OOC!

"Gonna leave the world for a minute
Pretend I don't leave in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away..."

Out of commission till August 8th. Harbor Springs or Bust!

Mr. Independent

As most babies do :), Liam is changing every day. It is so crazy to watch him figure things out right in front of my eyes. It makes me so happy every time I see him learn something new. However it also makes me a little sad. I get that "pang" in my heart thinking about how he doesn't need me for this or that anymore, or how he will be walking/talking etc before I know it and will no longer be my little cuddly baby.
This past week there were a few little events that gave me an slight indication that Liam is going to be Mr. Independent. I know once he figures something out on his own, he is going to continue to want to do it on his own. That slowly but surely he is going to need his mommy less.
The first incident.... Grandma and Grandpa took Liam to the zoo last week. When they dropped him off back home, I open the car door to get him out, and there he was sitting in his car seat holding a bottle of water smiling and drinking away. It was the cutest thing ever. When I feed him, he has grabbed and held on to his bottle for a few seconds, but I had never seen him hold on to it and direct it into his mouth without any help.

The second incident.... Like I mentioned in a previous post, Liam loves to be on the floor these days. He also loves to sit up on his own. He is not 100% there yet and still topples over quite a bit, but if we kind of lodge him into the corner of the couch, he really gets a kick out of himself.

And the third incident...Once this weekend after waking up from his nap and again this morning, Liam has figure out how to turn his mobile on by himself . (Sadly no picture of this occurrence yet.) He wakes up and scoots himself over to the front of the crib, reaches up and hits the button. I am thinking this might be a good thing. If this can entertain him for a few extra minutes in the morning, I will take it.

Also, I give Liam the "Baby of the Year" award after this weekend. I knew he was a good baby, but he continually impresses me.
On Friday night, we meet the Puccis in Tower Grove Park for Food Truck Friday. Liam was up about 1.5 hours past his bed time and didn't show it at all. In the crazy heat, he just sat there and played, didn't cry or fuss at all. He fell asleep on the ride home and transitioned to his crib without any problems. PERFECT!! Here is a picture of him partying it up. :)

Then on Saturday we went over to the Bueltmanns. The point of that visit was to book our November trip to Dominican Republic (Dreams La Romana). But while we were there, we took advantage of their awesome baby pools and lounged in the sun for awhile. Liam, again, just rolled with it. He stayed up and played the whole time we were there without getting crabby. I know I have a biased view, but I just think this kid is just awesome! Our next one is probably going to be a terror...

Mondays stink, but only 4 days till Michigan.

One Week From Today

We will be in Harbor Springs!!! Where it is currently 77 degrees while I am sitting in 100 + degree weather. I couldn't be more excited.
Even though I have been there 30 or more so times, this time will be a brand new experience, because now we have Liam! Just like I was so excited to show Keith my little slice of heaven the first time he came along, I can't wait to get Liam up north so he can start exploring. I hope that this is the first of many summers that Liam will get to experience Lake Michigan life. I know I will take hundreds of pictures and I of course will share those all when I get back, but today I thought maybe I would share a few of my favorite pictures from the last couple of summers in Michigan. Enjoy.

The classic front porch picture.

The view of the lake at sunset.

Keith with the girls at Pirate's Cove.

Katie and I cocktail cruising.

Grandpa and I!

Preppy mini-golf party.

Matching sweatshirts heading out on the water.

And one of my fav pictures of all time: watching fireworks on the beach on the 4th.



Hope everyone has a great weekend. We are heading out to Food Truck Friday in Tower Grove Park tonight if anyone wants to bear the heat and join us. 

Any Day Now...

I think it will be any day now that Liam starts crawling, which excites me and terrifies me all at the same time. His favorite spot now is the floor. I can only hold him for so long now before he eventually wiggles his way right out of my arms. ;) This weekend he was all over the place. If you place a toy in front of him just out of reach, somehow he rolls, scoots and wiggles until it is in his hand and then of course two second later in his mouth. Here are a few pictures to prove just how close his is.

Also as a side note, Liam's two bottom teeth have cut through. He seems to have handled this like a champ. He had a couple slightly crabby days but now he is just back to his happy self. I am a little sad that I can no longer let him gum my finger, arm or whatever else he can get a hold of (cause man those suckers are sharp). But I am looking forward to the new stage this brings on. I hope we can start trying more solid foods. The kid loves to eat! :)

Happy Hump Day Everyone! In 8 days we will be on our way to Michigan and leaving these severe heat warnings in our dust.

