I'm serious here...

...it's all water, all the time.

Friday Five!

It's been a while, hasn't it? In my lame defense, we had Nana & Grandpa here for a bit & then I got sick on the tail-end of that and could barely do anything for a handful of days there...

But let's see if I can manage a Friday Five Round-up Style of Liam Happenings!

1. New Word: Wagon - Liam LOVES his wagon & asks to go out in it everyday. Stands by the garage & says "wagon" until Dada relents & takes him out! They go everywhere in it - to the pond to throw rocks, to the little stream to throw rocks, to the slide in the neighboring development cause they got a twisty slide...he's usually out & about for over an hour when they go exploring!
2. New Word: Belt - Liam got a belt for his skinny bum in Argentina but didn't really need them for his winter pants but I've been using them for some of his shorts and he LOVES it. He carries it around with him, points out other people's belts, and tells us (mainly Dada) to put a belt on when getting dressed. I think he would sleep with it if we let him!
3. Favorite Song: Wheels on the Bus - I got him a CD set of kids songs & this is the first track on it. He sings "round and round" in his little Fellowese whenever he sees a vehicle larger than a car - a truck, a bus, a firetruck, a digger - you get the point. He asks to listen to his song over and over throughout the day. This morning we had it on for about 3 hours throughout the morning! He knows all the motions for the words but doesn't do them all the time. Right now his favorite is the WAH WAH WAH where he will scrunch up his face & say WAH WAH WAH and then he makes me do the HUSH HUSH HUSH part along with him!
4. Favorite Video: Charlie Brown & the Great Pumpkin - Matias let him watch it earlier in the week & the kid just laughs his bum off at it! His favorite is Linus at the moment but he thinks Snoopy is funny too flying around on his doghouse.
5. Give Me Big Hug: When you ask him for a Big Hug he throws his arms around your neck and squeezes and says in a very tight, hard, squeezing voice "bill a bill a bah"! After his Big Hug he will plant a LARGE kiss on you complete with the loudest, longest kiss smacking sound you ever did hear!

I should be back on my game next week & will get more of anything & everything up in a timely manner!

So excited!

Nana & Grandpa are coming this weekend & they are bringing Liam's belated Christmas present with them! It's belated because it wasn't "seasonal" when Christmas time was upon us but last time we were at Camp Carolina we went & picked it out and now they are bringing it up with them! I'm so very, very excited to get it set up & I cannot wait to see Liam's face when we bring him down to play with it!!!


He is going to be SO over the moon about this! His very own slide! In his very own backyard! When we moved into this house, I was so giddy about having my new bebe grow up with a backyard in his very first home, I felt so lucky to be able to give this to him. And he loves it too! And now, thanks to Nana & Grandpa he will have a fantastic Woodland Climber in his very own backyard!

This means so much to me; the ability to open the door & just have something for him to play with that he will love. It gets kind of boring kicking around one ball outside, you know? Then we can wash up & bring out his water table since, hopefully, Spring has really, truly arrived & the warm (85 degrees right now!) weather is here to stay! We've got his tarp to put up also & I want to get him some more little outdoor appropriate toys for him to destroy play with; like a dump truck and wagon to store his toys in! We broke out the bubbles last night & now they have taken a spot in the constant rotation of Things Liam Wants to do Right Now; already had to make the rule that There are No Bubbles After Dark! We've already been out twice this morning to blow more too!

My mood has been fantastic the last two days because of the weather & the excitement that it brings for me, I love being a mother to a little boy who just has to go, all the time, it feels me with so much enthusiasm for everything, it's almost disturbing! I love watching him run around in his shorts & buying him new sandals & teaching how to blow bubbles & not eat bubbles. And watching him discover his camp fire set yesterday was like being a child again myself; he had to examine each and every piece one at a time & then played with them all together so thrilled with each new piece he encountered. It's such a charming thing to watch him discover things.

I also want to get him a kite & a little sprinkler sprayer thing for him to play with.

I'm so excited that my parents get to share in all this fun-ness too! They will get such a kick out of watching him explore & exclaim his delight over his new "stuff"!

Come on Spring, come on weekend! Mama cannot wait much longer!

Life Jacket Practice - not a Favorite Thing!

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And in this corner, The OverScheduler!

I fear I might becoming one of those Mothers who have their kids doing too much with all the best intentions of keeping their child busy, entertained and out of the house where they love to be (or not be, as is this case).

Every weekday morning, we have an event that we go to. Park playdates, regular old playdates, Toddlin' Time, our walking group, live music fun, etc., etc. etc. and then in the afternoon I try and take us out again. Afternoons aren't as fun as mornings cause we will run our errands and he's usually stuck in a cart but then we have our swim lessons in the evening and he just LOVES those! He really loves everything we do but sometimes I think we are hustling & rushing & getting annoyed at breakfast taking too long, cups not being drank quick enough cause we have somewhere to be, people!

Then I discovered a Soccer Tots program in our area for 18+ month olds & I wanted to sign him up that instant. The session started like two days later & I wanted him in it badly. It was the right price and for 3 months' worth of Soccer Tots, I was right on that wagon and then I sent the information to Matias & he wanted to hold off. Read that again - Matias wanted to hold off on putting his son in soccer.

It dawned on me when I was looking at the schedule that I was having a hard time figuring out which class to choose because we're pretty full up most mornings & weekends are iffy cause we travel so much...I realized that maybe I was already becoming an OverScheduler. For a not quite two year old. And I seriously had to back away from the schedules & calendars. And we agreed that we would put him in the Fall/Winter session to get him out doing an activity during the horrible weather months & we planned to put him in another session of swim lessons before our pool opened on Memorial Day to keep him in the water & in an activity.

But then we learned that the next session doesn't start until JUNE. And, I seriously almost nearly panicked without an activity to put him in. I thought about joining the Soccer Tots (you can join any time and they pro-rate your cost) because, seriously, the boy LOVES going out and doing things & I love having him in a structured environment with other kids and all the structured learning that goes along with that. And then I backed away from the Parks & Rec catalog again.

But, I still feel the need to check out some tumbling classes or music appreciation class (that doesn't cost more than a car payment ((and I know someone's thinking 'car payment? what car payment?' HA! HA!)) but I finally somewhat gave in & handed Liam the catalog of an Over Scheduler's Dreams for him to destroy, color & keep out of my hands.

...but I spy it now, sitting over there calling to me, singing its sweet siren song of OverSchedulers Delights...

This is the Pope calling...

Way back when we were told that we would totally get tickets to see the Pope in DC since Matias' sister is studying in Rome right now & that she had a "connection" that was fool proof. We were put on High Alert with orders to pick up our tickets at Will Call tomorrow for the Mass at Nationals Stadium. Then we were told that we were to wait for a call officially confirming all of this. Well that call never came, sadly.

I joked that we were waiting for the Pope himself to call us and then found out that we were in fact waiting for a call from Rome and not from his sister but from someone in the church or something or maybe Matias is just pulling my pagan leg. Either way, we didn't get a phone call & it's past midnight in Rome now so it looks like our sure thing sure wasn't.

Kind of a bummer because it would have been a special time for Matias & Liam, sure I would have found it neat to be a part of it but obviously not in the same way my Catholic boys would have. I'm not sad about getting up before dawn to take the metro into town to stand in the Pope knows how many lines to get inside finally to wait for a Mass with a toddler, you know? Hopefully, this won't be a once in a lifetime missed opportunity though & some other day, some time, probably some other place, my Catholic boys can see the Pope together, as I do feel it's important for them to share in this experience together.

Matias said that it would be like seeing the Royal Family trying to light some sort of fire under my enthusiasm but I do have to say that those two things do not generate the same sort of "fire" for me! Yes, I would love to be a part of a historical event but sometimes you gotta realize when he's just not that into you and the Pope sometimes just doesn't return his calls like he says he will.

