Christmas

On Christmas Eve we went to Saint Mark's Lutheran church for their children's service. Liam liked the puppets and was intrigued by the minister. He also really wanted to make friends with the other kids he saw around. Unfortunately the little girl behind him did not want to say hi.

Christmas morning we did the usual present opening. Liam found magnets in his stocking that spelled out his name. Later in the day he had lots of fun moving them around on the fridge and taking them off and throwing them on the floor. He kept saying "mmm" when he played with the M magnet and tried to say his name, but it came out as "ah me."

Of course Allen and I also exchanged gifts. I got him a game called Blokus which involves trying to get the most pieces on the board. Liam thought it looked like fun, but it has some pretty small pieces, so it will be a while before he actually gets to try it. Allen's big present to me was a baking rack that we will use as a microwave stand. We don't have it yet, though as we had to order it in to Wal-Mart.
Liam's other gifts included a Grover puppet, a Mr. Potato Head, and the car set pictured below. The big gift was a Thomas the Tank Engine train set. We got some fun video of him opening that.
We had a little special food Christmas day. I made creamed eggs and biscuits for brunch and we had ham and mashed potatoes for supper. We even had home-made cobbler for desert.

Liam enjoyed showing his new toys off to Grammy and Grandpa on Skype Christmas night. We put off watching the live-action version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas until the day after Christmas.

A few days off!

Allen has been taking time off this week. It's been great to have him around. Now he has caught the cold, though. Liam still is not completely over his. Mine seems to be mostly gone.

Liam has seemed mostly oblivious to the cold, other than the snot, which is hard to ignore. He's been having lots of fun with toilet paper. We try to keep whole rolls away from him, but I don't mind if he shreds small pieces. It can keep him busy for a while.

He's busy at the moment playing with his big Lego style blocks. He very carefully took all of them out of the box, then started to put them all back, but got distracted. Allen broke a dish in the bedroom (a decorative dish) and Liam was pretty concerned about it.

Liam's favorite words right now are story (towie), happy, hi and hello. He often says them over and over, apparently because he likes the way they sound. Thankfully he doesn't expect a story every time he says that word. We still read lots of stories, though. Sometimes I just read to him from a novel I'm reading.

He's also really into kissing - stuffed animals, pictures in books, Grammy and Grandpa on Skype - even Mommy and Daddy. We've been getting some squelchy kisses lately, but they're still sweet.

OK, here's a pretty random picture. It's just too cute to resist. It turns out that a hat I made a few years ago for me almost fits Liam.

White Christmas?

It looks like we might have a white Christmas this year. We just have a few inches of snow now, but we could get more any day this week. Liam hasn't gotten out in the snow yet. He doesn't have snow boots yet and he still has a very runny nose.

We finally got our Christmas tree up. We used the one that my family used in the Philippines for years. It's quite a bit bigger than the little ones Allen and I had. Liam was very interested in the decorating process and a little miffed that he didn't get to inspect everything personally. We did have him "help" unpack the nativity scene pieces so that he could see them before they got put on a high shelf. We didn't put up as many decorations as we usually do - less for the baby to get into.

Allen found putting the lights on this tree a little trick. It looks a little sparse now, but with all the decorations on it, it's fine.

Colds

Liam and I both have colds. I would be surprised if Allen doesn't catch it soon. Here are some things I have discovered about colds (this is the first one that Liam has had):

• Colds are not festive.
• Runny noses are not cute. Neither is the attempt to get rid of the snot by smearing it all over ones face.
• Babies should not snore. It's just wrong.
• If your used to going to sleep while nursing, and suddenly you can't breath when you nurse, someone is going to lose some sleep.

Hope we can get the Christmas decorations up soon and the shopping done!

Pictures of party

Isaac, Cindy and Benjamin. I thought this came out really well, after I cropped it.


Grandma and Titus. Both ignoring me and looking great.

Excuses

Well before you all start to think I've given up on blogging I thought I'd better post a new entry. Last week was tough because Allen was up for three nights running a telescope. Long winter nights meant that he basically barely had time to come home and sleep during the day. So I was on my own with Liam most of the time.

This week may not be much better as far as posting goes. Liam now has a cold and slept really poorly last night. He has been somewhat grouchy today and still has a runny nose, but he doesn't seem as stuffed up. But this is "migraine week" for me and so far it's living up to its name.

Yesterday we went to Lima to celebrate Grandma's birthday at Olive Garden. It was a very enjoyable gathering and hopefully I will be able to post some pictures soon. At the moment I haven't even managed to look at them.

