2011 In Review

Usually I take a few moments to reflect on the year on New Years eve and write in my journal. I have no idea where my journal is, so I decided to do my reflecting here.

The past year has been pretty good for us. Sean has continued working for his new office and enjoys it most of the time. I received a one of a time chance when I was offered a post-doc this summer. Commuting has been difficult, but we've made due. Sean helps so much with the boys! We have found much help from our neighbors too, who watch Liam for us after school. Liam enjoys having the extra time to spend with his friend, Joshua. John, Nicole, Joshua, Lidia, and Penny spent part of the morning with us today in fact!

Not much else has changed, really. They boys continued to grow and amaze me. I feel very fortunate for all that we have and all of the opportunities that we have been granted. All in all, 2011 has been a good year and I hope that fate will continue to be kind to us in 2012.

Fly Boyz

Yesterday we took the boys to the Air Zoo. The trip was nearly perfect. The boys were very excited, but behaved pretty well. Both Grant and Liam enjoyed themselves looking at planes, cycles, cars, and misc NASA stuff. Grant loved playing with the toggle switches in the gemini capsule. They were both brave enough to ride some of the amusement park rides with me. Grant flew biplanes and rode on the ferris wheel. Liam rode those two plus the spinning balloon ride. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

Very Merry and Very Early Christmas Morning

Christmas began very early this year, when a super psyched Liam woke everyone up at 4:30am! Sean and I relented and got up at 5am. We came done to find that Santa had been busy the night before and left ample gives under the tree and in stockings. We started with stockings and then allowed the boys to open the few gifts from mommy and daddy. Then it was time for some breakfast. I made homemade blintzes. Yum!

But one we had food in our bellies, it was difficult to stay awake. So Sean and Grant and I all laid down for a nap between 7am and 9am. After a little rest, we came back to continue opening gifts from Santa. After all the packages were open, mommy got busy building the Lego sets that both Grant and Liam got for Christmas. We spent the day playing and eating Christmas treats!

In the evening, we visited our neighbor, Peggy, to spread a little Holiday cheer. She has had a rough year and I knew it would brighten her day to see the boys. She also treated them to a gift. Grant got a see-and-say, Liam got a hexbug and an ornament. They are sure lucky boys!



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The day after Christmas, we received a visit from Grandma Kathie and Great Grandma! The boys had lots of fun showing the grandma's their new toys and going out for a Chinese lunch. We are so glad they could come spend the day with us!

Winter Fun

Today we had thought about taking the boys on the Polar Express Train ride, but we were all in no mood for traveling. So we decided to go to the City Market's holiday event in town instead. It turned out to be a great decision, because there were lots of fun events going on. Liam and Grant got to both visit with Father Christmas, listen to live harp and violin music, pet ponies, and decorate a giant ginger bread house. We also tasted real roasted chestnuts - super yummy! Upon leaving Sean and I entered a drawing for a free dinner and the kids got goodie bags. Later when we got home, we received a call that we had won the drawing for the free dinner!

December Day

It's hard to believe that Grant is already 17 months old today! He had a rough week, particularly, yesterday, when he had a flu bug. The poor guy woke up sick and couldn't eat anything all day without getting sick. We spent the day together, snuggled, and had low-key play. I just hope that I don't end up getting it after cleaning up all the messes. Today he was feeling better and could hold down some food.

Liam also apparently had a rough day yesterday. Sean met him at the bus stop to pick him up and the bus driver told Sean that Liam had been miss-behaving and was getting written up. In particular, he supposedly hit a boy who sits behind him. After talking with Liam we learned that the other child had been harassing Liam - that doesn't excuse his behavior, however. The big concern is that if Liam continues his behavior, he will be suspended form the bus for three days. This will make things quite difficult for Sean and I. What a way to start off December...

On the plus side, Grant is talking up a storm - I can actually have a conversation with him now! This evening I got out the peg board and he spent quite some time playing with it. He nearly filled the board with 100 pegs! Later, Liam and Grant were both making music with daddy. Grant and Liam were having fun playing with the little keyboard. I love it when they are creative. :) I told Liam that I would let him take piano lessons if he learned how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb. I taught him the first part of the song. He was very pleased with himself and I think he may actually be determined to learn it. Liam was also inspired to draw an orchid, because Sean and I were working on our orchid artwork for next year's competition. Liam's drawing was very impressive for a 5 year old!

