Costello Chronicles

Little Boys

2012-02-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

Liam really likes shapes and playing outside with his daddy. This is the best of both!

Liam's camera smile.

One of Liam's favorite things to do is to jam in the car to praise music with his daddy!

Liam loves his brother and likes to show him the things he has already learned.

Ivan is crawling! This is one of his first times getting anywhere forward. =)

Liam is a true Italian

2012-01-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Liam learns to pray.

Liam likes pasta!

Videos

2011-10-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ivan has started to laugh now especially when getting some face time.

Liam loves his little brother and comes to his rescue when Ivan starts to cry.

July - October overview

2011-10-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a while, so I will try to give a brief overview of the last couple of months.

We finally left the hospital, and I was very glad to get home.

Ivan and his Papa and Nana got some "getting to know you" time in; I was so thankful for their help.

I love my Moby. It gives a hands-free security, the comfy and close way to carry Ivan.

Even Daddy can carry him in it!

Ivan at one month.

While William's parents were in town, we were able to visit Crater Lake. A beautiful place!

In August Liam turned two.

He got Noah's Ark from Nana and Papa

And an assortment of animals from Grandpa and Grandma through the mail.

Ivan has a great smile!

Ivan's two month pictures.

Ivan in Papa's hands.

Thanks to Aunt Heather and Uncle Jason for the boys' matching overalls. They are just like the ones their great-grandfather wears.

Both boys are done with the photo-shoot.

Liam loves to "hold" Ivan his "brother."

And Mommy loves to hold her boys.

Father and son taking a nap.

Liam in his baseball hat.

William's mom helped him get all of his paperwork organized. William and I are both thrilled.

Liam saying his "goodbyes" after a great visit.

Liam also moved up to his new bed. He was very excited.

Liam likes watching the bread machine kneed the dough.

Liam can now drink out of a cup.

And he can feed himself! Yay!

Liam and Ivan taking a bath.

Morning breakfast with the boys. They love their oatmeal.

I love catching Ivan smile.

In October, William's sister Lisa got married. Liam had his own seat on the plane for the first time and Ivan flew for the first time. It was quite a trip.

Lisa getting ready for her wedding. She has gorgeous hair.

Ivan waiting while everyone gets ready.

Liam was not too thrilled to be sitting quietly.

William was so happy to be able to have a front row view of his sister's wedding.

Ivan and Liam hanging out with their Uncle Joe.

Ivan at the Wedding.

Ivan hanging out with Great Uncle Paul

Grandma and Grandpa got to meet Ivan and spend a little time with Liam.

Liam loves his phone from Grandma.

Ivan's three month pictures.

Liam's first tractor ride.

Ivan is finally ready for the bouncer.

Gotcha!

Liam loves hanging out with his little brother and is quite attentive to his needs.

Video: Liam meets Ivan

2011-08-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this video!

Ivan!!

2011-08-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

So, here I am at the hospital waiting for William's parents and Ivan to arrive.

Look at those lips!!

It was so nice that William's parents and Liam got to witness Ivan's arrival into this world.

I have come to find out that this is a common Ivan expression. He loves to yawn.

Dr. Medley was great!

Ivan had a good group from our church to come welcome him.

Liam was happy to see that Ivan is a baby and not mommy's tummy.

Liam is a good kisser.

What a cutie!

Laugh out loud. Ivan had enough of taking pictures. He has a good vibrato to his cry. Maybe he will be a singer.

Poor Ivan, I did not like seeing him under the lights. He had to be under there for at least 24 hours.

Taking a break with daddy.

Yay! Finally coming home.

Time with Papa.

Liam helping his papa and daddy build some furniture from Ikea.

Our good friends the Callaway's came to visit on their way to family camp.

Auntie Kim!

Liam enjoyed the visit from Sadie Jane.

Liam loves his little brother.

Ivan hanging out in his swing.

I love his expressions. I am amazed at how alert Ivan is. He seems very aware of what is going on around him.

June

2011-08-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here are a few snapshots of us in June leading up to Ivan's anticipated arrival.

William had a fun time trying to teach Liam how to hit a baseball. Liam was so cute!

Liam is doing well in trying to feed himself.

Liam became enamored with this little music box and asked to have it playing constantly until it was time to give it away.

Liam looking at his favorite picture book with his "auntie" Kim

One of our attempts at a family shot.