Curling

Yesterday was the Christmas "Bonspeil" at the BG Curling Club. That means that they got together for a special curling and food time. Allen went and Liam and I dropped in at lunch time. Since we only have one car this involved us taking Allen to the ice arena, going home to get the jacket he forgot and then going back home. Then we went back at lunch time, back home, and then back to pick him up. I was really tired of putting Liam into his carseat by the end, but he wasn't tired of going places. He was still trying to get me to put his hat and outdoor clothes on him in the evening.

Liam had fun socializing with Allen's curling friends. It took him a little while to warm up, but soon he was saying "Hi!" and playing peek-a-boo with anyone who looked his way. He also enjoyed exlporing the room once the players went back to playing, and watching through the windows. He thought we should pull off some loose wallpaper, but I convinced him not to.

Today I got to take a baby-free nap. Liam ended up taking a nap while sitting on Allen's lap. Then he played quietly near Allen while Allen watched football and I zoned out on the computer. He has also been practicing his walking some more.

Tooth trouble

Liam is having a very fussy day and I think it's because he's got a molar that's almost through the gum. He's not fussy all the time, but gets frustrated very easily and has been crying much more than usual.

He was trying to get off of the couch by way of the ottoman, for instance. Allen was right there to catch him when he took a little tumble, but it was still a huge catastrophe.


You can see that we even have Nick Jr. on in the background to try to distract him. It worked for a while.

The good news is that Liam took eight steps in a row last night. He just stood up, walked toward me for a while, then got back down. He probably would have gone farther if there hadn't been a book in the way. He took some more steps this evening, but it seems he feels it's not safe to walk when Allen isn't around.

Progress

Well here are a few pictures of the progress Liam is making with his mobility:
He likes to walk with this car down the hall and see himself in the mirror at the end. He still has some trouble steering, which means he runs into things quite a bit in our little house.





Climbing is also good for Liam. It helps his balance and increases his confidence. He likes to crawl behind the computer table and recently he has been climbing out.

What he's doing

Liam really wanted to feed himself breakfast this morning. He actually used the bowl end of the spoon quite a bit of the time. Then he experimented with eating yogurt and prunes with his hands and the other end of the spoon. Maybe he won't starve before he figures this out.

Liam remembers what's in different books. Today when he wanted me to read him "Green Eggs and Ham" he made the lip smacking motion I make when the guy tries the dish in question. If you tell him to get "the shark book" he knows which one it is. He's really been favoring Dr. Suess lately, which is kind of funny because we have several books around that are actually geared toward babies and Suess definitely isn't.

He is still not walking, but he's "cruising" much more now. he will sometimes walk while using a vertical surface for balance, but he still seems pretty unsure of that. He's climbed up on the couch once and is using his big car to push around and walk with.

For two nights I slept with Liam to see how we were doing on the night weaning and to give Allen a break. Liam went about three hours between feedings, which is better than before, but still not what we're going for. Last night Allen slept with him again and Liam woke up every hour. Not sure if he just wasn't feeling well or if he was confused by all the switching.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the whole family - Grammy and Grandpa (AKA Mom and Dad), Isaac, Cindy and Benjamin, and Titus. I was especially thankful for all the help from Mom and Dad in getting ready.

Liam enjoyed seeing Grammy and Grandpa face-to-face after a couple of months of Skype contact only. He wowed them with his language skills and shared lots of kisses with them. He got them to read as many stories as he could.

We also enjoyed seeing baby Ben after a couple of months. Naturally he has gotten lots bigger and is staying awake more. He even blessed us with some smiles.

Kisses

OK, I admit that this picture was taken the same day as the one with baby food all over Liam's face. But it shows something else that Liam does a lot these days - he leans toward us for a kiss. Sometimes he alternates between getting a kiss from Allen and getting one from me. He goes back and forth, accompanying the kisses with "mmm" sounds that we join in on.

When Liam sees Allen and I start to smooch he often tries to get in on the loving too. And when we had some friends here the other day and they started getting "lovey" he leaned over to see if he could get some of that too.

Today at the park we saw a little boy we know from the library. When the two boys ended up in the toy car together Liam's friend tried to give him a kiss. Liam didn't realize what was going on right away, but when I said, "Liam gives kisses too," he leaned forward for a kiss. They didn't manage to get coordinated, but it was sweet anyway.

Parade!

This morning when I got up and opened the bedroom window I noticed unusual activity in the street behind our house. Eventually I realized that today was the Bowling Green "Holiday" Parade. When Liam saw the fire truck passing on Poe (one street over in front of the house) he got really excited. So on the spur of the moment I decided that Liam and I would go.


We made it out just as the parade was starting and got a pretty good spot. Liam really seemed to enjoy it. He liked seeing the horses, the bands and lots of cars and other things that say "beep." He started out in the stroller, but ended up on my lap. I sat on the curb. Part of the time Liam stood in the gutter. He wanted to crawl on the street, but I nixed that one.


