Growing Up

From 1 . . .




To 2 . . .



And many more to come (not blog posts--birthdays).

Mommy's Day Pic

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter weekend, and I hope you did too. Ours was filled with family, food, egg hunting, basket opening, and the most beautiful Easter service I have ever been to thanks to members of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.

I am also happy to add that Liam now has a sheep sound and a cow sound in his vocabulary. We are working on it--slowly but surely. We will meet with our speech pathologist for the first time tomorrow, which is something I have been anxiously awaiting for several weeks now.

Plus, Baby Anna arrives tomorrow! It's going to be a fun week!

Hello.

Hello, again.

I've been off the grid for a while, but we have had a lot going on around here.

Shopping, family visits, doctor's appointments, book fairs, cooking, gardening, baby showers just to name a few...

Here is my beautiful roasted sticky chicken (recipe from the United Methodist Church of Bastrop). It was sooo good!




Here is Liam in his adorable wiener dog longall. I am really sad it's too warm now for him to wear it anymore.



See you next month, maybe!

Behind in the Blog.

I'm very behind in my blogging. After working at a computer all day long, I really don't have a desire to blog when I get home, especially if that means not spending time with Liam. I mean, if I have to choose blogging or spending what little time I have with my baby on a weeknight, Liam will always win.

But, instead of completely giving up on the blog, I've decided to attempt to do a monthly update. Key word: "attempt".

So, here's the update for February.

We have a new babysitter. Her name is Marion, and she is just precious. School was closed on Monday for President's Day, and she took Liam to the lake with her family for the day. Here they are enjoying the scenery:



Is it just me, or does Liam look like a huge ogre baby in this picture? Ogre or not, I absolutely love this picture. He is such a happy little boy.

In other news, Heather (Dow's sister) is having a baby shower soon. Given my obsession with baby gear, I'm going to have to do self-help mantras until then so I won't try to steal all her presents. Anna is due in April, and I really am counting down the days until I get to hold her. Then, I'll get to hold another very special baby in September (no, not mine) who I expect to be named Morgan if she is a girl.

Liam's Easter outfit has been ordered. Mom also braved the infamous Kelly's Kids outlet sale in Natchez, so I think Liam is stocked up for the summer and fall.

Speaking of summer, I can't wait for the warm weather to get here. We are going to have so much fun playing outside with Liam and visiting the lake (HINT HINT-ROBERT AND EMILIA).

I also can't wait for Dow to get home. This is week two of single motherhood for me (Dow is out of town for work), and I miss having Dow around.

That's all for February, folks. See you in March.

Morgan

Little Swiffer.

Not too much has been happening at the Sport house, if you couldn't tell from my lack of blog posts.

Liam had his 18 month check up on Friday. He finally gained some weight (4 lbs to be exact). I think we can contribute that to the massive amounts of pasta he eats. He still isn't talking, so we are going to work with him over the next few months and hope that his babbling evolves into some words other than dada.

Here is a picture of Liam at 1 year.



Here is a picture of Liam at 18 months.



I find it amazing how much they grow in such short time spans. He looks like such a baby in his 1 year picture, but looking at his 18 month picture, I realize that I no longer have a little baby. I have a sweet little boy who loves going outside, wrestling with his dad, chasing the dog, throwing his ball, playing with his tools, and "cooking" for me.

Apparently, Liam also loves cleaning. He insisted on swiffering the den BY HIMSELF this morning. Every time I tried to help, a fit ensued. So, I figured if he wants to swiffer the den, he can have at it. He actually did a pretty good job!




He was hilarious. He took his swiffering very seriously, just like his momma.

Morgan

Yum!

I am very proud of how my pork chops turned out. Frying intimidates me. I don't like working with hot oils and fast cook times.

I didn't even catch anything on fire!

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

The Auburn Tigers are national champions.

What a great thing to say! I am so glad that I drove through the rain, snow, and sleet to watch this game in Auburn. The atmosphere was indescribable. Grown men were crying, strangers were hugging, children were out way past midnight, and the toilet paper was flying.

If we couldn't be in Glendale, I'm glad to say I was at Toomer's Corner the night Auburn won it's first national championship in 53 years.

War Eagle!



Here we are downtown watching the game with our friends, Nelson and Abby. They waited in line for an hour to be the first in the door to get the best table. We got to the bar at 4, and by 4:30, you could barely move it was so packed.



Getting our Cammy Cam juice on.



Me and Dow watching the game.



A very happy dog at Toomer's Corner.



Can you think of a more appropriate time for a stogie?



Happy, happy night! Oh, and I definitely teared up when the eagle flew and then flat out cried when we made the winning field goal. Feel free to make fun of me. I deserve it.

