18 month update

Liam turned 18 months old on November 5th, but we have been a little crazy since then. He didn't get his shots as scheduled because he had a fever the day before. I'm glad Treston, and I decided against it because he ended up getting a really high fever the next day. We still had our exam, and Liam is doing great! He is still a tall, and lanky boy with a big head. Dr. Clarke said it is because he just has a big brain, and hopefully he will do big things with it. I think he already does :) Here is what's new with you...

- You talk SO much, and we love it. Ever since the waiter at Juarez told you, "You're welcome" we have been paying extra careful attention to your words. He totally noticed you were saying thank you so we knew we weren't just making it up. We have also heard you say Yes, please, Melmo (Elmo), wawa, yeah, bath, Gia, Stasia, Josh, Jesus, no (usually you say it in this super cute voice, unless you are upset), Grandpa, chicken, kitty, fish, choo choo, bus, thank you. Daddy, Mommy, brush teeth and so many more. You even know when to use most of the words. 
- You have discovered that our friends live across the street. Anytime we are outside, and their garage is up you run over to see the Maynards. You even try to call Easton by his name which is super cute. Y'all love to run around with each other. 
- You love being outside, and playing at the park. You can even climb all over the stairs and equipment. Daddy, and I still stay close since we are nervous. One day you ran all the way to the park since you have memorized the way! Nana had to chase you, and then she let you play.
- You are so interested in everything around you, and want to help with anything you can. We love teaching you new things, and seeing what you can help with. You drag the laundry basket to the laundry room, sort clothes, and help me load the washing machine. You put dishes in the sink when we ask you to. For a while you were throwing toys in there, and in the trash too. You finally figured out you didn't want them to be in there. 
- You are eating more of a variety, and really like my lasagna, and spinach ravioli. You have also upgraded from avocado to guacamole. Your favorites right now are cheddar bunnies, and grapes.
- You have slept through the night for a few nights, and we are working on weaning. You seem to be handling everything fine, but we are getting tired. I know you will figure it out again, and I think it is because you are getting SO many teeth right now.

 You are such a sweet, busy, curious, loving, smart, funny, and adventurous little boy. Daddy, and I are amazed by you everyday. We thank God that he blessed us with you, and we try so hard to do what is best for you. I've started to see a counselor to help me be a better mommy, and person. I get really anxious about things, and I don't want to be that way. We are all doing much better since I'm learning to relax, and trust God. Tomorrow we are going to a specialist to check out your foot since it seems to bend a little different, and we want to see if there is anything we need to do.

 Here are some pictures...

Pumpkin Patch Pictures for the 2nd year at St. Christopher's

Daddy took of work so we could have a family fun day.We ended up taking you to the doctor the next day, and you were sick with sores in your mouth.

You were finally feeling better by Halloween so we turned your train into a wagon, and you dressed up like a conductor!

You run all the time, but I was able to catch this picture of you on the day you turned 18 months old.

Liam's Home Dedication

We had Liam's Dedication this past Sunday at Tallowood. It was such an amazing day! I stood next to my husband, holding my precious son, and we worshiped together. I was overwhelemed with happiness as Liam danced on my hip, and we were the ones standing before the church to say we will raise our son to know the Lord. It was so neat to be a woman participating in the dedication, when I use to be a teenager watching the dedications. It was also amazing because we had so many people come to support us, and Liam's friend Molly (my best friend from Tallowood's daughter) was dedicated too! If Molly, and Liam do get married I think it will be so neat that they can say they were dedicated on the same day. The day could not have been more perfect, and we are so blessed to have so many people who love, and support us. We were even on time to the service since Treston thought it was at 10:15 instead of 11:15. He was rushing me all morning, and I didn't know why. It ended up being great, and funny which was a wonderful start to the day. Treston's mom gave us a beautiful cross as a reminder of our day, and we are excited to add it to our collection. Here are a few pictures from the day. 

14 Month update (per Mamma Mitchell's request) July 5th

(9-18 I started this two months ago, and couldn't figure out how to get to it. Thank you Lauren for helping me get it!)


I got to visit my neighbors/baby group friend, and their July 4th baby today. It was at the same hospital where Liam was born, and it brought back so many memories. I can't believe how much has changed in these past 14 months. It seems like after you make it to the 1 year mark everything goes by so fast. Here are a few things Liam does now...

