Alex P. Keaton

I usually really gripe over the frequency of Liam's school pictures. Sometimes when they come out, I pass the photo table altogether out of principal that he does not need pictures on a monthly basis.  Sometimes I may stop and have a good chuckle and purchase a few if they are particularly funny (i.e. last year's creepy Santa, hysterical child pose).  But this time around I decided to stop and look.  Wonder of wonders, he looked straight at the camera and smiled!  It is becoming harder to photograph my blur of a child, but the school photographer managed to pull it off.  Eric thinks that they must have photo shopped two different images together to make one happy child.  I, however, think he looks like a little Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties in training.

Oh Christmas Tree

I am trying to get a few things done around the house before Ansley's impending arrival. That includes Christmas shopping, cooking a few extra meals to be frozen, and decorating as best as I can given that I can't climb on ladders or lift heavy boxes.  While Liam took his massive Black Friday nap, I rummaged around in the garage to pull out a few decorations and put them out.  When Liam woke up, Eric was home and we went out to the store to buy a few provisions: the makings for sugar cookies, egg nog, mulling spices for cider, etc.  After we ate yummy Thanksgiving leftovers, and started the cider mulling over a hot stove, we gave Liam a bath and then set to decorating. 

Last year, Liam was just a little too curious and destructive for us to put out many Christmas ornaments.  As a result, only the top portion of the tree got decorated and not even all the decorations came out.  It looked very Charlie Brownesque.  This year, he totally understood the concept of decorating the tree and looking but not touching the decorations after they went up.  Granted, he tended to put an average of five ornaments per branch, so after he went to bed we had to do a little "reorganizing."  We also watched holiday cartoons while we decorated, making for the start of fun holiday traditions.  I have always loved this time of year and it is really important to me that Liam associate Christmas with family and traditions. 

Cooper was not much "help" during the process.

Daddy giving a tutorial on how to hang the ornaments.

Liam insisted on hanging our delicate travel ornaments.  After that we stuck to the more indestructible ornaments.

He caught on surprisingly quickly.



My favorite picture of him this year.



Hot mulled cider ready for consumption!

Liam was quite taken with the cider.

Last year's "decorated" tree.  Note that there is nothing below 3 feet.

Last year my mom gave Liam a music box that plays Christmas music while ice skaters dance.  He was pretty obsessed with it.  This year was no different and he actually curled up in my lap to listen to the music and drink his cider while it played - this is a rarity among toddlers and especially toddler boys!

This year's completed tree!

 

Best $7 ever!

Liam had a rough night on Thanksgiving including the beginnings of a dry cough that had been keeping us all up. But when he woke up on Friday he was in a great mood with lots of energy to spare.  Because Eric had to go into work on Friday, and because I am now the size of Kristie Alley pre-Dancing with the Stars (seriously - I busted the zipper on a jacket a few days ago), I wanted to take Liam somewhere where he could expend some energy with minimal effort required on my part.

Because our usual go-to bounce place was closed for Black Friday, I went online to find a suitable alternative.  I had heard a lot of stuff about "Pump it Up" but we had never been before.  Needless to say, my energy has been waning in these final two weeks before the baby so I counted the minutes off until I knew they opened for their open-bounce time, hopped in the car with Liam, and off we went.  Because I was afraid that they might not really be open, I told Liam that I had a "surprise" for him, but I wouldnd't tell him where we were going in case it didn't work out.  Lately, I have found that he seems to remember everything that I tell him, making it hard to pull a switch and bait.

When we got to the bounce place the parking lot was deserted, but upon walking up, the staff opened the door for us.  Then we were told that unless at least 10 kids showed up, that they wouldn't be able to air up the pop-ups.  At this point Liam still did not know why we were there and occupied himself by drinking from the water fountain (I am still trying to teach him that it is not necessary to french kiss the fountain-yuck), and pretending that he had to go potty.  After we had waited 20 minutes with no additional kids showing up, I think the staff took pity on me, or maybe they were just afraid I would eat them to sustain my energy.  Even though not one other child showed up, they aired up two rooms worth of inflatables for us. 

I gladly and humbly paid his $7 admission and off we went.  A staff member from Pump it Up stayed with Liam the entire time we were there, leaving me to snap a couple of cute pics and get off my feet due to my Braxton Hicks contractions.  The staffer was sooooo great.  He was super interactive and patient with Liam and essentially acted as Liam's playmate.  I am extremely grateful to the Pump it Up folks for doing something that they didn't have to do.  Especially considering that they were only open for open bounce time and then they were able to head home to be with their families and friends. 

His coordination has really improved since he first started going to bounce houses a year ago.

Liam's new friend helped him navigate the areas that he was still too small to get to.

I had never seen an inflatable like this before.  It was a large rotunda with several masive inflatables in the middle. 

Sliding solo

I am not sure he understood the privilege of having the entire facility to himself.

I thought about trying to wrap it up after about an hour so that the staffers could shut the facility down, but Liam's new buddy encouraged us to take advantage of the entire open bounce time...and we did!

