team emilee

When I moved away to college I didn't know a soul and I quickly fell into a routine of constant studying rather than a budding social life. haha But let's be real, there is only so much studying one can handle before you lose your mind and it was then that I realized it would be a good idea for me to look for a job. At the time I didn't know about work study on campus and I expected to struggle to find one with flexible hours that could work around my class schedule. It was then that I met the Williamson family (not related, just a coincidence we share the same last name)! We were introduced through a mutual friend. They were looking for a nanny for their kids and it became the perfect job for me. I quickly came to love their whole family! Fast forward 7 years later, wow that seems crazy to say, and we still keep in touch. 

On Saturday we did a buddy walk for Down Syndrome with Team Emilee! The event kicked off with a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and sausage. Liam tried a bite of pancake for the first time and I was not in the least bit surprised when he spit it right back out. This kid, you guys. haha Anything in the grain-based family he is not a fan of. I wish I didn't like bread, pasta, etc. too. ;)

The event was held at Brooklyn's Playground, a local park that was built for children with disabilities. We played on the toys most of the morning. Leah, the youngest daughter in the family, was such a good helper with Liam and showing him all around. Emilee would occasionally shout "Meagan" from across the playground and wave with a big grin on her face! Liam went down the slide all by himself for the first time! Keep in mind this slide was very short in length, with me at the bottom to catch him, and he was laying on his back not sitting up. He loved it!  

There was a group of Disney princesses, Star Wars characters, and superheros there for the kids to get their pictures taken with! It was so much fun watching the little boys with Down Syndrome in awe over these super heroes. It made me smile so big!

After breakfast and the playground, the walk began. There is a big path that loops the park that we walked with Emilee and her family. There were people everywhere cheering everyone on with pom poms, bubbles, and whistles! 

So proud to be a part of Team Emilee! She is such a rock star. I love both of these girls so much and can't believe how big they have gotten! Go Team Emilee! 

Happy Monday

After spending the better part of a week cooped up at home and feeling awful, it makes me happy to say that today things are finally looking up. The slightly runny noses and residual coughs are hanging on for dear life but we have more energy and I have plans to venture out of the house today, even if it is just for a short walk around the block and a quick trip to the store.

Daddy is back to work today and we already miss him. Liam's nap boycotting this weekend was evidence that he loves when daddy is home to play! I don't blame him one bit. Speaking of Nic, can I also say that he is one amazing care taker. On top of working, he did all the grocery shopping last week and not only nursed us back to health with yummy meals but watched not one, not two, but three chick flicks with me. Next time you are at your local Redbox, you can go ahead and just skip right over 'Aloha', no matter how many popular actors and actresses that you love in it (and believe me, I LOVE me some Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams). We both didn't have a clue what was really going on until about 3/4 of the way through the movie. Two thumbs down. The second movie, Age of Adaline, was okay. Not great but not terrible either. If you are a Nicholas Sparks fan like me (give me all the cheesy loves stories), The Longest Ride was the best! Loved every second of it.

Something cute ... Saturday was exactly 6 years since Nic and I's first date and Sunday, exactly 6 years since we started officially dating the very next day. I still remember that date like it was yesterday and found myself reliving it all day as I sifted through some of my favorite memories. So happy he chose me!

And because everyone is talking about it, Fall that is, we're excited over here for cooler temperatures this week. While I don't love the rain, I do love rain boots and baby jeans so I'll take it if it brings 65 degrees. You guys, I am SO excited for Halloween this year!! I have family themed costumes planned and I.CAN'T.WAIT. I bought Liam's little costume from an Instagram resale shop and plan to make Nic and I's with what we have at home. :) Homemade costumes are the best! Spending $30 - $40 a costume on something we will wear for only a couple hours on one night seems silly to me. Speaking of Halloween, the festiveness has already started over here with Liam wearing these bat jammies on repeat. His first pair of two-piece jammies.

Happy Monday and Happy Fall Ya'll!

Liam's First Birthday Wish List

It looks like a terrible combination of Sunday church germs and the cesspool that is the fair landed Liam and I with our first colds of the season. There is nothing worse than seeing your baby sick. I feel terrible and wish that I could take away all of his discomfort. Naturally he isn't letting it hold him back though! That boy has one speed and one speed only, 100 miles per hour ALWAYS. 

