2 parties and a dedication

But - before I rush into that.. Doesn't Liam make a pretty girl? He doesn't look very happy about it, but the pouty lips are awfully cute - and the tattoo - makes "her" just edgy enough and balances out the huge hibiscus stuck the "her" head... but i digress....

I guess 2 parties and a dedication is the new parents version of "four weddings and a funeral"...

Saturday was party marathon. We had sweet Ian's party at 10:00 a.m. What a fun party, and I have to say - a brunch party was PERFECT for the day that turned out to be 109 degrees!!! There were 5 one year olds at this party - all born within a month of eachother - so fun to see them all interact! After we left Ian's Brunch party (monkey themed) - we headed home for a quick lunch, then nap in the car and off to Toluca Lake for Twins Nate and Abby's Monkey party at MY GYM. This was super fun too - fun and interactive, and Tiff (The twins mom) was so smart to save herself the stress of hosting a party at home, and taking the mess ELSEWHERE! After Liam's b-day and party last week, then these two parties this week, I think Liam now considers birthday cake one of the food groups!!! How did I forget my camera at BOTH parties??? Hopefully Kim and Tiff will send me some pics ;)

Here is Liam getting his pre-funk on - preparing for the parties of the day ahead!

So - on to the dedication. Sunday we had the child dedication service at church. This is kind of like a baptism/christening - but really where the parents become accountable in front of the congregation for taking the responsibility for bringing up their precious child with the word of god - and the congregation takes responsibility for supporting us etc. etc. it was really cool - there were about 5 other families who also dedicated their children at our service. Kurts grandfather came to watch and got special recognition- which was REALLY awesome!

We didn't get any good pics, the lighting in there is wild - anyway, here is pastor Shawn holding liam - giving him a blessing and Kurt and I standing by (proud parents!)

Aloha!

We survived the first year, and now the first birthday party! Both were a stunning success... stressful - yes, worth it... absolutely!

Since Liams bday last Wednesday, life has been crazy. I promise I will post some good zoo pics - but need to get the party pics in today. So..
Wed - Zoo and small family celebration. Thursday - Work, then picked up G-link and Pops from the airport.
Friday - Work, then party prep
Saturday - PARTY!
So, a little about the party. It was a Luau. This we had already decided when we were in Hawaii while I was pregnant. We went to the Old Lahaina Luau where we learned that the Luau originated as a traditional Hawaiian celebration of the first year of life - appropriate enough! Also - we had decorated our old house in a Hawaiian theme and had lots of stuff which made it easy to decorate. Can you beleive we still haven't opened the gifts Liam received at the party?? busy busy busy. And I am sure all the gifts will be wonderful - but in retrospect, there were three GIFTS that were priceless, not the kind that can be gift wrapped either.
1) my parents. they saved us. they helped us SO much while they were here... they are so amazing. THANK YOU.
2) we got a SURPRISE visit from our cape cod ladies! Sherri and Ashley showed up at our door for the Luau - HUGE SURPRISE... i was bawling. You guys.. how did you manage this crazy surprise.
3) the awesome cake that Kammy made. She refused to let my buy a costco cake and said "i am making him a cake"... i accepted the offer - i didn't ask what it would look like or taste like - i left it in her extremely talented hands and was blown away by the results (yummy and adorable). THANKS kammalamm!

anyway - here is the day in photos. I took a million, these are just a few. we had so much fun!

The Hawaiian Queens!
G-link and Grammy M.

(grammy M's Muu-muu is over 50 years old!!)

THE CAKE... how cute right?

a close up of some of the detailing.

the party is getting started and everyone is READY for a Luau. i was so stoked that everyone got so into character!

one of the "surprise" guests... miss smashley w/ the lima bean

mama bear and smashley :) thanks for making the trip!

funny observations in this photo. the little boy in the orange is ian, my friend kims son - he and liam are about a week apart in age - and could pass for twins. look at todd, he is hangin in the baby jail, and lovin on sophie. that bottle is not liams...

notice the little boys all eating up by the tiki bar? they were so cute.

daddy love.

astonished.

ooohhhhhh..

Isn't G-link beautiful?

I would say the birthday boy had fun!

One Year Stats

31 inches and 26 lbs!

85th percentile for both.

