This and that

Things have been a little chaotic in the Amick house since my last post. We are remodeling the kitchen, so I've been without stove and sink for almost three weeks! And our fridge broke almost two weeks ago, so needless to say, it's been interesting. And as much as I enjoy the occasional meal out, I am so ready to cook in my own kitchen I can taste it. Literally.

To add insult to injury, yesterday Liam came down with a case of strep throat and then proceeded to vomit all over himself in the car seat on the way home from the pediatrician's office. Poor guy. He hasn't been sick (this is the first time he's had a temp over 100 degrees) very much, so I'm not that good at dealing with it. Mark had to talk me off a ledge last night when I made the mistake of looking up the side effects to Liam's antibiotics on the internet. I wanted to sleep on the floor next to his crib in fear of anaphalactic shock. I can hear him babbling away right now, so he did just fine (and I slept in my own bed).

Here are some photos taken in the last week or so. We got Liam a bike helmet for the Burley, but he likes to wear it everywhere. He calls it his "melmot".


Just lounging around, watching Sesame Street...

We've been lucky to have visitors from near and far in the last week. Here are friends Ryanne and Adelle from Lexington...

And Team Taiber from Cedar Falls, Iowa...

Hopefully, by week's end, I'll be able to post before and after shots of our beautiful kitchen. Mark has been working his behind off trying to get it done before he goes back to school next week. He is becoming quite the home remodeler! What started off with new flooring has turned into an entire remodel, leading to 4 trips to Ikea in the last three weeks. In fact, this lovely kitchen faucet will be the only item that will make the transition from our old kitchen to new...

Stay tuned.

Congratulations, Ellen!

My cousin Ellen was crowned Miss Grand Lake Festival last night, which was quite an exciting accomplishment! This was her first pageant and is hopefully just a stepping stone to a career in broadcast journalism, which is her goal. She's the next Diane Sawyer...I can feel it. I got these pictures off the web, because we couldn't be there in person this weekend.

We look forward to cheering her on at the Miss Ohio competition next summer!


Here she is getting her crown...


And taking her first walk as "queen"...

During the talent competition...she's quite the singer!

Yeah Ellen!

Some new paparazzi

Aunt Allie came to visit this week, and we had a great time! She took lots and lots of pictures of Liam and shared them with me. But like many of us paparazzi who follow Liam, there are no pictures of her! She did manage a couple of Mark and one of Grandpa Kim.

Here is Liam with his Navy cap, courtesy of cousin Erin, one of the newest members of the Naval Academy...


Getting ready for bath time...

At the Splash Park...

With his new baby (which he seems to have named "Bubba")...

With Grandpa Kim at the park...

Waiting for lunch...

With Daddy...

At Ikea, trying to get the most out of his slice of apple cake. This was totally unprompted, but is something that makes Daddy and Uncle Mike so proud...

And after licking the plate, he rubbed the remaining sauce on his head, giving us some friction to finally style his hair...

Thanks for spending your week's vacation on us, Aunt Allie! Liam ran to the sunroom to wake you up this morning and was so confused when you weren't there! We can't wait to see you next time.