ten months

t e n   m o n t h s   o l d

stats

..................

 22 pounds, 3 ounces 

 28 inches long

loves

...............

peek-a-boo & hide n' seek

tucking his lower lip under

FOOD, especially meat & frozen blueberries

daddy's laugh

taking steps up stairs

climbing

animals

his new car seat

watching the washer & dryer
putting everything in his mouth
outside

dislikes

...................

being still
getting face and hands wiped

My little Liam,

You are ten months old today which means you are 2 months away from being a one year old. A ONE YEAR OLD! I know I always say this but I think this is my favorite age. You and I are best friends and it is so fun that you interact with me now all day. Whenever I lay on the floor you crawl all over me like I am a human jungle gym. You learned how to lift your foot up and step up stairs which has given you a great desire to climb everything. You can't do that on your own yet but boy do you want to. It has made things very dangerous. You went on your very first plane ride this month and were a total champ, sleeping almost the whole entire way. It was also your first trip to Washington and you loved all the attention from family and friends who walked you around to your hearts content while we were there. I say that I am your best friend but I actually think that is food. haha Your world revolves around food. Your favorite breakfast ... puffs, half a banana, and baby food oatmeal. At lunch and dinner time, I could fill your tray full of all sorts of foods and you always always gravitate toward meat. It doesn't matter if it is ham, chicken, turkey, you love it! Animals are your next favorite thing ever. You giggle at dogs. You'd yank on their ears and tail any chance you can get. You still love Rue too. Last month you grew out of your car seat so we got you a bigger one that is still rear facing and you look so much more comfortable. No more crying when we put you in it like you were in your old one. You would stand in front of the washer and dryer watching all the lights and clothes spin all day if I let you. I think it is the equivalent of watching paint dry though so we watch it for a few minutes and then we play toys instead. You learned how to clap! The first time you did it was when you were delivered a tray of food naturally. A special moment with you from this month was when you took the sacrament for the first time. You could giggle at daddy's laugh all day long! Your signature facial expression requires you tucking your lower lip under the top one, it is the cutest. At your doctor's visit this month he gave you a cherry flavored tongue depressor and you LOVED that thing. You are such a happy boy and we love being around you! Love you to the moon and back!

Love, Momma

Blueberries for Pool Time & New Baby Teeth

It takes longer for me to blow up this little duck pool, fill it with water, grab the pool toys, and haul it all outside then the time Liam actually wants to STAY in the pool. haha But, I care more about Liam having fun and getting to experience all the best parts of summer so I do it anyway. Oh the life of being a mom! ;)

However, when you add a floating bowl of frozen blueberries to the pool, it suddenly takes things to whole new level. Lounging in the pool becomes 10 times more exciting and adds on about 2 minutes to pool time entertainment. Liam is in the throws of teething. His two top teeth have broken through but the gums are still sore and a little swollen so he has been loving frozen blueberries. Eating them by the handful preferred ...  

And licking every finger too!

Those little lips kill me, one of my favorite faces he makes! After the bowl was empty he looked at me like, "Hey lady, fill'er up! These rolls don't make themselves!" 

After he realized the bowl wasn't going to be refilled, he immediately dived for the cement sidewalk. :/ In the interest of saving those new little baby teeth, we took play time to a safer spot. He LOVES the grass. Eating it in particular. haha

I can't believe school starts back up here next week and while that doesn't change anything for Liam and I which I am so grateful for, it still makes these summer days feel fleeting. We better squeeze in a few more afternoons in the pool (a bowl full of blueberries included) before winter shows its freezing face again.

Liam's Library Faves {Boy Edition}

I'm back with a few favorites from our trips to the library over the last month and a half or so! A funny side note ... being the girl that I am, I am typically drawn to cute animal, fairy, princessy, just generally all around girly books and while Liam doesn't even really understand anything I am reading to him right now, I wanted to find some boy favorites. Monsters, trains, dinosaurs, sharks, silly humor, and the like totally scream BOY to me! These are some favorites for the boy or tomgirl in your life. ;)  

Where the Wild Things Are by: Maurice Sendak | A classic! My favorite and very popular quote from this book that I say to Liam all the time, "I'll eat you up, I love you so!"

Shark vs. Train by: Chris Barton | This book starts out with two little boys running to their toy box to pull out their favorite toy to battle it out with. One boy chooses a train and the other chooses a shark. The book then switches to the actual perspective of the shark and the train thinking they can out-do one another. A total boy edition!  

My Monster Mama Loves Me So by: Laura Leuck | A monster bedtime story where the little monster recognizes all the ways his momma shows him she loves him. I loved this one!

Interrupting Chicken by: David Ezra Stein | This one is a clever way of sharing a lot of favorite fairy tale stories through a dad chicken reading to his son. Little chicken interrupts during the problem in every story with an ending where he always saves the day! It drives the dad totally crazy until he finally suggests little chicken be the one to read the story to him instead. He does what dads do best during story time ... zzzzz ;) 

Jeepers Creepers: A Monstrous ABC by: Laura Leuck | Learning the ABC's with monster rhymes, what's not to love!

Never Take a Shark to the Dentist & Other Things Not to Do by: Judi Barrett | This one has hilarious pictures and is full of silly ideas!

Hope you found some new favorites to share with the little boy in your life! Happy Reading!  

cousins

After getting back from Washington, we stayed a few extra days in Boise because my dad and Edie were in town. We don't get to see them very often so it was fun to get everyone together. I think one of the most fun things was getting all of the cousins together. Look at how cute they are!  

