Liam nods and says "Mama"

Liam is doing so many new things lately!  Most recently he said "Mama" on August 19th, and then on the 25th he was nodding yes!  I am so impressed with his new ability to communicate.

Here he is saying "Mama" :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLbnjUvwwLo

And here's his nod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKugYjRv_gw

Will was also impressed because Liam wanted to play with Dioji the other day--he is VERY interested in the dog (poor Dioji, LOL).  He actually picked up one of Dioji's toys and began waving it at the dog in order to get him to play.  We thought that was very smart!

Our little boy is getting SO big SO fast!

A Rainy Day Adventure

Emily's school has a policy that they do not release students in the event of severe weather, heavy rain, or lightning.  Today was an "early release" day and I was supposed to be able to get her from the bus stop at 2:25.  I arrived to the stop at 2:12 (they want us to be there 10 minutes before the bus is due).  It was raining but not too hard, although there was some lightning.  Bailey was watching Dora and Liam was content, so I decided to just sit in the car and wait.  Well, I waited and I waited.  After a little while, Liam got fussy so I moved to the back to play with him.  Then Bailey announced that she had to go potty.  I couldn't just leave, and besides it was raining, so I offered her a pull-up.  She declined the pull-up and said she could wait until we got home.  But then another fifteen minutes ticked by, and she started looking desperate. So I said, "Bailey, let me give you a pull-up and you can pee-pee in that, okay?"  She agreed.  I had to get out in the rain to get the diaper bag from the back, and you guessed it, there were NO PULL-UPS in there.  So I improvised and grabbed one of Liam's diapers instead.  Now I knew it wasn't going to fit her but I thought it would probably work. I jumped back into the van and poor Bailey was waiting for me.  I held the diaper around her and told her to go.  Now a three-year-old can make a lot more pee than a 7-month-old, so shockingly, the diaper did not absorb all of the pee!  Luckily I did have extra clothes so we were able to clean up Bailey and the mess, too.  Meanwhile, Liam was screaming because I had put him back into his carseat, and, unbeknownst to me, there was a triagular-shaped block wedged under him.  I strapped him in because he's so wiggly I was afraid he might fall, and in the process caused the block to press into his back.  I thought he was just mad but then I realized it was a pain cry, took him out of the seat, and found the block.  FINALLY, at 3:00, the bus showed up.  By the time I got everyone loaded in the car and seatbelts on, of course the rain had stopped.  What a day!

Sweet Liam

Yesterday I heard Liam playing in his crib after his nap, so I went in to get him.  He was laying on his right side, looking towards the door.  When I opened his door, he smiled and started waving at me!  SO CUTE!!  He is such a sweetie!

First Day of Kindergarten!

We just got home from taking Emily to the bus stop for her first day of school!  She was so excited this morning.  She asked for chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast:

Then she did a great job of getting herself ready for school.  Mommy helped with her hair.  Since Emily is going to a charter school, the bus stop is at Publix.  The whole family took her to the bus stop today.

When we got there, Emily and Isabella posed for a picture:

Then they got on the bus, which was a bit of a process because they take roll on the bus and of course Emily had to tell the bus driver her whole life story, LOL.  They also have assigned seats and it looked like the driver had paired an older kid with each kindergartener, which I think was a good plan.  Will and I laughed because we just know Emily talked her seatmate's ear off the whole way to school.

Here is the video of the girls getting on the bus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh8N-kH6BQw

When Will, Bailey, Liam, and I got home, Bailey says, "Daddy, I going to be a good big sister." Then she walks into Emily's room and says, "Is this gonna be my room now?" LOL!! Like we just put Emmy on the bus and said "see ya!" :)

I can't believe my little girl is off to kindergarten!

"Winkles"

Bailey recently noticed the two HUGE wrinkles I have across my forehead--I have very expressive eyebrows, LOL.  Anyway, she was running her finger back and forth and she asked, "Mommy, what this?"

"Oh, that's just a wrinkle."

"A WINKLE?  Oh, no!  You can't have a winkle!  You won't be boo-full anymore!"

On a lighter note...

Just some quick funnies that the girls have said lately:

Bailey, referring to her navel: "Mommy, this 'babin' toot' shows my Bailey button!"