Comparing baby bumps with my good friend Kim.

Another try, but Liam was not in the picture mood.

Liam enjoyed playing with his good friend Sadie Jane.

Liam's first horse encounter. He was not scared at all, but was fascinated with this big animal.

Mostly Spring 2011

2011-06-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

After much delay, I have finally sat down to put in our most recent pictures to show what we have been up to lately. Here is our Christmas picture that we never got to send out.

Liam loves to run around now that we have a yard.

He especially likes playing in water.

It is so fun now that William and I are able to go on dates.

Liam loves shoes and has fun trying to walk in them.

Liam's first Easter egg hunt was a lot of fun.

He even sported a new suit!

Liam loves bath time and frequently asks for one. Yay!

On family days, William and Liam share a bowl of hot oatmeal.

Liam's first mud puddle. He loved painting himself with mud, and got a kick out of grossing me out by licking it.

Liam is just big enough for horsey rides.

In May, our good friends Tim and Lydia came to visit us before their move to Albania to help plant churches. Red was our theme even though we did not plan on it.

We had fun hanging out in Jacksonville.

Story time

Daniel and Liam had good male bonding time.

A pizza picinic

Liam and our neighbor friends all sharing a horse back ride.

A good basketball scrimmage

Liam's new favorite sack-raisens!

Our good friends Aaron and Jen came to visit us before their move to Arizona

The boys love books

Liam eating his birthday "cake"

2010-09-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

Eleven Months to One Year!

2010-09-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Liam's second camping trip. He has gone camping almost as much as we have!
Although, this was his first time staying in a tent.

I don't think he felt any of the rocks that were on the ground.

We had a good turnout, and the youth had a great time.

Liam enjoyed playing with the rocks.

...and has officially eaten dirt like a good boy.

He also got to taste sand...his baby-hood is now complete.

After much pressure from the youth, William conquered fear and jumped off the cliff.

Liam now loves to stand

He loves to help with the dishes

On hot days, Liam loves a refreshing treat.

Liam's first birthday party!

He thoroughly enjoyed his birthday "cake".

"Uncle" Aaron giving him even more sugar.

Birthday gifts are so much fun.

Liam loves his birthday gift from grandpa and grandma.

We got to visit our dear friends the Callaways for Andrew's 30th birthday. We had a wonderful time.

Liam got to meet Sadie Jane and was very enamored by her.

While in Redding, CA, we got to enjoy eating at the much missed In-N-Out.

Liam had his very first french fry. He liked it very much.

The Callaways took us to see the Sundial Bridge. It was a very nice place.

Ten to Eleven Months

2010-09-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

We went to Crater Lake for Father's Day. What a beautiful place!

Our first garden

Oregon has these beautiful trees that have almost no bark, but they display a lovely reddish color. I am not sure what they are called, but I like them.

I don't know what this flower is called, but I thought it was very pretty.

Liam is enjoying his very first nectarine. He seemed to like it very much.

Liam is very satisfied after eating his frozen blueberries.

Liam's first camping trip

2010-09-13T10:15:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely time at our church family camp. Liam is a good camper!

Jason"s Wedding

2010-09-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Liam took his first plane ride to the East Coast and did very well. He was quite entertained by the complementary cups.

Liam met his Aunt Laura for the first time.

...and his Uncle Patrick

...along with his beautiful cousins.

The family...

Liam was very loved.

...and his Aunt Lisa

Liam loves his cousins.

From Pennsylvania to Virginia!

Virginia is a beautiful place!

Liam also got to meet his Aunt Rebecca

...and his Uncle John.

...and his beautiful cousins ...and his Aunt Elizabeth

...and his only boy cousin.

My beautiful mother...

Cousin Sarah was very sweet to play with Liam.

The reception for the Bride and Groom.

Married at last!

The whole family

All five grandchildren together for the first time!

Oops! The lense did not open all of the way!

The End

Nine to Ten Months

2010-09-12T00:25:00.001-07:00

The beautiful Rogue River.

Every year Grants Pass has an event called the 'Boatnick'. It lasts about a week. We chose to attend a boat race that was held on the Rogue River.

Liam's bangs were always getting into his eyes, so we finally gave him his first hair cut.

William baptized a couple of youth for the first time. He was so blessed by it!

Eight and a half to Nine months!

2010-09-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

William and I had the privilage to go to a Master's College Alumni Dinner. It was held in Portland, and the drive was beautiful!

