Mother's Day 2019

I'm back! With another update from May ... in July! haha Mother's Day!

Next to being a wife, there is nothing I cherish more than being a mom. I'm always telling Nic, this stage of life we are in together right now has always been the one that I looked forward to the most in my life. Having babies as always been my dream! It's also the hardest stage too. I give them all of me every day ... my time, my energy, everything I can think of to teach them, my adventurous side exploring new places, the side of me that slowly dwindles with patience, the saying I'm sorry and asking for forgiveness side, and more than anything else, loving them with all that I am!

Mother's Day was the perfect celebration of all of that. It is both amazing and challenging that it is celebrated on a Sunday every year. Church with kids can be an absolute whirlwind and test in survival mode. It is also the best day to rest too and it was a good mix of that. We had my mom over for dinner to celebrate her too otherwise we spent the rest of the day just spending time together.

 While I had a date night with Liam the night before, Lyla walked through the park to the store with daddy and she picked out the prettiest pink roses for me for Mother's Day! It was adorable hearing the story of her looking at all the "fowers" and wanting to smell them over and over again. 

Liam made me the most adorable soap container with his picture inside at preschool along with my favorite part of the gift ...

Haha I love those and his answers were priceless!! To my credit, I don't ALWAYS forget to buckle him in his seat. ;) Luckily, he has learned how to do it himself now so he can stay protected under my watch! I also love to paint with him and he always make me feel so beautiful with his sweet compliments when I wear a dress. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Without knowing he was doing one with his teacher, the little survey of questions was what I told Nic I wanted him to do with Liam to hear what he would say so he recorded some videos. I thought I would share his answers to those here too ...

What is something mom always says to you? ... "We're going to the library." haha

What makes mom happy? ... "Giving her hugs!"

If mom were a character in a movie, which character would she be? ... "Wonder Woman!"

What is mommy really good at? ... "Painting mirrors"

What is mommy not good at? ... "Ummm, she's good at everything." (no, he was not prompted to say that. haha)

What makes you proud of mommy? ... "By making bugs dead." 

What do you and mommy both love to eat? ... "Strawberries"

Hahaha BEST GIFT EVER!!! I love their little personalities so much and am so grateful they picked me to be their mom!

February

I realized after adding these pictures that I should have titled this the "ya ya saga" with the one single picture I have of Liam in it (haha) ... he just moves even faster than she does. ;)

I'm realizing parenthood is this liberating yet terrifying experience as your child masters new things. Packing that girl up and down two flights of stairs multiple times a day is a work out but she's been practicing scaling them on her own and it is beyond liberating on my back but I think my heart stops in the process every time. haha

How cute is that little climber though?! So proud of herself!

Baths are my favorite thing in the world so I'm trying to teach her young. They are also the most fun pass time during the winter months so this was our girl's night while the boys played legos ...

Don't ask me why but I keep my ribbon box in the play room (usually high enough so it is out of reach) but I got lazy after having to get it down so many times during the holidays that I forgot I left it where she could find it. She spent a good 30 minutes draping herself in every single one of those ribbons ...

 Liam is my wildly creative one ... he asked me the other day if he could borrow my corn on the cob holders and created this Rusty Rivets (a character from a tv show he likes) and it is spot on! He's going places with these talents some day!

These two spend a lot of their Sundays together and I couldn't be more thankful to have Nic help me carry the load after a long week ... 

One of my favorite things Liam used to do when he was her age and now she does it too!!! Runs with her hands behind her back! :) I love it so much!!

Breaking all the hearts with that chocolatey grin! 

Her hair is getting so long. <3 ...="" adore="" against="" at="" curls="" drying="" end="" from="" her="" i="" it="" p="" shoulders="" the="" way="">

The only possible way for me to finish getting ready in the morning is to let her absolutely trash my bathroom. She dumped a basket that happened to be filled with bandaids, nail polish remover wipes, and q tips! I look down, and see my very own alien baby! haha

Trying on daddy's shoes and waving to me ...

