That's Oily

Dying from thirst, Liam looked around in a panic and grabbed the first thing he could find to quench it. (At least he got 45% of his daily value of Vitamin E along with some Omega 6 and not a spec of cholesterol. You got to try this stuff.)

I can see where the confusion came from. The delicious sweet grapes on the front is pretty deceiving to a kid who can't read. Yuck!

Scrapbooking? NEVER!

Several years ago I vowed to never eat at McDonald's again. I've now done the same with scrapbooking.  Backing up pictures and journals while keeping a "scrapbook," and then keeping track of dates at the same time is a headache. Thanks to an idea by a friend I've just simplified things by setting up a personal/private blog for (1) me and Tanner and (2) the boys. Here's the reasons why I've decided this route:

1. I can add pictures and video to my entries.
2. All my writings and pictures I use are backed up because it's online.
3. If our house catches on fire my years of work won't go up in flames.
4. I can access my writings anywhere the internet is and potentially post from my phone.
5. When you post you can use labels like Liam, Halloween, Funny Sayings or whatever subject/happening you're writing about and then pull up your labels when you want to see just those specific posts. 
6. With the search tool I can search my journal. 
7. I know a lot of people who use a blog for keeping up on their journal but have a hard time sometimes because they want to be more private in their posts. I can be more specific in my personal blog and more general in our family (this) one.
8. You can easily export your existing/old blog into a new one and publish only the posts you select. This will keep your old blog up and running too.
9. You can also edit your post date and time in case you write about something days late. 
10. And like my sister, when you're done you just have a company print it off in a small professional hard bound book. Love that!

You could even simplify more and not do a private blog/journal for your kids as long as you label all your writings. You could then pull up the labels with your kids names. Sometimes I want to write to them so that's when I'll use their blog.

I understand and love hand written journals and scrapbooks and even have a baby book for the boys, but  after their first year this seems like a good way to record the rest of their/our lives. With any form of journaling or scrapbooking if you like doing it and it works for you then move forward. If you feel overwhelmed or way behind then try little by little to catch up or look into some other alternative. Just thought I'd share in case any of this could help any of you.

Julian's 2

Our sweet Julian turned 2 and we had a great time celebrating!

We have lived in potato land for years now and shamefully have never had a Mr. Potato Head. I'm glad we had an excuse to give one to him.

Julian also loves Horton Hears A Who, so we thought we'd do a birthday cake to go along with that. We were excited to see all the elephant card and gifts from both grandparents, it was perfect!

I had some time to kill so I (Carrie) painted another cake. Painting eyelashes on a kangaroo that small is 100% impossible.

Julian kept touching one part, tasting it and then wiping the residue on his new shirt. His shoulders were covered in colored frosting within minutes.

I'm so grateful for my sweet 2 year old. The other day Liam was upset on his bed so Julian and I came in to see if he could apologize. I asked Liam to say "I'm sorry Julian" and immediately Julian pipes up "I'm sorry, Juweean! Kith?!" Julian then kisses Liam right on the arm along with his big smile. We all love you bud!

Liam's 4

Liam started off his birthday by checking off which breakfast we wanted on the birthday menu, followed by a nice shower. After his shower he stepped on the scale "to see if I'm 4." He wasn't. He was 36.

You can make a birthday special just by saying "birthday" in front of everything you do or say. Here Liam is painting with some birthday paints. (Not a drop of paint got on his paint shirt. He's meticulous and clean like Tanner :)

Liam wanted a super hero something or other, so I grabbed my small paintbrushes, a tub of white icing and some food coloring and went to work. These were so much fun to paint!

(We're getting really good at the self timer on our cameras)

Liam is a very thoughtful and smart boy. He always shows gratitude towards us, especially yesterday when we did so many fun things together. I am so grateful to have my little boys and I love them so much!

Neglected

(I love this picture)

I found out this morning that Liam doesn't know what sandals are. SANDALS!! That's what 7 months of cold weather can do to you if you're not careful. Note: Remind Liam every month during the winter what warm weather and sandals are. This kid has been missing out!

We also walked to the library and Liam was shocked by how warm the weather was. After walking for a minute in the 55 degree weather Liam turned to me and said, "Mom the sun is burning my lips." (I wonder how he'll feel at 70 degrees.) I think about when I was growing up in Southern Nevada; I thought 70 degrees was still jacket weather and thought 50 for a high was freezing!

Earlier on in the week I put a t-shirt on Julian. He kept tugging and pulling at his short sleeves with frustration trying to pull them down. I realized that this is the same thing he does to pull down his long sleeve shirts after I pull them up to wash his hands. The poor kid hasn't been in a t shirt (at least w/out a jacket on) in months. Sorry bud- you'll get used to short sleeves soon!