One of Liam’s Valentine’s Day presents this year was a strawberry seed planting kit. He was super excited about it and pretty much demanded that we plant them right away. He just loves digging in the dirt, and actually has a pretty steady hand so there isn’t usually too much of a mess for me to clean up afterwards. This was definitely a group activity though. Strawberry seeds are far too small for a 22 month old to be able to actually plant (and not lose). So Liam put the dirt in his can, and then he held my hands as we carefully put the seeds in and he sprinkled the seed covering on himself. Today, after a couple of weeks of careful watering, we woke up to little green shoots starting to come up. Liam was very excited! We are both looking forward to watching the plants grow, especially since it makes it feel like spring might actually come someday when the snow outside is STILL higher than our fence!
play
15 months later…
I can’t believe how the time has flown, Liam is 15 months already! It has been so exciting to watch him play, grow, and learn these last few months. Everything happens so fast at this point, it’s like a neural explosion. Over the last 3 months Liam has:
- Gone from stumbling to run-stumbling
- Learned to say over 25 words, although he mostly refers to animals by the sounds they make, except our youngest dog, Bruise, who he calls Rooze.
- Learned how to walk backwards and spin in a circle
- Begun helping Conan and I with simple tasks (carrying light things mostly)
His favorite things right now are:
- Reading… By himself, to the bear, to Conan and I… This little boy loves to be the one reading the story.
- His big white bear, “Baby”… When Liam was born Conan’s company sent us a present, a giant white polar bear which I never named because I figured it would be too big to drag around. Liam has proven me wrong and he has named it “Baby”. The other stuffed animals are babies too, but there is only one Baby and he goes everywhere with Liam.
- Yogurt, cereal bars, and berries
- Going to the park
- The tub, this little guy loves his baths (and his bath toys)
He has had a lot of adventures over the last three months, including:
- His first sleepovers with Grammy and Grampy F.
- His second annual Flynnstock with Conan
- His first trip to the beach!
Liam and Conan, taking a dip
My Little Fish
Bouncy house fun
While I have tried (desperately sometimes) to be there for every single event it just hasn’t been possible and sometimes Conan and Liam are a two man team while I am at home with the puppy brothers doing homework or at work. We do our best with the time we have and try to make every moment count.
Today the three of us went out to lunch to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and then to the park for some quality time (and to exhaust Liam before his nap). It was suppose to rain all day today so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to get out and about. My park plan however backfired as it was not just Liam that needed the nap when we got home 😉
“Boo!”
Sliding fun!
Sliding fun!
And now a parting message from Liam himself and a few more of my favorite pictures from the last few months….
mddddddddddddddddddddddcnn vvvvvvvvvvvvmvb nffkbgghashgklbjcv b hvfghm jk df6988888888888888888
I can’t wait to see what the next three months brings!
Artsy Toddlers
Liam and The Bean have been exploring their artistic side this week. For the most part we have been playing with crayons and stickers, using this exploration in art as an opportunity to learn shapes and colors. Today I was tired of drawing green circles and purple squares so I decided to be brave and break out the finger paints.
I set up this activity with one color of paint only placed onto a plate for easy dipping for their small hands, I also prepared by grabbing a roll of paper towels and a bowl of water in advance for emergency clean ups (surprise! there were a few!). We started out by taking turns and making hand prints (for Momma’s memory box), then it was a finger painting free for all. All in all it was a great time and entertained them for about 30 minutes total. Even the clean up afterwards wasn’t all that difficult thanks to being prepared with water and towels. The kids had a blast!
And now for the photos… this is the last few days of art activities 🙂 It looks like the Grammy’s and Grampy’s are going to be getting LOTS of presents!
Day 37
Day 37 of the selfie challenge: 365 Days of Momma
It’s Sunday! AND! I have the day off!!!!
That’s right, its my weekend off… I firmly believe that having to work every other weekend makes me that much more appreciative of the ones I have off.
This morning Liam took off after breakfast, grabbed a book and his teddy bear, and then proceeded to set himself up on the couch next to me to “study” with me. That’s right, I used the “s” word. Someone though it would be a brilliant idea to take a full course load in the summer during the most gorgeous weather of the year because the semester is shorter and it would be nice to just get the work done with. The same someone is now incredibly worried that maybe, just maybe, she might not be able to keep up. I don’t know who comes up with these brilliant ideas but they probably should have less of them.
So the adorableness ensued this morning and Liam and I studied together for about 10 minutes before my urge to snap a picture completely overcame me. Of course as soon as I picked up the camera phone he had to climb into my lap to get it…. The result is this:
Today’s selfie is less of me and more of us, but it is an awesome memory that I want to hold on to…. especially with the puppy photo-bomb in the second shot!