When you're making pretend dinner and accidentally sit on the velcro food ...

Having Lyla take a bottle after she weaned from nursing has been just as soothing of an experience for me as it has been for her. I know this stage too is needing to draw to a close and it is one more thing that makes her a little less of a baby. I had to capture this moment the other day so I could always look back on it and remember what she looked like while holding her own bottle in my arms ... because I know I definitely won't forget the feeling.  

Christmas Card Outtakes

Christmas card pictures were last minute and simple this year ... tripod and self timer to the rescue! I'm pretty sure this is my boys new favorite way of taking family pictures ... Nic because he didn't have to listen to me stress over outfits and spend an hour or more in some random location with a stranger that we paid a bunch of money to (haha!) and Liam because he got to be in charge of pressing the button on the self timer remote. ;) I got my picture, Lyla got to wear a cute dress, Merry Christmas to ALL!

Anyway, the best part of self timer photos are some of the outtakes so I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share the silly faces, forced smiles, and spit up!

Burp cloth at the ready ALWAYS and teaching her where to look. haha

There it is ... haha The ONE moment we move the burp cloth (palm to forehead)!

And a few adorable ones of Lyla girl ...

I love when she makes this face at me like, "Are you kidding me mom with that camea again? You're a crazy lady!" ;)

If you haven't already, you can read our Christmas card and letter here! XO

Liam Says

Kids say the darnedest things, don't they?! One of my favorite things about Liam talking so much more now are the hilarious things that he has to say. Here are just a few of them lately ...

I was wearing a messy bun for the millionth day in a row and Liam looks up at it and said, "Mommy has a big ball on her head ... it's GROSS!" thankyouverymuch Liam!

Some of our best conversation of all happen in the bathroom of course. Here's one from yesterday morning ...

Liam: "Mom, I have to go poop!"

Me: "Okay Liam, let's go to the bathroom."

Liam: "3 poops mommy. I have to go THREE poops."

Me: trying to keep it together ... "Okay, 3 poops it is."

Liam: "I'll try ... grunts grunts grunts ... IT'S WORKING!!!"

Me: seriously struggling to hold it together.

Liam: stands up to assess the situation and says with disappointment ... "Oh, just 2 poops mommy."

hahaha!

I can't remember if I've shared this one already or not but occasionally when Lyla is crying and I'm in the other room, I'll call out to Liam to give Lyla her binkie. He LOVES helping so he always drops whatever it is he is doing and runs to help her. I happened to be in the kitchen at this time and I peek around the corner to make sure he is being gentle with her and he goes, "YaYa, it's this!" as he tries to plunk the binkie in her mouth. (He uses the words this and that to substitute for words he doesn't know or can't quite say yet by the way). She finally accepts his offering and he yells, "Okay, it's DONE!"

They just built a PetsMart in our city and we took Liam there to see the animals they had. This lady was wandering around the store with her cat on a leash and Liam was giggling and pointing at it. The lady walks around the corner and Liam goes running after her yelling behind him, "Where'd the TITTY go?!" Awesome.

Love that 3 year old of ours to pieces! He sure keeps life comical and interesting around here! ;)

the year that Liam licked Santa's beard!

Yes, you read that title right. 

On Saturday we visited Santa and Mrs. Clause at Nic's work. After missing Santa at the festival of trees, Liam had been talking about seeing him for the last two weeks. He has seemed very into Santa this year but we set our expectations low about their actual interaction after last year's Santa experience. There was a group of people standing around and talking but no one was actually in line to see Santa so we were able to go right up to the front. I kid you not, Liam ran from Nic's side right into Santa's arms annnnnd ........... wait for it ................ 

LICKED Santa's beard!!!!

I could not make this stuff up even if I tried! haha

Apparently seeing Santa made Liam super hyper and silly! Every time Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas (something he had been rehearsing to tell him all Christmas season) "a backhoe and a motorcycle", he instead proceeded to stick out his tongue and make silly sounds and not say anything at all. haha I was busy snapping away pictures and couldn't hear their conversation so after a couple of minutes we asked Liam if he told Santa what he wanted and Santa said, "Well, I couldn't really get it out of him but it sounds like he wants toys and books for Christmas this year!" haha How generic Santa! 

