Life with Little Piggies

Liam's 2nd Birthday

2009-06-11T07:29:42Z

I just can't believe he is already 2 years old!! No one told me how hard it would be to watch him grow up. I only have 16 years left before he leaves the nest:( !! That's going go by like in the next week!! He is just so amazing. We are soooo blessed to have him in our lives, I just can't bear to think of him growing up and leaving us! However, I probably won't be saying that if he's like 30 and still sleeping in his boyhood bedroom. I guess that would be pretty pethetic and mean we had really screwed him up somehow.

So he had his party at the Dinosaur Park just up the street from us. He loved it. He loves being around a lot of people that he knows and loves. All of his best friends came as well as family members. He was sooo excited to see everyone. He talked about it for a good 2 weeks afterwards and now loves singing happy birthday to people.

In Search of Nemo.

2009-03-26T04:28:53Z

Okay, well, we never found Nemo, but Liam's first trip to Sea World was not only fun, but it was a perfectly beautiful Southern California spring day. We went with my good friend Elisabeta and her son Romeo. Liam loved it all, but particularly the walrus, the penguins and the sharks. We also visited the dolphin show, the beluga whales, the polar bear, fed the sea lions, and fed and petted the mantarays. Liam wasn't too sure about petting the mantarays. He did it once and decided he didn't want to again. Not sure if he thought they were ugly, slimy or both. We're definitely looking forward to going again soon since we got the season pass:)

What?! It snowed in Southern California?!!

2009-03-23T05:51:34Z

Well...not exactly. They made three snow slopes at one of the nearby parks with snow machines. It was actually a beautiful sunny day and Liam's first experiance in the "snow". Daddy and Liam got to go down the slopes a couple of times on sleds. The first time Liam went down, his eyes got as big as golf balls and once they stopped he yelled "more!!" He LOVES trying anything new and really enjoyed just playing in the snow once the event was over. Can't wait to take him on a trip to see the real thing.

Planes, trains and, wait... no... it's just automobiles

2009-03-23T05:21:24Z

Daddy and Liam had a special father/son day together recently (which they actually have every Saturday) at a car show that takes place every Saturday morning near our house.

Liam loves any type of moving vehicle. If it has a motor and goes, he LOVES it! I think this was definatly a perfect way to spend the day with our little monkey. He looks right at home and ready to take off in one.

Thanksgiving & Christmas 2008

2009-01-21T03:55:30Z

Once again it has been too long since my last blog entry. I blame it all on my new Facebook addiction, that my hubby got me started on. I may scrap the blog site and just go to FB alltogether rather than keep up two separate sites We'll see. In any case...here is what we were up to during the holidays. We had an awesome Thanksgiving with Jeff's family is Surprise, AZ. His mom, dad, sister's Shauna and Noelle and their families all came. Liam had a great time with his 5 cousins and spent a lot of time with his 2 1/2 yr. old cousin Hudson who got a cold while we were there. The day after we got back home, Liam came down with the cold too, but his turned into RSV, which is a respiratory virus that can be very dangerous to babies. His rapid breathing sent us to the emergency room twice in one week. The second time, they decided to admit him for observation and some oxygen/steroid treatments that seemed to do the trick. After 8 days of deep coughing, heavy breathing, congestion, runny nose, high fevers and breathing treatments, he was pretty much done with it. Jeff, however, who came down with it the day after Liam, had it about 2 weeks, then I got it the day after Liam was getting better and had it for about 3 weeks. It was definatly the worst cold that Jeff and I have ever had. About a week before Christmas we were both doing much better, though I had a sore throat for a good month. Christmas day was really fun. Liam had such a great time with the family and gifts and even took a 2 1/2 hour nap at grandmas while me, my sister Julie, my neice Kira and my mom all played the Wii American Idol karoke. It was a blast. The boys played some other computer games. Too much fun. I want a Wii now too:) We finally got to Disneyland to see the holiday lights and decor on January 4th which was awesome, but probably the busiest day I have ever seen at D-land, but once we got in, we all had a great time. Here are some of my favorite pics from the last 2 months of 08.

Sensory Experiment

2008-11-07T04:30:19Z

Today Liam performed his first sensory project with cornstarch and water and passed with flying colors as you can see. I love his lack of timidity in trying new things. Mom and Dad are so proud.

October Recap

2008-11-06T06:52:40Z

This has been a rather busy month and I have fallen behind once again on my blogging. so I have decided to just do a quick recap of our October events.

Outing to Pumpkin City with our friends and my niece and nephew.

2 trips to Tenaka Farms with Grandma and Grandpa Lautsch and Grandma and Grandpa Smith

Halloween weekend was spent in Santa Barbara. Liam was a the cutest monkey ever.

While we were there, the day after Halloween, I ran my fourth 1/2 marathon with my good friend and running buddy Michelle.

It was Michelle's first, which was exciting. We had a great run. We stayed together throughout the run and completed it in 2 hrs. 21 min. Our good friends, Leslie, Kevin and their kids, Logan and Madison

were kind enough to allow all of us to stay at their house. You guys are so awesome! Thanks for your always wonderful hospitality. It has also been a busy month with the Heart Gallery since November is National Adoption Month. We've had about 20 events scheduled for October and November. A busy, but really fun month! A great lead in to the holidays.

