October 4, 2010: Life in sloooooooow motion...

While this is supposed to be a September recap post, I just can't help but comment on the pace of our life lately. Even though Liam continues to grow and change every day and Ziggy is getting closer to her due date by the minute, my day-to-day, minute-by-minute life has almost come to a complete halt. This is largely due to one very independent, very stubborn toddler who demands to do EVERYTHING "by myself". Now when we potty-trained I knew this would give Liam alot of self-confidence and independence. But I think we have created a toddler monster :)

I know it sounds very helpful to have him want to pick out his clothes, dress himself, put his shoes on, get in to the car seat by himself, buckle himself, read his books by himself, etc...I just never realized how much longer this independence would take. It's not that he's not trying so hard to do all these things, it's just that getting out of the house (getting dressed, going potty, putting on shoes, picking a toy to take, getting into car/car seat, and buckling) can literally take us 45 minutes! Now Nick is pretty efficient and likes to do things on a very timely manner. I admit I am not the most efficient person, but that's more due to procrastination :) But Liam...he is just a dawdler. Is that even a word? But he does just that..dawdles throughout every task. I would say this is new territory, but I have seen it before...he is so his godfather, Uncle Alex! Oh well, I am hoping this is just a phase, and if not, I guess it's not the worst trait. Maybe one day we'll call him thoughtful and perceptive instead of just a slow-poke :)

Okay now on to our September adventures! Now that the weather is finally a little cooler we've been playing outside a lot more. Liam loves the train park....they have miniature train station, gas station, firehouse and bank, a life size train car to play in, and a maze that Liam loves to run through. When he's not running through the maze, he's chasing little girls (that we don't know) and kissing them in the corner of the maze!! After he did it, he ran over to tell me "I give girl a smooch." Urgh, chase and kiss already?! I'm not ready for this stage...Anyway, here he is on two different occasions at the train park.

With the cooler weather, we also get to enjoy hot chocolate together...play soccer in the backyard...

and snuggle which watching cartoons on cold weekend mornings :)Nick had a fun month as well. He went to the Cowboys/Bears game with our family friend Dan. They had box seats and field passes and such an awesome time!Nick also went to LA and Vegas to visit friends and have a boys weekend on the strip. This isn't the first time he's run to Vegas right before we have a baby...his 'babymoon' :)

Liam also had another fun visit from Grandma Debbie. We took her to the pumpkin patch where Liam got to feed goats, pet a horse, run through another maze (he really likes mazes apparently), and play in piles of pumpkins!

We also went to my favorite new tea room where Liam had a HUGE Halloween cupcake....but it was so yummy and luckily he loves to share :)

Since we were in the holiday spirit, Grandma also brought Liam a special treat...her pumpkin painting kit!! It's her tradition in Houston and since we won't be there to do it this year (too close to Ziggy's due date) she brought it to us! Liam loved painting his pumpkins and loves showing them off to everyone who visits.

My friend Kristy had her baby girl Sophie this month as well. She and I have been pregnant together this whole time, and our babies were due just a couple of weeks apart. But her little one decided to come very early! Since her arrival was unexpected, we had her son James stay with us for the night while they were at the hospital. It was Liam's first sleepover (other than Pres of course)! They played so well together and when we put James to bed, Liam said "Time to go night-night James, give Liam a hug". It was hysterical since that is exactly what we say to him every night. Maybe he's already feeling big brotherly :) Anyway here's a few pics from the boys' sleepover...

Visiting with baby Sophie has made me so baby crazy...I can't wait for Ziggy to get here!! Everyone has been helping us to prepare for her arrival. Rachel threw me a baby shower with our friends, which was so sweet and fun.

After the shower, I came home to Ziggy's nursery being painted by Dallie and Nick! Nick also painted her dresser, moved her furniture in and hung the curtains. Then Mal and Amelia came by to finish the decorating, hanging her pictures and such. Finally Mal and Debbie washed and put away all her clothes in her dresser and closet. Literally we are totally ready for her to be here and couldn't have done it without all the help!

These pictures don't do the room justice but here they are...the walls are heather grey, most of the furniture is black and all her accents are purple and green. A few things are missing like her name on the wall...oh and her crib. Yup, its still occupied in the room next door :)

So I know I haven't been good about taking belly pics. But we recently did a maternity photo shoot to make up for it. Our friend Erin (http://www.brookeshelbyphotography.com/) took the photos and they came out so cute! Of course during our outdoor photo shoot Liam turns to us and says "I need to go potty!" Well we looked around and since there were no bathrooms (and since he's a boy) we did the next best thing...Yes, Liam peed behind our car. Good thing Erin is a mommy too because she not only got a kick out of it, but also took a picture of Liam showing off his work :)

So that's our life right now...spending ALOT of time, patience, and energy fostering Liam's independence while counting down the last few weeks of my pregnancy...if I could only speed Liam and Ziggy up...just a little bit :)