Not just another Monday.

Liam figured out how to take lemons and make lemonade. He was a little sad when we went to the Barber Shop and I wouldn't let him get a Mohawk. Yesterday he was playing around and found that his new haircut works well into a Mohawk. He is one happy fella.

Bobby got Tonia a new car.

There is a back-up camera. This is what the screen looks like.

Do we see a cooking show in his future?

At 6:30 this morning Liam had a great idea -- let's eat breakfast outside. (Yes, we all know it's summer and sleeping in would be nice, but Master Liam -- who was up at 5 a.m. -- awoke happy-go-lucky and ready to enjoy the day.)

Savoring some cherries from the farmer's market.


Liam explaining to Mommy how one would open a coconut. As unbelievable as it sounds, he saw someone open a coconut on some cooking show (with Grandma Irene, no doubt.) Tonia was a little sceptical at first, but then followed Liam's instructions -- THEY WORKED!!After the coconut opening, it was 100% Liam's show. He blended together: the coconut juice and meat, fresh and frozen blueberries, a little yogurt, some flax seed (that was Tonia's contribution), and a touch of water (because it looked too thick to drink.) Liam tasted it and decided something else was needed, so we added a touch of pear yogurt. He tasted it again and declared it finished.

Have to say it was very, very, very tasty. Mommy has let Liam know that he is in charge of breakfast tomorrow as well -- He was overjoyed. He said we need to go to the store this afternoon so he can get some ingredients. Can't wait to see what he comes up with.

A Peek At Liam's Life

Liam made a drumset out of toys, and drumsticks out of crayons. This is his new Rocker look. Surprisingly his playing didn't sound that bad.
Mr. Cornface. He loves to go to the Farmers Market and check out the offerings. (He asks for samples at every tent.) He picked out everything for dinner Friday -- corn, tomatoes, greens, nuts, cucumbers, basil, and potatoes.

Mommy was in charge of the potatoes and corn. Liam's dish to prepare was a tomato, cucumber, and basil salad. He kept taking little tastes as he was creating his masterpiece. He said, "as the chef I need to taste the food to make sure it tastes okay." This new cooking style, we believe, is the influence of "Ratatouille," a new movie about a rat in Paris who loves to cook.

This love of food and cooking, however, is not new. You won't believe this, but he loves to watch cooking shows (especially with Grandma Irene -- who introduced them to him), has his own spice rack (thanks to Gigi), and loves to help out in the kitchen. We definitely think he has inherited his Uncle Frank's cooking genes.
Preparing the wood for an airplane he is planing to build. Above he is sanding. Below he is painting.
We'll keep you posted...

A Liam Fourth

Liam was up early ready to practice yoga. So, Mommy and Liam rolled out their mats and did some Sun Salutations and then some restorative poses before breakfast.
Grandma and Liam were out by 8 a.m. They had a fun time pulling weeds and sweeping the patio.
We couldn't get into the "Lion King" today, so Daddy took everyone to lunch. Then we went to the garden center to buy some cactus. Grandma and Liam picked out three cactus and planted them in a pot. Liam is very excited to finally have some plants in his room.

After the garden center we spent a little time in the pool. It was chilly today, so Liam swam for about 10 minutes. Tonia and Bobby practiced scuba skills.

We enjoyed an early dinner, and are now waiting to watch "A Capital Fourth" on PBS.

Noonanasana

Note for non-yogis: Asana means pose (but you probably already figured that out.)

Grandma and the GPS

Today, both Grandma and Bob's new GPS arrived. Tonia drove the big rig (F350) for the first time. Very exciting indeed.
Grandma and the boys after dinner.
Grandma feigning interest in the new GPS. Bob said she was probably thinking, "not again, I went through this already with Tony."

Seems like such a long time...

It seems like forever since we've sat down to write a blog. For the last eight days, Tonia has been assisting her teacher, Sri Dharma Mittra, as a Staff Yogi/Mentor for Dharma Yoga Center's 200 hour Teacher Training program. She leaves the house before 6 a.m. and doesn't get home most days until after Bob and Liam have gone to sleep.

Bob has had his hands full taking care of Liam. Who knew it was so much work to get a child feed, dressed and off to school every morning, pick him up after school and then prepare dinner. It is amazing how calmly Bob handles an extremely creative, independent and energetic five-year-old.

Bobby and Liam are having tons of fun doing "guy stuff." They are definitely taking advantage of Mommy not being around and have been enjoying some freedom from having to act like perfect gentlemen all the time. The first night that Tonia was not home for dinner, the boys had soup and decided that it would be fun to slurp, slurp, slurp as loud as possible since Mommy wasn't there to tell them not to. Of course, Liam said, "Mommy, I'm not supposed to tell you, but..."

Last Sunday Bobby and Tonia went to Dutch Springs, a quarry in PA, to scuba dive. Liam stayed home with his babysitter, Kyle (our sister-in-law Sinead's cousin), who took him to a BBQ at his house. When we picked Liam up that afternoon he wasn't completely ready to leave. He had played badminton, hung out with the big kids, was taken for ice cream, got a new Yankees hat, and was able to visit with lots of fun people.

As unusual as it seems, we have only taken a few pictures since Father's Day -- and there isn't one of the little Liamiekins. Don't worry Grandparents, we should be able to get back to our regular picture taking this weekend. Bob after returning from re-filling our tanks.
Our gear.
Tonia after the first dive of the day.