Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Tradition

Liam's first Thanksgiving is just days away. I cannot help but think of the Thanksgiving Poem my Mom would read every year on Thanksgiving when I was growing up. As we all get ready to stuff our faces with wonderful Turkey, I hope you'll take time to enjoy a Schnoor family tradition that I will be reading to Liam this year!

When Father Carves the Duck

We all look on with anxious eyes
When father carves the duck,
And mother almost always sighs
When father carves the duck;

Then all of us prepare to rise,
And hold our bibs before our eyes,
And be prepared for some surprise,
When father carves the duck.

He braces up and grabs a fork
Whene'er he carves a duck,
And won't allow a soul to talk
Until he's carved the duck.

The fork is jabbed into the sides,
Across the breast the knife he slides,
While every careful person hides
From flying chips of duck.

The platter's always sure to slip
When father carves a duck,
And how it makes the dishes skip!
Potatoes fly amuck!

The squash and cabbage leap in space,
We get some gravy in our face,
And father mutters a Hindoo grace
Whene'er he carves a duck.

We then have learned to walk around
The dining room and pluck
From off the window-sills and walls
Our share of father's duck.

While father growls and blows and jaws
And swears the knife was full of flaws,
And mother laughs at him because
He couldn't carve a duck.

~By E. V. Wright

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Another Weekend...

This past weekend Jeff & Jean made the trek up to Seattle to meet little Liam! Grandpa Miller and Liam were quick to bond over time "resting their eyes" in the rocking chair. But, I did catch them both awake when they first met! Jeff & Jean were kind enough to cuddle and hang out with Liam for several hours while Josh and I had our first "date" since Liam's birth. Sushi never tasted so good! Thank you both so much!

Liam is officially two months old now. That went so very fast! He smiles, and is starting to coo. And, he is happy to show us how strong he is by lifting his head any chance he gets! That's our strong boy!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sam

Shortly after Josh & I got engaged we started hosting one of our church Community Groups (aka Bible study). A group of friends meeting weekly, living in community, and sharing God's word. Early on our group was so small we actually ate a few meals around our dinner table. For those of you who haven't seen our dinner table, it seats 4 comfortably, but has seated 6 on occasion. Young married couples and singles. Great friends. Over the years our group has definitely fluctuated. At one point we had 18 people at our house on a Wednesday night. Thank goodness it was summer time and we have a big back yard. Shortly after that our group split, giving more people the opportunity to establish community and friendships in another location. Awesome. But even awesomer (I am officially making that a word tonight) is how we have watched lives change. One of the bigger changes in our community group has been the addition of children.

Meet Sam. Sam was the first baby born into our current community group (although not the first pregnancy! The A-Team have that great story, as they met in our house, at our group!) Sam was born in May. He has this awesome way of always having his mouth just slightly open so he can burst into his amazing grin at any moment.
Now Sam has a friend at community group - our little Liam. Tonight we tried to document these two little guys in photo's. Sam was definitely into it. Liam - not so much. At least not tonight. I am certain that in a few months these two will be great friends though!
Ah, Community Group - friendship and lives shared. Starting as early as infancy. Awesome.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Generations

Liam's full name is William Arthur. Although we picked his first name because we liked it, his middle name is in honor of Josh's Grandpa Arthur Eichler. I never met Arthur, but from stories and pictures I can tell that Josh has some of his attributes! So, it was only appropriate that we drive across the snowy pass this weekend so that Liam could meet several generations of the Eichler family.

Liam was introduced to his Great-Grandma Veva (Arthur's wife)
He also met his Great-Aunt Dorene - Josh's Mom's older sister.
And, his great-great-Aunt Freida - who is Grandpa Arthur's sister.
There were a lot of smiles, and a very happy Liam who got a lot of cuddling!


Monday, November 2, 2009

Baby's First Boo!