Meet The Loopholer

My son seems to have inherited my most favorite (rolls eyes) trait from his father (it's only 'father' when it's something bad, btw!) - he finds every single loophole there is and exploits it to no end.

Now, I'm sure every kid goes through this phase (it's a phase, right!?!?!) but if he doesn't look just like his father whenever he attempts it, I would think otherwise. It's like I'm watching Matias trying to get one over on me. And let me tell you, that gig was up YEARS ago, my friends. There is no pulling any such thing past me but whoa does this Fellow of mine sure try.

He is no longer allowed to freely roam around our bathroom and he knows this. BUT he will sit right outside the door, and scoot backwards inch by tiniest of inches until he just happens to have moved himself completely into the bathroom. The look on his face the entire time is very much I wonder how I keep getting closer to this place I know I'm not supposed to be, how does this keep happening? Scoot, scoot, wonder, wonder, scoot. Also he will throw a ball, typically a cat toy, in there because you know he's not supposed to throw things without going to retrieve them so in essence he is not doing anything Wrong.

LOOPHOLER.

Same thing with the stairs to downstairs when Dada is working - he throws anything he can get his hands on with the excuse of going to get it. And trust me, he knows he isn't supposed to go down there when Dada is working, but he will find a way that is legitimate if not approved of at his juncture.

Same thing with going outside in the back - there are times when that is just not going to happen - be it falling rain, freezing cold, or dark of night. My little Loopholer will beckon the cats to come hither so that he might unlock and open the door for THEM to go out. He's not really opening it for himself, but simply so that the cats might enjoy the night air or perhaps relieve themselves outside as Mystic is want to do.

I often wonder if there is some hidden audience he turns to after accomplishing each Loophole and gives them a sly wink or a brisk nod of the head before being noticed by us Unsuspecting Adults. Little boy, let me tell you a little something, Mama has been dealing with The Loophole for many years now & is fully versed in your LiamLogic Loopholer Ways and will not be fooled, tricked or look how cute he is-ed out of recognizing the gig as soon as you hit play.

I'm sure it's been fun while it lasted but your time is up, Little Loopholer, I'm so onto you; you won't be able to scoot backwards fast enough.

Smooches to my Loopholer, Mama loves you anyways :)

Spring is here! First morning at the park!

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Introducing Mr. Silly!

Nana got him this Elmo tshirt for Easter & he wore it on Sunday night after an unfortunate incident with the lake in front of our house (don't ask, I wasn't Parent in Charge!) and fell in Love with it. So much so that he insisted on wearing it again yesterday - the first time he has requested certain clothing & made a fuss about it until I put it on him. Then this morning he nearly made enough of a fuss that he almost got to wear it again but Mama prevailed & got some new, clean clothes on the Fellow.

Mr. Silly might more correctly be named Mr. Silly Cookie Face at the moment!

My Little Helper

Liam has always been a big fan of being My Little Helper with grown up things; feeding the cats, watering the plants, sweeping the floors, doing the laundry but not so much with picking up his own toys. Mr. Destructo has the knack of following right behind me if I make the fatal error of cleaning up while he's around and destroying, dumping & knocking over everything I have just put away.

I normally don't put his toys up while he's in the vicinity simply for that reason as it just causes a bigger mess that ends up with me doing it all over again. But lately, things have changed. Lately, after he's been playing with something independently he picks it all up & puts it away! This miracle doesn't occur 100% (or even 75%) of the time but slowly he's starting to help put his toys away. And he always gets great big "thank yous" and sometimes even a little snuggle from me depending on how large of a mess he picked up so he gets very excited about it all; although it can be to the point of undoing his cleaned up toys in order to clean them up again to get more "thank yous" and little snuggles. Cute, but definitely eye-rolling worthy after a long day.

The first time I noticed it, I could barely believe what he had just done! He was playing with his coffee set from Argentina that I keep in a basket for him and when I turned to watch him playing by himself I realized that he had put every single item back where it belonged and I waited as the clouds parted, the sun shone & angels sang. It's been a long, long Hurricane Season in this household & any help from anyone on this front is much appreciated.

He's always been a big fan of emptying baskets, bags & buckets and putting them back in as play but never when he's through with that activity so there's a lot to be picked up after, you know? And the anal retentive in me doesn't even freak out when he doesn't do it right. I have a tendency to go behind people and redo things they have done to be sure they were done right but I know by doing this with him that will most likely lead to a little self-doubting from him & I really don't want to do that! So I leave books astray & shoved in their baskets, lids on lunch boxes aren't closed all the way cause a hoof is hanging out & blocks are stacked incorrectly (geez, I even rolled my eyes at myself on that one!) because at least Liam did it & made the effort to help clean up! At the end of the day, I can even bring myself to find it endearing when I see all his toys haphazardly put up, knowing that it was a Fellow Effort that made it that way. And then after he's gone to bed, I straighten it all up, waiting for tomorrow so that we can do it all over again. Joyfully.

Sunday Mash Up

Quick laundry list of new words & new signs, etc.:

New Words:

1. bus
2. noodles
3. bag
4. pancakes (for both pancakes & French toast)
5. garbage (FellowSpeak = Ge)
6. airplane (FellowSpeak = Gee accompanied with plane noises)
   

New Signs:

1. milk
2. banana
3. shoes
4. ball
5. dog
6. cat
   

New Favorite Songs

1. Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes (complete with head patting & knee patting finishing it off with a large round of applause)
2. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
3. Hookie Pookie (this one we sing at swim lessons)

Two to Three Word Sentences:

1. Dada's car
2. More pancakes
3. mmmm applesauce!
4. More milk (both signing & verbal)

He's really been accelerating with his signs lately & his sentences - so cool to watch! He is very proud of himself also when he puts more than one sign together, properly. We've been watching a lot of pictures (on the screen saver gallery option) and he gets so very excited pointing out all the people & things he sees and knows!

Because he can TOTALLY do it!

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Bottomless Pit!

Now, I know it's going to sound ridiculous that I am going to "complain" about how much Liam is eating, oh but I am not going to let that stop me. This could be another growth spurt, this could be just something to do or finally this kid has just started to really, truly put some food away.

This is what he has had this morning between 8 & noon:

• 7 oz of milk
• 4 ounces of peach medley apple sauce
• 4 ounces of apple yogurt
• 1 piece of cinnamon french toast slathered with butter
• 4 oz of strawberry apple sauce
• 5 oz of peach cottage cheese
• 7 oz of milk
• numerous snackies

Before the day is done he will probably have 2 more apple sauces & another yogurt on top of his milk intake & dinner entree. I'm really not taking issue with how much he seems to be eating but rather with oh my god, could I please do something other than wrestle spoons out of his hands, wipe apple sauce off of every surface or more so WHEN CAN I STOP FEEDING THIS KID AND LET HIM GO ON AND FEED HIMSELF ALL THE TIME?????

Seriously, I'm getting kind of sick of feeding him. Is that bad? Or just weird? Or both. Cause you know it could totally be GOOD in a WEIRD way. And I'd be ok with that. I would. I totally would.

Getting Ready to Clear the Fields

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Mocha Kitty & Bill a Bill a Bah

Liam has had a friend in his Mocha Kitty for quite a while now, it seems but his new favorite is a little blue bear that he calls Bill a Bill a Bah. Quite honestly though EVERY bear is a Bill a Bill a Bah and sometimes even random objects get blessed with his gibberish word, but bears of any kind, be it a panda bear, polar bear, teddy bear or koala bear always get called a Bill a Bill a Bah. He got his Bill a Bill a Bah from the flower arrangement that my parents sent me (and presumably Liam too) at the hospital when he was born. It's been in his basket of animals in his room since time began but late last week he took a liking to it.

