Post Egg Hunt warm-up

After the egg hunt, we all headed indoors for a little warming up and "hot drinks". Liam enjoyed his warm milk with a few delicious chocolate eggs.

Liam concentrates on unwrapping his "chocolate treat".

After warming up inside, we all headed back out to the beach to look for crabs under the rocks. If you haven't noticed by now, all our friends have girls! We are looking for some little boys Liam's age. But, I will say, these older girls keep Liam in line! I forgot how bossy girls can be (and I was no exception!).

Happy Easter

We spent Easter morning with friends in Bellingham. We had a nice breakfast and then, in true Pacific Northwest fashion, we donned our rain gear and headed out into the March drizzle for an egg hunt.

Here are the kids heading down on the elevator from our friends' apartment on our way to the egg hunt in the park. The easter bunny (a.k.a. the Daddies) went ahead and hid the eggs in a park nearby

Liam checks out his basket.

"Do you see any more, Liam?"

Liam shows off his goods.

Fingerpainting

Liam is in such a tactile phase. He doesn't want to paint with a paintbrush or draw with crayons...he wants to get in there and get his hands dirty. Who can blame him, really, it is so much fun! Here are a few pictures from our latest finger painting escapade. Don't you just love the apron???

Gooey fun.

Smearing the paint.

"Let me see your hand, Liam."

Learning to use the Potty

Liam has been learning to use the potty. The other afternoon, he spent some time in "big boy underwear" and was quite pleased with himself. He definitely needs reminding and coaxing, but at least we are getting (some) pee in the potty. Here is a series of photos just after Liam went to the bathroom and was celebrating his new-found abilities.

"Yeah, Liam!! Did you just go pee in the potty?"

"Yipee!!!"

"That's right...who just went pee in the potty!"

"Oh, yeah...it's Liam, it's Liam!"

"That's silly, Mama!" (Liam's new favorite saying.)

Rainy Day

The other day, Liam and Julia went for a walk in the rain. I was watching the kids and we were all going a little "stir-crazy" inside...so, we got bundled and headed out in our rain gear (an essential item in the northwest!). Here are a few pictures from the walk.

Julia and Liam head out.

Liam, always with a rice cake in his hand....

We walked to get "hot drinks" and warm up at a local coffee shop.

Liam and Liam ham it up!

A few photos from this past week.....

The "Grand Pirate Liam" at the local park.

Swinging at the park.

Talking over breakfast...with blueberries on the face.

Hugs....they help balance those "challenging times".

Liam with his firetruck stacked with all his vehicles (he was so proud of this feat).

Riding the bike

Liam loves riding his bike right now. He refuses to peddle, but he is incredibly speedy with his little legs (I call it his "crab walk"). It is pretty funny to watch. The other evening, I went to yoga and Liam and Gabe went down to the water and walked along the boulevard. Here are a couple pictures from their evening ride.

Liam rides above the water.

Liam's bike has a "bucket" and he likes to collect little things as we go along. Sometimes we get home with quite a load!

Burying the tractor.

Riding off into the sunset.

The Oregon Coast - Newport, OR

Two weekends ago, I drove down with my mom and Judy Baker (Emma's mom) to meet up with my dear friend Emma who is 7 months pregnant. We had a wonderful weekend on the coast, sans bebes, and got to bless the baby and rub that (very round) belly of hers.

This is the view from our little hotel deck.

Judy is British, so Emma really wanted to take her out to this little teahouse in Newport. We had "high tea" and the teahouse graciously provided us with fabulous hats.

The Newport lighthouse at dusk.

Look at that belly......

After this trip, I am so inspired to take Liam this summer and play on the beach. There is a great campsite near Newport. Any friends that want to meet there....it would be so much fun!!!

Making Flubber

On Fridays, our friends Julia (3) and Leah (1) come and spend the morning with us while their Mama goes to work. Last Friday, we decided to make some "Flubber" and experiment with different colors (food coloring). It was so funny to see the different ways that Liam and Julia enjoyed the goo. Liam just wanted to feel it - to get his hands in it and smoosh it around. Julia used a chopstick and experimented with the colors to see how they mixed and what colors "looked pretty" together. It was a lot of (messy) fun.

Julia and Liam experiment.

How does that feel, Liam?

Nice and gooey.