All I’m going to say is that, seriously, I only turned my back for a second. He was SO proud of his accomplishments. Enough said.
Ok, well maybe just a few more words on this. Can I go ahead and eat him up?! I mean, I seriously want to dip him in ranch dressing and gobble him up! I would, of course, die of severe cute poisoning.
Really cute right? A little man, sorting his laundry in a diaper and dress socks. Of course! Well, I couldn’t help thinking to myself how responses to certain “outfits” change over the years. I mean, here I am snapping pictures of Liam in this great ensemble to memorialize the cuteness. Now if we were to fast forward, say, 30 years and he is in his home in the same get-up–well, hopefully not the diaper!–but tighty-whities and dress socks, I do believe his wife would have a fairly different reaction. I doubt she’d be running for the camera. Can’t you just see her rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him? I can.
So when does ridiculously cute turn into ridiculously dorky? Hmmm. . .not sure. . .but suck it up while you can little buddy! You are doing one heck of a job putting smiles on all of our faces with everything you do!
I guess you couldn’t really say he’s “walking the straight and narrow”. His path? More often topsy-turvy than straight. His stance? Not narrow by any means. Wide and steady instead. His mission? Getting places. All places. As safely, bravely and quickly as possible. I already shared with you that Liam took his first steps on October 5th, the night before his first birthday. Well almost exactly a week later, on October 13th, he took his first few “strolls” throughout the house. He started practicing that morning while I watched closely and excitedly. As the day went on he began actually walking in the truest sense more and more frequently and for longer distances each time. The icing on the cake that day was when Shawn walked through the door. Liam walked all the way across the living room to him, whispering “dada” as he went. When he reached his destination he wrapped his little arms around Shawn’s legs and looked up at him with a huge, proud smile! Shawn was blown away. It was the first day ever that his little boy came and greeted him all of his own accord. What a very special memory for us.
Watching Liam learn and practice diligently and determinedly, the art of growing into a self-sufficient, independant, communicative person all his own has really made me pause and think about alot of things in life. Things that one wouldn’t normally ever really call to mind–at least not long enough to actually ponder for more than a split second. Like how virtually all of us take something like walking for granted. When we want to go somewhere, we just get up and walk there. We don’t plot out the course ahead of us (at least not consciously), look for furniture or perhaps, other humans to grab onto in the likely event we wipe out along the way. We just thoughtlessly. . .go. No fear or serious contemplation is involved. It’s not until you have an injury or something, when you’re laid up and immobile for a bit, or in my case, watching someone learning to walk, that you remember that you actually had to learn to do this at one time. It just kind of makes me think about all the things that I probably take for granted on a daily basis. I’m not getting all deep and philosophical on you or anything. Just thinking out loud. It’s not like each time I get up to walk now I’m going to shed tears of joy and be thinking to myself, “I’m walking. . .dear god I’m walking!”. No. . . just looking at the mundane in a different light really.
All the close observation and imitation going on around here lately is so entertaining and amusing to Shawn and I. Yet, it really is so serious and important to Liam, and was to all of us in the beginning. The other day after Shawn had put some shave lotion on his face, he rubbed his hands together to get rid of the extra. Liam was staring at him the whole time and then took his little hands, rubbed them together, and started doing the exact thing he saw his dad doing. It was hilarious and adorable but he had this really focused look on his face while he was doing it—which made it even better, of course!
And then there’s the “talking”. Liam’s vocabulary is growing by the day and watching him watch and listen to us say key phrases to him and then listening to his version is awesome! He obviously has had “mama” and “dada” down pat for awhile. He also waves and says “bye” to all our guests–repeatedly– from the moment they put their shoes on and go anywhere near the door–and continues to do so until they finally vacate the premises. Here are a few new ones:
“bot” = “bath”–he says this while smiling from ear to ear as we fill the bathtub for him and put his toys in the water
“dod”/”doddy” = “dog”/”doggy” (obviously)
“day” = this one is still up in the air for us–he is either saying “Zane” (since he says it over and over while he’s petting Zane) or “stay” (because he hears us repeatedly telling Zane to stay all the time!)