Meanwhile, Lyla was over there being an absolute gem for Mrs. Clause. She fell asleep in her crib earlier that afternoon and woke up in a strangers arms (hence her expression) haha but other than that, she never even made a peep. 

Next to the first picture that will go down in our priceless Santa meeting history ... this was the next best keepsake! Lyla's first Christmas and first picture with Santa!

The best Santa experience yet! Not only did we get to skip the lines and not have to pay $40 for one Santa photo but they even gave Liam his own stuffed animal ... a kitty! 

Ho Ho Ho! and sorry about the beard, Santa!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

A couple of Saturdays ago was Earth Day and what better way to spend it than flying a kite! Liam got an airplane kite for Easter but there wasn't enough wind while we were in Boise to have the opportunity to fly it. Well Pocatello is definitely NOT lacking in that department so we took it up to the Wellness Complex here in town to fly it for the first time instead. In fact, the wind was SO strong and crazy that day that the kite was tough to reel back in once it was in the air. haha

Perhaps the most crucial part of this story that needed to be documented happened while Nic was trying to reel the kite back down a bit so Liam could see it up close and help him fly it. While the kite was high in the sky Liam was happily running around underneath and trying to "chase" it. As he often does, he got distracted for a moment by all of his running and stopped dead in his tracks (many yards away from us at this point in this big open field) and saw something he wanted to pick up. He still loves finding sticks to carry around whenever we are at a park so he proudly bends over and picks up a short fat brown object in his hand and starts waving it in the air at us with this big grin on his face. It seemed a little TOO fat and short to be a stick (if you know what I mean!) so I ran over to him as fast as my pregnant body would allow to investigate while Nic was still trying to get the kite under control. I get a few feet away and see several more of those big fat brown sticks in a pile by his feet. Yes, my friends, Liam had in fact picked up a giant piece of dog poop and was carrying it around!!! haha

The silver lining of this first time parent experience is that it was old and hard so it didn't get all over his hands (it could have been SO much worse!) but I still hauled him as quick as I could back to the car to clean his hands. That there is a two year old boy for you, ladies and gentleman!!!

After that, all was right in the world and he got to fly his new kite with daddy for the first time and loved every single minute of it! So thankful to live on this beautiful Earth and to have so many more beautiful sunny days ahead of us to spend time outside!

tales of a toddler

I think toddlers might be the most hilarious little people in the world! They just have so much personality and are learning new things every day so they do some of the most comical things ever. Here are just a few tales from our toddler lately ...

Looks for mom, discovers she's not in the room. Looks for dad, discovers he's not in the room either. Begins hollering at the top of his lungs "DEEEEEEE DEEEEEEE DEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" (code for: hello?! Where you at??) By the way, "DEEEE" has officially replaced the names mama and dada. I have no idea!

Walks in the bathroom, immediately goes straight for the roll of toilet paper and begins unwinding half the roll, decides a mile is finally an adequate enough length and tears it off. He blows in it once, coughs in it for good measure, and then rolls it all into a ball and throws it in the garbage can. Ready for round TWO!

ME: "Oh Liam, look! Look at all of those tractors out the window!"

We pass said tractors rather quickly ...

LIAM: He launches into, "MO, MO, MO, MO, MO, MO, MO!" (more)

As if we can make a tractor appear again for him out of thin air. haha

Wakes up, immediately goes for the toy basket, and insists the entire thing be dumped out. Meanwhile, I begin cooking breakfast for the two (sometimes three of us). Liam ever so quietly hauls every single toy from the basket to be stacked one at a time around the rim of the kitchen table, I turn around and he eyes me ever so carefully with this cheeky grin on his face, sees that I notice all 168 toys ready to join us for breakfast. I take even one small step toward the table and he shrieks "NOO!" Every day people, every day.

