Kansas City Extravaganza 2012
June 2, 2012 at 5:10 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: family, kansas city, photos
We spent a good long time in my hometown this month – I stayed three weeks, and James joined me for the last week. Evie and Liam played unbelievably well this time. No fighting at all. Eleven-month-old Milo, on the other hand, had Liam all in a tizzy. Liam cried every time Milo grabbed anything from him, especially if it was his dinner. And Milo will eat anything. Mostly Evie and Liam would retreat back to the bedroom and shut the door, reminding my uncannily of how my cousin Erin and I would do the same thing when we were kids. They also spent a lot of time out on the back patio making a huge mess of the sandbox and pool. And they tore apart the back room on a daily basis. My mom got up from her chair to get something, and she shouted out in surprise, shocked to see Liam and Evie standing on the dining room table and batting their hands at the glass light fixtures. Evie seemed to derive some joy on tattling on Liam, whether he was breaking something, throwing something, or making a mess. I warned him that grandma might start keeping a tab. These two are something else.
Jill took almost 2 full weeks off, so we took the kids everywhere. We spent a day at the zoo with Camden and my grandma. We rode the new ski lift over the Africa exhibit (poor Jill only rode it one way, saying all she could picture were her kids going “splat” on the ground), and we were absolutely delighted at the new polar bear exhibit. Just as we entered the underwater viewing area, he guuuushed right in and spun around in the water. It was really fun seeing Cam again, and I was amazed at how grown up he’s become. He helped us mind the kids (volunteering to push the double stroller, then asking to ride in it when Evie wanted to walk, lol), but he also got them jazzed about some of the different animals we saw.
We had a big dinner on Mother’s Day, with all our generations represented. We didn’t even bother trying to get the kids in this photo. They were too busy running around the yard like crazy people. (Pictured: Doug, Jill, Grandpa Marvin, Grandma Weddle, mom, dad, and me)
Dad thought it’d be fun to take Liam and Evie on the Amtrak from Lee’s Summit to Union Station and back. It was a pain in the ass to get tickets (and kind of expensive for what they were), but it was all worth it in the end to see the joy on their little faces as the train pulled up and they actually got to BOARD! They loved every minute of the ride, even though the scenery was a lot of junk yards and trashy back lawns. But then we pulled into the station, and the kids ran around the toy train exhibit for an hour. We grabbed some chocolate at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate shop (chocolate dipped potato chips are surprisingly good), then we saw the time and practically ran to the train platform. Catching our breath in our seats, we realized the train wasn’t departing for another five minutes. D’oh.
For weeks before our trip, Liam had been telling me that he wanted to go fishing with Grandpa Mark and Evie. So we set off for Deanna Rose Farmstead to do just that. Of course, once he realized that fishing involved worms on hooks and slimy fish, he wanted nothing to do with it. I did manage to coax him to actually touch a fish. Then he was done. This kid is his father’s son.
We took the kids to Powell Gardens for the Fairies and Forts exhibit. Architects had designed these kid-size structures that the kids could climb around on. Needless to say, they had a blast.
We had a few play dates with friends, I had a few lunches and dinners out, and we got portraits of the kids taken with Milo and Liam in hilarious, matching iron-on ties. I had a few surreal moments flooded with my own childhood memories of people or places, and then realizing Liam would have his own memories there, too.
When James arrived he couldn’t get over how cute Milo had gotten since our last trip. Amazing how quickly they grow.
And then our trip was over. It happened so fast. Liam was wonderful on the plane, a huge contrast from our last disastrous trip. With all of these tantrum-throwing toddlers getting kicked off the plane in the news lately, I was a little nervous. But Liam dutifully buckled in during take off and landing. I let him take his belt off when we got in the air, but he even went so far as to point out that they seatbelt light was back on and I’d better buckle him in before it “gets too bumpy.” That’s m’boy.
We took tons and tons of photos, which show that we did even more than I’ve written here. I’m sure it’s hard to believe that I whittled these down from 400 or more. Yikes! And Jill promises to add more from her camera at some point. If you’re game, click here.
Two Weeks in KC, and a Helluva Return Trip
October 5, 2011 at 10:25 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 CommentsTags: amusing, baby, family, kansas city, movies, photos
Have you ever been on a flight where something nutty happens and you can’t wait to tell whoever is picking you up this crazy thing that happened on your flight? Let me tell you, when you are the CAUSE of that nutty thing, it isn’t nearly as fun.
