Two Things I Can't Live Without

Liam and his new toy. One of the best purchases to date. Go ksl.

5 Year Anniversary

Ben and I had our 5 year anniversary on August 18th! Since 5 years is quite the milestone, we took a quick trip to Long Beach, California. It is where we celebrated our 1 year anniversary (because we were in Vegas and the drive wasn't far.) We flew this time because it made more sense (time away from the boys.)

Troy and Liam were with family the whole time and we were so incredibly grateful. We didn't have to worry about them at all. Liam even took a bottle really well. And I remembered a breast pump ;) We stayed at the same Marriott hotel, thanks to reward points. We spoiled ourselves with amazing food (thanks to research and coupons.) We went to the beach both days, rented boogie-boards, watched a surfing competition, went shopping, visited the Newport Temple and LOVED being able to just hop in the car and go. Brayden was SO sweet and let us take his Ipad. It was so helpful and fun to have. I seriously want one.

We forgot to take a lot of pictures (ah!) but here are a few.

This is where we were watching the surfing competition. We forgot to bring jackets, so those lovelies were purchased across the street at a beach sale.

The weather was amazing. It was around 80, which is so much nicer than Utah's 90s right now.

My amazing boogie board skills at work. I am getting ready for that huge wave... ;)

Here is Ben coming in airplane style. Two guys actually asked him how to do it because they thought he was a local. Not surprising. We think it would be so fun to learn to surf. Especially after the guys made it look so easy in the competition! ;)

We highly recommend Long Beach as a getaway. It was everything and more. I loved spending so much time with just Ben. He truly is my best friend. I am so lucky.

Liam at 6 months

I have not been taking pictures, so I will post more later when I have taken more. ;)

Ok, I added some, obviously.

Liam Timothy Allsop

I love this baby so much I can hardly keep myself from kissing his cheeks all day long. (Except I do.) He makes it even more tempting because he giggles when you do it. Liam is ticklish and lets out big excited screams if you do it too long.

Liam loves attention but acts shy about it. He always smiles and then turns his head and burrows it into your shoulder. But he really wants you to keep smiling at him.

Liam is a talker. He jabbers all the time and lets out big sighs when he's done. He currently jabbers the dadadas and bababas.

He is moving around now. I have to keep things very far from him or he will get to it. He doesn't crawl but manages to roll and scoot on his belly to what he wants. And he will go for practically anything. He loves to hold things while alternating staring and sucking on the object.

Liam has one tooth that came in a few days ago. Troy didn't have any teeth while I was nursing him, and I'm glad. It doesn't hurt a ton, but it's a sharp little bugger. I seriously get scared when he grabs my finger. More scary though, is his death grasp. His hands are so strong. He pinches me every time I hold him. Liam could totally defend himself against Troy, I think.

He will eat anything, but hates his multivitamin. He only swallows about 3/5 of what he is supposed to. He LOVES to eat still. He is spitting up less and less, and so I don't mind feeding him more. I still change his clothes about every 2 hours. Not because there is tons of spit up but because he hates feeling ANY wetness. He slobbers, so that means a lot of changing. I remember rejoicing after Troy had stopped slobbering. I will rejoice again when Liam stops.

Liam is GOOD Natured. He really is. He is such a happy baby and is less emotional. He doesn't cry for long periods of time and can usually stop quickly. He accepts things pretty quickly. Such as going down for a nap, being in the car, or having his diaper changed. I think I notice this because Troy has been fighting for his independence on everything lately.

His 6 month appointment isn't till next week because all doctors seem to leave in August. So, I will give his stats then. I predict he is about the same. Tall, thick (not super chunky, but so heavy), with a medium head.

Quick Update

Troy doesn't usually sleep in the car anymore. I'm kind of reminiscing. He is too entertained by Liam and therefore stays awake, and if Liam tries to sleep, Troy makes sure that doesn't happen for long. I'm ready to put Liam's carseat by the window, rather than the middle.

Troy also likes to jump in Liam's crib. Even if he is in it, napping. Blah. Crazy 2 year old moments. But we are having so much fun together lately. He has been having "school" time in the mornings. I can't believe how much he has learned! Even if he could learn these things later, it is really rewarding to me and keeps us happy. I have been following confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com. I got the idea off of my cousin, Stephanie's, blog. I don't do a lot of the activities yet, because Troys isn't old enough. But he knows a bunch of his letters, how to count to 5. He has started to memorize the books we have been reading. I LOVE the library. I check out cds that have nursery rhymes and we have music time.

Mister Liam is officially 6 months tomorrow, so I will do more about him tomorrow. But, one new thing is that he won't do tummy time for too long because he rolls over each time I lay him on his stomach. He has been able to do it for a while, but has decided to do it every time now. He's a pretty big guy, so when he rolls onto his back he kind of makes a loud noise and it scares him. It's funny to watch. I don't have very many pictures lately because of the batteries. We keep meaning to buy rechargeable batteries, but we want a certain kind and havn't found them. Really, it's just not a priority to me obviously.

Ben has been happy with work, fatherly duties, and hanging with the Priests. He is still always helping someone. His grandparents, neighbors, ward members. I'm sure there is a lot more to report, but I really just focus on the time we get to spend with him. He is the center of my life and I just love spending all the time I can with him. Our boys would agree. We get to celebrate our 5 year anniversary next week and I can't believe it!

A couple things that I have been doing is starting to teach piano a little and playing the harp. I am creating a website for my harp playing and it's coming along. I'll post about it when I actually have it up. I am waiting for pictures to put on it. These are not things that I plan to put a ton of time into. A few hours a month. I don't want to take away from my full-time job as a mother. Just little side things that keep me involved with music and give me a small break from a two year old hitting my head while I try and blog (currently happening.)