2 years and 8 months old

Not a huge fan of pictures these days...can ya tell?  ;)

Liam, where is the time going????  You are now able to ride your tricycle with some help from mommy and daddy.  You pedal like a champ, but it is a little tough going up hills.

Today, you got a big boy spikey haircut and just look so super cute and OLD!!!!!!!!!!  ;/

You are talking up a storm now.  You LOVE acting like a "daddy" to froggy and baby and telling them what they should NOT be doing.  "No push" is a fave...hmmmm, wonder if you have heard that a FEW times from your mommy???  ;)  You also like to help Rowan a lot.  You get her binkies for her and give her dolly is she is sad.  You also say "no cwy baby, kay"  aka  "do not cry baby, it is ok"  You wake up in the morning and sound like a broken record for a good 2 hours straight...music to mommy's ears though!!  I am so proud of you.

You start school in 1.5 weeks.  Meet the Teacher is September 11th (daddy's bday) and Thursday is your first day.  So excited for you to start.  You are SO much more mature this year and just seem really ready to go to school.

Some of your favorite things include:  tools, baseball, soccer ball, pushing froggy in the stroller or shopping cart, drawing and stickers, and trucks and cars have become popular again.

You LOVE to push your own cart at Market Street and you stay with me very well.  We have had a few miscellaneous items show up at checkout time though.  ;)

You know all of your colors...sometimes get pink and purple and yellow/green confused.  You can count to 5.  You recognize the letters E, T, Z, P, and not totally sure what others.  You are working on learning preposition words  (over, under, behind, next to, etc) and opposites..big/little, open/close, etc.

You loooooove to tell me, or anyone for that matter, when something is yours by saying "mines". ;)

I am so proud of the sweet, sensitive, caring and happy little boy you have become.  I love you with all of my heart buddy!

New Fish, New Car, and Fun at Fire Safety Town

Well, our Altima was totaled.  :(  And Rick's rental was only good through yesterday.  Soooo, we were looking at VW Jettas.  However, I called David McDavid Honda yesterday randomly at naptime and turned out they were running a GREAT special on a 2012 Honda Accord Lease.  We broke even on the altima since we only had it for a year, so we had to start from scratch.  Rick really only uses this car to go to and from work and I drive it sometimes at night if I go out somewhere.  But, that is it!  We wanted something reliable, but with an inexpensive monthly payment.  250 per month with just 250 down.  PERFECT!  Rick picked black with black leather.  So we now have two BLACK cars in TEXAS!  ;)  But we both love it and I am so happy he was able to get something he will enjoy driving....as well as be safe.  Forgot to take a pic, but I am sure everyone has seen a honda accord a bajillion times!  ;)

Over the weekend, we took Liam to pick out a new fish.  He picked out a blue betta and named it Blue Fish--how clever, right?  ;)  He he is swimming around in his new home.

Last Friday night, we met the O'Briens at Fire Safety town and then went to dinner at The Londoner.  It was a really fun night.  Especially for the boys...they LOVED driving the jeeps outside and sitting in the fire engine.
Rick and Ronnie DEFINITELY got quite a workout.  Liam and Z did great hitting the pedals, but had no clue how to steer.  It was hilarious and my stomach hurt from laughing as we watched the hubbys chase them all over the place! 

Think he is having fun?  ;)

Z and Ronnie

Sophie and Rowan

Rick was SPRINTING!  HA!

Such a fun time!

This week is the last week of summer.  I cannot believe it!  We played at Elizabeth's house yesterday morning after I did some Fall clothes shopping at Kohls.  I finished Liam's shopping at Divine Consign on Sunday (and got Halloween costumes--Rowan is going to be a witch ;) and Liam will be a train conductor.  He is so into "choo-choos" right now and I hope that lasts til Halloween!)  This morning we tried to go to the park with Vicki and Z, but Liam was SUPER grumpy and threw wood chips all over a little girls head and in her eyes.  ;/  So we left.  Tomorrow, we are going to the gym then the splash pad.  Thursday, no plans.  Friday, Kristi and Elizabeth are coming to our pool to swim and have lunch.  THEN, Saturday, we begin a 3 day weekend in the house to do some hardcore potty training...more on that to come.

Have a great week everyone!  :-)

A Tribute to Melmo Fish and some more...

