February 2015, Latest & Greatest News

3.5 Years {42 Months}

As we said good-bye to January, we also said hello to 3 1/2 years old for our little man. I can hardly believe that a whole 6 months has gone by since his birthday. Seriously, where does the time keep going?!?! πŸ™‚ — There are so many moments where I wish I could freeze time ….bottle up these memories & make them last forever….I don’t want to forget any of these little details from our everyday…even the ones that sometimes frustrate & make us tired….this little dude is such a gift & a blessing to us ❀

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Keeping with our teddy bear picture tradition, here’s our updated version above. A look back on previous pics are hereΒ – Β here –Β hereΒ (this link has a cool flip a gram of a series of pics!)Β – and, Β here

{Look back soon for all these fun pics on their own page in the blog ….I think it’s time πŸ˜‰ }

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AGE: 42 months // 3 1/2 years

WEIGHT: 40 lbs.

HEIGHT: 38.5 inches

CLOTHES: mostly size 4T ….some 3T depending on the brand. Also wearing a size 10 shoe. The biggest characteristic with his clothes is that he HAS to pick out his outfit. He is all into superheros, so that is definitely a preference in his everyday wardrobe…some piece usually has an Avenger on it πŸ˜‰ ….I really can’t believe it, but I’m already finding it slightly harder to shop for him because I already pause to wonder if he will wear it. How is that possible?!?!

FAV FOODS:Β What he will eat changes with his moods. I say this is part of that “threenager” attitude….lol! Do I wish he would eat more veggies, yeap, but I am sure that will come in good time. He really loves to always eat what you’re eating so my goal is for us to eat healthy things so he will too πŸ™‚ Β …of course, he still loves his chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, orange slices, and cereal.

FAV WORDS:Β I’m sure I have said this before, but we have a little person on our hands, at this point. Sometimes, it’s almost scary ….I mean, he’s not a baby anymore. You can have complete conversations with him about anything! Call us crazy, but that still amazes us 1st time parents. At this stage, it’s fascinating to watch him learn learn and grow with his vocabulary. For example, everything in the past right now is “yesterday” ….we did that yesterday or we were here yesterday ….even if it’s been a few weeks or months. I’m sure in the blink of an eye, that will all change and he’ll “get” the verb tenses and know yesterday, last week, last month, etc. For now, I just enjoy yesterday ❀

As much as we try not to laugh at times, he also enjoys ‘toilet talk’ these days. His current word of choice is nipple. He thinks that is THE most hilarious word in the world. I can only hope he is not saying it at school. He knows what it means and that he’s not supposed to just be saying it….so, that’s why keeps doing it. What a stinker!

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FAV ACTIVITES:Β We have been taking gymnastics lessons since September. It has been a great learning experience for Liam & so much fun! I had read this awesome blog post not too long ago about why preschoolers should do gymnastics lessons….it is so true! You can check it out here.

Liam also really likes to draw pictures now. He is getting really good at it. He is quickly moving out of just the scribbles stage, and we are starting to see actual pictures. Again, totally amazing to watch this happen! He favors his left-hand almost 100%, so I am pretty sure he’s going to be a lefty, like his mommy πŸ™‚

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MILESTONES: At the end of this month, it will be ONE YEAR that we are diaper free! Whoo hoo! You can check back on our potty training adventures, here. I can hardly remember what it was like having a changing table in his room. He does so well with his big boy undies!

By the end of this month, Liam is also officially moving into the Preschool Department at his school! {We had still been in the Early-Preschool Dept} So exciting for him! This means that he will be moving up into a new room with a new teacher. He says that he gets to move because “he is bigger now” Β His other comment about moving up was that he would get to play on the “big kids playground” πŸ™‚

Between now & his birthday in July, we will be updating his room. That’s our next project and we are all excited about it. He is still sleeping in his toddler bed, which is his original crib that’s been converted. His room still has all the original decor from when we 1st designed it for his nursery with the jungle theme. So, this will be a BIG change for ALL of us πŸ˜‰ ….I think we are moving up to a twin bed….but depending on what we find, it may possibly be a full size. We’ll see. Liam has his heart set on a super hero’s room, so that’s the plan right now! We’ll definitely be posting pics of this update when the time comes!!

