Idea emergency--how to stop him from growing up!

You are so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine...












Liam's party was a hit. He loves the Imagination Movers, a series on Playhouse Disney, so it was all centered around them. We had Mover Rich's drumsticks(chicken drumsticks), Mover Dave's lightbulbs(corn), Mover Scott's Wobble Goggle Salad(frog eye), Mover Smitty's slaw(coleslaw), Uncle Knit Knot's boring rocks(rolls), and Nina's lemonade(self explanatory) and of course, cake and ice cream. I ordered his cake from Granite Bakery and they did an amazing job--they made it look like one of the uniforms they wear on the show with Liam's name on the nametag. I had taken in a different design in from the internet, but I guess it was copyrighted so they came up with this. I loved it and so did Liam.

Liam had been wanting a red bike and a red helmet...he got what he wanted. His face was absolutely priceless when Justin brought it out of our bedroom and as he was riding it around our island in the kitchen, he would say "Thank you dad" everytime he made it around. He also got a leapfrog computer, a light brite, a basketball, a thing that spews spinning things in the air, and an army dressup kit. He was so grateful for each one and everything is getting lovin'.

Here are four things we love about our Liam:

1. You are so loving. You are always wanting to snuggle. I probably hear "You can hold me mom?..." or "I need you, mom..." at least a million times a day. You hold my hand whenever I ask you to. You are very concerned if people get hurt or are in trouble and you are very nice to your friends. You are also very complimentary and tell people they look pretty, they are doing a good job, or that they are a good sharer. My favorite is when you tell me that I am a good mom.

2. You are curious. We call you our "little engineer". You ask a ton of questions a day, especially how things work. If you see something that interests you, you will go up and inspect it closely and make sure you understand everything about it. Your favorite book right now is the owner's manual for the car...especially the page that tells the owner not to park a hot car over dry leaves because this could cause a fire. Although your curiosity can sometimes drive me crazy, I am glad that you are interested in the world you live in.

3. You love to sing. I love your tiny little voice and you sing everything from nursery rhymes to hip hop. It is so funny to hear "...Shh girl, shut your lips...do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips..." come out of your mouth one minute and then "Mary had a Little Lamb" the next. You sing while you are playing by yourself too and often are humming the theme song to a movie or a t.v. show as we are driving.

4. You are easy to please. The comment was made at your birthday party that you could have opened up a loaf of bread and you would have been totally excited. You love life and everything about it is exciting to you. You are content with the little things and go with the flow of what is going on around you. It is nice to have this kind of personality for my last one instead of a high maintenance child.

Liam, we love you more than you will ever know! Happy birthday, love!

Back to school 2009

The first day of school went off without a hitch for all. The three older boys started last Monday, August 24th and they were up at the crack of dawn and ready at 7:15 and they don't need to leave the house to walk to school until 8:10. I think this was one of the hardest hours of my life trying to keep them entertained enough so they wouldn't leave the house. They even had their lunches made and practicing done...it made me wish that it was this easy to be this organized all before eight in the morning. And then I asked myself a question that freaked me out: "Really, do I seriously have a fifth grader??"

I remember fifth grade. Mrs. Norris was my teacher and she was fantastic. My best friend was Ashley Lindsey and it was the year that Cool Ranch Doritos hit the shelves and we thought we were so cool because we watched Moonlighting and Miami Vice. Keds were the hot shoe to have and I begged my mom to shell out the $20 it cost to buy me some. I even had penguins stamped on a pair. I won the spelling bee, had a little boyfriend named David and he gave me a Snoopy valentine on Valentine's day. I think I even still have it.

I don't believe that I have a child old enough to have these kind of memories, little ones that will stay with him forever.

I also remember third grade...we listened to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" one day in class and debated whether or not "funky" was a bad word or not. My teacher was a little eccentric and we did a ton of art projects. I learned about quotation marks and when to use commas. Andrew is now in third grade and he says he wants to buy a Michael Jackson cd. I bought his Thriller album when I turned ten and drooled over the poster of him in a white jacket and a tiger. My first celebrity crush.

Luke is in second grade and the only thing I really remember is throwing up on someone in reading circle. Oh well.






literally jumping for joy


Liam's first day of preschool also went well. Bus driver Brad came and picked him up and Liam hopped on and buckled himself in and left me with two whole hours of alone time that I filled by running a gazillion errands to get things done for his birthday party. One random memory I have of preschool is my preschool teacher shooting her finger with a stapler while putting up a bulletin board.