Lots of the parade participants threw candy. I collected some of it since otherwise it would have just sat on the street. We now have a large bowl full of candy looking for takers. Liam thought that the cool thing about the candy was that people were throwing it. He tried to throw some back.

Physical Therapy

We took Liam to physical therapy yesterday. It was a pretty positive experience. He started to get upset at the beginning, but calmed down when he realized that no one was going to make him get naked. He really warmed up to the therapist by the end of the session. I think she got a good idea of how he's doing. She said that he's functioning at about a 12 month level (he's 15 months), but that's because of the walking issue and she expects him to start walking soon. She gave us lots of ideas to help him with balance and walking. We have another appointment in a few weeks, mostly so she can give us some more ideas.

It was nice to talk to someone who gave us lots of positive feedback. She said she didn't think Liam would need much therapy, which was too bad because she thought he would be lots of fun. She also said that he had better concentration than her two year old! As a bonus, the building wasn't too smelly.

She did say that his muscle tone is a little low, but that he will most likely outgrow that. She said that since his verbal skills are so good he's probably focusing on that and making less progress with gross motor.

Adventures in fine eating

In the interest of trying to get Liam to put something in his mouth (foodwise) at supper tonight I put the bowl on his highchair tray and gave him the spoon. He did lick the spoon off, but then was a little confused about how to get more onto it. While I spooned more food into his mouth he tried picking it up with his hands - and spreading it over the highchair tray and eventually his face.

Also, on the subject of messes, Liam had his first try at coloring with markers today. Actually it wasn't too much of a mess, although he got his hands pretty much completely covered with ink. He was a little confused about how to make the markers write on the page. It made more sense to him that the plastic end would write than that the tip end would write - despite all evidence to the contrary.

New sleeping arrangement

We have been talking for some time about weaning Liam from night time feedings. So for the past couple of nights Allen has been staying with him in bed while I go and sleep on the futon. The first night he went four hours between feedings and the second he went five and a half. This is something of a record for him. It's really tiring for Allen, but hopefully it will pay off in the future with better sleeping for all of us.

We actually managed to get together with our gaming friends today. It was the first time in a couple of months. It was kind of hard to remember what we had been doing, but good to get going again.

Word for the day

Liam's new word for today is "baby." He says it pretty clearly and can point to a picture of a baby in a book. A man came with a flier selling windows and Liam pointed to several of the pictures of faces on the flier and said "baby." So he may not be quite clear on the difference between a baby and a person, but that will come.

He has also started to look at books and tell the story. His current favorites for that are "The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark," complete with a low growly voice for the shark and a high one for the little fish, and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," which is a singing book.

Yikes!

As usual, Liam started crying as soon as we started taking his clothes off at the doctor's office yesterday. He even tried to climb off the scales and almost fell on his head. The doctor says he's doing great, other than the not walking part. She said it "wouldn't hurt" to have him checked out by physical therapy. I'm not really worried, but I don't mind checking. Haven't made the appointment yet.

Today we went to the library for story time. Liam was very interested in a baby sitting next to him. Afterward he played with some other kids. He wanted to play with whatever anyone else was playing with. Thankfully he was able to share. He also discovered the joy of knocking over towers made of blocks today. I was a little worried about a little girl who wanted to play with Liam. She kept putting her hands on his face, which with all the flu going around didn't seem like such a good idea to me.

Fifteen Months!

Liam is fifteen months old today. He has started to "read" himself stories. He will look at a book and rattle away in his own little language. He also will make appropriate animal noises with some books. In the book pictured an owl says, "Hoo, hoo," and Liam really likes to make that noise. He also goes to the end of Green Eggs and Ham and says, "Thank you," on the page where the character says that.

He's been working on saying some things more clearly. For a while now he has said "diaper" as "daidee," but the other morning he actually managed to get a "p" sound after the "dia" part. He's also making signs like "shoes" and "more" more clearly. He likes to make all kinds of animal sounds - roaring for lions, growling for bears, quacking for ducks. Of course the favorite is still "ooo" or woofing for dogs.

Liam is still not walking, although he can accomplish a lot while standing. Removing the big cooking spoons from their drawer, and pulling anything off the table that happens to be near the edge spring to mind. He's also a big helper when it comes to closing things like the dishwasher and even kitchen cabinets that Mommy still forgets and leaves open.

Liam is a big fan of getting out of the house. Whenever he sees that I'm getting ready to go someplace he sticks to me like glue. Often he will stand up, holding onto my leg and "uh uh uh" at me. Seems he's worried that I'll leave him behind - even when I'm the only other person here.

Yes, "uh uh uh" is still his favorite way of requesting something. This is often accompanied by handing us a book or looking intently at something on the table. He has no problem letting us know if what we offer him was not actually what he wanted. He either pushes it away, or drops it on the floor.