Neither Josh or I are big on Halloween. I was in grade school the last time I dressed up for Halloween. It really isn't my thing. I probably would never even acknowledge the holiday if other people didn't make such a huge deal out of it. However; both Josh and I have a reason to acknowledge the holiday now! And, that reason is Liam!
But, there was no trick-o-treating this year, no just yet another photography session by yours truly!
It was shortly after this picture I remembered the cute little rattle booties Liam had gotten at one of my baby showers that would totally compliment his first Halloween outfit!
Cute aren't they?!

But, shortly after I got his cute little shoes on him Liam decided it was time for a nap. Once again his little in home photo-op wore him out!
Halloween night we headed to Josh's cousin's house for their annual Halloween open house.
We both enjoy our time with the Brunhavers and this year was no exception! Stacey got to cuddle with Liam, there was bobbing for apples, and we got to enjoy Nadine and Britney (but we missed Aundra who was at her first Halloween party!)
This Halloween was extra special though. Grandpa Mike was here to meet his newest grandson Liam for the very first time. And, Mike gets props as we watched Liam smile more with him than we have seen to date!
Happy first Halloween Liam!



Monday, October 26, 2009

Grandparents, Mornings, and Mocha!

This is Grandpa Schnoor and Liam meeting for the first time this weekend:
I have to start this blog with that picture because my Dad won an on going card game with my Mom to be the first to hold Liam, and that picture documents his victory!

What a wonderful weekend we had with my parents. They got lots of time with their new grandson, and we benefited from their parenting wisdom that has made for a much happier Liam! We also got a chance to leave the house for the first time without Liam. It was just a short trip to look at floor mats (ooo, fun) and grab coffee with my Dad. I have to say it was a bit surreal for me to be without Liam! I can hardly believe 5 weeks ago I did every thing during the day by myself, but now my day is totally consumed by this handsome little boy! It was actually really nice though to have time with just Josh and my Dad!
Thank you Mom & Dad for coming up, teaching us about bigger feedings, and letting us get away for a few minutes!

I don't really know how to make the next part of this blog blend in, so um, oh well.

My favorite part of the day is the morning with Liam. After his morning feeding he is always awake for a long stretch. Currently he is just like me - a morning person!! He is starting to make happy "coo-ing" noises (they are just starting, and I love when he does it!) and he happily kicks away on his belly mat and practices raising his head. Some mornings I just let him sit up against the boppy as he checks out what is going on. I just love that time of day!
It is during this happy Liam time of day that I get time to make myself a mocha. Haha, yes, this is an important part of my day! Caffeine is becoming crucial!

We have been using this espresso machine since 2007 - but I am just now starting to master it. Haha, I will thank my maternity leave for that!
Now that I have every morning to enjoy with my happy son, I also get adequate time to make my own mocha!
I have gotten so good at it that Josh commented this weekend that my mocha tasted just as good as one we actually bought! Ahhh... my dream of being a barista is becoming a reality! Ha!
Well, I guess that is it for this blog. It was a bit random, wasn't it?

Monday, October 19, 2009

Rocking Liam

Rocking chairs are often associated with parenting, as the gentle rocking motion often soothes and quiets a fussy infant. I believe women have been rocking their babies since the rocking chair invention. There seems to be nothing more natural than the urge to gently rock while cuddling a baby.
We have a rocking chair.

The arm is missing a chunk of wood. One of the back poles doesn't quite connect any more. The wood of the arm rest is faded from use. It is a source of fond memories for Josh, as it is the same rocking chair his Mom used to lovingly rock him, his brother and his sister.
We have dusted off the rocking chair, and now I use it to rock our son. It makes my heart very happy to know that Liam is being rocked and cuddled with in the same chair his daddy was rocked and cuddled in.
I think Grandma Debi would have been thrilled to see it being used so lovingly again.

As I was rocking Liam this weekend it dawned on me he is already one month old. Four sleepless weeks went by so fast I can hardly believe it.
I am still stopped when I am out in public by people commenting on how tiny Liam is. And, perhaps these pictures do no justice, but little Liam has grown. He is finally starting to fill in his newborn sized clothing.
He also just looks so darn adorable in his little warm bear outfit for our outdoor walks that I just had to include that too.And, with that random information I must go. Liam is waking up, and it is time for us to go rock.