It was very good to see Dr. Tatlock again and meet his lovely mother.

Liam loves shoes and had a fun time trying his daddy's shoes on.

Eight to eight and a half months!

2010-09-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

Seven to eight month videos!

2010-06-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

Liam loves his Christmas gift from grandpa and grandma!

Liam's all-time favorite bear.

Liam is just beginning to roll over!

Seven to eight months!

2010-05-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Liam meets his grandparents!

Grandma time.
Lunch at Taprock.

Grandpa time.

Snow in late March??

Fun time with the Robisons.

Game time!

Old fashioned sodas!

Dutch Brothers!!

Creepy waterfall.

Wooden Bicycle.

Male bonding time.

Visiting Jason in Tacoma.

Breakfast with the family.

Game time.

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Morning picture time!

Stopping in Portland for a bite to eat.

Flirting, step one.

Kissing, step two.

Jason's pad at Ian's house.

Liam getting to know aunt Heather.

Looking at wedding invitations.

More of the photo shoot.

Breakfast

Chillin'

Having fun with grandma.

Touring Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA.

aww...

The Space Needle...

Liam gets excited.

Sisters to be.

The ride up.

Great view.

At the top.

Baby kisses.

Fine dining...thanks dad!

Ships for dinner?

My coffee with hazelnut oil and spirimint.

Outside on deck. It was so windy!

Liam loved it!

Warm again.

Saying goodbye.

Back home.

Liam's first tooth!

Finally sleeping on his own!

Six and a half months to Seven month videos Part 1!

2010-05-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

Six and a half to seven months!

2010-03-30T23:42:00.001-07:00

I am behind on my blogging, but I will try and catch up as much as possible!

In the beginning of March, William, Liam and I had the chance to go to the Shepherd's Conference down in Southern California. William had a wonderful time getting together with some of the men he had served with for three years.

He loves his two fingers!

We stayed with our beloved host and hostess, the Bates, who were apart of our Bible study.

Liam enjoyed being held by John.

We also got a chance to hang out with our dear friends, the Treshams!

Liam is getting good at being on his tummy!

The Mehringers joined us for lunch, and Liam had fun with "uncle" Matt. :-)

We were also able to visit with the Feldis.

And of course our trip would not be complete without visiting with the Dandurands! Kim looks great after having her second set of twins. Four children under the age of Three!

Liam has now grown out of his bassinet!

Bouncing time!

Liam teething on a carrot :-)

Liam had his first conversation with a peer. They pretty much stuck to squealing.

Teething on celery.

Daddy time!

Liam had fun looking out of the window. It was really hard to catch a side profile shot of him, because he was as interested in the camera as the outdoors.

Liam tried some banana. I love that tongue!

Five and a Half Months to Six and a Half Month Videos! 2!

2010-03-11T22:33:00.000-08:00

Liam's first experience with sweet potatoes...I don't think he liked it too much.

Liam's first bite of apple sauce...nope, I don't think he cared for this one either.

Five and a Half Months to Six and a Half Month Videos!

2010-03-10T00:27:00.000-08:00

Five and a Half Months to Six and a Half Months!

2010-03-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

My brother and his fiance Heather came to visit us for a day.
Liam was so pleased to meet his Uncle Jason.
William and I built our first fire. If we knew how much we enjoyed them, we would have started earlier!

Tim, Lydia and their son Daniel came to visit us. Rob and Christine had us all over for lunch.

The dads were sporting their diaper bags.

While the moms sported our sons. :)

We went downtown for yummy sodas.

Tim and Lydia had their first Dutch Brothers' drink.

Tim and Lydia gave us their team shirts. They are planning on going to Albania to be church planters. We had so much fun having them here.

Liam has a halo of curls...

Another photo shoot... He is so much fun!

He has started to say "mama" now which is so sweet to hear.

You can tell that he really wants to say something.

Liam loves his fingers.

Here Liam is trying to fit his whole fist into his mouth.

Here Liam is trying to sit up with very little support.

Haha, Liam did not like his sweet potato experience.

Liam got all tuckered out from bouncing in his swing.

Our good friend Bre had a birthday party where we all came as characters of a medieval plot and murder mystery. We all had a part to play. I had never done anything like this before, but it was great fun.

William was Wyatt worker who was a serf who was in love with Maiden Victoria (me) who was above him in class. His goal was to get permission from the King to marry me.