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Happy Half Birthday, Little Man!! — Mommy & Daddy Love You So Very Much…. XOXO

Latest & Greatest News, October 2014

Welcome October :)

Happy 1st week of October, friends! With temps here in Florida dipping below 70 for the 1st time this season over this past weekend, it finally felt like fall was whispering in our ear. It was definitely enough for this Murphy family to throw open every stinkin’ window in the house we could πŸ˜‰

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When we hit the end of September last week, I realized that I skipped Liam’s teddy bear picture last month. Granted, not a huge deal. Especially, since I did remember for his birthday, but I had wanted to do it because we didn’t go for his 3 year check up until the end of August {oops!}….oh well! Catching up this month πŸ™‚

We kinda knew {expected} that little dude had grown a ton since last year, but I was down right shocked to hear his doctor say that he grew THREE inches and gained SEVEN pounds. WOW!!! Quite the growth spurt, right?!?! πŸ˜›

So thankful that all checked out a-okay. Every kid learns & develops in their own time, but on the average, he is doing just fine. He really is getting into the imaginary play. We LOVE to hear him play with his toys and make up stories as he is playing. It is fascinating to watch. We are working on teaching him to pedal his little tricycle that Santa brought last year, and I would like to focus over this next year on learning what educational activities and crafts we can do together that are fun but also help him learn……especially since he will be in Pre-K at this time next year (yikes!!).

The sense of humor he is developing truly seems to be a combo of both Stephen and me…..this may prove to bite us in the a$$ down the road πŸ™‚ …..already I hear sarcasm and have seen slight eye rolling {omg! lol} …For example, he has already picked up on the fact that I will call him by both his 1st & middle name when I am trying to get his attention. At Publix, on Saturday, after calling him in this manner, he looked up at me with a very matter-of-fact tone of voice and stated, “Mommy, my friends call me, ‘Liam Murphy’.” …well, excuuuuse me!!

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If you would like to check out the last few posts of these ‘teddy bear pics’ I had posted, please see here, Β hereΒ and here.

Happy Fall, ya’ll πŸ™‚

~H

August 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Liam’s 3rd Birthday Party {part 2}

If you missed yesterday’s post with the 1st part of our birthday party fun, you can catch up here.

The kids really had a ball at My Gym with the staff and all the train themed activities that were intermingled with their free-play time during the 2 hour fiesta. Stephen & I honestly didn’t have to worry about anything. It was perfect!

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Bubbles — Bubbles — Bubbles Everywhere!!

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It’s a “train wash” πŸ™‚ …this was so cute! The kids could ride through the bumpers to “wash” their “train” with the bubbles….lol. Gotta love that. Very creative!

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This is a few action shots of another creative activity. Just before this, all the children were sitting in a circle on the carpet, and Ms. McKenzie told them that one of the train’s, Diesel, came by and made a big mess. Ms. Kendall then scattered all these bean bags , balls, and pom poms across the gym while they had their eyes closed. The kids were then asked to help clean up the “train yard” by putting each type of item together in it’s own bin (e.g., all the bean bags in one bin, all the balls in another, etc.).

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They all did so good and enjoyed helping to clean up. Again, really cute! ….even the smaller kiddos liked to join in πŸ™‚

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So happy to have cousin, Sierra, to celebrate with us ❀ ….although impossible to get these two to look at the camera together πŸ˜‰

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Taking a spin with our friend, Brandon, on the “birthday train”

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Way to go, Kenadie! Great balancing!

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I caught this little gymnast hanging from the uneven bars like this several times. Ha! Perhaps he is trying to tell us something?

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The ball pit was a huge hit with all the kids!

Below, Crosby was getting a kick out of his big sister Kenley playing around.

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Nathan & Liam plotting mischief πŸ˜‰

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Brandon!! πŸ™‚

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I ,most likely, was telling him to NOT fall in while snapping this shot πŸ˜‰

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Trampoline! This was the very 1st thing Liam ran over to once he got into My Gym. The ladies at the gym even complimented how good of a jumper he was….haha!

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Activities ended with this super fun ride on the zip line! Liam actually did not enjoy it that much, but he had just taken a little spill just before this began so I think that played a part. Poor little dude.

