off and Uncle Tim and Aunt Jackie were still visiting, so we decided to take a little trip to the...



None of us had ever been there, and we thought it would be a great way to enjoy the gorgeous weather and take Liam somewhere new. It was so much fun! Here's Liam (doing some people-watching) with Aunt Jackie and Uncle Tim at the entrance:



One of our early stops was to the Reptile and Amphibian House, which Liam really liked (mostly because you couldn't bring in a stroller, so he got to do some major toddling!):



"Hey you! Check out that huge turtle!"



Some pics by the big elephant (and although there are many cool animals at the zoo, this was unfortunately the closest thing to a real elephant they have these days...).

After a fun day, Liam helped walk Aunt Jackie and Uncle Tim back to the car:

Back at home, Liam reunited with his little buddy Lilly ("Finally! An animal I'm allowed to play with!"):

We got to dog-sit Lilly for a couple of days this week while Uncle Tim and Aunt Jackie were in NYC. Liam had lots of fun with her (as long as she wasn't nipping at his fingers or feet!) and has been looking for her around the house ever since she left. We had a great visit and hope to get to see them again before Uncle Tim deploys this summer!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everybody! Liam was excited for the Easter Bunny to come to our house this year, and to have Nana, Grandpa, GG, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Jackie join in as well. Here's Liam in his Easter duds heading out for mass in the morning (many thanks to Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim for this adorable outfit!!):



After church, Liam got to meet his new "cousin" Lilly! Lilly is Uncle Tim and Aunt Jackie's Yorkiepoo puppy, and we all instantly fell in love:



We also celebrated Grandpa's birthday on Sunday. Here's Nana and the birthday boy with his cool present:



GG, Aunt Jackie, and Uncle Tim:



Liam loves, loves, loves his popper push toy from Nana and Grandpa! He laughs out loud every time he hears it go *pop*.



Look what the Easter Bunny (and GG) brought me!



Liam opened each of his eggs one-by-one and carefully dumped the contents (cheerios!) onto the carpet. He then kindly shared the empty egg with Aunt Jackie:



Taking a little walk (but more interested in Lilly than Mommy's camera...):



Silly time with Nana:



Liam is slowly learning the "nice" way to play with Lilly... and even though he doesn't quite have the hang of it yet, he at least knows how to give her a kiss!