Olympic Fever

Saturday Edwin and I got to attend the 2010 Olympic Games! Our friends, Aaron and Sara, invited us as well as some other friends of ours to go see the Women's Ariel Ski Jumping. We had an amazing time! Grandma Nancy came up Friday to spend the night and watch Liam all day Saturday so that we could go. She claims that she had more fun than us, hanging out with our little man. I don't know about that, but we felt pretty blessed to have her here.

We left at about 5:00 AM Saturday morning to meet up with everyone and start driving up to Canada. We took a shuttle from Simon Frazier University in Vancouver up to Cypress Mt. where the event was held, arriving about 8:30 AM. Once we got to Cypress it was all fun and games! Here are some pictures of our adventure.

These are our official Olympic tickets with the ski hill in the background

This is our friend, Natalie, sporting our colors

This is where we stood for the entire event. We were so blessed that the weather was gorgeous. I can't imagine what our experience would have been like in the rain or snow.

After the event we took the shuttle back to the U and then headed into Vancouver to see the Olympic village and all of the hoopla going on downtown. We found out that we had to be invited into the village by a delegate, so we went with the rest of the commoners to see all of the international houses, the open food markets and general madness all over the streets of Vancouver. The city looked beautiful.

These are some of the videos Edwin took with our picture camera, so it is not the best quality. But you can see a little of what it was like to be there. I cut together several clips and they move somewhat quickly, so don't blink or you might miss the jumps! But I am sure they looked a lot better on TV! Also on the reader board you will see the best jumper of the day was Nina. No surprise there.

The whole day was amazing. I never in my life thought I would attend an Olympic event of any kind and the Ariel Ski Jumping was a really fun event to see! Also, Edwin and I haven't had much time lately to play without caring for Liam at the same time. It felt like good old times. We had amazing weather, great friends, tons of food, and got caught up in the Olympic fever for a day. It was a day I won't soon forget!

Happy Anniversary, Edwin

To My Best Friend,

I can't believe we've been married 9 years already! The time has flown by, and it's been a wild 9 years. Some have been tough, some miraculous, some peaceful, but all of them wonderful in one way or another. I am so thankful that you picked me to spend your life with. I can't imagine being with anyone else. And because we're together, the world now has this incredible little person, Liam, and another one on the way! God has been good to us and I am looking forward to what He has for us in the years to come.

Here are a few pictures of our 9 years together (beginning after we got a digital camera). I don't have any yet for 2010, but I am sure there will be many with the little gummy bear due in August. I love you, Edwin!

2009 - Liam's 1st Birthday

2009 - Victoria

2009 - Guatemala

2008 - Now it's the three of us

2008 - Liam is born

2008 - Leavenworth

2007 - Boston

2006 - Canlis

2005 - Anniversary in Vegas

2004 - Argentina

2003 - Rio Dulce

2001 and 2002 were pre-digital, but remember that one in '02 in the Disneyland parking lot? And I would have picked a lovely wedding picture for 2001. You'll have to use your imagination because I was too tired to try and scan those pictures in!

Laughs at Lunch

Liam really had the giggles at lunch today. Just about everything was making him laugh. So I decided to grab the camera (something I have done very little of lately).

The Christmas of Sickness

I'm finally getting around to posting something on our Christmas. I will have to add some video later, this was all I had time for!

This was the first year that we stayed home for Christmas since we've been married. Edwin's parents, sister, nephew, cousin and cousin's wife and son all came to join us. Christmas day and the day after we got to see my parents as well. Unfortunately we were all sick, every one of us! The only good thing about that was we could liberally spread our germs around without worrying that someone might get sick. We were all so unmotivated that we couldn't even get all of the presents opened until the 28th! But we did have a good time.

We spent some time just relaxing around the house. We celebrated Jesus' birthday with some fireworks. We cooked and ate a ton of food, had Liam's dedication ceremony at church, saw some family that live in the area. All in all it was so nice to be home with everyone. And great to have Jenny here for the first time with us.

One of the highlights was Edwin's birthday gift from his mom. She found his favorite Tonka truck from when he was a little boy. They had stored it all these years. He claimed he used to sit on it and ride it down a hill in front of their home, sometimes even two kids at a time! That was a little hard to believe, but he proved us wrong by showing us he could still sit on it with out any limbs touching the ground. And the best part is she found the very same Tonka in much better condition on Ebay so that Liam could have one of his own just like his daddy's! It was pretty fun to see Edwin's surprise!

Is It Mid-December Already?

I don't know what happened, but I have pretty much no pictures or video from the month of November and very little in December! So there hasn't been much to blog about. November flew by for us and I don't even really know what we did. And December is going even faster. The lights and tree are up, the cookies are made, the presents are bought and the ipod is playing nothing but Christmas music. We are staying home for Christmas this year for the first time so it is also the first time that we have really had the opportunity to decorate and bake.

Liam is doing well despite the fact that he has a new cold every other week and has popped through a few molars. He continues to change and grow so much. He has gone from walking to running in no time and is starting to really test the boundaries of his environment. He is also getting more and more opinionated. I put together a little video that will give you an idea of what he does and doesn't like and also give you a small glimpse into his personality.

Hopefully we will have some fun stuff to post after the holidays!

Getting Busier By the Minute

Liam is developing so fast every week it's getting harder and harder to keep up with him! He is walking pretty proficiently now and getting into everything. But he is a pretty well behaved little guy for the most part, so I can't complain. Some of his favorite things of late are books, he will sit and page through books for a really long time. I took him to Barnes and Noble the other day and he was content playing with the books for an hour and a half! He still loves the toy bin, as you will see, and he loves his purple ball and his John Deere tractor.

The walking progression has been fun to observe. Right now it is wonderful because he will take off walking and then come back and give a snuggle. Repeat and Repeat and Repeat. And what mom doesn't love a hundred snuggles in a day even if they are really short?

I edited this video a little to give you a better idea of a day in the life of Liam. He is a lot of fun and will definitely keep me on my toes. He is an active little guy!

They toy bin has been the best investment. It looks nice, is really sturdy and has been a constant source of entertainment since Liam could stand up. The play keeps evolving the older he gets. This video is of the Liam's current stage of play with the toy bin.

He also loves to get inside our corner cabinet in the kitchen and play. He fits pretty well in there!

Breaking News!

Liam is WALKING! He can make it across the room if he really puts his mind to it. I have tried to get some video, but the child will NOT walk when I pick up the camera. I'll keep trying, but I thought some of you would like the update.