Disney

We recently went to Universal Studios and Disney for a great family vacation.  My parents and sister came too, which made the trip easier and more enjoyable for everyone (thanks!).  Liam had a wonderful time and is already trying to convince us to return for a "3 week" vacation there.

Liam in full Cars regalia, ready to fly to Disney.

First stop: Universal, where Seuss Landing was the biggest hit, especially the rides One Fish Two Fish and The Cat In The Hat.

After two long, hot and humid days of walking at Universal, we bought a little stroller for Liam, which he *loved* and saved us lots of time and effort!  He now refers to this as his "big boy stroller" despite being smaller than his other one.

Let the "Magic" begin...

The "Dumbo" style rides were some of Liam's favorites and there was one in every park.  Here Liam and I ride the Triceratop Spin.  He was thrilled to be able to control the up and down movement of the ride.

The happy family in front of the "Tree of Life" which houses the terrifying "Bug's Life" movie (just one of many shows I would end up leaving early with Liam)!

Wearing Cars and posing with them, Liam liked EPCOT a little less than I expected. 

Although EPCOT did get him warmed up to greeting characters.

He was a character-greeting pro by the time we met Jessie and Woody outside Splash Mountain.

Post-meeting with Jessie and Woody, Liam excitedly recounts his adventures so far.

One of Liam's favorite rides was actually the set in front of Winnie The Pooh.  Here, he explains all about Pooh's honey to grandmom.

Double excitement - the Dumbo ride during fireworks!  He raved about both.

Watching our second "Electric Light" parade of the trip.

Watching the Pixar parade at Hollywood Studios under the precious shade offered by a vendor's stand.

A brief moment of relaxation during his adventures in Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground.

C ya real soon!

Catch Up

Nope, we haven't been sitting around staring at the wall since March 14th--here are some photos from the past couple of months.

Finally got out to enjoy the outdoors and learned to ride a tricycle

Saw the Easter Bunny from a safe distance

Tried to roll down a hill--mostly just rolled across

Was delighted with what the Easter Bunny left me

Visited our nation's capitol for mother's day

Saw THE REAL LIFE Elmo and some dude who held Elmo

Visited the Butterfly Garden with my class

Growing Up

Today, Liam turned 3. It seems hardly possible. He has been telling us for a while that he is a big boy and while I have been trying to keep calling him my baby, but I think it is finally time for me to retire the phrase.

To celebrate the occasion, we had a party for Liam and 20 of his closest friends at Gymboree. Here are some of the highlights. Happy Birthday BIG boy!


Play time


Hug time


Dance Time


Lead time


Bubbles time


Parachute time


Wish time

Treat time

Super Why

Super Why is a TV show on PBS:
http://pbskids.org/superwhy/

In it, the main character Wyatt solves problem with "the power to
read" by swapping out words in a story to make things better (e.g. the
big bad wolf turns into the little good wolf).

Liam is pretty into Super Why right now. While we were playing this
morning he was pretending that two toys were me and him and they were
trying to get up on to something high. He said: "Oh no, they can't
get up! Who can be Wyatt? Who can be Super Why?"

So I played along and said: "We need the power to read!"

And he replied: "No. We need a ladder!"

Why?

After a long series of why questions during the bedtime ritual tonight, Annika said "you get one more why question, so you don't want to waste it." To which Liam responded "why I don't want to waste it?"

Steve

We're back

I am not sure why we have been so bad about posting; it isnt' because we don't have a cute subject or an awesome new camera. Blame it on the blah of winter. We'll try to be better, but here are some pics from the last couple of months.

Liam got tons of toys for Christmas, but the highlight was a $2.00 flashlight and some hand sanitizer.



Buzz and Woody still seem to be a daily theme. He hasn't even watched the movie in a few months, but can spot the marketing in the grocery store from 30 feet away.



His father's son. Liam has always enjoyed a good puzzle. Now, we are getting to the point where it is starting to be a challenge for the parents too.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,
This year, I have been a very good boy. I have learned how to dress myself, I am potty trained, I help put away the dishes and clean up my toys, I have tried many different fruits and vegetables and discovered that not all of them are bad. Sometimes I don't like to listen when I am spoken to, but I am confident I will outgrow that. So, for this year, Santa, I would like:
Buzz
Woody
Jessie
Bullseye
Rex
Ham
Slinky the dog
Mr. Potato Head and
Hammers
I politely ask that you leave all presents outside the front door as I am still petrified of you. One day, I do hope to sit on your lap and tell you in person what I would like, but you may need to cut off that beard.

Sincerely yours,
Liam Orion Luke aka WOODY


This is why you cannot come inside. At lunch with you this year, I couldn't even look at you. When at the mall, I made sure to stay clear of the hall you sit in.

I consider this a safe distance. Please do not come any closer. The front door is fine--I will even leave you some cookies.