Embarrassed

It has been a while and I could go through all the excuses about why I haven't posted, let's just say I've been busy! With that behind us, I'll dig in :)

In less than a week our baby will be 1!!!! I really can't believe that it has gone by so fast. He has went from a small helpless blob to a little boy who is learning to walk and talk. Speaking of those things.....he is so loud! Mike and I are pretty low key people, but Liam seems to have gotten both of our talkative genes. He is always blabbing and yelling! He yells at the floor a lot, I'm not sure if he is bored with talking to me or if he is mad at it.

Our most recent fun was halloween. Liam went as Tigger and was adorable! We attended a small gathering of neighbors and we ran into Eeyore - who wasn't too happy about his costume.





We wanted to attract some trick-or-treaters, so we carved a pumpkin to put out front. Liam was a little unsure about all the goo, but liked working along side his dad.




Right now he is hard at work with learning how to walk. He has taken some steps - all with dad and none with mom - so I am wondering if Mike has made all that up :) I will post a video to our youtube channel as soon as I can catch it myself!

We will be celebrating his birthday with Saturday with a few family members and a couple friends. I know the party is mostly for the adults, but I am trying to make a monkey-shaped cake. I found the perfect fall cake and perfected a frosting for it - so cross you fingers it all comes out the way I'm hoping! Look for pictures in the next week.

If anyone is still reading this, thanks for not giving up on me. I promise I will get better! (Especially now that I have at least one nap I can count on.)

Big Boy

One thing is for sure and that is Liam is growing up really fast! One thing he has done is rollover! He has only done it twice from tummy to back - but he has done it once for mom and once for dad. Most recently for dad, I was in the kitchen when I heard a little thud and a cheer from Mike. I ran in to find Liam on his back with all fours in the air and a very surprised look on his face. He has also starting to eat like a big boy - he likes both squash and cereal mixed together. He is able to sit up on his own - always supervised but all by himself. He likes it so much that he thinks he should sit up all the time, even in his bathtub and in his bouncy seat. (Mo's Flickr has pics)


Night times have gotten a bit better the last couple nights. I've gotten up twice instead of four times! He has other sleep improvements but I don't want to jinx it so I will stay quiet for now!

A bite to eat

Many of you have probably already seen the video on YouTube, if you haven't check it out at www.youtube.com/user/growinguplancaster , but Liam is starting to really enjoy eating cereal. Soon we will be moving onto more exciting foods like squash but for now he is content.

Another big thing that we are working on is sleep (his and ours!). For a couple weeks he did not want to sleep during naps or the night. So we went from having an angelic baby who slept 9-11 hours each night to a cranky creature who woke every 90 minutes at night and would scream if you got him near his crib during the day. It did not make it a great work environment for dad!

So we diligently read over a book some friends gave us, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, and we made some changes to when and how Liam goes down for naps and nighttime. There were quite a few tears shed by all but they are decreasing. Not to jinx us, but today we have had two naps and no crying!

I got a great new phone and so I have been posting more videos and photos, so even if there isn't a new post be sure to check out the links to Flickr and Youtube!

Catch up

So it has been quite a long time since the last post. On the surface, some people may not think that he has changed much but that is not true! His hair seems to grow more every night and it is RED. He has been doing a great job with his toys, holding onto them and pulling them near and putting them in his mouth. He really enjoys sitting up, he has a little chair called a bumbo that we use a lot. Though he may have outgrown it because he almost pulled himself up and out of the it by throwing his hands in the air and kicking his feet out. Good thing mom and dad were close at hand to assist him in a safe exit of the contraption. We are now putting him on the ground and placing the boppy pillow around him, saves mom and dad from having to use their catlike reflexes.

He has become more and more social everyday, so much so that he no longer wishes to take naps! He also needs new positions and toys quite frequently, a change of scenery I guess. Though, he has really taken to one toy in particular. It is a monkey my Aunt Barbara gave him. He is constantly hugging it, eating it and yelling at it.

I added a new photo site, my own. The photos may not be as nice as Mike's :) but there may be more of them in the future! I can also add videos there as well. Take a peek - the link is on the left.

Diaper Changes

We have been searching for the perfect diapers, we wanted the ease of a disposable but the earth-friendliness of a cloth. Finally we feel as though we have found them! They are called, funny enough, Best Bottoms. They were created by a women in New Glarus (just outside of Madison) and manufactured just outside of Chicago. So they are locally produced as well -that wasn't even on our list of requirements but it sure is nice!

