Tag: Holidays

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Fun With Mr Elf

casademurphy

Last year, we introduced the Elf on the Shelf to Liam & he named him, Mr Elf ❤

This year, I wanted to make Mr Elf’s return special, and also be more of a re-introduction, as I suspected, Liam wouldn’t entirely remember him due to his age. We pretty much guessed that part right, which is totally fine, and again, just like last year, we keep Mr Elf pretty light-hearted and fun. It’s not really that he’s “watching” and waiting to catch him doing anything bad. I love me some Pinterest inspiration, and found this great FREE Santa stationary here. After looking at a few different examples of peoples letters that were posted on various sites, I came up with our own. So, Liam’s letter was brought by Mr Elf on his 1st morning back to our house (the day after Thanksgiving), but it was from Santa. It basically told him why he sent Mr Elf to hang out with us until Christmas, that he knew a few things he had been telling us he wanted for Christmas & he would do his best to try to get them for him, and to remember the REAL reason for the season ❤ ….we also left the Elf on the Shelf book on his table that 1st morning so we could read it together.

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Overall, Mr Elf doesn’t get into too much mischief at our house. I particularly liked his choice to play with Liam’s Toy Story pals, but neglected to realize that Liam would immediately try to pick Mr Elf up and also try to play with him as soon as he saw him in the morning…..LOL!! Ooops! 🙂

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 Occasionally, Mr Elf is known to bring Liam a small present. Liam is LOVING Rudolph this year, so he was super excited to find them both in the tree one morning!

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They say elves love sugar, so it should be no surprise of this, right?!?! ….I was cracking up 🙂

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The next day, after the syrup incident, Mr Elf was found taking a bubble bath 🙂

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Hanging around like Spider-man….

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Liam was super excited when he found Mr Elf hanging around on the wine rack with this awesome shirt from the Incredibles!

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Again, with the sugar….

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tiny clothes line of tiny clothes……surely, he thought he could fit 😉

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We have been having a lot of fun with Mr Elf and can’t believe it’s just 5 more days until Christmas! Since Christmas Eve is the last morning Liam will wake up to “find” Mr Elf this year, I am working on a good-bye letter for him to have with him, as he will go back to the North Pole with Santa that night. I’m working on a version that will let his magic be lifted for the day, so he can give him a hug, as he keeps asking….I think he would really like that 🙂

Until next time friends!

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

The Aftermath {A Gingerbread Tale}

casademurphy

The story I am about to tell is true. No names have been changed to protect the innocent. The guilty party is the cute, furry boy below. Perhaps, he was mad at me for putting him in the santa suit??? 😉

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Last Wednesday, I told you all about our gingerbread house decorating adventures from the weekend prior. If you didn’t get a chance to see our pics, be sure to check it out here. Let’s just say that I am SO HAPPY that we took pictures of Liam with his masterpiece that night because what transpired a few days later could NEVER have been imagined by us 😉

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Stephen stopped home for lunch on Tuesday…..opened the front door & saw a gingerbread masacre all over the entryway. O.M.G.!!

You see, we had to move our loveseat couch in order to put up the Christmas tree, and so it ended up underneath the bar {as you can see below}. When we came home with the gingerbread house on Saturday night, I put it on a glass plate and placed it on the corner of the bar {for decoration}. It honestly never, ever crossed my mind that our little stinker of a fur baby would literally walk up from the arm of the loveseat and PULL THE GINGERBREAD OFF THE BAR!! hahahahahahaha! I am sorry, but when Stephen texted me these pictures, I laughed so hard, I cried. I guess it just smelled too good to resist for him. Too much temptation for the little guy.

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Miraculously, the plate did NOT fall off the couch. Also, let me just tell you that Timber is FINE ….he had an upset belly and went potty A LOT that night but I am sure he thought it was totes worth it 😉

This pic below is lovely candy cane stuck to my couch. Gotta luv it!

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Stephen’s observations reported that a good majority of a wall of the house was gone. We had also put a ton of frosting on the roof and covered that with shredded coconut to make it look like snow….Timber did a number to that 😉 ….we think he also ate a half a candy cane.

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The sweetest part of the story is that Liam wasn’t even mad when he found out later that afternoon. For a very short time, we tried to not tell him, but he’s too smart { and observant} for that. He quickly asked, “and, where is my gingerbread house” ….so, we were honest and told him the truth. He was more concerned about Timber having an upset belly and wanted to give him a hug. Such a sweet boy ❤

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Oh, gingerbread house…..you were cute while you lasted!! I am sure Timber enjoyed how you tasted, though! Never a dull moment in Casademurphy, folks! We are definitely feeling the Christmas spirit around here 😉

Until next time, friends!

