Margret Ann Tobler...Gammie.

I'm very sad to have to say that Sunday morning Liam lost his great, great grandma. The title really was correct. She was GREAT, GREAT. The world was blessed to have had this wonderful woman for 98 years. She was truly a gem. I only had the pleasure of knowing her the 8 years that Bill and I have been together, and the best way I can think to say how I feel about her is that 8 years was not enough. She always told it like it was. She had such spunk that no matter what truth she was telling you, you had to smile. Keep in mind, when I met her she was already 90! I can only imagine Gammie in her younger days! I wish I had known her! Gammie was also incredibly sweet. She had a heart of gold and a great sense of humor. I can't do her character justice with words, so I will stop trying. We will forever miss and love our Gammie. I can only hope by some small miracle that Liam might keep a memory of her. I know I will never forget her! We love you Gam.

Top 10 things I miss/loved about Australia

Phillip Island Penguins...
Sushi Train, Bondi Junction.
Family in Australia. Liam is the baby...I wish I could visit more often!
View from Springbrook Mountain.

Mom, Me, Liam, and Phylene at Springbrook.
Bronte Beach, our home in Sydney.
Unfortunately for the people reading this blog only for Liam info, this has nothing to do with Liam...Hey, I'm a person too! (Not just a mom!) The title says is all...really in no order.

10. Living near the Ocean. The smell of the salty air. Walking on the shore right at sunset. The Australian coast in general.

9. Springbrook. I love that place! For those of you who don't know, its a little town on the tip top of a mountain on the Gold Coast. It's quaint, beautiful, and not touristy. I love it. O, and its almost always cold up there, which is pretty neat when you live on the coast.

8. Meat Pies. More specifically, Byron Bay pies. For all you Americans, this sounds yucky but they are amazing. Thai Chicken, Chicken Satay, Tuna Moray...Oh, they are so good!

7. Sushi Train!!! This place is just MARVELOUS! I have yet to find a place comparable to my beloved Sushi Train. Not only is it healthy but it is also delicious. That is almost an irony in The States. Oh, and its pretty cheap! Can't beat Sushi Train...Bill agrees with me. Our favorite restaurant anywhere, hands down.

6. Public Transport. Its everywhere and it too is marvelous! No need to drink and drive. No reason to get a DUI. (Shout out to a certain young lady! :> )

5. Phillip Island. I only went there once, and it was a short visit, but this place left an impression on me. I have crazy thoughts of running away and living on Phillip Island with a bunch of penguins. Katie...want to join me? Your brother thinks I am nuts...

4. Tea and Scones. They just don't offer that here like they do in Australia. It's not only elegant, but also fun, cozy, and yummy.

3. The public health care system. It should be free and offered everywhere. Money has no place in a persons medical choices. It is that simple. Australia was very good to my pregnant butt. I did not pay one medical bill and Liam was delivered healthy. (Although, I still wish they had either induced me...an American doctor would have never allowed me to be tortured that long!)

2. Weekend markets! I love these! They are everywhere and full of all kind of interesting, artsy, and neat things. More specifically, I miss going to these with my mom. Sunday mornings just aren't the same without you and our coffee Mom.

1. Gambling. Although I was pregnant a good portion of my last "trip" there, I still enjoyed some good poker and black jack. (You will never get more looks than being HUGE pregnant and sitting at a bar playing poker. Thanks for sticking up for me Bill.) Gambling is really fun in moderation.

Obviously, I miss my family most of all. I didn't put you guys on the list because I figure, that goes with out saying that you guys are my number one.

Strip Club, Boobs, and the Choo Choo...

Happy 2nd Birthday Liam!! I can hardly believe he is already 2! Where has the time gone?! I remember when he was born, asking the nurse "Why is he so quiet?" I had this picture in my head that all babies were born screaming and crying. This was not the case for Liam, and I thought that was cause for concern. My moms response was "Don't complain now. He is going to make up for it." Boy has he! Mom was right...as usual.
I obviously got a new camera. I love it! I am trying to figure it out. Bare with me. Sorry but a lot are out of focus and I haven't figured out the flash exactly. I also haven't figured out how to post them other than in a line. I am working on it. The roses are mine from Valentines. Bill sent me two dozen. They are still pretty! The one of the tupperware was from the other night. Liam emptied my cabinet. Nice. Anyways, I will work on figuring out a better way to post pics ASAP.

So Sunday Bill and I took him on the train from Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards. He LOVED IT! He met the conductor and even shared his popcorn with him. Those pictures are posted above. He did it all on his own. So funny. We ate lunch at Joe T. Garcia's. The patio is so nice there! They have flowers everywhere and a pool. Liam even had his own "Strawberry Margarita"! (No alcohol of course!) We then watched the cattle drive down the stock exchange main street. Liam called out "Moo!" as the passed. Very cute. By the time we got back on the train to head home he had, had enough! He threw his typical two year old fit and promptly passed out on Bill. It was a long day for the little guy. Bill had of course decided that we didn't need the stroller so I made him carry Liam the whole time. Poor Bill. His arms were like spaghetti by the end of it. He should have known that moms always know best! Luckily it was a beautiful day.
Liam also decided that Sunday was a great day for new vocabulary. On the way to Joe T's we passed a woman wearing a very low cut shirt. Bill commented quietly "Could her boobs be hanging out anymore!?" To which Liam loudly responded "BOOBS!" Lovely. Then, not 2 hours later, Camryn's grandpa was at the house. He jokingly asked Liam how old he was. "How old are you? 18? 21?" Grandpa Mike then turned to me and jokingly asked if Bill was taking Liam out for a beer or to a strip club. Liam then softly says "strip club". Also lovely.
Thanks for all the birthday love! I am so exhausted from the festivities, off to bed for me!