Let me preface this by saying Liam hates wearing the airline seatbelt. He’s perfectly fine being strapped into his stroller, on the bike seat, and in his car seat. But for some reason he hates that damn seatbelt on the airplane. The last three flights we’ve taken in the past couple of months the attendant has let him ride on my lap. But this time our attendant was a stickler for the rules, and she wouldn’t let up. As we were landing, she hovered until I got him strapped in – mind you, kicking and screaming like I was poking him with sharp sticks. He managed to wriggle free and climb into my lap, and sure enough she came by to nag me again that he needs to be belted in. She even said, “The plane can’t land until your seatbelt is on,” as if a two-year-old will listen to reason.
And I lost it. Like full on banshee scream-fest. I immediately felt horrible and apologized, then burst into shoulder-wracking sobs. On the plus side, I think I scared Liam straight. He spent the rest of the flight sitting quietly, eyeing me with concern and holding my hand. What a sweet boy I’ve got! The guy in the aisle seat next to me — bless his heart for putting up with two hours of toddler shenanigans followed by massive mommy meltdown – offered me some sage advice after I’d calmed down. He asked if this was my first kid in that knowing way that grandparents have. Then he said, “At this age, if you win the battle today, you’ve won it for life. And if you lose the battle today, you’ve lost it today.”
As I left, the naggy attendant and I made amends, and several people approached to give me pats on the back or praise for how cute Liam was on our way to baggage claim. It’s amazing the kindness of strangers. I came home feeling physically deflated, like a spent party balloon. Two weeks in my hometown among friends and family made me feel intensely lonely upon my return to Florida. I took a much-needed nap, had a nice cry, and felt quite sorry for myself.
But this morning I awoke to find an email from one of my Florida mommy friends asking me to join her for a class at the Y on Friday. I felt immensely better. We took a bike ride in the afternoon, and I rediscovered all the things I love about my new hometown. Shorts weather in the fall. The swaying palm trees. The sunning geckos. Home feels like home again.
As for our trip, we had a wonderful time! Liam really bonded with his cousin Evie. They played and played and played the first few days we were there. Liam especially loved playing with the dollhouse – the same dollhouse Jill and I played with as little girls, one that my grandfather made for us. We spent one morning at Deanna Rose feeding ducks, petting cows, and riding a pony. Actually, Evie did all those things while Liam watched. He’s grown wary of animals, among other things. (Slides, trains, people…)
James joined us for a long weekend, and we had a great anniversary date night while Liam stayed home with grandma and grandpa. We had dinner at Genghis Khan (yum!) and saw Moneyball (snore!). It got great reviews, but for me it combined the two most boring subjects on the planet – baseball and statistics.
For week two I mostly hung out with friends, meeting for dinner or lunch on my own and meeting for play dates with Liam. We had mixed results with our play dates, and I’m glad I limited it to just a few. Liam’s still so shy with new people. I gorged myself at my favorite restaurants – Lucky’s Brewegrille (who incidentally took my favorite burger off the menu, but they still made it for me anyway!)
On the weekend dad and I headed to the zoo for an afternoon of adventure. But we were met by 10,000 girl scouts at the front gate, and we wisely decided to save the zoo for next year. Instead we took Liam to Union Station, where I think he had a much better time admiring toy trains in the relative peace and quiet. I heart this photo:
We had lunch at Fritz’s just before the lunch crowd hit, and Liam sat enraptured by the little trains in the ceiling delivering the food. Then we took him to the planetarium for the same preschool show I used to take him to in DC, the one with Big Bird and Elmo talking about the stars and learning Chinese. Last time he went, I remember thinking it was so cute when he’d point and say, “Elllmmmo!” and “Mooooon!” This time he talked through the entire 30-minute show in this weird stream-of-consciousness toddler monologue. “The moon! It’s going up! Big Bird! Elmo! They going around! I want to watch Monsters Inc. I like ice cream!” And so on. Non-stop. Hard to imagine eight months ago he was hardly talking.
I’m glad we stayed for as long as we did. Liam got very comfortable at grandma Julie and grandpa Mark’s house. He had plenty of time to play with Evie, copying her every move and utterance, hilariously. We took them for a walk, and it was so cute to watch her walk along the sidewalk, running her hand along the parked cars, and Liam following right behind her, arm outstretched to touch the cars, too. We had one night to play with Camden, his nine-year-old cousin, who intimidated him a little, but was super sweet getting out his old train set and laying it all out for the kids to play with. Liam pretty much ignored Milo, except to notice that, “Mommy’s holding Milo!” and five minutes later crying, “Mommy needs put Milo down!” Now we’re thinking 4 or 5 years between siblings might be a safe bet.