Little Wordy Guy

Grant has really discovered the power of words and has been using them. Today alone I heard him say: bye, kitty, more, apple, horse, chew-chew, train, draw, night-night, and probably more that I missed. He also has been showing that he wants to help and be a big boy. On Tuesday he pulled out the cat food and carried it over to the cat's bowl. So together we fed the cat and then he put the food back. I praised him for being such a great helper and he just beamed with pride. He's helped me feed kitty every day this week, since. When it's time for us to clean up toys, he likes to sign the clean up song and usually pitches in with picking up toys. In the past few weeks, Grant has also been using spoons to feed himself. He does a pretty good job at it too!

This morning Grant and Liam and I played with trains while Sean made breakfast. I made them a fun track for their trains. The boys actually played really nice together. Later, after we took care of chores, I took the boys to the horse barns and we fed them apples.

Yesterday, I hung out with Grant, since daycare was closed. He and I went to the Impression 5 museum. Grant had so much fun at the museum - he was giggling and squealing with excitement. I ran into another mom, who I used to see at a mom group when Liam was little. She has a little girl a few months younger than Grant and a son a few months younger than Liam. Grant and the little girl played with blocks together. Grant did a very nice job putting duplo blocks together in a small tower.

Grant also weaned this week! November 1st was the last day he nursed. He has nursed less and less for some time. We made it down to just once a day and now that he quit, he doesn't seem to notice. I feel a little guilty for weaning him so much earlier than Liam, but it's just much harder to keep it up with me working long hours and being away from home so much. And then there has also been the issue of recurring thrush, which has made nursing quote miserable for me. So on the whole, I am relieved to be done with nursing.

Trick-R-

Treat! Yes, today Liam and Grant went out begging for candy. Grant really got into the swing of things. He was talking up a storm. This evening was the first time he ever said "trick-er" and "thank you". He also said bye-bye several times, which he started saying for the first time last week.

When we got home, Liam helped hand out candy and Grant played with all our mini pumpkins. Then we went in to eat some candy. Grant really enjoyed his chocolate. I don't even know how many Liam ate, but I was relieved to see that some of what he ate included fruit snacks. :)




This morning, I helped out at Liam's school party. The kids all paraded through the school and showed off their costumes. Liam behaved very well and I think he enjoyed having me around. He is really lucky to have such great teachers and a good class of kids. They all seemed to get along pretty well for five year olds!

Dashing Dinos

Both Liam and Grant got to run in the Dino Dash this year - and mommy too. Only I ran the whole 5k, then hurried home to pick up the boys so they could run in the mini-dash and diaper-dash. We ran into our friends, Dan and Annie, and their son Aidan. Liam and Aidan sure make scary dino faces!

Days of Yore

The first somewhat sunny day after weeks of rain, we decided to do something outside today and headed to the Michigan Renaissance Faire. Despite the fact that it was actually quite chilly and we had a bit of a late start and even took a wrong highway, once we were there we had lots of fun!

No surprise that everyone thought our little Viking and handsome Knight were just too adorable!

Orange Belts & Poo-Poo Talk

Some highlights of the week:

Liam applied himself and worked super hard during his last couple karate classes. This means that he earned his orange belt in the class! Unfortunately, I didn't submit the paperwork in time, so he didn't have his belt in time to be presented in class. But sensei presented him with another orange belt that he got to wear for a few minutes. The next morning I sent the paperwork in and Liam's new gi arrived in the mail yesterday. He was so excited to put it on! He will get his official orange belt on the first day of class during the next term (in two weeks).

