Liam Turns 3!

Liam struggled to wake up this morning (it was a fun-filled weekend visiting all of his aunts and uncles and cousins!), but once we greeted him with a "good morning birthday boy", hejumped out of bed and exclaimed, "Hooray, it's my birthday!!" He had a great day and couldn'twait to get home from school to have his birthday party. Mom, Jenny, Brandon, Lilly and Lizzie all came over to wish him happy birthday.

Liam tries out him new bike. What a big boy!

Here is Liam sporting some of his new biking gear.

Liam had so much fun with Keira's sunglasses that Grandma and Papa picked him up a pair.

Snow!!

Much to our surprise, the weather forecast came true! It started snowing yesterday around 1 pm and kept snowing throughout the night and most of the morning! It was so nice to wake up to a text message from my principal announcing a snow day...so, Bennett, Liam and I have been enjoying our extra day-off (poor Matt had to go into work). What a nice way to start school after Christmas break! :)

It snowed about four inches total (if I can measure snow right...I don't have much experience in that area). Here are some pictures of Bennett and Liam enjoying the snow.

Bennett is quite excited!

Needless to say learn learned a new word today,

"Snoooooow" (it sounds a lot like "no")

Bennett's and Liam's snow man.

My poor turtles! (in the silver trough) Don't worry, Mom, they survived. :)

To see more pictures, visit the Picasa Web Album.

And We're Back...

Wow! Sorry for the break...I never got back in the habit of blogging after last May. Here are some pictures from the last 7 months. It doesn't include Disneyland (I guess those pictures aren't on my current computer), but I'll look for those. :)

Here are a few of the event that have taken place, as highlighted in the photos:

- Matt graduates (WAHOO!)

- Liam's toilet-pool experiment

- Summer day trip to Lake Isabella/Kern River

- Bennett turns 6

- Bennett starts kindergarten

- Halloween and Bennett the pumpkin-grower

- Bennett's first flag-football game

- Christmas parade (pictures from today, actually!)

Click here for pictures!

Enjoy! Bennett has a Christmas program on Tuesday, so I'll try to post again soon to share pictures!

Bubble Bath Clean-up

After running around the yard soaking wet, Bennett and Liam were shivering (it's not quite warm enough for sprinkler fun). We decided it was the perfect time for a brotherly bubble bath. The shared baths have been rare these days...Bennett prefers to shower now. He just loves to make the bathroom all steamy.

Baths are so much fun! (You can see his new front teeth!)

Bennett loves a silly picture.

There's a normal grin!

Hmm...can I grab this?

Such a sweetie.

For more bath-time fun visit the Picasa Web Album.

Sprinkler Fun

With the weather starting to turn nice, we wanted to get everything cleaned up and ready for spring. So, Bennett and I spent the morning working in the yard, and we reprogrammed the sprinkler system for the new season. Of course we had to try out all of the cycles to make sure the sprinklers were working properly after the winter season. Bennett and Liam both had fun running around the yard...It was Liam's first real encounter with sprinklers. He was right out there with Bennett running from sprinkler to sprinkler.

Liam and the sprinkler...

As you can see, Matt and Bennett have their work cut out for them!

Smile!

Bennett has been so anxious for summer to come;
he has been waiting for the "sprinkler park" to come out at Papa's house.

Big grin!
(His foot is plugging the sprinkler - that's why he's grinning.)

He's all smiles.

One Year Check Up and Matt's DONE!

Liam had his one year check up today (we finally tracked down Dr. Schumacher's new/temporary office). He did very well, weighing in at 23 lbs 7 oz (50 percentile - skinny baby!) and is 32.5 inches tall (97 percentile - tall baby!). He recieved his vaccinations, only squawked until I picked him up, and is now free for another 6 months. As usual, Bennett was very curious about the whole administering shots to baby matter.

In other news (in case you haven't heard), MATT IS NOW A COLLEGE GRADUATE!! He survived finals week almost mishap-free...unexpected road closures and construction stranded him on Stockdale Highway for 40+ minutes, making him 20 minutes late for a final - YIKES! Luckily, this time, his professor was very understanding. He finished his college career with a bang making the dean's list (he received 3 A's and a B). Go Matt! We're so proud of you!

Grilled Pizzas at the O'Neil House

Mom and Dad invited us over for grilled pizzas tonight (yum!). Liam enjoyed swinging with Papa, and Bennett and Joanna drew on the sidewalk. It was a fun evening catching up and hanging out with the family! Liam ate his first grilled pizza - Mom and Dad made him a little pint-sized one. He nearly finished the whole thing!

Papa and Liam

Bennett decorating the sidewalk.

Joanna

More pictures at the Picasa web album.