Sunday night mom and I went to see The Help while dad took a turn babysitting Liam. Mom and I really enjoyed the movie, and I think dad really enjoyed bonding with Liam. They watched Cars (again!), then he convinced Liam to try a movie not in his regular repertoire – Wall-E, one of dad’s favorites. About halfway through, Liam got a little sleepy, so he changed into jammies and brushed teeth. Then in typical grandpa fashion, he asked Liam if he wanted to go to bed or finish watching Wall-E. Guess which one Liam chose? But no bother – I told dad to keep him up as late as he wanted. I could use a morning to sleep in. And wouldn’t you know it, the next morning dad got Liam up and fed him breakfast for me! Then Liam strolled in to wake me up, proclaiming, “Mommy’s home!” Dad said Liam didn’t know I was even home from the night before, lol. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said, “Want to watch Wall-E!” Seems he didn’t get to finish it the night before. This kid has a good memory.
I was sad to leave my family behind knowing we probably won’t see each other for awhile. It’s looking likely my parents won’t be able to make the long trek down to Florida this Thanksgiving, and my sister can’t really afford a trip down next year, either. But I’m hoping if I truly won the airplane seatbelt battle, I can make another trip to KC in the spring or early summer. And then, after my dad retires, my folks can drive down next Thanksgiving, stopping off along the way in the Deep South for some sightseeing.
Cincinnati Reunion
August 23, 2011 at 3:17 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: family, video
Just got back from our reunion in Cincinnati over the weekend. The turnout was great – Jill and I ditched the hubbies but brought the kids, and many of our second cousins did the same. Liam got to see both his grandparents in Lexington and my parents in Cinci, plus Aunt Cary and his Great Grandma. A little overwhelming at first, but he soon warmed up to everyone. He love, love, loved playing with Evie! And Milo was super cute. But by the end of the weekend, Liam was very homesick. All the way back to Lexington he kept going on and on, “Want go home! To the new house!” We stayed one night with James’ parents, and then headed home Monday. Liam was ready.
Getting a glimpse of Disney
July 24, 2011 at 8:09 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: family, Florida, photos
Last week my cousin Bill and his family were in town for Disney World, and Liam and I met up with them for the day. We stuffed our faces at a Wilderness Lodge-themed resort restaurant, took a bus, monorail, another bus, and a ferry back to the Disney Beach Club Resort where they were staying, scarfed down free snacks and beverages at the hotel, and swam at the pool until sun down. Liam loved it all, from running around at the Wilderness Lodge with his second cousins Khristina and Kenneth, to riding the Monorail (change trains, mama!), to playing in the sand at the resort pool. We got to see the entrance to just about every Disney park, including the Epcot center golf ball, which was quite a sight for me. I still haven’t been inside…but soon I will, I’m sure. The Beach Club pools were perfect for Liam. They had a shallow pool with this special heavy sand that stayed at the bottom, and a sand island in the middle that the kids could build sand castles on. Bill’s wife Shelly offered to watch Liam for me while I went down the water slide and floated down the lazy river. We didn’t leave until 9PM, and Shelly loaded me down with tons of leftover dinners and desserts, which I’ve been thoroughly enjoying all weekend. We’re going to try to meet up again tomorrow – they’re all killing time before their flight in Downtown Disney, and I bet Liam would love to eat lunch at that T-Rex Café again. Perhaps this really is the happiest place on Earth!
Weekend with Grandpa
July 18, 2011 at 5:36 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: family, Florida, restaurants
We had our first visitor this weekend, James’ dad (aka, Grandpa Bob), who flew in last Wednesday. James had to work Thursday, so the three of us headed to Cocoa Beach. Being my first beach excursion since the move, I was glad to have Bob’s help navigating and carrying stuff. We found a great beach with free parking, and it was very easy to find. We didn’t have far to walk from the car, and at 10AM, we almost had the place to ourselves. The only downside: no beach umbrellas for rent. So we got a bit scorched despite our best efforts. But Liam absolutely loved jumping over the waves (assisted, of course) and playing in the sand. We had a wonderful, albeit sandy, picnic lunch, then headed back in the afternoon. Over the weekend I picked up a sizeable beach umbrella I can take along next time. We’re totally doing this again soon!
For dinner we tried one of the seafood places that came highly recommended ala google. Called City Fish, it was situated in a more rustic area of Orlando called Thornton Park. So this is where all the big trees were hiding! A little on the pricy-side, but definitely worth the expense.
