Little moments

Three has been a little bit of a trying age.  Eoin is constantly testing us to see what he can get away with and he has been a little disobedient at school.  He is still the sweet, caring little boy; he is just sweet and caring with a little bit of three-year-old attitude thrown in the mix.  He has had quite a few changes in the last several months, and one big one with the addition of Liam Paul to our family.  Sometimes I think I treat him or expect that he should act like a much older boy, but I have to keep reminding myself that he is only three.  He needs to be dirty, break stuff, giggle, shout, explore, push boundaries, etc.  He is only a three year old little boy.  Sweet moments bring me back to Earth . . .

Liam Paul's Christening

On August 21, 2011 Liam Paul was welcomed into the Catholic Church.  He is very lucky to have two amazing God-Parents.  Auntie Kelly and Jay McGee accepted the role.  Here are a few pictures of the big event!  He was such a great little boy during the whole mass and even afterwards.  His Christening gown is the same one that Eoin wore and is made from Grandma Kohn's wedding dress!

4 months! {Liam Paul}

Liam and I had a little outing by ourselves to the doctor.  It is so funny how trips with only one child have quickly become the easiest of outings, while it wasn't too long ago these were the only trips!  Liam was a little angel.  He had two shots and an oral inoculation and while there was a little crying, he took them like a man!  The stats are as follows:

Height:  25 1/2" - 75th percentile

Weight:  16lbs 6oz - 75th percentile

Head Circumference:  17 inches - 75th percentile

Our little man is nothing if not consistent!  He is perfectly proportionate!  

Of course, I had to do a little comparing and at this age, Eoin was just a few ounces more, weighing in at 16lbs 15oz and their height was the same.  I have two big (little) boys.  

Liam is actually a little ahead of where Eoin was developmentally.  He is consistently rolling over and he actually plays with his toys!  He will snap his neck and move into position to watch television if it is on (so we try to keep it off!) or if he hears mommy or daddy's voice.  Jordan and I had to giggle, while we seating eating this past weekend, he literally bent his body and tilted his head to get a better look at me while I was talking and he was seated in Jordan's lap!  Liam is currently wearing clothes that range anywhere from 3 through 9 months.  I have been lazy in pulling out Eoin's old 6 month and up clothing, but that definitely needs to happen soon.  Liam's eyes are currently still blue.  They could change at anytime, but they are holding steady and Eoin's were definitely a dark brown by this point!  The doctor has given us the go-ahead to start solids whenever we wish, however, mama's milk is still fine until 6 months.  I think we may hold off, he is a good sleeper and I see no rush!  

Liam is an absolute joy; he is very easy going and rarely fusses.  He sleeps well and is a wonderful cuddler.  How we were blessed with two phenomenal babies would definitely be beyond me, except, I know now how they are when they are three ;)

Goodbye Weekend

I say it with every 'goodbye weekend' post, but these weeks are flying by . . . thankfully we are enjoying every minute, but I'd definitely settle for a little bit of a slow down!

Goodbye Cornbelters:  Eoin was invited to attend the Normal Cornbelters game with two of his favorite little boys!  Ian and Ben.  He loved every minute and stayed afterward for the fireworks.  He got back past his bedtime and mine :)  Jordan and I were given a little taste of what high school might be like as we sat up waiting for him.  He was exhausted when he got home, but Ben and Ian had fallen asleep on the ride home and Eoin was still bright eyed!  Deanna treated him to a new Cornbelters t-shirt and even some Cornbetlers silly bandz.  Needless to say, he had a blast!  Side not:  Couldn't all three be brothers?

Goodbye Hockey:  Eoin had his second week of hockey.  I had to miss but Eoin had a cheering section nonetheless.  He had a blast and we now use hockey as an incentive for good behavior.  This was his first time wearing his new helmet and I think it made him look more professional.

Goodbye first race:  Saturday morning, I braved the humidity with Missy (my neighbor) and we endured the Evergreen Lake 5K.  While my performance was not very desirable, I finished it and I ran the course in its entirety.  Goals were met and now I'm ready to beat my new post-baby time.

Goodbye celebrating baby:  My very good friend Annie will be welcoming the sweetest addition to her family shortly and on Saturday we got together with other close friend to celebrate Maxwell Groves McGee!  Katie, Melissa and I hosted a shower at Katie's house and thanks to the guest and Katie's mom, Susan, it turned out beautifully and little Max was showered with some wonderful gifts!  I am so excited that Liam will have great friends so close in age.

