In the paper

Liam made the Sunday paper.

We were out for a walk on Friday afternoon when this lady drove by, pulled a U-turn and chased us down. She was a photographer with the Siloam Springs Herald Leader and said she had to take Liam's picture.

So, here it is :

Whole Foods Prize Package

We have been axiously waiting for Liam's prize to come in the mail from Whole Foods (what for? you ask? Cuteness!). Today was the day.

Liam was pretty excited to see such a huge box

He peeked inside

and found the best surprise ever: packing peanuts!

Nothing could have been better.

They could have skipped on all the goodies and just sent him a box full of the peanuts. These were endlessly entertaining, and I'm still picking up bits of them off of the floor.

But the goodies inside were a big treat for me.

Here's what was inside:

A cute congratulations card

California Baby lotion

California Baby shampoo/body wash

Peter Rabbit conditioner and detangler

Whole Foods label soaps: Grapefruit and Linden flower

Hyland's Vitamin C tablets

Hyland's homeopathic cold tablets

Earth's Best foods:

• Pureed apples
• Bananas
• Banana, peach, and raspberry
• Carrots
• Sweet potatoes and cinnamon
• Apple Juice
• Letter of the day cookies, Oatmeal Cinnamon
• On-the-go O's, Honey Nut

Crunchin Grahams honey sticks

365 Organic Cotton Balls

365 Organic Surface Cleaner, grapefruit

7th Generation Baby laundry detergent

7th Generation Baby wipes

All in a sturdy shopping bag!
A great prize!

a bit dapper

Auntie Molly and Rebecca brought back an outfit for Liam from Korea. It sure is spiffy!

shake shake shake

The other day, I made chocolate chocolate chip ice cream with my new KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment. When it is finished mixing, it is the consistency of a milk shake (and then goes into the freezer for a few hours to "ripen").

Liam needed a sample of the "milk shake" version. I'd say he likes it. Very, very much.

Saturday morning fun

If I had a hammer...

Liam's Grandpa and Grandma Hall gave him a hammer and ball set for Christmas. It's a great wooden toy, but I thought to myself that there is no way Liam will be able to use it in the near future because it takes a lot of force to get the balls through the holes.

But then Liam watched Caleb playing with it on Monday and gladly helped him restock the top with the balls over and over again. When Caleb left, Liam scooped up the hammer and proceeded to knock those balls through all on his own. He's been doing it pretty much non-stop ever since.

So, here's a video to gladly prove me wrong. You must watch it with this tune in your head since it's been ringing through mine:

"If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning. I'd hammer in the evening. All over this land. I'd hammer out danger. I'd hammer out a warning. I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters. All over this land"

lots of love to give

We spent the Easter weekend camping at Roaring River with Crystal, Micah, and Simone.

Simone seemed to have the best time, digging in the dirt, eating the dirt, digging in some more dirt, and giving Liam kisses.
She was pretty aggressive about it. Relentless. Liam had about all the loving he could take for the day.

For more of our camping adventure, head on over to my blog.

wriggly worms

Caleb and Owen spent the day with us again today (it'll be a twice a week thing over the next month or so). We had a fun day. The highlight for all three boys was the afternoon spent digging in the dirt in our backyard.

Barefoot toes + dirt and a shovel = lots of fun

Worms! This was the best part. Owen was braver than Caleb when it came to picking them up.

But Caleb warmed up to it...

I had to bribe them with chocolate chip cookies (dairy and egg-free, of course) to get them to come inside. It almost wasn't convincing enough. Almost.

Easter Candy

My Grandparents sent Liam an Easter package full of candy...and I let him dip into it.

His first chocolate and caramel egg:

and he's off...

This is the biggest news yet: Liam is crawling. Yes, crawling. At 12 months, it's about time...

Of course it's still a modified crawl, but it gets him where he wants to go (usually to Dahlia's food and water dishes...)

Here's a little clip

you must pretend you don't notice my needed-to-be-mopped-a-long-time-ago floors... focus on the kid

Beautiful Baby winner!

Forget Regis and Kelly, Liam won 2nd place in Whole Food's beautiful baby contest!!!

I submitted 3 different pictures, and I'm not sure yet which one was selected. (I'll post it as soon as I know).

His picture will be published and we're getting a goody basket full of assorted eco-friendly foods and other baby stuff.

This is unbelievably exciting.

More info to come...

cruisin'

from Alabama

Another birthday package came in the mail. This time from Uncle Ben, Aunt Carolyn, and Grace in Alabama.
Liam is really getting the hang of this package-opening-thing...

Hurray! A farm puzzle. Liam loves puzzles. He loves animals and tries to make their sounds. What a great gift.

Thank You!

just for fun

Here's one we're sure Grandpa Kenny will love:

my kitchen helper

Usually, I give Liam a kitchen gadget to play with while I prepare dinner each night, such as a wooden spoon, spatula, or colander. The other night I handed him the unopened box of spaghetti while I waited for the water to boil.

big mistake

blocks

Gabriel made Liam some blocks as his birthday gift from us. He cut them out of limbs salvaged from the ice storm: red bud, maple, and walnut. They're sanded smooth and rubbed with a bit of canola oil. Liam thinks they're great.

from the farm

A birthday package from Uncle Jim and Aunt Janelle, who run a dairy farm in Iowa, came for Liam Monday afternoon. He was really excited to open another package.

It's a wooden John Deere tractor. I don't think they could have sent a more perfect gift.

Caleb was pretty excited to help Liam try it out.

Thank You, Aunt Janelle and Uncle Jim!

Monday

On Monday, Caleb and Owen spent the day with me and Liam. It was a last minute thing involving a sick regular sitter, so they spent 9-5 with us instead. It was a lot of fun (most of the time) and required extra creativity on my part.

How to spend time with 3 little boys:

-Get out the train set. Play, play some more, and then play again.

-Embrace snack time. Make it last as long as possible.

-Make a loaf of bread together, with the promise of getting to eat it in the afternoon.

-Wagon rides are always fun.

I know, none of the boys look particularly happy in this photo, but it was a bit tricky to get them all looking at me at the same time... They actually loved the tour of the backyard and neighborhood.

-Craft time:

I had Caleb and Owen draw pictures on squares of fabric, which they then watched me turn into little backpacks perfect for a favorite stuffed animal.

-Take full advantage of nap/quiet time.

-When all else fails, watch a bit of Planet Earth.

It was a good day. I felt oh-so-proud of myself for managing the potential chaos, but I was sure exhausted by the time I went to bed that night.

I'm not sure how Rochelle can do this everyday: two extra little ones in addition to Sage. There is lots of admiration coming from me!

party time

Saturday morning, the Bouchers, Francos, and Grays came over to celebrate Liam's birthday. The biggest surprise of all was the snow storm, which persisted all day long. But we all stayed warm inside with coffee, tea, and warm coconut rolls.

Liam had a great time playing with his little buddies. I made him a birthday crown (with elastic in the back so it can grow with him over the years). He really liked wearing it.


He really loved the blueberry muffin cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting.

mmm...

internet connection

Connectivity has been down the past week.

Since our internet connection comes from the wireless waves floating about the neighborhood, for which we pay nothing, I can't really complain.

I'll try to post some updates today. If the internet will cooperate :-)