Friday we headed to Downtown Disney, a stand of shops and restaurants with free admission and parking (woo-hoo!). We took Liam to the T-Rex Café for lunch, which he enjoyed immensely. I don’t think he’s ever been so entertained for a meal. He kept pointing at all the animatronic dinos and saying, “Didosaurs mooooving!” Every twenty minutes the lights would dim and a meteor shower would light up across the ceiling. Needless to say, this was the highlight of Liam’s dining experience. After lunch we popped into the giant Lego store, mostly for James’ benefit. Then we took a long, humid water taxi ride back to our car. Yes, it’s Disney, so of course it’s huge enough to warrant transportation to and from your car. There were a ton of other great restaurants there we want to try out, some that James even remembered from when he lived here before. We’re already planning date night: dinner at Fulton’s and a movie. Got to add “get babysitter” to my to-do list…
Saturday we stayed home, hung curtains, took naps, cooked out. A nice reprieve from the summer heat. We picked up okra and zucchini from the farmer’s market, and some nice lean steaks for grilling. Liam refused to put any okra in his mouth, unlike last year. So disappointing! But grandpa sure liked it!
Sunday we went to the Central Florida Zoo, completely unaffiliated with Disney, and far less expensive. I suppose you get what you pay for – it was a total let down. Not helped by the fact that Liam decided he didn’t want to see the “amimals” anymore. He just wanted to throw fits. Unimpressed by the lunch fare, we headed to nearby Lake Mary to a Scottish pub and eatery James and I had spied on our last trip down. We hadn’t actually eaten there before, but it looked like fun. Ummm…yeah, definitely fun for the boys. It was like a Scottish Hooters, with the waitresses in tiny plaid mini skirts, crop tops, and white knee socks. We had ourselves a laugh about it, especially when our waitress bent over to pick up all the sugar packets Liam threw on the floor. Aside from the, ahem, booby shirts, the food was actually quite good. I can’t wait to have Shepard’s Pie leftovers this week.
Sunday night we tried another seafood place on our list, called High Tide Harry’s. Considerably more casual than the place we ate Friday, but the price-to-food ratio was definitely satisfying. We laughed when we pulled up – it was right next to a Joe’s Crab Shack. We figured they must be doing something right if they can coexist less than 50 feet apart.
Monday morning James went back to work, and on our way to the airport we stopped for breakfast at Sweet Mama’s Restaurant. This may become a breakfast-before-flight-home tradition. The place was completely unassuming, paper plates and plastic forks, country music playing on the radio. But the food was delish!
I’ll leave you with this hilarious video of Liam playing tickle with daddy and grandpa. Be sure to watch to the end – Liam really is quite funny without really meaning to be.
Milo!
June 21, 2011 at 8:44 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: family, photos
Seriously, when is it my turn again? I’ve been coaching Liam to say, “Mommy needs another baby,” to James. I can’t wait to cuddle this little guy at our August family reunion. Jill says Milo is quiet and hungry, two wonderful attributes for a newborn. He’s nursing like a champ, which I’m so glad to hear. I just packed up two boxes of Liam’s hand-me-downs to ship to her this week. Reminds me of how my aunt would pack up my cousin Erin’s hand-me-down’s to send to me. Except I was the older cousin, lol. I wonder how long Milo will be wearing Liam’s hand-me-downs until Liam’s no longer the bigger of the two?
News, News, News!
June 16, 2011 at 8:20 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: baby, family, movies, video
I’m an auntie again! My new little nephew, Milo, was born last night around 6:30. I’m still awaiting details, but my mom says Jill and Doug are doing great, and Milo so far has been a quiet baby. Hopefully that lasts. Jill told me Evie screamed so much that first night that they sent her to the nursery. And then the nurses brought her back because she was too noisy, lol! Already we can see Milo is different from his sister. I’m so happy Jill will have the chance to raise a son. I’m not sure he’ll be quite the mama’s boy that Liam is, but there is definitely a very special relationship that sons have with their mothers. I can’t wait to put together my first batch of hand-me-downs. And I definitely can’t wait until my trip to KC in September. I’m hoping I’ll get to see him sooner at our family reunion in Cincinnati in August.
Amid all the hubbub last night, I had decided to get myself in the mood for moving to our froufrou gated community in East Orlando by watching the Stepford Wives. I’d only ever seen the remake, and my friend Cera insisted the original is so much better. While the remake seemed over-the-top cheeseball, the original was both funny and creepy. And dated! But in a cult classic kind of way. Now I’m having nightmares about meeting other moms in our new neighborhood who have sparkling kitchens and an unusual urge to please their husbands!
