I'd Like to Thank My Parents for Having Me...

Last weekend Liam got a hold of Luke's jump rope and it looked like he was talking or singing into a microphone.  It reminded me of my old co-worker, Lisa.  Whenever she got recognition for something, she would pretend to give an award ceremony acceptance speech, and she always started with, "I'd like to thank my parents for having me."  Fitting, I think, for our little man.

I love vegetables.

So far our Lent resolution is going well.  It helps that I really do love vegetables.  In fact, I eat one of these for lunch almost every day:

Yes, I took pictures of my salad.  It just looked SO good!

Last Saturday we got our first Bountiful Basket and we are SUPER excited about it.  I'm looking forward to the surprise of not knowing what we'll get every time.

The KitchenAid didn't come in the basket.  But if it had...

We also have a little garden!  Our apartment has a little cement patio (about 8'x20') out back so we planted a few pots and we'll see how they fare this summer.  Due to my lack of confidence, we're starting small:

Tomatos

Peppers

Basil

Rosemary (and the corner of some salad greens)

Sewing Project Preview

My siblings will recognize these little felt pieces right away, and I'm sure it won't be that big of a mystery to anyone else.  BUT I'm not quite finished with it, so until I finish and can show off the entire thing, here's a little preview of the project that I started three months ago and got Lorraine to help me with last week:

Friday Photos: Hippo Returns

Just a few pictures for your Friday viewing pleasure:

One day last week Luke got home from work earlier than usual, so Liam was still awake and they got to hang out for a little while.  I LOVE the way they are looking at each other in this picture:

And I love the way Liam turned and looked at me and the face he's making in this one.  So serious:

Liam and I were taking some pictures of ourselves the other day...

And I was excited to see that his teeth are showing in some of them!  I haven't been able to get a good tooth shot yet, so I'm glad I didn't have to get drooled all over and bitten.  These bottom teeth show the best:

But there was even one where you can just see his top teeth, which have a nice, HUGE gap between them.  "Hippo Teeth," Lorraine called them.  Which is perfect.




Liam and I just got back from a mini trip to Waco.  We were visiting family and friends, and Lorraine helped me finish a little project I have had in the closet since December.  I'm excited to post pictures of it for you soon!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Of Nicknames and Naming (and Stuffed Hippos)

A little Scrabble game from the other night.  Those are really the tiles I chose from the bag.
And the stuffed hippo appears later in the post.

Last week Luke's cousin (Hi Corinne!) suggested a darling nickname for Liam, and it reminded me that I should tell about some of the naming and nicknaming of our little man.

While I was pregnant I mentioned that we had a pretty good idea of what we were going to name Liam, which is true.  I've told some of you this story, but within a week of finding out that I was pregnant, Luke did his "voodoo" pencil test and determined that our baby was a boy.  I asked him what he was going to name his son, and he told me, "Liam" (our favorite boy name).  So we started calling baby Mott "Liam" at least 12 weeks before an ultrasound even confirmed that he was for sure a boy.  (Luke puts a lot of stock in the pencil test.)

We briefly discussed the idea of naming him William and calling him Liam.  I like the name William, but Liam is the only "nickname" for William that I like, and we figured the only way to be sure people didn't call him "Bill or Billy or Mac or Buddy" (name that song) was to actually name him Liam.  So we did.

Since Liam was born he's had no fewer than a dozen nicknames from me alone.  There was a week or two when I was calling him something different almost every day, usually variations on a theme.  I've settled into "Moose" most recently, and other than a short break during which he was "Monkey," "Monk," or "Naughty Monkey" (the last one reserved for when he was refusing naps) he's been "Moose" for a while now.  Origins of this particular name as follows:

He was "Grump-a-potamus" (when he woke up grumpy).
Then he was just "Potamus."
Then he was "Potamoose."
And we finally made it to just "Moose."
(Though sometimes I do call him "Moose Goose.")

Now to the stuffed hippo.  Liam wasn't the only grumpy one at our house.  I'm sure you'll be oh-so-surprised to hear that sometimes I am grumpy.  (!)  Around Christmas time Luke started looking for a stuffed hippopotamus for me - a Grump-a-potamus to take out my moodiness on - or something like that.  We had a good laugh about it, but never found one that we liked or that was worth the price.  (Turns out that stuffed hippos run pretty steep these days.)

Then a couple of weeks ago I was at Target with Liam perusing the dollar spot, and what did we find!?  The new Mott family mascot!  "Grump" the hippo came home with us immediately, and was a fun surprise for Luke when he got home from work that night.

Incidentally, Grump actually is helpful at keeping me from getting too grumpy, because how in the world can you be grumpy with that little hippo looking you in the face (or being animated by a grown man)?  It's too adorable (or too ridiculous)!

And there you have it.

I never want to forget...

As we were rocking and singing before bed tonight Liam had one pacifier in his mouth and the other in his hand, like usual.  He likes to hold them, switch them in and out, stick his fingers in the hole of the one in his mouth, etc.  But tonight he was trying to fit his fingers and BOTH pacifiers in his mouth.  He was tired, and I could tell that he didn't really understand what was happening and why it wasn't working out like he wanted it to.

It was so funny, and absolutely adorable.

But he was getting grumpy about it so we sang our good night song ("Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins) and I set him in his bed.  Then he immediately went from being grumpy to looking up at me with his "I know what's happening here" smile.  The smile that seems to say, "This is a fun game -- I wonder if I can get her to pick me back up."  And his little legs kick-kick-kicked against the mattress in anticipation.

And just like every night, I wrapped his blanket tight around him, put him on his side, gave him his "Good night Moose - I love you" kiss, and left the room.

I really wouldn't mind if we could freeze time and keep him just the way he is now.  I said it at two months.  I really enjoyed five and six months.  I tell him every day that he does NOT have permission to grow up.

But since I know that can't be, I'll admit that there is one thing to be said for this business of being Liam's mom: it just keeps getting better and better.

February in Review

Liam is 8 months old today!  Here's what we've been up to this month:

We spent an afternoon rolling around on the floor in his room and he liked the sound his shelf made when he kicked it.

Liam likes to put his entire binkey into his mouth.

Hanging out with Dad.

Just playing on the floor one morning.

Classic Liam - arms flapping up and down.  He's like a hummingbird.

Playing with his blocks.

And Mom's old pink cell phone.

More arm waving as he tried out his new car seat.

Luke loves this picture because it shows the "trail of carnage" Liam leaves behind as he makes his way across the room.

Sitting in his "Captain's Chair" (that he also got new this month).