And my personal favorite, because he’s dead on with it and because he is as interested in food as his mother. . .
“a bite” (pronounced with a very accentuated “t” sound, more like “a biTe”!) = “a bite” (duh)–he says this whenever we’re eating something he wants to try. He walks right over to us with an open mouth after he says it!
And the fun is just beginning! Despite it happening way too fast, watching a little person grow up is seriously the most fun, amazing thing in the world. It sure makes the days when the sleep-deprivation is really sinking its teeth into you, humorous and entertaining enough to get you through. It makes you think about things you haven’t thought about in years, in a whole new way, if ever before. It keeps you on your toes because as the one being scrutinized and imitated, you better darn well be the kind of person you want your kid to imitate! It gives you the chance to go all the way back to your own beginning in a way, to imagine seeing and doing everything for the first time all over again. The nostalgia is just killing me here–I love it!
I wonder what Liam will have me writing home about next. . . 
Wondering what he is practically climbing out the window to get a closer look at? You’ll see in a minute. Each morning Liam and I have a little ritual together. Zane comes in to say good morning, letting us know he needs to head outside to take care of his own morning “ritual”. So off we go, entering each room on the way to the living room and opening the blinds to greet the day waiting for us on the other side. On this particular morning, less than 24 hours after I had posted my last blog, we were greeted by the very thing I had made my last statement about–SNOW! On October 15th, we had accumulating snow in our yard. As disheartened as I was, Liam was more than happy to hang out by the window to assess the white stuff all over the place out there. It’s not like he hasn’t seen snow before. It’s just the difference between seeing it at 6 months old and then at 1 year old—everything is way more interesting now, of course. So here it was. . .his view. . . .
Oh well, it is what it is. Snow is really the only thing I like about cold weather anyway and since it’s already cold up here I might as well embrace the part I like, I guess. . . gulp. At any rate, if you ask me, I had the better view that morning. I mean, look at him—all messy from just rolling out of bed. Look at that bed head and the diaper peak! So darn adorable if I do say so myself.
About a month ago we were led to believe (falsely, of course) that we were on the verge of a beautiful fall. All the earmarks were there; unseasonably warm days, oodles of sunshine, and even, god forbid, dry weather. But oh, when will we learn. Such pleasantries never last long up here. As it stands now, we have endured cold, wet, icky weather for the better part of two weeks. We’ve even witnessed snow coating our vehicles already. Our leaves have peaked and are now falling from the trees with only the slightest hint of wind movement. Yep, it’s over. Autumn was here (I guess??) and this morning when we woke up to 28 degrees, I think it became safe to say she won’t be coming back till next year—maybe.
Cest’ la vie up here though, so we aren’t shocked or anything. We did manage to get out on some very pretty days for little jaunts here and there and even a ramble or two in the woods. A few days ago I brought Liam out for a mini photo shoot and just have to share a few of the pics with you. He wasn’t the smiliest as he was in sore need of a nap that day. Yes, he’s now way too big and busy to make time for napping anymore—or so he thinks. Either way, he still managed to take a bunch of adorable pictures and helped turn a boring afternoon fun for a little while. And. . .he took a nice long nap after being out in the brisk air and sunshine. 
Can’t wait for the pictures in the snow! Oh wait. . .I take that back. . . . . I’m in no rush!!
My Dearest Liam,
My oh my. A year ago this day seemed so very far away. This morning you woke up a one year old little boy. A beautiful, blue-eyed boy lying next to me, smiling up at me, “talking” to me, so happy to see me. These mornings are just heaven with you. You are just such a joy to wake up to, to spend my day with, and to tuck in at night. This past year you have inched along to becoming the little person you are today. It’s been happening right before our eyes, you growing up slowly but quickly.