Goodbye travel/mommy time/daddy time:  After the morning festivities, Liam and I jumped in the car to head north.  My sister just had surgery and my cousin Helena is visiting from Ireland, so a visit was overdue.  Liam was a perfect angel for the entire trip, except for the two hours that he should have been sleeping and my mom, Helena and I were trying to watch the Help (fabulous book and movie from what I saw).  I was in and out of the theater complex, I stood for the majority of the movie and I doubt I will be trying that again anytime soon!    Eoin and Jordan played and played and played.  Eoin loves to play 'cops' and 'alligators.'  He truly is a very imaginative little man and Jordan is the best daddy to play along with some of his scenarios!

Rolling on . . .

After a crazy busy day yesterday (are they all this way anymore?) we had some downtime in the living room before prepping for bedtime for the boys.  Liam was on his play mat and while I was in the kitchen popping some popcorn as my dinner (yes, it was that busy of a day) Jordan yelled at me to come quickly as Liam was seconds away from rolling over.  While he didn't roll just then, after watching him play for a little while, he accomplished the flip!  He despises tummy time and so he quickly learned to roll back over too.  Milestones are starting for Liam!

Down time, Pool time

Last night we actually had some 'down time' and made our way across the street to our pool.  Eoin is obsessed with the water.  He has very little fear and handles himself pretty well.  We have him signed up to begin swim lessons on August 23rd, so hopefully he will drop the floaties quickly after that.  Last Thursday he took a swim test to determine which class would be best for him and he 'passed' it allowing him to skip over the 'nervous beginners' and 'young 3's' group and start the official lessons.  In the meantime, we are trying to eat up every last minute of summer which will include evenings in the pool!

Goodbye Weekend!

It is currently Monday morning and it is definitely a dousy!  I think it may have something to do with our busy weekend.

Goodbye Hockey Tots:  Eoin started the first in a series of ice hockey workshops on Saturday morning.  The little boys (and girl) on little skates was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.  Eoin was certainly not afraid and made vast improvements in the short 40 minutes.  We will have hockey on Saturday mornings for the next 4 weeks and Eoin is looking forward to going back.  Jordan and I were amazed at how comfortable he became on the ice in such a short time; he did great for this being his first time!  He had a cheering section made up of Grandpa and Aunt Tina and each time he fell, he would look over and wave.

Goodbye First Hockey Purchase:  Although for the first session of workshops, a bicycle helmet and gloves were to suffice, we took the plunge and invested in a hockey helmet with a face mask.  Eoin was so proud of his new helmet and mommy and daddy were very pleased that we don't have to worry about any missing teeth anytime soon with the face mask :)

Goodbye to wishing Little Jewels Happy Birthday:  Little Jewels celebrated seven years this past weekend!  Each year, Julie throws a massive birthday party and this was another fantastic day with a Pirates and Princesses theme!  Bounce houses, sprinklers, ponies, cotton candy, rootbeer floats, sno-cones, and more made for an exciting Saturday afternoon.  Eoin got to play with two of his favorite friends, Ian and Ben!  Of course, Eoin was on a bit of a sugar high, which came in a little handy since he decided a nap was optional on Saturday and he opted out!  Thankfully Liam did not, and spent a lot of the time snoozing.  I'm not really sure how he did it with lots of loud children having fun!

Goodbye McLean County Fair:  I didn't even get any pictures of the fair.  I was already loaded down like a pack mule with the diaper bag on my back and wearing Liam in the baby bjorn on the front, so I figured a camera was one less thing not to carry!  The fair grounds are pretty rough for strollers and we were making a stop at the demolition derby, so bleachers were not conducive.  We met up with Melissa, Eliot and Keaton to watch Melissa's sister, Michelle, ride.  The boys were not very interested, however and we were getting very hungry.  After a dinner of some fair food (corn dog for Eoin and Jordan, loaded French fries for me and lemon shakeups for all!) we headed to the derby.  Eoin was really beginning crash (no pun intended) during the derby.  Liam had since fell asleep in my arms.  Eoin would get so animated during the crashes!  He would scream and clap.  Unfortunately someone got injured and we took that as a cue to head out; Eoin wanted to stay for one more crash, but the injury was causing quite a delay.  Eoin informed us that the derby was not over until the tractors pulled the cars out of the ring.  He had fun!

