loving liam

We got to see our dear friends, Justin and Jessica, Sunday evening, who were visiting family and friends in Minnesota for the past week or so. Brett and I knew Justin from Cedarville (Brett and Justin went to the same high school in Ohio, although they didn't know each other at the time); he eventually moved to Minnesota, met the lovely Jessica, and three years ago they moved to New Mexico. Last November they welcomed their first child, Liam, and we got to meet him for the first time last Sunday. They also hadn't met Stella yet, so it was such a fun time. Liam will be seven months old this week.

Waiting for Liam to arrive (and I'm pretty sure Topher was waiting for his old friend, Justin)

bottom right corner: trying to "pet" Liam as he scooted by

Stella made it her mission to stick Liam's pacifier back in his mouth whenever it fell out. Sometimes Liam would grab her hand and help guide the pacifier. These two little ones interacting with each other was so entertaining. When Stella saw that Liam was going to hang out in the pack and play while we ate dinner, she wanted to get in it, too. At one point, Liam cornered her and was trying to grab at her shirt (see top right corner picture). In the process, he got her with his sharp fingernails, and Stella didn't quite know what to do. She said, "that hurts you!" She says "you" when she means "me" most of the time.

He's making a total Justin expression here

AHH! So cute!

Stella had just grabbed a bowl of baked beans in this shot

It was fun catching up with them as much as we could in a few hours' time. I felt really sad after they left. It is so hard saying goodbye to people you miss so much (I've been doing this a lot lately with my siblings as well as being away from other friends who live out of the state). This is truly one of the deepest pains of life, at least for me. I really do treasure these opportunities to visit, even though they are always too brief and hurried. Brett and Justin have kept in touch in spite of their busy lives, and I love seeing pictures of Liam and other updates from their lives via Facebook. Brett and I often reminisce the fun times we would have watching Ohio State football games with Justin; going to the MN state fair; watching the Lost finale (liked the company way more than the finale itself), chatting over dinners, etc. Maybe we will get to do these kinds of things again some day.

Wedding Day, 2009

Justin and Jessica at the MN zoo