Berry picking

We took Liam (and Maia) to Johnson's Corner Farm for some Cherry and Strawberry picking. As it happened, Blueberry picking had just started up as well, so we got lucky there.
We rode the wagons out to the fields (Maia slept).



Where we picked cherries.

(Maia continued to sleep)


And then rode on to pick blueberries.




We were a bit too tired (and it was getting late) to do strawberries (at the third stop), but we were all pretty happy with the spoils.


And dude...check out the size of some of these blueberries! Ginormous!

Visit from Granny

My mother-in-law visited this weekend, to see her grandchildren. She hadn't yet seen Maia, but it also had been a while since she had seen Liam.
Here are some pictures of the pair of them hanging out.

Monkey Pajamas!

Check out the pj's that Liam and Mommy are sporting! Matching pair, eh?

Random Liam

Just wanted to share some of the wackiness that is my son. (he takes after his Poppop. Which I guess means that he gets it from me.)

Here he is pretending to be laundry, waiting to be folded.

He actually made me pick him up and take him upstairs to "put him away". *sigh* And then he came back down and wanted me to do it again. Silly boy.

And here he is making a phone call on his "phone". *rolls eyes* At least he didn't ask me to make a call on it as well.


Okay, this one is more cute than wacky, but here he is pretending to be napping with Maia. She never even noticed.

Mother's Day pictures

Here are some pictures of Liam on Mother's Day. A few with Mommy, a few others as well. I thought I had taken more but apparently not.

He helped shuck corn with Aunt Jackie. Although I think after two ears he was done.



Later on, Aunt Michelle needed to give cousin Cole a bath, and Liam REALLY wanted to get in with him. So we let him. Took a lot of pictures, but he's standing up in many of them and there are certain bits exposed. So these are some of the ones that are less "revealing" but cute.





Pictures with Mommy and little sister Maia. What a family (doh, should have gotten Matt in some of these...sorry).




Liam pretending to be in jail (was supposed to keep Cole contained but Liam liked it more).



Heh, the poor man's version of a playpen. (okay, Cole was being fussy and my sisters were being funny...but Cole absolutely loved it and it kept him calm and contained, so we went with it).

Eight-legged Protector

Big brother Liam has some interesting ideas regarding Maia. Such as, his stuffed spiders are good spiders that protect Maia, and Maia's blanket is actually a spider web made by the "good spider", protecting her from the "bad spider" (which one was good and bad kept changing).




Sleep well, little Maia...protected by your arachnid friends. *smile*

(*SIGH* big brothers....)

Liam and Maia

Liam is definitely happy with his little sister, and is very cute around her. He is smitten with her tiny little feet, for some reason, and loves commenting on them. He helps me try to wake her up for feedings, and talks to her when I am changing her, and even went as far as to shield her eyes from camera flashes when we were trying to take pictures of her (yeah, kind of hard to take pictures of her cute face, but it was a sweet gesture from her protective big brother).

Liam is a Big Brother!

Liam now has a little sister! Maia Elizabeth! And he seems really thrilled with her. I am really behind on things so I don't really have time to post much, so I will have to come back and post more. But he has kissed her on the head and gotten giggly and cute with how little her feet and such are, and asked questions about why her feet has white stuff on it (she's dry, needs lotion), and what the icky thing on her belly button is (the cord stump).

Here is a picture of them together.

"Come out, Baby! It's safe here!"

This is one of the many things that Liam has said to the baby in my belly, in helping to try to get the baby to come out. I've been telling him we need to convince the baby to come out, and he's been doing a good job.



He's told the baby it's nice and cozy out here. That it's fun out here. That we are really nice and want to see the baby. To come sit in mommy's lap, or snuggle with us.



When I have picked the baby up from Daycare, he has told the baby to come out, that his playschool is nice, and that there is a baby room for the baby to go into. He has made room next to his seat on chairs and couches, saying that the baby can come out and sit next to him, that he has made a spot for him/her.



He has asked about the baby at times, wondering what it's doing or how it will come out, and he has told me that "it's okay, it won't really hurt to come out, I'll ask the baby to be careful". He sometimes tries to tickle the baby's feet.



He's remembering that the boy's name is Oliver, but still doesn't really remember Maia (maya). But he does go between saying it's a sister and a brother. And most adorable is when he comes over and just randomly gives my belly a kiss.



I am looking forward to the dynamic that Liam has with his new sibling. I am sure there will be some tough times, especially in the beginning when he realizes that the new baby is not all fun and games and is here to stay. But I feel so much better seeing the interest he has. And how sweet he is about it. And with me...he's shown an interest in taking care of me. I love him!

ARRRGGHHHHH!!