We all met Liam's Kindergarten teachers this Wednesday. They were very nice and told us good stories about Liam. One day last week Liam showed a lot of compassion for the preschoolers in his class who were missing their parents and having a hard time. He tried comforting them and showed them pictures of his family. So sweet. :)

Grant has been going through some terrible teething and has been quite cranky - not his usual jovial self. He has even started waking 2 - 3 times a night again and crying a lot. :( But we will manage to make him laugh and he does the same for us too. Tonight at dinner he started passing gas loudly. We were also shocked that everyone started laughing. :P Then egged on by the result, Grant started straining to do it again and eventually did with spectacular results. All the while, I was thinking - this is what it's going to be like in a house for of boys!

This weekend I found a little time to do some sewing. I worked on Halloween costumes. I managed to whip together a mighty cute viking outfit for Grant and a batman cape for Liam. He is still undecided if he will be batman or yoda - I also knited a Yoda hat and feet for him last week.

Kindergarten Kid

A BIG day for Liam - and me - today was his first day of Kindergarten! Here he is waiting for the bus with his buddy Joshua.


And getting on the big yellow bus.

Grant's First Haircut

I had to trick him by carefully cutting his hair while he was nursing. I was sad to see his baby curls go, but I do think he looks pretty sharp with his new do.

T-Minus...

...9 days and counting, until Liam starts Kindergarten! He has been having a blast at summer camp at the science center the past two weeks and has one more week to go before school starts. For the most part he has been well behaved. I even heard this great story last week...Liam made friends with this little girl (who is probably 7 years old) named Anavi. One day, Anavi was feeling lonely and missing her mom. So Liam, ran and got the phones of our family that I had put in his backpack the weekend before. He told her also about his family and what was going on in the pictures and she wasn't sad any more. It makes me feel so good that he has such compassion. My little boy is growing up so fast!

In other news, we took the boys to the Detroit zoo for the first time yesterday. It was a warm day, but we had a lot of fun and saw so many animals! Grant is now nearly running - he was showing us that he has a mind of his own and constantly tried running the opposite direction. So I had to corral him in the stroller for much of the trip. At one point we stopped to get frozen lemonaid. While we were waiting, Liam saw a Cicada ambushed and carried off by a Cicada Killer - I am afraid that the even was so traumatic that he will remember it more than all the cool animals that we saw.

My big 5-year old!

Hard to believe that I first became a mother 5-years ago this week! My little Liam turned 3 on Wednesday and today we celebrated his birthday with friends and family.

Here are a few pictures from our festivities this week.

The Great Communicator

Grant (and mommy) survived the surgery on Tuesday just fine. In fact he was back to his normal jovial self mere hours later. He took a long nap and then was playing rough and tumble soon afterwards.

On Wednesday evening Grant "communicated" his desire to nurse by carrying the boppy pillow over and handing it to me. This was no easy feat, as the pillow is just about as big as him! The next morning, he and Liam were playing in the dinning room. Then I heard Grant repeating a loud humming noise and went to see what was the matter. Turns out he found kitty's hairball on the ground and was sitting next to it trying to get my attention to let me know it was there. He didn't touch it or anything, just notified me about it. He is one smart cookie!

The Night Before

Well, tomorrow morning, Grant goes to the hospital for surgery bright and early. It's nothing too serious, but it's still nerve-wracking, nonetheless. He has to have tubes placed in both ears - hopefully to prevent any further ear infections. I'm told by friends, whose kids had this done that it's a pretty minor procedure and will make him feel much better. Tomorrow is going to be a LOOONG day no matter what.

Liam's Solo Field Trip

Well, today Liam took his first field trip all on his own - no parents chaperoning him. The trip was part of the summer camp at the community center that he is attending this week. They went to a local state park for the day. I was nervous because I worried that he would wander off or not stay with the group. He's also never had to have responsibility for his own things before. So much to my dismay, he lost a bottle of sunblock and his really nice swim suit and matching swim shirt - the one I bought for him as a sibling gift last summer. I made some calls, but it's nowhere to be found. On the bright side, however, he had a fun time and didn't get sunburned.

A Week of Firsts for Grant

First birthday (7/3/11)



First time walking (more than two steps) on his own. (7/7/11)





First time sleeping through the night (It helped that he was totally wiped out after a hot day and lots of fun at our friend Aidan's birthday party). (7/10/11)

Grant's First Year

A year ago today...I nearly died after giving birth to my beautiful boy. Thankfully someone had donated blood that matched my type and after two transfusions and the wonders of modern medicine, I have been blessed to watch my two wonderful boys grow up.