Now he carries it around with him & hugs him, kisses him & shares his milk with him. Sometimes he even shares his goldfish! Yesterday when Liam didn't want to wear his socks, Bill a Bill a Bah wore them! He does the same with Mocha Kitty & I love watching him give his Mocha some milk. He will have nothing to do with the cabbage patch doll I brought from home for him (my original one!) but will "baby" Mocha Kitty & Bill a Bill a Bah!

Liam has never really been attached to any particular object (sans his pillow) so it's quite cute for me to (finally) watch him bond with something. Sure he loves certain toys & such but has never had a "lovey" (god how I hate that word) that he turns to in times of need. It appears that Mocha Kitty & Bill a Bill a Bah have stepped up to the plate though! Even his tiny stuffed LaLa has never garnered that much attention from me; which did surprise me.

So finally at 20 months old, Liam has found someone to love. And of course, it tickles me that what he chosen came from the day he was born from my parents. I know you cannot chose what your kid will latch onto - for example MY pillow - but it sure is nice when they do pick something of excellent pedigree.

Whoa Nelly.

Why is it that when I just looked at this picture my first, horrified, reaction was "oh my lord he looks so tiny!"

Now with more Explode-y!

Liam ended up with a stomach bug yesterday. Not pretty. I think he probably had it since Thursday evening but being the spectacular mother I am, I just thought he was blowing out his diapers with 7 wipees worth of toxic dodo because he needed a larger size diaper. Now, he did need to move up on the diaper size scale (can I get a "hell yeah" for the Fellow gaining enough weight to warrant a new, BIGGER, size diaper?!?!) BUT I'm sure the toxicity levels of his overflowing diapers should have indicated something to me!

He had this horrible, painful, RED, burning inflammation on his thighs and his bits & bobs that was painful to touch, he cried and snatched the wipes away in my attempt to clean him, he sobbed when I put a warm compress on his region & howled when I had to (how do I say this gently) peel off one body part from the other.

Things were not looking so good. And then his temperature spiked - and trust me when I say this because there was no way in HEdoublehockeysticks I was sticking a thermometer when we normally stick it after all that commotion of simply cleaning him up. He became Chilled Out Boy & just lounged and watched Signing Time before lunch & nap time. With the help of good ol' Tylenol, his fever broke & he managed to sneak in a FOUR HOUR NAP waking up TOTALLY refreshed. And with Less Explode-y.

He still has Explosions but now with less Explode-y action going on down there. I did get him the new & improved size FIVE diapers so I also do hope that it is helping contain the Explode-y a wee bit better. His appetite never really left him, save for Friday night when Matias attempted to bribe him and fixed him THREE meals before just throwing in the towel, so I'm glad he's been keeping food down although the final exit maneuver still needs some finessing.

It was strange though on Saturday as it was the First Time I Ever Left Him While He Was Sick. Big deal, right? That's not sarcasm, people, that's a plead for validation! I HAD TO go to Target - we had ONE diaper left in the house TOTAL, no more Motrin & the rate we were running through them, we'd be out of wipes by sundown. So, I picked Nel up & we went to the new Super Duper, I wanna Hug You & Rub Up Against You Target and I mildly panicked the entire time I was there. As I left the house, I [gently] reminded Matias that there was a magnet on the fridge with Liam's doctors information on it & did he remember how to get there??? I expressed my emotions about leaving him while ill to my loving husband who basically said "he slept the whole time & it's not like you went to a party" - all of which is 100% accurate BUT I did leave him.

And on that note, I'm going to end it with this fabulous epiphany I just had:

My mother may not have ever succeeded in laying a guilt trip on me (they just don't stick), I am very capable of laying one on MYSELF when it comes to issues with my own offspring. Makes me feel like calling Mom up & saying "you happy now???" but she'd probably just say "now why would you say a thing like that to your mother?"

Update on the P.S.

Liam isn't sick, I suppose he was just lounge-y that morning ;) I think I fought off the flu though, if that's possible. Yesterday was not a stellar day for me, I keep getting this headache that won't leave for days & then visits again right after you think it's gone!

But anyway - no one is sick! WOOT! I don't have the time or energy to have another sick week AGAIN.

Like a Koala Bear in Water

We started swim lessons this week & have two under our belt so far - they are going swimmingly! Oh, how I crack myself up.

Anyways...

Liam absolutely loves the water my only BUT is that he is clinging to me like a koala bear to a eucalyptus tree. This normally indicates that he is unsure of his surroundings & will not participate in anything you ask of him if it requires him to switch positions. When we encounter the wild koala bear, it takes a few times of doing that thing before he warms up enough to participate fully. And I've already seen that happening!

We use "tools" in the water and although he uses them properly, he doesn't want to let go of it when it's time to use the next one - we have a watering can, a ball (GOL!) and a noodle (newnew) - and I have to pry each one from his hands to move onto the next task.

Liam is a shy boy, almost to the point of being a Lone Wolf. When all the kids at playgroup are in the room playing with toys, he's in the kitchen staring out a window, eating his snacks. When all the kids are in the kitchen, eating their snacks, he's in the play room playing alone with all the toys. He will usually warm up & will discontinue his calls for Mama!Mama! right about the time has come for us to leave. He's quiet too around other kids in other houses but is not when in his own house so I know it's just the new surroundings that is contributing to his shyness. Mama was shy almost to the point of painful when she was little & I think it's safe to say she grew out of it ;)

With all that said, I knew that Liam just had to warm up to the idea of going to swim lessons; and after his second class, I can say that this has successfully occurred!

He gave up the tools a little easier each time, even went to his teacher to practice with her (stranger! danger!), peacefully went onto his back, correctly held onto the noodle (newnew!), attempted to BLOW BUBBLES BY HIMSELF and then successfully spit the water out of his mouth when that went awry AND by far his Most Favorite Thing Ever is to JUMP IN THE POOL BY HIMSELF. Even asking "Agan?" before he's barely even finished his jump!

I do think if I had started him earlier in structured classes he totally would have been easier to manipulate into doing what I wanted him to do, but now that's a pinch more Independent it has become tougher for me to control all aspects of his movements, you know? But knowing his koala bear tendencies helps me remain hopeful & able to focus on just getting him comfortable so that when he's ready to climb down from the tree he's got all the trust & faith that Mama will be there for him when he is at that point.

His classes are on Monday & Wednesday but Matias has soccer practice on Wednesdays so I don't know how many classes he'll be able to make it to. I asked that he arrange his schedule so that he can take him on Monday's (I'll go, of course, someone has to take the pictures!) and I'll take him on Wednesdays...I hope that works out because he needs to be comfortable with BOTH of us, separate of each other. Also, this stinking 30 minute class is like 30 minutes of pure SQUATS workout and whoa, doggie, that's a lot of squatting. ;)

P.S.

Methinks someone might be getting sick.
Again.
Also please note that he pulled his chair over into that location.
Very comfortable lounge-y morning.

How's your toe doing, Liam?

A couple of weeks ago when I was Single Parenting it (again), I was trying to bake cookies and get various appetizers ready for a Crop Club I was hosting that night while I let Liam play beside me in the Fellow Proof lazy Susan. Turns out it wasn't so Fellow Proof as I thought it was.

As I was trying not to burn the cookies (don't ask), he dropped something on his foot & instantly started wailing. Lots of kisses & hugs were administered & at first I just noticed a slight scrapping of the skin on his second Little Piggie, blood was showing but there was no bleeding so to speak. I really don't know what he dropped on it because there are only boxes and bags of things (all closed) in there so it's pretty harmless for him to be digging around in there - just a side note though - we DID use a latch on it, he just figured out how to open it like the same day Grandpa installed it - so there's no stopping him from getting in there hence the reason we've just taken Dangerous Things out of there!

Then, just when everyone was arriving, I noticed that his This Little Piggie's nail was BLUE and totally BRUISED! No wonder we had the wailing that we did - that must have smarted something fierce but since it didn't show up right away, I had no idea he had such a big owie.

