Liam-Maternity Photos

Thanks to Mariea Alice Photography, we have some amazing maternity photos>here they are!

Baby photos-as promised!

Baby Liam's Hungry!

Oh my gosh! Liam's been sleeping, and Tara and I just heard him wake up and start crying. Tara immediately jumps up and says "I go check him mommy, I make sure he's okay: I go get the baby." When she got in there, I heard her say "It's okay baby Liam, I'm here, it's okay now." Then I heard her say "I go tell mommy what you need." She came out, and said "Mommy! Baby Liam's hungry!" She went back in and said "Liam, I told mommy you were hungry." Haha This is all in less than a minute and I half, while I was finishing up a task; and headed in there! She's so stinkin cute :)

He's here!

He's here!!! We had our little baby, and he's perfect. Liam Addington Martindale was born February 21st, and it's been a whirlwind of craziness since then. We've had feeding issues from the beginning, so that's why facebook hasn't even been on my radar since little man got here. He was 8 lbs 12 oz at birth, and dropped down to 7 lbs 11 oz within a few days. We've been going back to the hospital for almost daily weight checks between discharge and this last wednesday. (You know you're spending too much time at the hospital when your toddler calls from the backseat "We're home!!!" as you're pulling into the hospital parking lot yet another day in a row...) Anyway, Liam's doing better now, and growing each day. He's beautiful, sweet, calm, and the sweetest little angel...Sis loves him to death, and can't stop smothering him with kisses. We've got plenty of pictures, and I'll post a couple when I have a chance.

"I did share!"

So for the last couple months, Tara's been so proud of herself whenever she shares something. If she hands you one of her toys, or colored pencils, or a book...she'll cock her head to the left or right, get a big grin on her face, and say "I did share!" And she says it in the sweetest little voice...it's the most precious thing ever :)

She's also very aware of when other people share, and loves to point it out. So these last few weeks if I do anything from hand her an apple slice, to giving her the book she asked for; she'll cock her head and say "You shared!" Oh my gosh how sweet is she???

Sean and I can't help but have our hearts just melt when we hear that!

YAAAAAY TARA!!!!!

So for months and months now, we've been working on Tara learning her alphabet, numbers, shapes, etc. She's got it down pretty well for the most part. A lot of her favorite activities include counting EVERYthing in sight, telling us what color everything is, and what shape they are. It's so fun :) For her 2nd birthday, we even bought her the Vtech Alphabet Apple, and it's one of her favorite toys. It's helped her learn the alphabet at an even faster rate. I just thought we had a ways to go until the point when she could stand there and recite the entire alphabet.

Yesterday-she (once again) took me by surprise. Sean was due home from work any moment, and Tara was playing with her toys in the livingroom. All of a sudden, I look up at her because I hear her saying "L, M, N, O, P..." I think I may have stopped breathing for a moment or two while she said that! She continued "Q, R, S, T..." At this point I screamed in delight-so excited that I was hearing this :) She had this humongous grin on her face as she went on "U, W, X, Y, and Z! I did it!!! Where's my apple?!?" I started clapping, and telling her how proud I was of her. It was so cute! I thought is was hilarious how when she was done she immediately wanted her Alphabet Apple...hehe. I was SO proud of her! I also thought it was adorable how she skipped "V", and the first part of the alphabet-but we'll get there.

My baby's learning so much!

Don't forget the baby!

Yesterday afternoon, Tara and I were leaving the house to walk to the park. We had a conversation that just made me smile :)

Tara: "Mommy! Where's the baby?"

Me: "Don't worry honey, the baby's still in mommy's tummy."

Tara: "Okay. Let's go!"

She's going to be a great big sister, if while still pregnant; she's reminding me not to forget the baby!

"Dress?"

