What can I say? I’ve given birth to an artistic and musical genius. Here is his first concerto/kazoo portrait combination:
The artist and his inspiration:
If girls with wealthy parents and no talent whatsoever can make a fortune on You Tube “singing” then who’s to say that my baby can’t pay his way through college composing his works of genius?
It’s amazing just how different Saturday mornings are for us now. Four years ago we would never have dreamed of being awake by 6:00, much less taking pictures by 7:30, but here we are…
This is either really motivational or really mean:
Super Baby!
I wish I had a copy to scan — but in my mind’s eye I can see a picture of my Mama as a baby with *exactly* this same expression…
This picture is fairly representative of life at the Connolly Ranch right now…First: Liam is (of course) a cowboy. Second: Paige is trying desperately to get closer to Liam. Third: Matt is furiously trying to protect Paige from Liam (in this case, particularly his shoes):
Case in point:
One of these days she’s just going to take flight:
Daddy & daughter:
Double-hatting Daddy:
“Oh Daddy!”
Caught in the (random) act (of kindness):
This is absolutely the essence of our girl these days:
They may be vastly different (and I definitely wouldn’t mind a break at some point…) but I still love Saturday mornings.
This past Thursday PJ & Sylvie came over for a do-over playdate. This time Sylvie napped and as a result was in much better spirits. Paige slept until we woke her up so she was rested as well. This did not mean that there were no meltdowns to be had. Let’s just say my quest for a good picture of both girls smiling at the camera at the same time continues…
Before we woke Paige, Sylvie got into the Easter spirit:
Toy swap:
“Ummm…hey, Paige? Hey. I think you have my toy.”
“Why yes Sylvie, I do. May I point out that you also have my toy?”
“Oh, I’m so embarrassed…”
“Oh hi, Mama!”
“Hey Sylvie? What’s so exciting?”
Things were going so well and then…
Paige decided that she wasn’t going to be left out this time:
“Oh, woe is me!” “Woe is me, as well!”
“Here Sylvie. Maybe this will make you feel better.”
Oh what a difference 5 minutes can make…
All Sylvie needed was an empty Easter egg and all Paige needed was Liam. I’m still trying to figure out what in the Sam Hill Liam needs these days…
Maybe just a kind word from Sylvie:
We’re planning a trip to the Gardens very soon. Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates — it’s time to take this circus on the road!
Over the course of one hour earlier this afternoon, the following things happened:
-Liam had 3 time-outs for unacceptable behavior.
-Paige pooped an unbelievable amount. Twice.
-Liam brought his woobie out of his room for what I decided would be the last time. He has a wall-shelf near his ceiling above his dresser mirror which is where we put special books and Pete the Cat when he’s in time-out. I put the woobie there. A little while later he brought it to me again. From off the shelf. Which he reached by climbing on top of his dresser and standing on his tip-toes.
-While I was attempting to feed Paige, Liam declared that he needed to use the bathroom. This is par for the course these days (and no, I don’t believe it’s coincidence that every time I need to do something for Paige Liam says he needs to poop…). Liam has had several incidents over the past week of attempting to wipe his own hiney (what this actually entails has nothing to do with cleanliness and everything to do with pulling out as many Cottonelle wet wipes as he can before we catch him — it’s beyond frustrating so I attempted to fix the situation by putting the wipes up in the wall cabinet above the toilet (before the woobie-on-the-shelf incident)) and as a result we have been making sure he knows, unequivocally, that he is not to get up from the toilet when he’s finished pooping, but should call us to come help. After he’d been in there a while I called to see what he was doing and when he didn’t answer I left Paige at the table to go investigate. I found him off the toilet with the toilet brush in his hands slinging toilet water, pee, and poop all over the bathroom.
-I screamed until my throat hurt.
-After attempting to disinfect the bathroom I unceremoniously sprayed Liam off with the shower sprayer and dumped him in his bed without woobie or books and instructions to follow the sleep rules if he valued his life.
-Paige pooped an unbelievable amount. Again.
-I lost what was left of my mind.
My Mom’s coworkers brought her a bunch of balloons for her birthday last week and she brought them out for our celebration on the 16th. To say that Liam and Paige have been enjoying them is an immense understatement. Here are a few pictures.
And a little birthday hat/headband bonus:
On the 16th we celebrated Matt’s 31st and Gran’s 60th birthdays. Here are some pictures from the celebration.
Here are some pictures that have been taken over the last couple of weeks.
The many faces of (naked) Paige:
Sweet Liam:
Naked babies:
When Liam holds her hand…
…and puts his arm around her — it melts my heart into a puddle on the floor.
Paige tries to take flight:
Paige in her new outfit from Gran:
She was watching The Masters here. When she looked at the screen and saw Tiger she did this. There are too many (inappropriate) jokes to make here so I’ll just leave it be…
I can’t wait to make so many more outfits for her that are (almost) as cute as this one!
Sylvie and PJ came over for a visit.
Paige was super-happy to see them both.
Unfortunately, poor Sylvie was exhausted and reacted accordingly…
Paige wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
There was a bit of time for playing with each other’s feet, but soon afterward Sylvie melted down one final time and they headed out. It turns out babies aren’t particularly emotionally reliable…oh well, hopefully we’ll have another chance soon!
Paige enjoys the attention Liam heaps on her:
He enjoys doing anything he can to make her laugh:
These days Liam is making some pretty spectacular towers. This one was taller than he is!
“How are you, partner! Bee-haw!”
It’s only April, but it’s obviously popsicle time!
Paige agrees!
Life is good.
During Liam’s spring break Matt took off half a week and on Thursday we skipped Paige’s nap and headed to the Gardens. The weather was beautiful and the flowers were gorgeous. Paige did wonderfully well despite being exhausted and Liam had a ball, as did his parents. It was so nice to have a chance to do something as an entire family and of course we took a ton of pictures. They tell the story better than I could, so here they are:
I can’t wait to do it again soon!
Here is why my house will be filthy until my children are teenagers:
Liam: Hey, Mama. Whatcha doin’?
Shannon: I’m cleaning the house. It’s a mess in here!
Liam: Oh, Mama, will you come snuggle with me, please?
Shannon: Doodle, I’d love to do that, but our house is a mess and I need to clean it for a little while. I promise to take a break soon and come snuggle with you.
Liam:Â But Mama?
Shannon:Â Yes, Liam?
Liam: When you’re cleaning the house and I’m sitting here on the couch by myself and you’re not snuggling with me I feel very lonely. I don’t want to be lonely.
————————-
Snuggle time it is, then.
Okay, so science was never my favorite subject. Social science? Yes, please. But biology, chemistry, physics, etc.? Not so much. This might be why I don’t know the answer to a very important question. You ready?
Why is it that when you have a terrible cold and your nose is all stuffy and runny at the same time, you stand up and it gets better? I understand (at least I think I do) why lying down makes things worse. But why should sitting (stuffy, miserable, can’t breathe) be any different than standing (clouds part, birds sing, babies laugh)?
Am I missing something?