BE A SUPERHERO!

(Or just get stuff done.)

Perform monumental, earth-shattering tasks!

Strip yourself of your daily inhibitions and work even harder than your bosses!

THAT'S RIGHT!  Move a box!  File a folder!  CLIMB A LADDER!

Man, these Europeans don't know what endless possibilities they're missing out on without 5-Hour Energy at the ready.  I bet the Euro crisis would be over in, oh, say, 3 1/2 hours if they caught on to our secret!

Sticks and Stones

Liam has a thing for sticks these days.  Pretty awesome, since they're free and in excessive supply around here.

Weird (but typical) German playground structure. Usually you'll see a handful of "animals" constructed out of fallen logs, misshapen rocks, what have the architects.  I think this log is a snake. 

After perusing the available pieces, Liam makes his selection

Hogwarts student in training?

"Immobulus!  Ha!  The Harry Potter spell works -- the snake is not moving!"

"Ahh, yes, my wand is of superior quality"

Occupation shift: from Hogwarts wizard to Gandalf's apprentice

LoCash Cowboys!!!

Liam is probably the most user-friendly toddler ever created.  As you all well know, we have taken him places most parents wouldn't ever imagine bringing even their pre-teens for fear of the misbehavior that might result.  But since the day Liam entered this world, we've held true to the belief that as long as we're calm, encouraging, and optimistic about his ability to handle new situations, he'll exceed our expectations and be a rock star.

Speaking of rock stars, I just added another Ridiculous Place To Bring A Toddler to Liam's list:  a country music concert.  We met up with our fabulous pal Felisha (who also happens to be one of Liam's leading ladies) for an awesome night.  Currently, Armed Forces Entertainment is sponsoring the LoCash Cowboys to perform free concerts at many (maybe even all) U.S. military bases in Europe.  These guys put on a show last night that I would've been happy to pay for -- they were amazing!  They're not just straight country; LoCash has elements of blues, R&B, classic rock, and funk.  With the sound they're cultivating, LoCash has the potential to be in lights until long after they're too old to dance like they did last night.

LoCash performed some of their own hits and threw in a diverse collection of classic rock, country, and even oldies songs ("My Girl"!).  Liam was nervous at first, with all the lights and noise, but I held him and danced him around and he started warming up.  His face finally broke into a big grin and he began bouncing in my arms and squealing when LoCash covered ZZ Top's "Tush."  (Again, he is SUCH a smart kid, right?)

Tearing up the dance floor at LoCash

Lovin' us some C-O-U-N-T-R-Y!

While the concert wasn't as packed as it could have been (with so many soldiers away for training), it was still a fabulous show.  An aside:  The LoCash Cowboys wrote the new hit single "You Gonna Fly," performed by Keith Urban.  Chris and Preston (the head honchos of LoCash) performed the song for us last night and proved it was their song from the start.  These guys have a whirlwind tour throughout the summer, hitting venues all across the country (even Alaska!), so check them out and see if you can join the ranks with us lucky folks who can say, "We rocked it out with LoCash!!"

Some fun video dialogue you might not have been able to hear clearly:
1.  Liam said, "Everybody falls."  Instead of crying or whining, Liam says that whenever he trips or hits the ground.  Such a stellar dude!
2.  Liam tried to whistle.  His attempts strongly resembled those of King Julien from Madagascar.
3.  In a moment that made me think of Grandpa Marty, Liam shouted with a smile, "I made that!" when the lights started flashing and changing colors. (Because anyone who knows Grandpa Marty knows he wrote every good song, designed every cool bridge, and thought of every fabulous idea.  He is, after all, Grandpa Marty.)
4.  And yes, you also heard correctly -- Liam said, "That's cool."  He's so right -- the concert was cool!

After two solid hours of killer music, LoCash came to the back of the venue and signed autographs, took pictures with the fans, and cracked jokes.  Both on and off stage, the guys of LoCash are hilarious, talented, approachable, easygoing, and down-to-earth.  And it looks like they've got their hearts in the right place, so I'm hoping these guys stay as cool as they were last night, even when they're accepting all the awards I'm sure await them in the years to come.