Since then, mostly when getting his diaper changed, you can ask him "how's that toe doing?" and he will grab his foot & check out the development of that bruise, shove it in my direction & get a kiss from Mama.

I love watching all the connections being made - he remembers he hurt his toe, he knows which one, he checks it out & then proceeds to offer it up to the Kisses Make it All Better Mama. I wonder how long I can keep asking him how his toe is? It's not completely healed & actually looks a little worse for wear *praying it doesn't fall off* but he hasn't forgotten about it quite yet!

Going to the Chapel

We went to our first wedding as a Family on Saturday; I've had my own date with Liam to a wedding before when he was just a mere bebe at 3 months old, but this is the first time Los Tres Ninos have been in attendance together.

Here's Nel, Mama & Liam waiting for the ceremony to begin

After the ceremony we had time to kill so we headed down the street to Our Tavern for some appetizers. This was Liam's first time there & thankfully since it was the middle of the day there was zero smoke in the place!

Liam did really well throughout the whole ceremony & reception - even falling asleep in his carriage during the reception on the dance floor! He enjoyed drinking water out of a champagne glass & loved the sing-along during dinner, dancing & singing along with us. We, as parents, were grateful for the outdoor open space that allowed him to get down from our arms & run amok burning energy & daylight.

The Fellow is lifting his glass to the happy couple!

My little boy is growing up!

I distinctly remember driving around with Alexis when she was a wee Hewitt & we were taking her home from Auntie Leanne's to her parents; what I remember most of these drives is when she starting realizing where we were going & recognizing landmarks and indicators along the way.

Yesterday, my little Liam Fellow did the same thing. We were driving to a playgroup & passed by Toddlin' Time - he pointed, made some very loud indications that he wanted to go THAT WAY and then watched and pouted as we drove past it without stopping! I was almost smiling & crying at the same time (which I'm sure is a patented Mama Maneuver); I was stoked that he recognized someplace other than Home but sad that my little boy is now old enough, aware enough, smart enough to realize all of this! It couldn't possibly be happening already with MY little bebe when I still remember it like it was yesterday with Alexis; who, by the way, turned FOURTEEN the other week.

And to prove that this was no fluke, he reacted the same way again today as we drove past it on the way to yet another playgroup with my Not So Desperate Housewives! I feel bad because we had to skip this session due to travel & The Sickness but once I rescheduled for next session I got a notice that classes were canceled for this week & next week due to Spring Break SO we really wouldn't have gotten anything out of the 6 week session AND that it was a good thing that I got us into the next session already! Phew, that sentence made me tired.

He has been recognizing his Favorite Sign (it's an LED sign for a Sign Store ((imagine that)) that we pass on our way into Old Town) for quite a while now, recognizes and acknowledges the slide around the corner from the house (says some word that is not slide & points with a smile on his face) and says "Dada" when we pull onto the street that leads to our street SO it's not a "new" thing that he's recognizing Things in His World but it's a Thing Outside His Realm of Home and I think that is quite peachy. Cause he's my Fellow & he's quite peachy about quite a few damn things, if I do say so myself. Says his Mama ;)

Will eat cookies!

He does enjoy himself a fine Trader Joe chocolate cookie!

Is my child too healthy??

Is that possibly the silliest question you've ever heard? Hear me out though, please!

Every day I worry about Liam's weight & his food in-take. Twice last week, I had two separate moms comment on "how light" he is. And it's not that those comments make me worry more it's just that I feel "outside" people are noticing how slim he is. He's always be on the skinny side, never below 50% on those charts though and he is on the tall end so it's common sense that he's a little slight, but not underweight.

He has some picky eater issues, which apparently that apple doesn't fall far from the tree & we still have our more-on-than-off Dinner Struggles but overall when he eats, he eats. When I actually go through & list what he does eat, it's not a bad list - I think everyone might want their kid to eat more or differently so I don't think that's odd or me over-thinking the issue.

My title comes from me starting to wonder if I'm going TOO health food conscious on him & therefore creating a healthy, skinny, light Fellow. Not malnourished but actually just the opposite since all that he really gets is good for him, from the ground up type of food with the foods that are the least organic or health conscious is his cottage cheese with fruit & his fish sticks- everything else is organic or pretty near to non-processed and as close to "natural" as we can get.

My question is when does being health conscious actually work in reverse and may even be preventing him from gaining the weight I think he should be gaining?? Should I just pack him full of the artificial ingredients, the shelf-life extending preservatives, the refined sugars, processed, not found in nature "foods"? Would I not just be creating an "obese" toddler with bad eating habits (not picky eater issues) who cannot appreciate real, natural, wholesome Foods? Is it a fine line or a clear decision? Are you able to cheat a little & give the fatter foods every now & then just to pump them up or would that erase all the good works we are striving for?

I really want to give Liam the best start to his best possible life that we can give him. I strongly believe that the foods we have been preparing him & giving him are helping set those foot stones in place. He does not show a preference towards the over-processed foods over his more natural foods we serve him, so I don't think it's that he is refusing foods or participating in Dinner Struggles because he doesn't enjoy what he is eating (or not eating); honestly that's where the picky food issues jump into the fray. His food is not dull, not bland, not exciting enough as you might think some of the more healthy choices would be; I have actually come to see that the easy, fast food options are more bland and tasteless than what he is eating so I can also cross that off the list...

Should I just throw it all out the window & simply give him food that will add pudge to him or stick with our chosen path? Obviously, I feel strongly enough to stay on our chosen path but I do think I owe Liam the option for discussion...

So, please, discuss!

Camp Carolina

We are trekking to Camp Carolina tonight so I will not be around this weekend (contain your sorrow!) but I will be back on Tuesday with lots of new pictures :)

Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the Spring weather - it's going to be in the 70s in NC!

Nurse Liam

When Liam has a fever the only true way for us to get a good reading to do the good old rectal reading. He's very well behaved throughout, as opposed to when we try the "easier" oral & pit method so we just continue on with the bum-shot.

Since he's had a few fevers lately, we've taken his temperature a lot. I keep his thermometer up on a shelf above his changing table to keep it out of his reach & safely with in mine when the need arises.

Sometimes he stands up on his table (sit down! now!) & reaches for things up there - most everything he can "play" with so it's not a big deal and he knows they stay up there when we are done with changing his pants. He's learned that the thermometer is up there recently though & I learned recently that he knows how to take his own temperature!

He will actually attempt to put it in his little bum! He, thankfully, misses every time but ends up gouging his boy parts & stabbing around in that general area. And that just never seems pleasant to me, but stab away he does!

I think it's quite amusing (it's the little things that get me through the day) that he knows enough & watched us closely enough to understand how to administer the thermometer himself! I wish though that he wasn't so rough when poking around down there ;)

Growth Spurt or Hungry Hippo?

Before his nap Liam ate the following:

• 7 oz. milk
• 4 oz. yogurt (he didn't want the banana one so put it back & got the vanilla one...)
• 1 whole packet of blueberries & cream oatmeal (new food alert!!)
• 7 oz. milk
• 5 oz. cottage cheese with raspberries
• ~5 oz. . apple sauce

This was all between 8am & noon. I hope he keeps it up cause I don't mind all the eating (although I would prefer a little less apple sauce...) & I'm hoping that he will keep accepting new foods!

Our new Must Read!

When we fly with Liam, I normally pack only books & some small pocket toys since those are his most favorite things that also keep his attention the best BUT this last trip we discovered the ultimate take-away 'book' from the plane!

The in-flight 737 Safety Instruction brochure! He loved reading it - loves the water involved in the emergency water landing, the emergency slides, the water landing information, all the plane pictures - he just loved every single thing about it. So we both stole one and shoved them in our bags.

And now he has to read it every time before we go to bed. He points out all the water, all the slides, all the planes & is so very excited about it all! It's so cute to watch him unfold his brochure and point every thing out and have it rest on his tummy - he actually kicks his feet up in the air to prop the tri-fold up so he can read it better!

