Goodbye Grandpa

Last Friday, July 20th at approximately 2:40pm, grandpa Michael passed away.
This post is in loving memory of M.O.S.

Tuesday thru Thursday

Well, Liam and I have been out of town visiting family, so I'm a little behind with posts. So here is the update...

On Tuesday, my dear friend Amy came to visit us. She is a Michigan native that now lives in West Virginia (culture shock anyone?). She moved before Liam was born, so it was the first time she saw him. We spent the afternoon talking and playing with Liam. We also took a stroll around the neighborhood together. Liam showed off his burgeoning walking skills and was quite the ham. I also saw him play catch with Amy. That's the first time I've seen him toss a ball back and forth!

Wednesday Liam was in daycare through the morning and afternoon. He had a good day there and was voted the "best baby" by the daycare workers. Apparently he also tried kiss one of the daycare workers on the mouth. How cute! (He usually thinks its a game and laughs when I try to kiss him.) After daycare, Liam and I drove down to Indiana to visit with my parents. When we arrived Liam was super excited to be in a new place. He loves their pet cats and birds. He got lots of snuggles from grandma and grandpa before going to bed.

Thursday was packed with lots of action. In the morning, Liam got to play with grandpa and auntie Rae. Then we met Janne Buesching, another old friend, for lunch along with auntie Rae. Liam was pretty well behaved during lunch. Afterwards we headed to Science Central to look at the new exhibit of the Buesching Mastodon. The exhibit was really nice! Liam even got to play with some of the interactive parts of the exhibit. The rest of the day was filled with errand running and such. I discovered this evening that Liam has his lower molars coming in too. That's six teeth now! Poor guy!

Naptime Woes

Sean and I have sort of resigned ourselves to co-sleeping with Liam lately. While he's teething, he is especially clingy and wants to be cuddled all night. So Liam usually only spends the first few hours of the night in his crib, then comes to bed with us when he wakes up crying. Last night was no different, except that around 2am he woke up and wouldn't settle down. I tried to get him to settle down in our bed, then in his crib...an hour later I was just too exhausted to keep going and finally gave up. I'm not proud of it, but I put him in his crib, closed the door, and went back to bed. I know that he cried (screamed really) for some time before I drifted back to sleep. The only good thing that came out of it was that he slept in till 8am for the first time ever!

Of course, getting up so late threw off what little semblance of a schedule we had going. So during the day he refused to nap. I tried laying down in bed and cuddling with him. At first I was really annoyed that he wouldn't fall asleep, though he was clearly tired and rubbing his eyes. Then I realized...you know, I should savor this moment...just laying in bed, cuddling and listening to the birds chirping through the open window and smelling his sweaty little baby head. Sigh. Time goes by too fast to get upset about the little things. Eventually (two hours later) he got a nap in. No harm in that.

He was still sleeping when Elli came over. She was tired too, but laid herself down on the floor and fell asleep. Imagine that! A little later Liam woke up. As usual, I put him on the potty after his nap. He went #1 and all was well. I left him without a diaper while I cleaned out the potty and then went to move Elli to a place where Liam wouldn't disturb her. Unfortunately, in my short absence, Liam decided he had to go #2 as well. Strangely enough, I was less upset about the big pile of cr@p on the floor (and toys) than about our napping problems earlier in the day. Luckily, Elli continued to sleep while I cleaned up Liam, the toys, and the floor covered poo. The rest of the day was pretty much without incident. He's cutting another molar (that makes 4 teeth coming in at once!) and erupts into tears about everything. Luck that I have some blueberry apple sauce frozen for him. He's slurping on a popsickle as I type.

Double the party, double the fun! (7/15/07)

On Sunday we went to another baby's first birthday party! This time it was Ashtyn's party. It was at her mommy's house and it was total mayhem! So many babies and toddlers crawling/walking/running around! But so much fun! Liam showed off his new walking skills and managed to take around three steps at a time before falling. I think he likes walking on hardwood floors better than carpeting. Liam ate all sorts of yummy food catered from Smokey Bones. Mmmmm Mmmmm! We went home with our bellies bursting. The babies also got to play in the pool for a little bit too. They splashed and had a grand old time. Parties are such fun...and two in one weekend!