"Chris, man, you have got to tell me where I can get me one of them hats."

Possibly LoCash's littlest fan.  Definitely LoCash's coolest fan.

Bedtime Story

We have a bedtime routine, as I'm sure everyone in the world does.  And, like most parents, we include a few bedtime stories in the routine.

As you can see, Liam is making our job way too easy.

Gespräche mit Liam

Here's a fun little series for you:  "Conversations with Liam."  I've thrown together videos from over the course of Liam's life, documenting some of his best examples of verbal vitality for you.

August 2010:  Almost 6 months old.  His first words were right around this time -- "Mama" and "Uhoh."  "Boom" came quickly on their heels... tells you a little bit about daily existence in our household.

December 2010:  At 10 months old, Liam continued to show his favorite thing to do is laugh at life... and with Daddy.  He does have the funniest, coolest Daddy in at least two continents (tested and proven), so no surprise there!

May 2011:  Just past the 14-month mark, but in so many ways, our son has always been an old soul.  He already figured out how to crack a joke, do imitations, and look handsome with a mouthful of food.  (That's a clam-pesto pasta dish he's devouring, which is just plain awesome.  Most grownups don't tolerate clams.  Such a cultured little fella.)

November 2011:  Celebrating our arrival in our new home here in Bamberg, 20-month-old Liam and I just wanted to say "Hello" to our new abode.

5 March 2012:  As in yesterday.  Just turned 2, and this kid is already speaking in complex sentences.  He's using conjunctions, prepositions, verbs, articles, and nouns.  And he's using them each correctly more often than the average English speaker.

This video right here shows you why I love my job.

Liam is also supplying you with sound life advice:  "Bend your knees... and then JUMP!"

Liam ist zwei Jahre alt!

It really feels like his birthday is still going on, because that's how we like to celebrate, but Liam officially hit the big 0-2 Friday 24 Feb and did so in style.  We kept the celebration low-key and had a family dinner Friday night, complete with homemade carrot cake (same as last year -- well, not THE same cake... that would be disgusting), and we rounded out the evening by watching one of Liam's new Kung Fu Panda movies and playing with his new Kung Fu Panda wrestler.

On Saturday we had some friends over for dinner, more birthday cake, and then a Beer Pong Tournament in honor of the young man.  Unfortunately, Liam was too tired to play, but we sure made him proud!

Well, not I, as I supremely sucked.

Birthday morning at playgroup, with some fabulous
Army mommies and kiddos!

"I've never seen an empty balloon. How interesting."

"Okay, I can do this.  No pressure..."

"Woo!  I can make a balloon!"

Morning after the bday -- rocking it out on a fab little hand-me-down
from Uncle Mike and Aunt Ryanne

Two years and one day makes for a tired little man!

We weren't able to capture his eating of the cake on video this year (remember this bit of awesomeness?), mainly because we were having too much fun eating it with him.  But here's a video of some of the festivities.  He's so grown up now!

Random Bouts of Cuteness

Liam is now officially a member of the toddler world, as he struck the two-year mark this past Friday.  Before we post some fabulous moments from Liam's big weekend, here is a walk down "memory lane" -- as in, his last few days being the big 0-1.

Go ahead -- right-click, save the images, and print 'em on Fathead.  We know you want to.  The Cuteness is that irresistible.

Chillin' with Cars, Mama, and some yellow peppers on the couch

Climbing Daddy on the couch (typical evening ritual)

"I'M ALMOST TWO (two) (ooh) (ooh)..." This kid loves echoes

Those Village People think they know how to party?? Check me out!

Bouncy castle:  A great way to end gymnastics class

While Mommy was doing P90X,
Liam requested his Bobbey blankie and "Miles" to join him for a nap

Hanging out with the cast of Madagascar.
Look closely:  All four headliners are present and accounted for

When you live for 'Merica like we do, every day is Independence Day