Melmo Fish had been a little under the weather for a few weeks now.  He kept jumping out of the water almost like he was gasping for air...I know he is a fish, but I swear he was part amphibian.  We got him some new rocks, a new flower, and gave some extra love. ;) But unfortunately, at dinner on Monday night, we noticed that Melmo was upside down and floating.  :(  Rick flushed him after the kids went to bed and Liam did not notice....until today at breakfast.  He kept saying "Hi Fishy"  "Purple Fishy Bowl"  "Nice Fishy" and then it came..."Where fishy?"  Oh my....I told him fishy was sick for a long time and he had to go bye-bye.  But I went on to tell him we will buy another brother fish soon and he said he could pick any color he wanted...he wants purple, red, blue and green he said.  We will see if we can find that!  ;)  We will miss you Melmo fish...our first real pet.

On a happier note, Liam has been so cute an imaginative lately.  He talks and talks in his bed after we put him into bed at night and the things he comes out with are HILARIOUS!  "No froggy...no push.  Time out froggy.  Be nice"  "Daddy go poo-poo??  Stinky daddy.  Yucky."  HA!  I could go on and on.  He has been seeming SOO old to me lately.  I cannot believe he will be THREE in a few short months!  Here is my little man with my shoes on before bed.  He will forever have a shoe fetish I think...kinda like his mama!  ;)

he is so darn cute!!!!

Shoes, Car accidents, Tricycles, Silly Sleepers-OH MY!

Well I will start with the bad/good news.  Rick was in a car accident.  GREAT news is--it was not his fault and he is just fine other than some minor burns on his arm.  We are still waiting to hear if it was totaled or not, but there is a good chance it is.  We shall see!

So while my poor hubby was having such a rough time, I was at the mall with our munchkins (without a working phone I may add! ;/ ) and trying on some shoes.  We bought Liam a great new pair (55 dollars of great-SHEESH!) for school and Rowan her first pair of shoes!  She is not so sure what to make of them and does these high kick marches whenever she has them on.  Cracks us up that girl!!!

modeling their shoes with daddy.  Rowan is a 3.5 WIDE and Liam is a 9.5 WIDE.  My children both have their daddy's feet!

On Sunday we spent most of the day at the pool after a long day of birthday parties on Saturday.  After, we came home to cook dinner and went out front to try to teach Liam to ride his tricycle.  The kid does NOT want to pedal.  We were debating a big boy bike with training wheels for his 3rd bday, but after this experience, we are leaning more towards no.  He looks cute though!

"Get me out!"

and this is how it ended up...maybe Rowan is ready for pedaling???!  ;)

And here we are Tuesday.  This morning we went to the gym and both kids are down for a nap because Rowan has to be at the drs. at 3:40 for her flu shot and her 9 month shots which we held off on a bit.  Liam is going to Colin and Maggie's house to play with the big kids while we go.  ;)  LOVE having NJ friends around the corner in TX!!!  ;)  Anywho, at any given time, I can look at the monitor and both of the kids are in CRAZY positions and most of the time, close to the SAME crazy positions.
Today:

Like brother

Like sister....HA!

After dinner fun :-)

Whatever works right??  ;)

Cutest little chubber!

She loves her paci too!!!  ;)
Liam had to get in on the photo shoot.  He is saying "CHEEEEEESE"  ;)

Happy Tuesday!

Katie Does Dallas ;) HA!

What an amazing weekend!!!

We were all so excited to have my bestie come to stay with us last weekend.  It was a blast.  We picked her up from the airport on Friday morning around 10 after a quick trip to the gym in the morning to play.  She got in on time and all was smooth.

After, we headed to Chik-Fil-A to let Liam play a little bit and get some lunch.  Naps came soon after and then we all got ready for a fun night with my other Northern friends who just moved down in June.  Pat and his family bought a house in The Trails so they are super close to us and it felt like old times!!!  He and his family got here around 5ish and his kids are so sweet with Liam and Rowan.  They are 8 and 6 and the most mature, helpful kiddos.  We drank and ate lots and did not go to bed until 2 am!  OH MY!  But so worth it!!!

Rowan and Miss Kate all ready to party!  ;)

I woke up early at 6 am and somehow felt great!  Kate is training for a marathon so we had planned on doing a long run she had mapped out.  She was feeling a little queazy, but we still managed to complete 7 miles!  It felt great.  After, I made breakfast and we went out for a relaxing manicure while the kids napped.

Saturday night, we had plans to go to a circus themed 1st birthday party that was so much fun!!!  It was amazing...the decorations, the food, the drinks, the cake, the games.  Every detail was truly exceptional!!!  Pinterest she says, but WOW!  I could never have pulled this off!  We were there from about 4-8 and we all had a blast with some really nice people.

Just like college!  ;)

I LOVE this!  Rowan in that wig could make me die laughing every time I see it.  She was a total ham and loved wearing it!  Clown for Halloween perhaps???

That night, we put the kids to bed, relaxed and we were all in bed pretty early.

