Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Sad Mommy

Mommy is leaving for a few days for work...it's so sad leaving Liam.

The past two weeks have been great - Liam's been sleeping all night, so I haven't had those 2 a.m. stretches to keep up the blog! He's still on antibiotics for the ear infection, but he's doing much better. And the cough is pretty much gone now.

His new thing is biting his toes - so adorable. And Liam laughs at fake sneezes, and the word "STICKY!" We took some pictures before day care this morning...so I can look at them while I'm away.



Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Book-Crazy

It's 12:49 a.m. ...just waiting for Liam to fall back to sleep. He downed the whole bottle, and fell asleep at the end (while drinking). I got a good burp out of him, but he still screamed when I laid him down. After some mattress-bouncing, he settled. But he's "complaining" to his mobile right now. We'll see...

Liam had a good day - no fever at all, and he seemed to be doing better and resting more today. He napped from 8 - 9:30 a.m. and from 11:30 - 2:30 p.m. When he was actually awake today, Liam was really into his books. As soon as I'd finish one and put it to the side, he'd lean over and pick it up to read again.

Whenever we read Violet's House, he gets excited and flaps his arms. The book has different textures, and he just loves the last page - it has a doll with real yarn for hair. He just lights up when we get to that page, and grabs the doll's hair.

He also goes crazy for the book Dogs (thanks, Kate!). There's one picture of a sheep dog, and you can touch his "shaggy" fur - he loves to touch that one. And there's a picture of a Dachsund (sp?) with ears that are "floppy" - he thinks that one is pretty funny, when you flop the ears. My favorite is a page that says, "All dogs poop," and then has a slider so that a dog lifts his leg..."All dogs pee." Ah, bathroom humor.

We spent lots of time making music today, too. Liam is getting really good at pushing the different buttons on his superstar toy...

Ah, it's 12:59 now and Liam's back to sleep. Good Night, Sweet Boy.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Lake Placid


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15...
We were on the road by 10 a.m. (good start). Liam was great; we played for the first hour & 15 minutes, then he took an hour nap, followed by a bottle. We stopped once to change Liam & so Chris could get gas and grab some sandwiches for us. Then Liam and I played for another hour; and he slept the rest of the way. The only problem was this little cough that Liam started in the car.

We got into town around 2:45 p.m. Liam had so much fun playing with Molly. Well, they didn't really play - but they laughed at each other, and Liam tried to grab Molly's arm while she tried to touch his face. Too cute. And they played with each other's toys.

Liam went to sleep at 7, as usual. But he woke up a few times soon after. Each time, I walked him around until he fell back to sleep, and then laid him down. Around 10, we just called it a night. Liam got up a few more times; we gave him Tylenol at one point; tried a bottle; and even tried bringing him into bed with us. He finally slept a good stretch from 3:30 - 6:30 a.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16...
The kids had fun "playing" together again. Liam seemed back to normal and just loved all the (15?) people in the house - watching them walk around or talk or eat. And all the ladies just loved Liam! That cough was getting worse, so Liam didn't leave the house. Some people skied, others shopped, others went to a pub for a 3-hour lunch.

Here's Liam, being his silly self:

That night, I gave Liam a sponge bath (didn't trust the cleanliness of the tubs) and he went to bed a little early. But he was up at 7:30 (Chris got him back to sleep). Then again at 8:30 - he was really warm so I gave him Tylenol and got him back to sleep. He was up again shortly after, so I decided to just go to bed. From 9 p.m. until 7:30 a.m., it was a routine of fall asleep for anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours...and we tried all sorts of things to get Liam back to sleep. Repeatedly.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17...
So we decided to cut the trip short. Good thing - Liam ran a fever again during the trip home (Tylenol was in easy reach...whew!) He woke up once Sunday night and had a fever of 101.3 - so Tylenol again, and Chris gave him a bottle.

Monday morning we called the doctor and went in to see what was wrong. Liam has an ear infection in both ears, and some congestion that needs to work itself out. He's on antibiotics now for the ears - and when he got up just now (1:15 a.m.), no fever. Yay! But that cough just breaks my heart. Poor little bubba.

He's back to sleep now, so Good Night, Sweet Boy!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Road Trip!

Liam slept through the night for the second time in a row (7 pm - 6 am). Woo Hoo! Such happy parents are we.

