Our little angel

Here is a face that says, "I know trouble when I see it and I'm headed in that direction." We're seeing it more and more often lately.

Of Interest (I hope)

• Liam is pulling himself up to furniture. Not very often - mostly when he can see, but not reach something he's not supposed to have.

• We've hit a little glitch with sign language. I think it has to do with over generalization. The same sign seems to mean "drink," "more," and "I want a Cheerio." We've been trying to stress the things that make the signs different, but it hasn't caught on yet.
• Our neighbors are trying to sell their house. Apparently someone came to see it on Sunday and decided they didn't even want to go into the house. Their realator blamed our shoddy yard work. I spent some time pulling weeds today and got a rash. Thankfully a shower got rid of it.
• Yesterday was the first day of classes. Allen is teaching three online sections. He spent most of the first day of classes doing research.
• Liam's latest game is "bonk!" He sits on the bed and falls face first into one of us. He finds this very funny. I'm not sure why.
• Although I've heard that TV is bad for kid's brains I sometimes resort to it when I really need a break. We get lots of "educational" shows. The funny thing is that Liam rarely seems to really watch it. Mostly he just plays by himself better when it's on.
• I got a plate with a suction cup on the bottom of it and some easy-to-hold silverware for Liam. So soon we should have some fun "I'm feeding myself" pictures.

Although Allen sometimes says that he is "chopped liver" where Liam is concerned, his lap is still one of the little guy's favorite places to hang out! Even when he's at Grammy and Grandpa's house Daddy's lap is a comfy spot.

Isaac and Cindy's New Baby

Benjamen Wise was born on Monday August 17 - just one week after Liam's birthday. Well, he wasn't born Benjamin Wise, he was just born and named later. He was one week early.

I was going to post a picture of the baby, but I can't get it to work. Sorry. I'm rather tired after a long doctor's visit this afternoon. And kind of in a hurry as Liam missed his second nap and will need to go to bed early.

Anyways, I want to congratulate the new Mommy and Daddy. Benjamen's birth makes me think of Liam's birth, not that long ago, and those early days. New babies sure need a lot of care. It's also a pretty steep learning curve, in my opinion. Here are a few things I've learned along the way:

• Velcro wears out if you use it all the time.
• Everyone has an opinion about how to care for babies, but the buck stops with you.
• Laundry is your new middle name.
• Lots of things that seemed important before - like matching socks - are not so important now.
• Burping can be a major accomplishment.
• Falling asleep can be a major accomplishment.
• Riding in the car is not soothing for all babies.
• Taking pictures is good because they change every day and you will not remember - it all becomes a blur.
• Everyone loves a baby, but no one loves a dirty diaper.
• When asking for help, it's good to be specific.
• Taking regular showers is important for sanity.
• You see life from a new perspective.

Obviously I've learned more than that. But that's enough for now.

Lunch with the Ladies

Liam and I had lunch with our friends Miriam and Renee yesterday at "Call of the Canyon." Liam ate all his prunes up and enjoyed eating soda crackers while we chatted about everything from car wrecks to sewing machines to (of course) babies. We stayed so long that the lunch crowd had pretty much cleared out by the time we took this picture.

Home Again

We got back from Louisville late Sunday night. Allen drove down on Saturday, so he got to spend some time with Mom and Dad too. Time for games!

From Liam's point of view, I would say that the highlights of the trip were:

• Playing with Grandpa's guitar.
• Trying to pull Rose's (the dog) hair and feeding her rice crackers.
• Going to the zoo.
• Spinning around on the office chair.
• Taking walks with Grammy and/or Grandpa.
• Sitting on Richard Scary's World's Biggest World Book.
• Making faces and playing peek-a-boo with Grammy and Grandpa.

From my point of view, the highlights of the trip were:

• Eating Mom and Dad's cooking.
• Lots of help with diaper changing and baby entertaining.
• Playing Settlers with Mom and Dad.
• Going to the zoo.
• Giving Liam baths in a bathtub without doors.
• Not having to load the dishwasher.
• Getting together with a friend from the Philippines (Jennifer Barlow).
  
• Watching Liam play with Grammy and Grandpa

Allen stayed home to get some things done at school, but unfortunately, he got a virus so didn't get as much done as he had hoped. He seems to be mostly recovered now, but loading all our stuff in the car made his back sore.

Trip to the Zoos

On Wednesday we went to the Louisville Zoo. It was a cool day for Louisville, but felt pretty steamy to me! Liam got his first dose of sunscreen and even managed to keep his hat on most of the time.

Grammy and Liam looking at the rhinos. They mostly looked like big rocks, but Liam identified them as doggies.

We saw some Asian and African animals - rhinos, camels, zebras.... Liam called almost everything "doggy." The elephants didn't qualify, though. He got to pet some goats and we got within inches of a gorilla (on the other side of some glass.)


We pooped out before we got to the Australia exhibit. Liam fell asleep on the way back to the car.

Happy Birthday!

Liam had a very happy birthday. He enjoyed destroying his cake and opening his presents. The adults enjoyed a simple lunch and watching the happy baby.

