3.26.12 - Then and now

 March 2011...
 

 March 2012...

I always find it interesting to compare where we were a year ago...Liam has grown SO much in the past year, I can't keep up!  He is definitely all-out 2 year old right now, and so much fun!  Talks non-stop, can count forwards and backwards, say his ABC's, recognize places (even their corresponding receipts!) and reads some basic words.  Not to mention he is getting so tall! 

We had a great weekend.  We took a Saturday morning train ride downtown and went to the Dallas Auto Show.  Since my lease is up in the fall, and we've been wanting to scale down a bit to save money, we thought this would be the most convenient place to see all the cars at once and get an idea of what we will focus our attention on when the time comes, plus it made for a great family outing!  Not to mention the weather has been gorgeous lately!

Another update in our life has been our living situation.  I mentioned a couple months ago we had been waiting on the Apartment Ministry to place us, but we have since felt the need to move on and go ahead and sell our house.  We are not quite sure of an exact plan yet, but a smaller, more affordable home is on the horizon.  So we are steadily working to get the house in order to put on the market - which is quite a chore!  I have never sold a house before, so I'm not quite sure what this will look like, especially having viewings all the time with a toddler running wild in the house! Ahhh!  Thankfully, a great friend of ours who sold us this house is helping us prepare and make sure everything is in order.  We have some minor repairs to complete, but mainly just getting decluttered and start taking most of our things into storage. 

So that's the then and now of it!  My posting will probably slow down a bit (as it already has!), but hopefully I can still get an update in every couple weeks....Thanks for continuing to share in our story! 

3.15.12 - Feeling better and parenting through the "NO" phase....

Been busy lately and haven't been able to put much of a good post together!  Just wanted to update that Liam is feeling all better from the flu last week, and thankfully Dustin and I didn't catch it....whew!  He still has his lingering cough, currently being treated with some honey, which I am sure is better than the 6 straight days of medicines he had been taking. 

Just before Liam got sick, we started a sticker chart to help with discipline and positive rewards for listening to us and being obedient....we have officially run into the "no" toddler phase, and Liam was seemingly unaffected by time outs or taking things away, so we are still learning what the best approach is to discipline.  I am trying to overly reward good behavior and obedience that he does show by a sticker chart.  Once he gets 10 stickers a day, he gets a reward of 10 M&M's after dinner (if he eats well - which has to be the last sticker to get them!).  He will DO ANYTHING for M&M's, its his official favorite food....it's crazy.  And while this is sort of a bribing technique, it works for us...for now.  I have lacked the energy or time to research some different approaches, but anyone feel free to comment on what works for children immune to time outs!  I really want our discipline to be positive and more of rewarding good behavior than punishing the bad.  But I also don't want him to get the idea that he should show good behavior just to get a reward....Ahhh, the parenting choices we face!  I think I have taken for granted how good he has been up to this point!

3.8.12 - Fever and the Flu

Liam has been running a fever since Monday.  After the second trip to the pedi yesterday, it was determined that he has the Flu...yuck.  He even got his flu shot last October, but they said it's going around again, but a more mild version. He was miserable most of Tuesday and yesterday, but seems to be feeling a little better today.  Other than having a couple intense coughing episodes, he is just tired and snuggly.  I sure do love all the snuggling, but I just want him to feel better.  They have him taking TamiFlu, and he doesn't seem to be having any reaction, so that's good.  If he is still feverish tomorrow, I have to take him back in to re-assess....his fever seems to be breaking for longer periods of time today, so I'm hopeful by tomorrow it will be gone for good!

We haven't been up to too much lately, just enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having despite all the terrible storms that have been pounding across the country lately. Although, right now, a cold front is moving through and it's getting cold and rainy. 

This past weekend we spent some good quality family time on Saturday.  We took Liam to Home Depot for their 1st Saturday kids project day.  It was fun to see him and daddy building something together...I didn't even know Home Depot did that!  Then it was a little shopping, lunch, then home for a late afternoon nap for all of us.

Working away!

Finished project!

While daddy played golf Sunday, Liam and I had a nice long afternoon at the park, although our car ended up getting scratched pretty bad because of our outing...oops!  It was crazy crowded and I tried to parallel into a weird spot with big boulders lining the side...I realized big boulders really don't have any give when you hit them with your car!  Anyways, Liam and I enjoyed throwing rocks into the creek and playing on the playground, although I am pretty sure that's probably where he might have caught the flu...so many kids!  

And the pictures by the creek..one of those moments I was kicking myself for not lugging along the big camera...the sun was sitting perfectly reflecting on it and it was beautiful...It was still even beautiful with my iPhone pics...