Even the meal fit into the time period.

Some of the men posed for the picture.

The girls were a little less serious.

The birthday girl.

Our host and hostess.

On February 28th, Liam was dedicated along with a couple other babies.

Winter Camp

2010-03-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

The GRID youth group had a winter camp in January. We met up with the Herd youth group for lots of biblical teaching, games and fun.

A good part of our youth group were able to come. They are a great set of kids!

We had teaching sessions every morning and night. The theme of this trip was Priorities. Pastor Will and Pastor Andrew did a great job of delivering the Word of God to the Youth.

There were so many fun games that they played. Many I had not heard of before, but the kids had a lot of fun.

It was fun to see my friend Kim again. She is currently pregnant with a little girl!

We were so glad that Ryan and Bre could come with their two children to be a part of this fun weekend. They are a hug help in our High School ministry.

The little snow baby

The youth bus got stuck in the snow as we were leaving. The guys were able to show off as they successfully pushed the bus free.

Five months to Five and a Half Month Videos 2!

2010-02-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

Five months to Five and a Half Month Videos!

2010-02-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Liam spent more time this month working on his belly strength. It is amazing as I watched these videos that the evidence of his progress shows itself.

Five months to Five and a Half Months!

2010-02-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

On Labor Day, some of our high school girls came over for a game of Nertz!

Liam was a great help. :)

Liam loves his daddy!

Here is his cool baseball outfit.

We have worked on tummy time quite a bit this month. Liam does not hate it anymore. Yay!

Liam loves to play with his fun toy that Aunt Rebecca gave to him.

Liam got a lot stronger this month.

What a big boy!

Liam loves to dance with his daddy!

Here is our only successful catch. All of the others got away. This rat is still alive and tried to get away with trap and all.

Their tails are so gross!

Five Month Feeding!

2010-02-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

Liam is eating brown rice for the first time.

Four and a Half Months to Five Month Videos! Part 2

2010-02-09T15:43:00.000-08:00

Four and a Half Months to Five Month Videos! Part 1

2010-02-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

Videos and more videos. They are so much fun!

The everlasting gobstopper. :)

Four and a Half Months to Five Months!

2010-01-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

Yeah! We had Christmas after all...thanks to mom and dad. :)

Computer wiz.

Liam sporting his Christmas outfit from Aunt Rebecca, and tasting his yummy fingers.

Liam doing his new trick...trying to pucker for a kiss. :)

Getting stronger every day.

What Is a Boy?

2010-01-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

What Is a Boy?

By Alan Beck (penned in 1949)

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature called a boy. Boys come in assorted sizes, weights and colors, but all boys have the same creed: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to protest with noise (their only weapon) when their last minute is finished and the adult males pack them off to bed at night.

Boys are found everywhere—on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.

When you are busy a boy is an inconsiderate, bothersome, intruding jangle of noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a savage, sadistic, jungle creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it.

A boy is a composite—he has the appetite of a horse, the digestion of a sword swallower, the energy of a pocket-size atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the lungs of a dictator, the imagination of a Paul Bunyan, the shyness of a violet, the audacity of a steel trap, the enthusiasm of a fire cracker, and when he makes something he has five thumbs on each hand.

He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, the boy across the street, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings and fire engines.

He is not much for Sunday school, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.

Nobody else is so early to rise or so late to supper. Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs and breezes. Nobody else can cram into one pocket-a rusty knife, a half eaten apple, three feet of string, an empty Bull Durham sack, two gum drops, six cents, a sling shot, a chunk of unknown substance and a genuine supersonic code ring with a secret compartment.

A boy is a magical creature—you can lock him out of your workshop, but you can’t lock him out of your heart. You can get him out of your study, but you can’t get him out of your mind.

Might as well give up—he is your captor, your jailer, your boss and your master–a freckled-faced, pint-sized, cat-chasing, bundle of noise.

But when you come home at night with only the shattered pieces of your hopes and dreams—he can mend them like new with the two magic words—”Hi Dad!

Youth All-nighter Lock-In!

2010-01-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, we had our first youth big event. Thirty-six junior/senior high kids came to our all-nighter lock-in. All night was full of fun games, Christian comedy, fellowship and food. We were thankful for the help of some college aged men and women who took the time out to help make the fun safe and organized.

