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.

Cypress Island

A beautiful sunny day in Strawberry Bay, Cypress Island

Yesterday, we headed from Guemes Island over to Cypress Island, to visit with Gabe's brother Damian and his wife, Darcy, who are visiting from Montana . Damian is finishing work on the Mast's cabin, which will, hopefully, be completed by this summer. It was a beautiful sunny day and Liam and I spent most of the day outside on the beach. With the south-facing sun shining warmly, it truly felt like spring is right around the corner.

Liam finds some good rocks on Strawberry Bay....

...and throws them in.

Our beach boy.

Ready for the boat ride home. What a nice day!

President's Day Weekend

This past weekend, we spent time both at Guemes and Cypress Island. We spent two days at Guemes and had a Schutz-Mast work party/Spring clean-up. We did some landscaping and planted a bunch of native plants along the beach and the cabins. Liam stayed busy loading and unloading his truck and throwing rocks into the water.

Loading his truck.

Collecting some snowberries.

Watching Daddy put in some new plants.

After our first long day at Guemes. I was helping clean up outside and Liam wanted to stay indoors and play with his toys. I came in to find him almost asleep on the chair in this position. So cute......balanced just right.

Projects and Play at home

I feel as though I am always catching up for a couple weeks at a time. So......here goes again. Liam and I both just got over the flu and are finally on the mend. Boy, it feels great to be well again! Liam got a new addition to his fire truck collection (thanks to a local Thrift store find) and is very pleased with it.

Liam with his new fire engine.

Liam and I spent an afternoon last week making Valentine's Day cards. It was the usual fun, messy art project that holds Liam's attention for way less time than I imagine. But, he was a sport.

Liam carefully roles some paint on a card.

The artiste.

This past week....

Here are a few photos from this past week. First of all, Liam has really been enjoying making "muffins". He loves taking the paper muffin cups and putting them in his tin, then filling them up with beans. Then, we carefully put them in the oven, set the timer and "Ding!" in no time flat, we have muffins!

Chef Liam whips up some of his famous bean muffins....mmmmm.....

Silly Liam.

Last Friday, Liam's friend Julia came to our house to play for the morning. We took a nice long winter walk and when we returned, both kiddos wanted to hop in the tub to warm up. The animals got to come in too, of course, and bubbles were requested.

Julia (3) and Liam in the tub.

Liam feeds Noni's horse ("Esprit") some hay. We moved Noni's horse to a stable that is closer to Mount Vernon. On Sunday, I helped trailer her down to her new home. We were coming through Bellingham on our way south, so we drove by the house so that Liam could say "hello". He is thrilled by the prospect of seeing her more often when he visits his Noni.

A Snowy Day!

Last Monday, we got a couple inches of snow. It didn't last long, but it did paint everything white for about 24 hours. Liam and I headed down to Mount Vernon to see Auntie Lu (Lusana) who was in town for a day on her way to another medical school rotation in Phoenix. We had fun playing in the snow and took a nice walk on the dike near my parent's house.

Liam tries out his boots and tests the "depth" of the snow.

Gazing at some snow geese from the dike.

A little ride from Auntie Lu.

Liam, Lu, Perrin and Me

A "Liam" look.

Winter beach time

Last week, Liam and some friends (and their Mamas) went down to the waterfront near our house. We walk there often and Liam loves throwing rocks into the water (again.....and again.....).

The real challenge in the winter is to keep Liam from getting too wet. I usually put him in full rain gear to go to the beach, but he wades right in....but I didn't have it this day.

Finding treasures.

Strolling along the boulevard on this rare, sunny winter day.

Dancing with our friends, Reese and Finn.