Liam: 1 ½ years old What a little bundle of fun you are. Since day one you have been mellow and chill. You get mad but it is usually really short and you are back to even-tempered you. You love to be the goof ball. When I ask you to give me a kiss you have learned that putting your hand in your mouth to “block” me works wonders for making me laugh. You LOVE Ella. From the moment you wake up to the moment we tell you it is bedtime, you want to be where Ella is. Literally, the first word out of your mouth most mornings is, “Ella”. You want to see her right away. And at night you will cry in bed if you don’t have an opportunity to say goodnight to her. Last night she wouldn’t let you hug and kiss her “night, night” and you were so sad. She finally gave in (she was worried about cleaning her room so she could get a sticker on her chart) and you were all smiles again. Talking about sleep, you are so great with bedtime and naptime. Just put you on the bed, give you a blanket, and give you a ba (pacifier) and you are set for naptime. For bedtime you demand a book also. I love that you love books. It wasn’t that long ago that we realized you wanted us to read books to you. Maybe it was because you were getting books at school or because you saw us read to Ella but just all the sudden you were grabbing books and demanding that we read them to you. You would pat the chair and indicate that you needed the book. Currently your favorites are the Sandra Boynton books and the Richard Scary books. The ones with cars are preferred but you don’t usually reject a book. You also have a book called “No, No, Yes, Yes” that Beth bought you for Christmas. That is a great book. As for your other leisurely pursuits, you also love going for trailer-bike rides, anything train related (except last week when we actually took a train ride-you didn’t seem to care much for that), and food. You eat so much, often out eating your sister. Applesauce, cantaloupe, and CHEESE are favorites. You are picky with other foods but we manage to get you lots of nutrition. You are great with a spoon and using an open cup. A few spills but I think you want that food so much that you are careful. You hate getting food on your fingers. Actually, I should say you love to put your fingers in your food but hate to have it stay there. You always demand to have your fingers immediately wiped but then you’ll go in again. Aargh. You already try to jump and run. Try I say because you aren’t quite mastering it yet but you are getting there. You are very cautious. Ella runs and jumps into things but you take it slower and make sure it is okay first. I remember when you were first starting to walk you would come up to a small change on the ground like a small curb or something and you would turn around, get down on your knees, and back over that small lip instead of just trying to step down. These days you are cautious with strangers, with water (touching is okay but being immersed such as at bathtime is not), and with loud noises or anyone dressed up as anyone else. Not cool for you. You are just getting to that phase when you notify us that your diaper has a poo. Maybe we should introduce you to your own potty? You are also talking and trying to talk. Not all the time. I think you like to observe in this area also but if I ask you to say something you will try and usually get pretty close. I love the way you say “No”. You purse your lips and put on a sad face. Then you say “yes” and your face lights up. I need to record it. so cute. I love you little buddy. You are growing so quickly.

Liam's such a big boy

Liam's favorite way to hang out with us is sitting with his butt in our face.   He knotted what he is doing.

so it is evident that i fell into the usual trap of a parent and found no time to update my blog. My poor Little Liam. Has few photos to show his milestones. Well here anyhow. I have them trapped on some drive on my computer. Evidence that he is just as special and wonderful as Ella. And Ella. So many things she is doing as well. Stay posted. i will do better to write updates on their daily progress. For now i will leave you with a cute little thing Ella said last night. I was singing the line "Hello Darkness my old friend" over and over as i prepared dinner and Ella picked up on this only to sinig what she thought i was saying with "Hello Texas is my Friend". Sure. Hello, Texas.

Liam Milestones

Although i don't have photographic proof yet, i know that Liam is rolling over. i found him on his stomach twice last night after he was set down on his back. i might have to set up a hidden camera.
Two days ago we gave Liam his first taste of food. Just boring rice cereal and he didn't take more than a teaspoon. He kept trying to spit it back out. He acted like it was terrible but he has been staring at everyone when they eat. He is ready and i will have to teach him to enjoy it.

Couscous or Goose Poop?

two things... first the photos. they are of Ella post falling on her face off of a slide. Carl said it looked pretty serious but Ella is fine.
Second, Ella cracked me up today. she is showing off her sense of humor. At dinner i served Couscous. I told Ella how much i loved Couscous and asked her to try saying the word. Well, she tried but what came out was "goose poop". Carl and i looked at each other and i asked her to say Couscous again. Again she said "Goose Poop". i understood her clearly the second time and it became a big joke for the rest of dinner. She just learned about goose poop a few days ago when we ran into Kurt at the park and decided to join him for a walk around the park only i was wearing 3 inch heels so after awhile of walking in them i just threw them off and walked barefoot. i then told Ella that i had to be very careful not to step in Goose poop cause that would be "eeww". she has been found of the word since. yesterday she said it as we walked in the park again. only i had shoes on so it wasn't such a problem. At dinner it was just a joke. my funny valentine.

Some April fotos of the kids

CArl thought these would be a good idea for Ella's student of the week photos