Liam started school a few weeks ago, but I still wanted to get some pictures up. Better late then never :)
(Brent has had to take the computer to class and work the last couple of weeks, which made finding an opportunity to blog even harder)
Liam has been excited about starting preschool for months. His excitement started when his great aunt Julie, got him a Lightning McQueen backpack for his birthday. That means he had been raring to go since January.
Sitting on the wall outside of the preschool building.
Father and son <3
The special Lightning McQueen backpack from Julie, hanging off his hook. Liam is "Liam B." because there is another Liam in the class. Here we thought we were being unique with Liam, and it ended up being one of the top 10 most popular names the year he was born.
Class is done, and Liam shows off the bug hat he made in class. He had so much fun!
Liam is still thoroughly enjoying preschool. He has a two hour class twice a week, but would love if he got to go more. The kids play, learn subjects, and also study the Bible. I love reviewing the Bible stories he learned that day at dinner time. It's so special to see him develop a heart for God, and show so much interest.
Henry is as adorable as ever. He runs errands, or sits with me at a local coffee shop after we drop Liam off at Preschool. On the mornings without preschool, I take the boys for a walk. We head to the nearby duck pond, and meet up with another mom and her son. Then it's playtime at the park before heading home for Henry's morning nap.
My adorable teddy bear, ready for our walk.
Liam is a great big brother, and helps wherever he can. He'll help feed Henry, fetch diapers, and play on the floor with him.
Ready to have a little tea break with mom.
Wearing the hat great aunt Meleta knit when Liam was a baby.
Here are also a couple videos for your enjoyment. Liam making Henry laugh, and Henry showing off his movement skills.
Last month we spent 10 days in Montana, and had an awesome time with Brent's family. It started with Liam and Henry flying for the first time. Liam was beyond excited because he LOVES airplanes, helicopters, and space shuttles. He tells me everyday how much he LOVES them.
The plane ride was a bit rough for me since I had to manage both boys by myself, but my sister in-law was a big help as I navigated the airports with the kiddos. My nephew was also with her, and provided a playmate for Liam. Both boys enjoyed the experience, and especially liked when my dad stopped at the terminal to wish us farewell. Dad is an airport firefighter, so he drove the truck to our gate and visited for a little bit.
(I flew with the boys because Brent had to stay home for work a couple more days. He drove to Montana later with his brother.)
While in Montana, we attended the Montana Fair. This was Liam's first fair and amusement ride experience. He was very reluctant about getting on the rides at first, but Grandma Diane finally convinced him to ride with her and Cousin Aiden.
Liam LOVES helicopters ;)
Brent and I happy that Liam finally conceded to go on the rides.
Cooling off from the Montana heat.
Henry is already trying to wrestle his big brother ;)
Grandpa Mark, Liam, Grandma Diane, and Henry
Liam, and his cousins, Aiden, and ZJ.
Grandpa Dick, Grandma Patty, and Liam
I love this pic <3
What started as cousins hugging...
...turned into cousins wrestling!
Grandpa Dick pulling his oldest grandsons with the lawn mower. All went well at first, but then I quickly turned off the camera when the wagon tipped over. No one was hurt, but Liam was a bit stunned.
Our best attempt at a family picture. Liam is often a blur ;)
We had a fantastic trip full of family, sun, and tons of food. I gained a good 5 pounds from all my indulgence, but have now managed to work it off now that I'm home.
Things have finally started to slow down, and I'm able to get brief moments at the computer. The first thing I did with my time was make a photo book. I find photo books and this blog are important for creating documentation of our lives for family and friends to view, but also for us as a family to look back and remember.
There are so many pictures I could post from the last 3 months, but the photo book below is a good consolidation of Henry's pictures from in my womb to 3 months old.
Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.
Here too are videos from from the last 3 months.
Pretending to be airplanes at the coast. Liam tells me every day, "Mommy. I love planes!"
Sweet little coos from my little guy. He is only about 5 weeks old here.
Video of Henry at 3 months rolling over and looking at himself in the mirror.
The next blog post will be catch up too with pictures and a video from our Montana trip, but then I'll have everything summarized and ready to be current with Liam's first day of Preschool post. It's hard to believe he starts school in less then a week. My baby boy isn't my baby anymore.
Our son's due date is just 4 days away, and we're anxiously awaiting his arrival. Last night I had contractions for a couple hours. Brent and I showered and were preparing ourselves for the big trip to the hospital, but the contractions stopped. Instead of being an eventful day, we're going about our normal Friday routines. Just with less sleep then usual. Poor Brent didn't fall asleep until around 1am, and then had to be up at 4am to get ready for work. I'm prescribing a long nap for him this afternoon.
This past weekend, my parents had Liam for a couple nights while Brent and I squeezed in a last date weekend before our second son makes his appearance. We celebrated our 7 year anniversary a couple days early, and had dinner at our favorite fondue restaurant. The next day we saw Iron Man 3, and then my mom and Liam came over on Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day.
Monday was the actual date of our anniversary, and we spent it with our little family. Nothing fancy, just an afternoon at the zoo. Liam loved touring the animals, and I was hoping to make some progress toward labor. No luck, but Liam and I keep walking every morning in hopes that we can meet "little brother" soon.
Our first dance. Singing "You and I," by Michael Buble.
I'm hoping my next blog post will hold pictures of our new baby!
Liam took this picture of me. It took him about 50 tries to get one I liked, but he was a good sport :)
Checking out the fountain near the library.
Taking advantage of the sunshine and did an outdoor belly shot.