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What a great celebration for this little man! We could not have asked for a better time. To everyone who came out to play with us — THANK YOU!! It meant so much to us and to Liam. He really did have the best time. To others who were not able to make it there, but celebrated in spirit and/or helped out in other ways, we thank you, as well, and you know who are!!

I know I said it before on my personal Facebook page, but I want to say it again here…..thank you ALL for the sweet birthday wishes to Liam over his whole birthday weekend. We really felt the love for our little guy and his tender heart appreciated it, as well. It was awesome ❀ ❀

We could not have asked for a better 3rd birthday celebration!! So blessed.

~H

August 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Liam’s 3rd Birthday Party {part 1}

We had a fantastic time at Liam’s 3rd birthday party a few Sunday’s ago!

I have been dying to share the invites that went out but wanted to wait until after the party, for obvious reasons {note: my contact info is whited out for privacy}. I ordered these from the most wonderful little shop on Etsy,Β MaitriDsigns. The shop owner, Rhianna, was so greatΒ to work with & had excellent customer service! She was super speedy with her design and delivery. She even custom designed the cute inserts that we used for the party info that some of you all received. I highly recommend for any party needs and we will definitely use her again!

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My regular local gal for Liam’s holiday & special occasion shirts was on hiatus this summer {to spend more family time….can’t blame her for that}, so I had to seek out someone new for little man’s party shirt. I found someone via Etsy. While I was happy with this shirt, below, overall….I have to say there was absolutely no customer service. So, that was disappointing. No acknowledgement of my order….not even a business card dropped in the bag with the mailout. Bummer…but, again, super cute shirt.

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With the help of Liam’s Grammy & Papa Rock, we were able to order these yummy Thomas the Train decorated cookies to distribute as party favors. They came from Favor Bakery in Winter Haven. What a wonderful job these ladies did! They tasted as delicious as they looked ❀ ….Liam’s 1st pick was Thomas, of course πŸ™‚

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The idea for a Thomas the Train themed party really 1st came from Liam {naturally}. It sprouted from him seeing this Thomas Signature Cake on display at our Publix for the last few months. Everytime we went byΒ it while shopping, he would tell us that he wanted THAT cake for his birthday. So, once I eventually asked him what kind decorations he would like for his birthday party, he matter-of-factly told me, Thomas, and asked if he could have this cake. There was NO WAY, he was forgetting about this cake.

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When we 1st went to order the cake, the bakery told us they thought it was discontinued. Talk about a heart attack….long story short, Publix came through and did a FAB job. It really was an awesome cake….and deceptively large {very tall}. We ate cake for a week, peeps! LOL πŸ™‚

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Liam’s party was held at My GymΒ in Maitland.Β It was amazing! What a great facility for little one’s to play. As part of the birthday package, Liam & his guests received free passes to enjoy another class, and we can’t wait to bring him back! The staff that assisted with our party were so friendly and worked great with all the kids.

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I love this pic above! We literally had to snatch Liam up really quick as he was running around the gym & tell him to say ‘cheese’.

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The kids had free time to explore and play throughout the facility, but then the staff would also periodically gather them together to conduct group activities that were all train themed. It was such a fun time!!

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Liam dancing in center stage during once of the activities πŸ˜‰

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During this activity below, the kids went for a ride on the “choo-choo train”. Liam wasn’t too sure about this one, at first, as you can see him checking out Kenley & Karsten in this pic, here.

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However, then he decided they were having a great time. so he hopped on & it was all smiles! Kenadie, Thompson & Brandon also enjoyed the train πŸ™‚

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It was so nice to have Great Grandma & Uncle Kenny come to the party, as well!

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We have a lot more pics of the kiddos to share & I have decided to break those up into a 2nd part post for tomorrow, so this one isn’t as long.

However, let’s skip ahead to the CAKE …yum!

Look at that face when the girls brought it over…..is that priceless, or what?!?! {I didn’t even notice the super cute folded hands until I was looking at these pics days later…..heart.meltedΒ }

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Lighting 3 candles for the 3 year old birthday boy!!!

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Singing Happy Birthday! Again, I LOVE his face…..there is nothing better than the sheer joy you see. All the planning & prep for the day — THAT makes it ALL worth it.

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Make a wish….Blow out the candles little dude!!!

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Everyone hanging out …enjoying yummy cake & pizza!

