
61st Month
|
Liam's 61st Month
(May
'11)
5 years old! Liam had a great time at his
first real birthday party—the first one to which he was allowed
to invite friends. His party’s theme was Ocean/Underwater. We
had lots of blue helium balloons for an ocean, ocean sand-art
bottles, a Ziploc-bag aquarium craft, digging for seashells in
sand, and fishing for goodie bags. The cake was a shark coming
up out of the water. Aunt Emily, cousin Travis, and Maw Maw and
Pots even came. It was a great party—lots of fun.
|

62nd Month
|
Liam's 62nd Month
(June
'11)
No more preschool! Kindergarten, here we
come! Liam “graduated” from Little Friends this month in a
really cute ceremony—cap and gown included.
Liam had his Kindergarten testing early
this month, but we have not received any results yet. He is most
definitely reading at this point, so he should have a good start
for Kindergarten.
We had several trees taken down in the
backyard this month. The kids all had a great time watching the
guys climb way up in the trees to cut them—they really loved
feeling the ground shake when the trees finally fell.
|

63rd Month |
Liam's 63rd Month
(July
'11)
We got to see 4th of July
fireworks twice this month—once at Mercer County Park and again
at Etra Lake Park. Liam loved them—wasn’t afraid of them at all,
and even spent time comforting Susanna, who was afraid of them.
Liam got to ride the Strasburg Railroad
this month, and of course loved it.
Mom took the kids to see Cars 2 in the
theater (Liam’s first time)—enjoyed by all—especially after Mom
got everyone popcorn.
|

64th Month
|
Liam's 64th Month
(August
'11)
The weekend of August 27-28 saw Hurricane
Irene hitting us here in NJ. Many parts of the state were
flooded, but we were very fortunate—none of our trees fell, our
basement stayed dry, and we never lost power. We all slept in
the basement the night it hit us because there were tornado
warnings. The following week we were supposed to go to the
mountains in Bushkill, PA to meet Grandma Mel and Pop-Pop for a
few days, but the house they had rented lost power in the storm.
By Tuesday morning the power still was not back, so they came
here and stayed with us for a few days before heading back to
LA. We had a fun time with them—we took them to the Popcorn Park
Zoo and the Jackson Jungle. Grandma Mel and Mom had some craft
time with the kids. Their last night here, they decided to stay
in a hotel so that we could all swim in the hotel pool—that was
probably the highlight of the week for all the kids—it was
actually the pool where Rachael used to take swim lessons.
Now it’s time to gear up for a new year of
school! Liam is so ready for Kindergarten—his reading skills
have grown tremendously this summer. He will be in the PM
Kindergarten class with a teacher new to Walter C. Black.
|

65th Month
|
Liam's 65th Month
(September
'11)
Kindergarten!! Hard to believe it’s time
for this already! A few days before school started, Liam had
orientation—he got to meet his teacher and see his classroom and
even take a ride around the block on the bus. If he wasn’t
excited before that, he sure was after. He is really enjoying
being in school—and is even in the same class as his friend
George. No homework yet, though. He likes being able to say that
Rachael’s school is his school, too.
LSU football has begun and we have
continued our tradition of watching on the deck, grilling, and
glow sticks. And having Maw Maw and Pots come from NY to watch
with us.
Mom took the kids to see The Smurfs in the
theater.
|

66th Month
|
Liam's 66th Month
(October
'11)
A new backyard addition this month—a
treehouse (well, actually, a tree platform with a railing)—it is
being thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, even the neighborhood
kids. We wrapped the trees with Christmas lights and Rachael
made a “clubhouse” flag.
Liam
asked to have the training wheels taken off his bike this month,
and the next day he was riding it. He is so very proud of
himself, and so are we.
Liam went on a field trip to Lee’s Turkey
Farm (Mom and Susanna met his class there) where he learned all
about the farm, got to see lots of turkeys, and took a hayride.
Unfortunately, because of all the rain we’ve have, Mr. Lee
didn’t have any pumpkins to pick.
Liam, Susanna, and Mom got locked out of
the house one morning this month. After running errands, we got
home to discover the power was out, so the garage door opener
wouldn’t work. Mom also realized the security chain was still
across the front door. Mom checked windows but didn’t find any
unlocked. The neighbor had a painting crew working at their
house, and they volunteered to help find a way to get us in the
house. We discovered one of Rachael’s bedroom windows open, so
the guys got their extension ladder and climbed up to try
popping out the screen—no luck. Mom had already been able to pop
the screen on the kitchen window, so one guy tried using a knife
to get the window unlocked—no luck. Then Mom mentioned that the
front door could be unlocked but not opened the whole way
because of the chain. So, the guys got a screwdriver, reached in
the partially open door and unscrewed the chain from the door
frame, so that the door could be opened. Liam had been very
concerned that we were not going to get into the house in time
for him to go to school.
Halloween weekend was very busy with
parties, both birthday and Halloween. Liam dressed as a Strong
Man. The big surprise for the weekend was SNOW!! Two days before
Halloween we got several inches—went trick-or-treating in the
white stuff. And, on the same day, Liam lost his first tooth!
|

67th Month
|
Liam's 67th Month
(November
'11)
Liam lost his first tooth this month! He
was very excited (and a little nervous) when it finally came
out. He was also very excited that the Tooth Fairy left him a
dollar coin, but he was a little disappointed that she didn’t
eat the apple he left for her. (oops).
Thanksgiving was a fun-filled event, with
Grandma and Grandpa and Maw Maw and Pots coming to celebrate
with us.
Mom had conferences with Liam’s teacher
this month, and she had nothing but wonderful things to say
about him. In fact, the first thing she said to Mom was, “That’s
one bright boy you’ve got there.” He is in the highest skill
group in the class, and his reading skills are off the charts
for Kindergarten. He is also doing well with his writing skills.
He gets along well with everyone and is very kind and helpful.
We couldn’t be more proud of how well he is doing in school
|

68th Month
|
Liam's 68th Month
(December
'11)
Santa was very good to Liam this year,
bringing him lots of Legos, books, and a really cool Imaginext
pirate ship. His favorite thing, though, seems to be something
that wasn’t even a Christmas gift—Rachael’s hand-me-down DSi.
Another favorite gift was the membership to
the West Windsor pool given to the family by Grandma Mel and
PopPop.
Another tooth came out this month, this
time at school. Liam was very excited when he hopped off the bus
that day. He was also very happy the next morning when he
discovered that the Tooth Fairy remembered to eat his apple this
time.
|
69th Month |
Liam's 69th Month
(January
'12)
|
70th Month
|
Liam's 70th Month
(February
'12)
Liam has now lost all four of his front
teeth!
Winter is fast coming to an end, and we are
amazed at how mild a winter it has been. Of course, the kids are
a little disappointed that there hasn’t been any good snow to
play in, but Mom and Dad are quite happy.
|

71st Month
|
Liam's 71st Month
(March
'12)
Liam has
become quite good (and creative) at building Legos. He says that
he wants to be a Lego Designer when he grows up
|

72nd Month |
Liam's 72nd Month
(April
'12)
Grandma Mel came for a visit over Palm
Sunday weekend. It was chilly and rainy but it was still a good
visit. Grandma Mel even enjoyed Easter games at church with us.
|
The
6th Birthday
Cake
May 10th 2012 |
 |