A Week of "Stay"cation

2008-09-23T05:02:53Z

Well..we did the trendy thing this year and decided that, rather than hit the road with a 1 year old and all the gear that entails, that it might be more relaxing for all involved to do the touristy thing from home base. I mean there are enough venues right here in So Cal to keep the little one, as well as the whole family, entertained. However, we did start this time out with a short but exciting weekend excursion to Big Bear with our good friends Mark & Megan and their little one, Liam's best bud, Brodie. Well, right before we got in the car to head for the hills, Liam started walking!!. Finally at 15 1/2 months he did it!! We were soooo excited!! It made the trip all the more fun seeing as how Brodie, being 8 months older, is already very mobile, so Liam could keep up a bit better that way. To top off the weekend, Megan took a pregnancy test with her and found out that she is pregnant with their second!!! Too awesome!!Thanks so much Mark & Megan for a great weekend!

Next, we decided to purchase annual passes to that venue they call the "happiest place on earth" and what parents often call the most expensive. Nonetheless, it's worth it when you want to take the munchkin's someplace for a couple of hours to keep them entertained and to wear them out;) Liam was even so bold as to where a fun party hat and to place his hand in a viscous dogs mouth!! Fun times!

Next we headed for the San Diego Zoo....the best zoo ever!!. We went with Grandma and Grandpa Lautsch. I think the grown ups enjoyed the zoo more than Liam. What Liam really enjoys most on his outings is meeting new friends.

He is definitely Mr. Sociable!! I love that about him. Everyone is his friend... especially the laaadies;)

Liam's favorite animal imitation is the gorilla, so he looks right at home in this photo.

We also just had a couple of down days where we didn't do a whole lot of anything except shop and go the beach. We were so sad to see it end. Liam LOVED having Daddy around 24/7 and, of course, so did mommy;) Really fun and relaxing family time together:)

One Sweet Sunday

2008-09-08T05:17:39Z

Today was very full. Me, Jeff, my friend Michelle, and Liam (cruising in the baby jogger) began the day with a 7 mile run. After that, we headed to church and then finished the day with a trip over to my mom's house for a family get together for my sister Julie's big send off before leaving for her 2 month European excursion to France, England, Scottland and Eastern Europe.

Before leaving Grandma's house, however, Liam couldn't resist hopping on Uncle Ian's motorcycle. (Liam LOVES motorcycles) Can you say BBBBBad to the Bone???

Tidbits

2008-09-03T05:02:31Z

There are a couple of things that Liam is really into right now besides eating. He loves brushing his teeth and cries when I try to take his toothbrush away when he's done. He also loves his little red buggy. Dad had the honors tonight of driving with Liam to the mailbox.

Santa Barbara Triathalon Weekend

2008-08-28T03:22:54Z

We spent last weekend with our good friends, Kevin & Leslie and their 2 munchkins, Login & Madison. Jeff did the full SB Tri on Saturday, while Leslie did her first ever sprint tri (the short version)that took place on Sunday.

They both did great and Jeff made a PR time for himself. I spent Saturday at their house with Liam trying to get him comfortable with sleeping in his new environment. He had a rough first night, though he did have a great time with Madison and Logan.

I didn't make it to Jeff's tri, but I did make it to Leslies. Liam was a trooper and slept a short nap in his stroller and waited until our drive home to take a 2 hour nap. It was fun but went by way too fast. But never too fast that we couldn't stop to smell the roses.

Thanks to Leslie and Kevin for always welcoming us and to Madison for always allowing us to crash in your room and for being such a great baby sitter. You guys are the best.

Bathtime with Daddy

2008-08-22T03:52:38Z

My little angel is too cute at bath time. He LOVES water...he loves to drink it, bathe in it and swim in it, so he's always particularly joyful during this special time with daddy, as daddy always has bath duty...Dad's choice:). Yes, I also have the best hubby on the planet too!! I am one lucky lady:)

Giro Giro Tondo

2008-08-21T04:44:56Z

Our Italian friend Elizabeta taught Jeff the Italian version of Ring Around the Rosey. Liam LOVES it!! Took this fun pic tonight.

My little two fisted drinker??

2008-08-19T04:26:50Z

Okay. I know. I'm the worst mom in the world for not having blogged in such a long time, so I am finally going to alleviate some guilt by posting some adorable photos I recently took of my little angel. Yes. He is still a little angel. I am hoping that he will pass the terrible 2 phase altogether, but we will joyfully accept whatever comes our way. I am a actually a bit worried that he may pass up the walking phase. He's almost 15 months and still not walking on his own, but I think we are making some progress. Hopefully by the end of the month? (or year???) Liam is truly our greatest blessing and is officially the sweetest, cutest and funniest baby on the planet!! (No mom bias here;) He made me laugh today when he decided one sippy cup was not enough.

Too Cute Not to Post

2008-04-23T05:03:16Z