Liam is Eight Months Old

While my Mom was visiting with us recently, Liam turned 8 months old. We had a great visit with Grandma Pam.


























Before turning eight months, he was pulling up on everything in sight. At exactly 8 months, he has let go a few times, but just plops to the floor. He seems to be better with balancing the last week or so. He doesn't seem to have any fear. When he falls and his head hits the ground, he seems unfazed.

He also learned how to wave. He puts his hand up in the air and moves his fingers back and forth. Within the past few days, he seems to have forgotten how to wave, though. I recall this type of thing happening with Ava, too, where they learn how to do something and then forget the skill for a few days. Kind of funny how that works.

Liam is a BIG boy. I'm not sure how much he weighs right now, but he is entirely solid! And heavy to carry! It's quite a feat just walking up the stairs from day care toting Liam, his bag, anything Ava might not be interested in carrying, possibly my laptop bag (if I went into the office), etc.

He continues to eat well. One of his day care teachers comments on how well he eats, saying it's a good thing because he won't be "sickly" when he is teenage. Not sure about that correlation, but if it's true, he definitely won't be sick! He eats three times a day with some small snacks in between. He really enjoys diced vegetables or fruit. Our monthly grocery bill has been a bit more now that he's on regular food! I would say his favorite thing to eat is blueberries, which I smash slightly so they won't lodge in his throat. He seems to do well eating most food by hand. And this buys me time to get other things done! :-)

His smile continues to melt my heart. He likes to give me a huge open-mouth slobbery kiss on my cheek or nose often. He is trying to communicate lately and lets out these loud "aaaaah!'"s quite often. He really seems interested in other kids / babies and tries to communicate with them. Lately he has been extremely fidgety. If he is awake, he's moving! This makes him that much more difficult to hold!

It's interesting to see what toys he chooses. He seems to pick any hammer or ball when playing. The minute I set him down on the floor, he goes for electrical cords or a remote. I find this pretty interesting as Ava wasn't interested in either of them at all! I do recall babysitting Ava's buddy Mekhi and noticing he was also more interested in cords. Must be a little boy thing!

He is completely content and is so low-maintenance! He likes to play in Ava's kitchen and pull-up to the counter. When he is standing up, you can tell he thinks he is "big stuff" and flashes the cutest grin. He can almost walk behind a little walking toy, but the toy ends up rolling too fast and gets away from him. So he walks across the living room on his knees, hands on the handle, constantly trying to stand-up behind this toy. It's pretty funny.

He still doesn't technically crawl. He gets there, though! He does this belly-flop motion / breakdancing worm crawl to get where he wants to go. I don't think he will ever crawl in the standard sense. He has recently started crawling with one knee and keeps using his other leg's foot, as if he's going to stand up. I'm not sure he'll ever figure-out that he can use both knees at once!

One of his latest endeavors.... He likes to pull ALL the books off of the bookshelf we have of children's books. The contents of the lowest two shelves end-up in a pile under him, on the floor. When he is doing this, it almost looks as if he is looking for a specific book, but not finding it. I guess he's probably wishing we had more books about trucks and bugs (or maybe electrical cords and remotes?). :-)

When I put him to bed, I try to rock him and sing two songs to him before putting him in his crib. He gets pretty fidgety after 30 seconds of rocking / singing, so I end-up putting him into his crib. He sleeps through the night well, going to bed at 8 p.m. (or before) and waking up around 7 a.m. He continues to take three naps a day (or two lengthy naps).

I'm looking forward to the Spring! Liam LOVES being outside. He likes for me to run after Ava while holding him in the back yard. I can tell that he is anxious to be able to move himself and run after Ava. Little does she know what's in store for her! :-)

We love you Liam, and feel blessed by your sweet smiles and kisses!
Peace, love and the one-kneed crawl,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

 

 

Like Blueberries Much?

Peace, love and big purple berries,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Frank-a-lynn

Ava is like a little adult these days.