Sunday morning, I took Liam to church while all others relaxed at home.  Then, we wanted to feed Kate some good Mexican food so we went to Blue Goose for brunch.  Delish as always!!!  Kids were exhausted and went down for naps when we got home.  So, Kate and I drove around to explore and I wanted to do a little shopping.  We also got in on a few open houses in Plano.  I miss doing that regularly with Rick on the weekends.  So much fun!!!

And it was already time to head back to the airport.  :(  We did hit downtown for a short time before dropping her at Love Field so she could at least check out downtown Dallas even if we are too old to party and "hang" ;) down there these days!  Quick, but very enjoyable time!!! 

We stopped at Carraba's on the way home and had such a yummy dinner.  Great ending to an awesome weekend!!!  Happy Monday!

SIDENOTE:  Rowan is REALLY walking.  She is up to 8 steps on her own and is really starting to want to walk more, and crawl less.  Looks like it is time to get some shoes! 

AND, GREAT NEWS for Liam.  His speech therapist did a short, informal evaluation last Thursday and we found that he is now only 2 months behind as opposed to 6 for expressive and his receptive is almost age equivalent!!!  SO PROUD OF HIM!!!!!

Continued...my children and their food ;)

Checking it all out...

And off of the tray all it goes...she feels it, smushes it and throws it if she does not like it.

And she DIES LAUGHING!  ;)

Cutest footsie ever with just a smidgen of what is actually on the floor.

And the most adorable chunky thigh with more than half of the food surrounding it.  ;)

And my sweet little buddy who continues to boycott (sp??) dinner on daily basis.  :(  He did eat some banana today..

Notice banana was not even on there to begin with and this is the way the plate looked even at the end of the meal.

We are so lucky to have healthy, happy kids and I am so grateful for that.  They will eat when they are hungry, right?  ;)  I just wish we could send all of this wasted food to starving kiddos in another country. 

Rowan Carley you are 10 months old! How did THAT happen???!

Oh my goodness.  I cannot even believe you will be ONE in 2 months.

Look how sweet you are!  With your two fave things...the binky (SIGH!) and dolly.  You just LOOOOOOOOVE dolls.  Any dolls.  You carry them all around the house and snuggle with them.  This poor doll you carry around by its foot.  And this is the way you left it before your nap today.

HA!!  You love dolls just like a girl should ;)  and your other fave toy is still a ball.  You say "ball" and whine for it when you see one anywhere.  Daddy threw you a ball last week while we were outside and you were in your walker.  You caught it like you had been playing catch for years.  Definitely do not have your mommy's coordination... I still cannot throw or catch.

Anywho, here is what you have been up to.

You are in a size 5 diaper.  You are wearing 18 month clothes for the most part.  You can still fit into 12 month stuff, but the 18 month size seems more comfortable.  You are pretty much down to one nap.  Usually 1.5-2 hours.  Occasionally, you need a morning nap, but otherwise you can usually last until after lunch and go down between 12:30 and 1:00.

You are refusing the spoon with great determination to eat like a "big girl".  You will suck the pouches.  I am so thankful for the inventor of those because otherwise you would be eating ZERO veggies and barely any fruits.  You LOOOOOOOVE meat.  ANY kind of meat I put in front of you--pork chops, ground meat/burgers, rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, turkey, turkey bacon.  Your other faves include: bagels, pizza crust, toast (notice a trend)  ;) nutrigrain bars, shredded cheese and that is pretty much it.  Macaroni and cheese you have eaten a few times.  You LOVE watermelon too but that is the only fruit you will eat--well, grapes can be hit or miss.  You will suck on a raw carrot and bite off little chunks, but not one other veggie.  You will touch them all, try them, realize you do not like them, and throw each and every piece off of your tray.  We have tried zucchini, squash, broccoli, asparagus, peas, carrots, green beans.  Fruits you will not eat include bananas, strawberries, blueberries, apples.  We will keep on trying though!!!

You are saying a lot of "b" words.  BA-BA for bottle.  BAAAAA-L for ball.  Ba for baby (baby doll)  You say dada and mama.  You also say UP when you want to get out of your high chair or what sounds like "dah" for done when you are done.

You have become very feisty lately.  You KNOW what you want, when you want it.  You will fling your head back VERY hard when you do not get your way. 

You are obsessed with your dad and your big bro.  You LIGHT UP when either one of them walk in the room.  You follow Liam around ALL DAY LONG and want to play with anything he is playing with.  You are SOOO lucky that he is soooo extremely sweet with you.

You have 6 teeth.  Four on the botton and two on the top.

You slept through the night (8-6) the past 3 nights.  I do not even want to jinx it, but I HOPE it is a trend. 