1. You walk with out assistance all over the place, and of course started RUNNING today. I'm a nervous wreck, but you couldn't be happier.

2. You crawl! You walked first, but I'm still glad you figured it out. 

3. You sign please when you want something (most of the time you use the milk sign with both hands, but you mean please, and when you want milk you just do one hand). You occasionally doing it the right way, and we help you every time you do it your way.

4. You are super strong, and love to carry things all over the house. It's usually toys, boxes, or my shoes.

5. Here are some new things you say: this, yes, up, get that, keys (geys). We think you say please, but it's not that clear yet. Gammi/Nana says she heard you say Josh, shoes, and Jesus.

6. You love fruit and most vegetables, but you are on a strike from meat. Sometimes I can get you to eat it if I hide it in bread, or a tortilla.

7. You love to play the guitar, and you do such a good job of being gentle with it. You know Dada hides it in our closet so you always try to get in there. When we go to the Brown's you head straight for their guitars, and most of the time Mr. Brown, Ben, Kinsey, Trey, Dada, or Uncle Josh will play for you. Mrs. Brown holds it, and lets you play. 

8. You love making friends everywhere we go, and you have started to be interested in kids. We are starting to have more friends come over since you enjoy playing with them. 

9. You are keeping Dada busy childproofing the house. He got you a fenced in play area, and we all three play in it at night. You have had two head injuries since walking, and had to get your head glued today from hitting it on the corner of the cabinet. We were very glad you didn't need stitches, or staples! 

10. You absolutely love to dance, and will dance to anything that has a beat! 

I'm sure there are things I'm missing, but I figured it's time a picture so here you go! 

Sporting our Baylor colors for Max (Liam had a Baylor shirt, but we had already changed him into his pjs)

"My Dada ball."

I've been so caught up in day to day life, running errands, organizing, cleaning, cooking, chasing, playing,  and sleeping (or lack of) that I lost sight of the amazing privileged I have. I get to enjoy my son grow up, and be there for almost everything. I'm more focused on enjoying him, or day, and making the best of each moment. It's perfect timing since Liam said his first sentence today! He has been saying lots of words, and babbling, but he said a whole 3 word sentence today. 
We were in the car, and I was talking about how we were going to do when we got home. He then said, "My Dad ball." I almost cried, and called Treston immediately to tell him. Liam is growing up so fast, and is doing so many new things everyday. I know I haven't updated in a while, and I need to add pictures. I will get on that as soon as possible. I'll leave you with a wonderful post I got on Facebook today. It was from Momma Mitchell who we love dearly!

Here it is...

Today, Liam was passing by the bookshop in the bye-bye buggy and I said Hi Liam. He looked in the door and waved big time. We went out and chatted with the kids. The kiddo next to him got upset and he patted him on the shoulder. It was so sweet.

 

Updates

I finally have the chance to show what I got from the red paint mess. It was even better than I could have imagined!

We have done a lot this month, and have been enjoying every minute. Krystal graduated from UH, Josh turned 26, and we had a great time celebrating our Mothers on Mother's Day.

 Liam is learning more and more each day. He takes more unassisted steps, and loves walking back and forth from one loved one to another. He tried to turn around on his own Friday (5/25), and finally crawled Saturday (5/26). He is now obsessed with balloons and tries to get everyone he sees. He walks around the house holding someones finger in one hand, and his birthday balloon in the other. He has the most amazing laugh, and laughs whenever we do. He is full of energy, and has such a fun personality. He has turned into a bit of a picky eater, and throws whatever food he doesn't want on the floor. I'm hoping the throwing stage will pass soon. We thinks it's because he has learned to throw, and wants to practice since he throws his toys all day. He laughs when we go to collect them. He also loves kicking his toys and chasing them around. His most recent accomplishment is learning to wave bye bye (5/28), and it's super cute. 

Happy night before Mother's Day to me! (Funny, but gross)

Last year I got to celebrate Mother's Day as a mother of a three day old. We weren't expecting Liam to be born early so it was a special treat. I'm looking forward to my first expected Mother's day, but had to share this funny story about tonight. 

