September 10 = First Day of Preschool!

Liam is doing so well in all his therapy areas- he's at age level in many areas in physical therapy and is catching up in occupational therapy.  In speech, he's making really impressive gains.  With all of the appointments we have, I haven't found a way to get Liam around other kids his age on a regular basis.  We take him to the YMCA's "stay 'n' play" but most of the kids there are much older and we take him to the church nursery on Sunday mornings but he and Malia have always been the only two kids there.  I really thought that giving him time with other kids age could help his development in all the different areas so when we came to Maryland for the first time, trying to find a place to live, we looked at some preschools but the vast majority of them required the child be two by September 1st.  Liam's birthday is September 5th.  So I kind of put that on the back burner while we were planning for and then welcoming Malia into our family.  However, on Monday, I was trying to get Liam and Malia inside and Liam refused to hold my hand.  Thankfully we live in an apartment where you park in the circle out front and the circle is very close to the front door and the only traffic consists of residents either pulling into parking spots or leaving parking spots- not high speeds- but I still would like him to learn to hold my hand when I need to have a handle on him.  I got inside- put him down for his nap- and immediately started looking for preschools.  I thought it would be good for him to participate in lining up, circle time, routine things that require a tad bit of obedience and that if he saw other kids listening to directions maybe he would too.  I also thought it would be really helpful for him to hear other kids using age appropriate language- words that he probably understands but isn't quite able to articulate yet.  So I called Anchors-A-Wee on Monday and they had actually started that day but it was an odd day where all the parents were invited to stay so everyone's real first day would be Wednesday- he would fit right in and not miss a beat.  And since separation anxiety is not something we have had to deal with I wasn't worried about him needing that first day with me within his sights.

Here he is in the car on the way to his first day!

I really wanted to get a good picture of him in front of the classroom door but he was too excited to go in and get started that this was as good as it got:

The teachers were giving me advice on how to lessen the difficulty of the separation- I refrained from telling them it wouldn't be a problem for him and went back to the car.  I had a few moments acknowledging that it would probably be understandable if I cried a little- I thought of how far he has come and how precious he is.  I thought of how this is one of those defining moments- it may not be kindergarten but he's heading in that direction.  But then I remembered I needed to go grocery shopping, feed, change and dress Malia, pump and be back in just over two hours so I took a deep breath and went on with the day.

When I picked him up that day, his tote bag with his new t-shirt was waiting for us on the hook outside his room.

The last activity they do before the end of their day (11:15) is outside play.  They have this room with a window from which you can see them on the playground but they can't really see you looking at them.  I got there 15 minutes early to spy on him and he was right there with the blonde teacher.  She was rubbing his hair and helping him play in the sandbox- I think he's won over another heart.  He was pretty exhausted- he's used to getting up around 8:45 but that's when school starts now so he has to get up before 8:00.  So we came home, had lunch and went right to bed- he didn't fight me a bit.

And here's an unrelated picture of when he thought it'd be cool to throw every individual piece of his snack on the floor and heck- why not throw all the napkins down too?!

September 9 = New Brushing Technique Day

Since the arrival of Miss Malia, Zachary has taken over Liam's bedtime routine.  They brush Liam's teeth and then read his Bible verse of the day and say good night- I do get a kiss blown to me before they start this routine typically.  This night, I happened to be free to snap this picture of teeth brushing time.

Also check out this gorgeous girl:

September 7 = Sibling Love Day

Silly Malia...

We always put her in a little hat after bath time to keep her warm- she's the cutest.

September 6 = Birthday Party Day

I love a good theme.  I wasn't super stoked about this year's theme- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- but we let Liam choose between Spider-man and TMNT and he pointed at TMNT so TMNT it was!  

Before the partying could begin, though, we needed a good breakfast.  This was my first (yet successful) attempt at funfetti, birthday pancakes.  Oh my goodness, so good.

Then it was time to get down to business.

These nutritious snacks are supposed to resemble two of the turtles- we also had hamburgers and hotdogs prepared by Daddy the Grill Master.  Then it was time for presents!!

Liam's friend, Jake, helped him open presents- he got a Fisher Price Little People Animal Sounds Farm and tractor to go with it, a cool medical kit in the form of a light-up car, some books, bath towels, a dinosaur whose belly lights up and a cool canvas from Dad with the poem, "To James" on it with a background of two people running.