Potter, Party

Well last night we all went to a late showing of Harry Potter. I know I'm probably a terrible mother to take my 11 month old to that movie, but he was asleep within the first 5 minutes! Sean and I got to enjoy a movie out and all the while, Liam got to snuggle on my lap. The only problem is that Liam is so heavy that my legs started to go numb in the middle of the movie...kinda like they did when I saw a movie while 9 months pregnant!

The other drawback is that we were up really late last night. Needless to say, were where pretty pooped when Liam woke us up at 6am this morning. At least we managed to squeeze in a nap during the day.

This evening we biked down to Hawk Island park to Aidan's 1st birthday party. Aidan is the son of Dan and Annie (Sean works with Dan). Liam and Aidan play together at daycare every Wednesday. Liam had a blast playing with Aidan and his new toys. We also enjoyed eating Aidan's birthday cake, made by his daddy. When we got home everyone but mommy went straight to bed.

Friday the 13th

Well, we would pick Friday the 13th to put a bid in on a house. Let's hope that this means we'll be lucky and get it for the price we want. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Liam and I spent most of our day at the birth center. He got to play with all of his usual friends and had great fun. He walked a few more steps here and there. So far the most steps I've seen him take in a row is 3. He's getting warmer!

Holy Molar!

Last night, while brushing Liam's teeth, I noticed that he has a molar coming in on his upper right side. Judging by how far it's out, it must have started coming in about the same time as his last incisors. Poor guy, no wonder he's been in a bad mood. I suppose it's time to buy some more baby Tylenol. He was especially cranky yesterday and refused to nap. By late afternoon he finally took a two hour nap (and boy did we both need it!). The only problem is that he wouldn't sleep in his crib and ended up napping in our bed.

Liam is also growing like a weed right now. Everybody always complains about how much teenagers eat, but this toddler is eating me out of house and home! The only thing that makes toddlers easier to manage is there size. I just can't keep the food coming fast enough for him though. Not to mention all the nursing he still does too. Last night our realtor mentioned that Liam had grown since he saw him last...and that was a little over a week ago!

Steps and stuff

Here's some various goings on from the past two days. Yesterday Liam tried to walk a few times. He can only take about 1 1/2 or 2 steps at a time before falling, but he's working on it. In the evening while playing, he kept emptying his toy baskets, flipping them over, and crawling on top of them. It was really silly to watch and he was so pleased with himself. He also got to play with Lego Duplos for the first time. He tried to put the blocks together after he saw me fit them together. I'm always so impressed with how fast he learns! Babies are amazing!

Today on the way home from daycare he said "teddy" when I handed him is favorite teddy toy. I was so surprised! He was very happy and playful as we drove home. He even tried playing peek-a-boo with his teddy. Apparently he got a couple chances to play outside at daycare. He really loves the outdoors.

Once we came home he pulled out his basket of toys and began emptying it. But this time he was throwing his toys out! I've never seen him do this! I wonder if he learned it watching another baby at daycare? Eventually he picked up some toys and put them back inside the basket...he's starting to get the hang of putting things in. Liam also made a few more successful steps. Usually just two at a time before plopping on his bottom.

Wanna ride?

Liam was in such a good mood today. He smiled and laughed bunches! Liam had a good morning because Sean went into work later than usual and so Liam got to play with him a little before he left. Liam and I ran a few errands in the morning. Fortunately for Liam, one of those errands included going to Preuss's Pets for bird seed. He had a grand ol' time looking at the ferrets playing, fish swimming, and birds squawking!


In the afternoon, Elli joined us for a few hours. Liam and Elli played so well together today. Liam actually shared his toys and even brought some to Elli when she was sad about her mommy leaving. Even cuter than that was when Liam gave Elli a ride around on his tricycle. He pushed her all around the living room! A little later, Ashtyn and her mommy also came to visit. The three babies played till they were all tuckered out. After Ashtyn went home, Elli laid down for a nap and I rocked Liam to sleep.