You are a little different every day. A little taller, a little heavier, with a fuller head of hair. Your little haircut is the cutest thing ever and when you wake up in the morning with your big grin, two little bottom teeth showing, and stick-ups all over your head, I just can’t help but laugh. You are still a snuggler but getting braver and more independant by the day. You are into everything! There is no holding you back now. You are on your way. Last night you took your very first steps. You and I both were together for those and I am so glad. We were both so surprised. We looked at each other and smiled excitedly, your beautiful blue eyes even wider than usual. What a moment for you, my little lovebug! Seems like just yesterday that you were my brand new little baby lying in my arms, so light and still, sleeping so peacefully through most of those early days. Now here you are on the verge of walking!
And of course, it’s not just the growth of your little body that amazes me. Your growing personality melts my heart over and over again as I see the little person you are becoming. What a sense of humor you’re growing! I love to make you laugh, and what a wonderful laugh you have. You have a good heart, Liam. I can sense the kindred spirit in you by watching you. You are bright and quick, curious and playful, gentle, warm and loving. I am so very proud of you already and I know those words will be said to you all throughout your life.
It is so important to me that you always know how very much you are loved. While your mommy and daddy aren’t perfect and we will make mistakes, we promise to always have your best interests at heart, to always be honest with you and to do everything in our power to protect you and give you the best life we can. You are so precious to us, Liam. What a gift you are. This past year with you has saturated our hearts and minds with beautiful, unforgettable memories which we will guard from growing up, even while you continue to do so. For as wonderful as it is to watch you grow, it too, is bittersweet as those innocent, sweet milestones and stages of yours pass as quickly as they came. So don’t be in a rush, my little sweetheart. Let’s take our time on this journey, lingering along the way to savor every blessed moment together. . . . . . . .
I love you forever,
Mommy
Hello, hello! I’m not even going to get into the apoligies, excuses, reasons, blah, blah, blah about why it has been soooo very loooong since I have stepped foot into blogland. Nope. Not gonna do it. There isn’t any reason to. I doubt I need to explain to anyone reading who knows my life status as of late. I do indeed have a very good reason for being tied up otherwise. His name is Liam.
Today was a very special day. My little Liamchop is 1 year old today. If anything can get my fanny back into my computer chair after 10 pm, when I really just want to be snuggled into bed, it’s this. I simply cannot sleep peacefully without acknowledging this milestone in writing. My first little baby, my beloved little boy, is a whole year old already. He’s been in our lives, in our arms, and in our hearts for an entire year. While it just doesn’t seem possible that a full year has ticked by, it also doesn’t seem even plausible that he ever wasn’t here. In so many ways my life felt like it truly began when little Liam arrived on the scene. This past year has molded me into a much more whole person. There is no way to ever sum up in words all the changes, emotions, growth, overwhelming love, stress, joy, exhaustion and a million other powerful gifts becoming a parent bestows upon you, so I won’t attempt to. I will just say thank you. . .
At the risk of sounding like a woman of the 1950’s, who has just been introduced to one of those newfangled things called a dishwasher, or like a woman who hasn’t been out of her home in far too long (most likely the latter), I just need to declare my love for, yes, my dishwasher. No, I didn’t just get it and yes, I’ve had one off and on over the years now for the majority of the time, as most of the places I’ve lived have been so equipped. I just never used them really. I mean, I did, but strictly for the times we had company over and even then, not always. They were used at virtually no other times than that. The only real use they saw was as large dish-drying racks for the piles of dishes I had chosen to wash all by myself, by hand.
I had so many reasons never to use them. It was like I had this mental block about the darn things. We never had one growing up. In fact, my parents still don’t have one. I don’t know if this has any bearing on my odd behavior toward using them or not. My biggest dilemma about using them stemmed from the fact that it was just little old Shawn and I creating what I always told myself was just a handful of dishes everyday. No big deal. Well, when you love to cook as much as I do, and pretty much on a daily basis, that “handful of dishes” crap goes right out the window. My next argument came from this same line of thought about it just being Shawn and I. It seemed to take f o r e v e r to fill the stinkin’ thing enough to make it worth running. Naturally, this would be the case as I was still secretly handwashing little batches of dishes throughout the day.
