Gregor Blog

Holiday Hoopla!

2012-01-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

It was a super super fun year this holiday season! I don't know who was more excited about Christmas, mom, dad, or Liam? Either way, we really enjoyed our first real Portland Christmas and all the great NW activities! We went to the zoo lights and rode the train, went Christmas light gazing down Peacock Lane, very much enjoyed taking Liam to his first ballet (The Nutcracker), baked a ton of holiday treats, built gingerbread houses, and so much more! Liam was very excited Christmas morning to see Santa had brought him a new bed, and the one thing he had asked Santa for; a 'white dog', which he named 'pup on pop' (he is very fond of Dr. Seuss these days and yes...stuffed, not real)! And of course he was so thankful and thrilled to receive the number of great books, puzzles, games, and toys from mom and dad and all his family far away! A truly blessed holiday season and a very nice and relaxing break for all three of us!

But we are back to the daily grind again, and have now immersed ourselves in the birthday season! Whoo hoo! The parties never stop! (and that's the way we like it!) ;)

Baby is growing nice and big and with 12 weeks left to 'D' day, we have begun the countdown to spring break!

We missed all our non-Portland family and friends this year, but perhaps will make a 2012 holiday appearance in your neck of the woods. But for now, (and probably the summer) we highly encourage, love, and welcome all visitors to the NW region!

Happy New year and best wishes to all!

Love,

The Gregor Family

Trick-Or-Treat!

2011-11-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Hope everyone had a great day! Liam especially enjoyed trick-or treating this year with his best buddies, Aida, Luella, and Grammy! We went to an apple orchard and picked yummy apples and had a great visit with Grammy Magnuson all weekend! Liam was Woody from Toy Story this year and cracked us up every time he'd stop and say,"There's a snake in my boot!" :) We are looking forward to our next family visit at Thanksgiving from Aunt Lacy in a couple weeks and have been having a fun fall season so far! The babies ultrasound (and Halfway through momma's pregnancy!) is this coming week and we are still not finding out the sex, but looking forward to those first profile pics! Whoo Hoo! :)

Our family and friends near and far continue to be in our daily thoughts and prayers!

With love to all,

The Gregor Family

Annual P-patch visit

2011-10-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well...we have had a great kick-off into fall. The busy scramble of the first weeks of school has finally subsided, as we now enter the busy scramble of the fall/holiday season. We had our annual visit to the pumpkin patch and had a great time getting muddy, riding the cow train, eating kettle corn and taking the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and back. Liam got a chance to break in his new cowboy boots which he was very excited about. We are almost all set for his woody costume this year, mom just needs to add a few more finishing touches on the vest and belt and we are all set! :)

As for the past couple months, Liam recovered very well from his tonsillectomy and has loved being full time in the Toddler room. In fact, we picked him up from school on Friday to find him in his home-made robot costume he spent all day making! It looked great, and he was so excited to come home and play robots with mom and dad that night! He continues to learn something new every hour it seems! He is excellent at knowing his colors and shapes, counting to 30, and reciting his abc's! He'll even proudly read you one of his favorite books, "freight train" if you ask nicely ;)

Dad has a very nice class this year, and is is thrilled to come home 90% less frustrated this year, as compared to last :) He continues to work hard in his master's program and has 7 weeks left of class and is still on track to graduate in March when his Thesis presentation is complete. Mom has a very lovely class this year as well, and has enjoyed the new challenge of third grade. She has been busy with leading staff development around Equity and 'Courageous Conversations', and continues to run the school garden/green commitee. She is feeling great these days and has begun to sprout a nice looking baby-bump. She is officially due on April 4, and NO...is not finding out the sex again :) So get your poll responses read for spring!

Overall, we are looking forward to bustling, baby-filled fall in Portland, and as always, encourage many fabulous Portland visits from all of our distant family and friends. We hope you are all well and safe and know we keep you in our daily thoughts and prayers!

With Love-The Gregor Family :)

What a vacation!!

2011-07-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a great month it has been, traveling all over the southwest and visiting with copious amounts of family and friends! :) We started our vacation in Yuma, AZ celebrating the very cute baby Lucy (and her amazing parents) :) and had a great time visiting, 'floating', and playing games all week. Then we traveled east to Tucson and were spoiled beyond belief by the Gregor/ Magnuson clans :) A beautiful wedding, fabulous reception, great family times, and of course poolside margaritas! What could have been any better? :) After our short but awesome time in Tucson, we headed North to Flagstaff and had a great time visiting the ol' stomping ground! We had a stormy monsoon hike at the Grand Canyon, cliff jumped in Sedona, made homemade ice cream with the Sollars' and spent many laugh-filled hours with family and friends :) Next, we headed back north and had a great visit with P'pa! We played golf and went to Liam's second Rawhide game ever! Then to Berkley, to live through our first family earthquake and a fun city adventure with Lacy! Finally, we headed to the Oregon coast with the Darling family and spent a glorious week on the beach! Complete with hermit crab races, tide pool searches, and many fun family games :)

Well, while we had an amazing time, we are glad to be back home in Portland. Liam will go under the knife next week to remove his tonsils. Keep Liam (and mom and dad) in your thoughts and prayers and we will send a post-surgery update :)

But, to all our family and friends we visited with... Thank you! Thank you! for a most memorable month! And to all those we missed this trip, we love you too and hope to see you soon :)

Spring Fever!

