Liam's 1st Birthday!

Yesterday was Liam's 1st birthday. I can't believe it. Seriously. Where did the year go?! It's been full of laughs, tears, and lots of sleep (at least for Liam, Sophie, and me). He is basically a pretty chill little guy. Tends to only cry when he is hungry (and the tears come quickly). Lately he has been screeching and squealing very loudly. I think he gets this from his sister. He loves Sophie. So much! He follows her everywhere and loves to be in her room with her. There are some times where she doesn't appreciate that very much. They do play really well together, though she is definitely the boss. His toys are her toys. Her toys are her toys. My toys are her toys. You get the picture.

Anyway, back to the birthday boy. His one year stats are:

height: 31.5 inches (95%)
weight: 22 lb 10 oz (70%)
head: 47.8 cm

He's gonna be tall like his daddy!

He's giving kisses and hugs, sort of, responds to his name, eats pretty much anything and everything except green beans, loves to be outside, in the stroller or wagon, loves the water. He's a fast crawler and loves to walk along the furniture. He stands for long periods of time but doesn't care to start walking. Everything goes in his mouth. He loves to watch his daddy play his game (or maybe he just loves to play with the keyboard and mouse).

fell on his toy and split his lip, on his bday

He just brightens our house and our lives. We love this little dude and are so happy he came to our family.

St. Louis vaca with daddy

After we took Tom back to the airport, we went to stay with TJ's cousin. Jenny is about the sweetest lady on the planet! We visited that night and the next day we went to the Butterfly House. So beautiful!

yes, those are cockroaches. gross. 

the mating butterflies that landed on me. cool and strange. 

the moms went shopping while TJ "babysat" the kids

California, Part 2

It's been a few months since our trip and I can't remember the order we did things in, but here are some more fun things we were able to do. 

We went to a "petting zoo" which was really some person's back yard. Sophie would not ride the horse. Papa tried to get her to but she kicked and screamed. They had a zebra-donkey (the girl loves zebras) and horses, llamas, goats, pigs, and a playground. She was pretty much a but the whole time we were there and when we left. The grownups had fun feeding all the animals. 

Papa showed us the "old school" way to make bubbles and that was quite the hit. 

She rode the planter tricycle and loved it!

We visited mommy's old work friends. These two were born two weeks apart. I babysat his for a few months before we moved. 

Things I don't have pictures of:

Visiting lots with Heather and kids

Visiting with Renee

Visiting with Aubs, Alli, and Dave

Visiting with Sister Dulin

Girl's night with the Upland girls

Visiting my old work

Visiting with Aunt Deann

and I'm sure a few other things that I am forgetting. 

We had tons of fun just sitting in the sun and visiting with our family. It was sad to leave, but we sure missed daddy! Tom flew home with us because he felt bad that I had so much stuff and two kids on a plane. It was very nice to have him there and to visit for a little bit longer. 

watching a movie on Papa's laptop

teething child

ya, I'm pooping. 

sleeping on the plane. so much better without the carseat. she couldn't reach the seat in front of her to kick!