Future class clown

Whenever someone asks Liam what his name is, he gets a mischievous smile on his face.  I can totally see the wheels turning as he's trying to think of something funny to say.  His standard answers are:  Bob, Silly Willy or Poo Poo.  Where do they come up with this stuff?  The things he says always amaze me.  Yesterday we were driving to town and passed a building that used to be a produce stand we went to a lot when he was a baby--it's been at least a year or more since they've been open.  He randomly asked if that was the building we used to go get cherries at.  How do they remember this stuff?  When I told him yes it was but they went out of business he replied with, "Well goodness, that sure is odd."  Hahahaha.

BIG NEWS in our house.  A couple of weeks ago Liam threw his binky in the garbage!  Joe and I had been in Seattle on an impromptu date night, Joe's parents were babysitting.  When we got back Jayne told us what he had done.  I was devastated.  I was needing sleep badly that night and was not very happy it was gone---it had been a rough week and this was the topper!  Not to mention it was the ONLY binky he would use and we even had.  I was about to go get an emergency one at Walgreens but I knew I couldn't do that.  To our surprise, he did fine that night and hasn't asked about it since.  He'll tell people he threw it away but doesn't get upset about it.  Thank goodness.  I did make Jayne dig it out of the garbage after we left though, I couldn't stand knowing it would end up at the dump.  That binky was with my baby for a long time---I'm going to cut the nipple off and save it.  I'm just glad it was easier than we thought it would be.  He was addicted to it.  It made for some early mornings and no-nap days as he adjusted but we are pretty much back to our routine.  I cancelled his dentist appointment earlier this month, I knew I would get lectured about him still having it because at his appointment 6 months ago the dentist said it needed to be gone the next time he saw us.  We rescheduled for tomorrow and I have a little guy who is very excited to tell the dentist what he did. :)

We also took Liam to his first movie yesterday.  We want to take him to see Planes but wanted to see if he could make it through an entire movie first.  When I say this is his first movie, it's not just his first movie in a theatre.  It was his first movie ever.  We aren't big tv/movie watchers in our house.  He did great!  He was totally taken with the experience, loved every minute of it and said he wants to go see Planes next.

Happy Wednesday, I feel good that I got some of this written down.  I'll consider this his baby book since that is totally non-existent.  ;)

This past weekend Joe and I were in Naches for Aili and Ryan's wedding (I was a bridesmaid).  It was at Whistlin' Jack's lodge.  What a fun place!  I had never been there before.  Her parents have a house right on the river, it was gorgeous.  There is a trail between their house and the lodge.  Joe and I took his parents truck/camper and camped next to my aunt and uncle.  Camping in a camper is the way to do it!  You get spoiled really fast.  That was my first time ever not being in a tent.  How nice to get up and go to the bathroom...without having to brave the elements outside! ;)  Joe's parents kept Liam for the weekend, it was the first time we've ever left him anywhere for two nights.  As expected, he had a blast with them.  So lucky to have grandparents in his life.  I always envied the kids who got to stay with their grandparents and do fun things with them.  I never had that and I really missed out on a lot of good memories.  

The reception is this Saturday so we'll be doing it all again.  Looking forward to it!  

It has been one busy summer though.  I looked at the calendar and we have been gone every single weekend since the middle of June!  No wonder summer is flying by!  It's been so fun but I have to say, I'm looking forward to things slowing down a little (if that's even possible).

Happy Tuesday!

The best day

Yesterday was the best day, we went salmon fishing on Uncle Jack's the boat in the Puget Sound. He invited us to go with him so we headed for Edgewood as soon as Joe got off work at 8pm on Wednesday, as the boat was leaving from Everett at 5 on Thursday morning. It was a long night with a super early morning, I only got two hours of sleep but it was totally worth it!

We caught four salmon and lost three. Joe and I aren't very good fisher people, we need more practice. It was so exciting to reel one in though! I used to love fishing with John when I was growing up, yesterday made me remember why.

Auntie Susie and Dylan babysat Liam and he had a blast.

Jack bbq'd salmon for dinner and it was delicious. I didn't used to like salmon but realize know I've been missing out. Yum!

Little driver

Liam is obsessed with anything that has a motor, so it's no surprise that he loves driving his truck.  He is a natural!  First day behind the wheel he was going up on the sidewalk (and staying on it) and even attempting burnouts.  Best garage sale buy ever!