Happy First Birthday Liam

Happy First Birthday Lima Bean... I can not believe a whole year has gone by since the day you were "hatched"!You went to the Santa Barbara Zoo today to celebrate. Daddy and I took the whole day off of work just so we could spend every little minute with you - our birthday boy. You had sooo much fun looking at all the animals and riding the zoo train. The day went by so quickly - I guess because we were having such a good time. We can't wait to take you back when you are a little bit older.

Speaking of going by quickly... where did the year go? Where did my baby go? and who would have thought I could love this toddler so much - who is now in his place? Pretty much all I knew when we brought you home from the hospital was that I was coming home with a baby (a really adorable baby that I fell in love with when I first laid eyes on him)... what i didn't know is that wasn't even the HALF of what I would be in for in the year to come. We have made it through sleepless nights, fevers, ear infections, teething, diaper rashes, major blowouts, breast feeding, solid feeding, playdates, moms group, daycare and oh my goodness - so much more. I have learned MORE in this year than i ever learned in school... you are the ultimate "on the job" training. I have been challenged more than I ever thought I could be... but I also have been rewarded beyond compare. One smile, one giggle, one kiss.... is all it takes to forget about any sleepless nights that i ever endured.

More later - mommy is tired... its been a long day... a long day that went by too quickly...

xoxo

Happy birthday sweet love.

mama.

also - more zoo photos to come.

Murphy time...

Our good friends Jim and Heather are getting ready to celebrate TEN years of marriage! what an accomplishment - nice work guys. To celebrate, they are going snowboarding in the southern hemisphere. I saw their board bags all packed up and ready to go... how weird it must be to pack your snowboarding gear when its a 90 degree August day in Los Angeles! Their trip sounds like it will be an adventure!
We have been trying to get together for a family get together for a few weeks now, and mostly kurt and i have not been able to keep up our end of plans due to one reason or another. So, we were happy to get to hang w/ them at their house this Saturday. It was a fun time, and Liam and Mackenzie have decided that they like eachother... it took a minute to warm up - but by the end of the evening, they were sharing tricycle rides, and fish at the raw bar... i even think Mackenzie took over the "wife" title. Sorry, no wedding pics... maybe in 25 years or so!
Heather took all these photos ;) thanks HB.

sharing is fun!

raw bar

"yummy blocks" - or "monkey see monkey do" not sure which caption is more appropriate.

loves.

super-fun ride! (and how cute are their chubby little feet??)

A new perspective...

I know, I know - the law states that you can turn the car seat around when your baby reaches BOTH one year of age AND 22 lbs... so, he hasn't OFFICIALLY reached one year... but blew past that weight requirement months ago... so - we are taking that risk, and we turned the car seat around! He is having so much fun checking out this new world of forward facing passenger! We even have a little tv screen, so he can watch his favorite shows (not that he really has FAVORITE shows... but, at least there is a distraction of moving pictures)... and actually, he is usually way more interested in what is going on OUTSIDE the windshield than anything happening inside the car (even "Finding Nemo")!

Liam's new view

Happy baby!

.. and my favorite part of this whole thing... look at what I get to see in the rear view mirror :)

bed head

bed head
Originally uploaded by kmenslage

do you ever wake up feeling like this???

Grand-bob is here!

My papa is in town!
He had some work training to do in San Diego, and was nice enough to make the 4 hour drive up to LA on a Friday night to spend an extra day with us! THANKS DAD! He came in on a Friday and met Kurt and Chris in Malibu for a drink and some sliders on the Malibu pier... Kurt was dying to show him his Harley, as Pops is also in the market... one day soon dad, you will have your bike too!!! (btw he says he wants TWO Harleys, one for Oregon, and one for California!! LOL). Kurt was gone on Saturday, but Grandpa Bob and Liam got so spend some quality time together - they swam and danced! Dad was teaching Liam to appreciate music from the 50's, 60's and 70's.... he even showed Lima bean some cool daddi-o dance moves. Dad loves classic cars, we randomly found a classic car show that was local - so we did that too!!! We packed a lot of fun into one day. More car pics later... it was so much fun having him here, I think Liam loved it almost as much as I did. We can't wait for Liam's bday when he comes back accompanied by the lovely G-link!

Dance Party USA... probably "Surfin Safari" !