Liam and Monkey watching Curious George in Mommy and Daddies bed. One of our morning traditions. (This way Mom can snooze for a bit longer ;)
This was our 3rd park visit in one week. Liam calls the sandbox at this nature park the "dessert."
I don't have any pictures from this week, but it's been full of fun too. I'm now 37 and 1/2 weeks, and finding it hard to roll out of bed. Even harder is trying to find cute clothes in my closet that cover my giant belly, but also comfortable enough to wear in the summer weather we've been having. Yesterday, I managed to turn an old hand-me-down pair of maternity jeans into shorts. With only a couple weeks to go, I'm not about to buy warm weather maternity clothes.
We still haven't been able to settle on a name for our baby boy. We're having so much trouble deciding, that Brent and I have both joked that maybe we're actually having a girl ;)
The Easter activities started the weekend before Easter for Liam. It was his very first large group Easter egg hunt. We had brunch with friends at church, then let the kids go.
Lined up, and waiting for the release.
Liam and his friend, Gesse, did a good job waiting for the hunt to begin.
Liam and Daddy surveying the lawn to see if anything was missed.
The hunt is done. Time to go inside and see what's inside his plastic eggs.
We had unseasonably GORGEOUS weather the weekend of Easter. Saturday and Sunday were both sunny and in the low 70s. It's never been that nice for Easter weekend in the Portland area.
Liam and I had a little picnic on Saturday. Daddy was out of town, so we kept busy and enjoyed the sunshine.
Easter Day
Just about 33 weeks pregnant in this picture. It's hard to believe I wore the same dress last Easter . It fit a lot differently then.
Liam wasn't interested in posing with us for a picture.
This was the best picture I could catch of Liam on Easter. Running and energetic as ever. (He's playing Gator Golf , by the way.)
These next pictures are from sweet moments I've caught Liam in since Easter.
Looking at a Thomas the Train Engine book with Daddy.
Liam, Mary Beth, and Logan all crowded around my phone watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The church stage made for a good viewing area :)
I don't have time to write much, but wanted to post a couple belly pictures of me. Tomorrow I'll be 31 weeks. Ach! There's so much to do in the 8-9 weeks I have left. I think I'm going to have to delegate some work. I may be a super mom, but keeping up with a 3 year old, doing all the housework, planning and carrying out the shopping, and running my business doesn't leave much time for this very pregnant lady to rest. All of this is on top of the need to get the nursery and house ready again for a newborn.
Yep. He's coming, and we don't even have a name picked out yet!
Between housework, activities, being a tired pregnant lady with a 3 year old, and my business start up, it's hard to find the time or energy to blog at times. I'll try to get an updated belly picture up soon, but for now I have a couple short videos of Liam.
Liam has really started to enjoy singing. He's often humming along to a song from one of his favorite cartoons, or even making up one of his own. This one is Liam's take on a song from the Lorax.
We got out and enjoyed the sunshine yesterday by walking to the nearby elementary school. Liam played at the park, and best of all, Daddy taught Liam to peddle his bike.
He still has a lot of mechanics to learn, but I wouldn't be surprised if Liam is riding his bike with only the help of training wheels by the end of the summer.
I'm enjoying the work I'm doing with Premier Designs, and am working hard to get a steady stream of home shows going. I'll have to take most of May off, so my hope is to get some good momentum before the baby comes. This should allow me to pick things back up again in June, with the goal of doing 6 shows a month. I've calculated that with the average amount a home show makes, this is how many I need to keep me at home with the kids.
If you'd like to book a show, let me know ;) Otherwise, I can use prayer as I'm still transitioning work into my life again.
One of Liam's favorite gifts from his birthday was a Doggie Doo game he got from his cousin Aiden. Aiden had gotten the same game for Christmas, and Liam was completely enthralled with it after video chatting with his cousin on Christmas day. There was no doubt that Doggie Doo would be a great gift for Liam. Sure, Liam's not so much interested in the game as he is in watching the dog poop yellow stuff, but it's still a fun toy to him.
(Side note: Liam chose his "I Love My Ducks" shirt to wear for his birthday, because he wanted to look like Daddy <3)
By the end of Liam's birthday, he was pretty worn out. We went to Max's Fanno Creek Brew Pub for dinner, and it took awhile for Liam to get into the spirit of celebrating his birthday with family. After some prodding from Cousin Lucas, Liam ran around and played in the kids area.
After dinner we brought out Liam's cake, and sang Happy Birthday to our big boy!
Liam enthusiastically blew out his candles and I served him up a piece of cake. Unfortunately, the poor kid's tummy hurt and Liam wasn't feeling well enough to have a slice. He just wanted to snuggle on my lap.
It's getting harder and harder to fit Liam on my lap as he gets bigger and so does his baby brother.
In the end, Liam had a fun filled birthday, and loves his presents. Everything from his Mickey Mouse birthday balloon from Yaya that he is still playing with, to Doggie Doo, and the Lightning McQueen backpack Liam got from Aunt Julie and Uncle Jerry. He likes to wear the back pack everywhere, and can't wait for preschool in the Fall.
Liam snapped this picture of me while I baked his birthday cake. Pretty good picture taking skills for a 3 year old ;)
Birthday week is over, and Liam and I are settling into a new routine as I balance time with him, running my business with Premier Designs, running errands, and trying to stay up on house work. Thankfully, Brent has been a big help. He's often cooking dinner, emptying the dish washer, running small errands during his lunch break, and parenting Liam on his own while I work. I'm so blessed by all my boys, and I can't wait to meet the latest little guy in May.