When daddy came home, the boys played while I prepared Liam's birthday invitations. We had a nice evening together. We also took down Liam's doorway bouncer tonight. I was sad, but he's gotten too big for it. We video taped him bouncing one last time before putting it away.

The week's events...

As you can see from the previous posts, Liam had quiet a busy week. We enjoyed our vacation! But they always end too soon. :( Now for some of Liam's assorted accomplishments.

Liam took a few steps here and there, while trying to get into mischief in the cottage. He has also learned a new and rather annoying strategy for getting what he wants: screaming! My poor parents were very patient with him as Sean and I struggled to show him other ways of communicating. His vocabulary is pretty small and only includes three words used on a regular basis: daddy, mama, and dede (his word for pacifier). Liam continued to sign "more" this week and started signing "milk" for the first time too! I'm sure some of his screaming also had to do with the eruption of two more teeth this week.

Liam and I took a couple more paddles around in the lake on Thursday and Friday. I think he enjoys it even if he hates wearing his lifejacket. He tries to hold the paddle with me and likes to look at the lily pads in the water.

The children's zoo (7-6-07)

Friday we took a drive down to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. Auntie Rae met us a the zoo. My sister and I grew up going to this zoo and have a special fondness for it. The zoo was super busy and the weather was hot, but we still had a great time.

Liam really enjoyed all of the primates in the African and Indonesian exhibits. He also liked the bird aviary and the Great Barrier Reef tanks.




The highlight of our visit was the beautiful carousel ride. Liam and I rode on the Indian Rhino together. He loved the ride, music, and people!
I had been looking forward to taking Liam to the petting zoo, which my sister and I enjoyed so much as kids. But by the time we made it all the way through the zoo, we were super tired out. Instead we just walked through the barn-yard exhibit and Liam got to see the chickens, chicks, bunnies, piglets, horses, ponies, and goats. Maybe next time we'll start at the petting zoo!

Liam's first drive-in movie (7-5-07)

We enjoyed another lovely day at the lake on Thursday. Liam and I took a stroll around the lake in the morning. It was cool and somewhat foggy. Grandpa had to go to work and grandma had to go to town to take care of errands. We would have been all alone :( if it wasn't for Auntie Rae coming back up to visit us.

Daddy fished, while auntie Rae and I waded with Liam in the lake. Later, Liam and I played while Rae and Sean made a makeshift sailboat and set launch. Yes, that's them out on the lake!

We had a quiet afternoon. Liam and mommy took an much needed nap. For dinner we made a taco bar. Liam ate avocado slices and cheese. Then we headed down to the Auburn-Garret drive-in theater for a movie. We arrived a little early and got a good spot. We sat out on the lawn pinic-style and listened to the radio. Apart from trying to lick the dirty car door, Liam was really good. When the Transformers movie started Liam sat quietly in my lap and about 20 minutes into the movie he fell asleep. I snuggled him in his blankie to keep him warm.

1st 4th

Liam had quite a big day for his first fourth. We spent the morning playing at the cottage. Auntie Rae came up to visit with all of us today. Then we visited with Sean's aunt Beth and uncle Rick in the afternoon. They live at another lake nearby. aunt Barb and the other uncle Rick were also there too. Liam got to dip his feet in the water with great-aunt Beth, but had the most fun chasing the neighbor's dog and getting doggy kisses. Uncle Rick took us out for a ride in his big bass boat. Liam loved the wind on his face.


This evening Liam played with auntie Rae in the sand while mommy made ice cream. After dinner (Liam ate some hamburger and mac n'cheese) daddy and auntie Rae put on some fireworks (nothing big mind you, only fountains and sparklers this year) for the family. Liam was a little unsure at first, but when we started clapping and cheering, he realized it was ok and got excited too.