My husband is a very smart man. Those of you who know him tell me that all the time. Sometimes I get annoyed at how smart he is, because he is pretty much great at everything. I am so glad to say that with becoming a father there are things he doesn't not know, and it is so fun to see him learn. It also makes for lots of laughs, and me having the chance to be the smart one! 

When we got home from our eventful Saturday (Krystal's graduation lunch, and Kenzie's 4th B-day party) Treston took Liam, and told me not to go into our bedroom. I assumed they were doing something Mother's day related, and was excited for the chance to clean up our morning mess. I was done, and took the opportunity to use the bathroom alone. At that moment Treston came out of the room holding Liam, and saying he needed help. I look over to see Liam covered in red paint, and Treston looking flustered. I couldn't help but laugh. Treston was worried about more paint getting everywhere so I told him to put Liam in the tub fully dressed so the paint would at least only be in the tub. We both worked to get the paint soaked wet onsie, and diaper off of Liam who was enjoying splashing around. We soon realized that he had pooped since we had it all over the tub on top of the red paint everywhere! 

Treston, and I don't work well on little sleep, and stressful situations. We get better with each lesson. I'm sure there was a smarter way to handle all of it, but we did the best we could.I really wish I had taken a picture of the plea for help, but there was no time for that.  Liam got the paint, and poop off of him. Treston cleaned himself up, and feels more comfortable since the paint is non-toxic. I had a good laugh after all of the chaos, and I can't wait to show you what they were busy making once I get it tomorrow. I hope the story made you laugh, or remember a funny moment like that in your life. It might have just been one of those you had to be there stories. Either way, Happy Mother's Day!

Liam's First Birthday!

I can't believe my little man is 1! He had a great party thanks to everyone who came to celebrate. It took a lot of planning, and help from my parents, brother, and Krystal, but we pulled it off. Treston did a great job of keeping Liam happy, and well rested for his party. On the day of I was a totally mess since Liam barely slept the night before, and I was very emotional about him turning 1. Krystal became the brains of the operation, and did an awesome job getting all of us to set up the party just in time.

In this year we have had so many people support us, love us, and encourage us. It was nice to get to spend the day with most of those people. We are truly blessed with having amazing people in our lives. There is no doubt that Liam is loved, and we are fully supported by all of you. The day was perfect, and Liam was so happy though the whole thing. Thank you again to everyone who came out, and for those of you who have supported us!

 I had been so busy trying to get ready for Liam's party, and felt like I needed to be spending more time with him before his party. It was as if he knew that because on Wed he was so tired that he took a nap on me while he was sitting up! He hadn't napped on me in months, and it was just what I needed.

 I feel like a lot has changed since last month, but it has been little things. I just see so much more of his personality, and see how aware of things he really is. Here are some of the fun things he can do...
- He took his first unassisted step the day of his first swim lesson, and has taken a few more since then.  
- He acts like he is going to crawl, and can get up in the right position
- He loves to kick things
- He thinks fake sneezing is hilarious, and will walk around randomly doing it
- He realizes if there is a loud enough noise the alarm lights go off, and he loves that
- He points to what he wants which is super cute, and much better than the grunting he was doing
- If you ask him how big he is he will sit tall with his arms up to show you "so big" 
- He signed please
- He wants to eat everything we eat 
- He will sit after standing to pick up toys
- He decided on his 1st Birthday that he is big enough to walk around while only holding one of our hands

Liam's first zoo trip, and updates

A lot has happened since my last post... We ended up going to the zoo on Sunday. It was a short visit, but we had a lot of fun. I have had a few friends ask me to go to the zoo with them, but Treston wanted to be the first one to take Liam. A lot of the animals were out since it was such a pretty day, and not too hot. Liam was more interested in the people, and seeing what they were up to. We even made friends with a family at the giraffe exhibit. We took a picture for them, and they took a picture for us. Six years ago Treston and I went to the zoo for the first time and took this picture.

We had to get one of the family, and it was near the same spot. I think it's funny that I have short hair in both pictures since I was growing my hair out in 2006, and didn't cut it short until now. 

To catch you up I am no longer gluten free, we attended Wolffest at UH to support my brother, took family pictures, and swim lessons were great this past Saturday. I'll elaborate on each of those topics soon. I've got to get my rest for bible study tomorrow. I'll leave you with my favorite zoo pictures.

