Trick or Treat

October 30, 2010

Liam and I headed into Elkhart today to visit with family. I planned on taking Liam trick or treating to my Grandma's house with my nephew, cousin Jill and her son Reed. Since it was cold, I thought he would enjoy the day more by seeing all the kids come to the door in their costumes.

Carson wanted us all to go and didn't want to get his costume on if we weren't all going. After putting make-up on my face and getting everyone ready, we headed over to Grandma's house. We went up and down the main street in my parent's neighborhood. Liam feel asleep within 15 mins. and Reed was not interested in getting candy at all. However, our little spider man was up for the challenge. Here are pictures of the kids enjoying their time together.

Liam looking for his candy. Not this year silly.

Reed checking things out.

The boys taking time out for a picture.

Where is my candy?

I think you have mine Baby Liam.
Over here boys.
Reed, it's time for a picture.
Let's do this.
Reed taking a pit stop.

Hurry Daddy. We don't have much time.

Jill and Reed taking things in stride,

I'm coming Aunt Leslie and Baby Liam.

Reed wanting to continue on his path, which

leads to the street. Stop him Jill.

And just like that Liam is ready for a nap.

He spent most of the time in my arms sleeping. ;)

Carson on a mission to get his candy.

Jill and Reed heading back to Grandma's house.

Help me Daddy. We have to hurry.

We are in the clear

October 19, 2010

Thank goodness we are in he clear. Yesterday was the final day to watch Liam for any signs of the virus. I happy to report that I only have a teething little man on my hands. What a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Carson is feeling better as well. Poor little guy was unable to eat for a couple of days. We are glad you are feeling better.

Hand Foot Mouth Disease

October 15, 2010

Say it ain't so! Unfortunately, my nephew had Hand Foot Mouth disease. I received the call today that I need to keep an eye on Liam since they were together on Wednesday. I can only pray that Liam does not get this. I have heard about it before, but never really knew what it was about. Needless to say a quick call to the Dr. T. and googling the virus was the highlight of Friday evening. The virus and a teething little one does not sound like a weekend of fun to me, but a mother's job is never ending. So, we will be hanging at home this weekend instead of hitting the pumpkin patch with friends.

We hope you feel better soon Carson!

First Tooth

October 17, 2010

Gone are the days of toothless smiles. It is official, Liam has his first tooth. It is so cute to see him with this one white tooth peeking through his smile.

Liam has been a real trooper during this stage. There have been a couple of sleepless nights here and there, but overall not too bad. He has been a bit on the fussy side a couple of days, but has not had a fever or a rash thus far. Liam does tend to drool or spit a bit when laughing and or talking. Of course this is due to the increase amount of saliva. He tends to drool throughout the day and goes through a number of bibs. However, during the night, the amount of drool seems to decrease. This may be due to the fact that he has started closing his mouth when sleeping.

Now that we have seen the first tooth, I am sure a few more are on there way. I have read that I can expect four new teeth every four months until he has a complete set. I hope the next four months go as smoothly.

I will post a pic of the Liam's new smile soon.

Money in the Bank

September 12, 2010

For Liam's half birthday, JB gave him $25.00 in coin to put into his piggy bank. Below are the pictures of JB assisting Liam with dropping the dollar coins into the bank. After a while, Liam got the hang of things. :)

Happy 1/2 Birthday Little Man!

Let Dad show you how to do it first.

Now your turn Liam.

Let's try again.

Yeah, you did it with a little help from Dad.

All done.

Bedtime Stories

September 1, 2010

Part of our nightly routine is to read a couple of stories before bed. I love spending this time with Liam and see his eyes wonder over each page. Currently our favorite books are:

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli

This book is fantastic - Thanks Steph. Liam loves it as well as my two year old nephew, Carson. In fact, I read this book to them both so many times that I had to add new people into the mix. For example, "Mama's cookies are yummy, Papa's coffee is yucky." Boy do they get a kick out of it. ;)

We are also reading:

Clever Mrs. Ritzler with the title - Mr. Brown. When reading this book I always tell Liam, that he can do x, y and z since he is also Mr. Brown.