2011-04-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

We are having a fabulous spring and are getting very anxious for summer time fun! In the mean time, we are enjoying our lovely little family and having loads of fun. We have had fun play dates, BBQ's and even mini-trips to Seattle! We also had a great Easter weekend of going to the Tulip festival and egg hunting. Liam enjoyed the festival and really had fun riding a pony for the first time! It was a beautiful day and with fields of millions of tulips everywhere, we soaked up the sun and laughed all the way home to dye Easter eggs with some friends! In the morning, Liam was so excited to see that the Easter bunny had come and hid loads of sticker and goody filled eggs! We even had our Portland family over for some lasagna and good times. In daily news, Liam continues to do excellent in school and has even begun transitioning into the 3-4 Toddler classroom! He continues to learn new skills every day and is currently really working hard on growing his last 4 teeth! Mom and dad are still working hard in their own classrooms and are busy trying to squeeze every last drop of curriculum in for the next 6 weeks. But, with the warmer weather here, we can't help but get the summertime itch and get really really excited for our AZ trip. We are very much looking forward to seeing all our AZ family and friends and hope all are ready to P-A-R-T-YYYYY! :)

Happy Birthday!!

2011-03-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Officially two and not so terrible (so far anyways) :). We can't believe it's already come and gone, but Liam's second birthday was an absolute blast! Bammy and Rodge came to help celebrate, along with 30 plus friends and 'family' in the area!! We went to Oaks Park and ate pizza (Liam's favorite), took a train ride around the park, and then had yummy cupcakes to sing and open presents with. We were so thrilled to have partly sunshine and no rain that morning, but were not expecting the very chilly breeze that tagged along. But despite the cold weather, everyone was in good spirits and we were so thankful for those who shared the special day with us, and for those who sent thoughtful cards and messages as well. :)

In addition to his birthday party, he also got a clean bill of health from the Dr. yesterday! He is 35 1/2 inches tall and weighs 32 pounds. A nice and healthy young man. He is officially 'off the bottle' :) and continues to do very well with his potty training.

Right now we are enjoying a week off for spring break and have been having loads of fun, hiking, museum walking, playground running, and new bike riding!

Again, thanks to everyone who helped make Liam's second birthday a special one, near and far! We love you all very much, and if you're in the AZ area, get your 'fun-having shenanigans' ready for our AZ summer visit! (Exact dates to follow, but tentatively June 24ish - July 13ish) :)

Winter Time Fun

2011-02-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

We have had a really fun winter season so far. We have been hiking and playing and singing and having all sorts of fun-having! Liam is getting so smart! He is learning his colors and numbers through 10 and has been doing good to recognize these things in spanish as well! He has moved into his new big boy bed and has really enjoyed his new kids size reading chair in his room as well! He is doing great on his potty training and now uses the potty at school as well as at home! On our weekends, we have really enjoyed our library story times, play dates and even an excited hockey game with a private photo opp. with the Winterhawk Mascot or "duckie" as Liam named him.

Mommy and daddy have been busy this winter in their classrooms as well. Matt is now halfway through his Masters program and Becky has successfully ran a school Post office out of her classroom this past month as well as turned her school into a certified Oregon 'Green School'!

We have really enjoyed our Sunday Skype time with Pepa "Grandpa" and Grammy and even both sets of aunts and uncles! We encourage all friends and family members to 'call' us Sunday mornings as well! Love, love, love to all our friends and family near and far. You are all in our daily thoughts and prayers :)

Goodbye Holidays, Hello New Year!

2011-01-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing trip to Arizona over our Christmas break! We went to the desert museum, botanical gardens, played continuously outside in the 70 degree sunshine, built puzzles, and even made a last minute trip to Havasu to celebrate Christmas #2 with the Sollar family! We saw many friends and family members and very much enjoyed all our time spent in Arizona. Liam especially liked getting spoiled by Grammy and the 'Aunts', though, he is adjusting well to hearing 'no' again at home :)

We had a super fun New Years' as well, playing rock band and having a dance party over at the Darlings casa! However, Monday was a rude awakening back to reality, as we all trudged back to school. But just like riding a bike, we were back in the swing of things by Tuesday!

Now looking forward to the many three day weekends between now and spring break, we are back to 'normal', or as close to 'normal' as we Gregor's can get! :)

Thank you to Grammy, Luke, Lacy, Erica, G-ma Sollars, Gene, Anna, Sharon, Carol, Tana, Jay, and 'Sollar cousins' for transporting, entertaining, and spoiling us so on our two week AZ adventure. We hope to see you all and all those loved ones missed this summer on our next time through! :) (dates tbd).

