Happy Friday -- 10 Things

Here are 10 more things that made me happy this week:

1. Cute salt and pepper shakers.  My mom has started collecting them for me...I don't know why she started doing this, but I'm glad she did.
2. Cooing.
3. Similac coupons.  And pre-mixed formula.
4. Having Mike home this week. And not only because he took on several 2 AM feedings.  It's so much fun watching him interact with Liam...makes me excited for the end of the school year.
5. Finally visiting my LSS after about a year...and stocking up on some cute scrap goodies (because, you know, I needed more...).
6. Nichole and Grayson.  :)
7. Wind-up toys.
8. Jiffy muffin mix.  The oatmeal muffin mix makes some seriously amazing cookies.  The raspberry muffin mix makes some very yummy muffins.
9. Visiting Grandma and Papaw...I mean Mom and Dad...I mean...I don't know what to call them anymore!  Haha.
10. Excellent test results for my dad!

A few baby pics...of me!

Today Liam and I took our first road trip to Grandma and Papaw's house.  Aside from a series of minor meltdowns for the last 40 minutes of the trip home, it went really well.  (By the way, some mommy advice -- have a static station programmed on your radio. The white noise works wonders!) 

While we were visiting, mom pulled out an album of my baby photos.  I took a few pics of the ones I thought looked most like Liam.  (Because if you remember, I kind of promised these a few months ago.)

But first, a refresher.  This is Liam. :)

And this was me as a baby.

He stares off into the distance like this a lot.

I had big cheeks, just like his.  (Also, I had a dolly named Lolly.  How cool is that?!)

I think this one looks most like him...minus my Lisa Rinna lips.

We have the same eye wrinkles.  And hair line. 

How we settled on Liam's name

I don't think I've ever told you the story of how we decided on naming our baby Liam.

We knew the middle name would be Michael (after some dude I met).  We had a short list of boy names that included Liam, Gavin, Rowan, and Donovan. 

• Rowan (ROH-an) is spelled the same as a county in Kentucky, but the county is pronounced ROW-an.  And we knew that would be an issue because even we had to hesitate to think before saying it.  I suppose we could have spelled it Rohan, but that had too much of a Hobbit-vibe for our liking. 
• Gavin was a good name...our only argument against it was that kids might call him "Gaggin'".  Weak argument, I know.   
• Donovan was one of my favorites, but there was a good possibility of it being shortened to "Don" or "Donny".  Unacceptable.  

Which left us with Liam.  Here's what clinched it for us:

Michael Lawrence
Rebekka Ann
Liam Michael

See the pattern?  :)

Fun things from the internet

I haven't had much time to play around online lately, but I wanted to share a few things I've come across in the last couple of months.

• I want to make some of these adorable plush dinosaurs for Liam.
• Here's a clever tutorial for making a shadow box from a candy box.
• Baby monster amigurumi!
• This gorgeous quilt from Kim's blog.
• A neat idea for storing punches.
• And while we're at it, a twine dispenser.
• Chocolate cups = genius.
• Cute Instax photo display idea.
• Little edible teepees!
• Brownie bunnies in a jar.  I would love to make these as gifts.

Liam - Week 7

•  Liam got to see Noel (mommy's midwife) again at her 6-week appointment.
• Liam loves the plain, tan bear mobile that came with his Pack 'N' Play, which is hilarious because Mommy and Daddy spent a lot of time trying to find a mobile that had bright colors, interesting objects, and classical music.  Also, Liam "yells" at the mobile when it stops.
• He's much more "talkative" this week.
• His personality is starting to take shape.  He's definitely a morning person!
• He slept six hours one night (11:00 pm - 5:00 am), after a very long Sunday.
• He went out to eat for the first time.  He was so good at Applebee's...hopefully Daddy will be willing to take us out again soon.
• He loves riding in Mommy's Moby Wrap.  Another amazing baby innovation.
• He let Mommy go clothes shopping...such a patient little boy, as Mommy had not shopped for skinny clothes in a very long time!

Liam - Week 6

• Liam was the cutest little bunny in Target!
• He started a new formula -- Similac Alimentum seems to be much more agreeable to his little digestive system.
• He was circumcised.  (We really wanted to do this in the hospital, but the pediatrician on call wouldn't give the go-ahead.  His regular pediatrician gave the go-ahead at his first appointment only a couple days later.  Ugh.  Really wish we could have gotten that out of the way while there were nurses there to help out.)  But my little guy was very brave.  The first 12 hours were the most difficult, but he was such a trooper throughout.
• Papaw, Grandma, Aunt Britt Britt, Uncle Zack, and Amanda (Zack's girlfriend) came for a visit.  
• Mike took the day off (a rarity for my husband) to help me out after a long night with little sleep (my fault -- not Liam's...I kind of forgot that spring break had ended at my school, and had to get lesson plans together).
• Liam went to Target and Whole Foods with Mommy and Miss Jenny.  He was really great up until it was time to check out...then hunger and a dirty diaper overcame him.
• Liam's friend Kayson came to visit.  I had to laugh when I turned around to see him with Liam's pacifier in his mouth and my iPhone in his hand.  Oh, the things I have to look forward to...  :)

Happy Friday -- 10 Things

1. This pic of Liam.  I'm amazed at how much he's starting to look like a little boy now!
2. A shopping trip to Maurices.  And a son that lets me try on lots and lots of clothes with relatively little fussing. 
3. Cartoon Network's annual April Fools Day airing of The Room.  So fantastically bad.  
4. Cookies.  Homemade.  With dairy-free, soy-free butter and chocolate chips.
5. Feeling productive.  Laundry washed, folded, and put away.  Clean dishes and bottles. Woohoo!
6. Hearing a parent tell you that you're making a difference in her child's life.
7. Mike's spring break!
8. Roast beef from the deli counter.  
9. The Boppy.  Quite possibly one of the greatest inventions ever, right behind the baby swing.
10. Finally updating my iPhone apps.