It's 7:38 a.m. and Liam is taking his first nap. We're trying to finish packing, get ourselves ready and get the car loaded before he wakes up. Then it's diaper - get Liam dressed - feed him breakfast - diaper again - bundle the baby -- GO!

We're off to Lake Placid with some friends. Should be interesting, to say the least. A full blog report and pictures are promised on Tuesday.

Wish us luck!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Who's Your Daddy

This is Liam's reaction when Daddy gets home:




Happy Valentine's Day

Liam's Valentine's Day gift to us was sleeping through the night. YAY!!!!!!!! He went to bed at 7 last night and didn't wake up until 6 a.m. Woo Hoo!

He had a really good day yesterday, although he pulled Miss Jenn's hair and laughed about it. Little goober!

When we got home, we played a bit. And daddy rushed home so he could give Liam his dinner. Awww... We took this picture while we were playing yesterday afternoon; the caption is, "Uncle Brian, let me tell you about my day..."

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Our Lil' Troublemaker

Yesterday at day care, Miss Julie had 5 of the 6 babies napping at the same time. Who was the little rebel? Yup! You guessed it. And to top that - Liam started exercising his vocal cords to wake up all of his friends. Later, when Liam was napping, his friends were playing and that woke him up. So, they got him back.

Chris and I have a feeling that Liam is going to be one of those kids who does something bad, but then looks at you with his sweet smile...so you can never get mad at him. Little stinker!

But he's such a good kid - he is happy almost all of the time, laughs at almost anything, eats whatever we give him, and goes to sleep when he's supposed to (at least, for us). So, no complaints. He really keeps us laughing all the time. This weekend, he did the cutest thing: our friends Mike & Amy came over with their son Evan. Liam was so excited to have another baby here. At one point, Liam leaned over, grabbed Evan's sleeve & pulled him in for a slobbery kiss on the cheek. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Liam is five weeks older than Evan; but check out the photo. Daddy & I like to call him a "Giant Among Babies"!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

New Tricks


It's 4:10 a.m. and Liam is being lullabied back to sleep...he started babbling and cracking himself up after the bottle; it's so hard to just walk away. Even when I put him in his crib, he just smiled and laughed at me - ugh! If it wasn't such an awful hour, I'd play with him. Ah, well.

So Liam has some new tricks these last few days...

...he grabs his toes. A lot. (hence, the photo above) Even when he's drinking a bottle, he'll reach out one arm, lift his leg, and grab his foot. He'll stay that way for a while. It's like baby yoga or something.

...he can wave hello & goodbye! Liam's friend Addison has been teaching him how to wave at day care, and this weekend he got lots of practice. Mike & Amy came over with Evan (he's just a few weeks younger than Liam) on Saturday, and then Paka, Grandma Kriss, Aunt Aly & Uncle Brad came over on Sunday.

...he can clap (almost). When Liam gets excited, he tries to clap - but there's no sound. And sometimes he misses. We're getting there!

...yogurt and oatmeal (but not together) have been added to the menu options. Liam is such a good eater - he just devours whatever we give him.

Every day, there's something new in the world of Liam. But right now, our world should be sleeping!

Good night, sweet boy.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Can You Hear Me Now?


It's 2:17 a.m. and I'm waiting for Liam to fall back to sleep. He had a great day, except his naps were no longer than a half hour each today (usually he gets at least one good one of an hour or more). But he played, he ate, and he was his usual happy, silly self. Just a little tired.

While Liam was having his last bottle at 6:30 p.m., daddy called from Atlanta. This was the third night, so I think Liam knew it was daddy. He got all excited when the phone rang - stopped drinking his bottle and started laughing and flapping his arms. Then while I was talking with Chris, I was holding Liam - I think he could hear daddy's voice, because he got even more excited. When I put the phone up to Liam's ear so daddy could talk with him, Liam's face just lit up. He was smiling so much!

Earlier we had listened to a message from daddy, Liam stopped playing to whip around and stare at the answering machine. He just kept looking at the answering machine and giggling. Too cute.

Anyway, I think we have achieved sleep so it's off to bed for mommy, too.

Good night, sweet boy.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Sock it to me!