Thankful and plain full this Thanksgiving!

2010-11-30T20:58:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome week off! It was very difficult to get back into the swing of things on Monday; we were having so much fun just being all together! We had a great Thanksgiving! We spent the day (and night) at the Lupo's house with all our ol' NAU buddies. Liam really enjoyed eating a big dinner with everyone, especially the candied yams and turkey! I think he ate an entire leg! (well... everything on his plate at least). We are now working through the school days and counting them down until our AZ trip in a few short weeks! We are very excited about our Christmas visit and can't wait to see all (or a good chunk) of our AZ family and friends!

Lookout! Here we come! (...in 18 days :)

XOXO-The Gregor's

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

We had a very eventful and fun halloween weekend! Laim spent the day with daddy at school on Friday all dressed up and showing off his "bam bam" skills. Then we carved pumpkins on saturday and went to a super fun Halloween party. On Sunday, we went trick or treating at Kennedy school and Liam got his first chance to score some free candy (even if he didn't get to eat it)! :) He did great!

Liam has been learning a lot at school and doing an awesome starting to potty train! We are thrilled! He has been going pee pee in his special potty every night and has started getting really excited about the whole 'big boy' process. Liam has also started to count to three and is literally learning how to say at least one new word each day!

Our cups continually 'runnith' over!

Autumn Fun-Having

2010-10-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the cooler weather is definitely upon us, but that hasn't stopped all our fun-having activities! In fact, fall is the kick off (really) to the holiday season and loads of great times! Mom and dad celebrated their 5 year anniversary at the end of September and went to the zoo! Liam loved his first trip and especially enjoyed riding the old steam engine train at the end of the day. He really liked all the animals, but I think he particularly enjoyed looking at the ocelots, flying fruit bats, and polar bear! We also had our first visit to the Portland Children's Museum. Liam had a fun time exploring all the kid sized cars and trains, playing in the 'Dig Pit' with shovels and trucks, and splashing in the water zone. Next, we had our annual visit to the Pumpkin patch and had an awesome time with all of our friends, picking pumpkins, trekking through 'corn maizes' and doing all those fun farm activities!

In addition, Liam had his 18 month check up last month and all was well! He continues to grow and use more language everyday! He has started recognizing and matching colors and can say purple and yellow. Although, he continues to the love to say the word 'no' :) He will be going on his first field trip with his wobbler classmates to the pumpkin patch (again) on Tuesday! He can't wait to go back and see all the fun farm animals!

Happy Fall everyone!

XOXO-The Gregors

Back to School

2010-09-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Fall is here, school has started and Summer is officially over! We had an awesome, visitor- filled August. We saw lots of old and new friends, and even had two great long visits from Uncle Luke, Aunt Lacy and Grammy!

Our Hood to Coast run went really well. Matt and I ran personal bests and Liam and Grammy had a blast on their first 'all alone' sleepover! Grammy even gave Liam his very first hair cut!

We are all back in school now. Matt has a handful of a sixth grade class, and Becky has an equally challenging first grade class. Liam has done so well in his trial days in the big kid classroom, he has moved up early as a Wobbler! We are so happy for Liam, even if it does mean having to read stories at home in "circle time" fashion. :)

We had a lovely bug sweep through our house this past week; but with some needed time off and lots of fluids, we are slowly getting back into routine.

Liam is now 18 months! and getting so tall! He is using more and more language, and loves to tell everyone when there's a bus (or a train or plane or boat or anything that moves) coming. :) We are looking forward to all the fun fall activities coming our way and can't wait for our December, Arizona visit!

Summer Love'n...

2010-08-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

and we are having a blast! Still enjoying all the parks and fountains in the city, and going to the pool and library for story time. Liam has also enjoyed hunting for bugs and doing art projects at bug camp and next week we start music class to top it off! We have enjoyed the company of the Sautner and Darling families and are excited for all our August visitors scheduled throughout the month!

We enjoyed our camping trip to Cape Lookout and had fun at the beach for Ski's birthday bash! Liam continues to gain good verbal skills and now can say many words, including animal sounds (i.e. woof woof, quack quack, ect.); we are still working on the names for those animals, but we get the main idea :) He also worked very hard on his new molars and we are so happy we all survived! (ouch!)

Mom finished her garden club for the summer, and it turned out better than imagined. She will continue to tend to it over the next month and pick it back up with the students in the fall. Dad will continue to tutor a couple days a week and we will all continue to run and train for the Hood to Coast run at the end of the month.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are! (even though mom did break her arm, it has dampened our fun-having) We are still having the absolute time of our lives! Come join the fun if you can! The more the merrier!!

We love and miss all our far away family and friends! Take care! XOXO-The Gregor Family

We're off she cried!

