The Nursery

I have been waiting to write this post since I found out I was pregnant last spring.  And finally after much debating we compromised (mostly I got my way for the time being) and Baby Boy Thomson has his own room.  Like so many things this is easier said then done.

At 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant Kyle finally had a free weekend to work on the room.  Thanks to a few good friends and Kyle's hard work, this probably sets a record for transforming a 1970's bedroom into a modern day nursery (I am happy to report the dark brown cork board is gone). 

Deloy happily ripping down the cork board

A giant mess - ripping popcorn off a ceiling, I tried to stay ahead of the mess but it became an impossible mission.

Kyle framed in the closet - it will become part of our enlarged kitchen in...oh...five years!

FINALLY IT IS DONE!

Thank you to all of our great friends and family who assisted in this process, and mostly to Kyle who spent many hours on his Thanksgiving "Break" making a beautiful home for our new baby. 

If only he would decide it is time to see the world on the outside!!!

Sweet Little Lizzie

The following pictures I took of my sweet little niece, Lizzie.  There were a few photos of the cutest cousins in the world. These are just a few of the couple hundred that I took, but they are favorites.



Party Time

Liam's First Birthday party was this weekend. It was a great time that we shared with the company of family and friends. Liam was completely overloaded with toys and clothes.

I made Liam his very own airplane cake.  It was my first attempt at decorating a cake by myself and it was successful, however I don't think Liam would have cared either way.  I will get to the cake eating later. 

My little party boy entertaining his guests.



After a delicious lunch it was time for singing Happy Birthday and eating cake.  Both of these evens were a little strange for little Liam. First singing Happy Birthday, he was a little embarrassed about this and wanted hide.  Unfortunately he was the center of attention in his highchair and had nowhere to go. As for eating cake, anyone who knows Liam they know that he loves food! At first it was one finger in the icing.  It didn't take him long to discover that there was a better way.  The more effective method involved Liam putting his face into the cake multiple times.  By the end of his cake there were tons of crumbs, blue and red icing all over his face (why did a pick those colors?), a high chair and little boy that both desperately need a bath.  The pictures do not do justice to how much he loved his birthday cake.

Liam had a lot of help opening his presents from his many little friends and Daddy. 

As for us, today we are enjoying a quiet day at the house with naps for all (including the dog).  Great leftovers and playing with some new toys.  Oh yeah and laundry.

Monkey Business

For Liam's first Halloween "he" wanted to be a monkey.  I happen to think he made an absolutely adorable monkey. We did the "downtown" Halloween thing, but refused candy from most business, except for the one that handed out toys.  Liam really liked the lizard and slinky. However he mostly liked wondering around and looking at the kids who were dressed funny.  We ended the night by a little Trick-or-Treating at a few friends so we could show of our monkey. 



Jack'O'Lantern

Since it is Liams' first Halloween it is necessary that we go all out. This includes turning a plain old pumpkin into a Jack'o'Lantern.  Liam was not much help in designing, cleaning or carving his pumpkin, but what can you expect from a less than one year old.  Either way he enjoyed playing with his pumpkin and we are going to enjoy the few roasted pumpkin seeds.

Plenty of Leaves

This past weekend Kyle finally tackled the pile of leaves in our backyard.  Even though there is only one tree in the backyard it creates a lot of leaves, and I mean A LOT of leaves.  About halfway through his endevour, Ada decided that pile needed to be jumped in.  She showed off her "Pile of Leaves Jumping" skills and repeatedly had the biggest and best jumps ever.  She covered Kyle in leaves, which strangely resembled a zombie. Kyle covered her in leaves and we even once covered Liam in leaves.  Liam was more interested in eating the leaves then playing in them but he still had a bit of fun.

Feels Like Fall

It finally hit me the other day, we are officially in fall.  That sacred time of year that falls between the last hot days of an Indian Summer and the first real flakes of snow.  The days are shorter, the sun has a special glow and the sound of crunching leaves under my feet follow me on my morning walks.  While fall just means summer is over and sweaters and snow boots are sure to come, it still remains one my favorite time of year. 

So here a few reasons why fall is so great:

1. The magical cup of tea that just happens to refill two to three times a day

2. The smell of crisp apples

3. The first few nights when you actually have to turn on the heat

and the newest reason why fall is so great

... Liam playing in the leaves in the back yard