Yesterday we celebrated Grant's first birthday at my mom's cottage. I think everyone had fun and we managed to dodge the rain until the end of the party. In fact, the rain disappeared in time for us to celebrate with some fireworks. Liam was so excited and quite sad when he was too tired to watch the fireworks. He did manage to collect a ton of lightening bugs in a giant bug container that my mom gave him. The bugs were like mini fireworks! Liam also caught his first fish with daddy! Grant was exhausted from the day too! He had so much attention and fun, and everyone gave him great toys.


Today we had another lake party, this time at my inlaws house. It was a lot of fun until Grant became cranky and inconsolable. Liam managed to get a chance to play with some sparklers, but we had to leave before the end of Grandpa's firework display.

My Baby is...

...nearly not a baby any more. At least he's a baby for a few more days. We are celebrating Grant's first birthday in Indiana at my mom's lake cottage, so I won't be able to post anything on his actual birthday.

I can't believe how fast the last year has gone by! It's a little scary. I feel like I've missed most his baby-hood while working or being too tired enjoy it. I try to take time to notice the little things and rejoice in all of the discoveries that he makes. He is a bright and happy little guy. He is so close to walking right now. He can stand on his own for longer and longer durations and has even taken a few steps. But he is weary of walking without having a finger to hold on to.

I'm making Grant's birthday cake right now...I'm very excited! I'll post an update about his birthday celebration when we return!

Daddy's Boys

Our two lovely boys have been doing so much and growing up so fast!

This past week Grant has been making moves to walk on his own. He took three steps with no support and has stood for more than 30 seconds on several occasions. He is getting quick good at walking while just holding someone's hand lightly. The other surprising thing that he's been up to is that he shows a lot of interest in drawing. He makes scribbles on Liam's magnadoodle and the aquadoodle pad, all while holding his pen quite well. He even made a little doodle with pen and paper today for Grandma Kathie. He's also been talking up a storm! Yesterday he told Grandma Kathie "go this way" when she asked them which way to walk. He now says on a regular basis: up, down, done, stop, kitty, dada, mama, that, want...He also probably says a few more, but it's easy to miss them in his sweet little baby voice.

I imagine that Grant's interest in drawing is partly because Liam is very much into drawing lately too. He has gotten quite good at drawing copies of images or objects, such as transformers, dinosaurs, or bugs. Liam is also learning how to control the Wii and when Grant naps we sometimes play Lego Star Wars. I can't believe how grown up he is sometimes. He asks such thoughtful questions, sometimes driving me crazy with them all. Such an inquisitive mind!

Pint-sized Graduate

Today my little boy graduated from preschool! Silly, I know, but a milestone nonetheless. I can't believe that he will soon be 5 years old and starting kindergarten in a couple months! He has grown and learned so much in the past year. We still have our challenges, but he has also improved a lot. He made many good friends this year, some of whom will be joining him in the same elementary school next fall. Mommy and Daddy are proud of you Liam!
Yes, Liam is wearing a tie! :)

Busy Boys!

We have had a busy, busy week!

Last Wednesday Liam had a fun field trip to the Bug House! He was in heaven with all the creepy crawlies. He got to hold a hissing cockroach, two types of walking sticks, a darkling beetle, and even a huge tarantula!

Last Thursday, the boys and I went to Impression-5. Liam had fun playing at the water table. Grant was much more adventurous than our last visit. He crawled around exploring and even climbed up the steps on the play loft. Grant discovered the zig-zag tower and cars. He even managed to put a few of the cars down the tower, laughing at them the whole way down.

Then on Friday the 13th, we meet some friends at the Potter Park Zoo. It was an unseasonably hot day, but quite lovely! We took our time, stopping to feed the goats and then feed ourselves some ice cream to cool off.





After a wet and rainy weekend and past couple days, Grandma and Grandpa came to visit today and watch the boys for me while I went to an interview. Grant got to play with his grandparents while Liam had a fun time at preschool this morning - they got to watch a little chicken hatch from an egg!

