Merry Christmas!

Liam started his first Christmas at 6:30 am...(probably paybacks for all the early mornings Karen put her parents through growing up). We read Twas the Night Before Christmas and The Manger Story before going downstairs (Christmas Eve service at church put Liam to sleep in the car on the way home so no storytime before bed). When we got downstairs Liam opened some of his presents (luckily before Bogart woke up). We took a break to assemble Liam's new garage and play with some of the toys/read his new books. Karen made blueberry pancakes for breakfast (YUM!) and by the time we were done eating and opened a few more gifts Liam was ready for his first nap. While Liam napped Bogart, Karen and Brian opened their gifts. The rest of the day was spent visiting with grandparents (Granddad came over for lunch, and we went to Nana and Pop Pop's for dinner). 

Bogart loves opening presents! 

Liam liked tearing the paper more than seeing 

what was inside the present.

Merry Christmas from Santa and his reindeer!

playtime with Madison & Cameron

Liam: "what's all the noise about????"

Madison: "I'm going to give you a kiss!"

Got to love Nana's toys! She has something for everyone!

Liam and Cameron: "we can't help how cute we are"

Liam: "Hey Mom!"

Liam: "Ummm....Madison...you need to do something about that hair."

Liam is 11 months old!

It's hard to believe that this year is almost over. Liam is talking all the time now (dada and bogart are his favorite words), his new favorite sign/food is cheese, although he also likes signing dog, where, and oh man (hand over his mouth...eyes closed) *see picture below*. He's taking steps if you hold his hand and will stand without support (for a minute or two). He also loves taking things off shelves and then putting them back, stacking blocks (his highest tower has been 5 blocks), and putting rings on pegs.

Happy Thanksgiving

Liam celebrated his first Thanksgiving with Karen's family in West Virginia. He and his cousin Hannah enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner together. They had very different eating styles...Liam picked up each piece and ate with his fingers, Hannah seemed to have the idea that the food would taste better if she ate it off her face and wanted to use a spoon.) We also celebrated Christmas while in WV (since none of us kids will be at home this year). We all had a great time playing with aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and puppies!

Hannah- "Liam...if you push this nose music plays"

Liam- "ok...so move so I can push it"

Liam- "hold still while I count your teeth"

Liam- "let me show you how this works"

Hannah- "wow...that bear came out of nowhere!"

babies and bars

Brian, Karen and Liam went out Friday night for Church Friends Happy Hour. We met up with some of our good friends from church for drinks and appetizers. Liam got to spend some time with his friend Caden while Brian and Karen caught up with everyone. We had a great time and Liam loved the fresh fruit, sliders and chicken wings. He ate a little bit of each and then decided it was more fun feeding Daddy!

da bears

Liam isn't quite sure what to do with stuffed animals yet (other than poke them or push them over). This past week Brian and Karen got out bears from their childhood to see if Liam wanted to play with them....he was more interested in pushing, pinching, and pulling the noses on the bears than anything else. However, he did think it was really funny to be surrounded by bears (to bad you can't add audio to a digital camera...the first picture would include a big belly laugh)

Liam is 10 months old!

Liam is growing so fast and he seems to be doing new things everyday. He is cruising around on the furniture (or on the dog), he is crawling up the stairs on his own, he is eating all kinds of new foods, he will blow kisses, he waves bye bye and hello, he can hold is cup and his bottle and drink on his own, and he loves reading/looking through books. 

3B Aunties

Liam had lots of visitors on Saturday. Three of Karen's friends from college came to visit (Auntie AJ, Auntie Phaneth and Auntie Kelly). Phaneth, AJ, Karen and Liam went to Bethesda for the afternoon to see AJ's wedding dress and to have lunch. When they got back to the house Kelly was there. We all got to catch up and everyone took turns getting Liam hugs and kisses. Liam was so tired by the end of the day that he took a long nap and then slept through the night like a champ (thanks for wearing him out girls!)

Happy Halloween!

Liam celebrated his first Halloween on Friday. He was originally going to be a bulldog, but the day before Halloween when we tried the costume on we found out that it only came up to his armpits. (Brian's Aunt Donna had bought it for him when he was 3 months...we assumed it would fit...oops!) So instead of a bulldog Liam was a giraffe. We showed off his costume at his Granddad's house Friday afternoon and then headed over to Chris and Dana's for some chili, candy and trick-or-treating with Madison (a fairy princess) and Cameron (a sheep). While at Chris and Dana's Brian decided that he needed a costume for the evening as well...so he had Karen shave part of his head so he could be a monk (he later went and got a brown robe to wear with his costume).

Cox Farms- Fall Festival

We went to Cox Farms with Justin, Lisa, Owen and Riley Cahill this past weekend. There were giant slides, hay rides, farm animals, a corn maze, a straw tunnel, a pumpkin patch, and kettle corn (We're pretty sure there was other food there as well, but that's the only food that caught our eye). Liam was a little awe struck (either about the number of things he saw or the fact that he was sitting in a wagon with Riley and she kept pulling his blanket off and eating it). Brian took him down one of the giant slides and he helped Karen pick out a pumpkin. After all of that excitement, we went back to the Cahill's for dinner and some play time in pajamas.