holiday
Halloween 2010
4We had a busy fun-filled Halloween weekend this year!
Liam was all revved up about being his favorite Toy Story character for Halloween so we pieced together a costume over the course of the Summer. The Buzz Lightyear Action Wing Pack came as an awesome birthday gift back in April from “big bro” Ryan. Rob found the jumpsuit at Wal-Mart 3 or 4 months ago. I picked up matching Toy Story 3 green socks in the dollar bin at Target, and we splurged on some lime green Converse hightop “Chucks” and some glow-in-the-dark armbands to finish the ensemble off.
The festivities began Friday night at my Mom’s nursing home. They had a mini carnival inside and the kids got to trick or treat with the residents there. Of course, all the residents just lit up having the kids around. Liam had lots of fun playing games and even won a stuffed frog that he gave to his G-Ma as a gift. It was so sweet.
Saturday night we met up with Clems, Sophie & Siena and Martin, Ashley & Little Sophie at St. Elizabeth’s Gooberfest carnival. We love this one because it’s a lot smaller than some of the other carnivals in town and the games are geared just perfect for younger children. The kids had lots of fun just running & playing with each other and it was nice to be able to relax and visit with our friends.
Sunday night we took Liam around the neighborhood trick-or-treating and he loved it. Last year he wasn’t that into it but this year, he was all excited and did great going up to the doors and interacting with people. When we got home, he loved passing out the candy to the trick-or-treaters who visited our house and would get all excited every time he heard the doorbell ring. He told them all “Happy Halloween” after he gave them their candy.
I was wiped out by the end of the evening but it was SO worth it! It makes me realize how precious these days are that he enjoys such simple things in life. I wish I could just freeze time and he would stay 4 forever! (He’s always quick to tell that that he can’t stop growing!)
G-Ma Turns 82
4Today is my Mom’s 82nd birthday. We celebrated with her yesterday by taking some cupcakes to the nursing home and it’s a good thing we brought extras! Once the singing started some of the other residents decided to join in the birthday festivities. One man got a little upset when he thought there were no more cupcakes and he was going to get left out. He calmed down though once we got a cupcake for him.
Mom didn’t remember that it was her birthday but sure was excited when Liam gave her a gift and a hug.
It made me happy to see Mom in such good spirits. We had a good visit and lots of fun singing and talking with the other ladies that sat at the table with us. It’s always sad to go visit her in the nursing home but she seems content and is getting good care.
I’m not sure what the face she is making in the picture below is all about, but she had green icing all over her face by the time that cupcake was finished. The other lady in the photo licked all the icing off her cupcake and then gave it back to me. 
Here are a couple of videos from the party:
I love Annie’s response in the next video:
Happy Birthday Mom, we love you!
Labor Day Weekend 2010
1If you’ve been following our blog, you know that the past few months have been kind of chaotic for us so even though we have a dozen ongoing projects at the house, last weekend we decided to take a much-needed break and get out of town for a couple of days.
So we headed to Round Rock, Texas (just north of Austin). Admittedly, we also hoped to do a little shopping, but we planned the trip around a train ride for Liam. Thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine & Chuggington, he’s really crazy about trains and has been asking about riding one for quite some time now.
I found a vintage train that goes from Cedar Park suburb to the Oatmeal Festival in Bertram that was about an hour ride each way. The train was scheduled to be pulled by a restored steam engine but it was out for repairs so we had to settle for an old diesel engine. The train was named the “Oatmeal Flyer” but we’ve decided they should change the name to the “Oatmeal Crawler;” man, that train was slow! Anyway, Liam was thrilled to finally get to ride on a train and loved meeting the Conductor.
During our stop in Bertram, we walked down to the Oatmeal Festival parade which was really nice; they’ve got a lot of small town spirit going on there!. Liam got his first experience of racing to scoop up candy that was thrown from the parade and he loved meeting Oatie, the mascot of the Oatmeal Festival. The parade also included the local villain, The Grits Guzzler, who was apprehended by the local police during the parade and drenched with oats.
