LIAM IS WALKING!

Yes, it's true. On March 5th Liam took his very first steps. Three to be exact and after I practically screamed in delight, he took some time to recover and took another three. Since then he has been practicing more and more till now when he walks a lot more than he crawls. Crawling is still saved for first thing in the morning and after his nap. But can you blame him? How many mornings have you felt like literally crawling to the coffee maker? So it's hard to capture walking in a picture but here's one of him "walking" through a huge puddle in our front yard. Saskatchewan says hello to spring.

New Year's Eve

We spent the evening at Chris & Sam's house watching the Green Bay Packers game. When it got late, we went back to mom and dad's and rang in the new year together...it's just sparking apple juice in case some of you are worried. :)

Liam's Birthday party...in Saskatoon

Yep this guy gets to party. We had a big get together at my parents house on the 22nd. My grandpa's birthday is the 22nd so we celebrated them together. It's amazing we were able to fit everyone in.

Christmas with the Skeldons and Witters!

This year we were blessed to have my mom's sister and her family come for Christmas from Wisconsin. My mom had no idea what we were planning and we were actually able to pull it off. Dad came home early that day and asked mom to come outside to the garage to see a Christmas present he bought for her. Out they went and behind the Anderson van we borrowed was the Witter clan yelling, "SURPRISE". After my mom stopped shaking, we began a great 10 day visit. These pictures are some of our favorites.

Christmas at the Andersons!

As has now become tradition, Lindsay, Liam and I spend Christmas day with the Anderson family. We had a great time this year. Joining us for the first time for Christmas was the newest addition, Brooklyn, Ian and Danille's beautiful little girl. We visited, opened gifts, ate a wonderful turkey dinner (way to go Mom...it was delicious) and played some games. Thank you everyone for the great day and the wonderful gifts.

What Happened....!?!

Did they move? Did their computer jump out of Lindsay's office window one day when he wasn't looking? Did their digital camera explode while taking one too many pictures of Liam? Did Amanda lose all her fingers in a sewing accident and it's just taken her this long to type out this message with her nose? Did their lives become so boring that they thought their friends wouldn't want to hear from them? Sadly, although any these excuses would probably do the job fairly well, the reason I haven't blogged in ages is not quite as exciting. In fact it's really stupid. It has been harder for me to find the time because we don't have internet at home and the times that I have gone to the office to do other things I have forgotten the pictures to download. And then...it had been so long that I forgot our password. You know you need help when... So, here I am. Sitting in Linds' office on a Saturday afternoon hoping that you will forgive my for my negligence and am asking that you will come back a visit three p's in a pod now that I am committing to have more there for your visits. While you're busy deciding if you will forgive me or not, I'm going to get busy with some posts...if I can remember how to do it. :)

Checking out Pappy's work...

My Dad (AKA: Glenn, Pappy) works at PrintWest in Saskatoon. One of the things they print is phonebooks. I had left our lying around the other day and found Liam leafing through it. It caught my funnybone as it looks like Liam is proof reading to make sure Pappy did a good job...like there is any doubt!

Liam's 1st Birthday Party!

We celebrated early so that we could have some students over before they left for Christmas break. Liam really enjoyed his cake and ice cream and opening his presents. Another party will take place in Saskatoon with the Skeldon and Anderson clans. I'm sure Liam can't wait to experience again the squishy feel of cake inbetween his fingers.

Christmas Banquet

Liam stayed home with Nanny & Pappy that evening so we were able to go to the NBI Christmas banquet on our own. It was a nice break. It's fun to get all dressed up and eat by candlelight.

Yep, he's been working out. ;)

Daddy's new iPod Shuffle

Linds raised over a $1000 for NBI's walkathon (raising money for the reno of the men's dorm this summer!) and received a brand new iPod Shuffle as a prize. We're thinking about letting Liam be the next advertising campaign for Mac.

Setting up the Christmas Tree

Finding the Tupperware Cupboard

Hangin' out with Addison

It was great to have Adam, Susanna & Addision Yadlowsky stay with us during Alumni Weekend this November. It was a busy weekend but Liam was able to show Addison his toys and hang out a bit.

A Banana Soulpatch

Liam loves eating bananas, especially when I cut them up and let him eat them off his highchair tray. I took these pictures because it looked like he had grown a banana soulpatch...he must have been inspired by Uncle Brad, who has often sported one of these facial hair mysteries. :)

My, how they've changed...

