EiGhTeEn ExCiTiNg MoNtHs!!!

It's hard to believe my sweet baby is officially one and a half years old today. I still have dreams about my pregnancy and feeling your sweet little kicks! Maybe that's because there's this sweet little 18 month old sleeping between me and your daddy each night who is STILL kicking me in the belly!!! Hahaha! I wouldn't have it any other way!!

So, what's my sweet boy been up to?? Here's a few Liam-isms for this month:

• You are getting sure on your feet, that's for sure!  You are into everything, trying to climb on furniture, attempting to run, and you do this cute little thing I call the "Dinosaur Trot." Ha ha! You walk really fast and pick up your feet, stomping them as you go and your little hands are up in front of you in case you fall! It's pretty adorable, I must say!!
• You initiate peek-a-boo ALL.THE.TIME.  It's clearly your favorite game!
• You LOVE to brush your teeth. Thank.Goodness.
• If you want us to do something for you or go with you somewhere, you come grab our index finger and pull us along! lol
• We found out you are scared to death of animals!  When we go to our friend's house, you DO NOT want her animals (chickens, cats, or dog) near you! lol  It's so funny because you cling onto me for dear life, and these poor little animals are just as scared of you! Ha ha!  I think you will all warm up to each other soon! 
• You are Mr. Social.  Enough said! Ha!
• You LOVE to read books.
• You love to go anywhere and everywhere.  You often bring me your shoes and jacket and tell me it's time to go bye bye.  You don't like it when you don't get your way! lol
• You are interested in EVERYTHING! And that's an understatement! Ha ha! You point at everything wanting to know more! I love it! :)
• Your vocabulary is exploding!
• And you're still a major momma's boy!!! (  <-----my favorite!  )

Goofy boy enjoying a snack (with your face!) Ha ha!

My sweet sleepy boy in the car!

You love technology!!! I'm not sure it that's a good thing or a bad thing! Ha!

Slam Dunk!!!

Church is always an adventure! lol  Here, you and Connor are enjoying a snack with Mamaw! :)

We went to the allergist a few weeks ago and found out you and Connor are allergic to A LOT :(

You two were all smiles in the office, but you didn't know what was coming... lol  We have to do an elimination diet to confirm which foods you are actually allergic to. 

When your almost-18 month old is exceptionally quiet, there is probably a surprise waiting... like an empty container of wipes! Ha Ha!

Happy 18 Months, Liam!!

You are such a blessing to our family and we love you to the moon and back an infinite number of times. 

You are our whole world and we can't wait to see all that you will do!

Library Fun!

Earlier this week we loaded up the boys and went to "Mamaw's Library," as it's called around our house! ;)  We went to make our very own chia pets in one of the children's programs.  They boys had so much fun making creative monsters and they turned out pretty cute, too!

Elimination Diet Excitement!!!

Well, actually the elimination diet was not exciting at all, BUT we were SUPER EXCITED when we finally found some items our children COULD eat!  Ha ha!

If you aren't familiar with an elimination diet, I'll explain...

We took the boys to the allergist a couple of days ago to have allergy testing done for foods.  Well it is a skin test, and often produces many false positives.  So, to make 'sure' it is an actual allergy, we eliminate all the foods they are allergic to for two weeks so they can clear their system.  Then, we can slowly re-introduce each item one at a time and watch for reactions.  If there is no reaction, then they are free to keep the item in their diet.   They only positive we had previously was peanuts for Connor - he broke out in hives :(   However, there were about 20 skin-test positives we had to eliminate!!!! :(  So basically my kids can't eat anything for a while!!   Peanuts, tree nuts, milk, casein, gluten, soy, egg, orange, rice, corn, chocolate (YES! Chocolate!!!) and so on....  Basically a nightmare in a nutshell! 

The boys were SO MAD when they realized they couldn't have their favorite foods.  I mean M.A.D!!!!  It was a rough start.  However, we slowly began to find new items they loved and we were SO excited!  Yesterday, my sweet boys enjoyed some homemade versions of their favorite treats: chicken nuggets and waffles (all allergy free of course!!)  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's to the next few weeks passing quickly, and no real reactions!!!!

5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate...

Connor's FAVORITE song currently it 5 Little Pumpkins! We sing it MANY times a day! Ha ha!  In case you don't know it...

5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate

The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late!"

The second one said, "There are witches in the air!"

The third one said, "But we don't care!"

The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!" 

The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"

Ooooooo went the wind, and out went the light.

And the 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Well.