So, we were up at 6 - we drank a bottle, danced to the Wiggles, and then took a nap around 8. Grandma Kriss came over today and Liam had such a great time. They played with lots of toys, ate bananas & cereal for breakfast...carrots and yogurt for lunch...it was a happy day.

When I finished work at 5, I came downstairs to find Liam and Grandma sitting by the glass door in the living room. Liam was looking out the window and chewing on his sock!

Lately Liam likes to grab his feet and pull off his socks...and I know his teether of choice is cloth...so it just makes sense. He's such a goober!

It's almost 11 - mommy stayed up too late and Liam will probably be up soon. UGH! Please stay asleep a bit longer.

Good night, sweet boy.

I Want My Two Ounces


Monday, February 4, 2008

Another great day for Liam - such a happy kid! He missed his afternoon nap, so after day care he was a little fussy. One minute, he's cracking himself up playing with toys...the next minute, it would be tears (see photo). He just misses his daddy.

Chris called from Atlanta and I put the phone up to Liam's ear - he kept looking around for Chris, and smiling at daddy's voice. Too cute!

When I gave Liam his last bottle at 6:30 pm, he only drank 4 of the 6 ounces. A little before 11 pm, he woke up - I changed his diaper and walked him around, but he wanted his two ounces. He cried so hard, and even bit my arm; anything to get his point across!

With a full belly, Liam went back to sleep and didn't get up again until almost 6 a.m.

Good job, sweet boy!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Are you ready for some football?

Liam's pick: the Giants. Nothing against the Patriots or their fans; he just wants his Grandpa and Uncle Brian to be happy. Fortunately, Liam didn't last through the Super Bowl - he was asleep by 7 as usual. He just woke up (10:40) with a soaked diaper and a BIG burp. After some walking around, and some mattress-bouncing, he fell back to sleep.

Liam was so good today. We started the day at 6:30. He ate, played, and napped before we took him to church for the second time. This church (Uncle Brad's church) was a bit more contemporary than the last - they had a band and group of singers (rather than the traditional organ and hymns). He was due for a bottle just as the service started - so I got one ready, but he was so excited & distracted by the music. He stood on daddy's lap, bounced to the music, and waved his hands around. Once the pastor started speaking, Liam started his bottle. When the bottle was done, Liam started speaking up!

But, there were accomodations - we watched the rest of the service on a screen in a room next to the main room. It worked out perfectly; I think we found a keeper. Plus we get to see Aunt Aly & Uncle Brad if we go to this one.

The rest of the day was great. More yogurt today; although, we gave him a bit less than yesterday. Trying to avoid the smelly spit up. And Liam took all of his naps. (even mommy got to sneak in a good half hour in the afternoon)

Cutest moment of the day: we were playing on the floor and Liam kept raising both arms toward me, so I decided to take that as "Give me a hug, Mom." He gave a squeeze right back - ah! I love Liam-hugs!!!

So it's 11:10 p.m. Liam is back to sleep. Here's hoping he stays asleep until 7 a.m. Fingers crossed!

Good night, sweet boy.

*************************************************
12:45 a.m. and we're up again. This time we walked around until he fell asleep; as soon as I laid him down he started screaming. So we changed the diaper (only a little wet) and walked some more. Still screaming - so we had a bottle. But only 4 oz. this time.

He still screamed when I laid him down, but he calmed himself down right away. The lullaby is still going, but I think he's already asleep. Whew. It's 1:22 a.m. and mommy's going back to sleep.

Mallrat

It's 4:22 a.m. Liam just finished a bottle. He stirred a few times tonight, but this is the first time he woke up - with blood-curdling screams. So I changed a very wet diaper then decided to break down and give him a real bottle (not water). He downed it. Now he's watching sea creatures dance on his ceiling, the Muppet mobile is spinning, and Brahm's Lullaby is doing it's thing.

By the way - the whale on the sea creatures projector looks like Fudgie the Whale from the old Carvel commercials. Just sayin'.

So at 6 a.m. we started a great day (Feb.2). Liam & mommy got up, had a bottle, danced to the Wiggles, played with some toys, and got things ready for daddy's birthday breakfast. Then we both went back to sleep around 8:15. I got up at 10 and started breakfast...Liam stayed asleep for another half hour. Tired boy! Birthday breakfast was omelets with mushrooms, red & green peppers, onions, pepper jack cheese; meatless sausage links; and hash browns. Liam had pears & cereal.