Tomorrow is his fifteen month wellness visit at the pediatrician. I know he's gotten taller. We'll see what else they have to say.

Pictures, finally

Here are a few of the pictures from our trip to Michigan:


We had a pretty good trip home, with Liam sleeping most of the way. We are still trying to get the laundry from the trip dealt with.

Winter wonderland

We woke up this morning to snow! It really looked beautiful with the sun shining and a few flakes falling. Later the snow fell more thickly and it looked like the inside of a snow globe. Eventually we could hardly see to the other side of the lake and it seemed ominous to me, but the sun came out later and most of the snow has melted.

This afternoon we went over the Jeremy and Phylis's and Liam and I got a tour of the house. Allen had already seen it. The wooden beams and walls are beautiful. It's nice to finally see what we've been hearing about all this time.

Now Allen and Phylis are getting a few things done and Jeremy is playing with Liam so that I can get a few things done. They are having fun reading stories and playing with blocks. Jeremy is very patient with Liam as he changes his mind about what stories he wants to read and what page he wants to look at.

Northern Exposure

Well, we've made it to the Upper Peninsula! The trip took about seven hours, not counting stopping at the grocery store in Newberry. Liam did pretty well. He got pretty sick of being stuck in the car toward the end, but I couldn't blame him. I was pretty sick of it myself.

The cabin we're staying in has a beautiful view of "Halfway Lake." Liam and I took a walk this morning - Liam was in the stroller. It says it's an all terrain stroller, so I was testing it out. We got all the way down to the lake. Later we took a walk with Jeremy, but it had rained in between and the stroller had a harder time of it.

Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees here, but there is still some pretty fall color. If we had more time it would be fun to take a canoe onto the lake - another time!

We have a slow internet connection here. I don't know if I'll be able to upload pictures while we're here. Might have to wait 'til we get back to Bowling Green.

Birthdays etc.

Allen and I celebrated our birthdays by going to see a production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at the university. It's a funny, upbeat show and was a nice break. Liam was babysat by Glen and Shawn. He didn't like it much. He needed a nap, and was about to get a new tooth, and was grouchy. Somehow they managed to get him to go to sleep for about 45 minutes.

The new tooth came through today. You can just see the tip, and can feel it (if you're brave enough to put a finger into his mouth.) It's on the bottom. I still think that a couple more could come through any time.

Liam has a new game - chase. This is most fun when accompanied by roaring. Lots of giggles. Yesterday he managed to climb onto his car/scooter all by himself. He scooted it backward a little way, but still has not mastered forwards.

Dave and Juanita left on Thursday, which was my actual birthday. It was kind of a stressful day as Liam didn't take his nap until late. I was glad to have a redo.

After a week of constant headaches and migraines I think my head is doing better. I sure wish my hormones would straighten out!

Indian Summer

We've finally gotten some nice October weather. Liam has been to the park already twice this week. He really enjoys the swings now.

When I took Liam to the park on Monday I met someone who had gone to high school with me at Shawnee in Lima. She remembered me and my name. I wouldn't have recognized her, and I was very glad she recognized me. She lives here in BG and has two little girls, including one who's about Liam's age. I got her number, so maybe....

Jeremy had to go back to the hospital yesterday because he had a headache. They kept him for two nights for observation. He's doing a lot better in general.

Right now we are being visited by Dave and Juanita, some "cousins" of Allen's. They are on their way back from visiting Jeremy and Phyllis, although they didn't get to see much of them, because of the stroke.

Growth spurt and other news

I think that Liam may be getting ready to go through another growth spurt. Either that or he has just decided that eating is actually fun, and is enjoying trying new foods. He has been eating whole peas, drinking milk, and eating hummus on whole rye crackers. Also eating lots of the foods he normally eats a little of when I beg him nicely. Now he eats them without protest.

I don't know if there is a relationship between the two, but we've had a few better nights of sleep lately. I would have benifited from it more last night if I hadn't had a migraine, but I am hopng that it's part of a pattern.... The sleeping, not the migraine. I know those are part of a pattern.

Liam has been playing with his blocks so much that I actually have only been reading him maybe five stories a day. He is figuring out how to put the blocks together and also likes to play with the "cars" we made with them. He says "beep, beep" as he pushes them around. He still gets frustrated because he has ideas about what he'd like to do with the blocks, but can't manage it. One of his favorite activities is to take a block off whatever we're building and give it to us to put it back on.


You can just see the big tower we made in the background of this picture. Allen and I were dusting off our building skills!

In addition to the sign for "shoes," Liam has been making the sign for "all done" more distinctly these days. This is useful when we're trying to figure out if "uhhh, uhhh" accompanied by hand waving means, "more beats, drink, cracker, or get me out of here!"

