61st Month

5 years old! Liam had a great time at his first real birthday party—the first one to which he was allowed to invite friends. His party’s theme was Ocean/Underwater. We had lots of blue helium balloons for an ocean, ocean sand-art bottles, a Ziploc-bag aquarium craft, digging for seashells in sand, and fishing for goodie bags. The cake was a shark coming up out of the water. Aunt Emily, cousin Travis, and Maw Maw and Pots even came. It was a great party—lots of fun.

62nd Month

No more preschool! Kindergarten, here we come! Liam “graduated” from Little Friends this month in a really cute ceremony—cap and gown included.

Liam had his Kindergarten testing early this month, but we have not received any results yet. He is most definitely reading at this point, so he should have a good start for Kindergarten.

We had several trees taken down in the backyard this month. The kids all had a great time watching the guys climb way up in the trees to cut them—they really loved feeling the ground shake when the trees finally fell.

We got to see 4^th of July fireworks twice this month—once at Mercer County Park and again at Etra Lake Park. Liam loved them—wasn’t afraid of them at all, and even spent time comforting Susanna, who was afraid of them.

 Liam got to ride the Strasburg Railroad this month, and of course loved it.

 Mom took the kids to see Cars 2 in the theater (Liam’s first time)—enjoyed by all—especially after Mom got everyone popcorn.

64th Month

The weekend of August 27-28 saw Hurricane Irene hitting us here in NJ. Many parts of the state were flooded, but we were very fortunate—none of our trees fell, our basement stayed dry, and we never lost power. We all slept in the basement the night it hit us because there were tornado warnings. The following week we were supposed to go to the mountains in Bushkill, PA to meet Grandma Mel and Pop-Pop for a few days, but the house they had rented lost power in the storm. By Tuesday morning the power still was not back, so they came here and stayed with us for a few days before heading back to LA. We had a fun time with them—we took them to the Popcorn Park Zoo and the Jackson Jungle. Grandma Mel and Mom had some craft time with the kids. Their last night here, they decided to stay in a hotel so that we could all swim in the hotel pool—that was probably the highlight of the week for all the kids—it was actually the pool where Rachael used to take swim lessons.

 Now it’s time to gear up for a new year of school! Liam is so ready for Kindergarten—his reading skills have grown tremendously this summer. He will be in the PM Kindergarten class with a teacher new to Walter C. Black.

65th Month

Kindergarten!! Hard to believe it’s time for this already! A few days before school started, Liam had orientation—he got to meet his teacher and see his classroom and even take a ride around the block on the bus. If he wasn’t excited before that, he sure was after. He is really enjoying being in school—and is even in the same class as his friend George. No homework yet, though. He likes being able to say that Rachael’s school is his school, too.

LSU football has begun and we have continued our tradition of watching on the deck, grilling, and glow sticks. And having Maw Maw and Pots come from NY to watch with us.

Mom took the kids to see The Smurfs in the theater.

 

66th Month

A new backyard addition this month—a treehouse (well, actually, a tree platform with a railing)—it is being thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, even the neighborhood kids. We wrapped the trees with Christmas lights and Rachael made a “clubhouse” flag.

 Liam asked to have the training wheels taken off his bike this month, and the next day he was riding it. He is so very proud of himself, and so are we.

 Liam went on a field trip to Lee’s Turkey Farm (Mom and Susanna met his class there) where he learned all about the farm, got to see lots of turkeys, and took a hayride. Unfortunately, because of all the rain we’ve have, Mr. Lee didn’t have any pumpkins to pick.

 Liam, Susanna, and Mom got locked out of the house one morning this month. After running errands, we got home to discover the power was out, so the garage door opener wouldn’t work. Mom also realized the security chain was still across the front door. Mom checked windows but didn’t find any unlocked. The neighbor had a painting crew working at their house, and they volunteered to help find a way to get us in the house. We discovered one of Rachael’s bedroom windows open, so the guys got their extension ladder and climbed up to try popping out the screen—no luck. Mom had already been able to pop the screen on the kitchen window, so one guy tried using a knife to get the window unlocked—no luck. Then Mom mentioned that the front door could be unlocked but not opened the whole way because of the chain. So, the guys got a screwdriver, reached in the partially open door and unscrewed the chain from the door frame, so that the door could be opened. Liam had been very concerned that we were not going to get into the house in time for him to go to school.

 Halloween weekend was very busy with parties, both birthday and Halloween. Liam dressed as a Strong Man. The big surprise for the weekend was SNOW!! Two days before Halloween we got several inches—went trick-or-treating in the white stuff. And, on the same day, Liam lost his first tooth!

67th Month

68th Month

70th Month

71st Month

The 6th Birthday Cake