Okay, so then there was the great concern I had about it being a huge waste of water and electricity, and therefore, money. Turns out I waste far more water washing several sinkfuls of dishes day in and day out. And the electricity thing? Seriously, Sarene?? First of all, Lake Placid has it’s own supply of electricity which makes our electric bills fairly palatable, as bills go anyway. Secondly, I’m thinking I’m mistaken about the crazy use of electricity involved in dishwasher usage as well. Still, I was always able to come up with some excuse for not using it.
Well, life has changed. It’s all about managing my time almost down to the second anymore, as I am never “off the clock” with my Liamchop. Any modern convenience is savagely welcome at this point in my life. The loopy thing is that I just recently broke down and embraced this wild new idea. Shawn mentioned that he had used the dishwasher every night while I was home in PA a few weeks ago. Aware of my lack of a relationship with the dishwasher, he made a big point of telling me I should just go ahead and use the thing already, that it would be one less chore that I would have to repeatedly tackle all day long. He even broke the strategy down for me when I instantly replied with my usual, “No, it”ll take forever to fill up. . .” line. He told me to just start right out every morning loading every dirty dish into the dishwasher and by night it would be plenty full to run. I was doubtful, but wouldn’t you know, by golly, the lad was right!
It’s like I just got my hands on this great new invention called a dishwasher now! I am loving loading the thing to the gills everyday and turning it on at night. I look forward to hearing the purr of it doing my work for me. Sometimes I only run it every other night because it took two days to fill and I’m okay with that. So what was my deal all along? What it always is with me. I have this overwhelming need to be able to do every single thing just perfectly all on my own. It’s always been a problem for me to need to cut back or ease up on my tasks, no matter how trivial or mundane. I can never seem to understand why I shouldn’t be able to do it all—and the hard way. I honestly think deep down inside I felt like I was lazy or a slacker by not doing my dishes by hand. Like I felt I needed to earn the right (ie. guests for dinner) to accept some help. What a dum-dum way to treat myself!
Well, those days are gone. Why the about face? Good old-fashioned desperation, of course. It’s usually the only thing that can break my stance in matters like these. Being desperately busy, desperately time-starved, and desperately tired made me take a closer look at my ridiculous notions and finally give them the boot. Very sad, I know, but I am making strides with myself in this area. I will most likely always be a work in progress in this department because it’s a trait that is pretty engrained in me, but heck, there could be worse things about somebody, right? Hmmm. . .now I’m just wondering what other groovy little helpers and timesavers have been lurking right under my nose that I haven’t availed myself to yet. You can be sure that I am on the lookout and beyond eager to employ them as well.
It was what seemed to be just another laid back night in the home of a Lake Placid couple (names withheld) as they hosted a dinner in their home one evening last week. It was just one more in a long string of visits to the dinner table in this home for Liam S. Condino, who has become a close friend of the couple over the course of the past nine months.
“Yes, we really have grown very close to this man, especially recently, as he seemed to have been really coming out of his shell, trying to communicate with us on a whole new level. We have shared many laughs and tears together, “ the couple states.
Therefore, it came as quite a surprise last week when the couple witnessed an event at their dinner with Mr. Condino that seemed to say otherwise about the relationship between them.
“We had just finished a lovely meal together—including dessert, of which by the way, Mr Condino was an almost embarassing partaker! He made such a mess of himself, he actually required a change of clothing! We had even gotten the camera out to help us memorize the occasion. We were all just truly enjoying ourselves, having a few drinks, chuckling, you know. . .really letting our hair down. We felt comfortable with this man, afterall, and he had never given us any reason to ever feel any different. . .at least not up until this point,” the couple reminisces sadly.
Mr. Condino entertaining the group with one of his measuring cup tricks
The following pictures aren’t so light-hearted, and are actually quite disturbing, given the situation. The brazenness witnessed below is certainly noteworthy. What you are seeing is Mr. Condino allegedly breaking into the couple’s chocolate and candy drawer. The value of the contents therein was recently appraised at over $50.