While it has been a barrel of fun over here for the last two days being stuck at home and buried in snivels and mountains of tissues, I've been planning Liam's first birthday to put a bright spot in my day. I CAN NOT believe that it is only a little over a month away!! How how how?!?! I'll never know. It feels like he has been hitting new milestones every day lately and I love it! Walking being the number one but also take this morning for example, he waved " bye bye" to dad as he drove off to work and we were both grinning from ear to ear! His first birthday feels like another big milestone and definitely one that deserves to be celebrated.

And would you look at that! Liam totally made his very own first birthday wish list. ;) 

Boon Snack Ball | Cable Pom Beanie | Phone | Alphabet Puzzle | Radio Flyer Walker Wagon | Tiny Converse | October Octopus Book | Corduroy Trousers | Striped Joggers

Okay so maybe I made it for him but between a combination of thinking about what he has been loving lately and what he will need for winter, this list kind of made itself. The only thing I have actually gotten so far is the snack ball. If there are two things that Liam loves right now it is food and toy balls. Whoever created this definitely had a little boy in mind. I never leave the house these days without taking some kind of snack for him and this reusable snack ball is great for just that.

 The teacher in me is all about having educational toys in our house. Liam loves anything that is wooden right now and this wooden alphabet puzzle is perfect for the stage he is currently in (chewing on everything) and will grow with him as he begins to learn his letters. The October Octopus Book teaches all the months of the year in a fun interactive way. Liam has an animal book that he LOVES right now with all sorts of textures and things you can touch so this book would be perfect. Like every other kid, Liam is obsessed with Nic and I's iphones. Not the best thing to be making a "toy" out of. This wooden phone though just might be the best replacement while simultaneously being perfect for teaching numbers too. It even makes sound! 

I have been torn between a radio flyer walker wagon and this actual wagon that he can be pulled in. If anyone has both and could recommend one more than the other I'd love to hear from you in an email or the comments below! I can't decide which one will get more use and he will love more. He loves to walk, push things, and carry things with him wherever he goes. The walker version would be perfect for that. He doesn't have any kind of a walker or anything to tote around with his toys inside right now. We go for a ton of evening walks though which makes me think he might love to be pulled in a wagon where he can bring his toys along with him but we also have a great stroller he loves to ride in too so it might not be necessary. Right now, I'm leaning toward the walker wagon! 

I am continually amazed at how fast Liam grows out of his clothes. He needs a new hat before the first winter snow which, if were talking about Idaho, could be as soon as October, his birthday month. He also needs some new khaki church pants and I loved putting him in jogger sweats last winter for days where we just hung around the house. Liam is also ready for his first pair of walking shoes!! All his baby shoes are becoming too small and tattered. They also don't have the support he needs for learning to walk on hard surfaces. 

I'm excited to share more birthday plans in the coming weeks. So glad this week is half way over. I'm looking forward to having Nic back at home with us and for Liam and I to be on the mend from this yucky bug so we can have a fun weekend. Happy Hump Day!  

labor day at the fair

Besides having daddy home with us for a 3 day weekend, gosh, there is nothing I love more about labor day than a giant pronto pup, a petting zoo full of baby animals, and the best people watching you ever did see! Oh Eastern Idaho State Fair, you never cease to disappoint! Last year I was pregnant and had to miss out on my favorite pronto pup so that was a must this year and pretty much the first thing we did. Since Liam can't speak for himself yet, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it was his second favorite part of his first trip to the fair! 

I was so excited to take him to the petting zoo to see all of the baby animals! He looked at the rows of bunnies like, "nothing I haven't seen before, carry on" but the cows and goats on the other hand!!! He was smiling and giggling as they greedily approached his chubby little hands reaching out for them. Next year, we will definitely try feeding them. 

Liam is cruising away now and wanted to walk everywhere we went! Besides the petting zoo, we tried to avoid the crowds by finding any patch of open grass we could so he could walk to his little heart's content. 

When you go to the fair without kids in tow like we did the last couple of years, you don't really realize how many fun things they have specifically for kids. In the past we would just skip past them and move on but this year when we were actually looking, we noticed so many fun activities! We found this tent full of cut out farm pictures, meet Liam the dairy cow... 