Morgan

Quack is Whack.

The entire state of Alabama has gone insane.

Auburn is playing for the BCS championship tomorrow and we are bracing for a major snow storm.



Due to inclement weather, it looks like I will be watching the game alone, as Dow and Liam headed to Auburn last night for the pregame festivities (if they aren't cancelled).

How sad is that?!? Oh well...I guess I'll watch it with my family when we go back to the national championship in another 53 years.

QUACK IS WHACK.

DUCKS SUCK.



WAR DAMN EAGLE!

The First Haircut.

Liam's first haircut did not turn out to be the keepsake moment I had hoped for.

There was lots of crying and screaming.

Liam may or may not have been put in a headlock.

Still, despite all the drama, it was worth it. It might not look like a big change to some of you, but trust me, his hair looks so much better.



Yes, mom, his curls are still intact, but he is no longer mistaken for a girl.




He is growing up. My big boy . . . sniffle.

Zapped.

Liam is back from vacation.

Within 30 minutes of our arrival, my house was a complete mess.

Otis got sick all over the house. Poor dog.

Aubie got the boot out of the house. Poor cat.

Dow cooked dinner and destroyed the kitchen in the process.

I am too tired to watch tv.

Looks like I've been zapped back to reality.

So long, sleeping in until 8. It was great while it lasted, but I am oh so glad to have my little baby back, destruction and all.

Morgan

Otis.

Otis has had a hard go of it lately. In addition to being demoted by Liam from his place on my totem pole, his ongoing dental problems have become greatly exacerbated. A healthy canine mouth contains an average of 42 teeth. Otis has only 6 left. At this point, despite being well taken care of, his dental issues are so severe that we are strongly considering having the remainder of his teeth removed. If we remove his teeth, the source of the problem will be gone and Otis will no longer be in constant pain. Also, if we remove the teeth, he will no longer be in a continuous state of infection that could (and most likely will) spread to other parts of his little body as he ages. Obviously, no owner wants to see their dog without teeth, but I definitely do not want to see my dog (or any animal) in pain if there is something I can do about it, even if the best remedy is somewhat drastic.

The infection is currently being treated. For now, we are going to keep an eye on these last 6 teeth, but I think we are only prolonging the inevitable. I just want him to have teeth for as long as he can.

I feel so bad for the little guy. Please keep him in your doggy thoughts.

Morgan

A Very Merry (and Late) Christmas.

We had a wonderful Christmas in Bastrop. I already miss my parents so much. Who wouldn't miss these adorable faces?



They really need to move closer. Moving on . . .



Santa was very good to Liam.



Santa ate his yummy cookies.



Santa left Liam not only useful toys (yes, Santa gave Liam Duct tape). . .



But fun toys as well.





Santa left his hat for me to wear.



All in all, it was a great day. I was super excited about Liam's rocking dino and his tricycle, but of course, Liam was much more excited about his new abundance of plastic food items. To think I could have done Liam's Christmas for only $10.00. . .

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Vroom Vroom, Blankie.

We had a wonderful Sport family Christmas in Auburn this past weekend. In addition to a rockin' Handy Manny tool set (that sings and dances), Liam got his very first Tonka truck.



He loves it! We've been saving our Handy Manny tools from disaster all week.

In other news, Liam is cutting two molars. This explains the last few days of his general grumpiness and refusal to sleep past 5:30. Thank God for this:



Meet Blankie-our saving grace. Liam has had this blanket since he was born, but it has just recently become a very necessary part of our day and night. When all else fails, Blankie usually does the trick.

I hope nothing ever happens to Blankie-I would be a mother lost.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Morgan

Days of Slumber.

So, I have once again been absent from the blog, but this time it has been for a good reason. I have been a little under the weather with walking pneumonia (again) and have been sleeping non-stop for about 2 days.

Christmas is almost here! I've got to get the last of my Christmas cards mailed (without holiday stamps...don't even get me started on the post office). Otherwise, we are just waiting on Santa to get here.

YAY, Santa!

I also need to do some major blog layout updating. Anyone want to do it for me? Pretty please...

It has snowed pretty much all day in Birmingham today, but it isn't sticking. I hope we get one more good snow day so Liam can make his first snowman. I wonder if he has Dow's talent at making snowmen?

Anyway, here is my little sweet pea. He's getting so big!



Morgan

War Eagle!

Dow and I had a great time in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. Even though we didn't have tickets, we had a blast watching the game at a huge sports bar right next to the Georgia Dome.