After the s-l-o-w train back to Round Rock, we headed to our favorite store, Ikea. It is also one of Liam’s favorite stores because he loves their play area. We were all set to shop and he was all set to play and then things took a turn for the worse. They had the play area closed down for renovations. That did not set well with our boy and he let the whole store know about it. There were tears throughout the departments until we reached the kid’s section of the store. Yes, he now owns a new soccer ball and wooden train set that helped soothe his disappointment of the play area renovation. We wouldn’t normally buy him something to make him stop crying, but I just felt so sorry for him since he had talked about playing at Ikea the whole 7 hour car ride there.
Things went pretty smoothly after the Ikea fiasco and we got a bit more shopping in at the Outlet Mall there. On our way home, we we stopped off in Brady. We spent a few hours there visiting with our friends who always spoil him. This time, with help from Glenda, he even got to drive a “Mule,” which of course he loved.
So, it was a fun-filled weekend but we were glad to get home so we could get some rest. I am so thankful that Liam is such a good traveler. He loves riding in the car and staying in hotels.
How about you, what did you do for Labor Day weekend?
14 Years of Gifts & Marriagement
4Rob & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary last week. It’s amazing how quickly the years go by and also amazing the things you accumulate over the years.
Earlier this year we had an opportunity to clear out some of the clutter when we moved but there are still plenty of things still boxed up around here that are being evaluated. Also, in the midst of us trying to thin out our own clutter, we have had to bring in some of my brother’s things and my mother’s things. Good thing we bought a bigger house!
As we were unpacking our kitchen a few months back, I started thinking about this post that I wanted to do. Here we are 14 years later and we still have wedding gifts that we use on a daily basis. These are truly gifts that keep giving, not to mention are well-made to hold up this long! I’ll bet the people who gave us these great gifts don’t even remember, but we do think of them each time we use these.
Here are a few of the best wedding gifts we received that’re still with us, all these years later:
- Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker
- Chicago Cutlery knife block set
- Giant Pyrex measuring cup/mixing bowl
- Pyrex Bowl Set
- Crystal candlesticks
- Ratcheting driver set toolkit
Although we no longer have it, I’ve gotta say that the most unusual wedding gift we received was an aquarium (thanks Buddy & Topper!) and most of the first fish we bought for it lasted several years.
What are some of your most-used wedding gifts?
Mother’s Day #3
1Today I celebrated my 3rd Mother’s Day and I received this special card that Liam made me for me at his daycare last week.
What a great day and have I mentioned how much I love being a Mom?
I hope all you other Moms out there had a great day too!
Liam Turns 4
1With the help of Siena, Little Sophie, Hailey & Zach, we celebrated Liam’s 4th birthday yesterday per his request, at his favorite play place, Chick-fil-A. This year’s theme was Toy Story in anticipation of the next movie coming out in June. Liam got loads of gifts at the party and a few special ones sent to him from friends & family out of town. I can’t believe how fast my little guy is growing up!
Gotcha Day – 2nd Year Anniversary
6Happy Gotcha Day, Liam!
I can’t believe its been 2 years already! As many developments as the past year has brought, it’s hard to imagine what’s in store for us in the year to come.
Here’s what has become our traditional stairway comparison photos on Gotcha Day:
After dinner, the festivities continued with the traditional homemade Gotcha Day cupcakes!
A New Decade Begins
1
I expect 2010 will be a remarkable time of significant changes and happenings! It’s the beginning of a hopeful new decade and this’ll undoubtedly be a year of many special milestones. Dede & I wish you all a healthy & happy new year!
Christmas 2009
3I hope everyone had a great Christmas this year and are enjoying your holidays! I’m finally getting around to uploading our Christmas pictures and doing a blog post.
Nanny Karen arrived Christmas Eve and Liam was so excited that she was finally here. He had no problem turning off Cars to go pick her up at the airport. That’s a sign of true love! Most times he won’t even stop to eat during that movie.
Liam was wiped out from all the excitement of the day that he fell asleep early on Christmas Eve and missed out on baking cookies for Santa. Poor little guy held out as long as he could, but the driving around to look at Christmas lights just did him in by 7 P.M.
Since he went to bed so early, we expected him up early Christmas morning but he actually slept until about 8 A.M. Needless to say, he was quite pleased to see that Santa had not forgot him and remembered everything on his list. Luckily for us, his list didn’t change from day to day, and he consistently stuck with Mack the truck, Play-Doh and The Lawman (Sheriff), also from Cars. Once he saw those under the tree, he was done and we had to work over the next 3 hours to get him to stop playing long enough to come open a few gifts at a time.