I’ll leave you with his video of Liam I shot the other night. I should preface this by saying that, yes, Liam actually asked me to put him in the laundry basket.
Our Illinois Visitors
April 22, 2011 at 11:24 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: family, photos, video, washington dc
We had a full house this week as nephews Brady and Devin arrived with their parents (James’ older brother Chris and his wife Ann) last Sunday. We hit the ground running Monday morning with a ride on the Metro to the Smithsonians. Liam could hardly wait to show Brady and Devin his beloved subway. The boys each had their own digital cameras, so upon arriving at the Air and Space Museum they all started clicking away. Unfortunately Liam didn’t have much patience for our museum outings, which while fun for the adults and older children, proved to be very hot and crowded due to Spring Break. Lunch at the American Indian Museum was a welcome break in the crowd, and Liam did seem to enjoy seeing the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. But I think we were all ready to get out of the crowd and back on the train before rush hour. After dinner (and Liam’s bedtime), James stayed home while I took the rest of the family out to see the monuments. Lincoln Memorial was still packed, but it was quite a sight to see all lit up. We walked and walked and walked down to the Washington Monument, then eventually made our way to the White House. And with aching feet (but nonetheless impressed with the sights) we made our way gratefully back to my house.
Tuesday morning James took the family out to our favorite museum, the International Spy Museum. I wisely elected to stay back with Liam, and we leisurely made our way to the Portrait Gallery for snacks and running around in the atrium until lunch. I think Brady and Devin had almost as much fun in the gift shop as they did in the museum, and they couldn’t wait to show me the gadgets they’d bought (Brady, a pair of binoculars with a light on top, and Devin, an invisible ink pen). We feasted on pizza and burgers at Matchbox, then headed home to make our famous seafood Gumbo for that night’s dinner.
Wednesday we headed to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles to show off the really, really big stuff they can’t fit at the Mall. Liam’s been a couple of times before, but I’m sure he didn’t remember, so he was just as impressed with all the airplanes and helicopters. The kids had a great time running around the catwalks, taking photos, and riding on a 3-D airplane ride. They also had a great time at the gift shop – on a lark I bought some freeze-dried ice cream to see if Liam would eat it. (He did. And asked for more.)
Wednesday night Chris and Ann took pity on poor James and I never having a night out and offered to babysit Liam while we went to dinner and movie. Liam, unsurprisingly, wasn’t happy with us leaving, but shortly after he had a great time getting chased around the house, taking a walk on the trail by our house, pigging out on lasagna, and finally hitting the hay right before we walked in the door. James and I had a nice time out seeing The Conspirator and finally redeeming our gift certificate to Red Lobster (yum!), but I think we had an even better time hearing all about the night Chris and Ann had with Liam. In fact, we had a great couple of nights staying up late and chatting with just us adults, something James and I rarely get a chance to do. It’s too bad we all live so far away from each other, but with the possibility of us moving to Orlando, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing them again soon. (Certainly if Brady and Devin have anything to say about it!)
We got lots of great photos, which you can view here. I also got a couple of cute videos:
Evie Airplane!
March 30, 2011 at 10:07 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: family, photos, video, washington dc
“Evie airplane, soon!” is what Liam’s been saying for the last couple of weeks. Evie and Jill finally arrived last Thursday for their much-anticipated trip to DC. I was sorely disappointed in the weather – mid 40s and low 50s for their entire trip – but we made do with a lot of indoor activities.
Between Jill’s anemia and Liam’s stomach virus (both of them took afternoon naps), I ended up spending a lot of time with Evie on my own. Which was wonderful, actually. It’s amazing the stark contrast between her behavior at 3 1/2 and Liam’s at age 2. I took her to the park and had a great time climbing around with her. She went down every slide with gusto, and was able to climb on pretty much everything by herself. We pretended to be pirates on the pirate ship. I helped her across the monkey bars. When Liam was too sick to attend the Itsy Bitsy Yoga class, Jill volunteered to stay home with him while I took Evie to the class. And we had so much fun! She tried just about every pose, loved pretending to be a cat and cow and cobra, laid down on the blanket and put her feet on the wall with me, and eagerly took her turn ringing the bell. She rushed right into the closet with the other kids to get our blanket, declaring she wanted a dark blue one, which is of course her favorite color right now. I even got her to say, “Nameste,” which she said just like Liam does. (Mama-stay) I’m hoping against all hope that this means that Liam will appreciate this class or one like it when he’s Evie’s age. I can already tell I’m going to like age three a lot better.