And not a day goes by when he is not covered from head to toe in stickers!! haha

So glad my world revolves around a two year old every day because it's comedy central 24/7. ;)

diapers, pikachu slippers, and flashlights, OH MY!

Liam's current favorite obsession besides remotes, because he'll never quit those, are flashlights. Combine that with a little boy who is happiest in a diaper and wearing the most absurd slippers that are five sizes too big for him that Nic wore as a kid, and you have our silly Liam Rex.

I tell you what, I have a feeling these are going to make some epic black mail or graduation cake pictures someday! ;) I can not come up with this stuff.

Turning the fan on and off a thousand times throughout the day is a pretty fun game too ...

So pleased with himself. Haha

And for slipper to foot size comparison ...

Gotta catch 'em all! I mean, gotta catch ya later! ;) I've got to go make sure this kid doesn't kill himself in these things because he hasn't taken them off since Grandma Williamson gave them to him on Saturday! 

a fun date night idea

Nic and I recently inherited pretty much everything from our childhoods. I guess after 5 years of marriage it is time to be FULLY moved out huh?! ;) haha We've gone through most of it by now but I found one of Nic's boxes in the garage last night. It hadn't been touched yet so I thought I'd go through it while he got the sprinkler system fired up for the season. The first thing I pulled out of the box was his 7th grade yearbook and I was immediately transported back to a time when Nic was just a long haired blonde boy with a fierce love for soccer, skiing, and video games that I'd never met yet! I was so intrigued thinking about all of those years of life that these books contained that I wasn't a part of and I suddenly wanted to hear all the stories that make up those years apart and that's when I dreamed up this fun date idea.

I'm sure Nic was mostly humoring me and really just in it for the ice cream and favorite picture of me as a senior dance team captain in a spandex outfit. haha But I think he'd agree that we really did have so much fun looking through them together! As any parent knows, date nights with your spouse when you have kids are very few and far between unless you really get creative and make the time. The last actual date night OUT we've had alone together was back in December so since then we've made date night IN more of a priority. I love having date nights in the middle of the week too because it makes the week more fun, spontaneous, and something to look forward to.

We shared our favorite vanilla frozen yogurt with reece's peanut butter cups and giggled for a couple hours together comparing pictures from each school year. With Nic's shaggy bowl hair cut and my braces and beloved puka shell necklace phase, we'd have made quite a pair wouldn't we?! haha     

Reading the notes from friends was probably my favorite part!! You definitely have to be prepared for a few sappy love notes or novels in our cases from ex-boyfriends and girlfriends between the pages. haha Oh young love. At the time, it consumes you! If you have a strong relationship with your spouse though, those love notes are more sweet than anything. Then you run into a few hilarious comments or a bromance or two in Nic's case ...

So HOT HOT HOT! HAHA He is still best friends with this person today so it was funny texting him pictures of what he said to him and his wife and having a comical group chat throughout the evening.

I won't share all of them because trust me, you don't need to see that (haha!) but I wanted to share a picture of Nic and I as high school seniors. When I searched for his picture though, I was so sad he didn't have one at all in his senior year book. No senior pictures taken, WHAT?! I'm looking at you Susan and Rick! haha So I had to go with the next best thing, junior year ... 

sorry for the poor photo quality, a picture of a picture

Aw look at those little babies! They could have been high school sweethearts. ;) haha We are three years apart so these aren't from the same year. It is so funny how in high school, a junior dating a freshman would have been a big deal but three years apart in college is totally nothing. We did have a few laughs about our age difference last night and how 6th grade was still in elementary school for him but became part of "middle school" by the time I was in 6th grade so I had one extra yearbook than him. Nic wanted to kill me sharing this picture I might add. He said at this point in high school he didn't really care hence the soccer sweatshirt for picture day and that he truly hit his prime good looks when he got to college. haha That side smile though!

So if you're in the market for a fun date night idea when you're trapped at home after the kiddos go to bed, yearbooks! Trust me, it provides some good laughs and hours of entertainment! What's your favorite date night idea in?! Please share in the comments, I'm all ears! XO