2010-07-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, Liam is up and running (literally!) Just a day after our last blog, Liam just woke up and decided enough was enough, he was going to walk. Not just upstairs, but everywhere, and we haven't been able to contain him since! :)

He is just about 15 1/2 months now and still growing! We have officially entered summer time fun, along with summer time tantrums :) (terrible twos?) We have had so much fun already though, in just the few short weeks we have started summer. We have already had swim lessons! Liam can now blow bubbles in the water and do an assisted back and front float! He has also spent much time in the fountains around town, which has been a wonderful, (and free!), activity for all. We have picked berries with Baby Aida and Megan at the farm, and have been to multiple story times at the library, countless jungle gyms around the city, and on hundreds of walks/jogs around the neighborhood.

We have now started our "official" training for the Hood to Coast relay, and are so excited for Grammy to come up and stay with Liam during our run time. Mom's summer project is also complete now, as she has successfully converted the garage into a gross motor play area for Liam. It's still the 'garage' but with the car backed out, and equipped with play cube, slide, art easel and chalk wall, it makes for a nicely painted and carpeted space for Liam to run around in when it gets too hot upstairs.

Besides entertaining Liam all day, Mom and Dad have been keeping busy too! Dad is tutoring future students two days a week, and mom has been teaching a summer gardening class for her students on Wednesday's while Liam visits his classmates at his school. Dad is still in school one day a week and mom is taking an autism class for the summer as well.

We have some awesome visitors lined up for the remaining summer weeks, but still have so so so much more space and availability for all other uncles, aunts, various family members and friends who want to come up and visit. So Please do! Portland summers are the best! Come play in the parks, pick wild berries, go hiking, or get out of that AZ heat for a while and check out why we love Portland so much! :)

First Year Update!

2010-05-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Well, we have obviously slacked on the blog, and we apologize for the lack of pictures over the past few months. We still have not cleared our laptop, and don't have the ability now to upload pics, but we do have a few picture CD's made. So..... Here are the Gregor Family Updates as of May 2010 :)

Liam is now 14 months old!! We can't believe how fast this past year went. He continues to figure out all sorts of new things. He loves to be a helper, and will unload the dishwasher, feed his fish, and help sweep the floor. Mom and dad can't wait for the day he can do this independently :) But for now, we have lots of fun doing all the household chores together.

He continues to love the outdoors. We have an awesome Kelty back pack and go for long hikes all around Oregon. Liam loves to sit back and take it all in. We have made it a bi-weekly occasion to walk down the river and feed the ducks (and swans) under the bridge. Liam's throwing arm is getting really good. (unfortunately he likes to practice this new skill with all food!) He loves our daily walks though, and now when we say "let's go for a walk" Liam runs to get his shoes and tries to put them on. He still needs help with this, but its very cute to see him try.

He loves to figure out puzzles and how things work right now. If there is a lock, he will work at an object until he opens it! This is an exciting skill to watch, but has the major down fall of never being able to keep him out of things for very long.

He is really into his books as well. His favorite morning and evening activity is to pull out a book, flip through the pages and then do it again. He likes to go pick out his bed time stories at night. He will go get a book from his basket, hand it to mom or dad, then climb up on our laps and help turn the pages as you read.

Walking is also going smoothly. He walks and gets around independently when upstairs on the carpet. But downstairs on the wood floor, he is more cautious and walks from object to object. Outside, Liam will only walk if he can hold onto a finger, or if he is going in between mom and dad a short distance. A funny and cautious personality trait. But given his mother's accident prone history, we are glad to see he took after Matt in this area :)

With 5 more weeks of school left, we are getting excited for the summer! Matt will continue with his masters program, and we have a few camping trips planned for the Oregon area. We are excepting and encouraging all family members and friends to come visit us this summer. With gorgeous weather, weekly festivals, and tons to do, Portland summers are the best!

We hope everyone is well and healthy! Sorry for the recent lapse in blogs. :)

XOXO The Gregor Family

11 months; First steps!

2010-02-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well its been another great month of laughing, growing, and learning. Liam continues to impress us everyday with all his new skills. Last week as Dad and Mom were playing with Liam, he took 4 fantastic steps on his own in between us! We were so proud, as we encouraged him to continue for as many trips as he had in him that night. He is getting better at standing by himself unsupported as well. He can do this now for about 5-10 seconds :) He is getting so close to becoming a full-fledged walker! We are so excited (and terrified) at the same time :)

Liam continues to 'talk' up a storm. He regularly uses the words 'mama' and 'dada', and uses the sign for 'milk' and 'all done'. He has also discovered the power of the pointer finger, and LOVES to point out everything and wave 'hello' and 'goodbye' to everyone he sees.

We are nearing his first birthday and can't believe its already been a whole year! It's been a fantastic first year though, and we are sooo excited to see family and friends at Uncle Derek's wedding next month.

We will have a very small 'party' planned for Liam when we are in San Diego at the beach house on Wednesday, March 24.