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Week-In-Review

casademurphy

Last Friday, we had the amazing opportunity to go to the Marvel Universe LIVE! show at the Amway Center.

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Don’t have to tell you that little man was pretty captivated 😉 ….full show review with fun pics coming soon on Orlando Mom’s Blog!

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Saturday, we were excited for our Annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party with our gang! I can’t believe this is the 5th year we’ve gotten together to do this. So fun!

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For a look back on last year’s festivities, check out our post here.

BEFORE the craziness
BEFORE the craziness

Lisa is AMAZING because she collects ALL the gingerbread house kits from us beforehand and works hard to build them & puts together this beautiful spread for the families. All we have to do is show up & have fun 🙂

 

the AFTERMATH :)
the AFTERMATH 🙂

Daddy & Liam kicked off the decorating.

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Someone might have been eating more candy than what was going on the house, at one point 😉

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Working hard…..

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Mommy helping out with the action

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All done & proud of his work of art ❤

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So much fun!!

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And then, peeps…..there was this 😉

Lisa & Stephen continued their crazy {yet hilarious} tradition of decorating their own house after the kids wrapped things up. Let me tell you….it was serious business. They even recruited Haven this time around to help them.

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Gettin’ crazy!! LOL! 🙂

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Ta da! ….they are not proud or anything…ha!

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The Bengel’s neighborhood has a fun tradition in December of a surprise visit by Santa. We were thrilled that he came by after the party…great timing!! Liam was SO surprised that he came all the way down from the North Pole just to say hi to them! 🙂

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After that, he discovered the Bengel’s Polar Express choo-choo train {again} & that was all she wrote, folks. If you recall, he found this last year & we couldn’t pull him away. He LOVES trains!

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It was a fantastic evening at our Gingerbread Party with friends!! We laughed that we’ll be doing this each year until at some point, the kids will be sick of it and it will be just the adults on the patio decorating the houses 😉 …

Until next time, friends!

~H

Latest & Greatest News, November 2014

Our Happy Thanksgiving

casademurphy

Yes, I know…I am a solid week late with posting this 😉 ….Busy times, peeps, buuuut, but better late than never, right?!?! LOL!

We had a great day & I wanted to share some highlights. What Turkey Day isn’t complete without the Macy’s Parade? Liam was thrilled to see Thomas! I believe the announcer said this was the biggest balloon to ever make it’s debut in the parade.

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We spent the afternoon at Stephen’s uncle’s house with his family, which included Stephen’s Grandma {Liam’s Great Grandma}. More family was in town from out of state, so that was an added bonus. Liam really enjoyed himself.

Stephen’s uncle is super creative with the food spread, as you can see. He is also a wonderful cook. Everything was delish!

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I found this shirt for little man at Old Navy and thought it was hilarious. Never thought he would actually REALLY LOVE turkey, but he totally did! That’s almost all he ate 😉

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Such a cutie!

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quick family pic ❤

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Cheese with Great Grandma ❤

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The weekend was dedicated to getting the house full of Christmas cheer! To say that Liam was excited is an understatement. He was a big help with decorating the tree. We also had our elf {Mr. Elf} come back from the North Pole to visit us, but I’ll post more about that soon.

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On Black Friday morning, Stephen & Liam headed out to Lowe’s to snatch up this great deal for just dollars. Liam has affectionately named him, “Donner” because he knows that’s Rudolph’s Daddy’s name 😉 ….so stinkin’ cute!

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We have a few fun things planned as we get ready for Christmas & can’t wait to share them with you! Really love this time of the year. It’s a magical time!!

Until next time!

~H

Latest & Greatest News, November 2014

Thankful & Blessed

casademurphy

Today, we pause & reflect on how much we have to be thankful for, and all that we are blessed with. While I realize we should do this each & every day, today, we give it just a little bit of extra thanks ❤

My heart is full from each & every one of you, my family & friends. Thank you for caring about us and investing yourselves in our lives, and especially in the life of our sweet little man. That honestly, means more than I could ever express to you.

I am thankful today for all the little things that we sometimes take for granted…..the little things that are actually BIG things to many people…..a roof over our heads, our jobs, our health, laughter, & love.

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Feeling a bit nostalgic on this beautiful morning, so here’s a look back on the last few year’s of Thanksgiving with our sweet little dude 🙂 — can’t wait to add a new pic to this group later today!

[2011] – baby’s 1st thanksgiving!

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look at those toes!

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[2012] — check out the 2 teeth on the bottom! — he also took his 1st two steps on this day!

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[2013]

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[2014] — obviously, this is taken pre- Turkey day, so we’ll be doing more photos today 😉

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Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

~H

Latest & Greatest News, November 2014

Recent Happenings

casademurphy

Remember me? It’s definitely been awhile….this momma was sick these last few weeks & honestly, the thought of sitting at the computer (for anything other than what I had to do for work) was just not appealing.