The high chair on the left came from a very wealthy family that my great grandma and grandpa worked for in Neenah, Wisconsin. My Nanny was the cook and my Pappy the chauffeur. If I'm not mistaken, I think that's where they met. Anyway, the family was throwing it out because their children had out grown it. My Pappy asked if he could have it. My Oma sat in it to eat her meals as a small child. I looked a couple years ago and the date on the bottom says 1876. My Oma sat in it A LONG time after that. :) But now, over a century from it's construction, Liam sits beside it in his own high chair. Plastic all the way. Somehow I don't think people a hundred years from now are going to oohh and ahhh about ours like we do over the old wood one. What a neat keepsake.

First Horsey Ride

Don't forget to pack your ANGRY EYES!

Just imagine that title spoken in a Brooklyn accent by Mrs. Potato head on Toy Story 2. Why on earth is there a Mr. Potato head on our couch you ask? Did Liam's skin rash get really bad or did he have an allergic reaction and "blow up like my Aunt Roberta"... that last one was a quote from While You Were Sleeping, the single most quoted movie between Alysun and I during our college years. I'm not sure about all the movie talk here but I will get back to the point of this posting. One of our Awana/Sparks nights fell on Halloween so we thought we would reward the kids who came out with some candy. How boring would it be to just hand out candy? So, we decided it would be fun to make a pinata. The night at Sparks was also something special called 'Tator Night. All the kids are supposed to bring a potato, the weirder the better, and they get Awana bucks and then play games with the potatoes. You can probably see where I am going with this one. It just wouldn't work to have a butterfly pinata at 'Tator Night so that's how Mr. Potato Head came to be in our apartment. One balloon, lots of glue, lots of newspaper, and $30 worth of candy and tada, you have a pinata. The kids had a great time and I must admit, it was fun to put it together.

Just chillin' and watching the Riders WIN!!!

Liam doesn't get to see a lot of TV yet (and now that I look at this picture he usually doesn't sit that close to the TV either...the mother in me talking) but he did get to witness the Rider game last weekend when they beat out Calgary (sorry Sheila :) for a spot in the Western final tomorrow. Linds has been excited about these two days all week. Tonight he gets to watch the Canadiens play the Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada and then tomorrow we get to watch the Rider game. We usually only get to hear the Rider games on the radio because the games are often blacked out and we have peasant vision. They play BC tomorrow and as much as I love the Leppingtons...I really hope the Riders win this one. The only bad part of all this is that it means the CFL season is coming to an end. I have learned to enjoy hockey but remind me again why it lasts so long? October to June...there should be a law against that and a longer football season. Go Riders!

Remembrance Day thoughts

I turned on the TV this morning, as I often do to watch a bit of Canada AM while I feed Liam. They had put together a special day of programming to honor the troops that are around the world and especially in Afghanistan. I didn't watch for very long but I happened to catch a family being "reunited" over the air. The mother looked not much other than myself and she was saying hi from Kandahar to her family back in Eastern Canada. You could tell that it was difficult for her to keep her composure while seeing her husband and children on the screen and hearing their voices over the line. Her husband was telling her how their son's 2nd birthday went well and how he just started stringing sentences together. I sat there on our couch, with Liam in my arms and had some trouble myself keeping the tears at bay. I don't know if it's the emotional mommy I have become or maybe I just realize a bit more that life is precious and family is often taken for granted. Here I sit in Nipawin, SK working, what I feel are long days as a mom when there are mothers and fathers serving long days for our country that aren't able to enjoy the pleasure of tucking their little ones into bed at night. My biggest concern lately is fretting that Linds isn't able to spend lots of time with us because of the busyness of ministry at NBI. It is a valid concern and we will continue to work out the balance but life was put into perspective for me this morning and I thank God for that and for the sacrifice of those that are helping the people in Afganistan. As Canadians we might have differing opinions on the fight in Afghanistan but again today I was reminded and encouraged to pray for our troops. Not just for the fight and the work there but for them as individuals who have left family and friends to be there. The special veteran license plates here remind us that we are surrounded by people that have fought and worked for the freedom we now enjoy. So much sacrifice today and in past years. If is something that I want to teach Liam and to remember myself.