This is not the same one we have but I failed to find the matching one...

It's really amusing to me the things these kids pick to latch on to - he goes through these phases of his favorite things not really being toys or for babies to play with but yet there isn't anything wrong with them so we just play along. I'm sure years down the road he will be in therapy discussing how his mother & father used to read Safety Instruction manuals to him before bedtime & somehow we caused major duress to him regarding in case of emergency your seat cushion will double as a flotation device circumstances but until that time comes, I will be his favorite flight attendant!

Culling from MY issues with planes, bridges & heights, I would like to note that reading from the Safety Manual is much more humane and not as apt to cause long term damage as say yelling while crossing a draw-bridge that THE BRIDGE IS UP OH MY GOD WE HAVE TO FLOOR IT AND JUMP IT THE BRIDGE IS UP WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!! Cause, Grandpa, I'm looking at you & sending you the bill for my therapy and vertigo ;)

Fun with Water!

If we had a theme in this house it would be Fun with Water! The Fellow loves him some water; running water from the tap, water that he sees in bottles, toilets flushing, any drink (beside milk) is water (to which I explain that "yes, water does help make up that TEA but it's TEA not WATER"), watering the plants, rain, fountains...you name it, if it's wet, it's a favorite of the Fellow's.

Now, our favorite game in the house is now pouring of the water. It can be from one cup to another, from a cup to a pot/pan, from a cup into the cup holder on his highchair tray, watering plants (has his own watering can), dumping water into his duckie in the shower. If it's not being pouring, this miraculous water is cleaning something; water on his chupies, water rinsing out his yogurt/apple sauce containers, water rinsing off the dishes. You get the picture, I hope. Also, I hope you understand that we do these things multiple times a day. Every day. All day long.

Let's not forget flushing the toilet - he just likes to stand there & flush signing WATER over and over, frantically saying WATER WATER. He now says ByeByeWater when we drain the tub - which is cute, so I'll give him that one. And since Mama NEVER gets to go potty by herself, he's started tearing off some toilet paper and pushing me aside so that he can put it in the toilet & flush. I've jumped on that wagon though & when I change his diaper, I tell him I am wiping him & then let him toss his diaper into the bin & he says ByeBye to his dirty diaper - I'm hoping this makes potty training a little easier since I'm working in the ByeBye aspect of it early and he won't freak when he's peepee goes ByeBye. He's trying to get me to turn the shower on for him (if I happen to be going potty in our bathroom) so that he can play in that water. He has mastered turning on the tub water in our bathroom & throws as many things in there as possible - the big issue now is that he can reach the hot water tap & also the flow of the water so I actually have to watch him now.

This love of water though has brought us our FIRST REAL TWO WORD SENTENCE though! He now says "more water" whenever his stash is running low - which is often. I do appease him though & let him play with little containers of water and watch him dump them from one to the other because I'm amazed at his ability to do this without very minimal spillage. He's very good at it & I think that's a hard skill to accomplish, there's very little mess & I've taken to putting a kitchen towel under his "toys" so that it's easy to clean up and he's now taken to sitting & waiting for the towel or even going over to it when he wants to play Dump the Water; More Water. I also gave him this tiny mustard condiment container that he loves to fill up (please, when I say "fill up" I mean three-five dribbles, I'm not crazy) and SPRAY all over the glass doors. I do think that's better than drawing on them with his crayons though!

I'm very excited about Springs' arrival because he will LOVE that water table we got him last year! Now, he did love it last year but this year, whoa, I think the roof will be blown off his head.

And also speaking of water - I signed him up for swim lessons! We start on the 24th and go for 8 lessons every Monday & Wednesday from 5:30-6pm :) I sure hope he loves being in it as much as he loves playing with it!

Not So Desperate Housewives!

That title up there? That's the new of the Mommies Group I joined at the beginning of the new year - kind of funny, kind of what I wanted to stay away from BUT it IS a great group of women & babies & toddlers and there are TONS of activities & playgroups so although the name gives me some Wisteria Lane shivers, I'll take it!

I've been meaning to write about it for a while but haven't so since we just got home from a playgroup, I thought this might be a good time ;)

My calendar has been full up since I joined & baring any colds and fevers we have been at events almost every day! Things range from a walking group that goes to the Ghetto Mall (cause it's cold out) to at home playgroups to group events at public places. We also have Mom's Night Out (MNO) events - usually I go to the scrapbook ones (even hosted one this weekend) but I'd like to start going to the dinner ones too.

I've met a lot of nice women who have been very friendly & easy to get to know which has been good for me since most of friends are scattered across the country and meeting in Cincinnati is our only chance to get together!

Liam gets along really well with the other kids, we still need to work on our sharing/someone else is playing with that right now but that will come with practice. He likes exploring other peoples houses & toys but still gravitates towards non-toy activities like getting up on their couches, trying to get outside, looking at all their pictures & finding the computers. There were two dogs locked upstairs this morning and he really wanted to go play with them! He was eating some goldfish but also tried to eat everyone else's & was also going for all the other sippy cups that are out & about at functions like this even though he had his own goldfish in his hand & his sippy in the other hand!

What's nice about these groups is actually quite a few things...I realize this as I start to type it all out, of course! But seriously, he gets to play with toys he doesn't have himself, he interacts with other children, we get out of the house (major plus in the winter) and we don't spend a lot of money.

Thankfully this group doesn't seem to have any elitism or 'favorites' happening, which is different from the last group I was a part of - there was a lot of weirdness happening there that I wanted no part of and when I would get drawn in I would get pissed off about it & want to just keep away - that 'thinking' doesn't bode well for a playgroup mindset! I'm really glad I found this group to start hanging out with & hopefully, I will build some friendships myself.

Just a quick note on The Sickness - Liam has been well for a handful of days now & I feel like I am finally on the mend. Last night I got to rest for about an hour (whoa, stand back) and went o bed early also. I've been blowing my nose a whole lot less (went through 2 boxes in less than a week) and been able to sleep through the night without a cough drop or waking up crying because I feel like there are knives in my throat. Progress, methinks.

In Absentia Nana!

Last night Kym was over for a crop & was bringing with her an "extra" Vera Bradley bag that is the pattern Nana! uses for her purse, laptop bag & duffel bag for her to have. As you can imagine, Liam is familiar with this print since he knows it's Nana's! bags and such. What I didn't realize was to what extent he was familiar with & would recognize it as belonging to Nana!

Kym handed it to me & Liam immediately went a little flying rat poop crazy with his exclamations for his Nana! He took the bag right away & started walking around calling for her throughout the first floor & since Nana! stores her purse & laptop bag in the dining room, beyond the reaches of a Fellow and behind the protection of the gate he went straight for that area which happen to be open because I had three other ladies in there working! Much to his delight & dismay there was no Nana! but plenty of other bags for him to put his new Nana! bag into.

This then lead to an almost complete Nana-meltdown - I had to show him the Christmas album I am working on and quickly find all the pictures of Nana! before he destroyed the page protectors! THEN when that wasn't enough and bedtime was approaching and patience was fading, I had to actively search out a photo of Nana! that I promised him he could take to bed with him! He slept with that picture all night & had to bring it out of his crib with him first thing this morning.

Someone loves himself some Nana!

P.S. I had to "hide" it last night before going to bed for fear of him spying it upon coming downstairs & like a child on Christmas morning discovering that Santa might possibly still be on the premises! The last thing I need this morning is for Nana! to not be present & a Dada who is out of town again - my least favorite thing is not being able to give Liam what he wants - people being the hardest thing to conjure up, of course!

New Friend

Rach asked that I post some pictures of Liam & Nathan together from our trip to Louisnati a few weeks ago (was it really that long?) so here they are!

Liam & Nathan playing with a ball & Nathan's favorite tape measure in the office; really attempting to get some computer time!

Liam trying to give Nathan a beso but as you can clearly see Nathan is not quite comfortable with this level of affection from a boy he just met.

