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.
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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?
We’re having a problem with thievery at The Connolly Ranch.
Fortunately we’re not dealing with burglars, bandits, or run-of-the-mill “bad guys.” We do; however, have a growing problem with toddler thievery. Here’s a reenactment of a recent conversation:
Shannon: [Walking from the back bedroom down the hall towards the kitchen] Hey Liam, whatcha doin’?
Liam: [Slighly manic, harried, and hassled] Ummm, Hi Mama! [frantically waving] Hey! Hey! Hey!
Shannon: Hey Liam! What are you doing?
It was at this point that I looked beyond where he was standing, furiously trying to divert my attention, and saw that he had pushed his time-out stool next to the counter and that there were three Caramel Hershey’s Kisses sitting on top of it. There had previously been 6 kisses sitting up on the counter, out of direct toddler reach, but apparently not out of his sightline and easily reached by a determined kid jonesing for some sugar.
Shannon: Liam! Why are these out here? What are you doing?
Liam: [looking at the floor and shaking his head] Candy, Mama. I ate candy.
Shannon: Liam, I told you not to touch the candy. I also told you that you would be able to have one piece after dinner if you were patient and ate well. That’s not going to happen now because you didn’t make good choices.
Liam:Â Mama?
Shannon:Â Yes, Liam?
Liam:Â Should I go to time-out now?
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Further survey of the damage revealed that he’d thrown evidence (wrappers) on the counter in his haste to hide his transgression and head me off at the pass. I put the candy on the counter in the first place (as opposed to the kitchen table where it previously lived) because Matt had already found him underneath the table helping himself on a prior occasion. Somehow my mom’s plan of hiding in the pantry furiously stuffing chocolate down my gullet doesn’t seem particularly far off. The real question is whether I’ll be the first or whether Liam will beat me to it.
Watching these two together makes my uterus leap.
Lean on me:
Chatting:
Big brother love:
The way he instinctively wraps his hand around her to support her is almost more than I can bear…
Are my babies adorable, or what?
Sneaky:
Cheese!
“Hey. Hey, Liam. I’ve got an idea. Hey Liam. Hey.”
Getting ready for take-off:
Getting closer to the golden shot of my dreams:
Paige isn’t so sure…
Closer still…
Sweetness:
Goodness, me.
Wow.
Wistfulness and worry:
Drool and adoration:
My girl has nothing if not personality:
Sharing Sophie:
Such sweetness:
And here it is:
But don’t think for a minute I won’t try to top it…
My house is full of them.
Case in point:
Triple goonage:
“Who, us?”
Daddy love:
LOVE:
Peek-A-Boo!
I see you!
Daddy and daughter (and a dash of Pete The Cat):
Cute enough to eat. (Possibly literally.)
Such joy:
It’s good thing I’m ga-ga for goons since it’s definitely in the genes.
Our girl spends a great deal of time these days grunting in frustration. Last Friday she went down for a nap without teeth and woke up with two. She has the strength to sit, but we can’t get her to do it consistently because if she sees something that interests her across the room she dive-bombs the floor in an attempt to fly. When she learns (again) that she can’t fly, she tries to crawl. When she can’t quite figure out how to get her legs and arms to move in concert with each other she shrieks and squeals and squirms in utter consternation. The faces she’s making are kind of insane. Also? Hilarious.
Tell us about it, Baby Girl:
I almost burst into tears laughing the first time I saw this. I’m laughing again as I type this. I mean, wow.
Wonder-tongue!
This is when I knew for sure that she is my daughter. In case that whole delivery room experience weren’t enough…
Something tells me that we’re really in for it when she starts to talk…
Oh, dear.
I look at this picture and somehow get a glimpse into an older version of Paige.
Growing teeth, doing laps on the living room floor, and learning to fly all at the same time can be exhausting.
WHY ISN’T THIS BLOCK IN MY MOUTH RIGHT NOW???
A little help…
Aaaaahhhhhh:
Lollipop envy:
Back at it:
Notice that she’s got her legs tucked up under her here. This terrifies me.
I’ll say this for the kid:Â she’s tenacious.
“It’s so hard, Mama!”
Throwing in the towel…
…for at least the next 30 seconds.
 What can I say? The kid knows how to accesorize.
Workin’ it:
Fingers crossed…
She’s under there somewhere…
Admiring his handiwork:
Sitting pretty:
Folded under the weight:
And she’s off:
Hat’s off!
I don’t generally like for my children to serve as billboards, but there are always a few exceptions to every rule…
The ‘key’ to a good start.
‘Unlock’ your child’s full potential.
No slogan necessary:
“Okay Mama, I have my limits, even for nonprofits…”
The End (or BEGIN…whichever).
Gran bought these shoes for Paige before we knew she was a Paige instead of a Paul. We took them to the hospital with us to dress her for her ride home (because even babies who haven’t yet reached their due dates need shoes…right…?). She may have tipped the scales at birth, but our baby girl has tiny feet and so these 0-3 month shoes just now fit. She wore them on a recent foray in the jumper.
(Okay, so you can’t see the shoes in this picture, but I couldn’t leave this one out…)
A little Irish girl doing a little Irish jig:
Oh, the bows…
Wheeeee!
One down…