Bathtime

I couldn't help but post these pictures. Liam is so alert during bathtime. He loves getting his hair washed! He is one month old as of today. Time is already flying.

Welcome, Liam

Whew....what a crazy three weeks it has been! We are adjusting to our new addition. Liam is a very good baby, but, man, he is about to eat us out of the house. Liam was born on August 18 at 12:09pm. He weighed 7lbs and 12 oz. He was 19 inches long. Everything went well during the delivery, and I was back on my feet going 90 to nothing in three days. Madeline adores her new brother. Yesterday, we were at Walgreens, and a man offered her $1000 for her baby brother. She said, "no way!" We'll see how long that will last!

In Retrospect

I am up at 3:27 am, the morning our son is about to be born with many different thoughts going through my mind. I can't help thinking about the day Madeline was born. I can't help being saddened, a little, that she will no longer be my "only child." We have had five and 1/2 precious years with her, and now she must share our attention with a baby brother.

Most of you know that Madeline's birth story was a bit crazy, beginning when I fell and broke my arm. Many, many challenges to overcome, but with the support of my family and friends, we managed. I just wanted to post a couple of pictures of her when she was born.

Thanks for allowing me to reflect!

Countdown is on!

Okay, the date has been set. We will go into the hospital on August 18th for the arrival of the baby. We are so excited. We have almost gotten the baby's room finished. Everything is falling into place (even the practice of being awake all hours of the night with a waking, hungry newborn--ha!!)

Happy Birthday, Our Lil' Firecracker!

It is definitely hard to believe that another year has passed, and we're celebrating Seamus's 2nd Birthday. What a fantastic Bob the Builder party he had, too. It was set up at a park not far from his home where he spends a lot of his free time. It was great to see so many grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends celebrating this special Fourth of July Birthday for such a special kid! Happy Birthday, Seamus.


A Gift-unwrapping Pro

Can't Wait to Get this Home

This Birthday Song is Really Long


The Loot





You've Come a Long Way

Journeys Backstage of An Aspiring Dancer

This year having Madeline backstage was a lot easier. She didn't cry for me to stay; therefore, I got to watch both shows! However, there is a lot of thought and preparation that goes into backstage success...plenty of snacks, plenty of games, and this year, a doctor set. I have to say that the studio did a better job this year organizing volunteers for backstage!

2009 Dance Recital Pictures

Wow, our little Madeline looks all grown up in these pictures compared to last year's pictures. She is participating in two numbers this year at her recital, "Twist and Shout," and "Be the One."

"Madeline at the Ballet"

I took Madeline to this particular ballet titled, "Madeline at the Ballet" based on the character and story developed by Ludwig Bemelmans. She really enjoyed seeing her dance teachers and other kids from her dance studio perform.




The character, Madeline


Madeline's Acro Instructor

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A Visit to Global Wildlife

This year for Mother's Day, my Mom, wanted to visit Global Wildlife in Folsom, LA, with her kids and grandkids. My brother, his wife, Seamus, Madeline, my Mom, and I headed to the beautiful grassy "plains" of Louisiana. It is amazing that we have something like this so close to where I live. It's much better than a zoo, to me. The animals have plenty of room to roam free on 500 acres, and you can actually feed them. One of the interesting stories that the tour guide told was that during Hurricane Katrina, they kind of had to let the animals fend for themselves (where do you put buffalo, zebra, giraffes, deer, etc during a hurricane anyway). Following the hurricane, some people went to check on the animals and could not find them. They thought that they had all escaped or died. They kept searching and eventually found all of the animals, with an addition of two or three newborns, all lined up, big and small, on the highest point on the property.

Below you will see two zebras that are only three weeks old, a picture of the giraffes, this is as close as we could get to them today, and a llama who was 13 months pregnant. We learned that llamas carry there unborn babies for 15 months.

Our Easter Weekend

We always enjoy being with family during holidays, and Easter is no exception. We were just sad that Jason got called to work at the last minute.

The rabbit cake that Mom and Dad made for the kids

The hat, purse, and gloves Aunt Lesley found for Madeline

Seamus finding an Easter egg

More eggs for Seamus

The Easter Bunny is so good to me






Courtney and Madeline