Not to toot my own horn, but I think Liam really enjoys "Ten Little Ladybugs" with my sing song voice. ;) We have fun reading this book as he tries to grab the ladybugs. Another great addition to our library - thanks Kelly.

I love bedtime stories and enjoy the time with Liam. It is amazing to see his eyes and fingers meander over the pages of each book. Oh, these are the memories that I will cherish forever.

No Electric and the Nanny Called in Sick - Great!

August 20, 2010

Today started off a bit rough. Liam and I woke up at 4:20 a.m. having problems breathing. Now this is strange since I know that I had the air on when I went to bed. To make a very long story short - are electric went out. We found out later that someone had hit the transformer, which resulted in the loss of electricity.

All I could think about was how I was going to have to hurry and get ready for work and let the nanny know what was going. Well, that didn't happen. Unfortunately, the nanny called twenty minutes before her start time and said she was unable to watch Liam because she was sick. This must be a sign, right?

Thankfully, my job was very understanding when I called in for a personal day. Although this was not a planned day off, I had a great time with my little man. My parents came with Cousin Carson to take us to IN while we waited for the electric to come back on. Carson walked in and asked, "Aunt Leslie, what happened to your house?"

Liam and I had a great ride back to IN with the family reading books and enjoying each other's company. Thank goodness for Mama and Papa - they saved the day. I must say that Liam was really good during this time. He was even able to take a nap.

Visit from Penelope and Mrs. Kistka

August 27, 2010

What a wonderful surprise visit from Penelope and Mrs. K. This is the first time that they have met Liam. Mrs. K. couldn't wait to get her hands on him and Liam welcomed the tons of hugs and kisses from both women.

Thanks again for the visit and we cannot wait until the next one.

Sophie La Giraffe

August 23, 2010

Sophie the Giraffe has been a must have for Liam these days. Actually Sophie has been a hit since we got her in June. We love Sophie and more importantly Liam loves Sophie. The giraffe is great for teething and fits perfectly in Liam's mouth. Most teething rings/toys that I have found or received seem to be to big for his mouth. Sophie La Giraffe is perfect for little hands - she is soft, light and easy to grasp. Liam loves her bumpy head to sooth teething gums.

We highly recommend this to any new parents.

This is the only pictures I could find of Liam with Sophie at quick glance. I will post a better one soon.

FIVE Months

August 9, 2010

Five months - where has the time gone?

This month has been filled of new adventures with Liam. We begin with Liam mastering the art of sitting by himself. We are so proud of him! I love to sit and watch him as he allows himself to fall backwards and hit the floor padded with soft pillows and fuzzy blankets. A huge smile crosses his face as he lies there looking up at the ceiling and then rolls to one side. It is if he is in his own world when my laugh interrupts his thoughts. It's the small things that bring such joy.

Here are a few pictures of Liam sitting alone.

This is such a better view.

Look at me Mom!

This looks good.

Let's play.

Some of the other milestones that Liam has reached this past month are:

1. Holding head steady when upright

2. Able to raise his chest supported by his arms when lying on stomach

3. Squeal in delight, which usually starts early in the morning

4. Reach and grasp for objects - Liam can also move an object from one hand to the other with ease

5. Smile spontaneously - the best way to start the day

6. Smile back when JB or I smile at him

7. Babble, combining vowels and consonants

We have not mastered rolling over yet. Currently, Liam will roll to one side and then get stuck. He is not sure how to move his arms or even the rest of his body to the other side. He is not crawling, but will lay on his stomach and scoot his way around the floor. We hope to see crawling in the near future.

