Wine Tasting in Lodi

This afternoon I went wine tasting with my Dad, my brother Jon, his wife, her parents, their son and his girlfriend. We visited several small local wineries and met the owners/vintners. I always appreciate hearing someone talk about something as personal as the work of their hands. Enjoy the photos!

Shinns in the news

Hey, Friends,

I’d like to turn the spotlight toward my Dad, Larry Shinn, who’s recently been featured in the Tracy Press (from Tracy, CA) for his volunteer work with kids and airplanes.  The top two photos in this news story feature either him or his plane, N2426D (nicknamed Delta by Liam).  Leave a comment on this post to let him know how proud you are of him!

Congrats, Dad,

Andrew

http://tracypress.com/content/view/16152/2268/

Liam is 15 months old!

We are so proud of our little 15 month old!  I’d like to take just a moment to catalog all he is able to do.

Liam is getting more and more mobile on his two feet.  These days, he might be found walking from the kitchen into the dining room to find Maggie or his truck.  He still walks on his knees, but he’s gaining the confidence he needs to take off on two feet and walk!  Because he can’t quite reach the floor as he’s riding his truck, he will propel himself using one leg.  The other leg is tucked up under him bum on the seat of the truck.  What a sight!

He is a climber!  He tries to climb a lot of objects, but especially likes Maggie.  He likes to climb on Maggie when she’s laying down.  Usually she is pretty patient with him and will let him climb up and over her.  I’m thankful she is so good with him.

Language, Language, Language… Liam has been learning sign language since before he turned one.  We got a little discouraged because he wasn’t responding with signs as we continued to use them.  He’s using them now and we need to learn more so we can continue to build his vocabulary.  He knows: Please, Thank You, dog, more, eat, and all done.  He waves for Hi and Bye and also blows kisses.  He uses the sound /bo/ for bath and bottle.  When he signs, “Thank You,” he also makes a distinct sound.  He can say “apple” and understands a few phrases.  The chicky says /bok/.  “Put it in your mouth, Liam,” and “Put your head down,” both solicit the correct behaviors.  He understands what a truck is and will go to it if asked to.

Liam likes to do a lot of things, but here are just a few that rise to the top of his list.  He fancies the kitchen cupboard and any drawer he can get open to empty its contents.  Putting objects in containers can occupy him for quite a long time!  He is always a happy camper outside.  If he’s fussing and is brought outside, the crying stops.  It’s amazing, and I’m sure we will have a lot of fun outside this spring and summer.  He likes to play in Maggie’s bowl (water and food) and is willing to help clean up when asked.

Liam is not huge eater, but he will eat almost anything if it is combined with apples.  For example: apples and sweet potatoes, apples and pear, apples with chicken, apples with yogurt.  We will continue to find combinations!  If you’d like to pass along your apple combination, please do!

We are so amazed at how much growth happens in such a short amount of time!

Liam’s first steps

We celebrated Nick McIntyre’s birthday on Monday evening and Liam surprised us all with his first steps! We were sitting around watching him entertain us, and Margie’s sister picked him up to help him walk. Andrew was close by and (all of the sudden) Liam let go of her hands and wobbled to Andrew. It was AMAZING. What a surprise! We are so proud of him, and I think he’s proud of himself too. Since Monday, he hasn’t been as courageous to venture out on his own, but we can tell he is gaining confidence in his walking ability. He’s been wobbling around on his knees like he’s walking–it’s pretty funny!




Hooray for Mommy’s first post! Hopefully there will be many more to follow.