Then we opened presents...played some more...and took another nap around 1 p.m. When Liam woke up, he had sweet potatoes and he ate yogurt for the first time! (he spit up a bit of the yogurt - the smell is awful!) But he seemed to like it. :o)

With full bellies, we headed out to the mall. This was Liam's second time in a mall. But the first time, he wasn't nearly as alert. Today he had fun in the stroller, watching the people & looking at all the lights. It was so cute to watch him just kicking his feet around, content as can be. Whenever there was a mirror in one of the stores, we played peek a boo in the stroller - he loved it. Although I think one of the guys in Banana Republic was getting a little ticked at us. Whatever. But Liam was so good - didn't fuss once the whole time we were out.

Back on the home front, Liam had peas & cereal and then his last bottle and went to sleep at 7 p.m. He stayed asleep until now -such a good boy! It's 4:33 a.m. now, and I think he's asleep once again. Gotta get some more sleep before church.

Good night, sweet boy.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Like Water for Milk

It's 1:20 a.m. and I'm waiting for Liam to fall back to sleep. He had a really good day - a total of 3 hours of naps, ate all his meals, drank all his bottles, and went to bed by 7p.m. So all the books say he shouldn't need to get up at all. I let him fuss for almost 10 minutes, and then went in. Very wet diaper. Very upset little boy. We walked around a little. Then I gave him a bottle of water (trying to end the habit & the reward for getting up). He's still my little cuddle-bug...while he drinks his bottle, I just love it when he reaches up to squeeze my chin or touch my cheek or tug my hair. Awww...

After about 2 oz he sat up and started shaking his head, like he was telling me "No." Then, bleh...puked up water.

But then he settled down and seemed sleepy. The ocean creatures are dancing across his ceiling (projector) and Brahm's Lullaby is working its magic. It's been 5 minutes, and he's still fussing. UGH.

Funny new thing today - Liam and I were playing on the floor a lot; he loves to reach in the basket and pull out toys. Every once in a while, he would get frustrated because a toy rolled out of his reach, or because he couldn't pick it up with one hand...and he would clench his fists, make his face go beet-red, and let out this LOUD scream! Temper, temper.

At first I tried consoling & calming him. That did nothing. Then I tried screaming back. He just screamed more. So we had a little chorus of screams. But then he started "singing" in this high-pitched voice...just baby sounds, but it really sounded like he was trying to sing. Or yodel. He cracks me up! Oh, and the ABC-singing dog was about the only thing that would really calm him when he got angry today. Cousin Dawn is a genius for giving him that toy!!!

Ah, it's been 10 minutes and Liam is back to sleep. For now. Gotta go get some more sleep in while I can. Oh, and it's daddy's birthday today (Feb.2) - maybe that's why Liam woke up. He was so excited to celebrate daddy's b-day for the first time. :o)

Good night, sweet boy.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Party in my crib. Midnight. BYOB.

We were so spoiled for a while. After 4 months of getting up every 2-3 hours, the last few months have been super easy: sleeping through the night (7 p.m. - 7 a.m.), or getting up once around 2-4 a.m. But lately, these midnight parties are exhausting mommy and daddy again.

Don't get me wrong; Liam had a great day - all smiles from when he woke up at 6:50 a.m. until we got jammies on around 6 p.m. He ate his peas, but then on the second spoonful of cereal, Liam started crying. With the cereal still in his mouth. So, it was out of the high chair and onto the couch for that oh-so-comforting bottle with daddy. Liam was asleep in minutes.

Well, he had a productive day - who wouldn't be asleep by 6:30? After entertaining everyone at day care with his belly-laughs, dancing around the kitchen with mommy, bouncing in the exersaucer, and chewing on a toy puppy...whew! I'm tired just writing all that!

But it's 12:30 a.m. After a diaper change, a full bottle, a little rocking, and a lot of mattress-bouncing, our bubba is fast asleep once again.

Today's menu: pears and rice cereal...carrots and tofu...peas and rice cereal.

Best moment of the day: Went to get Liam from day care at 5 - he was sitting on the floor, playing with some toys, and his face lit up when he saw me. So I picked him up and he gave me a big hug and then a slobbery, open-mouthed kiss on the cheek. Awww...

Good night, sweet boy.