I hope we can somehow find championship tickets in our price range. But, even if we don't, I am still so excited that we are in the championship! Liam is excited, too. He even learned to do "touchdown."

War Eagle!

A Wonderful Break.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I had a great break. Mom and dad came to Birmingham on Wednesday, and we celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Sport family on Thursday. Family, mountains of food, a beautiful lake, a somewhat pleasant toddler-what else could a girl ask for? Oh, lime cake, I could ask for more lime cake, but I digress...



As usual, Liam pigged out.



We also played outside.



I'm pretty sure my expression at this moment could be translated as follows: "What is your deal, Squawker?" Liam is in the mommy and daddy only stage-no Emme and Popi, no Grandma and Grandpa, no Aunt Heather, and double no to strangers (which he expresses in the form of a high-pitched squeal that literally makes my dog bark in pain). He finally warmed up to everyone after about 2 hours of me holding him.



We spent the rest of the week watching Auburn win the Iron Bowl (and, as an added bonus, watching LSU choke) on our amazing new flat screen (thanks, Emme and Popi), decorating, napping, and eating leftovers.





Yep, we had a great Thanksgiving break.

Morgan

Lump of Coal.

Santa may be bringing Liam a lump of coal after our visit with him on Saturday. To put it mildly, Liam was not a fan of Santa. He threw a fit when we put him in Santa's lap, and none of the pictures came out worth a flip. The best two were still blurry, and I wasn't willing to spend $30 on a blurry picture. I guess we have to go to plan B for Christmas cards this years. I'll get back to you once I figure out what plan B is.

On a brighter note, I did get some other things accomplished this weekend. I am pretty much done with my Christmas shopping. Once I pick up two or three small things for our neighbors and a birthday/Christmas present for a friend, I will be home free. YAHOO! I did a lot of shopping this year online (only at stores with free shipping because I'm cheap like that), and it has made my life much easier. Also, I split shopping up between me and Dow. Unlike the past couple of years where I was responsible for all gifts (and, consequently, a total crazy person), I am handling the girls and my dad. Dow is in charge of the boys. And, because I know Dow will wait until the last minute (and by last minute, I mean Christmas Eve) just like he does every year, I have imposed a gift deadline. Yes, the gift deadline is probably a little much, but I know how Dow likes to procrastinate. He will probably ignore the gift deadline, but at least I tried.

I also got my tree up (just lights and ribbon). I think we'll hang ornaments next week when my parents are here. I'm on the fence about my mantel-maybe I can talk my mom into doing it this year. To be honest, I'm a little bummed about putting the tree up before Thanksgiving. I'm a big believer in no Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving, but I just didn't know when I'd have the time to do it all this year. I would actually like to relax just a little during my Thanksgiving holiday.

Finally, we joined our church. Everyone was very welcoming, and we had a great new member luncheon with some other new members. And, Liam behaved the entire time (gasp). I am still in shock.

I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving!

Morgan

My Little Artist.

We had our first parent-teacher conference this week. To be honest, I was not expecting much from the Peppy Poppies conference (that's the name of Liam's class), but I was pleasantly surprised. His teachers had notes and were able to discuss Liam's development and transition at school with me in detail.

He seems to be doing as well as we could expect for his first month at school. I am really glad I made the decision to send him. His teachers are adjusting to his fascination with all things hinges and his climbing tendencies. They said he is playing with the other children and is overall a happy baby (except when he is tired, hungry, or I leave the room). They even suggested ways I could help him with developing his language and curb his temper. We'll see how that goes...

But, the best part of the conference was this:




Liam's art! I'm so proud of my budding artist :)

Liam also has a girlfriend-Libby from down the street.



She helped babysit him in the bike buggy last week at her little brother's birthday party. I think Liam is in love. He must like blondes like his daddy.

Now, I'm off to make it through this day of work and enjoy my weekend of no football. We have lots to do: possibly start putting up Christmas decorations, getting Liam's picture taken with Santa, and officially joining our church!

Also, Heather (Dow's sister) is having a girl! Baby Anna will be here in April. I can't wait to hold a newborn again and to buy something pink and girly!

Morgan

Getting behind.

I'm getting behind in my blogging.

And, to be quite honest, I'm not too concerned about it. I haven't really been in the blogging mood lately, and with my "to do" list getting longer and longer, I'm doing good just to get the laundry and the grocery shopping done on a somewhat timely basis.

Maybe one day in the next week (or two...or three), I will sit down and write some beautiful posts with equally adorable pictures of Liam. But, don't hold your breath :)

For now, Liam's proofs will have to suffice. Check them out at www.carsonstudios.com, enter the website, go to proofing, and then click on Liam.

Morgan