Nathan is much more comfortable with the manly man high five!

They spent so much time just simply chasing each other around the house - too funny to listen to both of them squealing and the pitter patter of their footie-pjammied feet scampering around every turn!

Then it was time for Nathan to give Liam the home tour so upstairs they went to explore!

Liam does, in fact, have a nose!

And, get this, he even knows where it is!

Who knew you could get so excited about their bebe toddler finally discovering his nose and actually pointing to it on demand like a trained monkey?!?!

Well, I am not ashamed to admit that I find it exhilarating & this is being proclaimed without any influence of cold medication. Although maybe that might help my exhilaration tone itself down a tad...

Not only can he correctly point out his nose but also his eyes (!), his mouth (!), his ear (!), his other ear (!!) and his hair (!) - Matias is working on eyebrowS at the moment - I submitted the request for TWO eyebrows because thankfully at the moment he does actually have two & I would like to celebrate that fact.

He knows his hands (!), foot (!), other foot (!), and belly (that's an old one so no ((!)) for you).

Stink that he is, I tried to get him to show Nana! and Grandpa this abuse of talent on the web cam the other day but the little trick monkey didn't want to perform.

Another really endearing thing he started doing this week was during one of our many readings of Goodnight Gorilla he started reading the Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight, Goodnight, goodnight page out loud to himself BUT he reads it the same way I do and of course I had to rush over to him & slather him with kisses and squeezed him until his little eyes popped out of his head.

The Sickness

I'm going to be all overly dramatic here with The Sickness because I've been watching The Tudors on Showtime & WOW does that show not rock!

The Sweating Sickness is so super peachy! And now I've got it. BAH. Liam finally started to come around from his Sickness Sunday or Monday and then I got it officially on Monday night. It's kicking my arse & it is seriously taking all of my energy to stay patient (ok, so I might have lost that battle a few times), awake, alert & energized for Liam's sake.

When he was finally well enough to venture outdoors, I was not & had to cancel some Mommies Group activities so that I didn't spread it to others - I was bummed about that because the Fellow must go out every single day & that's been very difficult to accomplish in the past week plus!

Today, I will venture to the consignment sale at the fairgrounds & then to ACMoore where my beloved Cricut cartridges are on sale & I will finally spend my gift card - I'm hoping that will appease him because since we got rain last night I don't really want him trudging around in the muck at a playground. Although tomorrow we, thankfully, have Toddlin' Time so he will be out & about for that.

I'm undecided about what is worse - being sick the same time your child is OR being sick AFTER your child and having to "deal with" their desires that are no longer hindered by The Sickness but now you are...

It surely is not helping matters either that I have been Single Parenting this house since Saturday - Matias went to CT for the weekend & didn't come home until Monday afternoon, worked out of the home yesterday, didn't arrive home until 6:30 and then out of the house this morning too. I've basically been in charge for the past 6 days & it's killing me. Add to that Liam is in a MAJOR Mama Phase right now, I would even go as far to say that I am the Favored Parent at the moment and while it is endearing, cute & fantastic it is also ear ringingly annoying to hear MAMAMAMAMAMA 50 hundred times before lunch. YES, even when accompanied but hugs & kisses but it's only because I HAVE THE SICKNESS and solely want to curl up and watch 54 more episodes of The Tudors, pleaseandthankyou.

And let us not forget that Matias is going to Philly this weekend for a CD release party & a 30th birthday party. Single Parent AGAIN!

This Sickness is leaving me VERY, VERY "woe is me, my life is so harsh, over 40,000 have died in the Kingdom since Sunday..." and it's No Fun.

Shall I tell you about the puking in bed episode from Saturday night??? Did you know that he had yogurt as "dessert" before going to bed?? Do you know that yogurt CHUNKS UP & SMELLS when horked up ALL OVER EVERYTHING IN YOUR CRIB??? And that Liam will not want to take a bath to get it all out of his hair at 10pm??? Instead he will cling to you & say "nononowater" when you are sitting on the edge of the tub drawing his bath, did you know that??? Did you know that you will even offer to get in the tub with him only to have him, thankfully, refuse that offer??? Do you know how bad you will feel that your son Snot Puked all over himself WHILE ASLEEP??? And do you know that you WOULD TOTALLY get in that tub with him to rid him of that smell and the curdled mass of dairy in his hair???

Ahhh, The Sickness, how I hate thee...I wish upon you the same fate as Lord Buckingham.

Another 18 Month Picture

Although we did order the 3 Pose Package Deal we had 89 pictures to cull from...so we have a dodo diaper full of pictures that I have to share with you :)

Here's one of my favorites that didn't make the cut but since we bought the CD of images I can play around with it on my own & print them whenever I choose to!


*do you ever have to resist the urge to go wake your sleeping child up because you just looked at a picture that makes you want to squeeze them and smother them with besos until they push you away in fear of suffocation??? Is it just me?!?!

Fueled by Snot

It seems that since Liam's fever has passed and the snot has made its appearance that he has regained his energy and some of his appetite!

It's as if he is fueled by The Snot - which is plentiful. Yesterday, while driving LeNelle to and from the doctor (she has a massive case of the flu) I had to pull over twice to save the kid from drowning in his own river. Thankfully, we have small cars (at the moment) so reaching back and wiping with the snot rag is rather easy if I'm in a locale that allows for that - stop sign, stop light - otherwise I will pull over quickly to rescue him - it can get that bad. At one point, after I wiped him, he kept calling me from the backseat, I checked his face again & it was clear and then he kept calling so when I glanced back the next time he had his hand up covered in thick, yucky, gunky snot. This was one of the times I pulled over only to find out that there was a massive splat of snot on his seatbelt - it appears that is what he was calling for me the whole time!

Then there was the cute moment when I was in somewhat ignore mode cause he was MamaMamaMama non-stop but when I finally responded he simply smiled, pointed at LeNelle and said "Nel". Only wanting to tell me that he knew he was with his friend - then of course I felt a tad bad for being in MamaMamaMama ignore mode.

He's back to playing with his toys - HURRAY! I'm thankful for this because there is only so much dropshots watching I can do, or finding what video he wants to watch, or giving him More Water (nice two word sentence there, no?) to transfer from cup to cup before I just lose my patience with him. He's been stacking & cooking & vroom-vrooming with his cars all morning & I'm so very happy to have my little Fellow back!

He didn't eat all of his breakfast but he did eat some which is more than he's been eating. Yesterday he ate a blackberry apple sauce, a yogurt & dinner - that's it. Oh, and some raisins but not the new vanilla cookies Nana! gave him. Today he ate about 1/2 his French toast, all his milk & asked for some yogurt for lunch! He's gotten into a new 'phase' where he doesn't always want to eat in his highchair but will gladly sit in a different chair - either a kitchen table chair or his chair & eat his food properly. This is not really something I would normally encourage but when it comes to getting a sick kid to eat you pretty much do anything and everything to make that happen. But it leaves me wondering if he might be ready for the booster seat...

He did wake up covered in snot, even found some crusted on the back of his neck this morning. His cuffs were covered, the front of his jammies were slathered & his face (including the underside of his chin) had to be scrubbed clean of the residue of a FULL NIGHTS' SLEEP IN HIS OWN BED! Folks, this is the first night in over a week that he has slept through the night in his own bed. Mystic even rejoiced by joining us this morning for some cuddle time! I should add that it's not that he's sleeping with us that bothers me, I actually really love the spooning I get to do with a 19 month old, I need to point out that we only have a full sized bed and that we are nice and cozy with just Matias & I in it - add a toddler and his pillow and we are cramped. There's no chance to roll over to your other side, especially when you are the Spooner & I cannot sleep in one position all night so I'm also very thankful to have had the opportunity to ROLL OVER in the night without the fear of tossing my child out of bed, waking him up, or even rolling on top of him.