More news later

I was going to post something entertaining today, I'm sure, but I called Phyllis and she told me that she thought that Jeremy was having a stroke - he couldn't talk to her. That was all I knew for most of the afternoon. So I tried to distract myself and stay calm. Thankfully he seems to be OK. The doctors are saying he had a mild stroke or a TIA. There keeping him in the hospital for observation at the moment. We're relieved that it's not any worse, but still hoping and praying that they will both get the care they need.

Here's a picture of Jeremy holding Liam when Liam was just a tiny guy.

Sharing

One of the reasons I like to take Liam to the library for story hour on Thursdays is that it gives him a chance to play with other kids around his age. Kids in the three and under set are not notorious for being good at sharing, but so far Liam does pretty well. We played with some plastic blocks that sort of stick together. When other kids came and wanted to play I would say "Sure, we have lots." Then they would either take some of the blocks and play by themselves, or join in our game, which was putting blocks onto a car I had made. Since the point was putting the blocks on, Liam didn't mind if they got taken off, since then we could put them on again.

Liam wasn't too excited about getting the tape from his name tag stuck to his finger. Thankfully this was a problem Mommy knew how to fix!

We had a little mishap this afternoon with one of the "big kid" books we brought home from the library. I often let Liam play with these and he's very careful with them. But this time he managed to tear one of the pages. I responded with a gasp and Liam cried like his heart was breaking. He wasn't comforted until I got some tape and fixed the book.

At that point I decided that I would bring out the "Duplo" style blocks his cousins gave him. They've been a nice distraction from stories. He doesn't know how to stick them together yet, but he likes moving them around.

I'm excited to report that today Liam did the sign for "shoes." The sign is made by moving two fists together as shown in the picture below. Liam doesn't hold his hands in that orientation, but he does make fists and hit them together. This is definitely progress over the general hand waving sign that he's been using for everything.

In memory

Tisha died a week ago today. She had some help from the vet on that one. To tell you the truth we haven't missed her, since she has been living with our friend Mary since a little after Liam was born. She was used to sleeping under our bed and was disturbed by all the times we were getting up in the night. She wasn't very happy about sleeping in the pantry area either. I couldn't handle getting woken up at three or four in the morning when I'd just gotten the baby to sleep an hour ago!

We sure didn't mean to leave her with Mary so long, but every time she came back she drove me crazy all over again. I tried to find a "no kill" shelter that would take her, but no one wanted a geriatric miniature poodle who was blind and had tumors. We didn't want to put her down, though as long as she didn't seem to be suffering, though.

Lately, however, she has been suffering. She had some trouble with her digestion and then she wasn't really eating. She was losing weight and shivering and her legs didn't seem to be working right.

I should go back a little farther, though. When we got Tisha I had recently gotten sick and was feeling very lonely. She was a good companion. She made us laugh by running around the house and did her tiny best to snuggle up with me on the couch and keep me warm. She didn't ask for much and gave lots of affection and smiles.

So I'm glad that she was part of our lives, and now I'm glad that she is in peace. I don't know if we'll keep the little clay footprint that the vet sent us, but we will keep fond memories of Tisha.

Coming soon

Well, I got the camera cleared off, so I can start taking new pictures soon. I backed up the pictures on the computer and even fixed the red eye first. Didn't back up the movies, though as they are so huge.

Liam tried moving around on his "car" today. He does pretty well backward, but forward is tricky as it takes a different type of action than the walker.

I'm really hoping that we have a decent nights sleep tonight as that has been elusive lately.

Just so you know

Our memory card on our camera is full. I want to back up the stuff on it before deleting. I don't feel comfortable just having it on the computer. I'll put the pictures on CDs.

Liam finally figured out how to use his walker today. He doesn't have much space to use it in, since it doesn't work on the carpet, but he has a plan for dealing with this. He backs up almost to the counter in the kitchen and then runs forward until he hits the table legs. Repeat.

We went to a park today that is set up as a sort of nature preserve. We met our friends Shawn and Glen there and they showed us around. They have been going there all summer and tracking the plants. We saw a small snake and some interesting bugs. Liam seemed to enjoy himself most of the time. When he got bored and tired I recited Dr. Suess's ABC book and he made the sounds with me.

What can I say?

Sometimes the box is the funnest toy after all. And books. Don't forget books.

One of those days

Sometimes the tone for the day is set the day before. Last night Allen and I looked at the number of clean diapers covers we had and decided that if we started laundry first thing in the morning we would have enough. Unfortunately we both forgot to start the laundry bright and early. Also, Liam was fussy when he was going to sleep last night and woke up every hour during the night. He didn't seem to be feeling much better when he got up in the morning.