We are very sorry for the lack of pictures these past two months, but our computer is acting funny, and we can't figure out why we can't upload anymore photos. But we are on it! Just know he is still very handsome and is getting more hair and length to him :)

10 months: Follow the trail of Cheerios!

2010-01-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Double digits! I can't believe it! He is getting so big! (Yes I know I say that every time) :)

Anywho... Its been a long month of many illnesses, unfortunately, but we were so thrilled yesterday when we had his 10 month check-up and Liam was given a clean bill of health. We all cheered, then quickly washed our hands. :) Remarkably, Liam was in good spirits despite his many ailments and managed to even grow a couple inches! He is now up to 29 1/2! He has also learned all sorts of new tricks, including standing up to the chair and also flipping the night stand over and using them as walkers to get around downstairs! That boy is clever! He continues to LOOOOVE to pull everything and anything out of/off of all cupboards, cabinets, and drawers. He is so much fun to play with now, but is definitely a handful!

Liam has started to eat more solid foods. In particular, he very much loves Trader O's (Cheerios). In fact he loves them so much, he has decided laboring for one Trader O at a time just doesn't cut it; so he takes his snack cup and holds one of the flaps down while he shakes his arm and flings the Trader O's all over the floor. This way, he can then eat his way across the floor at a much quicker pace. I'm not quite sure who to give the credit for on that one, but both mom and dad were impressed with his ingenuity.

Also this month, Matt went on a 5 day Vegas excursion with all the boys for Derek's bachelor party, leaving mom at home to get a taste of the single life. While we sure missed dad, (and sleeping in), Liam and I had a fantastic time with just the two of us. It was the first time any parent had been away from Liam for so long. Dad was sure glad to be home again. Though, we are now counting down the days until the wedding!

Well, again, its been a wonderful, but long, month of many ailments. We are looking forward to February and having a much healthier month 11.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

We had a very lovely New Year at home this year with just the three of us! We had some friends over for dinner earlier in the evening and then Liam went to bed and mom and dad watched a movie 'til midnight.

We also spent Christmas with just the three of us and had a really fun time unwrapping presents and playing with all the fun bows, bags and leftover paper.

Liam did very well passing out stockings to the needy this year; he was a very jolly sight for all the folks who appreciated the cheer and good will.

Liam also enjoyed his first snow, and had fun watching the big flakes pile up outside for hours on end.

Other than that, it's been a fantastically uneventful break and we have really enjoyed just being together, safe and healthy.

We hope that everyone remembers to eat their black-eyed peas and has a great start to the new year!

9 months! Good-bye Judo; Hello Holidays!

2009-12-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

Well it was a good 9 months with our little kitty Judo and Liam together, but after about 4 months of runny nose and cold-like symtoms, our doctor said, "I think its the cat". So... we made another teacher's Christmas merry and deep cleaned the house!

But other than that, its been a pretty great month! Liam is a very proficient crawler and has really started to book it! He really loves to stand now and is climbing on everything! He has even been so bold to venture a step or two every now and again, but has quickly learned about hard floors! Ouch! His favorite activities these days include holding onto mommy and daddy's fingers and walking circles around the kitchen island, pulling every book we own out of the shelf and onto the floor, and opening every cabinet, cupboard, drawer and box in sight. He certainly keeps up on our toes!

Well a Happy Holiday to all! While we love and miss our family and out-of-state friends very much, we are so glad to be spending the holiday season relaxing at home! This week, we will pass out presents through the MacDonald house to families in need, have a Christmas eve and Christmas dinner with our Portland 'family', make holiday cookies and other various holiday crafts, and most importantly spend time with each other! We hope everyone's holiday season is safe and filled with joy!

With Love-The Gregors

The First Thanksgiving!

2009-12-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

And it was a good one!

Well, this year, we had our annual Portland Thanksgiving with our NAU family and the Tucson Gregors, in which we all brought our usual 'renowned' dishes. We had homemade Baileys, mimosas, and food a plenty. But mommy's favorite part was when Liam dressed up like the turkey! :) He'll just love those pictures when he's older I'm sure!

We had a fantastic visit with Grammy and Uncle Luke. Liam just adores both of them and had so much fun getting to know them all over again. They were able to stay through to the weekend, and we were lucky enough to spend much time just relaxing and enjoying each others company. The weather was great all week and we went on a hike and grammy and mommy even did some Christmas shopping.

Liam continues to be on the move and just does such a wonderful job of finding things you didn't even know existed and getting into them! Future Indiana Jones? Perhaps :)

8 Months and What a Month!

2009-11-26T10:25:00.000-08:00

From Liam's Baptism to 3 new teeth! This has been an exciting month!

Aunt Lacy, the entire 'Holy Family' school, and our Portland friends turned out to celebrate Liam's Baptism during Matt's school Mass. It was a wonderful service and Liam loved every minute of it! Especially seeing his Aunt Lacy again!