Emily saw Liam without his diaper and wanted to know what his testicles were for.  Instead of getting into it, I just said, "That's just something that boys need."  She goes, "Oh! It's like a little clubhouse for his pee-pee to hang out in!"

Conversation between Will and Bailey:
"Mommy is very tired today.  So I need you to stay in your room during quiet time and let her get a nap, okay?  Don't let me down."

"I not gonna let you down, Daddy. I gonna let you up."

And finally, yesterday Bailey gave me a big hug and said, "Mommy, you're so beautiful and comfy." :)

Pop-Pop

Well, I haven't been on here in a while--things have been really out of whack this past month.  At the beginning of July, my grandfather, whom we affectionately call Pop-Pop, got sick.  He was admitted to the hospital with low blood sugar on July 3, and things just went downhill from there.  The next week he had a scan done which showed "masses" all over his body.  The biopsy came back that these masses were lymphoma.  The doctor thought it was treatable BUT the treatment would have been very difficult and by that point, Pop-Pop wasn't really eating and was very, very weak.  He was transferred to a nursing home for rest and physical therapy, with the goal of getting him strong enough to try the chemo/radiation.  Unfortunately, after a week there, he became unresponsive and was taken back to the ER on July 24th.  He passed away at 12:12 am, July 25th.

Mom noticed some interesting numbers: Pop-Pop was born in (19)22.  He died in (20)11 at 12:12.  He was 88.

We are all deeply saddened by his loss but I personally am also glad that he did not go through the chemo only to die anyway.  I am so grateful that he moved to Florida all those years ago and I got to spend lots of time with him.  And it was so wonderful to meet his many, many friends and neighbors who all had nothing but good things to say about him.  Although it was difficult, I feel blessed that I was able to attend his funeral services both locally and in New York and see him laid to rest.  What an honor it was to have such a wonderful grandfather.

The Orlando Sentinel did a beautiful piece on Pop-Pop after he passed: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-obit-lou-figliuolo-20110728,0,7183646.story

You may also read and sign his guestbook here: http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/news-journalonline/guestbook.aspx?n=louis-figliuolo&pid=152772636&cid=gbsrchres

"I want my dollar"

Last night, William told Bailey that if she slept all night, he would give her a dollar. Well at 6:45 this morning, she comes out, rubbing her eyes, and goes, "Mommy? Mommy, where are you?" I was in the kitchen and I called to her. She comes in, gives me a hug, and says, "I want my dollar." LOL!

Liam is on the move!

Today, Liam went from rocking on his hands and knees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3K73GQDkGQ

to crawling to get the remote control!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az5T1jtlU7k

(his second attempt):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTXvaAw7BuQ

He's 6 months 1 week old.  I am amazed.

Kids in the Walker

Liam--almost 6 months

Bailey--6 months

Emily--5 months

Isn't it funny how much they look alike?  And I love the "decline" of the walker--poor Liam doesn't have any bears.  I remember Emily broke them off when Bailey was a baby!!  And they ALL did the chewing on the toy bar thing (like Emily is in her picture).  I don't have a picture of Bailey doing that but here's Liam:

Roly Poly Liam

Liam's 6 month checkup

I can hardly believe Liam is almost six months old!  He saw the pediatrician yesterday for his checkup.  He's doing great!  He's 20 lbs 9.5 oz and 26 1/2" long.  He has started eating some solid foods--so far he's tried rice cereal, bananas, pears, peas, and apples as well as rice rusks.  He loves all of the fruits and the peas but he's not crazy about the cereal.  He likes the rice rusks a lot.  He had a rough month or so of sleep where he was up two or more times a night, but we seem to be back on track now that he's getting some additional calories.  He is SO cute and chunky!  He now rolls over with ease and we are working on sitting up.  I just took out the walker yesterday and he immediately started rolling backwards around the house, which made me laugh because Emily and Bailey did exactly the same thing.  I will get a picture of him in it tomorrow to post here.

Swimming!