Ahhhh, memories.

Nibble worthy

I have an obsession with pictures. Especially ones that are beautiful and well done. I have had a photographer for years but she moved to Morgan and it is hard to get our schedules to cooperate so I have been to a couple in the last two years and I think I found one I am going to stay with forever. Unless, of course, she leaves too or she just can't take the boys' antics anymore.

I heard about this amazing photographer, Angie Monson, from a doctor at my job way back in November. I saved my money religiously to pay for these and they were worth every penny. I just got them back and I am already saving for next year so we can get the whole family done. Her website is linked on my sidebar under Simplicity Photography.

Indulge me while you look at these adorable (if I do say so myself) pics of the boys. I literally got tears in my eyes when I saw some of them because they truly capture the personalities of my boys--each of their crazy, silly, sensitive, and impish ways.

How did I get so lucky to get these boys? I love them so much and all that they teach me everyday about patience, love, and how to let the little things slide. Lately, when I have needed to talk to Liam about something that he has done wrong, he will put his hand on my shoulder before I even begin talking and say in his sweet little voice "Calm down, mom. Calm down." It is funny because I am not even angry and I don't think that it shows in my body language, but it is a good lesson to have me think before I speak. He is wise beyond his years.

Nicholas, Andrew, Luke, and Liam...you are amazing individuals and I am incredibly blessed to be your mom. Thank you for being patient with me and for giving me the opportunity to have the best job in the world.

Dog days of summer

Have I really not made any posts in a month???

There is a good reason, though.We have been making the most of our last moments of summer. Running here and there, I feel that we have accomplished a fun and well balanced three months. I am pretty happy that I got my first "I'm bored..." just this past Monday. Perfect timing if you ask me, they start on Monday! Unfortuneately, I do not have pictures of all our adventures, but just recently we went to Lagoon and to the Dino park up in Ogden.















We had a blast at Lagoon. We haven't been in about 3 years so Liam does not have any recollection of his first time there. He went on a couple rides at the beginning, he loved the little dragon rollercoaster. Nick took him on a couple rides while I went on the Dino Drop with Luke because Liam said it looked "too scawy." We later talked him into going and he loved it. His face was absolutely priceless. It is really fun having older kids that want to go on all the crazy rides and not be scared to go on anything. And I mean anything. Justin took the three older boys on the Rocket and my stomach lurched as I watched them shoot up and then plummet down to the bottom. I don't do well on the free falling rides, the little kid version of it is just fine for me.

We lost Luke for about fifteen minutes, the scariest of my life. Justin had taken Nick and Andrew on Wicked while I took the younger two on a different ride. I told Luke to follow me after he got off the ride and we would go meet dad, but when I turned around after navigating through a crowd, he was gone. I walked around the surrounding area a couple times and when I couldn't find him, I walked to the area that Wicked is in and still could not see Luke. I asked a worker if they could help me, but they just pointed me in the direction of the lost and found at the entrance of Lagoon. Really, don't those people have walkie talkies? By this time I had tears in my eyes and started walking toward the entrance and there he was, by the exit of the Terrorride. Relief washed over me and I asked him what he was thinking? He told me that he was waiting for dad...but dad told me it was the Wicked ride but it doesn't start with a "W", it started with a "T!" He just got the rides mixed up. We then headed over and met Justin, he had seen me walking quickly without Luke and deducted Luke had gotten lost and was coming over to help. Luckily, it all worked out okay.

We also had an adventure with our car, but that is one that is remedied and does not have to be repeated.

Hopefully we will be back to Lagoon before another three year hiatus, we had a great time!

We had a great time at the Dinosaur Park up in Ogden. It is awesome and the weather cooperated nicely. Not too hot, a little breeze. Ahhh. If you haven't been up there, it is well worth the drive. It is reasonably priced, there is plenty of shade as you are walking around, not to mention lifesized dinosaur models dotting the landscape. There is a park to play at and even a little place to eat that is also not too expensive. They not only have the outdoor portion but an indoor section as well that houses skeletons, different rocks and jewels, and for an extra fee you can pan for gold. They even have motorized dinosaurs upstairs that make you feel that you are smack dab in the middle of the Jurassic Park movie.