Rocking our world

all boy.

2009-11-04T16:02:00.001-08:00

What do all little boys want to do when the door is left open???
Go exploring!

* notice in most of these pics he has a sneaky little sideways look in his eyes like "is anyone watching... am i going to get away with this??"

i think the door was open for MAYBE 30 seconds when he figured it out and decided to "sneak" out.

he found the dog dishes right away...

then tried to get through the bars to the trash cans...

he took a little stroll...

then he realized that his doggie pals were still inside...

and then of course, he realized mommy was taking pictures.

the end.

Happy Halloween - it's a jungle out there!

2009-11-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! I hope yours was SPOOKTACULAR - and at the very least all treats and no tricks! Ours was fun, we have been celebrating October all month long - yet its hard to believe its already NOVEMBER!!!

Lima Bean was a Lion this year! Liam the Leo the Lion... it seemed fitting. I came across this costume at Marshalls one day... and picked it up. Its perfect - comfy jammies with a fuzzy little vest.. the only problem is that it was about 90 degrees on halloween... so, he overheated pretty quickly, and wasn't feeling at the top of his game... little runny nose thing going on - we think probably teething.

Here is Liam (pre-haircut) at the photoshoot at Heathers house!

To see the rest of the photos click HERE The adorable little girl is Mackenzie - Heathers daughter.

In the backyard giving us his best ROOOOAR!!!

Since Grandpa is out of the nursing home, and back to his regular diggs... we stopped by for some trick or treating.

How cool is this pumpkin?!?!? My friend Tonya snapped this awesome pic of the "LIAM" pumpkin that she stumbled upon at the pumpkin patch by her house in Washington State. Apparently you can "pre-book" your pumpkin - you carve whatever you want in to it when it is little - and as it grows, it develops kind of a scar... and ends up looking like this... i love it!

I almost think the very best part of Liam's costume is the back... it says "Wild One" with a little tail! I am SO enjoying the sweetness now... it wont be long before my sweet little boy asks to be a vampire or zombie... or worse.

bye bye Halloween! See ya next year!

back to his roots...

2009-10-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

below is a photo from this morning... as you can see - Liam's awesome BED HEAD is totally out of control!

some of you may remember when Liam was REALLY teeny - he had a fierce straight up faux hawk situation - see HERE (no product needed)

WELL - we got a lil hair cut today.. and went back to the faux hawk roots - although i really loved the whispy little sticking striaght out - permanently bed head do.... i like his new look too... its just that he looks SO much like a little BOY....

showing off his new do

playing peek a boo behind the curtains w/ mommy's keys

how u like me now?

Bean Boy

2009-10-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

Liam
Lima Bean
Beanie Beanie-boy
Bean Boy...

Bean Boy in a box of beans.

kisses for all

2009-10-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

since i had nothing to write about today - i thought i would update the look of the blog - and liam wanted to blow kisses to all who visit :)

at the end of the day...

2009-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

tonight... after i put liam down for the night, i came downstairs and looked around... and thought "there is NO doubt that a toddler lives here, there is no doubt i am tired, there is no doubt that i have some SERIOUS cleaning to do.. and most importantly ... there is absolutely NO doubt that we are blessed."

none of these photos were staged and are all SOOC (straight out of the camera.. no editing - who has time for that???) ... these are simply shots at the end of the day - the end of my typical day these days. the house is in disarray, dishes in the sink, magazines from MAY 2009 unread, the best intentions never played out, lots of work un done while a tiny boy is tucked away safely in his crib... a happy - yet chaotic life... god, i am a mess... how is this for transparency?!?!

this is my kitchen...notice CANNED green beans... oh, and an empty wine bottle. we are blessed to have food on our table, and wine to keep us sane

this is my family room... we are blessed to have toys to play with, books to read and a home to live in

this is the stack of magazines in my office - i am blessed to have many interests - and great subscriptions... now that "Gourmet" has stopped printing i have decided i will read every one still in the plastic from cover to cover and keep them all - r.i.p. gourmet)

this is my kitchen table... what a trainwreck! ... i am blessed for everything on this table - which as i study the photo amazes me HOW things like this end up here... the monitor - a random sneaker? my evening glass of wine, a tupperware lid?, random Michaels ad, goldfish, dog leashes, jewelry from the weekend... *sigh*

this is my kitchen island.. i have the best intentions to make healthy family meals from scratch - i am blessed with good intentions.

yes, i am trying to get the dishes done... i have some help from Ace.. did i feed the dogs tonight??? i hope so. i am blessed to have sweet helping paws around

well this is a little backwards.. but, here is how the day started... and when your day starts like this... you have to just feel blessed.