10 Favorites...

This is my current "Top Ten" list of things I love about Liam...

1. He doesn't cry in the mornings like most babies, instead we hear "MA MA! DA DA! PWEEZE!"
2. He pats my back and strokes my hair when I cuddle with him.
3. He saw that Camryn was hurt and went and hugged her and tried to comfort her.
4. When he tries to climb on the table to "me shmell" my roses.
5. He sees every train track we pass and calls out from his car seat, "CHOO! CHOO!"
6. When he is supposed to be sleeping and isnt, if you stand by his door you can hear him "conversing" with himself and his stuffed animals.
7. When he dances he always puts his hands under his underarms like he is doing the chicken dance...this can be to any song.
8. How hilarious he looks when he wears his helmet.
9. How he constantly holds onto my legs and puts his head between my legs and hangs there laughing hysterically.
10. His sweet smile and disposition. Some poor girl is going to be putty in his hands!

"MY DO!"

Liam has suddenly become very independent. Everything is "MY DO!".
A few days ago:
Bill- "Let's get your socks and shoes buddy."
Liam starts running down the hall to his room. He notices that Bill is following him.
Liam-"MY DO! NO DA-DA!" and then proceeded to push Bill back.
He is feisty that is for sure! I guess I'm glad he is confident. He insists on trying everything himself. This ranges from socks and shoes to putting himself in his car seat.

Today we went to lunch and then to sonic for drinks. Liam insisted on holding his drink in the car. ("MY DO!") Yikes. We are talking about a bright red strawberry slush here! The CRV survived by the grace of God! Anyways, we are almost home and we look in the back and Liam is sound asleep still holding his drink. I reached back to grab it and the second I did, his eyes shot open. I got a bit of the stink eye and then back to bed he went. SO FUNNY. He means business.

Still working on the camcorder. Hopefully will be up and running by his birthday. Hope you all had a good Valentines. Liam was of course spoiled rotten. I got 2 dozen roses that Liam is constantly climbing on the table to "my shmell".

Like Father, Like Son...

We hit a milestone last Saturday. Not a milestone you might find in a baby book, but a milestone none the less. I will be blunt here...Liam said "shit". Yep, that's right folks...you read correctly. Bill was in the kitchen and we were making lunch. Liam was playing on the floor with a car. Bill tripped and almost feel over a toy and said "Oh shit". Then like a little parrot...Liam says quietly under his breath, with out even looking up, "shit". Nice. Good job Daddy. (I just like to say its Bills fault since I was lucky enough not to have been caught this time.) I was so stunned that I couldn't help but laugh. The word hasn't made a second appearance so that's a plus.

Today was a good day. Liam found his long lost (about a week) puppy Valentino under my bed. Valentino was our gift to Liam last Valentines and has been Liam's best friend ever since. Grammie likes to call him "Ruffles" and Bill occasionally refers to him as "Barky McSniff Sniff". Whatever you want to call him, Liam LOVES him. So after much joy about his find, Liam took Valentino outside to play. He sweetly put the puppy on his fire truck ride along and proceeded to push him around the porch. So cute.

Later today we were driving in the Hollidays tricked out suburban. Liam blurts out, "Mama, I wanna movie". Clear as could be! Once again, genious! I put on the movie "Cars". Liam loved it! He kept sceaming at the screen "Go! Go! Go!"

Sadly bedtime rolled around and Valentino was nowhere to be found. I did some deductive reasoning and found him outside in the bushes. Liam eagerly took him to bed. I will post a picture of Valentino ASAP. I need a new camera...any generous grandparents may send one at their earliest convenience! I am still working on the camcorder thing...patience please! Happy Valentines!

Boo...

Bad news. I think I have finally figured out my camcorder. (Which you think would be good news!) Turns out that I have been formatting my disks wrong and I may not be able to upload them to a computer now. Oops! Big Oops! I ordered a program and if I am EXTREMELY lucky then I may be able to fix them. But I doubt it! So the good news is though, from here on out, I will format them the right way! So as soon as the program gets here (in 7- 10 business days) I will post some new videos of Liam online! I hate technology! (And nature Mom!)

At lunch today Liam noticed the bubbles in his sippy cup of milk. He looked at them and as clear as could be..."Bubbles!" Genius. How does he even know that word?! Maybe from the bath?? He also let me know his dislike for black olives. He had leftover pizza as part of his lunch. The pizza had olives. He picked them all off, put them all in his mouth at the same time and then spit them on the floor like a machine gun. Nice. "Yuck Mama!" So apparently raw onions are go, and not so much with black olives! He is really getting opinionated!

Its a gorgeous day here. Liam is currently down for his nap but as soon as he gets up we are going to play outside. I will take some correctly formatted video of him playing. Happy Friday!