Utilizing chopsticks to eat a french fry at Central Market.

We will definitely be heading back in the future.  Especially since I found out that they usually only get 10-15 people for open bounce.  At our other bounce place, it can get pretty crowded and the big kids often trample the younger ones without any supervision from personnel.  The best part is that we were out of there by the lunchtime, Liam ate and then went down for a....3 hour nap!  Truly the best $7 I have spent in a long time!

Turkey Day

This year, since it is too late in my pregnancy to really go out of town, we had a low-key, relaxing Thanksgiving.  We woke up this morning (a little earlier than I would have liked to due to our early riser) to a cool, foggy morning.  It helped get me in the mood for the holiday since Albuquerque tends to have really cool days this time of year, and our 70 degree days lately have not exactly been cutting it for fall weather.  We had breakfast, leisurely cups of coffee, and watched the Macy's Day Parade.  Eric worked on a project for the nursery and Liam and I went on a little walk in the morning. 

Since we were going to some friends house for dinner it was super important that Liam (a) have a good lunch since he tends to eat like a bird out and about and (b) take a good nap so that he would be well-rested and ready for an evening of fun. Liam did neither (a) nor (b). Nevertheless, he did a good job at dinner and played well with all the other kids.  By the time we got in our car at the end of the evening, his good humor had run dry and he was back to being a cranky mess.  Fortunately he passed out within 15 minutes and we were guaranteed a quiet drive home.

Possibly our last family picture with just the three of us!

Liam has the best seat in the house! 

My baby is not so little anymore :(

Eric and I are extremely competitive when it comes to air hockey.  Liam is following in our footsteps.  He is surprisingly coordinated for a 2 year old!  In the spring when he turns 3 we will get him involved in soccer so hopefully that coordination will carry over!

Me and my bestie

My best friend, Stephanie.  Where does one begin?  I met her in seventh grade when many of my friends and I changed Catholic schools at the same time.  Loooong story on that one.  While many of my old friends and I all knew each other, I also wanted to get to know some of the new kids. Stephanie (one of the "established" St. Mary's kids) was having a murder mystery birthday party, which I thought was super cool at the time (still do actually).  I went on a mission to get to know this girl and score an invite to her party.  Unfortunately, because we were in different homeroom classes, I didn't solidify a besties relationship until it was too late to make the cut.  By the end of the school year though, we were best friends.  As a side note, Steph is pregnant with her second bebe as well.  And when I recently offered to help throw her a baby shower, she offered to make it up to me by having a murder mystery baby shower.  That has bad idea written all over it so I told her that we would put that one in the...maybe pile (and by maybe I mean heck-to-the no). 

One of the things that I love about Stephanie is that she is sooo honest.  She says what she is thinking although she doesn't always say what she means.  Girl has a flair for the dramatic and she will freely admit it. For example, during my pregnancy if I am not feeling well, I am likely to say that I am feeling "yucky."  Steph, however will go into Stephen King detail about the quality and quantity of vomit, etc.  Whereas I might silently grrr when I receive bad service at the nearby Starbucks, Steph will leap across the counter and threaten to stab the poor barista's face.  By the way, her blog is HILARIOUS, and I encourage you to visit.  

This past weekend, Stephanie, her husband, Gabe and their baby, Annabelle came for a visit at Casa de Pate.  It was so great to spend time chill-ax-ing and catching up!  Because I am so close to the end of my pregnancy and being on my feet for long periods of time is uncomfortable, Steph indulged me by staying close to home.  It also helped that the weather was cold and foggy instead of the upper 70s temps that were promised by the Weather Channel. Oh BONUS: last week one of the local radio stations started playing Christmas music.  All of these factors resulted in the Pates and Bacas spending lots of time eating, watching television, eating, laughing and eating.  I should mention that she is also pregnant with her second baby.   

Having her one year old around was a glimpse of how Liam would act with a sibling.  Eric and I each breathed a sigh of relief because the two kids got along fabulously.  Because of the age difference we thought that they might just ignore each other, but instead they played together, ate together, bathed together.  You get the idea.  Future buddies in the making?  Possibly. In fact, when Liam would wake up in the morning he would go looking for "Ann-aw-belle."  Such a relief to me.   It was a fantastic weekend and we are so blessed to have such great friends!

Stephanie and I went for afternoon ladies tea at the Chocolate Angel. While it is no St. James Tea Room,  it was super yummy!

My delicious almond cranberry tea.  And it was pink!

No exaggeration: This is how much sugar Stephanie uses...per cup of tea.

Baby Belle partaking in a little Sonny Bryan's BBQ sauce.

As Belle eats a rubber duck, Liam takes a walk down memory lane and samples a plastic cow.

A little etch-a-sketch and puzzles before bedtime.

The girls enjoying...water.  Give us about 6 months and the water shall be replaced with "Saturday night water."