She now realizes when she has to go to the bathroom when she gets up in the morning. She is normally in the bathroom (decides to use our bathroom) with the light on, before Doug or I even awake in the morning. She's an early bird, and probably always will be. :-) She is still in a Pull-up at night, but mostly wakes up dry. During all other times she wears "big girl underwear" and seems proud to do so. She definitely likes being in charge of going to the bathroom herself and will often tell me she can do it herself, while closing the door to the bathroom. :-)

Her facial expressions and conversation skills crack me up lately. Recently, I noticed that she kept calling / naming her dolls "Frank-a-lynn". I asked her if there was a "Frank-a-lynn" at school. Nope, no Frank-a-lynn at school. One morning, we were sitting on the couch before breakfast and she says "Franklin!", pointing to the t.v. That morning I found out that Franklin is a boy turtle on a cartoon. I had to crack up, realizing that (a) there really is a Franklin and (b) Franklin left impression enough upon Ava that she felt her dolls needed to all be named after him.

Ava likes to line up her stuffed animals and read to them. She likes to make "steps" out of books. She loves to giggle with her little brother. She loves to organize and clean her kitchen. Ava loves to help me bake, as well. On Tuesday night she helped me make a pizza.

Ava knows all of her letters, now, and has graduated to the big "three year-old" class at school. Since in the new class, she is taking naps without fail every day. They take a nap with the big kids in the four year-old room. In her class, they learn their letters, numbers, words, etc. She has taken a particular interest in our flash cards recently. Instead of saying the letter on the card, she will say "A, uh, apple..."B, buh, bear", as if to recite. The teacher was impressed that she knew all of her letters and that she can recognize some words on the back of the classroom door already. I'm glad she is in this new class, as I think she might've been a little bored in the last one.

She peeks in on Liam in his classroom while at school. She told me: "Lesterday? I walked into Liam's classroom and he smiled at me." (She can't quite say "yesterday", so she says "lesterday").

I was touched by how big my little girl was, this past Monday. When I went to pick the kids up, the teacher was so impressed that Ava knew some of their "words" (on the back of the door) that she wanted Ava to demonstrate. The teacher instructed all of the other kids to sit down on the rug while she attended to Ava. The teacher then got out her "pointer" stick and pointed at the words for Ava. I looked on, close to Ava. Ava stood there, not shy or cowering at all, and tried her hardest to recollect the word to which the teacher was pointing. She knew some of the words! Her first day in class! She wasn't frustrated with herself when she didn't know a word, but seemed content with those she did know. She wasn't embarassed in front of the class, nor did the other kids take note of the words she didn't know. The other kids just sat patiently and waited, as if to go about their normal business. Ava just smiled afterward and returned the hug I gave to her. It was at that moment I was especially thankful for the environment in which Ava learns every day. Prayers were answered. It made me glad that Ava is in this environment of people that she considers her family, as well. She often talks about her classmates and tells me that (insert classmate name here) is my best friend. It makes me feel good to see her developing her own relationships. She's learning life!

Peace, love and a world full of letters,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

My crib or yours?

Ava and Liam continue to share a room. Doug and I realize we are in the minority when it comes to this. Truthfully, it hasn't been bad at all!

Sunday night we put Liam to bed. He started crying (pretty loudly), so I went upstairs to check it out. He was STANDING UP IN HIS CRIB waiting for me to come get him! When I got close to him, he started laughing. This entirely sums up Liam's disposition. A social snuggler. :-) (He is pulling up quite a bit more these days.)

The next morning, when I awoke, I heard Ava laughing in their bedroom. Normally one to come downstairs on her own fairly quickly in the morning, I wondered why she hadn't made her way downstairs yet. I walked upstairs to find Ava IN Liam's crib. With him. She had pulled a stepstool close to his crib and used it to climb in. They both were hanging out in his crib, giggling away.

Peace, love and "bunkmates",
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Liam Is Pulling Up!

Liam pulled-up yesterday for the first time. He was hanging onto his Leapfrog table, having pulled himself to a kneeling position. After playing with the items on the table for a while while kneeling, he pulled himself up to a standing position!

So, for the record, he was 7 months + 9 days when he first pulled-up. I think we will have a walker before the 9 month mark, at this rate!

With love,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Baillairge Baby #2's Upcoming Arrival!