Liam has been working so hard on growing his new teeth. In fact he has worked so hard, that he now has 4! He really enjoys chewing on everything and trying out this new skill, even on momma's chin! Ouch!

But the really exciting news this month was when Liam started crawling! He had been so close for so long, and about half way through the month, he took his first 'steps'! We were so excited, then quickly found out that crawling meant 'mobile' which meant 'watch out'! He is really all over the place now, and because he is such a curious boy, we have learned the true meaning of 'baby proofing' the house. But he is a pro at crawling around and chasing Judo all around the house, and has even started to pull himself up to a stand. He's a great climber and always wants to be on his feet. With the help of mom and dad, Liam loves to 'walk' from room to room. It really won't be long until he is doing it on his own!

He continues to be such a joy and he is really a very happy boy. He loves to clap and play with all our fun instruments (mostly the bongo and tamborine), sing songs, snuggle in the morning, and play with all his new friends at day care (Which we absolutely love the new place by the way).

He learns new skills every day, and is really just so smart! We are very proud parents (can you tell?) :)

7 months, and hello tooth!

2009-10-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Thats right! First tooth! Liam worked real hard, and pushed his first tooth out on his 7 month birthday! Hooray! :) He continues to grow big and strong, and has really started to move. He's still on the verge of really crawling, but has begun to sort of army crawl his way across the room. Everyday is so exciting to see what new tricks he can figure out to do. He starts our new day care on Nov. 2nd, and we are excited for him to be in an infant specific program. Fall has been great so far, and we are having fun splashing in the puddles and playing in the leaves! Life is good!! :)

The Happiest Pumpkin in the Patch!

2009-10-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Well fall is here and we are thrilled! The air is crisp, the leaves are golden and the pumpkin costume is out! Last weekend, we headed to the farm to go to the pumpkin patch with some friends. We had fun on the hay ride, and picking out a pumpkin, eating kettle corn and dressing up in our Halloween costume! (from Auntie Carol) This weekend we had cousin Stephanie and Gavin here and went for a hike, and out to the Saturday market, and all around town. It has been a nice time with all our visitors lately and we love to encourage any family and friends to come up whenever they want!! :)

Along with the new season, comes all the new germs, and the flu made its way through our house this last week, unfortunately. But, we are all healthy now and glad of it, with out too many days of missed work and much health risk for Liam .

Liam is doing fantastic and continues to learn new skills everyday. He talks our ear off when he's awake and is getting really good at this moving thing. He is surprisingly coordinated and when he sees something he wants, he gets there! It is really exciting and precious to see how much he learns everyday. Our cups continually runnith over and we are just so blessed to have such a wonderful baby boy!

Happy Half-Birthday!

2009-09-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Time really does fly when you are having fun! I can't believe that Liam is already six months old!!! He is still doing very well for a baby and is now 22 pounds! and 28 inches tall! He has taken very well to eating 'solid' foods and enjoys trying out new foods every week. This week is peaches and then we're onto peas. mmmmmm :)
Daycare is also going well. Yes, mom is coping, but Liam really does seem to enjoy himself during the day which makes everyone feel 'good' about the situation. Another plus about daycare right now though, is that the other babies are all older than him, which has really motivated him to get moving! He now gets into the 'crawling position' and rocks a little. He has figured that much out and is not quite sure what to do next, but he has been working hard, and we are proud :)
We have picked the date for his babtism as well: November 19! It's the Thursday before Thanksgiving and I know it will be difficult for most if not all out of towners to attend. But all are welcome to come and celebrate! It will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church (Matt's school)during the school day mass, so that that community can be involved as well. Please come if you can, we love visitors!
All for now. Our computer is all full of pics and music and all sorts of fun stuff, and we literally can't download anymore photos onto it until we get an external hard drive. So as soon as that happens, I promise I will post some new Liam candids :)
Love to all!- The Gregors

Daycare blues

2009-09-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived our first week of daycare. Liam did fantastic as we all thought he would, but mom had a very difficult time of letting go. I was finally able to 'hold it together' by Thursday, but it was decided very quickly, on my first attempt, that I would not be going over on my lunch breaks anymore. But at least there were many other sympathetic moms at school to give me encouragement and an extra tissue all week long.

Liam is already making new friends and bonding with the others at Discovery Gardens. He continues to eat very well, and we are now up to rice cereal, sweet potatoes, pears, and today- avocado! He is a professional sitter and is still working on crawling and getting his first tooth. Although, both look like they are just around the corner! We had a wonderful remaining week/s in August of summer. The wedding was a blast, and was so good to spend time with Uncle Derek and Aunt Franny and many other ol' college buddies. The Hood to Coast run was also fabulous, very tough and tiring, but a great experience non the less! We are excited now for our Holiday weekend of doing nothing! Sounds wonderful, doesn't it :)!?!

MMM MMM Good!