Although the snot is gross & I apologize for all the Snot Talk, it's clearly a sign that Liam is feeling better & that we are on the road to recovery at Casa Nino. And I'm sure a little snot talk can be forgiven in light of the relief it produces!

No pun intended.

Chau Cars! Chau Clouds!

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What a week!

Wow, this week has been rough. And I'm not referring to our recovery factor from traveling and visiting! Liam came home with a fever that hasn't really manifested itself into a cold until today - we have some chunky coughs & some lovely thick snot now.

He's been sleeping with us cause he's been waking and not going back to sleep in a fevered fit until he is in bed with us. So that makes a week that I have not gotten a good nights' sleep - he usually doesn't sleep well the first night in a new place & we had plenty of first nights last weekend and then came his fever. Last night was the best nights sleep I got because I went to bed with him before Matias came to bed & then there was no room for him at the Inn when he came to bed so he slept on the couch leaving me the bed space along with Liam. And also when he sleeps in the same room with us (or bed) when he wakes up at the crack of dawn he thinks it's Party Time Up in Here so he's usually up at 6:30 and doesn't go back down.

Take the early rising, restless, sweaty sleeping and add on not eating very well cause he doesn't feel well & we have one hell of a cranky pants Fellow. Yesterday he actually fell back asleep at 9am when he asked to go in his crib after a dodo diaper change & I went and woke him up at 11 fearing what the rest of our day would be like - THEN he took another nap at 2pm until 4! Thankfully he woke up really rested & in a fantastic mood until he decided to push every single one of my buttons in the evening. He spent the evening with Dada until he was ready to be not so caustic with Mama, I was very thankful for that because with him being so clingy while sick, I have not had a moment of alone time at all.

This morning he woke up at 6:34am and didn't go back to sleep but I put him back in his crib just to see what he would do - Matias brought him in and then bold faced lied to me telling me that he was up with him since 6am. I called him on it and rolled over to see what time it actually was and it was only 7:15 - a whole 1/2 hour had passed & I'm thinking that maybe he had been there with him for 15 minutes TOPS. So that didn't really thrill me to say the least BUT at least I got a good sleep so I was more ok with it ;)

I thought he might have his appetite back since he was acting like himself but he didn't eat any pancakes OR banana but later did ask for some applesauce and drank all his milk. He started to show signs of being tired after his second milk dose so I took him up & we chilled out reading a little bit and then he fell flat asleep at 11am. I'm hoping he at least sleeps until 2 so that the afternoon/evening isn't Hell on Earth.

The highest his fever got was the first night at 102.4 and hovered around 101 for the duration and he did have glimpses of normality usually right after his naps but other than that he's been real demanding and whiny. Whining up a STORM. And when you combine that with my lack of sleep, it's a disaster waiting to happen. I hope we have pushed through that stage though cause I really cannot take any more of this & I just want him to feel better so we can get on with our lives! We haven't been able to do anything this whole week & we had some fun events to go to plus I'm sure he's itching to get out of the house himself! I debated just driving him around without a destination in mind but then his mood pushed that thought of random kindness directly out of my head - I might do it this afternoon though depending on his mood & general disposition!

TOMORROW!

We are off to Louisville and then onto Cincy tomorrow to meet Mr. Nathan ICE & to visit with all of our wonderful Midwest Friends Freaks!!

I am so stoked that Liam & Nathan finally get to meet & play together - how much fun is that going to be??

Then we get to go to Cincy where we will be staying with Ms. Nikki (and her lovely husband Chris) - they haven't seen Liam since the CVille shows in 06, I believe he was only 2 months old at that point!

Then we get to go and hang out with 1/2 of the DMBFreak population - Huffy, Lil' Huffy, Huff (3 different people!), Amanda, Megs, Bobbo...!

I cannot WAIT. I am so excited to get everyone together PLUS our two little boys!

But please, let's not dwell on the flight we have to take or the list of things I still have to pack which cannot be packed until tomorrow morning or that we need to be out the door by 9:30...

We'll be back Monday afternoon so I will not hold your breathe that I will back online until Tuesday at the earliest :)

This Little Piggie

Superbowl Sunday, Liam decided to eat himself out of food - he ate about 5 meals that day, ASKING for the food throughout the day. At first, we thought growth spurt but I wasn't under the impression that those lasted for 4 days...it was at that point that I decided he just wanted to EAT.

Here's a glimpse into his "old" Menu on any given day:

Breakfast ~ 4 oz. milk and either 3 mini pancakes or 1 piece of French toast slathered in butter then 1/2 a banana

Lunch ~ 4 oz. of milk and either 1 yogurt or 1 cottage cheese with fruit

PM Snack (after nap) ~ 7 oz. of milk and gerber snacks - definitely not what I would consider a Meal

Dinner ~ 4 oz. of milk and either a jar of food or one of those TV Dinner-looking things from Gerber

Now here's what his Menu looks like:

AM Pre-Breakfast Snack ~ 7 oz. of milk & 1/2 a banana (sometimes a whole one)

Breakfast ~ Pancakes or French toast & maybe the rest of the banana

Lunch ~ 7 oz. of milk and either a yogurt or cottage cheese AND an apple sauce

PM Snack ~ 5 oz. of milk & an apple sauce, or yogurt, or cottage cheese - he picks his own food out of the fridge now so it all depends on his whim. And yes, he will tell you no,no,no if he doesn't want what you have chosen for him.

Dinner ~ 7 oz. of milk plus some adult food! He's gotten really good at eating table foods (not always what we are eating cause that's not always ready...) so we've pulled back on the jarred food route & are keeping him with adult food & those Toddler Entrees that look like TV Dinners. And then usually he'll have a yogurt or an apple sauce.

He constantly has snacks at his disposal throughout the day so he's always got something to eat. And this is a big kick up from the total amount of food that he was consuming - strange too cause they say that Toddlers eat less but I'm seriously considering the fact that he heard me tell the doctor that I would like him to gain some more weight ;)

I'm very pleased with this turn of events though cause I would like my little slim jim to put some pounds on even though there's nothing to be Concerned over, I would just like him with like 2-3 more pounds on him. He only gained like 2 pounds since he last check & I just didn't feel like that was enough, you know?

He's been eating really well with his "real food" though - eating 1/2 boxes of mac & cheese, fish & chips that Matias made, chicken fingers (again) & just generally being really good about trying new foods! I'm trying to shove as much new stuff in him while he's on the this eating spree cause who knows how long it will last!

Webcam Fun

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Cute New Things; Vol. 1 Issue 6

Liam has been up to many cute & adorable things recently & although my goal was to chronicle them individually, he's been keeping Mama busy so a bullet list will have to work for now!

• He has a FellowSpeak word for his "boy parts". One day he just up & discovered his twigs & berries down below there & came up with his word, which of course is only pronouncable in FellowSpeak but it sounds/looks something like this: G'LGAH; or at least that's how Dada "spelled" it out for me. Sometimes he also uses this word for "crayon" which well, isn't too far off now is it? He's gotten quite acrobatic about his viewing angle on his changing table also, which I find to be quite adorable. I do think I could get him to do a somersault rather easily in one of his preferred positions if I just gently tipped him on over. Of course, not while on his changing table!
• After his string of colds this winter, he now allows me to successfully wipe his nose and even goes as far as coming over (hopefully before implementing his arm/sleeve into the process) says "noooo" and puts his little nose into the air for me to wipe, while he stands still. He wipes his hands & mouth after finishing a meal; not well enough to be considered clean but definitely well enough to be considered a Big Help.
• He's learning his body parts quite efficiently these days with only a tad bit of confusion on my behalf - I was under the impression that he had to know HIS OWN body parts in order to pass the Name 5 Body Parts on his 18 Month Old Midterm. I didn't realize he could be pointing out anyone's G'LGAH nose, foot, eyes...so he's been doing my facial features for a while now but we've stepped it up & can actually say some words! Mouth & nose are the most frequently attempted words in that forum but FOOT! is making a big run recently. He will show you his feet (especially while in his highchair) or just one foot on demand! He gets very proud & loves to do it with a sense of humor - very slyly & very slowly will this FOOT! appear.
• He walks around in our shoes/slippers! Doesn't that just melt everyone's heart when they see their child stumbling & bumbling around in Dada's shoes?? He gets a little confused though when he wants me to put Dada's slippers on & I already have my own on...usually resorts to taking mine off and sliding Dada's on my feet :)
• Liam has finally taken to Bedtime Stories - he was never a Book Before Bed kind of boy as we were too busy rocking him but now he takes a couple books to bed with him & reads to himself after we say our goodnights. The cute thing is making sure he has ALL the books he wants in bed with him. Must Have Books in Bed: Freight Train, Have You Seen My Cat?, Are You My Mother, Hello Spring!, & My [gay] Baby Elephant. It's really sweet to see him with his arms full of all his Must Haves & getting ready to snuggle in for the night.