Oh, yeah, and Grant has another tooth with a fifth on the way.

Playing Catch-up

Well, the end of the semester is always a super busy time - even for the professor. I've been so wrapped up with work that I've had little time or energy to post anything lately. I have several posts started, but nothing finished...

So the big news about Liam is that he has started trying to copy images that he sees in books in his drawings. His likenesses are very good actually - he has an eye for detail. Today he drew me a picture of a transformer from a library book. Yesterday he drew a picture from the Runaway Bunny.

Grant has been changing in SO many ways. He is acting more like a toddler than a baby now. Which is fun, but also makes me a little sad that his babyhood went by so fast! He has started asserting his will and letting us know when he is not happy about something. He is also a bit devious and likes to get into things he knows he shouldn't. He started pulling himself up to standing on the furniture last weekend. This week he has made a few attempts at cruising with the furniture. In the last month he: started clapping, started signing for milk, giving kisses, and putting a ring on and off of the stacker toy. Today he helped Liam and I pick up blocks and put them in a basket - it was so cute! He also FINALLY called me "mama" today instead of calling me "dada".

OH, and I almost forgot to mention that Grant's third tooth finally poked through today and a fourth one is right behind it.

When I grow up...

Liam has decided he's going to be either a paleoanthropologist or Robin Hood. That's my boy!

Stunt Man Grant

Grant is making the first moves at cruising. The only problem is that his confidence is greater than his skill at standing and walking...

Yesterday...

...I signed Liam up for Kindergarten at the Montessori school! Wow, there it is. I can't hardly believe it. Seems like yesterday that he was a little crawling babe and now he's gearing up for real school.

Speaking of crawling babes, Grant as gotten super mobile in the past few days. I am constantly picking him up and moving him away from things he shouldn't be getting into. I thought my house was baby-proofed, but I forgot how mischievous little crawling boys can be! I think I'm going to need to tether my floor lamps to the wall, along with a few other special measures...On the other hand, it is fun to watch him crawl around the house and explore with such eagerness and curiosity. Everything is new and exciting for him!

Dio Donti (Two Teeth)

Today Grant's second tooth popped out of his gums. He's been quite unhappy about it. I can't say I can blame him either, especially since he has an ear infection as well. Sean took him to the Dr. today while I was teaching. Poor kid...at least it's only his second ear infection.

Over last weekend we all had the chance to go to the Orchid Show - one of our favorite events every year. Liam took his camera and took some pictures (see below).

Sean and I took a few pictures too, although we were not super serious about it this year since we have so many pictures from previous years. We did, however, manage to win first prize for the hand-painted orchid guitar that Sean and I made together. It was a lot of work, but it paid off - we've been after a first prize for years.

Grant's First Tooth!

We have suffered long and hard through Grant's teething and FINALLY one has arrived! Grant has had a hard time sleeping at night, has been cranky in the evenings lately, and chewing on everything like nobodies business. This afternoon, when I peeked in his mouth I could finally see his bottom left tooth poking out. Hooray!

A Happy Birthday!

Well, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny, I made a bunch of money selling baby gear and clothes at a mom2mom sale, my mom came up to spend the weekend with us, Liam and Grant were both angels when we went out for a late lunch/early dinner.

The past week was also eventful. Grant started crawling! He's still working it all out, but he can push up on his arms really well. He managed to crawl across the length of the rug in the living room to get to his favorite toy - his stacking cups.



Liam is learning to share with his brother, now that Grant is interested in his toys and can get to them. Sometimes Liam is willing to share, but doesn't know how to play. Other times, he is reluctant to share or even takes Grant's toys. It is a work in progress...But the other night I was happy to have them both on my lap and they played together well after I gave Liam a suggestion on how to share. Liam had a mini slinky that he would let Grant pull on. Grant thought it was funny. They both took turns pulling on it and laughing. The next morning, Liam and Grant played again. I hope they can have many more fun games like that together. :)

Before all the snow melted with the little warm-spell, Liam and I managed to get outside and make a snowman last weekend. Liam did a good job helping me pack the snow. Our snowman was taller than Liam when we were finished. We added a carrot nose and brusselsprouts for eyes!