Although Liam is not crawling, he is standing. He loves to stand on my lap (really on the lap of anyone) and sway from side to side or attempt to pick up his feet very fast. We just started - lean to the left, lean to the right, now rock with me. I will try and get this on video. He loves the rock with me part. ;)

Happy Birthday Dad

July 25, 2010

Happy Birthday Dad! We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating my Dad's birthday in Elkhart. The cake was amazing and both boys had their eyes glued to it. At my Mom's birthday in April, Carson couldn't wait to run his little finger around the edge to gather the frosting and we thought he was going to try again. Little did we know that Liam would be the one reaching for the icing. Boy did we get a kick out of that and the look on Carson's face was priceless. Liam dropped icing all over on the floor, Carson and his feet. What a day!

Papa and his boys.

Happy Birthday Papa - now let's cut the cake.

This could be trouble right here.

What did you say Baby Liam?

Your funny Liam - this is my blanket. ;)

We are so blessed to have you in our lives Dad. You are an amazing father and grandfather. Love you much.

Four Month Check-up Completed

July 14, 2010

Below is a pic of Liam and I waiting to see Dr. T. We had a great visit and Liam is doing great.

He is still in the 97th percentile for height and weighing in at 20 lbs. and 4 ozs. He is 27 inches long and in the 75th percentile for head circumference.

Our goal for the next two months is to work on Liam sitting by himself. Dr. T. was impressed with Liam and his progress since our last visit. We are also going to work on Liam sleeping 8 eight hours straight in his crib. Dr. T. said that Liam is read for this, so I guess we will start this weekend.

Liam ended the visit with a round of shots, which he took like a champ. He cried a little bit, but we were able to call him down before leaving the Dr.'s office.

Oh, I forgot, we are not to start introducing food to his diet until the 6 month visit. So, he will continue to be on formula for the next two months.

Four Months

July 9, 2010

Oh my goodness - Liam is four months. I cannot believe where the time has gone. We have our four month check-up with Dr. T on the 12th of July, so I will be able to provide a further update then.

Just a few things that are going on in Liam's world:

Currently, he is taking 4 - 6 ozs. of formula with a small amount of rice cereal. Typically he takes a 4 oz. bottle every three hours, but there have been times that he takes a 6 oz. bottle. Of course if he takes a 6 oz bottle, then he goes longer than three hours between feedings.

We also add his reflux medicine to the bottle. This is a little tip that my friend Robin shared with me that works well for Liam. He does not like taking the medicine by itself and tries to spit it out. So, this is a good way to "sneak" it into his system.

Liam loves to play. We are up around six almost every morning with a feeding and then shortly after we begin play time. After time in his chair - spent talking and pulling at the various toys that hang in front of him - we move to the gym (i.e. play mat). He loves to try and pull the purple elephant down or put the trunk of the elephant in his mouth. ;) Liam also started kicking his feet up at the toys. In the midst of kicking at the hanging toys he tends to roll over. This is not a full roll over yet (I don't think). It all happens so quickly since he immediately rolls himself onto his back. I will have to get this on video.

At first Liam was not a big fan of the swing. However, over the past month he is really starting to like it. He has only fell asleep in the swing once. Otherwise, he is trying to move the toys from one side to another. Unfortunately, I am not sure how long he will be able to enjoy the swing since his feet are already at the edge.

Liam also loves to look at anything and everything. For example, he loves the decals that we have on the wall over the changing table/dresser. He could spend hours, well, may not that long looking at the colors and images. In addition, he loves the airplane mobile and other toys we have for him. Liam also loves to look at the pictures in the books I read to him. I love this moment with him on my lap cuddled up with me as I read various stories.

Unfortunately, we are not sleeping through the night yet, but that is okay. Typically he sleeps three to four hours at a time. There have been occasions where he has slept longer than that, but those have been far and few between. I believe he is teething which equal some sleepless nights.

For now, I believe that is all in Liam's world. Each day is such a new and wonderful experience. I seriously cannot imagine life without this little man. He is such a ray of sunshine.

When we first put Liam in his chair, my parents weren't sure if it was going to tip back. So, there suggestion was to put the pillows behind to keep him propped up. They have since figured it out and don't use the pillows. ;) Better to be safe than sorry. BTW, this used to be his favorite toy at my parent's house. Now, he is loving the walker.