We've been busy this week with swimming lessons.  I was apprehensive about it but decided to get brave and go for it.  I just never know how he's going to do with some things.  Fortunately, he is like a little fish in the water and is loving it.  We got home on the first day and he said, "I'm so tired."  I have never heard him say that before, even when he's exhausted.  I've found the new secret to wearing him out!  I have to get in with him since he's not 3 but I've enjoyed it.  The only thing he doesn't like is floating on his back but the teacher said that's the case with most kids his age.

Off to get a cup of coffee before my little man wakes up.  Hope everyone is having a good week!

Loving summer

A day short of two months since I last blogged.  Wow!  Our trip to California seems like it was years ago.  Summer is here and we've been enjoying every minute of it.  Berry picking, swimming, staying up way later than normal (Liam, that is), vacationing.....I never want it to end.

Our latest vacation took us to Orcas Island for the week.  Joanna described the San Juans the best when she said they are "magical."  We went with Joe's side of the family, there were 13 adults and three kids. Dylan took his friend Maya and Liam absolutely adored her.  The highlight of the trip for Liam was driving Uncle Jack's boat and throwing rocks into the water or the "pond" as he called it.  He also enjoyed going on a canoe ride and also did a hike with us, running most of the trail.  And also Maya.  He told my parents she is his girlfriend. :)

We were off the grid for the most part.  No TV, minimal cell service and painfully slow Internet.  It was wonderful.  Total relaxation.  My favorite parts about the trip were boating, discovering a new love for kayaking, the hikes and our many, many games of Farkle.  Oh, and the food.  We all took turns making meals, dinner time was one of the highlights.  Everyone eating together, sitting by the fire.  I want to go back!  I also loved the mornings.  I would get up before Liam and Joe and go for a walk on the beach.  So peaceful and gorgeous.  Then I'd go back to the house and Gil and Uncle Lennie would be up so we'd sit on the porch, have coffee and visit before everyone else got up.  Oh, and I can't forget the deer.  Every night five or six deer would come right up to the house and hang out. We even got to feed them pears out of the tree.  It was amazing.

On the way home we caught the early ferry back to Anacortes then met Uncle Jack and the three of us (me, Joe and Liam) rode in the boat with him back to the marina in Everett.  That was another highlight.  I love being on the water!

Lots of great memories were made this trip, I am so lucky that Joe has such a fun and loving family.  Everyone is so good to Liam and he loves everyone so much.  He is going to have the greatest memories someday. 

When it was time to say goodbye to everyone, my heart literally hurt.  I wanted to cry just like Liam.  It's hard to go from being surrounded by people 24/7 to just Liam and I (Joe has been working 12 hour days). 

Time to start planning next years trip.  Lake Coeur d'Alene.  Can't wait!

Mother's Day. Los Angeles. Birthday.

The last two weekends have been non-stop and so much fun!  Two weekends ago we had a baby shower in Bellevue so my mom, sister and I left at the crack of dawn and spent the morning in Seattle.  We had a long, relaxing breakfast at Macrina Bakery (it was SO delicious, gotta try when in Seattle)!  After that we walked through Pike Place and then headed to the baby shower.  It was a wonderful shower and I can't wait to meet little Miss Staples!  We were at the shower until evening so of course we had to eat dinner.  We had dinner at Barrio Mexican Kitchen & Grill.  Another must-try when in Seattle.  Can you see the food theme with this Seattle trip yet?!  After that we had to go Cupcake Royale for dessert.  They make their own ice cream now.  Heavenly!

After that, my mom and sister dropped me off at my in-laws, where Joe and Liam had spent the day.  I spent the night and we spent Mother's Day morning in Seattle again.  All of us girls explored Volunteer Park.  It was a gorgeous day so it was a fun morning to see the park.  Can't wait to take Liam back, they had a huge playground!  Went back to Cupcake Royale after, I was feeling guilty for not bringing a cupcake back for Joe the day before.  It was our lucky day, free ice cream sandwiches for Mother's Day.  Yum!  We headed back home after that and had an amazing lunch waiting for us when we walked in.  Steak, chicken, potato casserole, salad, fruit, homemade creme brulee and apple pie.  I wish I would've taken a picture of the spread.  It was so pretty, so well put together.  We can thank Uncle Jack for that!  The guys stayed home to make dinner but we all know it was mostly (or all) Jack.  Pretty impressive!