I do promise an update soon on my personal progress towards self acceptance of myself in photographs. This project has turned into more than I originally planned. What started out as something that was just for me has also evolved into a mechanism to show Liam my memories from his early childhood.
Somersworth Children’s Festival
So I am a little behind in keeping up with the blog.. I blame the awesomely hot weather (and my subsequent desire to spend my life in the splash pool with the toddlers).
I also am prepping to head back to school in a big way next week after taking the spring semester off (it was so nice!). I have a year left of classes, and a year left of an internship before I can take my administrator boards, so it is all serious all the time starting next week. It really is a shame I can’t (safely) bring the laptop into the splash pool with me. That would be some amazing multitasking.
This group of pictures is from the annual International Children’s Festival in Somersworth NH that we went to with a pretty big group of the family a few weeks ago. It was an absolute blast and if you are in the seacoast NH region on the 3rd Saturday in June you should definitely make plans to bring your family! The activities there were definitely geared to the 10 an under crowd, but even the 1 year olds had a blast dancing and hanging out with the animals at the miniature petting zoo. As a parent the events on the various stages kept me entertained as well, and it was so much fun to see the kids enjoying themselves. I think this is going to be a yearly trip for us.
Want more information about the festival? Visit the website for the Somersworth Festival Association.
And without further adieu… pictures!
Turtles
Pythons
Goats
Lizards
Bunnies
Pigs
First stop for us was the Wildlife Encounters area. There were animals and a mini petting zoo for the kids.. a hit with all of them. The folks over at wildlife encounters were super busy, but also super nice. they do Birthday Parties in the area and my sister-in-law who works at a local day care center said that their visits to the daycare are always a kid/parent favorite. Personally I loved the staffing ratio they had, despite all of the kids that were milling around they were able to keep everything well organized, the animals not overcrowded, and everyone happy and safe.
splash pool
cool down time
a long walk made fun
big wheels!
big wheels!
After the animals we had some fun on the playground, drawing pictures in the shade, and then cooled off with the splash pool that was set up before taking a long walk down to the second site of the festival (note* there was a trolley that we did not know about that would have taken us down minus the hike… good to know for next year!)
TaeKwon Do demo
The Bean and Grampa
The Bean and Aunty
C is fascinated
Next up for us was a nice cold drink and snack time while we watched a Jamaican band and then the TaeKwon Do demo put on by Mr. B’s school. The older kids were fascinated, the toddlers wanted to risk life and limb to run out among all the kicking and punching people. Apparently it looked like fun!
Aunty Moonshine
Giant Tiger Slide
You can cross riding a mechanical bull off my bucket list
shell paintings
Balloon Animals
The international tent
Aunty C, beat us all with the longest ride
Our stamps
C+F posing in front of the bull
The second site had all the normal fair like activities, including rides, face painting, games, fair food and balloon animals. There also was a pretty cool craft fair inside the school and a tented area that highlighted the cultural trends of different nationalities.
Aunty and Uncle Moonshine, and The Bean
Grampy and Grammy!
Aunty C and F
The Bean playing on a fire engine
This is where Liam passed out (literally, while walking), so Conan and I trudged back to the car and went to go pick up pizza while everyone else got to enjoy a lovely trolley ride and some more fun!
Water, Water Everywhere
It is HOT! A full week before summer officially begins and the heat has finally descended on us…. That is right, I said finally. After one of the longest winters in recent memory I really can’t complain about the heat at all. Besides… It is just going to get hotter as we draw closer and closer to July’s muggy 100+ degree heat waves with ridiculous amounts of humidity. The type of humidity that leaves you feeling vaguely damp all the time despite sitting in an air conditioned room. (This is one of the benefits of living by the ocean… Right?) This year we are prepared… Far more prepared than we were last year after they let us take home a baby from the hospital without an instruction manual.
Sunglasses and a hat… its hard to be this cool.. or is it hot? Liam’s first summer.
We now own enough air conditioners that the super drafty house that was built in 1890 actually gets cool… mostly. At least the areas where we spend the most time are cool enough that we don’t want to die or hibernate in the basement. (Is it hibernating if it happens in the summer?) We also have two awesome new additions to our outdoor area for the toddlers in our lives: a water table and a splash pool. The kids are pretty impressed with these additions, especially since we are apparently raising a couple of fish. Sometimes I swear they smear food in their hair on purpose so that they have to take a bath afterwards (it can’t be just a coincidence that they smear food and then immediately run for the bathroom trying to climb into the tub, clothes and all).
I foresee a ton of water play in our future in the upcoming months, which provides different fun learning opportunities for the kiddos. The water table that we purchased is the Fischer Price Step 2 Arctic Splash Water Table.
