1 is So Much Fun!

Finally I am posting pictures of Liam's 1st Birthday party...better late than never, right?

We were honored to Liam's 1st birthday with several of our good friends here in Portsmouth and their little ones. The kiddos had a great time playing and running around the house and the adults attempted to have some fun while trying to keep the little ones out of trouble.

Here are some pictures of Liam on the big day:

Liam waiting for his cake to arrive!

"Mom why are all these people staring at me?"

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Mimi trying to show Liam how to eat cake.

"I really don't know what to think about this!"

"Here Mom you try it!"

"Well maybe this icing isn't so bad afterall."

Liam had way more fun playing with his buddies than eating cake!

Here are some details from the party for anyone who is interested. I am sure Rolf would say I went a little overboard but I had so much fun planning all of the details. Your first baby only turns one once, right? Our theme was "1 is so much Fun" and man did we have fun!

We had everyone sign a book for Liam so that we can tell him about all of the special friends that were there to help him celebrate his 1st birthday!

"1" shaped sugar cookies for the party favors.

If you ever hear me say I am going to make cupcakes again remind me of this time and take me directly to the grocery store bakery! In the end they turned out okay but it really did take a lot of work. Thank goodness Mimi was here to save the day!

I hung all of our favorite pictures from the year, one for each month, on a "clothes line" inside. It turned out really cute, if I do say so myself!

Yummy, yummy! We did a lunchtime party and subs really hit the spot.

A special cake just for the birthday boy. It turned out great and tasted awesome. Good thing Liam didn't like it because that meant I got to eat the whole thing!

My favorite from the day!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Liam!

My dear sweet Liam,

Oh what a year it has been so far baby boy! It seems like just yesterday we were eagerly waiting for you to make your way into this crazy world. We were so scared of what your first days would be like but full of hope and faith that we were putting you in the best hands possible. You are such a miracle and I am amazed by you ever day. Your name means strong-willed and you are definitely living up to it. You have such an amazing personality already. You are smart but mischievous, you are tender-hearted but strong-willed, you are a flirt but sometimes shy, you are a mama's boy but think your daddy hung the moon, you love to snuggle but are always on the move, you can melt your mommy's heart one minute and be in trouble the next. Every day you are doing something new and I wish that I could just freeze time and keep you my sweet little baby boy forever. Please know we love you so very, very much and are so blessed to be your parents.

You are our sweet miracle and this is our prayer for you...

Be strong in the Lord and,

Never give up hope,

You're going to do great things,

I already know,

God's got His hand on you so,

Don't live life in fear,

Forgive and forget,

But don't forget why you're here,

Take your time and pray,

Thank God for each day,

His love will find a way.

All of our love,

Mommy & Daddy

PS: The prayer is the words to a song by Sidewalk Prophets that I love to sing to you as we dance around the kitchen in the mornings. I can not hear it without saying a little prayer for you. I will be sure to save it and play it for you one day.

Liam's 1st Halloween

Liam had a great 1st Halloween. He loved crawling around in his turtle costume, playing in the candy jar, and answering the door for all of the trick or treaters.

"Mom is this all for me?"

Yummy, yummy!

"This makes it a lot easier to get too!"

Notice he goes for the chocolate not the pretzels!

This pumpkin is just the right height.

What a cutie!

Hanging out on the porch Halloween night.

It was over 80 degrees here.

Our scary spider and spider web!

Trick or Treating at NMCP

On the Friday before Halloween the Naval Medical Center at Portsmouth, where Rolf works, hosted a "Trick or Treat" for all of the kiddos of the staff. Rolf just happened to be on-call overnight that night and it was also his 29th birthday! So Mary Anne, George (Rolf's parents who were visiting for the weekend), Liam and I took in pizza and a birthday cake and celebrated Rolf's birthday with him at work. Then Liam got to show off his Halloween costume and Rolf got to show off Liam at the "Trick or Treat."

Rolf showing off his cute, little turtle!

Liam loved walking up and down the hall. He waved and smiled at everyone we passed.

Hanging out with Daddy at work!

Happy Birthday, my love!! You are really getting OLD!!

11 Things About Liam at 11 Months

Liam is such a sweet, smart, happy baby but hey we are a little biased. His smile lights up his entire face and can absolute melt his mamma's heart (and his daddy's). He loves playing with his daddy in the evenings and has fun playing with Sadie too. Here is just a little glimpse into what he is up to at 11 months.



1. He is into absolutely EVERYTHING!




2. He has mastered crawling and pulling up.



He can crawl anywhere he wants to go and has can pull up on just about anything. Everyday he is getting a little bit more interested in cruising but still prefers to crawl.




3. He loves to swing at the park.



4. His favorite food right now is spaghetti with sausage.

Check out those cheeks!

5. He has a lot of fun playing the piano with his daddy.

6. He is such a good helper.

He loves to help with the dishes, the mail, and cleaning up his toys (seriously he will help you put the toys back in the basket.)

7. He is getting really good at holding and drinking out of his own sippy cup.

8. He is a world traveler.

In Venice, Italy

9. He loves playing outside.

10. He has a lot of fun hanging out with his buddies.

Playing with his buddies Jacques & Padrig.

11. He is getting to be too smart for his own good.

Give him long enough and he can figure out just about anything. He is waving "hi" and "bye" to almost everyone and is now signing "more", "all done", and "touchdown". He also knows the signs for "eat", "milk", and "no-no" but won't sign them back yet.

We hope you enjoyed catching up on what is going on with Liam. We can't believe that he will be turning 1 in just a few weeks. He is such a blessing and a miracle and even though things are totally crazy in our house right now we are loving every minute of it!!

Hunt Club Farm

This past Friday Rolf had the day off of work and it was an absolutely beautiful day so we decided to take Liam out to Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach. This is something I have been eagerly anticipating doing for a long time. Funny, I know but at our the fall is a big deal with lots of October and November birthdays, Halloween, and some many other fun things going on!

Liam had so much fun on the farm playing in the pumpkin patch, seeing and touching all of the animals in the petting zoo, and climbing on the big hay pile. We can't wait to go again next year!

Checking out all of the animals with Daddy.

This little guy is growing up way too fast!

Is it just me or does this guy not look happy?
I was so scared Liam was going to lose a finger.

He was not scared of the animals one bit.