You LOVE to flirt with other people.  You are hilarious in church--just give everyone huge smiles and talk up a storm to them.

You LOVE your bottle and are not a fan of the sippy cup.  If you are really thirsty, you will take a few sips, but it is going to be tough breaking you of the bottle, I think!  You also LOVE that binky now.  Sleep with it and like to take it everywhere.  Oh well, I do think it looks so cute!

You have officially grown out of the bjorn.  (SNIFF, SNIFF!!!)

You really enjoy the gym childcare room now.  You go right in no problem and they have not had to call me to get you in over a week.  :-)))

You are standing on your feet very steadily now.  You have been trying each day to take some steps.  You took one a few times yesterday and then fell on your butt.  I think you will be walking in a month when I post!  Not sure how I feel about that.  ;)

Rowan, you are such a big girl now.  SO sweet, determined, and smiley!  We love you with all of our hearts!!!! 

The Dentist and Melon Dash

So, we went to the dentist yesterday for a third time.  I decided to try a new place much closer to our house in the Market St. shopping center called Frisco Mini Molars.  Liam's speech therapist took her daughter there and loved it.  So did we!!!!!  They did SUCH an amazing job with Liam.  He was a little upset by the end, but overall did VERY well.  They were EXTREMELY positive with him and sooooo patient.  His first trip to the old dentist resulted in them scraping, YES! scraping his teeth so I truly think he has been scarred for life.  But these two ladies made a heck of a difference yesterday.  I just love people who love their job!  It clearly shows!!!!  Rick was even able to meet us there and I also think that was a huge plus as well. 

No pics....bad mommy!

I also need to toot my own horn a little bit.  I ran in the Melon Dash this morning in McKinney.  Great little race through the square and surrounding neighborhoods.  A little more hilly than usual, but a pretty good course.  I have been training at the gym mostly in the morning while the kids are at the child care and I truly believe this is why my time decreased so much...I am always trying to get the run in QUICK before they page me to change a diaper or soothe a crying baby!  ;)  Anywho, my first race post baby back on Feb. 18th was completed in 29:38 and I was quite proud of that at the time.  Well, today, I finished 3rd in my age group (so I won an award!!!!) and crossed the finish line at 24:20...FIVE minutes shaved in less than 6 months.  :)))))))  And I felt great!!!!

Happy weekend all!!

Blake happennings....

Our weekend was very fun.  I took a LONG run on Saturday morning, Rick took Liam to LOWES again for the build and grow workshop and then we all headed to FAC pool.  We went to church at 5 and the babysitter came over at 7:45 so we could venture out to celebrate a 40th birthday!

Sunday was VERY, VERY lazy!  We did an IKEA trip, a Target trip and laid around and ate the rest of the day.  Much needed!

We did get in some backyard time before it got too hot.

My sweet son is not the most coordinated when it comes to sports ;)  but he is trying!  Baseball and soccer are the faves right now.

And still this little car.  Best 40 bucks ever!


This week has been busy again.  Swimming lessons are over so it has been a little less hectic, but the heat is making me exhausted!

Monday we went to the gym from 8:30-10.  LOVE IT!  Rowan is hit or miss...sometimes she loves it and others she lasts 15 minutes.  She did make it 35 minutes on Monday though!  ;)  Then, we did our community pool and lunch, naps, and then out to dinner for a yummy marg and some mexican!

Yesterday, we went to the JR Newman splash park and out for frozen yogurt in the afternoon.  Liam LOVED his vanilla with sprinkles and I even gave Rowan some plain vanilla.  She was in heaven!

This morning we went back to the gym and Rowan did GREAT!  1 hour!  And Liam has been SUCH a good boy.  He runs in reciting "no hitting, no pushing, no kicking"...HA!  I guess I have not been talking to the wall after all.

We were also lucky enough to have a private tour of Fire Safety Town this morning with my St. Francis MOMS group.  It was lots of fun.  Both kids were pretty tired but they did pretty good!

Not a huge fan and sitting and listening...can you tell?  ;)

But he LOVED sitting in the fire truck!!!!!

And Rowan ate snacks and more snacks as always!  ;)

A sidenote:  As I said in one of my previous posts regarding Liam, I feel like we were given a second chance at life and I cannot even put into words how lucky I feel every morning I wake up.  I want to run into the kids' rooms and just squeeze them and tell them how much I love them.  I am enjoying every second of every day with them more than I ever had...cherishing each little moment and thanking God for how blessed we are.  Being a stay at home mom really is THE BEST job EVER!  :)))))

The rest of the week is supposed to be SOO hot.  :(  Looks like lots more pool time and frozen yogurt!  Happy Wednesday.