The reason I got this particular water table is because it comes with a splash tower. Liam already has a watering can for watering his garden with and we have tossed it into the water table for some fun in there. It is great for transferring water up to the top of the tower so he can watch it run down (cause and effect fun!). This water table was also pre-tested and approved by Liam’s big cousin M who got one as a birthday present last year. For a fun activity in the future I have purchased some larger (too big to choke on) rocks from the pet store (in the fish department) to put into the bottom of the table for some texture variations, and because throwing rocks into the water is fun. For now we are just enjoying the splashing!
I have yet to take pictures in the awesome pool that my sister got Liam for his birthday, but this splash pool is full of activities. It has a ring toss and a slide… it is a huge step up from the little wading pools we had when I was a kid??!? This thing is like the BMW of the kiddy pool world. Once I actually buy a bathing suit I will be spending my summer sitting in it (whenever the kids let me).
In the market for a Water Table for your little one? I highly recommend this one as it was incredibly easy to set up and stood the test of 2 toddlers throughout the summer.
You can find it here:
Day 19
Day 19 of the selfie challenge
Today is another super hot day… It was suppose to rain all morning, but we ended up only having a brief sprinkle that kept us indoor playing for a couple of hours around breakfast.
Liam must have realized I was hungry… Sadly wooden hamburgers with cheese are not my favorite.
Liam’s Gardening Update
Liam and I have been working on a potted plant on the back deck this spring because I think it’s never to early to start playing with kids in the garden. It started by planting some ranunculus bulbs in late April, and was filled in today with some bacopa by my little helper and I. Part of our morning ritual is to go out and check on the pot to see if it needs watering. I am really looking forward to enjoying some flowers on the deck this summer…
If it ever warms up!
Three Things Thursday, 5/22/14
Three Things Thursday is an exercise in gratitude that began over on Nerd In The Brain, another awesome blog. Every Thursday I highlight three things from the week that I am grateful and/or made me happy. It is a highlight of those little extra things in life that you don’t always have time to stop and enjoy. A celebration of life’s gravy. Feel free to steal this idea for yourself as well 🙂
My first thing this week is Lilacs
I love the smell of Lilacs. It is the smell of spring here in New Hampshire (Fun Fact: They are also the state flower). These pictures are from the trees in our yard and neighborhood (One of my elderly neighbors up the street has AMAZING gardens that I am seriously jealous of).
Next up is
Fenway with his “precious”, the best ball ever.
Bruiser fetching
Leroy catching some rays
“see?” checking on the Ranunculus
“Ball!”
Mornings on the deck with Liam and the puppy brothers. Now that the weather is a little bit nicer we have been going out to play every day. Liam and I check on and water the flowers, Leroy suns himself, and Fenway and The Bruise get some running time in with their balls (I totally consider throwing the balls to be my arm workout for the day). Oh yeah, and I get to sip my coffee in the sun. Life is good.
Last up is this awesome hat:
When Liam goes to sleep, I might dress up the stuffed dog with his accessories…
This is MY hat Momma, not the dogs.
Every kid needs a breakfast hat.
The first thing Liam saw when we came downstairs this morning Liam immediately noticed the hat on the dog and took it off so he could wear it at breakfast (after breakfast it was then discarded to the floor because it was time to play, it is a breakfast hat not a playing hat).
Poor Stuffed Doggy 😦
Three Things Thursday, 5/8/14
Three Things Thursday is an exercise in gratitude… A shout out to the little things in life that make life awesome that originated on Nerd In The Brain, another awesome blog that you should all totally check out!
This week I am grateful for:
Spring, it’s May in NH and this spring has finally sprung! That means Liam, The Bean, Da, the puppy brothers, and I finally can go outside and play! Liam has overcome his fear of the outdoors and the park up the street is our new favorite hang out. I can’t wait until they get the water park part of it going 🙂
Watching Liam and The Bean race each other to climb up to the top of the slide and then head down like they are experts is something I could do every day if weather permitted and I had an extra set of arms 🙂
The second thing I am grateful for is…
Video baby monitors.
That’s right, the baby spy cam.
Some people though that getting a video baby monitor was a waste of money, but as someone who has one video and one sound only baby monitor I have to say I have a very strong preference for the video. I love this little Motorola monitor that I got from the motherland (Target) while it was on sale for less than $100. It is definitely high up there on my list of recommended baby items… It certainly beats peaking under the door to see if the kiddo is still in bed at nap time (it’s an old house).
Last up for this Thursday is…
Chalkboard paint!
It’s pretty cool and fairly inexpensive. This is our first venture into the world of chalkboard paint and we used it as a backdrop to Liam’s kitchen…. Once we get the kitchen put together 🙂
That is it for this week! Have a happy Thursday!
Momma's Finding Her Balance 