VA Living Museum

Liam and I spent lots of time playing this weekend - partly because Tobias has been sick and partly because I no longer have to work on research 2-5 hours a day. It was my first guilt free weekend in nearly 4 years!!

I took Liam to the Living Museum for the first time. Below are some pictures from the day.

On the outdoor trail

FISH!!

These holes are a lot more interesting than the animals

Is this heaven? Buttons to push no one yells 'NO TOUCH!'

Taking a break

Crawling in the log . . . this was fun
till the big kids got in and scared him

Doctor Brady's office

I have been remiss in downloading pictures for my cell phone lately. This counts as a catch up post from Liam's 12 month check up. (To be honest, I forgot I had taken the pictures!! Momnesia stricks again!)

This was the first visit where he went straight to the toy corner to play!!

My favorite new toys

A few of my favorite new toys - -

First - thanks to the Boson Bunns for my birthday present. I LOVE IT. I loved it so much I could not wait for Papi to get the box open!! My own little helicopter with Winnie the Pooh!! Whoo-hooo!!

Come on Papi, please get the box open!

Hurry, Papi!!

Don't make me crawl over you!

Now? Now? Can I play now?

FINALLY!!!! WOW! a propeller that spins and lights up!

These move too!

One more time before bed, please!

Second - thanks to Mom for finally letting me play in the dryer. I love it!

12 month stats

Liam had his 12 month check up on Monday. He is now 30.5' long (73rd percentile) and weighs 22.2 pounds (40th percentile). The doctor said he is all caught up and doing well.

And, just in time for Liam's first birthday, he is now enrolled in his first frequent flyer program. As a result, he got his first Visa card application today. And we wonder why there's a credit crunch . . .

Birthday videos

Here are some video clips from Liam's party. The first video is Liam with his first birthday cake. He went hand first into the icing but he was very reluctant to give up his pacifier, which made eating cake a little tricky.

The second is Oma and Liam playing with the birthday blower - - a big hit with Liam!!! This video is low quality because I was using my cell phone.

Liam's birthday party

Liam's first birthday party was this afternoon. We had a small get-together with family to celebrate the day. We were very happy to celebrate today especially when we think back to what we were thinking and feeling one year ago at this time. We are so thankful that Liam is a healthy and happy boy. We are also grateful to our family and friends for the support and help that allowed us to make it through this year.

The birthday boy

Playing with his new tricycle from Kay and Tim Diemont

Liam LOVED the birthday 'blowers'

Enjoying Liam's birthday cookout

Cake time. Liam's first 'sweets'
He also got his first taste of hotdog

Presents!!!

Family picture -
Not sure what was so funny but we are all laughing

12 month pictures

Tomorrow will be Liam's first birthday. We are so excited to celebrate this milestone. Both parents and child survived the first year. Our friend, Derrick, took some pictures of Liam and us for his birthday. Here are his official 12 month pictures. Tomorrow we will post pictures from his birthday party!

12 months old

We took several pics with the sunflowers.
Check out the number of petals in this picture.

Now check out the number in this one.
Guess who loved pulling the petals off! :)

Liam woke up 1.5 hours early this day, which meant the time we set for the pictures now fell during his nap time. He was nearly out of gas when we started. Throwing him up in the air was an attempt to stretch him out a little longer. As it turns out, we got one of our best pictures. Wasn't it nice of Liam to position the shoes just right so we could read his name in this pic?