Phil & Amy, Sitting in a Tree

We have had a jam-packed couple of weeks here.  Wedding, cousins, school pictures, storms, drive-in movies, coffee shop, Mamaw & Papaw, birthdays...

Let's start with a wedding.

Last weekend my cousin Phil got married, and Liam, Daddy, Mamaw, Papaw and I all piled in our car and drove north.  This was a very posh wedding, and children were not invited.  Since the wedding was in Naperville and since Great-Grandma Mary and Aunt Celeste and Uncle Roger and cousins Jake and Andy all live in Naperville, Mamaw and Papaw came along to visit with the family and watch Liam while Mommy and Daddy partied.

On arriving in Naperville, we ate lunch with Papaw's family at a DELICIOUS Italian restaurant - Clara's, in Woodridge, where the pasta is made fresh.  I had a bowl of radiatore with vodka cream sauce (vodka creammmmmm...).  It is a good thing it was a ridiculously huge bowl because after he munched on bread, and after he fished all the noodles out of his minestrone, Liam decided to help himself to my pasta!  That kid loves himself some noodles.

We went back to Great-Grandma Mary's to visit with her and Aunt Celeste, then we hurried back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

Then we got lost on the way to the wedding.

But we found our way back, just in time!

Cousin Phil is in the Air Force Reserves and so there were lots of guests and groomsmen in uniform.  Which was very beautiful to see.  The ceremony was pleasant... casual... I think the pastor was a hippy.  Takes all kinds, eh?  And then the honor guard gave new-cousin-Amy a spanking on the way back down the aisle, as a welcome to the Air Force family.

Then it was time to PAR-TAY!

No, wait.  Then it was time to EAT.  And boy, did we eat.  We started with a potato soup, then moved on to salads, then a pineapple sorbet.  To cleanse our palates.  I had to ask the server.  Then I was full, but we moved on to the main course anyway.  Sides of baked sliced potatoes, steamed carrots and asparagus, and chicken piccata AND beef filet.  It was so good, but it was way too much food!  Oh, and don't forget dessert!  Aunt Colleen made the gorgeous cake - red velvet and almond poppyseed - and there was ice cream on the side.  I was about to burst, so I just had a coffee.  I should have had the cake!

And dancing.  Oh, the dancing!  Daddy danced with me all night long!  So wonderful.  A few hours later Amy's mom (who works and McD's) ordered 150 burgers for those people who'd worked up an appetite dancing.  Yeah, right.

We got back to the hotel at midnight, and Liam had just fallen asleep in Mamaw and Papaw's room.  Daddy and I went back to our room and directly passed out.

The next morning we woke up and met all of my family downstairs for breakfast, and we all sat in the lobby and visited.  It was wonderful!  (We sat with Christina, her husband Tony, and their new baby Ethan at the reception - they just moved to Columbus for his job at Cummins.)  We left around noon, stopped at Fair Oaks Farms for lunch, and was home by evening.

It was a whirlwind trip (they always are), but it was well worth the trip.  I can't wait until the next time we all get together!

Grandma J, Liam, me, and Great Grandma Biwer

Ashton, Ethan, Christina, Brittani, and Liam

The Gravity of the Situation

Who has two thumbs and is a slacker?

THIS GIRL!

I feel like I should have updates on the kid.  Or pictures.  Or something.  Let's see what I can think of...

Well, we took the front off his crib, so now he can climb in and out.  Also, roll out during the night.  Ok, so that only happened the first night.  He was more surpised than anything, as I found him on all fours, whimper-crying.   I helped him back into bed, and he directly fell asleep.

The second night, he woke up at 6am.  I woke up to him calling, "Ee!  Ee!  Ee!"  I went to investigate, only to find he was not in his bed!  I found him standing in the hall between the front door and the dining room, in the dark, asking for something to eat.

Then we got a baby gate.

Then we got a baby gate that fit the doorway.

No more rolling out of bed, no more trips down the hall in the dark... I think we've got this down!

And just in case, we piled up some nice soft pillows along the side of his bed.

Of course, now he's figured out that if he calls, "Potty!  Potty!" we will let him out of bed after his is tucked in.  Usually he does actually go potty - it would just be nice if he did it before being put to bed.

Oh well - at least he's smart.

He has a real eye for photography.

So we were lucky enough to have breakfast for dinner tonight.  Mommy and Liam made lemon poppy seed pancakes.  Liam is starting to become a pretty good helper.



 First, you mix it all together.

 Then you stir it.

 And stir it some more.

 MMMMM...those look yummy!

Hi Mommy!

 Liam REALLY liked the strawberry topping Mommy made!

 After dinner, Liam practiced for his future job in Mommy's cafe, and poured us all some coffee.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the photographs that Liam took this afternoon.

 Ha "eye" for photography! Get it?

 Ode to sweatshirt.

 Blue carpet in afternoon light.

 Smelling smelly dog.

 One blue left, one brown right.

 Who needs focus?

Cheese!

That's all the art for now.  Tune in later for more work from a future master.

Climbing the Monkey Bars, Part II

We had two more break-outs today.

Any suggestions for keeping him contained?  We want to keep him in his crib as long as possible.  Or is it just time to try a big kid's bed?

Climbing the Monkey Bars

Liam is sick this week.  Or rather, he has a snotty nose and is generally in a tired and crabby mood.  I put him in his crib this afternoon and he spent a good 20 minutes screaming and crying to be let out.  Ok, so I'm a sucker and let him out.

But only for a little while!

After his break from the pokey it was time to go back and try again.  Sometimes we get lucky and he lies right down.  Not so today.  More crying!  More screaming!  Oh, the humanity!  "Mother, life is so unfaaaaairrr!"

Meanwhile, I retreated down the hall to give him some time to settle down.

And then he settled down.  No more crying.  No more screaming.  "That was fast," I thought to myself.

But wait, what is that noise?  Breathing?  In the hallway?  Did he...?

And then a little head peeked around the corner.  He smiled a sheepish smile as if to say, "Heh.  Hey Mom.  Guess what I just did?"

Yup, our kid monkeyed his way out of his crib.

I took him back down the hall and put him in his bed.  He pointed at his book - I gave it to him.  He pointed at his water - I gave it to him.  He pointed at his babies, his tractor, his blankets - I gave all of these to him (all of which he threw out of his bed 10 minutes earlier, by the way), and he lay down and closed his eyes for a nap.

I shall never understand this child.

I Hope You're Not Allergic to Peanuts...

Although if you weren't before, you may be now:

Well, at least he cleaned his plate...

...with his hair.

Happy Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  Liam went to play school in the afternoon, had a V-Day party with his friends, and came home with a bag of Valentines Day cards and treats.

We looked at the cards again this morning before breakfast.  Liam sorted out and lined up the three Winnie-the-Pooh cards, then pointed out that they all had a Piglet on them.

Then he put a whole package of gummy bears in his mouth at once. It's ok! They were organic! That means they're HEALTHY, right?! No? Oh well. Daddy's not home, so we're going to do whatever we want.

Liam would like you to know he got a "beu monter tuck."

 "Hope you had a MONSTER of a day!"
 *groan*

Happy late Valentine's Day!  Now I'm going to go eat some chocolate as a replacement for my absent husband.  It's not really a fair trade, but we don't have any beef cakes in the house.