What a boy!

We spent last weekend in Colorado with my family. Liam had so much fun there. There's a lot more room to explore there than in our little apartment, a lot more people to play with, and tons of things to do. Since we came home, he occasionally will run around the apartment calling, "Josh!" like he wants someone to play with (I think he is calling any of my little brothers when he says Josh).

Liam recently became fixated on cars, the toys and the real thing. He calls out, "Car!" for almost every car or truck he sees (and there are a lot). He loves looking at books and having them read to him. Oh, and he loves balls and pushing (it's actually more like punching when he does it, but he says "push" while he does it), if you say push and push him gently, he will fall on the ground and just lay there for a minute. He's all boy, that's for sure. He dances in a really cute way to upbeat music. It's like a sway step in a circle with his knees slightly bent and his head dipping side to side with each step.

Looking at books.

Liam borrowing his uncles head lamp.

Doing pull-ups.

Reading with Daddy before bed.

Soap

We have a hand soap bottle that has a little tiger holding on to the straw inside, Liam always tries to play with it. When I noticed that he was holding it this evening, I figured I would take it away from him in a minute or so. The next thing I heard was swishing and splatting. I turned around to see Liam soaping up the end table. He had already dumped the rest of the bottle on the carpet (I had just filled the bottle a few days before). In addition, he had smeared the soap liberally onto half of his head. I quickly rinsed his hands and head to prevent him from rubbing it in his eyes, then tried to wipe up as much soap as possible. I still have a long way to go before the carpet stops sudsing up and I will probably run out of towels and rags before I'm done...such fun! Liam has been trying to help clean up the mess, which is sweet of him. Above is a picture of the culprit at the scene of the crime, post head-washing. Below is a mug shot.

yogurt

                      

Well, things are  moving along at the usual pace. In a few days I will officially be 3/4 of the way through incubating our newest addition to the family. The little one seems to particularly enjoy nudging and bumping when I have the things I am working on resting against my belly. We've been thinking about names for him, but we don't really feel like sharing right now. 

Liam seems to be getting more and more brilliant every day. He is working on his vocabulary and his animal sounds. We are working on getting him to try to communicate with us a little more verbally, instead of squawking his protests. He is very sweet and loves to help around the house. Liam is very patient with his parents always needing to be inside to do homework, but there is only so much a toddler can stand. He is occasionally afflicted by cabin fever and needs a change of scene, but he's quite the trooper.

I recently tried making yogurt and had great success. It's actually more economical that buying commercially made yogurt (how much more economical depends on if you add fruit and what kind, it is about 1/4 the price of store bought yogurt) and it is very easy to make. Most importantly Nathan and Liam love it. I make it a lightly sweetened vanilla yogurt and it tastes great, we don't even need to add fruit. I am also interested in trying a little cheese making, I'll post when I see how that turns out.

Classes are going well. I am really enjoying illustration so far. Nathan seems to be enjoying his classes, he is working on staying on top of his assignments. Most of all he has been working on his portfolio, he did some major revisions and it is really coming together. He will need to start sending it out soon to look for internships for summer. He is also planning to turn in his teapot project for the big Braun competition, so he has been working on that a lot as well. That would be exciting to win...

Back to School!

Back to the crazy school life after a nice long holiday in Colorado. Nathan and I have been working out our schedules so there aren't too many conflicts. My brother Chris is willing to watch Liam for us one evening each week, so we only need to fill one more babysitting slot and we should be good to go! Now is the time when Nathan has to figure out what internships to apply to and send his portfolio out (into which he still wants to place a few more of his projects if he can find time) hopefully he can get a good internship for Summer! 

Due April 12... It's a boy!

We had the ultrasound today and we are definitely having another boy. I'm outnumbered 3 to 1! I was kind of wishing for a little girl to dress-up, but I am happy Liam will have a little brother to play rough house with him. Boys are such fun! We are so excited. An added bonus is we have the boy wardrobe covered, so we won't have to spend anymore there. Liam is forging the way! Yea for hand-me-downs! Now we can start thinking about names! Thanksgiving break is next week. We are going to Colorado to spend the holiday with my family. It will be a lot of fun and Liam will get to play with his little aunts and uncles.

Halloween

It has been so fun watching Liam learn and grow. He is so fun. He dances to music or any kind of rhythm he notices. He's kinda quirky about putting away certain things. Don't get me wrong he is the king mess-maker, but he will do little things like throw some paper cut-outs in the trash without being asked, he will brush of an end table so it's clear, close drawers and cupboards that are partially open or push the kitchen chairs into the table. It's very charming. He's very good at communicating with hand motions and sounds and expressions.

The other day I got Liam his own little toothbrush (it lights up!). He immediately knew what to do with it. He just loves brushing his teeth, in fact, he is upset when it's time to stop.

Since the beginning of the month I have been working on pieces of Liam's costume. It's kind of an Asian/Middle Eastern style outfit, I know that's kind of vague. So I guess it's a bit Sci-fi that way. He looks a little bit like a youngling Jedi don't you think? The sash is twisted, sorry!

Now the nitty-gritty details of the making for those who are interested!

I crocheted the vest in a kinda fuzzy olive green yarn, it probably took the longest. Actually it might have tied with the shoes... I was experimenting with making a square of thick felt from alpaca wool roving and I decided to use it to make Liam curved-toe slippers, I had just enough. They might be just a little big, but hey, he grows! He actually really likes wearing them. I made his very cool and comfy pants out of the sleeves I had cut from a linen shirt (I had used most of the shirt to make a shoulder bag a year ago) I didn't have to hem them because I used the cuffs at his ankles. I made it with a large gusset for the crotch that gives it the "Aladdin pants" look and Liam has great mobility for his legs in these pants (good play pants). So then, today I made his long tunic/shirt. I used one of those flour sack towels to make it. I cut the full arm span and yoke as one piece (less sewing!) out of the width of the fabric so that the selvage is the cuffs (no hemming!) the body pieces also end in selvage so I only had to hem the side slits (which could have been longer to fit the middle eastern style better). I put gussets in the under arms for fit and mobility. I love rectangular construction!

Just a little distracted

So, yesterday, in between sessions of general conference Liam got his second ever hair cut! He handled it pretty well, but Dad had to hold his head still most of the time. General conference was just wonderful, there were so many talks that I felt applied specifically to me. I feel like I definitely have things to work on in my life! So... it has been over a month since last I posted! My half decent excuse is that we got caught up in the beginning of classes and getting schedules figured out. My other excuse is that for the past month, I haven't been feeling that great, but I'm doing a little better now. Which leads me to our little announcement... we are expecting another baby! I'm 13 weeks today and we're super excited. Nathan has been so good to me. Even though he is incredibly busy he prepares food for me when I don't feel well and does the dishes at least once a week so I don't have to stand in one place for a long time (no dishwasher). School has been going well. I've really been enjoying all of my classes, but I especially look forward to my bookbinding class each Friday! Nathan has been working hard in his classes and on his portfolio so he can get a good internship this summer, hopefully!