"Everyday" Moms

The other day I came across the Top 50 Mom Blog list. Let me tell you, there are some pretty amazing moms out there and some pretty easy to obsess over blogs. Check out kellehampton.com and thepioneerwoman.com if you haven't already.
While perusing through some of them, I have to agree, they would probably not only make my top 50 blog  list but also my top 50 mom list. But of course I got to thinking, why can't my blog be just as amazing? I mean I realize I do not live on a ranch and make fabulous food for my family every night or live in Florida and am able to sport Stella and Dot necklaces everyday or have awesome satirical wit, so maybe my blog is not nearly as fun to read as others out there.
I am just your typical "everyday" mom. And believe me, when I say "everyday", I say it with pride.
I work full time and so does my husband. There are times when we struggle to make ends meet. We drive cars that are practical and safe. We shop at Old Navy and Carters, A LOT :).We hardly ever get to the gym and we eat frozen ravioli for dinner more than I would care to admit. Every free second we have is spent with our son, bouncing around and making faces and singing songs, anything to get a smile and sometimes even that long sought out belly laugh. (Which is happening a lot more often these days!)
But I am not going to lie, I think that is pretty amazing. I think it is just as amazing as the moms that are able to stay home with their children every day, capture every moment in the life through beautiful photos, whip up grilled kabobs and peaches like it is no big deal and still look fabulous doing it all.
I really hope that majority of moms out there are more like me and not like the ones I read about. It sure would help me feel a whole lot better about the life I am leading...
So today I thought maybe I would give a shout out to some of my favorite "everyday" moms.

There's Heidi which is my "pioneer woman" when it comes to being a mom. Heidi had babies long before any of the rest of us did and she is leading the way. With two very energetic little girls running around, she will still stop to talk to you about any mommy issue you might be having and is willing to offer her advice. And the advice she gives is always spot on! Here is a picture of Heidi with Olivia and Evelyn (Livy and Evy).

Then there's Jilian. Not only can she rock a skinny pair of jeans and high heels like it is nobody's business, she can do this all while chasing after her active 1 year old trying every trick in the book to make her laugh. Snorting noises, raspberries and jumping out from behind walls with giant smiles on her face are just the start. Not only does she get that baby to laugh all the time, she also knows how to really get me going. Here is a picture of her and the gorgeous Avery.

Then there's Lindsey, who is a lot like me. She works a very stressful job where she probably doesn't get the all the recognition she deserves, has to drive 45 minutes home every night just to spend an hour or two with her little one before he goes to bed. She is always there to listen to my stories about Liam and share hers as well. I probably would have lost my sanity during my pregnancy without seeing her everyday. Here is a picture of her and handsome Jackson (only a few weeks younger than Liam).

Of course these are not the only special moms in my life, but just a few I decided to highlight today. I hope I can continue to learn from them and maybe they can learn a thing or two from me as well.
So wear your "everyday" mom button with pride this weekend all you moms out there. I think you are pretty darn awesome!

Who Needs Toys?

I think this is one of those questions all parents ask themselves. Why do we spend dollars upon dollars on baby toys when those seem to be the last thing our babies are interested in? Liam's 2 favorite toys are the remote and the I-touch! No pictures of him with the I-touch because if he is unattended with that, it goes straight in his mouth and is left covered in drool. :) Here are a few pictures of him with the remote though. Oh the fun that is had...

And just another picture that is too cute not to share today...

Happy Hump Day everyone!



The Fourth

It has been quite a while since we have actually stayed in town for the Fourth. I guess things are a little different when you have a 5 month old. Yes, that's right a 5 month old!! Liam turned 5 months on Saturday. I just can't believe how big he is now and how much he has changed. He is now just over 16 pounds and 27.5 inches. And he is extremely active, always grabbing, kicking, rolling etc.
Anyway, we had a fun filled weekend and like usual I did well at taking pictures of some things, but missed quite a few others!
On Saturday we took Liam swimming for the first time. He absolutely LOVED it. The pool we went to had this little shelf where the water was only a couple inches deep. It was perfect for him to sit there and splash.

Saturday night The Bueltmanns came over and Liam and Avery swam some more in the blow up pool in the backyard. This is where I wish I had my camera but once again missed a great photo opportunity. :(
On Sunday night we went over to the Wissmans for a BBQ. It was crazy standing around there to see just how much things have changed in the past year or so. There was Avery - just over a year old, Liam - 5 months, Sam - almost two months and Sloane - 3 weeks! (Just stole a couple pictures from Mary to add. :))

On Monday we went to the Webster parade. After a quick down pour, Liam really seemed to enjoy himself and had fun watching all the excitement around him.

Since I thought that Liam was probably too young for fireworks this year, I had to sacrifice and this was how I enjoyed my fireworks on Monday night. :)

And one more cute picture of the bug for good measure.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! Back to the grind...



We Have a Squirmer On Our Hands

In the past four weeks or so Liam has gotten so active. When you pick him up, he is constantly kicking his feet. He also bucks back to hard you are afraid you are going to drop him sometimes.
Now when we put him in his crib on his back, he does not stay there for long! About four weeks ago, he learned to flip to his stomach and has been doing that with ease. In the past week or so, he has learned to flip from his stomach back to his back. This contributes to quite a bit of entertainment at the Costello household. When we put him down at night, we usually then retreat to the couch with the video monitor and laugh as he squirms all around trying to find a comfortable position.(much like his father does every night). Last night, when I checked on him in the middle of the night, he had done a complete 180 and then this morning, he was back to his original position. 360 degrees in the night without even waking up! That's impressive. :) We also had to purchase a breathable bumper because there have been many times that we have gone in his room and his legs are sticking out the slots of the crib or his head is completely nudged up into the corner.
It is great for his repositioning therapy that he is not sleeping on his stomach. I am hoping that 12 hours at night of him not being on his back will help his head.
Last week when he was taking a nap, he started sleeping in what I think is the cutest position a baby can sleep in. Here is a picture of him fast asleep with his butt right up in the air. Love it!