So little time...

...life is so, so busy that I hardly have the time to write here like I want to.

Liam has learned so much in the past few months. Today he surprised me. I was trying to work on the computer and was not the most attentive. He decided to dress up in a silly outfit from random stuff in his dress-up basket. Then he came over and said, "what am I wearing that starts with a B?" He had on a pair of cowboy boots. Then I asked him if he was wearing anything with the letter G, and he knew it was "glasses". I quizzed him on a bunch of other silly accessories until we ran out and he had to go change his outfit. I had no idea he had such a grasp of letters, their sounds, and words they spelled. I was quite impressed.

Grant has been eating more and more solid foods. He sometimes gets annoyed when we feed him pureed food, as he wants to feed himself now. So I've been trying to thing of new and interesting finger foods for him. The new food this week was whole wheat spiral pastas cut into little bits. He hasn't started crawling, but he manages to get around. He must scooch when I'm not looking or something, because he's constantly getting into his brothers toys. Lately, he has started crying when I leave him at daycare. He has figured out that mama leaves and he is not happy about it. It is soooo very hard to leave him when he's crying - babies sure know how to manipulate their mamas. On plus side, he constantly delights everyone with his non-stop smile everywhere we go. I really hope that he never looses it!

Chomp'in Chunks

Grant has been eating more and more solid foods now. He is so independent-minded that he'd rather feed himself than be fed pureed baby food. This week he tried some chicken for the first time and loved it! He couldn't get enough of it! He's also been eating rice, noodles, avocado, banana, sweet potato, and lots of puffs.

Bathing Beauty

Yesterday Grant finally took a bath and enjoyed it! Every bath before this was spent screaming, but now that Grant can sit up he is having fun and splashing.

Achy, Breaky, Ears

It was bound to happen eventually, Grant has his first ear infection. I hate that we have to give him antibiotics. Hopefully he will be better soon and won't get many more.

In other news, Liam got to go bowling for the first time this week. On the 13th we went bowling with a bunch of kids from his Montessori school. I think he enjoyed it, but it was total chaos. There were too many people and too little organization. Grant faired alright, but he was sick from the ear infection and the noisy bowling alley was not a very good place for him. Sean and I were quite rusty at bowling - it's been too long!

Liam and Grant recently discovered that they can play with Liam's toy computer together. Grant likes to pound on the keyboard and make noise, while Liam uses the mouse to actually try to play the games. That's my little nerds!

Liam Goes Sledding

It's hard to believe that Liam has never been sledding down hill before now, but today was his first time. Sean and Liam tried to use my old and rather beat up metal sled, but it wouldn't go down the hill. So they bought a nice new sled and it turned out to be supper fast! On his first trip down the local hill, Liam went so fast that he ended up in a bramble bush. Thankfully he wasn't hurt and it did not deter his enthusiasm! He ended up sledding for hours.

Bummer

Well after weeks of waiting, I finally got the news that I did not get the job. I'm quite bummed, because I think I would have been happy there. So it's back to the grind of applying for jobs and working my two part-time teaching gigs.

Earlier today I decided to go ahead and enroll Grant into daycare for four days a week, so that I have a little more time for myself and my own research. Hopefully the time will be productive for me. Grant seems to like it there and I know he will be well cared for. Meanwhile, he is still working hard on getting his first tooth.

Six-Month Monkey

It's totally amazing that six months have already passed since Grant's birth! He has grown so much! He started sitting uo all by himself around Christmas. Now he likes to sit and play on his mat and chew on various toys. I can see one of his upper teeth in pretty close to coming in and he's been somewhat cranky in the evenings.

Yesterday the family went to the pottery painting studio to make a handprint plate for Grant. We managed to get a pretty good handprint - not so easy to do with a baby. We also got his footprint on the back of the plate. His foot was so long that it nearly didn't fit! Liam behaved really well and sat still long enough to paint his own piece of art. He painted a dark blue elephant and daddy helped by adding eyes and nostrils. It looked very cute!