And here, told in acts, is the story of our last month:
Act One: In Which John is Done With School and We Have Fun
Going to the Park
Helping Mommy with the Groceries
Running Away from Mommy as We Change into Pajamas
Showing off Big Baby Belly after He Got into the Chair All By Himself For the First Time
And Lastly, Destroying the Kitchen (Notice the Cabinet Door Hanging Off It's Hinges)
Act Two: Where We Travel to Chicago for a Night, then continue to Grand Rapids
We stayed at the Embassy Suites with my Dad, and it has the coolest
design. Deep stripes and glass balconies pull you to the center, where
you can stare down to the lobby below. While some people may have
developed a fear of heights, Liam took full advantage of it.
Then Liam and John continued to Grand Rapids, while My Dad, Suzy and her kids and I stayed in town to see the musical In the Heights. We shopped, walked up and down Michigan Avenue, and visited the Lego Store.
Act Three: In Which We Celebrate Christmas Eve, Drink Too Much and Set Things on Fire
Act Four: In Which We Celebrate Christmas
Liam LOVED opening the presents and the boxes way more than the
actual gifts. This is an improvement from last year, however, since he
slept through the morning while Mommy opened the gifts.
He loved the Christmas tree and would carefully take off the bottom ornaments, examine them, and place them back in their spot. As the days went on, Liam was more used to the tree and then took off the ornaments and gave them to people.
We spent the morning at John's parents house, the afternoon with my Mom's side of the family, and the evening with my Dad and Suzy.
At my Dad's house, Liam learned valuable skills like putting things inside the VCR and feeding the dog.
It was a really great day and we felt so good to be able to spend
the time with our families. We are so lucky that we could come back
for it.
Act Five: Where we Slow Down and Enjoy Our Vacation (well, slow down as much as a toddler can)
Our little boy came to Grand Rapids a baby, but left a toddler in all his running, climbing, talking, signing glory.
Whether it's food or an action, Liam has strong preferences. He
started doing the "eat" sign to signify more, food, or really anything
that he wanted. One afternoon, he was doing the eat sign to show that
he wanted Grandpa Powers' blackberry. So, Grandpa shut it off and
handed it to him. Liam looked at it, noticed that the screen was
black, paused for a second, and looked back at him doing the eat sign.
As if to say, 'You're kidding me, right? You think you can fool me?'
He'll also deposit a book, puzzle, or toy in your hands and make the
sign.
Doing "eat" sign to mean "turn the radio back on!"
Liam
really developed his climbing skills and got into the armchairs and his
very own rocking chair over and over again. After he would get into
them, he would rub his face into the corners getting his hair all fuzzy and big and then clap for himself. It's so amazing to see him doing these things on his own and feeling so proud.
We saw all of our friends, and got pictures of some:
And pictures of one, John Powers:
Dad and I also took Liam sledding. I was more nervous than Liam, who took the big hill like a champ!
We ended our vacation with a trip to my friend Audrey's parents cottage. That was really a special trip and it was so great to relax and spend time with friends. It was so amazing to see our children playing together. There are pictures below, and you may want to turn down your volume for the video (excited children running!)
Finally, Act Six: In Which We Return the Madison, Spend the Whole Week Unpacking and Finally Get Around to Blogging.
To Be Continued...
