wow

liam is almost 15 months old!! (am i adding the months up right?) i can't believe it... he is such an amazing little person

oh, note for dad, the PC 4 cheese sauce in the fresh pasta isle is amazing with glutton free macaroni, chicken & peas. he loved it last night for dinner & no rash!

i can't believe

this time next month christmas will be over. where did this year go?

am i the only one feeling like this?

spaghetti man

he did not like it. not one bit.














i promise i'm not avoiding you guys, loyal readers, i've been very busy with work & this is my week with liam & since he's walking full time & running part time he is more than a handful of trouble around the house. never thought i'd say this, but the best thing i ever did was buy all natural cleaning products. since the cupboards & drawers are over 30 years old there is no safety equipment that fits them & he loves to open them up & take things out (& sometimes crawl into them himself, its cute!). luckily he could drink the cleaning products & be completely safe. not that i'm saying i want him to - no, no! but if he did he'd be okay & for a busy mom there is some measure of security in that.
anyway what was my point? oh yes. i've just been busy. full updates soon

funpod

lately i get asked "what are you getting liam for chirstmas?"

last year i gave him the gift of life from my very own womb

this year, however, i think i'll be getting him the FunPod from Little Helper



















running around $250 (from what i can find online) children are supposed to be able to use the FunPod until they are 4 or 5 years old. considering i've been looking online for a stool with rails for-eeeee-ver & haven't been able to find an-yyyyy-thing; this seems to be the best product for what we need... after all, a single mom who has to cook, clean & do dishes NEEDS a safe stool for her toddler so that he doesn't cling to her leg wailing his head off to be picked "up! up! up!" when all he wants to do is watch his mommy preparing his food or doing the dishes or wiping the counter (its funny how the stuff we adults find tedious & boring, our little ones find enchanting & enthralling... "oooohh wow, a vacuum! lets pretend its a dragon!)

thanks to my September Mommy Cara for this great christmas gift idea xoxo

up

this morning while i was getting ready in the bathroom liam started to shout:
"up! up! up!"

i've never heard him give such one sided commands before. my little dictator ;)

sarah & marco are home from the hospital with julia. she had jaundice pretty badly & was receiving light therapy for a couple days. so far nursing is going well & the little family is happy & healthy.

how crunchy are you?

are you a granola momma? take this quiz & see how you add up
granola papa's can take it too ;)
leave me a comment & let me know how you score

i got 61 & just squeezed in under the 89-60 Pretty crispy! category.

introducing Julia Escalante

pretty sure sarah & marco won't mind me posting a picture of their adorable little muffin

here she is world. Miss Julia :)

walking & temper tantrums

hello mr. walking man. here's a vid-e-oooo of liam walking across the cluttered kitchen floor, i know you'll enjoy seeing this kim & mom & try not to notice how badly diesel needs a hair cut (his tail hair is out of control, i could braid it)



then liam having a spazzy temper tantrum because i wouldn't give him the camera. its so sad seeing him cry like that, but at the same time pretty funny ;) i wasn't sure i should post this video but i thought - why not? its not like he's suffering or anything... just having a good old fashioned melt down. this video will be fun to show him when he's 16



finally, liam just loves his toddler rocker. he crawls into it & hangs out there for 10-30 minutes at a time, chatting to his books or his trucks or whatever he drags into the chair with him















and the first meal he's eaten where he hasn't made any sort of mess. he kept all the food in the bowls or on the plates. i was so proud :) thanks to dadz for the glutton/wheat/egg/soy free macaroni idea















and lastly, for my mom (who found my twitter about having super dark hair & being "ooooogly" really funny) - mommasita, its not as dark as it was; i've been washing it with really strong drug store shampoo & its fading to a nice chocolate brown

welcome julia

"Hi Jenny et al.

My lovely daughter's name is Julia Maria Escalante and she can't wait to meet you all!

Thanks for the props,

Marco (Daddy)"

she-she is here!!

Text from Sarah (for our friends around the world)

"She's here :) 7lbs. 8oz. 23hr labor. Totally exhausted, no food or sleep since i got up yesterday.xox"

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! KISSES, HUGS, HEARTS!!!