Liam and Maddox are only 6 months apart and I think they are going to be great friends. :) At their current stages, Liam reaches out and grabs onto Maddox any chance he can get while Maddox wonders what in the world he is doing. haha Someday that relationship will change and they will have a blast playing together.

My newest sweet little niece was born in July, Olivia Lee. She is so beautiful! That hand under the chin gets me every time! She was just shy of 3 weeks old here when we got to meet her for the first time. Man, you forget how tiny they are, especially when you spend your days packing around a 22 pound chunk. haha 

While we only live 3 hours away, we still don't make it to Boise that often but I hope someday we can live closer so that Liam can be close to his cousins. Growing up, I lived so far away from mine and was lucky to see them maybe once a year so we weren't every really really close but I definitely would love that for Liam. We miss you already Abby, Ava, Maddox, and Olivia! You too dad and Edie!! XO

Washington Trip Part 3 {Seattle}

In case you missed it ... PART 1, PART 2.

Our final day in Washington was spent roaming my favorite parts of downtown Seattle with my mom and Aunt Deanne. It was Nic's first time seeing the city and I think he thought the city's skyline was just as amazing as I do. It is such a fun city!

The last time I went to Seattle The Wheel hadn't been built yet. I've just seen pictures of it since and it was just as amazing in person. We heard from several people though how crazy expensive it was for only a few times around and that it wasn't really worth it so we decided to skip it and just enjoy the view from the piers instead. 

One of my all time favorite places to go whenever I'm in Seattle is Pike Place Market. For it being a Monday morning, that place was a lot busier than I remembered it being but that is probably just the small town girl in my talking. 

The one spot I hadn't experienced yet at the market was gum alley. I'm pretty sure everyone thought I was crazy for wanting to visit it. So cool yet so gross all at the same time. haha You better believe I added to the wall but I definitely didn't go so far as to create a big N & M & L were here in bubblicious gum in case you were wondering. ;)

My FAVORITE part of the market is the flower district. The smell is heaven and the bouquets are unreal. SO pretty!!!

Pike Place proved to be kind of challenging with a stroller so we ended up deciding just to do the main level and then bail. There was also tons of construction going on by the wharf and we had an old stroller where the wheels had seen better days. We were so grateful to be able to borrow one so we didn't have to haul one with us but we promptly wanted to ditch it five minutes in because it just wasn't conducive for big crowds. We had lunch at Ivar's and if you have never had their clam chowder, I mean, I'm STILL drooling just thinking about it. I could PROBABLY have a cup of that stuff every day and live a happy life. haha Funny story, as we were wandering Costco last night, we saw that they sell tubs of Ivar's Clam Chowder and I think we both looked at each other with wide eyes followed by a "no way!" but after checking the nutrition label, sadly left without it in our cart. So maybe I won't be eating it every day. haha It will just have to be one of those things that is an occasional splurge. ANYWAY, I wish I would have taken a few pictures at the Ivar's restaurant because it was a really beautiful and historic place. I must have been more focused on that darn bowl of clam chowder then anything else. haha :)

After lunch, it was time for L man's nap. Luckily he sleeps in a baby carrier well because we both knew there would be a fat chance of him sleeping in the stroller. I'm just not on the go with him enough at home or living in a big city that maybe would require him to nap in a stroller more often. During his nap we decided to visit the Seattle Aquarium. Liam woke up RIGHT at the very end of that experience and I felt kind of bad he missed out after showing him the last fish tank and seeing his face light up. 

Besides getting to spend time with family at our family reunion, this was probably our favorite day getting to experience downtown. I already miss that city and am excited to go back and do some of the same things again when Liam is walking and little bit older, especially the aquarium, the children's museum, and the zoo! Having kids is the best and Liam really did even better traveling then we expected so we plan to do more of it in the near future!

Until next time Washington!!

Washington Trip Part 2 {The Family Reunion}

In case you missed it ... PART 1.

Sunday was one of the biggest reasons for our trip, our family reunion with my mom's side. It was held at my aunt and uncle's farm. Usually we get big group pictures next to their tractors but I think the day just got away from everyone so the majority of these are of Nic and Liam again. haha One of the men that work on my uncle's farm owns a bouncy house that he rents out to people for events so we had one at the picnic. Most of the day, all of the little kids were having a blast together in it but we found some time in the later afternoon when no one was inside and we let Liam go in there and crawl around. He LOVED it!!  

My cousin Melissa's baby, Carter, was the smallest one there. I got to go to a baby shower the day before to celebrate this little guy's arrival and I'm so glad I could make it because we usually have to miss events like that living far away!

There was tons of really yummy food but by far my favorite part were the oysters!! Fresh seafood in Washington is to die and really makes me miss living by the coast. I had Nic try it for the first time, well part of one anyway. His reaction... "it wasn't bad." In other words, he probably won't be eating one again. haha I'm proud of him for trying it though.

This little ham was eating up all the attention all day long!

One of his favorite things to do is swing, so it was no surprise how much he loved the baby swing hanging from a pear tree on the farm. A big thank you to my aunt and uncle for hanging this up again for him since he was pretty much the only little guy there who could fit in it.

Again, I really wish I would have gotten big group pictures of the family but it was still SO great to see all of them and for everyone to finally meet Liam. I hope we can make it back there again next year. Stay tuned for part 3 and the last of the Washington pictures tomorrow! ;)

XO