Yesterday we kept Alana Baillairge while Jeff and Melissa went to the hospital to bring Alana's baby sister Ashley Lauren into the world. When Jeff dropped-off Alana outside of Ava's doctor's appointment, she and Ava were both wearing their matching Dora light-up shirts. Complete coincidence! On the ride home, Ava turned to Alana and said "Alana, you're my BEST friend!" We sang songs the whole way home.


Ava and Alana had a "slumber party" and had such fun! They painted with dot-art, watched part of a Dora video, had fun in the play-kitchen, read lots of books together and even brushed their teeth at the same time. They had a great time together! Going to sleep wasn't the easiest with fun friends around, but they were all sleeping by 9 p.m. This morning the girls woke up and had a bowl of oatmeal and dried cranberries each. Alana didn't seem to be phased by being away from her normal routine. She is a sweetheart. Congrats to Jeff, Melissa and big sister Alana on the birth of new baby Ashley Lauren!

Peace, love and BIG sisters,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Liam is Seven Months Old

Note: Will add more pictures later. Blogger isn't allowing me to add the remaining pictures now...

Update! update! Liam is mobile! All this time we've been waiting for him to crawl... he doesn't officially "crawl" in the normal sense. It cracks me up to watch him crawl... he looks like he's swimming as he kicks his little legs. He is AMAZINGLY strong, picking his entire body up off of the floor, as if he was doing a push up with his hands and toes. His butt goes way up in the air, with hands remaining on the floor, as if he was roller skating on hands and knees. The kid does not use his knees at all to crawl. Pretty creative.

So, he pushes off with his arms, lunges himself forward and flops down on his belly. Imagine Liam doing this twelve times to go from one end of a room to the other! We can't keep him away from anything these days. Disaster has been averted with me pulling small things out of his mouth a few times. Fortunately he didn't get far with the items... Most include small toys of Ava's.

I often hear Ava's voice when I'm in the kitchen: "No, Liam, no!" Coming into the living room, I find Liam determined to get his hands on one of Ava's toys. Ava has been sharing well with Liam, but she does seem to replace her toy of preference (that happens to be in Liam's hands) with something that might not be at the top of Ava's list of preferred toys... We're working on that. One of Ava's day care teachers told me that she was impressed with Ava's "sharing" abilities lately. Good to know.


















Liam continues to be a big boy, but seems to have stretched-out some. His hair continues to grow in, and remains very blonde. He has the bluest of blue eyes. They're a very deep, beautiful blue. He definitely has my coloring.

I told Doug the other day that I think Liam will be happy with whatever presents itself in his life. Liam just has this easy disposition and seems content no matter what. He does cry when he sees me, upon me picking him up at day care, lately. If he seems me pass by a door at home while he is in his high chair, he might cry, as well. I guess we're into the separation anxiety phase, now.

He prefers his left hand, and I think I will officially predict that he will be a lefty. He uses both hands, but seems to reach for things first with his left. His dexterity in picking up food amazes me for his age. Of course, if food is involved, I KNOW he'll figure a way to get it into his mouth!


















He knows how to "turn the page" when we read books. He doesn't seem to like sitting still these days, though, and would rather be exploring things right now.

He loves Gerber fruit puffs, the baby pancakes I make, LOVES baby spaghetti, chewing on bananas, blueberries, baby veggie crisps, baby pasta, peas, mashed sweet potatoes, other pureed vegetables, goldfish crackers. We've just started giving him the peas, blueberries and goldfish crackers. Nothing tops his bottles, though! I seriously have to get his reaction to his bottles on tape. He laughs out loud uncontrollably (think machine-gun rapid-fire giggles) and smiles the biggest smile when looking at his bottles. Every time.

Ava still hangs the moon for Liam. He doesn't ever seem to let her out of his sight. No one can make Liam laugh like Ava does. It's the sweetest thing in the world. She is very sweet with him and gives him kisses on her own.

When I pick them up from day care, I pick Liam up first and then go into Ava's classroom. Liam seems to like to "talk" to the kids in Ava's classroom. It's hilarious! He is using his little voice lately, but isn't saying anything specific. When I get in front of his face and ask him to say "mama" or "dada", he just laughs at me. I guess he thinks I'm the one speaking a foreign language!



