am working on finding out the name. hang tight friends :)

our night

- dinner & building with over sized blocks
- taught Liam to "throw" a toy for diesel (diesel got pretty annoyed because he kept getting excited thinking he was going to play fetch, only Liam sort of threw the toys AT him instead of for him; so they bounce off his head & he gets confused. he never did learn to master the whole "jump & catch things in his mouth" trick)
- tickle fight which left us both gasping for air & grinning wildly
- real fight as i clipped his toe nails
- sort of fight as i tried his fingers, then full on "giving up" when i finally figured that he just wanted to examine the clippers. after i gave him another set to play with it was easy as pie to finish his finger nails
- singing songs
- reading books
- cuddles
- a massive make-out kissing session. Liam LOVES giving kisses. he'll do it forever if you let him
- another tickle fight
- then he crawled up on my lap, pushed me down so i was laying on the couch & he lay on top of me singing to himself while we watched Baby Einstein together
- bubble bath
- cuddle bottle while he traced my eyelashes. i said "Liam where is mommy's nose?" and he pointed to my actual nose. he is so smart.
- into bed where he lay on his pillow, clutching his lovie & snuggling under his blanket, talking to the mobile i put above his crib; its a montage of family photos of both sides of our families. he loves it

Side note: I haven't heard any news from Marco about Sarah. I wonder how they're doing?? I wonder if little she-she has arrived yet? I hope Sarah is okay... I'm praying for you today sweets :) xoxoxo

sarah's having her baby right now!!!

jamaica'mon

hello baby boy

congratulations to Knockoffspring & Aimee (mrs.kos) who just found out they are having a BOY!!

golf claps

really, it is so amazing that our little ones were born a year ago & already you two are having more babies. can't think of two better parents, more in love, to grow their family together. if only we didn't live in totally different countries... if only... i'd be at your house harassing you every weekend with stuff like:
"can i hold him?" and
"can i kiss his toes?" and
"yes please more pie" i mean
"he is adorable, i could eat him up like pie"

congratulations you two (three + baby = four :) xoxo

sweetness

my good friend sarah over at the lemon spank reached out to us with this lovely heart-felt post - thanks sarah, that was really nice to read :)

this morning my son kissed me goodbye for the first time. is it weird that i cried when i got in the car after dropping him off? it just hit me when he waved good-bye how big he is getting & how fast this is all moving & that this time is so precious, so amazing, that he's only going to truly 'little' for such a short time ...

last night while i held him as he finished his bottle he farted, so i laughed & then he laughed & the more we each laughed, the harder the other person laughed. it felt good to laugh like that.

i love him.

kisses

just got back from Jamaica & saw Liam this morning for the first time in almost a week. honestly i almost cried it was so good to see him & hold his little body & smell his Liam smell. Dadz told me in the car that Liam is giving kisses now - so i am really looking forward to taking him home tonight & having a kissing session with my little toddler. read in any other context that sounds bad. but i know you all understand what i mean. i can't wait for my work day to be over so i can see him - its such a shame i have to waste precious baby time grocery shopping, cooking & doing dishes... still, i get to see my son tonight!! :) :)

live traffic map & Hi CAT!!

you know that thing on the right hand side of my blog that shows where people visit my site from? well... i just found this cool new feature called the "Geo-Traffic Live Traffic Map" which shows (via little flags) where all my visitors are coming from. here is a link to the Geo-Traffic Live Traffic Map

what i find really interesting is that, according to today's stats my readers are from:

• 72% US (my September mommies keep me in business)
  
• 18% Canada (i knew my US readership was huge, but only 18% from Canada? come on... Canada can represent better than that)
  
• 5% UK (you are my favorite. the birth place of drum n'bass. you rock)
  
• 1% Australia (i know who you are! see the last post comments)
• 1% Norway (jeg elske det du lese meg blog)
  
• 1% South Africa (is that you Pete Carscallen?? or are you back home in new Zealand?)
• 1% Portugal (agradecimentos para ler meu blogue)
• 1% New Zealand (hi Rachael! & possibly Pete)
  

just for fun, here is a smattering of my 20 most recent readers.:

1. Pretoria, Gauteng
2. Los Angeles, California
3. Monroe, Maine
4. Bristol, Bristol
5. Toronto, Ontario
6. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
7. Meridian, Idaho
8. Franklinville, New Jersey
9. Montreal, Quebec
10. Auburn University, Alabama*
11. Mentor, Ohio
12. Nashville, Tennessee
13. Williston, North Dakota
14. Mesa, Arizona
15. Ashland, Ohio
16. Brisbane, Queensland
17. Huntington Station, New York
18. Brooklyn, New York
19. Everett, Washington
20. Sioux Falls, South Dakota

* is this a university or a town called 'university'?