In the meantime, life moved on, as it always does, right?!?! LOL…I just tried to keep up. Thankfully, I had Mr Murphy there to help and lucky for him, he didn’t get it. Liam got a touch of it, but I’m happy to report that we’re all feeling much better now.

So, here’s what we’ve been up to the last few weeks….

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Halloween was so much fun! Liam was ALL about it! He was allowed to dress up for school, but yes, I was afraid his costume would get messed up soooooo he wore a back-up {go ahead & laugh….it’s ok}. He had a great time sporting his ‘Sheriff Woody’ costume all morning. We even saw from the cameras that he kept his hat on! — way to go, dude! 🙂

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Halloween night, we went over to our friend’s, the Bengels, and hung out for dinner {delish homemade pizza!} and then the kiddos trick-or-treated together. The ‘Hulk’ made his appearance for this main event!

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Getting ready to hit the neighborhood! Liam walked the entire trip. Such a little trooper! He loved going up to the doors & saying, ‘trick-or-treat’ …he’s still talking about it, a few weeks later 🙂

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The next night, we headed back out to gather with our friends for a 2nd Annual S more’s Roast. It was the 1st cool night of the season, so it worked out perfectly! The adults attempted a roasted marshmallow Kahlua shot….pretty tasty, I must say.

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The kiddos had a blast roasting marshmallows & making s more’s out back once it got dark.

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Last weekend, we headed downtown for the Touch-A-Truck event. This is a community event where the kiddos can explore various big trucks, construction vehicles, and public safety equipment. Liam LOVED it!

Here he is checking out a steam roller.

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There were a few mini monster trucks there. He thought they were the coolest things ever.

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We even got to squeeze him into the driver seat of one. Such a big, little man 😉

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Fire Truck!

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Saturday evening, we headed over to Mimi, Papa D & Aunt Heather’s to celebrate baby cousin, Sierra’s very 1st birthday ❤

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Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

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On Sunday, I got a little creative while daddy was watching football & made this turkey with Liam. I asked him for 5 things he was thankful for to write on each feather….He said: mommy, daddy, timber, rainbows, & letters ❤

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It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be here next week, but we’re definitely excited & looking forward to it.

Until next time, friends! 🙂

~H

Latest & Greatest News, October 2014

Week-In-Review

casademurphy

Last week was such a fun week at gymnastics! Liam overcame his fear of flipping upside down and did his pull-over on the un-even bar with Coach Elyssa! He was super proud, as were we! Even more exciting was that his coach sent him a ‘star student’ certificate in the mail later in the week to recognize this awesome achievement 🙂 …that really was such a sweet gesture from her! Much appreciated by this momma & daddy!!

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We enjoyed a busy, but super fun weekend, as we geared up for the upcoming Halloween celebration. The festivities kicked off on Friday evening with our annual bash at the Bengel’s. Liam sported his costume and looked awesome!!

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Lisa had the house all decked out and I was in love with her ‘floating candles’ in their family room. Great touch!

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The kids decided to break out some pretty sweet dance moves. Liam definitely has some moves of his own, people….so cute!

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On Sunday, we took our little guy out to UCF for ‘Trick or Treat on Greek Street’. This was the 1st year we made it out there, and it was fun for him. He definitely was happy about the early trick-or-treating, and he did pretty good participating in a few of the games that they had set up.

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Trick-or-Treating is hard work 😉 …..water break!

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Sunday evening, the boys did a little pumpkin carving out back. Even the fur baby got in on the action 🙂

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Posing with his finished ‘jack-o-lantern’ …the smaller pumpkin is a fake one but he insisted that it was ‘the baby’ and that the one Stephen carved was ‘the daddy’, so they had to stay together….LOL!!! Too Funny!! What an imagination!

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By the time the candle burned out on this guy on Sunday night, I was exhausted….such a busy weekend, yet so much fun…..and, so many wonderful memories! Lots more Halloween fun to come this week. We are looking forward to sharing with you soon.

Until next time, friends!

~H

Latest & Greatest News, October 2014

Green Meadows Farm

casademurphy

Last Sunday, we headed out to Green Meadows Farm with our Sunshine Babies group for another fun-filled fall adventure! It was an absolutely gorgeous day & we had the most perfect weather 🙂 …so thankful for that! You can look back on last year’s fall trip, here {so cute to see how much little man has changed / grown up }

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Our 1st stop was the hayride around the property. A nice, easy way to kick off the morning.