Showed with love

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my friends?  When you live this far away from family, your friends play a totally different role in your life.  Yesterday four of my dear girlfriends threw me and Ansley a baby shower so that we could get a little "pink" in our lives.  Now, having had two sets of baby showers, I can say the clothes for the girls are much more fun!  I am thrilled that Lacey, Joannie, Jennifer and Deanna took time out of their busy lives (and these girls lead super busy lives) to shower me with love.  I have to brag on them for a moment.  They put such time and detail into the little things, from the beautiful diaper cake, to color coordinating the flowers to match the nursery, to each making delicious appetizers.

They even hosted the shower at my house, knowing that it would be easier to me not to have to transport the goods all over town. We were joined by several of my other good friends. These girls are ones that I know from the differernt areas of my life. But I love the fact that when we were all together the conversation was free flowing and it felt like everyone was included. Plus, after years of blue, dinosaurs, trucks and all things boy, I was able to feel....girly again! Here are a few photos of the shower, mostly so I can remember things as time goes on!

Example of cute girly things.  With Liam the closest I got was a little blue lamb costume that Eric refused to let me dress him up in.  He said it reminded him of The Christmas Story too much!



Several of my friends handmade their gifts and I was just floored by their talent. I love the fact that I can explain to Ansley the significance behind these items.



More great loot!

Surrounded by some of the most important people in my life.

Liam hanging out with my friend Sheacy's daughter.  She is by far one of the calmest, well mannered children I have EVER met!  I think we were all a little floored by her lady like behavior at the shower!



When we asked the kids to take a picture together, Liam wasted no time in grabbing little Kate's hand!

 

Jen, me, Lacey, Joannie and Deanna.  And of course Liam couldn't be left out of the picture!

Thank you to all the girls who were able to join me on this special day!

Fall

This fall has been really warm in terms of the temperature.  It has made it nearly impossible to actually get into the spirit of the season.  But we are finally experiencing some cool weather.  Hallelujah!  I say that and today is in the mid-70s.  But I will take what I can get. 

Obviously I have fallen delinquent on updating the blog again.  I will blame the several weekends of work that I have had in a row.  However, in between work and our normal schedules, we have hit up multiple fall festivals. So many that Liam has become accustomed to asking when we are going to the next bounce house. Being the "Mother of the Year" that I am, I have forgotten to take my camera to many a festival, but here are a few things that we have done the past few weekends.

Pumpkin patch near our old home.  We took Liam to go pick out his own pumpkins.  Until we saw the prices.  Yikes!  A medium sized pumpkin was like $35.  We opted for a cute little gourd that was about the size of my fist instead. 



They had a kid friendly hay maze.  Liam had a great time following Eric around in their attempts to get out. 

 

Success!  Cue Chariots of Fire music.

 

Liam picking out his favorite pumpkin and touching every other one along the way.



Dress rehearsal for Halloween.  Who knew how difficult it would be to find an age appropriate Halloween costume for a toddler boy!  The ones I found were either too mature or too cutesy.  And I can't be ruining my boy's street cred.

 Eric and I have really settled into our new digs (although we still have a lot of stuff to do around the house).  But we are loving our new neighborhood.  I think Eric said it best, "It is a little piece of Americana that I didn't know still existed."  A few weeks back we had National Night Out and a lot of neighbors gathered outside to meet and eat popsicles (temps in the 90s).  We have been enjoying going to the several parks around and playing with Liam.  It is great to see all these kids playing in soccer games and meeting other parents around our age. 

Our neighborhood has a flag program where the HOA lines the streets with large American flags for every patriotic holiday.  For the 4th of July they have a parade where kids ride their bikes and wagons, and dress up their pets in red, white and blue.  It is just really fun to be part of such an active neighborhood. 

One of our favorite things to do this fall has been to go to the Creek II Creek festival in our neighborhood.  Our neighborhood is technically made up of three "creeks." So they started this yearly party where they bring in live bands, food vendors, bounce houses, etc.  The afternoon that it was held, the temperature was perfect and we took the opportunity to go walk around, sample some goodies and play with Liam.  

The Creek II Creek Fall Festival in our neighborhood.

The boy loves his bouncey toys.

If I weren't almost 9 months pregnant I would have been right behind him!

Sheer joy! We went back in the line for this one about 5 times.

Enjoying the view from above.

Liam's school had a trunk-or-treat where he was able to get his feet wet on practicing what he needed to do for the big night.  This is been the first of his three Halloweens that he has actually gotten the concept of what he needed to say in order to get candy.  Heck, last year he wanted nothing to do with candy that was put in his basket and would promptly empty out his plastic jack-o-lantern when anyone would try to put treats in there. This year was much different.

Finally! Halloween night!

Cat and the Hat

"Daddy, are you sure about this?"



"Don't mind if I do..."



Victorious return, hopped up with sugar and none to happy to take a bath and go to bed.

This has been a really fun season and we have been trying to make a real effort to expose Liam to new traditions like watching Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin and having popcorn and drinking hot chocolate on those rare cool Texas nights.  It makes me excited for the next few sets of holidays that we are going to have and getting to build memories as a family!