Happy 14 Months Lima Bean!

2009-10-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

What a difference a year makes!
Last year for your TWO month birthday, we took you to the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival... which fell the same weekend this year, so - you went again!

Some things were the same.
* it was HOT.. HOT.. HOT - even hotter this year.
* Daddy and I enjoyed a pumpkin beer (a sure sign that no matter the temperature outside, fall is here)
* there were lots of pumpkins
* we are so blessed to share it with you

Some things were different
* YOU... you are a whole new man - complete with your squiry wormy snuggly goodness
* your friends Nate and Abby joined you
* you met a fuzzy bunny friend named dottie

we saw a cute little baby there with his daddy, he looked so teeny and fragile, and when we asked how old.. the daddy said "2 months" on the inside i thought.. "how in the world is that little baby out and about today"... then i remembered that is exactly the age YOU were, when you came for the first time! you have been out and about for a while now little one. and you are GOOD at it. you are still pretty easy to take out on the town. so far no major tantrums or meltdowns or fussing. and even though it was a million degrees outside - you kept your cool. thats one thing i truly cherish about you - you are a mellow guy. you make being your mommy pretty darn easy. we are blessed.
here are some pics of your day out on the town.
happy 14 months little angel.
i love you mister.
xoxo

flashbacks - october 2008 (liam 2 months old)

same place, liam 14 months old... how has a whole year gone by?

your pal "Dottie"

bunny loves

mini kurt and the 40 year old virgin

2009-10-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

the first thing most people say when they see liam and kurt is "he looks exactly like his daddy"... or they call him "mini kurt"... looking at the photos below, i can't deny it. i walked into kurts office the other night and saw the two of them relaxing in the big fluffy recliners watching a movie together. [thank god it wasn't the sopranos, which seems to be on 24/7 in there!]

mini-kurt and daddy watching a movie in kurts "40-year old virgin" office/room. (more photos of this room in another post... its pretty unbelievable!)

the whole gang... dogs included.

(oh, and YES that is an entire wall of sunglasses)

good taste in movies lima bean!

rain

2009-10-14T20:00:00.001-07:00

what happens when the rain comes to L.A.????

late bloomers finally WALK!

go liam go!

typical morning

2009-10-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mornings in our house are pretty relaxed... We get about 2 hours togehter between waking up and dropping off at daycare, so no one needs to rush around, especially Liam.

Double fisting his morning cocktails while watching Yo Gabba Gabba. He has found his "special" place on the couch and asks for his furry blankey. Not a bad setup!

Well.. not a bad setup until you realize you are getting your picture taken, at which point you IMMEDIATELY go into attitude mode.

good thing baby-moods are short lived, within about one minute, he was ready to give kisses again!

... and now we are ready to start our day!

thanks jasper!

2009-10-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

Liam's virtual and birthday sharing pal from the Eastsiiiide sent him these AWESOME shoes for his b-day. Of course the only pics I have of him are at COSTCO (classic)... but, you can really see how cool these shoes are as he is strapped in the ginormous Costco cart.

shout outs to Ariana and Jasper - THANK YOU, these are awesome. Click on the link above to see Jasper in his matchy-match twinner shoes at the Pumpkin Patch!

One day, they WILL get to hang out and shoot the... well, you know!

thanks pals!

click to get your own pair of KABOOGIE awesomeness

ready for fall...

2009-09-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

we are sooo over the heat.
SO over it in fact, we put Liam's Halloween-y pj's on him last night. We thought it might entice the fall to hurry up already!

cute pj boy waiting for his pup "Ace" to come and play.

remember when i said that a boy needs a dog?

here's proof!

splish-splash!

2009-09-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

I think it is TECHNICALLY Fall... however triple digits certainly don't make it feel like Fall...
We have been trying to beat the heat, here is some water fun w/ Liam and Mackenzie.

how cute are they trying to climb up the slide - especially Mackenzie in her little pink jellies!!!

* all photos courtesy of Heather. :) thanks Heather!!

tactile

2009-09-22T21:08:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you... but I like soft, fuzzy, cuddly, snuggly things... and apparantly so does Liam! He has a little giraffe blanket that he got before he was born, that he LOOOOVES... i have been feeling lately, like the little fuzzy-furry blanket just isn't big enough (now that Liam is getting bigger)... so, i was at Costco today and found a big fuzzy leopard print throw... all i have to say is that it was worth every single penny of the $39.99 ... i think this purchase will give us many moments of fun :)... just check out the smiles we got today.

even though we can't see it... i am willing to bet the grin is ear to ear under the fur!

sooooft.

cuddly

ahhhhhhh

Pumpkin and Banana Pancakes

2009-09-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went out for breakfast with Heather and Mackenzie - we ordered banana pancakes for Liam, it was a first, and he LOVED them.