Undeniable guilt
Mr. Condino protesting as goods are retrieved
“It was like we weren’t even in the room anymore. I mean, we had just been snapping pictures too! It was like he just turned into somebody else right there in front of us. We were just dumbfounded at the whole thing. We picked up the camera and documented the entire scene. We figured that even though this was really a sad scenario among what we consider friends, we had better think logically and have proof of what was so obviously taking place in our own home,” recounts the couple. “You think you know someone, but do you ever really know them?”they sigh. “It’s not even about the chocolate. It cuts so much deeper than that. It’s the question of motive and the utter disregard for our feelings that really has us fumbling with our emotions right now.” There is silence and a few tears as the couple collects their composure.
We caught up with Mr. Condino as he was enjoying himself this past weekend on his grandfather’s boat. When asked for his comments on his actions, he said nothing and simply gave us an arrogant laugh while attempting to block us from obtaining a photo. Disgusted with our presence, he attempted to ignore us the rest of the time we were there.
When asked what will happen next and what steps they plan to take, the couple had a fairly surprising answer.
“Everyone keeps saying things like ‘press charges’ and ‘take him for all he’s worth’ and blunt things like that. I guess after our own personal consideration and discussions with each other, we just have a hard time following through with any of that. We obviously wish this had never happened and that we could go back and have things like they used to be but of course, that’s not possible. We simply have to deal with this the way we feel is best for all involved. All things considered, Mr. Condino has been a very good friend to us and we would rather focus on all the good times, not just this one unfortunate act on his part,” they explain.
A shock to many, no charges will be pressed against Mr. Condino. The couple adds,” We really just want to chalk this up to our friend being tired. Anyone who knows Mr. Condino can vouche that he is a different person when he is overtired.” The couple exchanges a glance and even manages to share a chuckle at this statement. “In all actuality, he really is a delightful individual and our lives would definitely be lacking alot without the touch of his charm and charisma.”
What a truly amazing testament to friendship, loyalty and compassion in a world all too consumed with a me-first mentality where forgiveness is rarely in practice. While many readers may have a completely different view, our rare couple had one more thing to add.
“In the end, we’d much rather live with him than without him. We have no doubt that he will again share a meal with us in our home, as a cherished friend. You have to be willing to see people through the hard times. We’re giving him a second chance. Don’t we all deserve a second chance now and again?”
In case you don’t know it, those three words above are what every Pennsylvanian knows to be the beginning of the jingle for Knobels Grove. That little jingle shall never be erased from my head. It makes me smile just thinking of it. I love the place. This past visit home included Liam’s first ever visit to Knobels, a place his mommy has spent many a fun time throughout her whole life. It’s pretty crazy, not being the kid anymore, but the PARENT taking your own kid to Knobels! Wow! Wakeup call! It’s going to be like seeing it all for the first time all over again through Liam’s eyes, especially as he gets a little older and can appreciate it even more.
I must be honest and say that while I had, and always have, the best intentions of getting oodles of pictures of events like this, I have again fallen short. It seems that I always get so wrapped up in enjoying the event itself that I forget I even brought the darn camera! I did, however, get a few cuties to share with you. It was a beautiful day and we all had such a nice time together. The highlight of the our day was when Liam got on his first ride ever. A big day in any little man’s life and I’m proud to say it happened at my beloved Knobels. He also enjoyed ice cream (actually the highlight of his day) with the rest of us. He is growing to have quite the penchant for the stuff. He helped finish off mine and my dad’s !
Ice cream coma!
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I believe more exciting times are ahead for Liam at Knobels. In all honesty, he was far more excited about eating ice cream than anything else going on around him at the park at this point in time. In his defense, he was only 8 1/2 months old on his first visit. No sweat, little man. You just wait. Knobels is sure to become a magic word in your vocabulary before long!
