Raven's Fan

So, for those of you that don't know, Liam is exactly like his father in that he will find something that interests him and will know everything there is to know about that one thing. Then, as time passes, he will find a new thing that interests him. We have gone through a sesame street phase, a buzz and woody phase, a super hero phase (which we aren't really out of), but the new one is football--Ravens football to be exact. You may have noticed in our Christmas post that we are all wearing purple. Liam helped me shop and he wanted to make sure no one felt left out on purple Fridays.
I don't know how he did it, but the kid has impeccable timing. He chose this year to become a Raven's fan...a year, that despite all odds, they are going to the super bowl. I did not come from a football home, nor did a marry into a football family, but I have to say it: GO Ravens!

PS: Dear Liam, please do not become a football player. Love, your mother.

Long over due

We posted many shots of Liam's nursery, but have not yet shown off Caris' decor. This is a big blunder on my part because a gigantic thank you goes out to many people for their help in getting this together.
To Steve: thank you for painting and re-painting those stripes on the wall. I don't know if either kid will ever solve the message, but I am glad it is still up there. Next time, I will definitely not change my mind on which color pink to go with, but I may have more struggles with green (fair warning).
To Betty and Kim: thank you for helping finance the nursery re-do and for bringing Pottery Barn Kids to our house so that we could pick our favorite nursery bedding. Thanks for re-doing the valance and dealing with the curtain issues...who knew that curtains are not all the same size. Also, I really do love the nursing chair and am happy to have a seamstress and and engineer in the family.
To Bobo, Betty, Kim and Penny: Thank you for the pink polka dot rug. Next time I will only ask one person for such an item, but it shows how excited everyone was to have another little one running around.

Live wire

Caris and Liam may look similar, but their personalities differ greatly. He was a very calm "thinker" of a baby and she is a live wire. She likes to move, she likes to practice walking and she LOVES stairs.

Here she is about to embark on her adventure down the stairs. Luckily, when she was 9 months old, Steve taught her how to go down backwards. And she listened.

During the climb.

Here, she started on the other side of the diner and climbed through the window.

This is a lego table. She eagerly removed all legos and promptly crawled on top of it.

Christmas 2012

This was the first year that Liam was REALLY excited about Christmas. Because his queen size bed was occupied with guests, we had Liam sleep on an air mattress in Caris' room on Christmas Eve. He was super antsy and couldn't sleep and was keeping Caris awake too. So, we kept him up longer and waited for the baby to drift off. When she was fast asleep, we told Liam to sneak into the room and get into his bed really quietly. He tip-toed in the room, snuck under the covers and promptly shouted, "Guess what, Caris! Santa Clause is coming!"

Family (Garvey side) on Christmas morning

Liam sporting one of his Christmas gifts

Caris playing with one of her many Christmas presents. She didn't really get Christmas and wasn't too happy about having to sit in one room for so long while people opened their gifts.

Notice what Liam is eating--this was one of his favorite gifts. Santa brought him baby food that he didn't need to share with Caris.

This was taken shortly after Caris took her first steps.

Hip Hop santa was a big hit with Caris too!

The morning after.

Family Complete

Just in case not everyone has seen them...

So Happy Together

Yes, there has been some jealousy and maybe even a little bickering, but you can really tell that the two sibs love one another. Liam is especially helpful and sweet towards his sister when he is with mom. Dad is his play partner, and he is not as keen to share him with Caris.

Playing diner

A few years ago, Liam was given a diner from his grandparents. We used it for a while, but then, as with almost all toys, interest was lost. Now, he has someone sitting beside him, so the diner is cool again.

Look familiar

I love walking into Caris' room after nap time and seeing a familiar face.

Remind you of anyone

Walking

A few days before Christmas, Caris took her first steps at her great grandma Joy's house. It has been a month now and she still isn't full-on walking, but she is pretty pleased when she tries. She can also stand up on her own (those thighs are muscle, not fat). This is probably the biggest difference between the two kids that I have noticed so far. While definitely not stupid, Caris likes to try the physical aspects of growing up, while Liam was a much more patient observer of life. We'll see if this difference becomes more apparent in the months ahead.

Clapping after standing

First steps (sort of--this was a couple of weeks ago)

Catch up

So I am bad, bad blogger. Caris and Liam have been busy and cute, but I have failed my duties as historian. Luckily, I am right on top of cook, housekeeper, chauffeur, nurse and somewhat provider (otherwise known as mother). To make up for lost time, I will try to do one post every day until Caris turns 1 on the February First. Today's post goes all the way back to, wait for it...fall (early October to be exact). Liam had a class trip to the farm and as an unbiased historian he has been doing excellent in school. Tediously, he draws maps of all the continents, writes about the parts of roots, explains the habitat of cheetahs, does addition and subtraction and the kid can really read. He starts kindergarten next year and I think they may skip him ahead to college or even medical school. He is smart, but I am also impressed by his tremendous social skills. He loves being around other kids, interacts well with adults and has really grown up in the last year. Enough bragging...time for some pictures.

Liam at the farm on his class trip

Caris on Thanksgiving. Her first thanksgiving was filled with family and food, both of which she enjoys. This picture is one that I really love. The hat was given to her by my Aunt Julie and reminds me so much of something my own mother would have worn. The look on her face is all Caris. A little sweet, a little cuddly, but is topped with determination and spunk.

Another one of her displaying her spunk.