PS. i got a really sweet message on facebook from CAT (hi Cat, i know you're reading this & grinning right now) here is what she said:

Hey Jenny!
I realize I may sound like a total loser and maybe even stalker-ish, but I really look forward to reading your blog everyday. I can even say that when I get home from work and check to see what you have posted for that day, and I see sometimes that you haven't posted anything, I am actually kinda disappointed. it's amazing watching Liam grow up. He is sooooo cute. What you write rings so true, about how I think it will be when I eventually have kids, and then you telling me how it really is! It constantly brings a smile to my face and I more often than not, I laugh out loud. Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience with me (and everyone) who reads your blog. I would post this as a comment to you on your blog, but yes you guessed it, I couldn't figure out how.
Hugs,
CAT

Cat you are a kick ass chica who has been nothing but super nice & supportive since i started this little project-o-blog back in late 2005. watching liam grow is the best thing thats ever happened to me. he is the coolest little man & hopefully one day he'll look back at this blog & not be completely embarrassed with how its all turned out (... there will be a time when i won't be blogging about liam anymore ;) i love that you can watch him grow & change with us. okay incoming cheese alert: this blog brings us all together... awwwww... big ups my peeps around the world. about the commenting, this seems to be a universal problem. :)
- high five! & xoxo for you Cat

where are you guys?

for real, i used to get tons of comments. now, not so much! where are you guys? chica? kim? sarah?

oh, speaking of sarah, ms. escalante is ready to POP out a baby - any time now. i'm sitting on pins & needles & every time my phone rings my heart turns over thinking this is "the call"

in other news, i reached 120 on the scale today; which feels amazing knowing i set my mind on a goal 2 months ago & actually achieved it. Vendi! Vidi! Vici! (google it)

this weekend? how was it? i worked, all weekend long. there is a big proposal we're trying to wrap up before the whole office leaves for jamaica (remember? i'm going with my work? who is paying for it? its our fiscal year kick off?); and since i can't get anything done at the office with my revolving door my boss said it was best just to lay low at home & focus. so here i am, focusing.

liam is good. Dadz texted me that he didn't get a black eye from his pitch fall off the couch. he apparently slept in until 7am this morning too (which is really 8am if you remember we just did the time change this weekend). good for liam! right back on track! he's always been a text book baby ;)

cool beans

according to this stupid quiz i did, i'm not a boring stupid loser

yay me

You Are 84% Interesting

Believe it or not, you are a very fascinating person. You're probably too busy being interesting to realize exactly how interesting you are. You have a rich, full life. You are curious about the world, and you are very open to new experiences. You have a lot to talk about, and people find you to be an amazing conversationalist. And most importantly, you are truly interested in other people. How could anyone find that boring? You truly listen and learn from others. You're not self absorbed or shallow.

the bat man, scratch man, chattering man

this is liam's poop squat




















no its not, i'm jest kidding

liam was a "bat" for hallow e'en - lol (auto correct said this was how to spell Hallowe'en. seriously. is that right? can someone tell me??) & to be honest, he was pretty PO'd at Dadz & me for shoving him into a too small costume, then forcing him to stand up, sit down & prance around in the boiling afternoon sun of Dadz condo/gardenhome/townhouse/terrace home (i never did know what to call that place)















nevertheless, we stuck to our parental guns & using a combined force of wills (with two separate cameras) got some pretty good (okay, not good, but passable) photos of mr. liam's very first dress up party EVER

see? one camera taking photos, one distracting liam ....




















dadz holding liam up while momz quickly snapped this shot (lol i just noticed he has a massive beer gut)















and momz went in for the kill. his bat hat looks viciously cute. have you ever seen eyes more beautiful? they are the most perfect shade of blue/grey















this little vignette (following) is from our day off on monday when liam & i stayed home & spent the day together laying around & skipping work & daycare

becky this particular photo is for you (i know inside jokes are soooo annoying if you're not on the 'in' but there is no way i could ever explain this one to you guys):

"what is this??"*















its a fork little one & you're getting closer to your goal (of the mouth) ...















bingo!! he shoots, he scores. coordination is a wonderful thing















and - finally photographic evidence - THIS is what my big hoopla was about.















wouldn't you freak out if you lifted up your kid's shirt & found this mess of scratches & little welts? yeah, you WOULD, just like i did.















now don't you all feel bad for judging me?? don't you think that maybe, just maybe, i didn't over-react at all? wait.... you don't? well screw you.















lastly, as promised, here is a video of liam chattering into my phone as he does the drunken stumble, tripping over a painting i did in high school (don't judge me! its not as lame as your loser high school paintings. jeez)



for which you WILL need SOUND

*yes that font is huge but i wanted to see how big it was when published

in Jamaica

to the tune of 'in da club' - disclaimer: i had way too much time on my hands

go jenny to Jamaica
we gonna party like its Jamaica
we sip on Bicardi like its Jamaica
& you know we don't give a F$%& cause its Jamaica!

you'll find me on the beach, munchin' on a peach
man i got what you need if you need to smoke some cheech
i'm into tanning lots, i'll eat a bunch of each
so don't give me a speech cause i ain't lookin for no preach

go jenny to Jamaica
we gonna party like its Jamaica
we sip on Bicardi like its Jamaica
& you know we don't give a F$%& cause its Jamaica!

5 days!!!