This is a crawling kick-ball type of game.

We had a game of charades...

...and extreme spoons.

This is some kind of rope game...

After staying up all night for the first time in his life, William faithfully studied the Word, before...

...crashing for twenty-one hours of catch-up sleep.

In the meantime, Liam and I worked on putting our Christmas decorations away.

Liam was great company.

Liam and I listened to what Christmas is really all about from our Charlie Brown Christmas tree ornament for the last time (from Luke 2)

One of the families in our church gave us this bouncer/swing. Here Liam is trying it out for the first time.

I think he likes it!

Last night William took me out for Japanese food. It was yummy!

Liam got to go too! (of course :))

Costello Christmas 2009 Videos!

2010-01-03T00:10:00.000-08:00

Costello Christmas 2009!

2010-01-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, and this year we were so thankful to celebrate it with our son Liam.
We were able to get a large tree for half the price of a smaller Californian Christmas tree. Yeah!

The finished product! Thanks mom for donating most of our ornaments over the years!

The tree at night. :)

I made a few efforts at decorating our home.

Liam's first stocking.

I was so excited to think of something creative to do with the extra branches from our tree!

William was able to help lead the singing for our Christmas service.

He loved it, and he sounded great too!

Pastor Bob and his wife Becky had William and Jon over for Christmas Eve dinner. I had a head cold, so Liam and I stayed home.

What a wonderful time they had!

Liam saw his cousin for the first time...

He tried to say hello.

Here, Liam is listening to Grandpa talk on the phone.

Liam loves the antlers he got from the Christmas festival.

Liam is taking his Christmas day portraits.

He was a good sport.

Hanging out with his gingerbread man. :)

He looked so cute in his Christmas PJs.

What a jolly little man!

Toy playing is a must on Christmas.

awww...

Liam loves his thumb. :)

Liam loves to play with his antlers. They have little bells on them, so it works a little like a rattle.

Wearing them is not as much fun...

...as handling them.

Gifts from Uncle Jason.

Christmas hug.

Becky also put on a lovely Holiday Tea for some of the young ladies. She did a fabulous job!

She had a beautiful Christmas tree decorated in gold and red.

While we were there, it started snowing huge snowflakes!

It was beautiful!

Lindsay by the fire...how picturest!

When we got home, it was a winter wonderland.

Four to Four and a Half Month Videos Part II!

2009-12-31T23:29:00.000-08:00

So many fun moments to share!

Liam enjoys watching himself on video :)

Liam is so funny!

Liam is holding himself up with his arms for the first time!

This is Liam's second time to roll over! How exciting!

Four to Four and a Half Month Videos!

2009-12-30T14:27:00.000-08:00

So many videos...and more to come! I am having so much fun as Liam discovers the world around him. This month has been especially exciting as he is learning to laugh and growing stronger.

Liam loves this lamp!

Four to Four and a half months

2009-12-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Ryan helped us get some free wood to burn.
What a blessing!

We decided to turn down our heat a little. It is amazing what a difference a couple of degrees make. William bundled up to go to sleep!

Grandma got Liam a winter "coat" for Christmas.

He looks so cute in it!

This is MY daddy! :)

Bath time!

Liam has started licking at the water...so funny!

Liam's Sherlock Holms look.

awww...

William looking over his sleeping son.

Liam has officially graduated to a highchair.

Say goodbye to the beautiful baby buggy!

Liam's first time holding his head up with his arms!

Three to Four Month Videos!

2009-12-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

Lots of videos for this month. Liam is such a joy to have around. He is now old enough to start interacting with his gym, and he is also able stand his weight, but he is still wobbly yet. I have to take many short videos, because videos much longer than a minute will usually not load onto this blog. Enjoy!

Three to Four Months

2009-12-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yeah! After much searching, God provided us with a treadmill.
However, it did leave it's mark in a few places...

At the crack of 6:30am every Thursday morning, these men come to our home to study the scriptures with William. I am still sleeping :)

Here we are having lunch with our good friends Dan and Niece.

Nap time...

Lots of daddy time!

This is the first time Liam was able to stand on his weight.

I think he likes it!

Liam loves his daddy.

One big happy family!

Liam has so much fun with his mirror.

Hair up!

Hair down!

Liam loves this ball that Pastor Bob gave him.

Liam is now old enough to enjoy his gym.

So cute!!

This is the life...

Liam found his thumb!