Liam's mood has been somewhat cantankerous the past several days. I found out why yesterday evening when I noticed his seventh tooth showing through him gums. Today the eight one was visible. Another two teeth!

11 Months on the 3rd of July!

Liam turned 11 months old today! It's hard to believe that its only one short month till his first birthday. He got to spend the day at the lake at grandma Kathie and grandpa Michael's cottage (where we are vacationing this week). We arrived yesterday afternoon. Today we all slept in till 7:30am - yes, that's sleeping in for us! After breakfast we took a short trip to Shelton's fireworks to get some fountains for Liam's first fourth celebration.

Daddy got some bags of sand for Liam to play in. We spent part of the afternoon goofing around in the sand. We also took a short swim in the lake. Liam loves the water! Mommy and daddy put in the dock while Liam napped.

We had dinner out at Pizza King. I shared part of my calzone with Liam and he loved it! When we got home, Liam and I took a short paddle on the lake. We saw three different species of turtles, many dragonflies, a heron, and a carp. Liam wanted to paddle too just like mommy!

How do you drive this thing?

Liam is definitely feeling better today. Not yet 100%, but better. We spent the morning doing chores around the house. After lunch we took a bike ride around the neighborhood to go yard sale shopping. Liam wasn't keen on his bike helmet, but soon fell asleep and napped as we traveled around.

Shortly after we came home, grandma Bev and grandpa John arrived from Indianapolis. Liam was groggy, but happy to see them. They brought Liam some surprise toys. He is such a spoiled baby! We all took a drive to look at some of the houses that we are considering. Then we ate dinner at Steak n' Shake. Liam ate the most solids he has in a couple days. He ate some dried veggies that I brought along, as well as some baked beans, crackers, and some carrots from grandma's stew.

Baby on a Stick

Or is it stick on a baby? Whew, it's been a rough couple of days. Liam's fever broke yesterday morning at 4am. Although he was no longer hot, I could tell he felt worse because he was moaning and whining all day long. He also went from nursing all day long to nursing just a handful of times, so I'm now painfully engorged. Yuk!

In the morning Liam and I had to take care of a couple chores. We spent an hour at the car dealership getting the oil changed. The owner of the dealership felt bad for Liam, being that he was sick, so she gave him a stuffed teddy bear. It sure helps to have such a cute baby! Liam got a second free stuffed animal when we stopped at a yard sale on the way home. This time he got a cute giraffe.

Yesterday evening we went to look at a few more homes. They were all really nice, so now were left with thinking it over and trying to make a decision. One of the houses is located in our current neighborhood, which is a big plus for me. However, it was only 900 sqft, so it's about the same size as our apartment. :( It did have a good, and fairly dry basement, so there is a possibility of using it for an office space. Plus it also had a garage for Sean. Liam enjoyed playing in the back yards of most of the homes. That's were I took this picture of him eating a stick. Yum!

Liam chose this evening to take his first little steps in front of us (I suspect that he actually took his first steps a week and a half ago, but I only caught it out of the corner of my eye). He was trying to get Sean's baseball hat on the couch and took a couple steps between the recliner and the couch. We tried to replicate this feat (pun intended), but he chose to crawl over instead of walking.

A trip to the clinic

Some bad news this evening. We took Liam to the emergency pediatric clinic because he had an alarming temperature of 104-degrees! He started out with a temp this morning. I called the nurse line at his peds office. She suggested Tylenol...it was probably just a summer virus. So I gave him Tylenol and we went about our business for the day. He took an astounding four naps! When he woke from his fourth nap this evening he was bright red and very hot to the touch. That's when his temp was 104 and we took him to the clinic. By the time we got there, it had gone down to 102. By the time the doctor saw us, it was 101. The verdict: a summer flu bug that is going around. He had a very sore looking throat too. The poor guy. The doctor said that it would probably take a couple days to clear up and to feed him cold soothing foods and plenty of fluids in the meantime. (sigh) Why does he always get sick just before we leave town?!

The good news for today is that Liam did his first baby sign. I was feeding him avocado in the highchair and when he ran out I asked "do you want some more?" and he signed MORE! I'm glad that the signs are starting to sink in.

