Texas Christmas Celebration

We celebrated Christmas with our Texas family on Tuesday. Two Christmas celebrations means twice the fun!

The Really Long Christmas Post with Lots of Pictures

What a snowy Christmas we had! We went to church on Christmas Eve, had friends over afterwards for snacks, and later the adults opened gifts as Liam slept. Somehow, Santa found his way through the drifts to bring lots of toys and candy to Liam on Christmas morning. He even brought Liam some big boy underwear...if only, Santa could take care of the training part, too. Anyway, we all watched as Liam opened his gifts on Christmas Day. Later, more family came over to celebrate. Needless to say, though out the day, we stuffed ourselves silly, shared lots of laughs, and enjoyed spending time with loved ones.

December in Minnesota

This year we spent Christmas in Minnesota with my family. All my siblings were home, and we had a great time. Since we're all spread out around the country it's a treat when we can all get together. We celebrated my Mom's birthday on the 23rd, but unfortunately missed my Dad's on the 30th. Liam loved all the attention and was sad to leave on Monday.

Christmas Post Coming Soon...

The 2009 Bushwar Top Ten

10) This year saw big changes for Liam…he went from a spitting-up, non-mobile, full-cheeked baby to a little boy who loves to run, talk, play, and fiddle around with vacuums.
9) In July, the Bushwars took a fantastic trip with Susan’s family to North Eastern Canada where they saw whales and Cape Spear in Newfoundland, Green Gables and a ceidleigh in Prince Edward Island, and tall ships and Canadian cousins in Nova Scotia.
8) Just another case supporting Jon’s proposal of a bridge spanning the state of Oklahoma, the car’s transmission died a hundred miles north of Texas. Refusing to surrender to the red soil, they hobbled back to Irving before getting it fixed.
7) In April, the Bushwars joined First Baptist Irving, became directors of a new Sunday school class in August, and are finding themselves increasingly busy with church activities.
6) Finally able to make the break, Jon and Susan had their first mini-vacation away from Liam in June to Brenham, Texas. They filled the void by consuming pints and pints of Blue Bell ice cream after they toured the creamery.
5) Jon celebrated Father Day in the ER after popping Liam elbow out-of-socket. Even though Susan slid it back into place when she took off Liam’s shirt in the exam room, Jon still received an honorary Father’s Day lecture (not free of charge) from the doctor about the fragility of little boys.
4) In July, Susan accepted a new position as an instructional coach. Contrary to the job’s title, no athletic ability is necessary for this particular “coaching” position.
3) Jon slept for two days straight over Labor Day weekend while Susan and Liam had a fun visit with her brother and sister-in-law in Charleston.
2) This year’s main home improvement project was re-landscaping the back yard after learning that a yard full of mulch and a swimming pool don’t really mix.

And the #1 Bushwar event of 2009…

1) Following the national trend of cut-backs, Jon and Susan decided that Liam’s main gift for Christmas this year would be homespun…a permanent playmate, or, ahem…playmates would be more appropriate. However, the delivery date isn’t expected until the end of June.

Budding Plumber

Liam's latest obsession is watching You Tube videos...mainly Elmo stuff. I caught this picture of our budding little plumber a couple of days ago. Notice how Jon is cracking (ahem, no pun intended) in the background? Liam will kill me someday for posting this one...

Donuts are the Best!

Somebody in our house loves donuts. He has the evidence all over his face.

Ho, Ho, Ho

We took Liam to the mall tonight to visit Santa. Although we thought Liam might freak out a wee bit, he proved us wrong. He put on his brave face, climbed up on Santa's knee, and told him all the things he wanted for Christmas this year...I think "lights" may have been the only thing mentioned, so that'll be easy for Mom and Dad.

Daddy's Boy

My sister, Debby, snapped this picture of Liam and Jon when we were in Minnesota this past week. I love it...such a sweet picture of Daddy and his little boy.