Not to say I don’t love my boy. I really, really do. But I think something happens when kids turn two. It happened with Evie, too. I felt so close to her when I used to babysit her before she turned one. Then we moved away, and when I saw her again at age two, it was like we’d never met. She threw fits at the drop of a hat. I had no idea how to handle her. But this time around I feel like we really bonded again. She’s such a grown up little girl now, so self-reliant and smart.
And she had a great time playing with Liam. They had a couple of rough patches, having to share Liam’s Pooh chair and some of his toys. But she understood “taking turns” and soon enough Liam did, too. She’s learning her letters now, and on their first night with us, she started quizzing Liam. He would answer correctly, then she’d look to Jill, “Is that right?” if she didn’t know it. She loved helping out, taking Liam’s diaper to the trash or helping him up the stairs. I think she’s going to be mama’s little helper when her little brother or sister arrives in June. She also used the potty like a pro, which made up for her stubborn eating habits. She ate almost our entire stash of yogurt (which was quite a stash, since I’d bought 20 for $10 before they got there) coupled with Eggo waffles pretty much every day. And since her bedtime is considerably later than Liam’s (especially if she’s had a nap), we got to watch cartoons every night with her. But she also let us watch Enchanted and Rent with hardly any complaint, as long as we promised she could watch Up or Wall-E after it was over. All Liam ever wants to watch is the Baby Show, so I welcomed the change in the lineup. But to be fair we let them take turns choosing the programming, which seemed to work out well for our little TV junkies.
Lest you think we spent their entire trip vegging at our house, we did plan an outing for each day of their trip. Faced with a sold out planetarium show Friday morning, we headed to the Museum of the American Indian for some tasty (and expensive!) native grub. We enjoyed the food, but the kids just enjoyed the train ride there and back. Saturday we went to a special Lego exhibit at the National Building Museum (which was a little over their heads, but they seemed to enjoy playing with the legos), lunch at Matchbox, and then an afternoon at the DC Aquarium. Each of them squeezed in a nap in the stroller while I carried the other one in the Boba around to see the fish, so it worked out perfectly.
Illness struck Sunday morning, and poor Liam and all his toys were covered in puke when I got him up that morning. Learning my lesson from last time this happened, I kept him on water and gatorade all morning, then switched to cereal and oyster crackers for lunch. He managed to hold that down and seemed a lot better, so we went over to the College Park Aviation Museum in the afternoon, and despite the cold weather they had a blast riding the little wooden planes in the courtyard. By dinner time Liam was running in circles like his usual self. But, of course, for a toddler that means nothing. Breakfast Monday morning came up all over the couch and carpet, so we decided I’d take Evie to baby yoga while Jill stayed home with Liam. Thankfully he didn’t lose anymore of his breakfast. They just watched the Baby Show until he figured out I was gone, then looked for me for a little bit before he fell asleep on the floor. He must have really been beat because he actually let Jill move him to the crib to sleep. No surprise, really, since he’d gotten up at 6:15 that morning. Ugh. At least Evie and I had a good time at yoga.
With Liam in better shape Tuesday morning, we headed to the Playseum in Bethesda for a couple of hours. Evie had a great time getting her fingernails painted, making cupcakes, petting animals, putting on a puppet show, and shopping in the grocery store. Liam enjoyed some of it, but like the last time we went, he wasn’t too happy with the crowds. There was much tantrum-throwing until I gave him a snack, and then the peace was tenuous at best. I don’t think we’ll be going back there again until Liam’s older. But Evie and Jill loved it! I cried Uncle around noon, so we headed to Ikea for Swedish Meatballs and some shopping. Liam happily went down the slides in the kids section (hooray!), but his mood quickly deteriorated once actual shopping commenced.
We got some great photos, which you can view here. I also shot a couple of cute videos, one of them on the train, and one of Liam at the Playseum. We had such a great time, and I can’t wait to see them again! I’m sure I’ll make it out to Kansas City once my new little niece or nephew is born, perhaps in the early fall. And maybe, just maybe, Liam will have outgrown this, erm, lovely stage he’s in right now. Sigh.
Family resemblance
January 18, 2011 at 10:24 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: family, photos
Now isn’t this cute? At left, Liam and I playing piano this Christmas at my in-law’s house. At right, my Grandma and I playing piano at her house in Cincinnati. I’m about the same age as Liam here, maybe slightly older.
Best App Ever!
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
