what a quick month!

time has been flying lately. here we are, the last day of august, with a ton to report.

first, i got a new camera! here are some really cute photos of liam being naked at missy's house:


liam's second tooth came through. this time, it was in the right spot (his first lower left). both are on the left side of his mouth. he knows they are there - it's pretty entertaining to watch him gnaw on cantaloupe, watermelon and strawberries.

finally, photos of liam on our bike!

colin and i went on our first real date. our friends, angela and stacey, invited us to the local improv comedy troupe, "laughing matters", at the topeka civic theatre. this place is so cool - it's a dinner theater, complete with a full bar and wait staff. we knocked a few beers back while liam stayed with missy and marie. he missed me, and was a bit clingy the next day, but is very comfortable with missy and didn't cry once. i'm glad he has someone besides us that he has learned to trust.

here is a link to a letter i wrote to the editor of lawrence's newspaper. the comments are really entertaining. "wifemotherslave" is my good friend, evie.

speaking of evie, i made a mistake this week, and it hurt her feelings. i invited her and my aunt and uncle, who adopted her son 13 years ago, to liam's first birthday party. i was just so excited that she and her family are near for the first time in years, and i didn't put it all together. it isn't the right time or place for this meeting to happen, so evie is no longer coming to liam's party. it's best for all involved, although i know she would love to see chris in person. she is one of my heroes. it takes an incredible person to put a child's needs above their own and pursue adoption. someday, sweetie. i'm sorry i hurt you by not thinking this through.

today colin and i participated in the labor day program at fellowship. colin played a few of the songs, and i talked about being a homemaker. other members talked about being a writer and teacher, finding your career path as a single mother, our good friend vicki spoke about her daughter's grand adventure in the peace corps in paraguay, and our friend kate spoke about her lifetime of work up to her current age of 80 in december. i received many compliments on my piece; that it was great to hear that being at home is a choice anyone can make, that they stayed home themselves, and that many wished they weren't watching their own children struggle and burn out by trying to "do it all." this is definitely the life for me!
the second service was recorded, so go here and look up the august 31st program if you want to hear it yourself.

other liam updates:

new words: moo, uh-oh, wah-wah, tee (for tree), and he makes this hilarious frustration scream

he loves his friend marie. here's a picture her mom, missy, drew of them:
here's what they look like when grocery shopping:



he loves his friend, zeven:


he has been able to give kisses for a long time. he stretches his neck out like a turtle, makes his lips flat and wide and then opens them with a 'muah!'

he picks up his shoes and puts them on top of his feet. when he puts anything else on his feet (like a washcloth) he cracks himself up. we have video of this.

he plays 'night night' by going into our room and laying down on his blanket on the floor. it's real cute.

he does 'farm dancing' - we also have video for this.

he's really into the color red. this was first reported by missy's friend, michaela, who watched liam and marie while we all rode our bikes to the goose for some beer. sometimes it takes fresh eyes to see things, and she's right. he will point to all things red. maybe it's because his mom is an aries. ;)

he took his first steps on august 25th, showing off for aunt hez while she was visiting. the first steps were to reach his target dog, the second ones were to get a PBR can. i don't know where he gets this.

he makes motor sounds for cars while he's playing. no one taught him this. he also adores jewelry of all sorts and put my head bands on like necklaces.

he rolls all over truck, especially when naked. we try to tell him that this hurts truck, but truck takes it like a man.

here's liam and jay:

and liam and daddy:

that's all for now. i have some more photos to post, but it's time for this muffin to go to bed!