Liam is 3!!!

I CANNOT believe that Liam is already 3. It seems like just yesterday I was laying on the couch (hey- I wasn't lazy, I was on bedrest, remember?) watching Jim Carrey and Steve Carell on Oprah talking about their new movie Horton Hears a Who, and feeling my first contraction. In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday, and in others it seems like Liam's been a part of our family forever. Either way, we love him so much!


Liam and some of his friends waiting patiently for cake.

Time to eat!

The "Spread" (pizza still to be delivered!) and Amanda...Hi Amanda!


The Cake! This one was probably a little bit too involved. it was the chocolate fence that took the longest!


Blowing out his candles- his party was the day after his birthday, so my mom brought him cupcakes for his actual big day! Candles are his favorite part of his birthday- we lit them several times!

Happy Valentines Day!

we made you some cookies!

Changing Specialties

So some of you already know, but our family will be moving, once again, at the end of June. We're going back to Michigan, but this time to Ann Arbor (which is 20 minutes away from where were lived before, and an hour and a half from where Josh went to Med School at Michigan State). He considered his options carefully, but decided that neurology is not the field for him after all. He still loves it, and enjoys neuroscience, but he misses the musculo-skeletal aspects of Physical Mecidine and Rehab- a field that he was also interested in during medical school. It took a lot of faith for Josh to step out there and apply to the open spots- by doing so he was essentially giving up his spot here at UIHC. Luckily, his program made him feel pretty comfortable doing so, and were very supportive of his decision, telling him that he could still stayy if he wanted.

He hit the interview trail again (this time to North Carolina, University of Washington- thus our trip to Seattle, and the University of Michigan). After a lot of travel, there was a lot of wait. He interviewed at U of M on December 17th, and we waited until January 20th to hear that he was chosen. Woo Hoo! The process was long, and we are STILL filling out paperwork, but we both feel it was the right decision for our family. He will be doing what he loves, and will have more time at home with the kids and I. We will be back with our friends and our church in MI. Of course, there are so many people that I will miss here, and the city too. We've had so much fun exploring Iowa City, and it really is a great city to have a family in. We'll just have to see what our 3+ years in Ann Arbor bring! Here is the cake that I made for Josh to congradulate him. I know the M is off center, because the ganache didn't set right. It still tasted good (and don't judge...have you ever tried to make a giant letter from M&Ms? It's way harder than it looks!)

Snow Days!

We have had quite a few snow storms (ha! I was typing snow, and I typed snot instead. Can you imagine a snot storm? I'm sure it would give a whole new meaning to not wanting to go out in the storm!) this winter. One big one, and a few smaller ones as well.


Josh and Liam building their first snowman together. He lasted over a month, and then we had one warm day and he fell over. Liam said he was taking a nap :) He got burried by the big storm. Most of our snow is (thanfully) melted now.


Having a snowball fight in the front yard.

London sat in the wagon and watched everyone else play in the snow. She loved it!


And this is "The big one". Josh was on call the night that this happend, and had to drive home from the hospital. The roads were pretty clear, but it's illegal to park on the street during a snow emergency, so we had to have a spot big enough for Josh's car to park in cleared out of our driveway (which Liam is standing in) before he got home at 1:00. We spent two hours and, with the help of one of our neighbor guys, got a spot just big enough for the car. When we finished, three more guys came over with Shovels and a snow blower and finshed our drive and the neighbor who had been helping me. It took them about 20 minutes- we need a snowblower :) Liam had to go inside and watch a movie while I was shoveling this time. He didn't like the snow being this deep. It took him almost 20 minutes to hike from the end of our driveway into the garage. When he got in there, he started jumping up and down yelling "I made it! I made it!".

Happy (Belated!) Birthday Josh!

Last time I updated this blog, Josh was still in his 20's. His 30th birthday has since passed! His parents, grandma, sister and neice all came up to celebrate with him the weekend before his birthday. On his actual day, we didn't get to do much worthy of such a special number, because he was on call. I made him a cookie cake, but he was on call. His post-call day was an annual party at one of the very good restaurants in town, the 126. We just pretended that it was in honor of his birthday :) Just wanted to wish Josh a very happy 30th birthday- to one of the best husbands and dads around! We love you!