We have 8 covers, which will grow with Liam all the way to potty training and 21 inserts. The inserts are made of polyester and cotton. Next to his bum is a fleece layer with a mid-layer that wicks the moist to the cotton layer (furthest from his bum but able to hold a lot of moisture). That way the wet cotton isn't against his bottom giving him a rash.

One of the best things about the diapers is that we can use disposable inserts instead of the cloth ones. So when we are away from home, say at a hotel in St. Louis or the beach in NC, they are a lot easier. We were also able to get some cute colors, maybe in the summer we won't need to wear shorts - just a shirt - to show them off!

Thanks to Mimi who got these for Liam as a gift - definitely something he will use over and over and over and over.....well you get the picture!

A room of one's own

So our little one has always had his room but he had yet to spend a night there. Well, that first night on his own came Friday. It seemed to be more difficult for me than him. He went to sleep and slept for six hours. Last night he seemed to really settle in by sleeping for 11 hours!

He also is waking in the mornings a little differently, I will hear him talking and giggling to himself. It is nice to look into his crib and have a smiling face looking back; much more pleasant than a screaming baby!

Shut the closet door!

Those of you who have been in the nursery have noticed that something was not quite right - that would be the lack of closet doors! Well, we finally got the call that they were done and we rushed over to get them. A girl that I work with at REI does murals and agreed to paint one for us and I was really excited to get them back. They look adorable in the room and Liam loves them. Lots of staring so far - take a look!

Bath Time!

Bath time wasn't always fun and games but now it is something we all look forward to and enjoy. Liam has recently discovered splashing. I don't know if he really understands what he is doing but he'll kick and make a splash which gets him excited and he starts kicking more. This really just ends up making a big mess of water for Mike and I to clean up but we don't mind because he seems to be having so much fun! Here are some photos of bath time - my friend Julie got him that cute duck towel, it even has his name on the back.

1st Cold

I was just telling someone the other day how I was so glad that Liam had not been sick yet because I wouldn't know how to deal with that.....well, I now get the chance to learn! Liam started coughing on Monday, which I thought was a reaction to a medicine he has been taking for thrush, but it was getting progressively worse. We saw the doctor yesterday and he confirmed the cold diagnosis. Today is the worst, you can tell that he is in pain. He looks just like Mike and me when we have colds. We are doing our best to cuddle and soothe and I am trying not to call the doctor every time he has a new symptom.

Wednesday, January 13

Two months old which means 1st round of shots. These were not an enjoyable experience. I'm sure that Liam feels as though the nurse tricked him, I sure thought so. Liam was doing his cutest faces and chatting her up while she responded with the same; then BAM! she stabbed his thigh, then his other and then back to his first! Well, you can imagine the shock and then came the screaming. He turned beet red and even held his breath for awhile. The rest of the day he cuddled and slept. At night he did really well - sleeping 10 hours, his longest stretch yet.

Good thing is that we don't have to do that again, at least not for another two months......maybe dad can take him next time?

Video is Here!

No Bapa, it is not a computer camera for Skype calls, but maybe the next best thing? It is a YouTube channel so that you can watch videos of Liam - everyone together now - YEAH!!! I am becoming quite the computer genius...even Mike is impressed :)

One thing that does need work is our video skills. We were not aware that the camera only takes video from one position (this is my digital camera that also does short videos), so be patient with a us through a couple of the clips. Now just click on the link on the left and enjoy!

Chatter box

So it looks like Liam has gotten the chatter-box gene! If you listen, he will talk your ear off; he is most talkative in the mornings. That is also when he seems to smile the most, he has really been practicing since around Christmas and he almost has it perfected! It looks as though he has dimples, although they don't make an appearance at every smile.

We have been trying to get a video of him smiling and talking but every time you turn the camera on he stops and typically starts to cry! We will keep at it and hopefully I will post a video on here soon!

Pictures

So as most of you know, Mike is the photo-taker in our family. Well in order to merge this story with his photos, I put a link to a photo album he has of Liam. He wanted to keep them on the Flickr site because the picture quality is not diminished on their site - I know you aren't as picky, but humor him :) Anyway, on the left sidebar above Liam's profile pick there is a link that says Flickr, click on it and it will take you to the picture album!