They also had a little toy rocking horse that he LOVED. Remember how I said the pronto pup was his second favorite part of the fair?? I think it's safe to say this was his first favorite! He has a rocking caterpillar at home that we had stored away until he was big enough to use it. I think it it is time to get it out to play!

Our sweet boy was tuckered out and ready to go home for a nap after a few hours of fun. I can't think of a better way to have spent our Labor Day! Speaking of Labor Day ... I'm so grateful for a husband who works so hard to support our family and am grateful for the wonderful job he has doing what he loves. Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day too! XO 

yard update

The last time I shared about our yard progress was last summer in this post. Looking back, I can't believe how far we've come. I can't tell you how nice it is to just be able to enjoy our yard more rather than having to step outside into a big dirt patch. At the end of last summer we had just finished seeding our front and back yard. We did them on separate days and had a massive rain storm hit the day after we did our front yard so it is a little patchier in some areas than in the back but we are so happy to have a yard full of grass! Even since last summer, our yard has come a really long way.

The yard budget at the beginning of the summer was put towards a fully fenced backyard. It is nice to finally have a defined space with privacy that is ours. We fenced both sides with the help of our neighbors last summer but waited on the back because our neighbors behind us weren't willing to contribute and let me just tell you, vinyl fencing is not cheap. We figured if we gave it another year, by this summer they would be willing. Considering the fact that their yard has remained a dirt patch covered in 5 foot weeds (that completely wrecked havoc on the back of our yard last winter mind you), they were still not willing to help this summer. I honestly have some unresolved feelings about the situation but at least I don't have to look at their cornucopia of endless weeds anymore.

A little over a week ago we went to a couple of nurseries to price out/pick out plants and trees. Liam was such a trooper and found a black kitty to chase along the way! ;)

For trees, we chose 4 chanticleer pear trees. We wanted something that didn't get more then 15 - 20 feet which cut down our options significantly. I really love maple trees but they just get too big for the part of our yard we wanted to plant them at. We also wanted a tree that wouldn't make a total mess of our yard. At first when we were directed toward this tree with "pear" in the name we were a bit skeptical but learned they only have small green berries that don't fall off the tree. I guess birds love them and eat most of them off. The trees will also get pretty white flowers in the spring time. So we picked out our trees, a few shrubs, and ordered a trailer full of bark to be delivered this last weekend.

By the end of last summer, we had landscape fabric laid out across this back flower bed with bark on top of it but like I mentioned before, a combination of wind and the neighbors over grown weeds it was a gonner by spring time. We were left with very little bark replaced by massive weeds that had taken root in the space. So in a sense, it felt like starting over.

Another project we had planned on completing this summer was extending our cement patio. The builders give you such a dinky one that doesn't fit much on it. We promptly started tearing up grass for the space without realizing that now with a finished fence, they would need to crane the cement over the top of our house (read, expensive). We haven't fully decided what our decision will be but are looking at other options in the mean time.

After a long hard days work on Saturday, we got to enjoy our new trees and this beautiful Idaho sunset!! It was incredibly rewarding!

In our front flower bed we decided to go with sunjoy gold pillar barberries. Low maintenance and the perfect amount of green in the summer time and a beautiful bright red in the fall.  Speaking of fall, we plan to plant some flower bulbs that will come up in the spring and summer next year between each barberry. I can hardly wait to have pink and white tulips in our yard! :)

I couldn't be happier with the progress we made on Saturday and with how good it is looking! We owe a big thank you to my wonderfully green-thumbed mother-in-law for giving such great advice on how to plant things as well as playing with Liam so we could get all that we did accomplished. Hopefully by my next yard progress update we will have beautiful flowers coming in and that white porch swing I so desperately want to add. :) 

Liam's First Haircut & a video!

10 months old and Liam was already needing a haircut. Those cute little wispy locks of his were quickly turning into a mullet so he got his first haircut today! A cute video and lots of pictures to follow below ...

I was so thankful that our sweet neighbor friend, Heather, who is a hair stylist turned stay-at-home mom was willing to cut it for us. Thinking about taking a baby to a salon full of people I don't know freaked me out. She cut it right in her kitchen and it was perfect. 