The next morning Joe and I took off for Los Angeles for my 30th birthday!  Our flight left at 6am on Monday and we came back on Tuesday at 7:50pm.  Two packed days but it was the best birthday ever.  As soon as we landed on Monday we went to Six Flags. Record breaking heat, 102!  That was a shock to our systems.  The park was empty though so that made up for the heat.  The longest ride line was about 5 minutes.  Amazing!  We were tuckered out by the end of the day, the heat zapped us!  We checked into our hotel, freshened up then headed out for dinner.  I had grand plans of going somehwere new and exciting, spent a lot of time getting recomendations from LA friends, but by the time dinner came we were too exhausted to care.  We went to an old favorite, C&O Trattoria.  Delicious as usual!  To prove how tired I was, I dozed off giving Joe directions back to our hotel.  I don't think I've ever been that tired!  I was asleep by 8:30 that night.  So much for living it up on my 30th! ;)

The next morning we slept in until 8!  That's late for us.  Really late.  It felt so, so good.  It also felt good only having to get ourselves ready.  This was the first time we've ever left Liam.  It felt so weird at first but we quickly adjusted.  It's amazing how much ground we were able to cover with just the two of us.  If we got hungry, it didn't matter.  We could power through it.  If we were tired, there were no meltdowns, etc.  It was a much-needed getaway for the two of us.  ANYWAY, after we got ready we headed to Venice Beach to walk around.  Joe had never been, I still can't believe that.  It was too early for any of the crazies to be out so we ended up just walking on the beach.  It was gorgeous and warm, it felt so good.  We ended up eating breakfast at around 11 (something else that would never fly with Liam), then headed to Burbank because I got tickets to Jay Leno.

We got to Jay Leno an hour before we were supposed to but we were still #151 and 152 in line.  I knew we would get in, but figured we'd be near the back.  WRONG!  We were selected for the front row.  It was amazing.  I was giddy!  I had a perma smile on my face that I couldn't shake.  I thought they'd probably edit me off thinking I was fake smiling!  Lol.  We got to go up and shake his hand at the beginning.  Joe gave him a high five, I got nervous and didn't stick around on stage long enough.  He smiled at me a few times during commercial breaks though.  I know he was smiling at me.  I was staring so intently, it was probably distracting!  I love Jay, what can I say!  This was the 4th or 5th time seeing The Tonight Show taped but our first time in the front row.  It was definitely the highlight of my birthday trip.  Yep, I said it.  Even more exciting and more of a rush than the CRAZY roller coasters (I don't remember them being so scary)!

There's no way we should've made our flight that night, we left Burbank at 5:30.  The Traffic Gods were looking out for us the entire trip.  We didn't hit any traffic at all!

Last weekend was another busy one.  I won tickets to see Paula Poundstone at the Columbia Theatre on Friday.  She was hilarious!!  I love supporting local events like this, hopefully they'll keep bringing funny people.  Saturday I had another baby shower then on Saturday night we had a big LCC event at the Red Lion.  It was the "Horns & Halos Gala."  It was fun getting dressed up, don't do that very often!

Sunday we celebrated Joe's birthday since we were busy all day Saturday.  I was sad for the fun to end.  It's been busy but a great month so far!  Here's to squeezing the most out of the last few days of May.

Happy Memorial Day!

May!

This picture was taken right after Liam said, "You are my best friend, Mama."  I had to capture the moment. I love my baby so much!

Happy May!  May is a big month for me this year.  I am officially FIVE years cancer free and I'm also turning 30.  Both of those seem crazy to me.  In some ways it feels like having cancer never happened.  So much has happened since then.  Sophie was born, we got married, Joe got a new job, I got pregnant, we bought our house, I quit my job,  Liam was born....  It's been a busy five years to say the least.

On turning 30: wow!  I'm not very sad about leaving my 20s.  They were definitely some of the best and absolute worst times of my life   I just wish time would slow down a little.  I love life how it is right now, I wish I could turn 30 and stay that way for a few years.  Keep everything as is.  Life is just flying by so fast, I want to be able to savor it more.