18 months!

My little man is changing SO fast!  So grateful for him and all the joy he brings.  Here's his latest:

- he's perfected the word "no" and says it VERY clearly.

- knows we need to "pay" (pray) before we eat.  cutest thing ever!

- says "turn" when we wants something.

- thinks the iPads are his "geem" (game).  Loves Trucks and Peekaboo Barn apps.  He can turn the iPad on and find the game he wants.

- loves to help in the kitchen and stand on the step stool.

- very careful with his drinks and always puts them up on the counter when he's done.

- still adores Cache and feeds him his dog food all by himself!  First official chore!

- "tuduh" (turtle) is his favorite animal.

- makes sure to say "toot" after someone passes gas.

- threw up for the first time at the gym during the Patterson Christmas party.  So sad. Then again in his bed a day later, then again at Quizno's a day later.

- he LOVES nursery!  He's been going for a couple months and RUNS to the nursery door after sacrament meeting.

- LOVES "truh" (trucks) and "tactuh" (tractors) thanks to cousin Emerett - and you love to drive them down the "side" (slide) aka: race track.

- knows the following animals:  sheep, cat, dog, cow, turtle, frog, bear, duck, cow, donkey, bird

- he's pretty cautious and says "hep!" (help) really loud when he needs it.

- when he wants me to sing a song or turn on music he says, "a song"

- when he wants the TV on he says, "a show"...even though he doesn't even like to watch it!

- he's pretty much our little parrot now, mimicking everything we say!

- he's got the cutest little head nod and says "uh-huh"

- he really like to "dump" (jump) but cannot get off the ground!
- loves drums! (makes Papaw so proud!)

- still our sweetest little boy, always giving kisses and hugs to Mimi and GeeGee when it's time to leave.

- he is OBSESSED with cereal. It's the first thing he says when he wakes up and the one thing he requests to eat anytime I ask what he wants.  He loves Frosted Mini Wheats, Berry Berry Kix, Froot Loops and Apple Jacks the best!

Liam:
You are so fun at this age, and so busy!  You finally hit that 'sponge' stage where you are learning things really fast.  You don't have many words, but you do understand a lot.  Here's what you're up to at this stage:

- You can sign!  You finally figured it out.  You honestly woke up one day and decided to sign!  I had actually sort of given up on teaching you signs since you hadn't picked them up or used them at all, but you suprised me one day when I asked if you wanted "more" and you signed it to my flawlessly!  It was definitely a proud mommy moment. You can sign these words:  more, eat, all done, milk, please, thank you
- You  hold my phone up to your ear and babble really loud.
- You say "Geegee" for Grandma Louise and you love going to her house while I go to work.
- You say "Shhh" for shoes.  You LOVE shoes.
- You love the horses at Papaw's house and when you say the word "horse" it sounds like a bad word!
- You first chores:  putting the dog food scoop away, putting your clothes in the hamper, taking your stinky diaper out to the trash can, and putting your shoes away.
- You can finally climb on the couch by yourself and that makes you very proud!
- You still love books and now bring a book to me when you want me to read it. Or you turn the pages yourself and babble or make silly noises.
- You finally broke two more teeth for a whopping total of 4!
- When you hear the train go by (which is a million times a day) you wave your arm and say, "Whoo whoo"!
- You are determined to feed yourself and do not like help!  MESSY!
- You recently decided you don't want me to rock you to sleep and sing to you, but I do have to rub your back or head while you fall asleep. And you are now staying asleep all night!!

   You are the happiest, squishiest, cuddliest, sweetest, funnest kid I have ever met. I am so glad you are my boy.  Please try to never grow up! (Anyone else love that Taylor Swift song?)

love, mom

You discovered how much more fun shopping is when you get to drive through the store!!

And here's your new favorite thing to do in the bath...

busy at 14 months

We're full throttle into the "busy" stage with this kid!  He goes, goes, goes!  Here's a glimpse of his life at 14 months...

 using "trash" to stay entertained

 getting creative with cousin emerett on play dates

 learning new "tricks" on his bike

maintaining that nice beach body

 bike rides with emerett

enjoying one of many snack times with emerett (can you tell these two like to hang out?)

thinkin' he's big stuff trying on mama's shoes

...and daddy's hat

and playing so hard he crashes when he sits still

We love his silly fake laugh, how he runs (okay, it's more like a shuffle) around everywhere, how he gives kisses, hugs, spins around in circles until his falls down and laughs, and waves goodbye.  He's determined to feed himself these days and is obsessed with anything with buttons or a screen (namely daddy's ipad and the remote).  Having a one year old us a huge mess, but SO much fun!  Love this kid!

happy tears

this morning my grandpa jay passed on suddenly
ten years ago i was crying really sad tears when his wife, my sweet grandma passed away suddenly

now, my tears are happy tears
happy they get to be together again
happy that grandpa doesn't have to live in pain anymore
happy that i know of the eternal perspective.

but, i do still miss them and cry a few sad tears for me since i don't get to be with them yet. i have to be patient.
i guess i'm never really ready, no matter how much i prepare myself for someone's death.

i'm happy for you, grandpa jay.  i'm sure you're already taking such good care of grandma like you always do.

me and grandpa jay on the 4th of july 2010

my testimony of the Lord's tender mercies grew today as I've thought back on all three of my grandparents deaths happening almost immediately following a family gathering.  grandpa jay got one last trip with the family to bear lake last week and i think that was just right.

seussical celebration

Liam's Dr. Seuss birthday party was loads of fun, thanks to everyone that came!  Despite the heat and the pesky mosquitos in our yard, we had fun celebrating our favorite one year old!

The party was complete with....

decorations

food

cake

presents

games

and great people!