So - this morning, I made some pancakes at home. We made pumpkin w/ bananas on top. It was a hit!

mmmmmmmmm

happy pancake boy.

ta-daaaa - magic... made it disappear. (in MY MOUTH)

since this is an honest blog and i believe in full disclosure, i admit - i had a little help from my friend williams sonoma!

mommy's trip to wine country

2009-09-14T20:32:00.001-07:00

If you have never been to the Napa Valley, and consider yourself either a "foodie" OR a "wine-o"... then i suggest you GO... NOW.a little history on the trip i just returned from. (My first overnights away from Liam!!)
In 2005 my dear friend Tonya got married, and her bachelorette party was just a trip to Napa w/ her oldest friend Daphne, myself, and Clare - a mutual co-worker from back in Seattle days. Since that first trip, we have taken a year off for Tonya to have a baby... then gone again... then took another year off when i was pregnant w/ liam.. now that Nobody is knocked up, we got to go again!

here is the trip in photo.

These were the signs we looked for :)

we found THIS villa the last time we went... there is no need to stay ANYWHERE else! this place has it all! super cute, a hot mineral pool on site, totally private... call me if you want the contact info - you will LOVE IT. The owner even set out fresh roses for us!

this is the front porch of the villa where we chat and drink coffe - and wine of course

these two courageous beasts protect the property. someone please remind me that i would like a set of lions just like this for my own home - and to BUY them, if i ever come across some

lots of pretty flowers everywhere

here is the pool - probably runs about 100-102 degrees! naturally! it gets drained every night and refills naturally from the calistoga hot springs - how cool is that?

we had lots of feathered house guests who enjoyed drinking and bathing from the many fountains

Meet my friends!

Here is Tonya - the catalyst of this whole extravaganza - the straw that stirs the drink... she is tasting grapes off the vine - thats so her.

meet Clare - she is one of the most REAL people I have ever met - her last name is tucker!

meet daphne, she is a triathlete and mom of 2 who thinks she is a soccer mom... i think she is a supermodel waiting to happen!

the girls... this was the last winery stop of the day - can you tell from the look on our faces?

sauvignon grapes getting harvested at cakebread cellars

we found a chef out in the garden picking herbs for that nights dinner for an event at cakebread... talk about farm to fork!

our table at cakebread

yummm - mozzarella bar at v. sattui

we toured some champagne caves - schramsberg - napa's very first winery. also the only american sparkling wine served at the white house! look for blanc de blanc - yum! good sparkles - creepy caves! yes, i believe that stuff hanging fromn the ceiling is a mixture of mold and spider webs.

since i can't leave you with spider webs and mold...i will leave you with the ancient indian blessing tree... this was pretty cool - we found an olive tree where you could write a blessing and tie it on - there were blessings from YEARS ago!

Now... go book your trip to Napa - NOW!

you wont regret it!

Santa Barbara Zoo

2009-09-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

I am finally catching up... and am taking advantage of a few minutes here while I am at a standstill on a project to upload some of the pics from the Santa Barbara Zoo! Which is where we took Liam on his first birthday. This zoo is so little and cute, and completely doable with a baby/toddler - or school age child. There were tons of strollers and we even met a couple who were there visiting the zoo with their 6 month old triplets!! (how did we get to talk to them? They were asking about my camera of course!) Anyway - here is our day in photos.

They had these great eggs that were fun photo ops - liam loved crawling around in them

And modelling in them - he thought he was in a J-crew ad here!

Mommy liked playing in the egg too, but I think two was a crowd for Liam!

Our dog Ace's favorite trick in Agility is the "tunnel" ... I think Liam might give Ace a run for his money. There was a funny little girl in the background cheering Liam all the way through.

Daddy enjoyed the zoo too!

Ashley would have loved these giraffes - isn't it cute how their little necks are intertwined?

what you are about to see next is ASTONISHING.. at least to Liam who is seeing it for the first time...

Look at the California Condor... their wing span is 9 feet!

Equally as astonishing was what was going on in the Lions Den... a little bow-chikka-bow-bow... I appropriately had to give these photos the 1960's porn treatment.

2 parties and a dedication

2009-08-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

31 inches and 26 lbs!

85th percentile for both.

Happy First Birthday Liam

2009-08-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-17T11:53:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-08-11T09:44:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-03T13:27:00.001-07:00

bed head
Originally uploaded by kmenslage

do you ever wake up feeling like this???

Grand-bob is here!

2009-08-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

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" !