So after the laundry had finally been started, and Allen had left to take Tisha to the vet, I looked over and saw that Liam was either putting in or taking out a piece of mulch from his mouth. It was saturated with saliva, so I'm guessing it had been in there for a while. The last time he had access to mulch was yesterday morning, so I really hope that it wasn't in there all that time. He ate several meals and nursed uncounted times in between.

When I got the mulch away from him he wanted to nurse. That was fine, but while he was nursing I realized that he had pooped and it had already leaked out of his diaper. All the diaper covers were, naturally, in the washer.

So I took him back to see if by any chance the diaper cover could be reused. You guessed it. Nope. Then I realized that I had no water by the changing table to clean him off with. Bath time.

So he hung out in the bath until the washer was finished. Then I put the diapers in the dryer, changed the water and put him back in the tub until he got completely tired of it. After that he sat around in towels for a while, waiting for the diapers to dry.

Shortly after that he fell asleep nursing and slept for almost three hours. I guess all that bathing wore him out. Or maybe he has allergies or something. Anyways, he was in a much better mood this evening.

What? No nap?!?

Yes, it's true. Yesterday Liam did not take a nap. I tried twice to get him to go to sleep, but all the usual tricks failed. Thankfully he played happily by himself for much of the day, or I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it 'til Allen got home on my own.

While he was playing by himself Liam found all the little plastic animals mixed in with the rest of his toys (essentially flat pieces of plastic with stickers on them with pictures of animals.) He was very intent on stacking these up and moving them around. Today he's doing the same thing with his library books.


This morning I had a nice break when Mary and her friend took Liam to the park. They walked there with Liam in the stroller. The report is that he enjoyed the sand, swings and the red bouncy car. But he had to stop playing in the mulch because he decided to see what it tasted like. I spent some time focusing on relaxing my muscles and then took a nap.

Shower for Benjamen

Today was the last baby shower for Benjamen Wise McCain. It was held in Gomer, and hosted by Aunt Shelley with the help of Aunt Kitty and Granny. After a few brief games came present opening and food.


Little Benjamen got lots of love from everyone including both of his Great Grandmas. He slept for a while, then woke up and wanted to eat. Thankfully some breast milk in a bottle allowed him to stay with the group. But he had to leave when he, well, needed a clean diaper. That was OK, since most people were focused on the presents by then.

Afterward was a surprise party for Aunt Shelley. She's 60! Preparations were made while she took one of her grandkids home. She admitted that the two who went along for the ride managed to keep it a secret until she pulled back into the driveway. Still, she seemed pretty pleased. We had to leave before the party really got started. It had been a very long day for us. Liam slept all the way home.

Fall is falling

Well the leaves are starting to change and it's definitely getting cooler outside. Jacket weather so far, which is good because Liam doesn't have a coat yet. Somehow we forgot that when we got him a winter wardrobe.

Yesterday we went to the library. We got there just as story hour for babies and toddlers was finishing, so Liam got to play with some other kids his age. He actually played with one of those toys where you move wooden beads along a wire with another boy for a while and neither of them protested. They weren't actually looking at each other or talking, but you could say they were playing together. He also tried to make friends with another little girl, but she wasn't too interested. She was definitely not impressed when Liam tried to show her where her nose was.

The reason I wanted to go to the library is that Liam is on such a "story" kick. I love reading him stories, but we don't have very many and my tolerance for repeating the same story is lower than Liam's. He was so excited to see so many books. When he saw them all he said "duh duh" which is his word for story right now. I told him, "Yes, this is where the stories live." He spent a long time taking board books out of a little cart and piling them up on a couch.

The only tricky part was when I wanted to look at some of the "big kid's" books. They don't have "Cat in the Hat" in a board book, unfortunately. Liam could not understand why I wouldn't let him pull all the books off the shelf the same way I had let him take the board books out of the cart. I finally put him in his stroller, but as long as he could reach a shelf he was determined to pull books out. I eventually found some of the books I was looking for, thankfully.

We rode to the library with Allen and then walked home with Liam in the stroller. By then the sun was shining and it was pretty nice out. We saw a poodle on the way home that was rather startled by the stroller.

I didn't get any pictures of us at the library. But here's one of another one of Liam's favorite activities: making faces with Daddy!

Is it bedtime yet?

Sunday night (or early Monday morning) Liam woke up crying - inconsolably. It took three hours to get him back to sleep. Today the lack of sleep has caught up with me. I'm too fried to think of anything really interesting to write.

Dr. Suess

Liam really enjoys Dr. Suess. Allen has been reading him "Fox in Socks" every night lately. Liam gets really excited when Allen gets to the part about "Tweedle Beetles." He stands up on the bed and bounces along with the rhythm.

This next part you probably have to see to believe. I want to try to get a video of it, so I can prove it later. I've been reading "Dr. Suess's ABC" to Liam. When I read a letter and the words that go with it Liam will often say the sound of the letter. He doesn't do this for all the letters, but for a surprising number.