Here's the poem:

Do you remember how you won that last race

How you flung your body at the start

How your spikes ripped the cinders in the stretch

How you catapulted through the tape

Do you remember

Don't you think I lurched with you

out of those starting holes

Don't you think my sinews tightened

at those first few strides

And when you flew into the stretch

was not all my thrill of a thousand races in your blood

At your final drive through the finish line

Did not my shout tell of the triumphant ecstasy of victory?

Live as I have taught you to run, Boy

It's a short dash

Dig your starting holes deep and firm

Lurch out of them into the straightaway

with all the power that is in you

Look straight ahead to the finish line

Think only of the goal

Run straight

Run high

Run hard

Save nothing

And finish with an ecstatic burst

That carries you hurtling through the tape

To victory.

This was a reading on one of our End of Grade tests in fifth grade that stuck with Zachary for all these years and was what Zachary wanted Liam to feel from him when he was going through all of his health problems.  This should be a special gift- hopefully Liam will keep it forever!

Now it was time for cake!!

 
And then it was time for a bath...

It was an awesome day filled with family, friends and fun- definitely a day to remember!

 

September 5 = Liam's 2nd Birthday!

Time flies when you're having fun!  These last two years with this adorable, mischief making, happy, stubborn, loving, caring, sweet little boy have been better than I ever imagined they could be.  I woke Liam up with the singing of Happy Birthday- I'll spare you the video... and we started the day of celebration off with a toast and fruit breakfast- please notice the toast is in the shape of a two- he didn't so do me a favor and appreciate it for him.

Then we had some "loving on sissy" time.

He had PT and OT and then we had our oh so sacred Chick-Fil-A lunch of course with Daddy.

Grammy, Gramps, Matthew & Corinne came up that night bringing presents to open and he opened a package from Great Granny Jean!

Besides the morning serenade and the awesome presents, it was a pretty normal day- the partying would begin tomorrow!

September 4 = Liam's Birthday Eve!

I can't believe Liam is almost 2!  Everyone keeps making jokes about "oh the terrible twos are coming..."  According to the eight therapists we see, we hit those awhile ago.  Not that he's terrible- he's the cutest- but this age can be a bit challenging.  Exhibit A:

Anyway- I had gotten Liam this cool flashlight toy for his birthday but it came about a week and a half before his birthday so he got it... a week and a half before his birthday.  So I also got him some cups today.  Getting him from bottle to sippy cup was a nightmare and he's still only drinking out of one style of sippy cup.  Now his therapists want us to get him drinking out of a straw and an open cup so I'm always on the lookout for a cup that will help us accomplish that.  I found two that I thought might work- I was wrong.

You can't see the shirt in this picture and it's too cute not to share so...

It says "God made the sun, God made the sea, God made the fish and God made me!"  Also, he's too cute not to share another picture of him.  Later that night, as we were putting him to bed, Zachary had the idea of snapping a picture and posting it on facebook with the caption- last time going to bed as a one year old- I'll wake up being two!  Well... I forgot to post it because I immediately started my nightly cleaning routine after he went to sleep and then when Malia went to sleep, I passed out myself.  So here it is after the fact...

September 3- Football Outfit Day

Before Malia was born, I went through Liam's old clothes and picked out things I thought I could get away with putting on Malia.  I knew she would be provided with plenty of clothes so it wasn't to make sure she had enough- it was for memory's sake.  This is one of those outfits that I can vividly remember Liam wearing- it's awesome that Liam's and Malia's birthdays are so close- Christmas clothes that fit Liam will probably fit Malia when Christmas comes around and in this case, football clothes that Liam wore can be reused for Malia :)

September 2 = Change Sheets Day

So Malia threw up on the bed.  I remember when Liam would projectile vomit every single day.  Malia has thrown up maybe three times in her life.  However- this one was a doozy.  We changed the sheets and then laid her on the pretty white sheets for some nice pictures :)

Also it was try the Moby wrap day.   I've been using the ErgoBaby carrier but I had left it in the car and Malia was too fussy to waste time going to the car to get the carrier so I watched a video and spent 5x as much time trying to figure out this thing. 

September 1 = Funny Diaper Day

Another funny diaper...

August 30 = Friends Day

In a previous post I talked about the deal we have with some of our neighbors about trading date nights and baby sitting nights- we watched Jake and Allison tonight- our first time watching four kids!  We headed outside pretty early on because Malia and Liam love going for walks and Jake and Liam love being outside so it worked out well- oh and Allison may be the easiest baby to take care of ... ever.  We walked down to the playground and upon discovering seven mosquito bites in a two inch radius on Liam's arm, we discovered we forgot the bug spray (baby friendly bug spray).  Thankfully this playground is closed in so I was able to keep the four babies with me and Zachary ran back to the car to get the bug spray- of course he was super fast so I wasn't left alone for long.  