Too Smart for His Own Good; The Crayons Edition

I could go on & on & on & on about Liam's new skill of whining but I won't - I need to focus on the positive, the cuteness & the ohmygodness of him for today was a tough day! Even Dada thinks he was off today without me saying it first - so you know it must have been bad.

Instead, I'd love to talk about how gosh darn cute he is with his crayons & coloring!

I have a cute little pencil box that I gave to him cause it's just exactly perfect for his need - he discovered how to unsnap it & then slide it open to get his crayons out. When he's not throwing them all over the place while madly swiping at the paper attempting to strew it all over the floor instead of table, he will calmly take one crayon out at a time & decide if he wants to use that particular one - very cute, indeed. I keep the crayons up on my desk behind something so that he cannot just grab then whenever he pleases (I tried that, it didn't work out very well) so he comes over & asks for what sounds like "colors" and he goes over to his table after I hand them to him.

Then he will always ask me to draw him a MEOW so I oblige and he proceeds to color all over it. Another very cute moment. Also, as an aside, I think it proves my drawing cannot be as bad as I think it is since an almost 19 month old (WHAT??) can recognize my rendering of a MEOW. The next time we come back to coloring he will ask to see the MEOWS and either color over them again or ask for a new one - sometimes he even hands me a crayon for me to start creating.

The coup de gras of this Too Smart for His Own Good Edition is the time Matias was coloring with him & he was all done but took off running with some of the crayons. Matias called him back & said "go give Mama your crayons & put them away" - so he came over, got his pencil box & while I held it for him he put them all away & snapped it shut! All without anyone giving him any instructions beyond "put them away".

It's amazing me on a daily basis how well he comprehends just about everything we say to him; I cannot believe how much is he progressing & learning right before my eyes. It's so fun to watch! Also, it's fascinating to just see it all click that way - and I do realize that everyone goes through this (this is sounding familiar so I've probably already mentioned this) but can I just get a collective wow when you see it happening with your child?

My Star of Wonder

My little Fellow. He loves riding his rocking horse but even more so he loves running away from me after he begs me to put him on it. He's so happy in this picture, so full of pure Joy - that is what Christmas is all about. That smile just melts my heart & makes all the bad things disappear.

Star of Wonder, Star of Light, Star of Royal Beauty Bright...

Helping with the kitties

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Liam is a really big "helper" when it comes to feeding the kitties! He loves to rush over to the pantry (the Forbidden Zone) & opens up the containers, grabs a bowl & the cup that I use to scoop their dry food and then proceeds to toss the cup full of dry food over the baby/cat gate!

This was the one time, the ONE time, he had a captive audience & he proceeded to EAT a piece of KIBBLE! Actually, he ate two. But at least he was hairball free!

Full Schedule

I joined two new Mommies Groups in the last two weeks & we have been busy just about every morning this week because of all the events that they have scheduled - it's awesome & draining at the same time. Also doesn't help that a certain someone has only napped for 1 1/2 hours each time for the past two days so the afternoons are rather long!

Here's what our week looked like:

Monday - nothing on the schedule
Tuesday - Mall Walking
Wednesday - doctor appointment
Thursday - Toddlin' Time
Friday - recheck of shot & chicken pox vaccine appt & playdate at Kym's in the PM
Saturday (tomorrow) - Nana! & Grandpa are coming into town
Sunday - Super Bowl party at our house
Monday - Rocknoceros (live music) & 18 Month Photo Shoot
Tuesday - Mall Walking
Wednesday & Thursday - nothing on the calendar
Thursday - Toddlin' Time

BUSY. It's all really good cause Liam just really likes to get out of the house & he's learning to play really well with others and that's always a good thing...

BUT...

Everything has been at a really good time for us - 10am - right after breakfast & the events are over before lunch time hits the only draw back is that we are usually rushed to get out of the house to be on time! Liam wakes up between 7:30 and 8am, he has his milk, eats his breakfast, gets dressed up (so does Mama) and then we usually have to rush out. Somewhat rushing around, somewhat frantically. Then we rush in, have some milk, have some lunch & go down for a nap. Usually that nap lasts between 2 (bad) and 3 (good) hours leaving Mama enough time to get some housework done & a little lunch, shower & rest time thrown in there BUT when he only sleeps for that short time a few of those things fall by the wayside & it seems that neither of us are rested enough for the long stretch of day that is still in front of us. We have dinner at 7pm and then usually get cleaned up & in bed at 8pm so there can been 6 hours of entertaining & running around that need to be done in those hours! And by 8:30, I'm sometimes ready for bed myself yet I have to finish up the stuff that didn't get done during the shortened naptime and maybe get some CM work done in there too.

I know there's no such thing as "catch up on your rest" as long as you call yourself Mama but there are always things on my lists that need to be done or else the house just falls apart! And I do feel much more rested when Liam takes his longer naps & much more prepared to tackle the afternoon and evening so basically all this explaining & complaining boils down to "I need Liam to take his regular length naps, pleaseandthankyou". I'm lucky that Dada works from home most days and then he clocks out at 6pm and I can send Liam downstairs to be with him but that's still only 1 hour (he gets sent back up to me for dinner) out of the 12 that I'm the Parent in Charge & that can really be exhausting - especially, when Friday finally rolls around.

So, it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm looking back over our week & thinking about how my time is spent (both doing & not doing) and thanking the blue skies above that it is Friday & that Nana! & Grandpa (The Calvary) are coming tomorrow & that I don't have to be the Parent in Charge for the 12 hours that the Fellow is gracing us with his presence....for two days at least.

Too Smart for His Own Good; The Remotes Edition

For a good long while, I've been stuffing the TV remote behind the couch cushions to hide them from my little sea otter - he likes to bash them on the hard wood floors to get the batteries out - just like a cute, adorable sea otter bashing his clams and such upon rocks.

Lately, the boy has been pulling apart the couch in search of the remotes! Foiled again! He is now typically searching for the DVD remote which holds the power to play his Elmo's Top Ten Countdown DVD. I'm going to have to come up with another spot to hide them...we have a basket that they would normally live in, on the shelf of the end table but he has learned to dig into there when his search proves futile behind the pillows.

He has gotten much better about his sea otter-esque actions but now if he finds them he just begs non-stop to have ELMO played & I just cannot live through that - I would rather have a busted up remote & dings in the floors than listen to his begging. So I would prefer to hide them on him rather than give in or have my ears start bleeding.

Where is your favorite hiding place? Keep in mind it has to be somewhat accessible & very easy for ME to get to cause I'm also lazy very, very tired from all this Fellow Mothering.

Take that!

Bottles: 0; Sippy Cups: 4

I've packed all the bottles & nipples up and he hasn't even asked or looked for them ONCE.

I say Operation: Get Rid of that Bottle is a major success.

Now, that's what I'm talking about

Bottles: 0; Sippy Cups: 5