For Your Viewing Pleasure!

Just a few pictures of our Monday. Enjoy!

Daddy would be proud

Baby smiles :)

How gorgeous is this face??

Liam is on the go!!

A few days ago for a microsecond, I wanted Liam to start crawling (mostly just so I didn't have to hear him "complain" about not being able to crawl). Well, Liam must have listen because he is now trying his hardest to start crawling. So, now the baby-proofing begins!

Co-Sleeping is a Go!

A couple months ago, I blogged about Operation Get Liam Out The Bed (OGLOTB). Well, let's just say OGLOTB is officially on hold. Will and I talked things over and we've decided that we will co-sleep until it proves to be an issue for us.

I must admit, I love co-sleeping (well, most of the time) just as much as I love breastfeeding (also, most of the time). It seems that a lot of advice that I receive from (well meaning) mothers, friends and relatives suggest that I should make Liam conform to my schedule and life but I've come to the realization that Will and I wanted Liam here and not vice versa. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan to change everything in our lives to fit Liam's schedule (that would be madness!) but I also don't expect him to be a strict schedule when I don't even have our dogs on one. I just plan to do what feels right for us and breastfeeding and co-sleeping are comfortable for us right now.

My only question is whether or not I should buy a new crib or not (the one we had was recalled) or just wait to see how long we continue to co-sleep once Will is home. Decisions, decisions.

Back After A Short Break

Things have been a little crazy for Liam and I. We're back at home after a couple days out of town working. Liam stayed with my cousin instead who lives in town instead of going to a daycare.

As much as I love Liam, I was definitely excited to head to work for a few days. It gives me a break from being
home and allows me to talk to other adults. Overall, the trip was a success. Liam got to play with other kids while I was at work and we spent the night in a nice hotel. It was a little taste of what our lives will be like in a couple weeks since I will be working for a majority of August.

Besides our trip, things have been pretty laid back around the house. With my mom and siblings gone, it is definitely a lot quieter (which I LOVE). Now, if only I had the motivation to start some decorating projects. Speaking of motivation, that seems to be something I am definitely lacking. I think this may have something to do with it though:

It's Hot!!

It's a little hard to stay motivated when you break a sweat by just walking outside. Liam and I have been spending most of our day inside only daring to venture out early in the morning.
One things for sure: I'm definitely ready for fall! Stay cool everyone!

Liam got a Sippy Cup!!

Since Liam is breastfed, I never really thought about when we would try introducing cups. Then I took a trip to Walmart, wandered down a baby aisle and found myself face to face with a wall of sippy cups. I decided to take a chance and try one out. Well, if you know me personally, you probably already know that it took me, hmmm, a good 20 minutes to finally decide on a cup. After looking and touching tons of sippy cups, I finally decided on the Nuby No-Spill GripN'Sip.

 "Yay! No juice on the rug!"

And since this was our first time trying out a sippy cup, I decided to give Liam a little diluted apple juice as well (way too many treats for one day, lol). He figured out how to drink right away but then I noticed a slight problem. Since he's breastfed and rarely drinks out of bottles, he doesn't feel the need to hold his sippy cup (unless he's using it to bang on something). This is one of the reasons why we've only tried out the cup a few times (the next time I gave it to him, he didn't even want to drink out of it). We'll definitely be trying to use the sippy cup a little more often, just so that Liam gets the hang out it. Right now though, I'm perfectly fine with him wanting solely Mommy/Liam time.

Let Him Eat Cake!!

Okay, so I've been waiting to do this post for forever (I wanted to wait until after he received his package to post about it)! Will's birthday was on July 6th so I mailed him his birthday package a week prior.

I wanted to make Will's birthday a special event since he is deployed and away from home. I thought long and hard and finally decided to make him Cake in a Jar!

If you haven't heard of Cake in a Jar, it's super easy. I've laid out the instructions (complete with pictures) below. Enjoy!!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sterilize mason jars and lids by boiling in water. Remove jars but leave lids in the hot water.
3. Prepare cake batter either according to box instructions or from cake recipe.
4. Spray the inside of pint size mason jars with Pam before filling with 1 cup of cake batter (keep rims of jars clean).
5. Place jars on a cookie sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes.
6. When the cake is done, take one jar out at a time. Place the hot lids onto the jar and let cool.
7. As the jars cool, you should hear a 'ping'. To make sure the jars have sealed, press down on the lids. If they don't move, the jars have sealed.
8. Enjoy when ready!

Six Month Pictures!

Liam's six month pictures are in and he's absolutely, stinkin' adorable (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom)! The pictures went amazingly. Liam smiled and seemed to love being in front of the camera. Melissa, the photographer, is amazing (she did our newborn/family pictures as well) so I knew the pictures would be great and they are! Here are a few for your enjoyment!

Melissa Bradfield Photography

Melissa Bradfield Photography

Melissa Bradfield Photography

Let Me Update You!

The past week or so has been pretty laid back for Liam and I. We've been trying to stay cool, getting the house in tip-top shape, attempting to crawl (well, mostly Liam, I mastered crawling years ago), mailing birthday packages (post to come once Will receives his package in the mail) and enjoying the festivities of the 4th of July holiday.

Our town has an annual fair-style event for the 4th of July holiday so Liam and I attended the first day of the event along with his godmother, Krystal, and her daughter. It was unbelievably hot and things too a turn for the worse when Krystal passed out while getting food. She was fine after drinking water and sitting for awhile but needless to say, that was the only day we ended up at the fair.
I can't seem to find my camera so I snapped a few pictures of Liam pre-fair on my iPad.

Baby Wayfarers and he loved them!

"Please Mom, no more pictures!"

We did partake in a few 4th of July festivities including a barbeque on the 4th. We stayed away from the fireworks for two reasons: 1) Liam is far to small to do anything of the sort and 2) I am a little scared of fireworks. It I had my way, Liam would only want to play with sparklers but since that's very unlikely, fireworks will be a Daddy job.

So, all in all, our holiday was pretty mellow. We're relaxing this weekend in preparation for a week of daycare and hotel room living since I have to work at my base. Hope you all have a relaxing weekend as well.