PS - He weighed 24lb 12oz fully clothed.

PPS - Liam went in the potty four times today!

Dog Days of Summer

Whew! It was a hot one today! I'm going to keep this post short, 'cause it's late and I'm tired. Liam was really restless, clingy, and nursy last night. Both of us woke up a little crabby, but I was determined to turn the day around. I put him on my back in a wrap and we went for a walk through the neighborhood. By the time we got back we were both in much better spirits, even if we were hot and sweaty.

We had a quiet morning at home. Liam got TWO whole naps in for a change. Around 2pm I put Liam in the bike trailer and we went to meet some friends at the water park. I finally remembered my camera and took some pics. Sorry, none in the water (not enough hands to safely do that). It was fun to get wet and cool off from the heat!

Liam and I got home just after daddy did. Since today was the last Tuesday of the month, we decided to go to the thrift shop for their half off sale. We scored a baby walker toy for only $1.50! Liam loves to play with this type of toy at Elli's house, so I was happy to find one so cheap. We ate dinner out at our favorite sub shop. Liam saw another baby there and ate some cheese and bread from mommy's sub.

Once home, Liam took a THIRD nap while mommy and daddy met with the realtor to discuss resuming our house hunt. After his nap Liam had a blast with his new walker toy. Liam actually used the potty TWICE today! A new record...now if I could only catch #2 there would be fewer poopy diapers to wash. :)

Magical Monday

Liam had a really bad night of sleep last night, following two good nights of sleep. Like last Thursday night, he wanted to nurse all night long! Ugh, I am sore.

This morning we went to the Elimination Communication (EC) meeting at the birth center. EC is all about figuring out your baby's cues for elimination and using that knowledge to "catch" their waste in a potty instead of a diaper. Most of the time people start EC when the infant is really young. I'm getting around to doing this with Liam now partly because we had such a rough time with reflux/colic/breastfeeding in those early months, that I couldn't tackle it. I also wasn't sure how to get started. However, I found out that I'm already on the right track with what I started doing last week. Usually it is possible to potty train at a much earlier age when you use EC. I tried to catch #1 a couple times today, but had no luck like over the weekend.

Elli came to play in the afternoon. It's amazing how having another baby around will keep Liam so much more content and occupied! We love Elli!

This evening, Liam tplayed peek-a-boo with everything, including his shirt. Sean started playing peek-a-boo with Liam's favorite teddy bear by hiding it behind his taggy blanket. Liam though that was funny. Then Sean made teddy disappear. The look on Liam's face was priceless! He was shocked...where had teddy gone? Sean made teddy reappear and disappear several more times. Then Liam started to suspect something. He tried looking over and behind the footrest where daddy was performing magic to find teddy.

Daddy also teased Liam by making him think that he was sucking on his pacifier. Liam was not amused and screamed to make him stop. Mommy and daddy though it was funny though...he's so possessive of that pacifier! Daddy also showed Liam that some of his toys could be put inside his stacking cups. For the past week Liam has been beginning to get the concept of "inside" and started putting the cups in each other. Once he saw daddy, he started placing all sorts of toys inside the cups. You could just see his excitement at learning something new!

Oat-Meal

Just a short post about Liam's meals...Today was just all about food! This morning I made a big batch of apple-cinnamon oatmeal for Liam and I to share. Since he won't let me spoon feed him anymore, I gave him a spoon and let him have at it! Every once in a while I would help by scooping up a little oatmeal and then he would lick it off.

At lunchtime daddy made one of his awesome homemade pizzas. I cut up some into little pieces for Liam and he loved it! For dinner, I made Pad Thai...a little too spicy for baby. So I gave him some of the chicken before it was stir fried. Liam also ate cheese slices and cheerios with dinner.

Because Liam at some much solid food today, he didn't nurse as much as usual. This resulted in clogged ducts for mommy...ugh! I'll have to wait for my milk supply to catch up with the change in demand.