2009-08-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well, Liam is 5 months now and still growing. His neck muscles are getting stronger and he has been doing a nice job of holding his head up straight. (well mostly straight). He just had his first taste of 'solid' food (organic rice cereal) and wasn't too sure about it. He did well digesting it though and I'm sure will get better at eating it as time goes by. Next week is Bananas! mmm :)

Liam is also doing a fantastic job of sitting! While he still topples over on occasion, he can sit independently for about 20 minutes or so. He has been loving practicing his standing and rolling skills lately as well. He is getting very ready to be on the move; which means his parents are finally starting to 'baby proof' the house.

School is approaching and we will head back to jail, I mean work, on the first. Unless we win the lottery or some unexpected game show, Liam is all set up to head to day care for the school year. He will be attending "Discovery Gardens', an all ages daycare/preschool in the house of a very nice local lady just 3 blocks from Becky's school. We think mom will have a more difficult time with this transition than Liam will; but at least she is comforted by the fact that she can walk over on her 'breaks' and say hello.

Well, just 2 more weeks of glorious Oregon summer to live up and soak in, so all for now. But for those with Skype, we just got with the program and will be utilizing it's awesomeness from now on :). So look us up!

What Dad Thinks

2009-08-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to log on and tell about my boy, so I'm glad to finally be putting in my two cents.

In short - Liam is doing fantastic. It's nice because his mom takes such great care of him. She handles all the really important stuff, like sanitizing bottles and doctor's appointments and purchasing his scrotum cream. She keeps Liam so healthy and happy, which is great, because that means that I'm left organizing bottle-holding seminars, wrestling practice and high-five lessons. Liam has these energetic wild-man periods a few times per day where he gets super-talkative, giggle and wiggly, which is usually when we squeeze in our rough-housing sessions. He also loves riding in the jogging stroller that Grammy Gregor gave him. Every time we go for a walk or jog, Liam looks up at the trees curiously or drifts peacefully off to sleep.

Becky and I haven't been looking forward to plopping Liam in daycare when we have to go back to work next month. The good news is that it is going to be easier for Liam than it will be for us. He's very well adjusted and enjoys spending time with new people. Although he loves his mommy the most, he doesn't mind hearing other people's voices and being passed around a bit. I'm sure he'll make plenty of new friends in no time while mom and dad are worrying about and missing him at work.

Parent request

2009-07-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

Dear family and friends,

For the privacy and protection of our son. We are asking that all pictures containing Liam in them, not be tagged when posted on Facebook or Myspace. You may refer people to this blog if they are interested in the latest news, updates and/or pictures of Liam. Thank you for your support and understanding with this. We feel this is the safest way to share information of our son.

Thanks,

Matt and Becky

4 months and a fabulous vacation

2009-07-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic vacation and we're so glad to see so many family members and friends. We swam at the beach, cruised around old town San Diego and Flagstaff, met grand parents, great grand parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends galore, and drove many many many miles. Liam turned 4 months old on our trip and is now getting so good at sitting up (supported), smiling, giggling, talking, and standing. He is getting ready to start solid foods and just keeps getting stronger, bigger and cuter everyday. Thank you to all the family and friends that traveled as well to see us, and a special thanks to Grammy Gregor and Auntie Anna for the fantastic humble abodes to reside in during our travels. To those family members we missed on this trip; we hope to see you guys in the near future and love you all as well :) Thanks and happy summer!

3 months; Let the drooling begin!

2009-06-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it through the first week with Beck back at work. Matt and Liam enjoyed the time spent together. Becky is adjusting alright, but is looking forward to July! It has been a good third month though. This month Liam has learned all sorts of new tricks, like grabbing for things, pushing himself up and holding his own bottle. We also enjoyed our first Father's Day with a lovely hike to Tamanawas falls. Liam has begun to teeth. No teeth will show for another few months, but oh the drool! Everything else is going great and we are just feeling so blessed to have such a healthy, happy, and entertaining little boy! :)

Mr. Sniffles

2009-06-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well, despite sounding like a snar-flat with a wicked cough, Liam is still in good spirits and doing well. Mel and Ryan babysat today as mom and dad played golf by themselves for the first time. He was even graceful enough to pose for a short photo shoot in between sneezes.

I say this everyday, but it's so true: The boy is getting so big! He is getting so big in fact, that we had to go out and buy a new car seat just for 'big boys'! Liam is also getting very good at pushing and holding himself up, and we are sure he'll be crawling in no time :). Lately, he has been very wiggly, talkative, and is loving 'super baby' (a game him and dad made up).

Mom and Liam have had a really fun past few weeks living up the remaining maternity leave time. They made the most of every minute by laughing, playing, jogging, swimming, stretching, reading, and doing so much more. She is just dreading going back to work tomorrow. :( On the other hand, daddy is so very excited to stay home and have his turn to 'play' all day with Liam while mommy works with other kid not nearly as much fun as Liam. At least it's only for a few weeks!

Wish us luck on the next week of daddy day care!

Can you say Vacation?