Standing up

Liam has been practicing standing up all by himself. I compressed this video, so if you have a Mac or Linux computer you probably won't be able to see this - sorry! I still don't know much about editing video. The upside is that it shouldn't take long to download if you have a slow connection.

Liam has also been responding to praise more, which is handing when we're trying to get him to do things like eat peas. He really gets a kick out of feeling like he's accomplished something.

Let the games begin!

Today we have three friends visiting us to play games. Rob came all the way from New Hampshire and Timothy and Thad came from Ohio and Michigan. This is a strategy game that the guys have been playing since just after lunch.

Liam thought maybe he could get in on the action. Worked fine until he figured out how to get the boxes open.

My guys

When I'm worn out (which is way too much of the time, I'm afraid) Allen does so much to help keep things running and give me a break. Here are my guys, hanging out, relaxing together. Seeing them together does my heart good.

In the right direction

Liam stood on tiptoes today. He was hoping to reach some clothes that were soaking in the tub. He also figured out how to move forward in his walker. Before he could move it backward, but rarely seemed to do it on purpose. Today he moved it both ways, and was clearly meaning to go places.

Strange questions

Now that we have a little guy with mobility in the house I find that some strange questions get asked. Like, "Why are there shoes in the bathtub?" Also, "Why is the bathroom scale in the hallway?"

Liam likes to keep Allen company while he does his morning grooming. so I wasn't paying too much attention to the sounds coming from that part of the house. But after a while I heard some grunts and then some sounds of frustration coming from the hall outside the bathroom. What was going on? Liam had managed to relocate the scales, but apparently was having some trouble getting them located to his satisfaction.

Who needs a sandbox...

...when you've got mulch! Liam even helped us out by pulling a few weeds. But he soon discovered that throwing mulch around was much more fun. Thankfully it has not occurred to him to try to eat the mulch.

We are still on the verge of having a walking baby, but haven't gotten there yet. Last night while Allen was reading to Liam he stood up on the bed and bounced without holding on to anything. He managed six bounces or so before plopping back down on the bed.

He's also imitating what we say more. When we say "tata" (as in sweet potata) he says it. He's working on saying "diaper," but it still sounds more like "diada." Whenever we laugh he laughs too - just to be sociable. It sounds more like a social laugh than his real cracked up giggle.

Another day

Well, today is another day, and I'm feeling more positive about things than yesterday. Liam was happier about playing on his own some, which helped me. Some days he just seems to need me every minute and that can be a bit much.

Today he decided that it was more comfortable to sit in his highchair if he had his foot up on the tray. Since this is not really a polite way to eat, we requested that he put his foot down. He understood this request and complied - briefly. Apparently there was some kind of magnet involved that we didn't know about.

I've started putting Liam into his new winter wardrobe. It's not really cold - sort of halfway in between. Anyways, he looks really cute in the new clothes (of course) but the pants are all too long. Some of them don't roll up too well. I may need to pin them up.

Also we discovered today that it's hard for him to stand up in the kitchen (linoleum) when he's wearing socks. We may regret not getting those socks with plastic stuff on the bottom to keep you from sliding. Or maybe not. Walking around the kitchen may not be such a good idea anyway. The part of the house that's really set up for him to play in all has carpet - for now.

Now it's bath time. Here's a post-bath picture. It wasn't taken today, but everyone can use another baby-in-a-towel picture, I think.

And the Mommy of the Year Award goes to...

Not me! I think that the highlight of my day today was probably when Liam took a three hour nap. Two of those hours I spent napping myself. One I spent playing a computer game.

That's not to say that I haven't changed Liam's diaper, fed him, nursed him and sat on the floor and played with him. I've sang with him, danced with him and even complained with him. I've cut his finger and toe nails.

It was a beautiful day and it would have been good for both of us to take a walk, but I couldn't get myself to get that far from the computer. I'm tired and want to escape and it's my out. So I made the excuse to myself that Liam needed to poop and probably wouldn't do it if we went for a walk. Then he pooped but it was a small one, so I thought, well, maybe he will poop again.

Not that it's terrible. Just wishing I had a little more energy and motivation.

Today

Today Liam squatted down, picked up a toy with both hands and stood up - without holding onto anything. He also took the battery cover off the remote control, but did not attempt to eat it or the batteries.

"Repitition with variety...

is essential to learning." That's one of my dad's favorite quotes. Maybe if I give you a taste of what I've been repeating lately you'll have an idea of what Liam's learning. Here are some quotes from my "Mommy script" - in no particular order.