Goodbye family times:  Jordan and I are truly blessed with an amazing family on both sides.  We don't take a minute for granted.  Sunday morning, although Grandma Lisa was out of town visiting Ashley, Aidan and our newest addition, Grayson, we had breakfast with Grandpa as usual.  Afterward we headed over to see Aunt Tina; she gave Eoin a ride on a motorized cooler.  He loved it and might choose to ride this over his gator ;)

Goodbye time for "Just the Boys":  Late Sunday afternoon, I went with our neighbor Missy to a 'home party' while Eoin, Jordan, Liam and Steve went back to the fair.  On Saturday we missed an alligator show by minutes and Eoin is absolutely obsessed with the Swamp People show on the History channel, featuring alligators, so Jordan though it would be fun for him to see it; he did have a blast!  And of course, enjoyed time with his favorite person, Steve!

It was another jam packed weekend!  We wouldn't have it any other way!

Who does he look like?

 With baby #2, I've been getting tons of feedback on how he looks just like me!  Jordan was told from day 1 that there was no denying Eoin and certainly they do look alike, but I think that Eoin might look slightly like me too . . . what do you think?

Even if we don't look alike, we both share mutual excitement for shiny new bicycles!

Goodbye Weekend

We had a somewhat quiet weekend, which was a nice change.

• Goodbye playtime with friends:  Gavin and Gage came down to play for a couple of hours on Friday night.  I'm sure I've said it before, but we are so lucky for the great neighbors we have.  Eoin, Gavin and Gage all play very well together (as do the adults!) and having them down to play, or for Eoin to go there is always a pleasure and a pleasant experience.  I'm sure these boys are going to being playing together for years to come.
• Goodbye McDonald's playland:  Saturday morning, Jordan had to work for a few hours, so Allison and I decided it would be a good idea to wear the kids out a little bit with some air-conditioned fun courtesy of McDonald's.  We got to chat a little bit and the boys had fun, Allison got to snuggle with Liam a little too.  

• Goodbye playing at home:  Sometimes our live is so hectic and 'go-go-go' that I don't think Eoin has much of a chance to unwind and play at home with his own toys and imagination.  This weekend we had some time that permitted just this!  I was able to catch up on laundry (although are you really ever caught up?) and clean while Eoin played.  At one point he mimicked my laundry folding skills by re-folding every wash cloth in our linen closet.  He was really proud of himself and had me come and look at it!  How could you be mad?  He also served me quite a bit of "food."  I would definitely have to say that playing 'restaurant' is one of Eoin's favorite games.  He is always taking our order and having us pay.  I swear we don't eat out that much, but isn't it crazy what concepts kids grab onto and run with. 
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Yes, my little naked chef, he is constantly without clothes on at home

  
  

Liam got some play time of his own in!  He is so close to rolling over!

• Goodbye date night/Grandma, Papa Kohn night:  Saturday night was a milestone.  Jordan and I had a little date planned to go to Conklin's Dinner Theatre.  We were dropping the boys off for a fun night with Grandma and Grandpa Kohn.  Upon giving kisses and about to head out the door, Lisa said, 'alright, have fun, we'll just bring the boys to breakfast tomorrow.'  Wait?What?  That would mean they would both spend the night here?  Well, it was the first night away from Liam.  I am glad that it was not entirely 'planned.'  I wasn't able to over think it too much.  He was in great hands!  I wish we had of enjoyed ourselves a little more.  I received a text during dinner from Lisa "Best baby ever!  Sound asleep!  Gonna keep him too, best have another!"  I missed him and it came with a picture.   We left the show half way through because I had it in my head that I was still going to pick him up, I called to check in and he was sleeping.  So Jordan and I went home without boys.  The house was quiet.  Lisa texted at 6:00am to let me know he was awake (I didn't leave much milk since I wasn't anticipating the stay and wanted to nurse him upon waking up) and I rushed over as if there was a fire.  I found him and Grandma on the back porch happy as could be!  We are so lucky to have family close.  Now that this hurdle has been jumped, when can Lisa take him again?
• Goodbye Sunday Funday:  If we had to have a 'typical' Sunday in the summer, this past Sunday is an example of it.  Our little family is truly one filled with creatures of habit.  The only deviation to our 'norm' on Sunday was that we didn't all wake up together (see above).  We ate breakfast at Shannon's with Grandma and Grandpa.  Eoin is a big fan of the buffet and the French toast sticks.  We caught up on house chores, played and took naps (all while Jordan was fulfilling cleaning account duties) before we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's for a dip in the pool and dinner.  Jordan has a 'rule' that we try our best not to have too many plans on Sundays so we can fulfill long withstanding plans of relaxing ;)  Sundays might be the most perfect day of the week.  

 Goodbye weekend, hello full week ahead! And, it's AUGUST!