You can imagine Connor's excitement when we told him we were going to Robert's Family Farm to pick our very own pumpkins!!! Not only did we pick pumpkins, but we went down a HUGE slide, took a hayride, and got to pet a potbellied pig and some goats!!  The boys were in hog heaven!!

Here's some highlights of our trip!! :)

Zoo-RIFFIC!!!

What says terrific more than a trip to the zoo?!?!?  

Not much could top the fun and excitement these kiddos had seeing all the fantastic animals at the Louisville Zoo!!

Connor was soooooooooooo excited the whole way there!

He kept looking out the window asking for Gorilla.

His favorite book is 'Good Night Gorilla," by the way!

There was some serious focus and concentration going on in the front seat! Ha!

And some serious snoozin' in the back seat! LOL

Mamaw Benham took us all to the zoo - her treat! Big cousin Ryan put his youth and muscle to good use! ;) Cousin Tyler and Liam LOVED the wagon!  Hauling two toddlers around is no easy task!

It was so sweet seeing Connor try to interact with and talk to all the animals!

This snake wasn't too excited, though! Ha!

Tyler had a blast, as well! He though the snakes were the coolest things EVER!

Um, LOVE this picture!  How sweet is he trying to talk to the turtles????!!!!???

Ryan and Connor tried to get the macaw to talk to them! :)

What a sweet little moment between cousins!!! <3

The boys were mesmerized by the tiger!!  I love how intently all 3 of them are watching him in the picture... even little Liam from the stroller!!!

Colby and Tyler got to get a super close view of the tiger!!

More tiger gawking :)

Colby makes friends easily.  :)

Piggy back rides were necessary later in the day! :)

We LOVED the zoo!!!  Thank you Mamaw!!

*17 Super Months*

Dear Liam Andrew,

         Here we are again.  Another month has FLOWN by! Can you believe that next month you will be a year and a half old?!?  I sure can't.  You are changing and growing so much each day that it is impossible to keep up with you!  Here are some of the things we don't want to forget about you at this age:

• You are saying names!! When I ask you what someone's name is (family members), you tell me! You always have this cute little grin on your face too, like you know you are the cutest thing ever! lol You are something, else!
• You sure are a little problem solver! If you can't figure something out, or you need help with something, you come grab the closest adult by the hand and drag them to where you need them! lol
• You LOVE being outside! You love sliding, playing in the sand box, and popping bubbles!
• You have recently become more interested in books.  You've always listened when we read to you, but now your fascination has clearly grown.  You pull book after book off our shelves to look at, and when you are really interested, you come climb into our laps so we can read to you! :)
• You are my awesome little eater! You will pretty much devour anything we put in front of you!
• You have recently become obsessed with your play kitchen and food! You cook up all kinds of stuff and feed it to us. lol
• You are all about feeding yourself! Mr. Independent, you have to use a fork or spoon and do it all by yourself!  Sometimes you are a mess! lol
• You have started answering yes or no questions! You LOVE to tell momma no! lol  Especially when I ask you if you are ready to go night, night! Haha! Smart boy!
• You are STILL our little climber! You are a daredevil too! In  fact, you are such a daredevil that you ended up climbing on momma's bed and sitting too close to the edge.  Momma and daddy scrambled to get you at the same time, running into each other on the way.  So, you fell and landed on your shoulder!!! :(  This resulted in a broken collar bone!!!!!! I was sooooooooooooooo sad! :( But guess what??? It didn't phase you at all! lol  You are such a turkey!
• You are a sweet momma's boy and I love every second of it! I like to rub it in to your daddy! lol  He can tease me right back, though, since Connor is a daddy's boy!

Here's some of my favorite pics of you from this month!!

Well, my poor sweet boy was sick this month :(

You got a hold of the salt shaker!! LOL

My poor sweet, sick boy snoozin on momma!

Feeling better and having fun with big brother!!!

You LOVE wagon rides!! :)

Trying to figure out a spoon! Haha!

Yay!! You got it! Yummy applesauce!!

For some reason, you and Connor think Momma and Daddy's room is the coolest place ever and want to play in there constantly! You weren't too happy with up when we put something over the doorknob to keep Connor from opening the door for you! Haha! Silly boys!

A box of wipes proves to be a great source of entertainment in our house!! ;p

Happy 17 months sweet boy!!!

We love you to the moon and back and infinite number of times!

Love,

Momma and Daddy

Fall Fun!

Nana and Papaw Shacklett treated us to a Mike Linning's dinner!

They have the BEST fish ever!

They also happen to have the best playground ever!

The two of you ate that right up... (and NOT your food!) lol

Thank you Nana and Papaw Shacklett!!!