Change of Scene

Liam's birthday party was a big success! I will post some pictures at another time. Right now the cord I need is in the room where Liam is sleeping and I REALLY don't want to wake him up.

After the party Liam and I packed ourselves off to Louisville to stay with my parents for a week. The trip went pretty well. Liam is in a forward facing car seat now, which is so nice. Everything was so exciting, though that he didn't sleep much. He was pretty cranky when we arrived.

So far he's having a great time playing with his Grammy and Grandpa and with his new birthday presents. He's pretty sure, though that he needs to keep within a foot of me, which gets a little tricky sometimes. I'm really hoping this wears off soon.

Some updates

Well, we sort of have a reliable sign for drink now. It's easy to confuse it with the sign for ceiling fan. You would think that pointing toward the ceiling and moving your hand in a circle would be very distinct from holding your hand to your hand to your mouth shaped likes it's holding a cup. Like baby speech, however, baby signs are sometimes a little indistinct.

Liam is also crawling with both legs behind him most of the time. We were hoping he would do this at least some because it's supposed to be good for balance and coordination. He is still pulling himself up to his knees, but not to his feet. He doesn't seem to be trying to walk yet.

We are busy getting ready for his first birthday party on Monday. My parents and grandparents will be here to see him destroy his cake. We'll make a video. Then Liam and I are off to Louisville for a week. Poor Allen will be all alone. Hopefully he will get some good sleep!

Growing up fast?

Sometimes when I look at Liam I see glimpses of the future. Sometimes I hope that what I see won't be realized. Here's a picture of Liam joining the "Just-give-me-the-remote-and-a-brew" crowd:
People seem to have a natural tendency to look at a baby's behavior and try to predict what he will do for a living. Will he be an interior decorator or work for a moving company because he likes to move chairs around? Will he be a librarian because he loves books and hates loud noises? (Will they even have physical libraries when Liam is old enough to have a job?) Will he be an athlete because he loves to throw balls and chase them? How about a "techie" because he loves things with buttons? Maybe a musician because he loves to listen to music and finds rhythm in almost everything. Who knows. Probably something completely different that we can't predict now. For the moment I'm just glad that he enjoys life. And I hope he continues to find joy in whatever he does.

Liam was very excited when he discovered that I didn't immediately take this (broken) hand held game away from him. He later put it under the couch. Maybe he was worried that I'd change my mind, but I'm pretty sure he's forgotten about it.

Mealtime Delights

Liam has always had definite preferences when it comes to solid food. He has never liked baby cereal very much. He used to like peas, but now anything green is on his list of less preferred foods. Broccoli, green beans and peas come right above chicken, beef and egg yolks on his list of things that Mommy seems to think as food but he would rather rub in his hair. Anything orange on the other hand - sweet potatoes, squash, carrots - is acceptable. Fruit is generally good too. Cheerios and teething biscuits are usually accepted, although sometimes just for the fun of throwing them onto the floor. (I suspect he puts a few down there for storage - hoping to come back to them when he wants a snack.)

Today was a good example of our mealtime exchange. I struggled to get him to eat a tablespoon or so of peas. Then he happily finished of the remains of a jar of sweet potatoes, the prunes left over from breakfast and then, to top it all off, some yogurt with a little maple syrup. In about 20 minutes he was ready to nurse again.

Don't get me wrong. Meals can be a fun (and funny) time. I just hope that Liam doesn't turn orange from all the beta carotene he's been getting.

Meet the Family

Liam had a great time last night and this morning meeting his Aunt Amy, Uncle Ed and cousins Alex and Jason. Allen and I enjoyed seeing them too! The Venzkes were here overnight on their way from Wisconsin to DC. I wish I had gotten a picture of their van with the canoe on top!

Liam wanted to get to know Ranger better, but Ranger had other ideas. He was much more interested in the bunnies and other critters in our yard than in letting a baby grab him. Ranger was a good sport though and Liam is as excited about dogs as ever. I really think that Liam says "doggie" when he sees a dog.


Liam played peek-a-boo and ball with his cousins. He also showed them his new skill of putting the balls in his gumball machine toy. We had never seen him do that before last night. He was having so much fun playing that I thought he might not be able to get to sleep, but he zonked out pretty fast. He was a little groggy this morning, but a couple of naps have taken care of that.

Liam's already enjoying the books that his cousins passed on to him. Lots of their other toys will soon be in circulation. Thanks guys!

Baby Imponderables

I discovered an author a few years ago who tries to find answers for questions that people consider unanswerable. David Feldman has written books like When Did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth?, Do Penguins Have Knees?, and Why do Clocks run Clockwise?.

I have a few imponderables of my own that I've been wondering about since Liam was born.  They include:
- What do newborn babies dream about?
- What's so interesting about ceiling fans, shoes, cables and cords, CD cases and soda cans?
- Why are blenders, food processors, and tin foil scarry?
- Why does Liam refuse the food I try to feed him when he's in his high chair, but put every speck he finds on the floor in his mouth?

Do you have any baby imponderables?