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One of my fav pics of the day ….so hard to get everyone smiling at once but that’s okay. Wonderful memories!

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Stay tuned for Part #2 of the Birthday Party tomorrow!! πŸ™‚

~H

Note: The reviews expressed are solely my opinion & I do not receive any compensation or kickback.

July 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Liam’s 3rd Birthday Fun

Hard to believe a whole week has gone by now, since Liam’s 3rd birthday! While Stephen & I were pretty wiped out by Sunday night, we definitely had four fun-filled days of celebration with our little guy πŸ™‚

If you caught my last post, then you know that he had a special wake-up call on his big day. Most of those balloons are still hanging around his room. Not sure we’ll ever be able to pop those little suckers….haha! He’s really enjoying them.

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We kept his birthday day pretty mellow, and it was just the 3 of us. We ventured to the movie theatre for Liam’s very 1st experience with the “Big Screen” and chose to see Disney’s ‘Planes Fire & Rescue’. He is in love with the Cars movies, and we watch those repeatedly. We got the 1st Planes movie through our DMC, but he wasn’t as into it. Thus, we weren’t sure how this trip would go over.

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Walking into the theatre was exciting for him & we had to explain what everything was. We got lucky & had almost the entire theatre to ourselves so he could walk around. There were SO MANY previews! — that definitely was a bummer….lost his interest a bit.

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Thoroughly enjoyed the movie theatre popcorn & his Hi-C drink πŸ™‚

But folks….we only got through about 2/3 of the movie and he asked to go home….literally! Ha!

He was done. So, we headed out & went to lunch at Crispers. We’ll have to catch the end of the movie on DVD πŸ˜‰

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After nap, we headed over to Sweet by Miss Holly for our most fav cupcakes. I think you tell by this super awesome smile that we enjoyed this treat!

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Later that evening, we enjoyed a visit from Mimi, Aunt Heather & cousin, Sierra. Liam was thrilled to get some awesome birthday gifts, including the Radiator Springs town from the Cars movie, as well as play with his cousin ❀

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The next day, we headed over to Grammy & Papa Rock’s house for a visit. Of course, this guy got some more presents and was all about it. This time, it was Thomas!

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My little conductor! All Aboard!!!!

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The fun continued on Saturday, when we got to celebrate one of our very bestest friend’s graduation from UCF with her doctorate degree in Education!! We are SO very proud of her. I am loving this pic below, but have to laugh because Liam was NOT happy that I pulled him away from playing in the pool to snap a quick pic. Can you tell? LOL

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We have TONS of birthday party pictures to share! I am working on those posts now.

Stay tuned!!

~H

July 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Happy 3rd Birthday Liam!

Happy 3rd Birthday, our sweet little man, Liam Michael!

We love you SO much & are so proud of the strong individual you are becoming. It is definitely amazing to watch you grow right before our very eyes. Many times, I wish I could freeze time & hold you tight just a little longer before you take that next forward πŸ™‚ …you are the light Mommy & Daddy’s lives!

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A few nights ago, we sat down & “interviewed” Mr. Liam. That was pretty fun. He was both very thoughtful & serious with his answers. HA! We are going to start doing that from now on each year on his birthday.

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I found this FREE printable interview sheet here via Pinterest (my fav!).

Other notable things these days….

1. He has started to do “pretend play” with his toys. He will talk to (or among) his toys as he is playing. Cutest darn thing. You can hear him making up stories now as he is playing.

2. He wants to do everything himself… or at least try. Makes for some difficult decisions, at times, but we manage. Gone are the days when I can pick out his outfits, too (insert my sad face…LOL).

3. Most recently, we have entered what I’ve been calling the “why” phase. He has started asking “why” to EVERYthing. Since we don’t want to diminish his inquisitiveness, we are answering him as best we can, but oh my gosh, dude….sometimes, it’s just because we said so πŸ™‚

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Thanks to my obsession with Pinterest, we put a bunch of balloons in his room last night while he was sleeping and streamers on his door so he had something fun to wake up to this morning. He also got his present from us — his 1st watch (he had requested that).

When he came into our room this morning after waking up, he said: “Santa brought me balloons & a present” ….hahahaha! That was so cute!

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Lots of fun planned for this little man the next few days. I’m sure he’ll be all tuckered out by the end of the weekend πŸ˜‰

~H