• "Leave your diaper on please."
• "Don't bite/scratch/pinch Mommy. It hurts her."
• "What are you eating?"
• "Who love you? Say 'Mommy love me.'"
• "What does the doggy say? Woof Woof!"
• "Where's the baby? There he is!"
• "Are you hungry?"
• "Are you sleepy?"
• "Do you want a drink?"
• "Can I have a kiss?"
• "Good job! What a good boy!"
• "It's sleepy time."
• "Where's your doggy?"
• "Do you want to go in your jumpy seat?"
• "Do you want to go for a walk?"
• "Who's here? Is it Daddy?"
• "What do you have?"
• "Mommy needs that. Can you give it to Mommy?
• "Are you helping Mommy with the laundry?
• "Be nice."
• "That's very loud."
• "You're funny."
• "Bonk!"
• "Are you having fun?"
• "Wow!"

Some things (hopefully) don't get repeated often. Like, "Why are you bringing groceries into the living room?" Although to tell you the truth, it was clear that the reason he brought them in was, well, that he had a secret mission to perform. Thus the camo. The can ended up under the magazine stand - briefly.

Black Swamp Arts Festival

We went to the festival this afternoon. We drove down, then Allen drove half-way back home and parked the car while Liam and I waited. Then somehow we missed each other and he walked way down and then back. Finally we found each other and got to looking at the booths.

Lots of people. Loud music. Cigarette smoke. Lots of pretty and interesting art and other stuff for sale. We found a cool set of wooden semi-truck with trailer and cars for Liam. We didn't have enough cash, but the vendor said we could send him the rest. We just forgot that sometimes you still need cash these days!

If you want to find out more about the festival, try their website: http://www.blackswamparts.org/index.html

Growing more confident

Liam's journey toward mobility is continuing. He is now comfortable with sitting back down after he has stood up. He's also more confident about his ability to hold on with one hand, which is helpful in his quest to handle, taste and possibly break everything in the house.

He's even moving around more in the bathtub. This can come in handy for washing his little bottom, but is a little scary for me as I can picture all kinds of catastrophes. The first time he stood up in the tub (last night) I asked him to sit down and he did. Later he got up on his knees in an attempt to get a bottle off the low shelf. When he slipped and slid face-first toward the water I was right there and could catch him before he actually face-planted. After I managed to get him sitting up again he had a good laugh about it. I'm glad he's not afraid of water...

Liam likes beets

Please don't tell him they're good for him. He thinks they're great! He also likes making silly faces with Daddy. I think he will also enjoy the bath he takes later. For him it's a win-win-win situation.

Child's play

They say that babies learn by playing. If so, Liam is working hard to make the most of his education. He really likes to play. He doesn't always pick actual toys to play with though. On Monday he discovered that he can play "Where is Mommy?" by covering my face with my hair and then moving it away. Yesterday he decided to play with some baby clothes hangers. He found this frustrating, though. I'm not sure what he was expecting, but I think he thought that there must be some trick to the hangers. I finally hung them off each other in a kind of mobile and he thought that was funny.

The top sheet on our bed is another favorite "toy." He likes to try to uncover Daddy when he (Liam) wakes up in the morning and Daddy is trying to catch a few extra winks. Liam also likes to arrange and rearrange the sheet on the bed. He seems to have a goal when he does this, but I haven't been able to figure out what it is.

Of course Liam does sometimes actually play with his toys. He seems to be getting quite fond of his "doggie." Sometimes he actually pets it on the face. Other times he tries to balance other toys on it's back. He really enjoys it when I pull the dog in a circle around me or him, but hasn't tried pulling it himself yet.

A wonderful day in the neighborhood

Our house is not a newfangled "snout house" with the front of the house at the back. It's fifty years old and the front windows are in the part of the house we spend the most time in. So we often see what our neighbors are doing. I'm not saying that we spy on them, but Liam has been known to stop mid-bite to check on the family across the street getting into their car.

The other day we looked out the window and saw the spectacle in the picture below. We didn't have our camera ready, but Allen did manage to grab it on the return trip. This is the ultimate in modern efficiency!

So many firsts

Liam is changing so fast right now. It seems like every day he does at least one thing he has never done before. He pulled up on everything he could find this week. He got "stuck" in some pretty interesting places. I usually gave him some time to figure out how to get down by himself, but that wasn't the kind of help he wanted.

OK, I have to admit that Liam was not sleeping in this position. He just blinked when I took the picture. He was standing up holding on to the ottoman.

Here are some things that Liam did for the first time this week:

• Stood up in his crib.
• Drank cow's milk.
• Made the sound that a doggie makes (or something close).
• Crawled away when I offered to pick him up.
• Wanted to drink water from a sippy cup instead of nursing.
• Shredded the paper on the doctor's exam table.
• Just in the past couple of days he has started "cruising." He is taking steps and moving from one piece of furniture to the next.