When Ava and Liam take baths, I walk Liam up the stairs, letting him "hop" up the steps on his own feet. He thinks this is the funniest thing in the world. Ava seems to get a kick out of it, too. It's as if he is walking to the bath himself. Once up the stairs, I let him "walk" to the tub. Once in the bathtub, he doesn't want to sit down lately. He likes to hang onto the side of the tub while standing. And he is such a slippery little guy! I think bathtime is probably his favorite time of day.

He continues to spit up an unbelievable amount. It doesn't seem painful to him, from what I can tell. We often can't get an outfit on him without him spitting up on it first. The doctors say this will slow-up once he starts pulling up on things. He's so close! When not in the bathtub, he likes to stand next to things, as well. He doesn't really have his balance down yet, but enjoys being upright (standing) instead of sitting. I'm not sure if this is because of his acid-reflux, or just because it's a new skill learned. He can go from a sitting position to "crawling" (or should I say the "Liam crawl") and vice versa. Often lately we will find him trying to pull-up in his crib. I think within the next few weeks he might figure out how to master that skill.


























His bedtime is normally 7:30 -8:00 p.m. He continues to take three naps a day. Yesterday he missed his late afternoon nap, so as I fed him, he would close his eyes with each bite. I'm not sure why, but to me, this is the cutest thing in the world. So tired!!!!

Peace, love and the Liam crawl,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Tooth #2 is through!

Liam had a rough time getting to sleep one night a week ago. He woke up with tooth #2! The day care principal commented that Liam will probably be a linebacker, with the way he handles pain. He seems to only cry the day of the tooth's arrival. :-)

This tooth came in 2-3 days after the first one. His first tooth was on his lower-middle-left. This tooth is on the lower-middle-right.

I will be sure to include pictures later.

Finally some choppers to chew that food!

Peace, love and sharp little teeth!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

11 Year Anniversary!

Doug and I celebrated 11 year of marriage on January 24th! 

We have both been pretty busy, but we were able to sneak away for a nice lunch on a weekday at Seasons 55.  Neither of us had ever been there, but have heard others suggest it.

We asked the waiter to take a picture and he obliged. 

I can't believe 11 years have gone by already!  I would do it all over again and would pick you EVERY TIME, Doug,  I love you so, so much.

Peace, love and 11 big ones!
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Liam is Six Months Old

Slowly but surely I will catch-up with this blogging thing! I've been super busy with work (covering for a teammate on maternity leave), and catching-up with life after the holidays took some time, as well. I included the list of milestones for Ava and Liam below.



Liam continues to be the sweetest little man. He has this "grown-up kid" sense of humor, laughing at my antics like a little boy would. At SIX MONTHS, he is officially as big as Ava was at a YEAR old! He got his first tooth this past week, on the ever-so-historical inauguration day this 2009. His personality is too adorable. He likes to flirt, and will look at you but then bury his head in my shoulder.



He is now going through a bit of separation anxiety. When I walk away from him (or even as much as turn away from him) he starts to cry sometimes. He isn't nearly as vocal as I remember Ava being, but he is quite the charmer in other ways. He is undoubtedly happy to his core, which makes me happy, too. :-).



He doesn't crawl by picking up his legs and moving them just yet. He is SO CLOSE! But he lifts his ENTIRE body off of the floor (like a push-up), with just his hands and feet on the floor. This kid is STRONG! If he doesn't want his diaper changed, it might take a team of horses (or parents, at least) to hold him down and get the job done.



I officially stopped breastfeeding Liam over the Christmas holiday. My supply simply couldn't keep up with his caloric requirements. :-) We have some stash in the freezer, so he will be sure to get that nourishment. I continue to make his baby food, pureeing various vegetables. He really seems to like his food and eats well. He doesn't prefer apple sauce, but he loves mashed bananas. I've also started making the "baby pancakes" that I used to make for Ava. He had his first pancakes this morning and LOVED them. His favorite food are Beech nut veggie snacks, which dissolve in his mouth. They're large enough that he can put them in his mouth himself, and take a bite. :-)



Words to describe Liam: mellow, Mommy's boy, smiley, cuddly, never lacking in the growth department :-), a vegetable lover, a music lover, bath-splish-splash-lover, spit-up KING!, super-affectionate, active, laid-back, content, giggly - especially around his big sister. The sun shines on Liam every day.