We tried to come prepared with all the tricks up our sleeves. A container of his favorite banana flavored puffs, daddy's work badge (a "toy" he LOVES but rarely gets to play with), and the last cherry flavored tongue depressor from the doctor who told me to save it for an emergency. The puffs lasted 3 seconds, the badge maybe 5, so out came the emergency which lasted maybe 15! haha Liam actually did SO great though! Better than we could have ever expected of him! He was such a happy camper at the beginning giving everyone smiles. He became so interested in everything Heather was using on his hair so she even gave him an extra comb she had to play with. Naturally it went right in his mouth! He has to test everything out these days.  

Nic is seriously the best dad in the whole world. Liam is in this stage where he wants to poke and prod at everything on your face so daddy so sweetly let him go to town on his nose and mouth. haha Whatever kept him entertained and somewhat still!

This picture below cracks me up! By the end he was definitely ready to be done. Lots of eye rubbing told us it was time for bed.

So we compromised and did the last few trims while he rested his head on daddy's shoulder and watched intently as Heather's daughter was giggling from being tickled. :)

Gosh, doesn't he look SO handsome! That is one good lookin' do dude! Thanks again Heather!

no place I'd rather be

| THIS MORNING |

I would have been sharpening a gigantic handful of brand new pencils, watching bits of shaved pencil dust fly onto the freshly clean carpet.

I would have written the first date for the year on the white board next to 'Mrs. Williamson'.

I would have smiled at 25+ smiling yet nervous little faces and welcomed them with open arms back to another year of school.

I would have been wearing a pencil skirt that spent the summer months on a hanger in my closet to be replaced with capris and flip flops.

I would have put an emphasis on getting to know them all day long and trying to make them laugh at my silly jokes.

I would have started my FAVORITE teacher read aloud, Goblins in the Castle by Bruce Coville, and smiled contently as I watched their eyes grow with excitement at the turn of every page and hear the many sad sighs when read aloud was over for the day closing the book at the best cliff hanger yet.

 I would have sat with them at lunch and asked them about their families, what they love, what they did over the summer, and most importantly, what they are looking forward to during the school year.

I would have taken their pictures so that they had something to remember this special day by for the rest of their lives.

At the end of the day, I would have reluctantly said goodbye to 25+ of my new best little friends until tomorrow while also simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief from a whirl wind of a day that first days of school always are.

I would have gotten to share all the ups and downs of the day with my favorite teacher friend across the hall.

Then I would have taken one last final glance around the room, making sure to take one last look at every child's name tag in hopes that I had every single one of them completely memorized before turning off the light, closing the door, and driving home to get some rest before I started it all over again the very next day.

| INSTEAD |

I got to wake up to the stirring sounds of a well rested baby across the hall, his drawn out cooing sounds communicating to me that 'yes mommy, I'm definitely hungry'.

I got to bring him into our warm cozy bed and snuggle him while he happily nursed beside me.

We got to watch daddy whirl around the room getting ready for work and putting on my favorite dress shirt and tie.

I got to carry Liam out into the kitchen and make both my boys their favorite breakfast, Nic scrambled eggs and peanut butter toast and Liam a half of a banana, some baby oatmeal, and a handful or two of puffs!

I got to snuggle Liam on the couch while we spent a lazy morning watching a few minutes of Micky Mouse Clubhouse in our jammies and playing with his favorite toys.

I got to rock him until his eyes drifted to sleep at nap time.

I got to be there when he woke up from his nap, his smiling face showing me how happy he was to see me as I opened the door.

We got to go grocery shopping for ingredients to try out new recipes, an experience where Liam tried his very best to swipe everything off the shelves that were in his reach when mommy wasn't looking.

We got to repeat those precious nap moments for the second time that we experienced earlier in the day.

We got to have a mommy and baby play date together with new friends at the park.

We got to dance in the kitchen and sing along to our favorite country songs as we got dinner ready and welcomed our favorite guy home from work at the end of the day. 

Teaching was my passion. I'm still passionate about it and I loved the little lives I got to be apart of and the teacher friends I made. But today, more than ever, there was no place I would have rather been then at home with my little guy. Ever since I've had Liam, my heart is wherever he is and while teaching was my favorite job outside the home, I'm so grateful I don't have to leave my heart behind anymore. I hope he always remembers these special days with me filled with snuggles, slow mornings, endless smiles, and dancing in the kitchen. Because I know that I always will. Today I got to live my dream job and I get to do it again tomorrow! I've never felt more lucky.