Thank you to everyone who came, especially my parents who made a surprise trip all the way from Utah.  It was such a blessing to have them here, only their stay was WAY too short!

What an amazing year it has been since Liam entered the world!  We love him to the moon and back!

***if you want any of the decor or stuff I made on the computer I'd be happy to send it to you. It's not pro, but it's free!  Just email me at jacilynn@gmail.com

ONE year old!

my little cowboy with his pawpaw

walk the walk

so. cute.

eleven

e xcited about anything with wheels!
l earned to throw food from high chair into floor so cache can eat it
e xclusively IN TO E V E R Y T H I N G!
v ery silly fake laugh!
e veryday you take some steps...but you still don't trust yourself to walk!
n ot a fan of sleeping!

and you love your new toy grammy and grampa sent you!! your facial expression is priceless!

yard helper

TEN

Liam is 10 months!!!  Here's the top 10 things I love about him at this age:

10. he cruises in circles around the ottoman and is so happy about it

9. he laughs at his dog Cache, chases him, and pulls up on him

8. he refuses to eat baby food anymore and only wants whatever mom and dad are eating

7. he loves to be outside and often gets caught eating nature!

6. he loves when his daddy throws him high in the air, or hangs him upside down

5. he gives me a  huge hug when I get him ready for the bath

4. his favorite toys to play with are books, balls and cars

3. he's got his daddy's goofy personality

2. he just barely got his two bottom teeth

1. he's starting to get bashful with strangers, he smiles at them and they buries his head in mommy's shoulder

nine

Dear Liam,
    You are nine months old!  That pretty much means you've been on the 'outside' longer than you were on the 'inside!'  Pregnancy was l.o.n.g and I was so anxious to meet you.  Now that you're here, time FLIES.  Just in the past month you have changed so, so much.  Now you are mobile!  You can get where you want.  I wasn't call it the conventional 'crawl'...but you know how to get around and can even do it one-handed!  It's really hilarious, actually.  Since you can get everywhere now, you are also into EVERYTHING, busily discovering your world all day long.  You love to be standing up, you can cruise around furniture, and can sometimes pull yourself up from sitting.  This is cute, until I am trying to put you to bed - then you just want to practice and practice your moves and it's hard to lay down!  In the middle of the night, too, you sit yourself up and you are still half asleep wondering why you are sitting up!  Silly kid. You can say dada, mama, buh-buh, nuh-nuh...but I don't think any of them have meaning to you yet.

    You just get more and more fun, and change so fast I cherish every single day I have with you.  It's actually getting harder to leave you when I go to work.  You are fine with it, but mommy misses you too much.

    Your favorite things to play with are the TV remote, my phone, your play keys, balls of all sizes and recently you're into cars.  Such a boy.  You love to eat all fruits - even really sour ones.  Your favorite snacks are animal crackers and baby 'veggie cheetos.'  All the green stuff that's good for you isn't your favorite.  Just like your daddy.

    People always stop me in the store and tell me how handsome you are!  Yesterday at Walmart, a Mennonite lady eve rolled down her window in the car next to us as we were loading just to tell me what an adorable baby you are.  I totally agree!  You light up a room when you come in, and your smile is so contagious.  You love to laugh.  Grandpa Layne made you laugh harder than ever when he visited a week ago. You often laugh at Cache and of course when we find your ticklish spots!  You have also learned how to  fake cry and fake laugh.  So funny.

I love you more than you'll ever know.  Well, until you have your own babies...then maybe you'll know.  I don't know what me and your daddy would do without you.  You are the center of our world and we wouldn't want it any other way!

love you.
mama

laugh out loud

patty's

the newest "patty" on his first st. patty's day!

remind you of anyone?

i just saw this picture of zach as a baby (with his cousin meg)...

...remind you of anyone?

outside my door

happy leap day!
...now let's bring on spring!

eight

8 months

- still learning how to sleep :(
- had his first x-ray
- saw snow for the first time
- can go from sitting to his knees...but always falls to his tummy!
- wearing 12 month size clothes
- getting mohawk back, but blonde!
- says"buh-buh" and "muh-muh"...and some other jibberish
- loves to be upside down
- loves to stand by the ottoman and pat-pat-pat his little hand on it
- loves the itsy-bitsy spider song
- starting to refuse some foods (here we go...)
- but loves snacks and is learning to get them in his mouth all by himself
- is a happy guy who loves attention!

first snow

..and as you can tell, he was completely intrigued, i could barely get him to look at the camera, let alone smile!

p.s. the great thing about living in AR, is when it snows, this mommy gets a day off work!

lucky seven

everyone always said your kids grow up too fast.  all of the sudden i'm realizing this!  today, liam is SEVEN months.  why does that sound so much older than six?

though i can't slow the time down, i do know at least 7 reasons why i am the luckiest mama to have him:

#1 - he's always ready to smile at anyone and everyone.  completely lights up a room.
#2 - i guess he's not growing up TOO fast since he's not getting any teeth, nor is he becoming mobile (which is nice for me).
#3 - he'll eat anything and everything i give him.  so grateful he's a good eater.
#4 - he loves his dog, cache and laughs hard when we say, "bang" to get him to lay down
#5 - he's a snuggler and loves to be rocked to sleep as he nuzzles my neck.  sweetest. thing. ever.
#6 - he has started laughing as soon as i get him naked for bath or a change of clothes.  adorable.  his chubbiness is the best thing in the whole world and you can't resist tickling him.
#7 - when i pick him up after i've been at work he gives me a huge smile and touches my face. it melts me.

..i could go on all day.
love you, yum-yum

look at that face

bathtime with cousin emerett was not his favorite..
usually it's his relaxing time and he is as happy as a clam.  but with emerett it was a little....rowdy!  :)
but look at that face - cutest sad face i've ever seen!