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How cute was this sign?!?! For some reason, I didn’t see it last year, but we got him to stand in front of it this time. Yeap, we’re clearly at the 3 foot mark 😉

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Oh, the goats! He wasn’t as thrilled to pet them this go around, but this little guy was a cutie! He was one of a set of twins that was only ELEVEN DAYS OLD!! ❤ ….we were saying HI  to him, here.

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Definitely got a kick out of feeding the goats! Look at the joy on that face 🙂

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Ponies for days!! I think you can tell by the sweet expression on that face that he was IN LOVE!

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Well, hello there baby duckie!

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Ah, the pumpkin patch! One of the perks of heading out to Green Meadows during October is that each paying guest can take home a pumpkin….sooo, we filled our wagon with 3 lovelies that the boys will be carving up this weekend. It was MUCH harder {compared to prev years} to get this lively 3 year old to pose and/or stay still in a way that suited my photo-crazed ideas….the out-stretched arms with a cheese  was the winner of the afternoon. I’ll take it ❤

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Another one of my stolen moments….searching for the perfect pumpkin for Liam {he wanted one of the smaller ones}

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Loved this one!

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Last but not least….I was super excited to see the same SPOOKY  sign this year, as we had come across last year….so, I attempted to re-create last year’s shot. You can DEFINITELY see the difference in how much this little man has grown.

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It was a great day with our friends from the Sunshine Babies group! Liam had an awesome time exploring around and checking out all the animals. It’s, for sure, one of our favorite places to visit during this time of the year.

Until next time, friends!!

~H

July 2014, Randomness

Throwback Thursday: Red, White & Blue!

casademurphy

In honor of our upcoming Independence Day holiday tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the last few 4th of July’s with our little man 🙂

Today is actually “Red, White & Blue” day at school, so here’s a quick pic of him before school this morning…

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Liam celebrated his 1st firecracker holiday when he was just shy of his 1st birthday. Wasn’t this just yesterday?

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Last year, 2013, we were inching towards birthday number 2! We decided to venture out to Lake Eola for his 1st experience seeing fireworks. It was magical. He is already talking about it for tomorrow night 🙂

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(notice an old friend, paci, in this one above? ….I have to tell you this quick story…..While looking for a lost train over the weekend, Daddy found a random paci on the floor way in the back under Liam’s bed. When we did the great paci purge, I thought I had gotten to all of them, but this little booger escaped me, apparently. He was gonna just toss it, but I told him to let Liam see it. Liam’s reaction was priceless. He started to laugh & was like, “Daddy found a paaciiii…hahahaha!!!” We asked him to throw it out & he promptly walked over to the kitchen garbage & tossed it in. Nice one! …Was I secretly a LITTLE sad that he wasn’t sad or missing it?? …I shall never tell 😉 )

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We are definitely looking forward to having some fun on the 4th tomorrow. Hope you all do, as well, no matter where your travels or adventures take you! Stay safe & have a fab holiday weekend!

~H

Awesome Fireworks!!
Awesome Fireworks!!
Latest & Greatest News, May 2014

Our {Long} Weekend Recap

casademurphy

Hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day Weekend 2014! It was for sure a H.O.T. one in our neck of the woods. My, oh my, were we feeling the summertime temps, or what, already?!?!

When Liam gets a little older, we will explain to him the real reason for the holiday this weekend. Until, then, it was just an extra long & fun weekend for him. Overall, though, we kept it pretty low-key. He & I battled a stomach bug most of the week, so we spent the 1st part of the weekend playing catch up with chores & what-not. Daddy was a trooper with helping to take care of both of us & the house!

Once everyone’s bellies were feeling better, we indulged in some yummy ice cream cones after dinner. 🙂

Daddy says this was Liam’s FIRST ice cream CONE …I haven’t been able to locate any other pics of him eating a cone, so he may be right because ya know I would have documented that! LOL …He wouldn’t stop moving while eating this one, so it’s not the best shot, but here ya go:

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On Sunday, we decided to head out to Cocoa Beach for a day of fun in the sun. Two things I learned after our trip. One, Liam needs a bigger sun hat (last years is too small….yet still so cute). Two, if we’re going to frequent the beach this summer, we need an umbrella. The Florida sun is brutal.

Liam loved the playing in both the sand and the water. While he would be in the water with us, he would sing, “we’ll be swimming in the ocean all day long…splish, splash”.

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The other highlight of our weekend was that Mr. Liam taught himself how to do a somersault. Well, I guess, I should 1st clarify to say that I believe one of his little friends at school helped show him how, as I observed this from my glimpses on the camera. It was actually pretty hilarious and I wish I had been able to catch that on video. He must have felt confident in his new skill to show it to us because this is what he did on Saturday.

To end our weekend, last night, after bath, he proceeded to tell us that he loved us & that we were “the best day ever” ….I don’t think it gets much better than that, folks!

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Until next time!