He now has more hair. I think he will definitely be blonde, at least during childhood. Although he has a head of hair, you can't really see it because it is so light. And I love his big baby blues and easy smile.



He doesn't require being rocked to sleep at night, but I like to rock him and he seems to appreciate it as well. He prefers to go to sleep in his crib, but will sleep anywhere. Ava would NEVER sleep in the car, so we appreciate Liam doing so immensely!



Whenever music comes on, he immediately starts rocking, as if that's what is required of anyone when their hear music. :-) When at my Dad and Dolly's around Christmas, we watched a train go around the train-track. Liam would rock uncontrollably (think Ray Charles plus espresso shot) while watching the train go around the track. When the train came around his way, he would stop rocking until it passed. After it passed he would start rocking again. Too cute.



His class Christmas picture from day care is hilarious. He is the only baby in the class picture who put his hand on another baby's shoulder, as if to say "she's my friend!". Already loving on the ladies, I guess. :-) I will try to scan those pictures in soon and post them.



Within the next month, I think Ava's toys will become Liam's... He will FIND a way to get to them. Time to baby-proof again! :-)



Peace, love and Gerber Puffs,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam



********************************************



Ava
Laughed out loud: 9 weeks
First rolled over: 11 weeks

Made first "raspberry" sounds: 3 ½ months
Started scooting: 3 ½ months

Ate food (applesauce): 4 ½ months

Could stand if propped up next to something: 5 months

Started sitting up unassisted: 5 months

Started crawling (army crawl): 5 months

Starting to pull-up: 6 months + 6 days

First word: (“Da-da”) 6 months + 3 weeks

Started to let go (and stand on own for a few seconds): 7 1/2 months

First tooth: 8 months

Took first steps: under 9 months

First E.R. visit / stitches: 2 years 10 months :(


Liam

Laughed out loud: 8 weeks

First rolled over: 13 weeks

Made first "raspberry" sounds: 3 ½ months

Ate food (sweet potatoes): 3 1/2 months

Started scooting: 4 1/2 months

Could stand if propped up next to something: 6 months

Started sitting up unassisted: 6 months + 1 week

First tooth: 6 months + 2 weeks

Started crawling: almost there!

First word: ???

Starting to pull-up: ???

Started to let go: ???

Took first steps: ???

A Week of Firsts: E.R. Visits and New Teeth!

I'm such a bad blogger! I have so many things to post, but haven't had time to catch-up, yet.

So, I will try to be brief and catch-up starting with this week's events....

We had our first E.R. visit with Ava on Tuesday. Most will remember Tuesday for the inauguration of Barak Obaama, the first African-American president. Unfortunately we will remember other moments that occurred that day.

Ava tripped and fell against a wooden chair at day care and split her forehead WIDE open. She required five deep stitches and glue / tape on the top layer of the cut. She was SO BRAVE during the whole ordeal. I can't believe how grown-up she is these days!

I got the call around 2:30 from her day care stating "your daughter is bleeding from her head, we called an ambulance, you should leave now." Lovely. Hearing that my daughter is bleeding from her head made me start shaking immediately. I got there within two minutes, I'd say. The ambulance and fire trucks were there. Ms. Barbara was holding her, sitting in a chair, consoling her with an ice pack on Ava's forehead. Everyone was so great and calm, thankfully. I took my clue from them. I tried to maintain my own composure as I was sure Ava would lose hers if she saw me start crying. After hearing a Cliff Notes version of what occurred, we were headed out the door. I declined to have the EMS workers take her in the ambulance... I think it's $300 or so for an ambulance ride with our insurance, and didn't think getting there two minutes later using our own car would really be that significant.

Never needing to visit our local E.R. in the past, the EMS workers had to give me directions. We were on our way. I was driving to the E.R., calling Doug to tell him to pick-up Liam at day care, trying to make sure Ava was calm and not poking her cut (or falling asleep), wrapping-up time-sensitive work calls for the day and trying to find this hospital to which I had never been. Nice. We found our way there easily. Phew!