Minnesota Thanksgiving Trip

The past couple of weeks have been crazy. And not just kind of crazy, really crazy. It seems like we've been busy every single minute! And it doesn't look like it's going to slow down anytime soon. Although we were in Irving for Thanksgiving, we decided to take a quick spin to Minnesota to visit my family before Thanksgiving. We flew out on Friday night and came back on Tuesday night. We saw lots of family, ate lots of food, and had lots of fun. And, by the way, I can't believe I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving...guess I was too busy stuffing my face. We had a really nice week off of school and are looking forward to Christmas break when we get two more weeks off!

Here's Liam with Great-Grandma and Great-Uncle David.

Playing football with the guys.

Liam likes to wear his winter hat!

Liam's a big fan of Aunt Debby.

Great-Aunt Peggy came to visit.

And Great-Uncle Mark brought popcorn ball!

Liam was addicted to them.

And so was Uncle Patrick.

19 Facts for 19 Months

In honor of our little guy turning 19 months old today, here are nineteen little facts about our Liam:

1. Liam loves to call out letters that contestants have just asked for when were watching Wheel of Fortune.
2. Lately, Liam has turned into quite an acrobat and has nearly perfected the summer sault.
3. Every day when we get home, he runs to the sink to get his hands washed with yummy smelling soap and then makes a big production of sniffing his hands and offering them to anyone else around to take a whiff.
4. Liam’s favorite fast food restaurant is Sonic. He especially likes the grilled cheese, tator tots, and ice cream.
5. When we’re driving in the car, Liam jams out to Daddy’s music by rocking his head back and forth and kicking his legs to the beat.
6. On an additional musical note, Liam loves U2. This is a puzzling fact for Jon and me since we never intentionally listen to U2.
7. In his 19 months, Liam has already accumulated around 14,000 miles of airplane travel. And he’ll be adding on 1900 miles more next week.
8. Cutting Liam’s nails is like torture for both Mama and Liam. He is not a happy camper when he’s about to be declawed.
9. Liam has a little lamb he calls “Sheepy” and a big dog that he called “Doggy” that he sleeps with every night.
10. When we say prayers at night, Liam’s favorite part is “Amen!” He folds his little hands, Jon and I say prayers with him, and his “Amen,” with a nod of the head for emphasis, is always the most robust.
11. I know I can always get a smile and almost always a giggle when I take off Liam’s shoes and socks, smell his feet, and say, “Phewwwy!” He loves it. And his feet really don’t even stink.
12. Liam loves parks. He calls swings and slides “wees.”
13. Liam hates wearing baseball hats, but he loves baseball.
14. The boy is obsessed with vacuums. Weird, but true.
15. Liam pulls out wet-wipes from his diaper box and helps us “clean” tables, chairs, vents, etc.
16. Every morning, Liam eats a bowl of oatmeal.
17. When Liam is riding in the stroller, he likes to hold Mama’s hand.
18. Liam’s bedtime is 7:00.
19. Liam gives high-fives and hugs every morning when he arrives at daycare.

Nothing Followed by Steak

We had a day filled-to-the-brim of doing absolutely nothing. And it felt great. And Jon and I both agreed that we should do it much more often. Actually plan days of doing nothing. I think we will. Besides going grocery shopping and a quick trip to Target, we had a day at home where we moved from room to room and did NOTHING. What a lovely way to spend a day, don't you agree?

Tonight, instead of going out to eat, Jon and I had a late (meaning after 7:00) dinner after Liam went to bed. Jon.Made.The.Best.Steaks.Ever. Boy, that man can cook a steak! We crumbled blue cheese on top of each and served them with a side of roasted garlic and cheddar mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, and crusty french sour dough bread. By the way, we also agreed that blue cheese will be an addition staple in our kitchen. And dessert was also delicious...chocolate cake with cookies and cream frosting. It's good Liam was fast asleep and had no idea what he was missing. He probably would have felt jipped by having to settle for a grilled cheese sandwich, yogurt, and green beans for his dinner.