Birthday Greetings from the Clown

It's Pappy's birthday today so we surprised him at work. We brought him a mini black forest cake (one of his favorites) and his favorite grandson (the only one he has) dressed up like a clown. We knew Liam had crazy hair but this is really too much.

Driving My Parents Nuts...

Actually Liam did very well on the trip. The funny thing about this very cute picture of our son is that 10 minutes prior to the click on the camera, the diaper Liam was wearing decided it was not going to work as well as we see on the commercials. Or maybe it was that the sheer volume of what I had to clean up in that Pizza Hut parking lot was just too overwhelming for the poor diaper. This was one of the hardest days. We had a long day of travel and we got to our supper late. Thankfully we decided to order pizza and bring it back to the hotel. Liam just wasn't a happy camper that evening and Linds and I did our best to inhale our supper while trying to find the soother to help calm the screams. Maybe he just wanted some pizza too. It was, after all pepperoni...who can resist that?!

Wisconsin War Memorial

On the way to visit our family, we took a break at the War Memorial. Liam got to ring a copy of the Liberty bell and stretch his legs.

Hanging out with the Witters

My mom's sister, Becky, her husband, Tom and my cousins, Taylor and Logan.

With Opa & Oma Reiss

We've been away...

On July 23rd the three of us hit the road with Wisconsin as our destination. We arrived their three days later with a little guy that had done really well on the trip but was excited to get out of the car for longer than a night stay at a hotel. This is the first time my (Amanda) extended family was able to meet Liam. It was a thrill...for them to meet him and for us to show him off. We had a great time. Now that we are home I can tell that Liam is missing all the attention he got while down there. I'm just not as interesting as a great Opa and Oma, great aunt & uncle, two second cousins and a great, great aunt. Go figure?! Here are some pictures of our trip.

Kinsmen Park, Saskatoon

A few weeks ago we took Liam to the park. It's a special park in Saskatoon that both Lindsay and I used to visit as kids, on school trips or just hanging out with each of our families. This park has rides and a little pool. My favorite was always the train. Liam got to experience the train, ferris wheel and merry-go-round.

Checking out the dust bunnies...

Liam has been able to roll from his back to his front and back again for a while now, but he just recently started rollling all over the place. I think it just became apparent to him that he has a gift and he should be using it. Linds was hanging out with him the other night and watched him roll right under the futon in our living room. This talent for getting into small spaces could prove useful when cleaning the house. :)

In honour of the World Cup of Soccer

Liam got this outfit from Kepler and Theo Blumrich. They wore it before him and he is now really enjoying it. The Blumrich's are a soccer family...GO GERMANY!

You mean you want me to eat that? Okay.

Liam started eating Rice Cereal for the first time last week. It was quite the thing watching him try to figure out what to do with the mush and his tongue. I think he's getting the hang out it. The sneezes are my personal favorite (I'm sure they are his too and that he does it on purpose :) He waits until he has a mouth of full of mush and then works up to a large scale sneeze, sending cereal all over him, the high chair and whoever happens to be feeding him at the time. It's usually me. I seriously feel he thinks his dad is cooler already. I was hoping that wouldn't hit until junior high. Actually it's a very cool thing...Linds after all is very hip. The fact that I just used the word "hip" probably proves my point. :)

6 Months!!

Liam is six months old today! It's so hard to believe that he's been with us for half a year. What a ride! There certainly have been ups and downs these past six months but as always...GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME!

The M & M man...

They are both chubby, which one is which? :) This is a stuffed toy that I couldn't hold back from buying at our church yard sale back in May. There are two reasons for this. The first one is that I think chocolate (specifically M & M's) should be a food group and the second is that it will be a cool toy for Liam...not just mommy. :) My love for M & M's started in the States during our visits to see my Mom's family, but it was only encouraged by the little M & M man in the Blumrich kitchen. You pull the arm down and cute little guy gives you candy. He was instantly a friend! :) Hope you enjoy the pics.

Liam's Dedication

Liam was dedicated last Sunday (June 18) at our church. Pastor Craig put together a great service. It being Father's Day as well, Craig spoke to the fathers and then Liam was dedicated near the end of the service. Lindsay and I also were dedicated as parents to God. It was special to have this happen on Linds' first Father's Day. We had Dan & Laura Collins and Craig & Jen Glen join us up on stage to represent the rest of the Christian community and its role in helping/supporting us as we raise Liam. The plan was to have a BBQ out at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead we had everyone for lunch at the church. My Dad...the master barbequer did a great job...thanks Dad...and on Father's Day no less. :) The three of us are truly blessed to be surrounded by so many loved ones that desire to support us. God is good.

God's Precious Gift

Family Fun Day

Last Saturday, our church put on a Family Fun Day for the community. It was all free...inflatable game, hot dogs, popcorn, carnival games, balloons, crazy clowns... It was a great time even though it rained two days before our big day and most of Saturday. We decided to move it all inside that morning and although I'm sure we didn't get as many kids as we would have had if we had been on the front lawn, God blessed the efforts of his people and brought approximatley 100 - 150 people through the doors of our church! The reaction to everything being free was great. Lots of people asked where the donation bucket was and it was awesome to be able to tell them that everything was free, no string attached, because we just wanted to show our love/God's love to the community. Jen and I headed it up and thought it would be cool to be clowns too. We had lots of volunteers and it was a great day. It was a reminder to me that God always has a plan and knows what he's doing, even if it doesn't jive with what we thought was best.

Hanging out with Auntie Jen & Uncle Craig

Craig & Jen Glen, for those of you who don't know, attend our church and recently Craig was installed as our Senior Pastor after spending a year in service as our associate pastor. They are great friends and are Liam's Godparents. The definition of Godparents we are using is this...they are special people to Liam that have committed to pray for Liam, but don't have to be his guardians in case we pass away or pay for his college education...although we do bug them about that last one! We've been watching the Oilers games together and these pics were taken during one of those evenings. GO OILERS GO!

A visit from Sheila!!

Our friends Sheila & Heather came to visit from Alberta last week. They came over in the afternoon to visit and meet Liam. Later that evening we surprised Sheila with a bridal shower. Liam was the only man allowed at the shower. Pretty special if you ask me. We had a great and it was so good to see both of them again...and for Liam, the first time. Two very special hairballs!!

Ten Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars

Daddy read to me last night before bed. We've been doing that a lot more lately. The caterpillar book is one of my favorites. I think that the Toy Story book my mom got is also going to be a favorite...especially if Uncle Brad does all the voices for me while he reads.

My First Sunday School Picnic

Daddy & Mommy took me to my first Sunday School Picnic. It was yesterday and it was a beautiful day. Daddy was in charge of games and those were pretty fun to watch from my stroller. I got to hang out with Stan, watch the kids play and have a nap in Mr. Sawatzky's arms. Ah...the life.

Trying to figure out the Jolly Jumper

Nanny and Brad were over yesterday and they were trying to get Liam to jump in his jolly jumper. We've tried ourselves several times but he just dances instead. His movement ends up looking like a cross between the highland fling and country line dancing. It's quite funny to watch. Uncle Brad got quite the kick out of it anyway. You may notice too that there are slippers taped on both sides of the door frame. This is because the door frame is really too narrow but we don't have anything wider that will work with the clamps of the jumper. When Liam gets deep into his dance routine he gets awfully close to bumping his head. So, to keep him safe I came up with the slipper and tape idea. It might also help you to realize that I often don't get enough sleep. :) We'll keep working with him and I'm sure he'll get the jumping thing eventually.