This first baseman...
is always baseball ready.

Liam's team has been in a tournament this week, and he has certainly pulled his weight for the team with catching as many as three pop flies in a game.

He's also had some homeruns, since he hits well and...

runs like there's no tomorrow.
I'm so proud of my boy! Not only is he an excellent player, he always has a great attitude.

He plays in the championship game tomorrow night. Win or lose, I get to bring him home!

And you can count on another baseball post or two next week!

Field Day

Liam had field day last Friday, so the little boys and I went to tag along.
He was thrilled to have us. Gosh, I love that boy! He is just so darn happy all the time.

All of his classmates had a yellow tie-dyed shirt in order to help corral the busy first graders.

Field day was always my favorite day of the year in elementary school. But the games have certainly changed since my school days. Gone are the days of three-legged relay, potato sack race, and egg-on-the-spoon race.

What do they do now? They have the flying chicken, to name one.
The kids were in groups of 3. Two kids throw a rubber chicken, and the third child runs around trying to get the chicken fall through a hula hoop.

Interesting.

There were some 20 games, but Liam's favorite was the water passing game.
That grin is saying, "Should I throw this bucket of water in my friend's face?"

He chose to play the game correctly.

Liam would definitely agree with my love of field day, as he later told me, "Field day was the best day of first grade ever!"

I followed that statement with, "Have you ever had a bad day of school?"

"NO!"

I'm so grateful that he loves school!

Housing Update

Remember when I mentioned that we had our white walls painted recently?

Shortly after the painting was completed, we also added wood floors to our dining room, hallway, and living room.
(Pardon the 1,000 piece puzzle in the works on my dining table. Garrett is a puzzle-making fool.)

We are very pleased with the finished results! It's so pretty, if I do say so myself.

Baby Names by Garrett

Our close friends adopted another baby several weeks ago, and we have come to love, love, love Mr. Solomon! He's delicious!
Garrett is especially taken with him and asks to help feed him whenever we have babysitting duty.

Incidentally, Garrett has said that he thinks he knows some great baby names. "Maura" for a girl and "Oscar" for a boy.

I said, "Oscar? Seriously?!"

"Yes!"

"Where did you get that idea?" I asked.

"It's in a movie," he said.

"But it's also our neighbor's dog's name, and there's another one on Sesame Street," I reminded him.

"I know! But I like the name," he declared.

"I don't think 'Oscar' will make the cut, G."

"Well, what about 'Maura'?" he asked.

"That's not too bad. We'll think about that one."

And he smiled.

If you're trying to name your next child, give us a shout. We'll ask G for suggestions.

My Liam

Mac and I have been reunited, and it feels so good. Before our separation, he would go to sleep on me at odd and unannounced times. I would be reading something online, and he would suddenly decide to take a siesta.

I know how he feels. I, too, can feel the sudden urge to nap at any moment, but I have the excuse of three boys wearing me out. What's his excuse?!

During Mac's absence, my big boy turned 7. SEVEN?! How did THAT happen?!
I did not give Liam permission to grow up so fast.

How do you like that Snickers Cake that I slaved over? Yes, I dragged my bone-weary body to the car and lugged my wallet all the way into Albertson's bakery to buy that baby his "favorite cake". Liam was in chocolate heaven after eating the chocolate cake with chocolate icing and toppings of Snickers and caramel. Thankfully, it didn't taste that great to me, so I only gained 5 pounds with the one slice I ate.

(I have been known to eat half the cake if I like it. Ahem.)

Prior to his birthday, Daddy said that Liam needed a bigger baseball bat. Guess who was thrilled to receive "Big Red" just in time for a game a few days before his birthday?
I really should go back and crop that photo, but I'm feeling the need for a nap, and Mac has taught me the fine art of giving it all up for a snooze, so I'm moving on before my eyes shut. Besides, the above photo shows the pure excitement of a seven year-old boy receiving what he knows is his next home run.

And here he is with Big Red:
(Incidentally, do you see all of those white walls back there? They're all GONE! We had the interior of our house painted two weeks ago, and I am just as excited about that as Liam was over his new bat. What's that? You would like to see before and after photos? Maybe after my nap.)

My parents gave Liam a Razor, which was another big hit.

Dadgum, Liam, stop looking so grown up!

Again...photo needs cropping.

yawn

Again...white walls...no more!

Where's my pillow?

At seven, I'm proud of the boy Liam has become. Yes, he's gained 43 pounds and grown nearly twenty inches in seven years, but he's still the boy that I fell in love with in 2003. Back then, he was happy, vocal, sweet, fun-loving, easy to please, and he still is all of those things today.

But now that he can read and write, I'm getting to enjoy wonderful evidence of his love for me, such as the book he made for mother's day this year. His teacher had all of his classmates make their moms books. Perhaps every first grader has made one for his/her mama.

The first page lists my favorites (i.e. food, color, flower, etc.). According to Liam, my favorite movie is "were the red fern groes". (Translation: Where the Red Fern Grows) Well, okay, I did enjoy watching it with him.

He listed his favorite times spent with me as: "take a walk in our naberhood. ride our bikes. play baseball. play catch with the football." Yes, I do enjoy those times, too.

Next, he described and drew the outfit that he most likes to see me in. Apparently, I look good in a "prpl shirt". You bet I'll be wearing that shirt tomorrow!

All three of those pages made me giggle. But page four had me in tears in no time. I'll type it out in its entirety here:

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Mom
1. You read me "funny books."
2. You help me "do crafts."
3. You make me laugh when you "make funny fases."
4. You taught me how to "play boling." (bowling)
5. I love to hear you sing "holy holy." (Hand me a tissue, please.)
6. You find the time to "love me." (Another tissue, please.)
7. You show you care when you "cry." (Just give me the whole box, please.)
8. You are smart because you "teach me."
9. You work so hard at "cleanin dishis." (Thank you for another laugh, Liam.)
10. You are the "best ever!"

My boy wrote that! Shucks, I think I'll keep him around. What a sweetheart!

Now, what are the chances he'll let me drop everything and take a nap?