Deck and Outside Fun

Liam loves hanging out outside when we get home from school during the week. I love it because he is engaged and happy!

We fixed some boards and re-stained our deck on the long weekend. Thank you both sets of grandparents for all the work and Liam watching... projects just couldn't get done without you! Mary and Clancy came on saturday and helped take out some rotting boards and replace with new ones. Jon and Clancy worked a long day to get it all done! Dave and Roxanne came on Monday and helped stain it all again. It turned out nicely!

Liam got to play and have fun in the wonderfully warm weather!

"If I could just reach a little farther..."

... and yes, that is a boy with a hat!!!

I can get in my new chair all by myself!Fun in the new water table!
Relaxing...Bubbles! Long day... snuggling with Daddy!

Messy Eater...

Liam has been messier and messier when he is eating, gaining more and more independence. We have had a lot of fun watching him explore! Although Liam is still a very neat and organized eater overall (yes, he will make sure all 'like foods' are in the same pile), recently we have seen more and more whole hand smearing techniques from our little kiddo! My favorite continues to be when the spoon just isn't working, Liam will use his fingers to help him eat pudding or yogurt... too adorable!

Balloon!

15 Months Old!

Our baby is 15 months old! Jon keeps saying I have to start calling him a big boy... but let's be serious, he will always be my little baby!

I can't even begin to tell you all the fun things that are changing, but here are some of the highlights:

• Walking... everywhere... faster and faster everyday!


• TANTRUMS... Liam knows what he wants, when he wants it... keep up mom and dad...



• Hitting/pinching just mommy and daddy...



• Taking big boy bites from his food



• Saying more and more... babbles, words, signs, approximations (check the word list on the side for updates!)



• Opening and closing everything (doors, cupboards)



• Hiding closets... loves to close himself and hide!



• LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his books. Favorites lately include: chicka, chicka, boom, boom; discovery animals; pop-ups; lift-a-flap books; real picture books... soooo many. He will sit and read to himself, bring a book to you and sit in your lap, sort through all his books to find his favorites



• Loving animals... dog, cat, elephant... you name an animal... he loves it. Many zoo trips in our future



• Still into electronics... remotes, buttons...



• Outside!!!! Will stay out for as long as you let him... loves it!



• Park... swinging, climbing, sliding



• Climbing into chairs and sitting like a big boy



• Spotting birds... all day long!



• Wheels on the bus and itsy bitsy spider



• Daily calls for 'head injuries' (really just little head bumps) from daycare



• Mondays/Fridays with Grandma/Grandpa continue to be fun



• Has 10 teeth (2 upper molars are now through); working on 2 bottom molars



• One nap now... not mommy/daddy's choice :)

All set for College...

... in theory at least he should have enough money to attend a state school :) We have been sitting on our 'little nestegg' for Liam (thank you to all who have contributed!) for many months now; however, we have officially set Liam up with his very own investment portfolio... Now we just have to sit back and watch our little egg turn into a big egg!

Hat Drama

We went shopping for a hat to protect Liam from the sun and found the cutest crab hat... little did we know we were starting a war... a war mommy will win by the end of the summer... game on!

Wheels on the bus

All of a sudden...

Liam is just walking...everywhere. No more crawling, no more trying to get to something to help him stand up... just walking, walking, walking. He can stand up anywhere, carry stuff, and is really getting quite good at going over roadblocks (dogs, cats, books, toys, stuff, different flooring)!

So big!

No Need for Toys

Apparently all Liam needs are two bowls and a dirty sock. He walked around for twentyish minutes, carrying his two bowls and one dirty sock in them. He didn't want to play, he didn't want to do anything but carry his bowls and sock.

That makes decluttering easier :) .... at least for those 20 minutes!

Fun Little Things...

Liam seems to be growing older and older each minute! Yesterday morning, Jon was taking Liam to daycare, so I was saying goodbye. This usually entails ten or so kisses from mommy, some waves from Liam, one-handed goodbye kisses and some smiles.

Yesterday Liam gave me the first two handed blown kisses... it was so adorable... two hands smushing against his mouth and making kissing noises! Just made my day!

Getting off the couch

Park time with Grandpa

Grandpa Dave got to spend Monday and Friday with Liam last week! On Friday, the weather cooperated and they got to go to the park. They had a lot of fun walking around, swinging and watching the train go by. Liam wanted to stay at the park all day... good thing distraction still works when you want him to go!