August 29 = Haircut Day

Didn't I just have a haircut day post??  This boy's hair grows so fast!

I'm not sure why each hair stylist decides to leave his hair so long in the front- I actually asked her to trim it down and it still was this long in the front- maybe I'll mention this upfront next time.

August 28 = Mail Day

When we got home, I was going through all the paperwork that was sent home with us and there was a sheet you could fill out and mail to the White House and they'd send a welcome to the world card with the President's signature on it.  Of course I jumped at this opportunity!

Also, here's another humorous diaper... this time from Daddy

August 27 = Wednesday Fun Day

So Zachary's new schedule is a bit challenging compared to his summer schedule.  He has no class on Monday which is awesome for long weekends.  On Tuesdays, he just has one class at GWU- he leaves around 8:30 and gets home around 2:00 which is totally manageable.  Wednesday is where it starts going downhill.  He has a morning class at the Naval Academy and then a night class at GWU.  He does get to come home between classes but doesn't get home until close to midnight.  Then on Thursdays he has a morning class and a night class both at GWU- there's a six hour break between classes so that is really frustrating- you'd think whoever schedules this kind of thing would have done a better job with that.  So on Thursdays, after having Wednesday night on my own, I'm completely on my own after breakfast as Liam is in bed by the time Zachary gets home again and then he has class Friday morning at the Academy and isn't home before I have to take Liam and Malia to Liam's therapy appointments.  So here are some pictures of my first Wednesday alone with the babies- we got bored because getting all three of us out of the house is a chore.  I have to make sure Liam has been fed and changed and has a drink for the car.  Malia has to have been fed, changed and burped so she doesn't get a tummy ache in the car and I have to make sure I've pumped pretty much right before we leave if I want to be gone for more than an hour.  In our boredom, we hung out in Liam's room (because I can shut the door and confine him to one room instead of chasing him all over the house) and had a photo shoot- I've only included one of each to hide just how bored we were.

Also- just have to share something Zachary and I came up with to make our lives easier.  We make a menu each week on Sunday and a grocery list on Monday because the commissary, where we do our grocery shopping, is closed on Mondays.  I had a scrapbook page frame that I used to write my menu on with a dry erase marker so I could change it each week but I dropped it one day and it cracked :(

Anyway- We bought this cork board from Target and it wasn't really holding much so I wrote all my recipes on index cards and this is our new menu!  I love that the cards double as showing me what's for dinner each night but also holding the recipe.  Also- when I go to make the menu, instead of having to think and think about different options, all my options are right there.  Also, because I'm so nerdy, the cards are color coded- yellow cards have recipes that use white meat, pink cards have recipes that use red meat... orange cards are meatless and green is reserved for going out to eat, leftovers and ordering pizza.

August 26 = Marley goes to the Vet Day

We got a cat!  A little over a week ago... and today Zachary took her to the vet just to do a checkup and get her established with someone for the future.  Her name is Marley after our beloved late Spanish teacher, Senorita Marlene Parada.  She taught both me and Zachary for 3 years and always supported our relationship and stayed in touch- you could tell she was genuinely happy for us when we got married and when we found out we were expecting- she prayed for Liam through his health problems and was just a really good person.

August 25 = New Mexican Restaurant Day

One great thing about living in Annapolis is there are several places within walking distance of our apartment- we can walk to the grocery store, drug store, football stadium, USNA campus... well now we have added a Mexican restaurant to the list!  Mexican cafe (http://www.themexicancafe.com/) is a few blocks away and has outdoor seating with no smoking allowed- perfect!  So we took the double stroller and had some really good food- Liam was able to be loud and crazy and no one really cared (it didn't hurt that there was another kid being louder and crazier) but it was a loud and crazy kid friendly environment which is always a plus!

August 24 = Pretty Dress Day

Man, I love having a girl.  I love the dresses and bows- never have liked any of it for myself but I'm really enjoying them now.  Here's a couple of pictures of Malia in a dress from Grandma.

August 22 = Chaos Day

We've had several people mention to us that they want to have their kids close together.  Many- like us- do this because their husbands are on shore duty and it's the only time the women will have help basically every night- no deployments and underways- just a few duty days here and there.  I guess civilian families do it because they have all the baby stuff from the first one and they're probably still in the routine of no sleep and high stress- might as well keep going instead of returning to a normal sleep schedule just to break it again in a few years.  I'm sure everyone has their reasons but we just want everyone to be fully informed of what having two under two looks like in real life.