So last night Tara sure shocked us again into realizing that she is growing up, whether we're ready or not. I had been in the kitchen making blackberry syrup out of some of the fresh blackberries we had picked as a family. Tara and Sean were in the livingroom playing. I was focusing on what I was doing, but also recognized that for the past couple of minutes I'd heard her saying "Dress?" "Dress?" Then Sean says to me "Honey-she keeps asking for a dress! What should I do?" I said "Get her a dress, I suppose.." It was just minutes away from her bedtime, but I didn't see why I couldn't let her play dress up real quick while I finished the syrup. So I go into her closet, and retrieved one of her dresses. I walked into the livingroom and handed Tara the dress, and she said "Thank you!" Our bedroom isn't far from the livingroom, and she promptly walked over to our bedroom, opened the door, and walked in. She then turned around and said "I get dressed" and then shut the door! We started laughing at how cute she was. She opened the door a couple moments later, and said "Mommy help!" She was struggling with removing her shirt, and was a bit distraught. I motioned for her to come into the kitchen so I could help her-and she looked at me like I was crazy. She emphatically said "No...Daddy will see!" She was shy, and wanted her privacy! She'd never cared before! It was so darling, and it was so hard for Sean and I to stifle the laughter...I walked into our bedroom, and she ended up needing help turning on the light in the bedroom since she can't reach, and she also needed help removing her shirt. So after I turned on the light, and got her shirt off, I asked her if she wanted help getting the dress on; and she said "No. I got it." So I left. She came out a couple minutes later, and she had put the dress on...just not all the way. The sleeves to the dress were rolled under into the top of the dress, and because of that the dress wasn't hanging correctly on her body. Due to this all, she walked out looking like she was wearing a strapless dress, that only hit mid-thigh. But boy-she was SO incredibly proud of herself for doing it all by herself! We told her "Good job Tara!" She was so cute!!!


*sigh*


When did she grow up?

Yummy Food

So we've been enjoying all the foods of summer. Lots and I mean LOTS of fresh corn on the cob (see exhibit A). Tons of fresh berries, hand-picked mind you...(see exhibit B). Tara loves it when I toss a handful of blueberries or blackberries on her cereal in the morning. She knows they're the ones that we picked together :) More watermelon than I care to mention-a disgusting amount of watermelon has ended up in our tummies this summer. And the list goes on...We love fresh whole foods, readily available this time of year. Hope you guys are enjoying the season too!



EXHIBIT A




EXHIBIT B

Lane County Fair!

So since we got married, Sean and I haven't been able to go to the fair each year. This year we finally made it, and it was Tara's first fair experience. She loved it! We went with Rachel, Olivia, and Mason-and we all had a blast. We looked at some of the exhibits, we looked at the animals, the kids all went on a few rides; and we ate yummy fair food. I was a little bummed, because I've always gone for the rides & the food. I've never been one for the exhibits, seen the animals already, let's hit the rides! I couldn't go on even one, because "No expectant mothers allowed." Bummer? Kind of-but I'm getting a really cute baby out of the deal :) So next year...Plus this year was so special because when the whole experience is centered around your child, and making sure they have a special experience-it's a whole other world at the fair. When you look at every sight, sound, and smell through a toddlers eyes-it's like seeing everything for the first time. So taking her was such a special experience, and I got a bit teary with her first fair ride ever. And the second, and the third...it was all so new! And fun. Okay, enough blabbering-bring on the photos, right? Okay:






I absolutely LOVE the look on her face!!!




They had these areas set aside for the little kids to play in, and one of Tara's favorites was where the whole area was set on a floor completely made up of corn kernels. Tara loved scooping them into the bucket, and pouring them back out. She did this over and over for minutes on end, huge smile each time :)







She got to see a real live rooster crow! So far they've only been in books. How exciting!















































First they went on the boat ride. They had a great time, and the joy on Tara's face was unmistakable! She couldn't contain her excitement!!!



"Mom, Dad! This is so fun!!!"



For heaven's sake-would you look at that expression? Priceless!




Next they went on a car ride-and they were in control of it this time ;)



Tara and Mason







Look at that grin on her face!



Next they went on the New York Fire Brigade. How fun! She loved it-and she never got scared!








Look at that! I was nervous for her-unnecessarily it turns out :)







Daddy greeting her at the end of the ride :)



She got to eat cotton candy for the first time!



Later that night, once we got home-she crashed hard once she actually crawled in bed! She was hyped up for a while afterwards though, and was telling us all about what she saw and did, even once we got home :) It was so cute...




So it was a great experience-can't wait till next year!