She wanted to be sure that we brought her pink princess backpack (a gift from Aunt Sherry from Christmas) into the E.R. with us. So there I was, clumsily carrying Ava, my purse and a pink backpack into the E.R. They put numbing medication on her head at triage (via cottonball and a bandage to cover). I received a few calls from the day care principal while we were there, she felt so bad. I told her I would call her back later.

Normally Ava is averse to having her temperature taken or getting on the scale to be weighed. She had no issues with anything this time around. The nurses even commented on how well she did, asking how old she was.

While we were waiting in our treatment room, gash in forehead, Ava sang church songs for the entire E.R. Our door wasn't closed, so everyone got a free concert. And trust me...when Ava sings, she SINGS. :-) Amazing.

The doctor came in, said she needed stitches, and was going to try to do the work WITHOUT additional antistethic (aka not fun needle pokes). After he told me that she was going to need the papoose board, I tried to talk to Ava about what was going to happen. I told her she was going to be put on a board and that she would be wrapped up like a hot dog and feel like she was getting a very big, tight hug. She saw a dry-erase board on the wall and said "That's a board I will lay on!" :-) She was wrapped-up into the sheet and into the papoose like a champ.

She did fine until the doctor put the first stitch in. The doc knew at that point that she wasn't numb enough. Great. So he gave her three shots of antistethic in her cut while she wailed. He then started stitching her up at the deepest layer (he said the cut was one layer away from her skull). She did fine after that, but was annoyed by the papoose at that point, saying "Mommy, get me out of here!" I heard that sentence a few times. The hardest thing I did during this whole ordeal was to try to not cry for her. I knew she would REALLY lose it if I did...

The day care principal showed-up while Ava was being stitched. She added additional distraction for Ava, thankfully. I was really impressed that she showed-up. After Ava was stitched, they glued the cut shut and put some sort of tape over the cut, as well. She got an orange popsicle and was loving it.

When we were done, we headed to the Business Office to pay. The principal wanted to come with us and held Ava's hand while I was paying. The principal told us that the day care wants to pay our E.R. co-pay ($125). I told her I didn't expect them to do that, but she insisted. And truthfully this could've happened at home or day care. We've been fortunate that nothing like this has happened yet. And I pray nothing like this happens in the future!!!!

We've been assured that the glue helps cuts heal with the least amount of scarring (instead of stitches). Fortunately the cut goes cross-wise, so it shouldn't be a big deal. We were advised to be extremely vigilant with sunscreen on the healed cut, and apply vitamin E often to help the scar. It looks like a doozy right now, but once the glue and tape fall off, I think it will heal very well. And it's also fortunate she has bangs right now.

Being the crazy mom that I am, I called her pediatrician and a dermatologist the next day. Her pediatrician says that we should follow-up in a week as a precaution. The dermatology nurse said that time is what is needed in this type of situation, to heal optimally.

On the way home from the E.R., Ava told me that she wants to be a doctor so she can "help people". (She also wants to be a firefighter). She also told me "Mom, the doctor sewed my bump." :-) (Yes, as of last weekend Doug and I are no longer "Mommy and Daddy", we are "Mom and Dad". How quickly they grow-up. :-) I am astounded at how well she did during our E.R. visit. She really impressed me!

NOT TO BE MINIMIZED AT ALL, LIAM HAS HIS FIRST TOOTH! He woke up yesterday with it, after a rough time getting to bed and staying asleep. He can move wherever he wants to, it seems, but he doesn't technically "crawl" there, yet. He does crawl backward, scoots sideways, rolls, sits up on his own, but doesn't crawl forward yet. He reaches things, moves them back and forth between both hands. He also picks food up and puts it into his mouth but has a hard time with smaller items like Gerbers Puffs. He LOVES eating them, but I will normally feed them to him. I will keep the other fun updates for a post of his very own. :-) And I promise I will get to it!

I hope all of you are enjoying the start to a new year and the promise of good things God has in store.

Peace, love, stitches and glue,
Shelly (aka "Mom")

P.S. - Pictures and other posts to follow, I promise. :-)