Wheels on the Bus

Teeth...

Well the molars on the right and the left side have broken through and are making there way all the way through. No time to relish those teeth though... now we have swollen bumps on the bottom of our gums... and here come two bottom molars...

Liam is doing ok. He is chewing, chewing, chewing on his finger and is unhappy at times, but is hanging in there.

In other news, he has learned to bite his food very well, with only a couple reminders needed! He really loves being a big boy and taking bites from his sandwich strips and veggie strips!

Also, he is going through some sort of pinching/hitting phase... uggghhh. Jon and I are trying to figure out how to best make it through this one!

Spring!

Finally getting to sport some t-shirts and shorts. I know I am a bit biased... but really, could he get any cuter?

And, yes... he is still working on teeth and the two-finger-drooling position is common these days!

Zoo Trip - Mother's Day 2011

Our zoo trip on Mother's Day was a lot of fun. It started a little rocky with some delays on our end... but we met up with my parents, Jon's parents and Andrew, had a nice lunch and then set off. Liam looked at the map and told us exactly what he wanted to see :)

We started with the birdies... which led to the theme of the day... awareness and pointing! Liam really looked, looked and looked some more at all the animals. He really took everything in!

We looked at some monkeys...

We looked for lots of animals... Liam kept asking where the polar bear went (he was pacing in and out of his den)
... Not to worry, Liam pointed him out again when he saw him come back!
We looked at some moose

By far, Liam's favorite animal of the day was the elephants!!!

Liam signed over and over again... ELEPHANT!!! This was especially cool since he just learned that sign the day before looking at some video and books of different animals. We really have no idea why he latched on to that sign... but boy does he know what an elephant is!

Very excited to see the elephants... so happy!

We got to pet some goats...

And he headed home with some souvenirs... Thanks Grandparents! He loves all his new stuffed animals and his new zoo book all about animals!
What a lovely Mother's Day spent with the family!

Mother's Day

Had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.... yummy treats, a nap, family time and a wonderful trip to the zoo with all the grandparents and Uncle Andrew! It is wonderful to share Liam's adventures with those who love him soooo much! Pictures of the zoo to be posted soon...

Driving Milk Around

Back in the 'good ole days' of driving cars around the living room... ahh memories!

Walking and Talking

Seriously in the last few days our little baby is just growing into a big boy right before our eyes. We are so proud and so amazed at him! Liam is walking just about everywhere he wants right now... living room, kitchen, door to door, down the hall... he is so proud of himself!

He is also signing and approximating (yes Mommy is an SLP!) more and more words everyday! A couple of days ago it was signing fish and then bird. Now he is saying ma-ma again and tonight he was saying "mah" for "meow" when Buckley was meowing. Every once and awhile an 'uh-oh' will come out. He is saying "mmm" for cow when he is reading his farm books. He knows the sign for spider now as well thanks to 'itsy bitsy spider'! He is eating up all the signs you can show him... he tried for cat whiskers, socks, and bunny yesterday (very hard two handed signs!). Receptively he is understanding so much. He knows outside, look for birds, pick up your toys, go upstairs... the kid is amazing!

Where is it?

Just a glimpse... best video I could get right now. When Liam waves his hand... he is asking you "Where is it?" Also, note the walking all by himself at the end... how is he so big?!?

Great Grandparents

My grandparents from Arkansas were up this last weekend unexpectedly! They enjoyed spending some time with Liam. He had changed a lot from when they saw him at Christmas!

Also, Grandma got out a little bike toy. BIG HIT! Liam wanted to get on and off and on and off... he even started to figure out how to push himself around with his feet! Mostly he went backwards, but still super excited about it!

Teeth!

Liam is officially working on two (possibly three) teeth. The molar on the right side has come partially through. The molar on the left side is just swollen... you can feel it, but it has not broken through. There may be a second tooth trying to make it's way through on the left side as well. It is much harder (and more dangerous!) to try to get a finger in there to feel now!

Liam is handling it pretty well. Naps have been a little off, but night-time sleep has been wonderful! You can tell it bothers him, he is chomping on everything! Cold teethers and the occassional tylenol seem to be taking care if it! Hope they pop through soon!