2009-05-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

We can! and we are :) The Gregor's will be taking their first big family vacation in July and we want to see you! We will be in San Diego, CA from the 11th-18th, and in Flagstaff, AZ from the 19th-22nd. If you can/want to come and visit with us, let us know and we will definitely work something out! Can't wait for the good times to start rolling!

Two months and Tough as Nails

2009-05-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a month of many firsts for the wee one. First smiles, first time rolling over, first time reaching out for objects, first immunizations, and so much more. Liam has enjoyed his first big hike to Bagby Springs. A natural hot spring just outside the Portland area. He had a fun time riding in the baby bjorn with daddy and getting lost in the car for several hours beforehand. Liam also enjoyed his first Yoga class. He had fun meeting new babies, stretching, and watching mommy do weird things. But his biggest first came last week when Liam rode in an ambulance and went to the ER for the first time. Yup! It was the scariest day of mommy's life! Liam was sitting on the ottoman in his u-shaped pillow and just as Mommy stepped away to wash a bottle, the little man decided to practice his new skill of rolling over. Out of the pillow, and over the ottoman and onto the floor. Luckily the ottoman is only about a foot and a half tall and wasn't a long fall, but he hit his head on the chair on his way down. He was easily consoled and had a good goose egg to show for it, but after he became really sleepy, mommy got scared and called 911. After many nurses, doctors, emts, and firefighters fussing all about, CT scans, eye checks, and other various exams, it was proclaimed that Liam was just fine. So besides feeling like an ass, mommy felt very relieved to have survived the first emergency hospital visit. Despite his goose egg (which disappeared by nighttime), and his sore thighs from all those shots, Liam is doing fantastic! He is now 14 pounds and 4 ounces and measures 24 inches tall!!! He is healthy, happy, growing strong, and still the best thing since sliced bread :) We can't wait to introduce all of our family and friends to him on our California/Arizona adventure in July! XOXO- The Gregors

One month and growing!

2009-04-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Liam celebrated his one month birthday on monday with grammy and mommy in the park! He very much enjoyed grammy's visit this past week, going out to eat, taking long walks, getting a bath, and of course getting lots of good grammy love'n. He is growing big and strong and is starting to practice his rolling over and head holding skills. He is also starting to smile and smirk much much more, only adding to his total cuteness factor. Mommy and daddy have discovered the pee pee tee pee, and have subsequently been keeping much drier these days. Daddy went back to work this week, and is glad to be working again and getting out of the house, but sad to leave his new little buddy all day. He was also very excited to hear the latest teacher's lounge countdown to summer. We all are enjoying each and every day together, as each one is amazingly different and special. We continue to keep you all in our thoughts and prayers.

With love-The Gregors

Liam's First Easter

2009-04-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

We had a very relaxing day with just the three of us. Liam helped mommy make cookies and took a nice long nap with daddy! He wore his Baby's first easter outfit, and enjoyed being held all day. He is now approx. 10 pounds 6 oz. and growing!!

Scrub-A-Dub-Dub, Liam's in the Tub!

2009-03-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

Liam's first bath was a success! He continues to be happy and healthy and an absolute joy in our lives! This last week, Liam enjoyed Uncle Derek's visit, eating and sleeping, Dad's discovery of the baby sling, and peeing on his mother several times. :)

Welcome Liam Andrew Gregor!

2009-03-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

We are so very pleased, honored and blessed to announce the birth of our new baby boy: Liam Andrew Gregor. He was born on Friday, March 20th at 2:24 in the morning! He weighed a hearty amount of 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 21 1/4 inches long. He has beautiful blue eyes (should stay blue) and thick blonde hair. He is beautiful! and has made the transition into this world and into our new home with great success. At 5 days old he is happy, heathy, and doing fantastic. Momma and daddy Gregor are very very proud. Thanks to all of our family and friends for their loving wishes and support. Our cup run-ith over!

Baby Shower

2009-02-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

What a perfect shower! A big thanks to Meg and Mel for setting it all up! With a 'Zen' theme, we enjoyed a yummy collection of Thai rolls, Asian salads, pot stickers, and other hand made creations by Nick, and of course tasty frozen daiquiris :). Then we played: What's in that diaper?, What would Matt say?, then opened fabulous presents and made adorable onesies!! Then to top it off we did Henna tattoos, and the girls pampered me!!! I had the BEST time ever and REALLY want to thank everyone for the wonderful gifts, great memories, and fun time! What a lucky kiddo, to come into a world surrounded by such wonderful people :) We are blessed!

First Blog

2009-02-11T17:04:00.001-08:00

Hello Family and Friends!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Gregor; and can't wait to share him/her with all of you. Since many of our friends and family are far away, we thought this would be a great way for everyone to easily check in with us and see the updated pictures and tales of our new lives.

As always, visitors are most welcome, and we just can't wait for the next time we can be together, visit, and have a good time!

We love all of you so very much !

Matt & Beck