Emily learned to dog paddle today!  She was so proud of herself.  She practiced her "new trick" again and again.  Then, when Daddy got home, she didn't tell him she knew how to swim--she just jumped in and surprised him!  She was so cute; after she learned to dog paddle she said, "Now I learned EVERYTHING!"  I assured her that there is ALWAYS something more to learn in just about every area of life.  Here she is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cayXUkzPSh8

And here's Bailey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS-PdOEVkuY

Yo, Ho, Ho!

Emily has been really into telling "jokes" lately, but they are knock-knock jokes she makes up that don't make any sense at all, like "Knock, knock! Who's there? Banana.  Banana who? Banana shoe!" And then she and Bailey dissolve into a fit of giggles.  So, I taught Emily a joke: "What's a pirate's favorite letter?" And the answer, of course, is "R!"  Last week I told Emily to tell the joke to Bella.  So she said, "What's a pirate's favorite letter?" Bella thinks about it for a second and says, I don't know."  So Emily yells, "YO, HO, HO!" LOL :)

More swimming fun

Today Mimi, Grandpa, and Connor came over to swim with us.  It was a beautiful afternoon and we all enjoyed playing in the pool. I think it is going to be a wonderful summer!

POOL!!!

Our pool is done and it looks FABULOUS!  On Monday they came to apply the pebbletech finish:

When they left, it looked like this:

On Tuesday morning I went out for a while, and when I got home I saw this:

It took all day to fill the pool.  We thought it might be done around midnight so we set the alarm, but it actually took until about 3am to fill. 

Wednesday morning, the girls and I got right in.  I was expecting the water to be freezing but actually it is a wonderful temperature--not cold but not too warm, either!  Here they are, taking the very first dip!

On Thursday we added some furniture and a new grill, so now we are all set for a great summer of relaxation and entertaining!  More pictures coming soon!

Tinky Peet and other tales from toddler land

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote anything here!!  Bailey really has me rolling lately with some of the stuff she says.  Sometimes it's the context; other times it's just that she doesn't say all of her sounds yet and her sentences come out funny.  Last week I went into her room and she's sitting on the floor with her sneakers and a small bottle of baby powder.  We had this conversation:

"Bailey, what are you doing?"

"I put powder in my shoes."

"Why?"

"I put powder in my shoes so I don't get stinky feet."

BUT, our conversation sounded like this:

"Bailey, what are you doing?"

"I put power in my poos."

"Why?"

"I put power in my poos so I don't get tinky peet."

*  *  *

The very first time the girls and I got into the pool, Bailey decreed: "Mommy, I gonna be Upunzel, Lelly gonna be a mermaid, and you gonna be a pirate."

"Why do I have to be a pirate? I want to be a princess, too!"

"Because you big.  You big but you little."

Well.  Can't argue with that one.  Arrgh.

*  *  *

I was getting dressed in the bathroom one morning and because Will was in the shower at the time, I had the door locked to keep nosy little girls out.  Well Bailey came into my room, tried to open the door, and realized right away that it was locked.  So she yells, "Mommy!  Let me in! What the password, okay?" LOL!!!

Silly Bailey

Bailey was so cute and funny today!  This morning, she wanted to go potty at Emily's school.  In the bathroom there, they have recenty replaced the toilet paper holders and there are some holes in the sides of the stalls where the old ones used to be.  So Bailey says, "Why there are holes in here?"

Me, not wanting to get into it: "I don't know."

"Maybe a bad guy did it.  Maybe he did it with a screwdriver."  LOL.

Then, just a few minutes ago, I was folding some laundry and watching Food Network.  She comes out into the living room and asks, "Mommy, what she making?"

"I don't know.  I missed the first part."

"Me, too.  (Sits down dramatically) Great Ceasar's ghost!" LOL!!!!

We have a deck!

Yesterday at 6:30 am the crew showed up to pour the deck around the pool!  They were done by 11:30 and it looks great!  Next they'll install the screen, apply the pebble finish to the pool, install the baby fence, and then fill the pool with water! We're getting closer!!

Officer Emily

At school this week, Emily is learning about "community helpers" such as policemen and women, firefighters, etc.  She came home with a police hat and badge that she made.  Her badge says "Officer Emily" on it.  She said, "I am Officer Emily!  I am here to make sure everyone makes good choices." LOL!