(Captain of his ship)


(holding onto the "mast" of his ship, while standing on the "crow's nest") (he's a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, and he loves the opening scene with Jack Sparrow on his little boat/ship)

Pirate Party

Running short on time, so it will be a quick post. Just wanted to share some pictures from Liam's Pirate Birthday Party (Arrrrr!). It was rather hectic, with all the people there (30+ people!) so I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I had planned. I will have to get some more from my mom and sisters, and maybe actually get around to updating Liam's main picture site with them. (yeah, I know, I am almost a year behind on that now...doh).

Pirate games were played. I completely didn't take a picture of the "Pin The Patch On The Pirate" game, but Matt had drawn a large pirate on a cardboard background, and all the kids had black paper eye patches to try to stick over the pirate's eye. They were all blind-folded, which Liam didn't like and promptly took off so that he could place his eye patch appropriately...which apparently WASN'T over the pirate's eye but over his chest. *sigh* I won't claim Liam as my child for THAT one (usually you do BETTER when you cheat). Alia won that one, followed by Connor.

Second we had "Feed The Shark", a beanbag toss game. I DO have pictures from that one.




We kind of forgot to keep track for this one...it was so much fun that the kids just kept tossing over and over again. I think Connor and Alia again had more (those kids must get a lot of party-game practice in), but no one really cared.

And finally, we had "Dig For Buried Treasure". I didn't take pictures of any of the kids actually digging for the treasure, as I was helping to take the "treasure" as the kids found it to give them a better chance...but here is the bowl they were digging through.



Buried in the "sand" (uncooked rice) was "treasure" (individually wrapped life savers). Each of the kids was blind-folded and had 30 seconds to dig their hands through it and feel for the treasure, and I would take it from them to let them continue digging faster. I think Xander won this one, finding 9 or so. Liam...well, let's just say this wasn't his game...Grandmom helped him find the ones he managed to get. Eh...guess he just isn't a party-game player just yet. At least, he has no real interest in them. But everyone else certainly had fun.

Okay, onward to the cake. A cake befitting a pirate captain celebrating his birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIAM!


THAR HE BLOWS!



Some of Captain Liam's booty!




All in all, in was a good pirate party, and Liam was very happy. I love you, Liam. Happy Birthday!

Four

Today is a very special day. It's March 10th.

Four years ago today, my son was born, and I became a mother. It seems an eternity ago, so much has happened with him. He's grown up so quick, and so big. No longer a little baby or even toddler, but a little boy. And it seems like he won't be little for much longer. The things he says, the things he remembers, the concepts he grasps, the imagination he has...it's all so amazing. It just blows my mind. I am so proud of him.

This...



...is now this...



(sorry for poor quality, will upload better one when I can get one)


I could go on and on about him, but where do I stop? There is just so much to tell about him, so much to share. I suddenly am overwhelmed with how much there is to share. His love of pirates and everything Pirates of the Caribbean. His love of firetrucks and rescue vehicles. The way he smiles. His hugs, and his kisses. His reasoning, and lack thereof. The way he snores softly when asleep. How he dresses and undresses himself, and even how he uses the potty like a big boy. His imagination, his point of view, and his memory of things. All unbelieveable. Completely...

Fire and Ice

This past weekend we took Liam to the annual Fire and Ice Festival, where he had a blast looking at, and riding, fire trucks and police cars...and going into an old fire station...and so much more.

I already posted about it on my main blog, so instead of trying to recreate that post, with all it's pictures, instead I will just include a link to that particular post. Check it out.

http://seagoatsunravelings.blogspot.com/2011/01/fire-and-ice.html

What can I say about Liam?

Every day Liam amazes me, and fills my life with joy, and I feel like I should be able to write tons and tons of stuff on my blog. But when I try to think of what to post about, I have trouble coming up with things to write. Not because there isn't really anything...but because there is so much that is all little stuff that I don't know how I should be picking and choosing...it all seems so random. The little stuff is definitely what matters, and what is important. But it seems odd to put out a post that describes Liam's random comment during a meal, or the way his hair stuck up when he got up this morning (just out on the sides, like wings), or the way he gets a wry look on his face at times that makes him seem so much older than his just-under-four-years self. I wonder if people care to read that stuff...while it's noteworthy to me, does it fall into that category for others (not that anyone probably reads this much, heh...still...I am making a point here)? Do people want to hear that Liam's new favorite movie is "Despicable Me" but that he calls it "Dupickled Smee"? And that he quotes it, and acts out parts of it? I think it cute every time he does, but it loses impact when just written and maybe doesn't make for good posting material.

So...if you don't see me posting about Liam for chunks at a time...don't assume that there is nothing going on in his life. It's that there is always something, but it's something little...every single day. And it's really hard to post about that, without boring the tears out of people (at least, I think it is).