I love elephants, and was so excited to see this one swimming as soon as we got there

They were not as excited

Checking out the fish

Swim Lessons

We went to Liam's first swim lesson today which is more about getting them comfortable in the water. One of our neighbors invited us, and I'm so glad she did. There were actually 4 families from our neighborhood there! Liam loves bath time, and splashes so much that our whole bathroom gets wet. I figured he would love the pool, but he took a while to get comfortable. Treston was there to take pictures, but I'm thinking he will get in the next three lessons. We were late (of course) so we didn't get the time to get use to the pool. He clung on to me so most of the time I just sang the songs while he looked around worried. Just as Liam was getting comfortable the teacher had us sit them on the wall to do Humpty Dumpty. There wasn't enough room for the whole class so she tried to get us to a better wall in a deeper area. As you all know I'm a shorty so I was struggling to keep Liam, and myself above water. Liam ended up going under as I was trying to get us back on the other side. He of course was crying the rest of the time, but no one seemed to be bothered by it. He calmed down, and even splashed a little. At the end they had us lay them on their backs with their head on our shoulder. Liam cooperated, but I'm pretty sure it's just because he loves looking at ceilings. We survived, and will be on time and better prepared next week. Here are a few pictures...

As you can see I'm wearing a shirt over my bikini. Since we have our own pool I don't mind wearing a bikini, but I totally need to get an appropriate "mom" bathing suit. If you have any suggestions on where to get one please let me know!

Easter 2012

We had a very busy day on Liam's first Easter. We went to Treston's Aunt's house and celebrated with his side of the family. Liam and his cousin (Treston's cousin's son) had matching outfits. They looked super cute! 

Then we headed home, and Liam finally took a nap (in the car). My parent's, Josh, and Krystal came over for dinner. We had a lot of fun walking Liam around outside, and Uncle Josh dipped Liam's feet in the pool. 

We took a few group pictures.

Everyone hid an egg for Liam to find. Since he doesn't walk, or crawl each person helped him walk to their egg. Liam really enjoyed finding them, and picked each one up. 

It was time to give Liam his Easter basket. Each family member picked out something to add to the basket. Liam dumped everything out as soon as I put the basket next to him!

It was an exhausting, but wonderful day. I need to give a big thanks to Claire who made Liam's adorable monogrammed outfit! As most of you know I'm obsessed with initials, and would put them on everything if I could. I couldn't wait to get him in that outfit, and take pictures. I hope you, and your family had a wonderful Easter, and that you discussed why we really celebrate. I told Liam, and can't wait for him to really understand.

11 Months Old

It is so hard to believe that Liam is 11 months old. Wasn't he just born? We had a very eventful day which started with a trip to the library with our sweet neighbors. Liam enjoyed the singing, story, and seeing his friends. 

Liam watching Ty

We played while they picked out books. Liam showed off some of the new skills he learned this month.

 We headed home for a nap, and when that was over it was time to play with the Maradiago family. Liam loves them which makes my heart happy. We may not live very close, but our families have a very special bond.

Liam has learned so much in the past month...
1. Stands unassisted for a few seconds
2. Drinks out of a straw
3. Feeds himself out of the food pouches
4. He still says Mama, Dada, NaNa, BaBa(Bubba), but it's a lot more often. He was cooing at Megan today which is so cute!
5. Signs Eat
6. Makes us hold his arms and walk him everywhere. 
7. Sticks out his tongue (sometimes on cue)
8. Gives kisses
9. He also makes a super cute face that we call his "cheese" face. He makes it at you when you least expect it. I caught it tonight.

Each month is crazy, and exciting. He has such a fun personality, and we are learning to work together much better. We are still doing a gluten free diet, and trying to test out dairy. He isn't crawling yet, but will scoot backwards, and rolls all around to get where he wants to go. The pediatrician said some babies never crawl, or crawl after they walk. He then told Liam to crawl by the time he is 1 so I'll stop worrying. Liam loves to play with other kids, read books, be/look outside, play peek a boo, dance, take a bath, cuddle, and so many other things. I can't wait to see what we learn this month!