Dear Santa

Dear Santa,
This year, I have been a very good boy. I have learned how to dress myself, I am potty trained, I help put away the dishes and clean up my toys, I have tried many different fruits and vegetables and discovered that not all of them are bad. Sometimes I don't like to listen when I am spoken to, but I am confident I will outgrow that. So, for this year, Santa, I would like:
Buzz
Woody
Jessie
Bullseye
Rex
Ham
Slinky the dog
Mr. Potato Head and
Hammers
I politely ask that you leave all presents outside the front door as I am still petrified of you. One day, I do hope to sit on your lap and tell you in person what I would like, but you may need to cut off that beard.

Sincerely yours,
Liam Orion Luke aka WOODY


This is why you cannot come inside. At lunch with you this year, I couldn't even look at you. When at the mall, I made sure to stay clear of the hall you sit in.

I consider this a safe distance. Please do not come any closer. The front door is fine--I will even leave you some cookies.

Worry

Liam: "Let's watch the whole DVD so we don't have time to take a bath tonight."

Daddy: "We're not taking a bath tonight no matter what. You'll take a bath tomorrow night."

Liam: "But I worry. I'm worried we'll watch the whole DVD and take a bath. I worry."

Steve

Full

Mommy: "eat one more piece of squash."

Liam: "I already drank milk and ate three green beans. My tummy is FUUUULL!"

Daddy: "Oh, well I thought you were going to have a piece of candy after dinner, but I guess you can't since you're full."

Liam: "Well, I'm just a little bit full."

Steve

We had a terrific Thanksgiving weekend as Liam (aka Woody), Daddy (aka Buzz) and Mommy (aka Jessie).  Liam is always energized being around family and this weekend was no exception.  His schedule shifted quite a bit later, sometimes not going to sleep until midnight!  But he went to bed around 8:30 tonight, so I think we're getting back to normal already.

Dr Seuss

While reading Green Eggs and Ham to Liam, he turns to me and says:

"You're funny with this book Daddy."

Steve

Entertaining Day

Liam had a very busy day Saturday. In the morning, he and I went to our weekly music class together where we pretended to make cookies, played with a slide whistle and danced around. Liam always enjoys this class and looks forward to it every week.

After coming home for a little lunch, Annika took Liam to the mall where he gave his Build-A-Bear a "bath" at the store, picked up Toy Story 3 and played at the mall playground.

When they got home, we got ready and Liam and I went to see the Wiggles in concert with our neighbors. Liam is a huge fan of the wiggles - we listen to them non-stop on every car ride, watch the DVDs, and sing two Wiggles songs each night before bed. This is a picture of Liam when the Wiggles first got onstage tonight:

He was smiling, bouncing, singing and dancing through the entire show and had a terrific time. I was very impressed with how sincere the Wiggles themselves are. They walked through the entire audience and collected cards, flowers etc. from the kids and took the time to read every single sign out loud. In my opinion, they put on a great show with a mix of greatest hits, improv, acrobatics and audience participation. When talking about the show tonight, Liam seemed to be most impressed with when they sang Twinkle Star with the lights off and everyone's cell phones on as the "stars." I think I was most impressed when the 57 year-old Jeff Wiggle did a slow-motion head-stand while singing a song.

But wait... there's more! When we got home, after listening to yet more Wiggles in the car, we all watched Toy Story 3 while eating dinner. We reminded him that he could ask to skip any parts that were scary, but Liam watched it all the way through despite some darker scenes. One of the parts that seemed to trouble him most was when Woody loses his hat :)

As we put him to bed, we reviewed the day with him and covered all of these things. At this point, we said that was it, but he said "no! I also jumped on the bed four times." So I would be remiss not to mention that here too, for the record.

Happy Halloween!

We are long overdue for some picture posts. I just dowloaded some pics from my camera and realized that I am WAY behind. For now, let's be timely and just say Happy Halloween!


Liam LOVED being Woody! He debated between Woody and Buzz until only Woody was left at the Disney store--decision made!


His Bear, Pickled Saudsa (story to come later) also dresses like the Sheriff.


Liam was invited to the annual Mommies group Halloween party--funny how toddlers won't sit on a couch for a picture any longer. We were successful with Liam and Addy and the newborns, but all others didn't want to participate.


Woody shows Belle some dance moves


Thing 1 and Woody collide!


Woody and Jessie at Jessie's work party




Woody's parties took place on Friday--I am not sure when Woody will go back to being Liam. He wore the costume throughout most of the weekend.


Trick or Treat buddies.


Ran into some fellow Disney pals!


His loot--neighbors here are very generous. If they don't give you a handful of candy, you get a whole candy bar!

Getting a Cavity Filled

Liam had a cavity filled today at the dentist.  Annika and I were both worried that this would be a disastrous event that would traumatize Liam forever, but it turned out quite well.  We both took the time off and held his hands throughout. 

Before going to the dentist, I started trying to make it seem fun by saying they would give him a "pig nose" (the cup they place over his nose to deliver the nitrous "laughing" gas).  He got on board with that idea and was not upset by it at all.  We joked with the dentist about putting on the pig nose and he was relaxed.  About 10 minutes into the procedure, the dentist said "You're doing great Liam!  How do you feel?" to which Liam simply responded "Oink."

Annika and I sang songs to him as the procedure wore on and he started getting a bit restless and that seemed to do the trick for the remainder of the procedure.  In the end, there were no tears and Liam even said "thank you" to the dentist for fixing his tooth. 

I am really impressed with his ability to handle this and his great sense of humor ("Oink!").

Steve

By The Numbers

Liam wanted to jump on the bed before brushing his teeth so I asked him how many times he wanted to jump. He said five. When he jumped once, I said "that's one!" and he said "no, that's zero." His next jump was "one" and so on. It was so crafty that I went with it and let him do 6 jumps.

As a reward for potty training, Annika said she'd let him do something "four times... no, I'll let you do 5!" And Liam replied, with so much enthusiasm that from an adult it would sound sarcastic: "WOW, FIVE!?!? THAT'S AMAZING!!! WOAH! Five!"

Just before we sing him songs and leave his room for the night we talk about his day. As a stalling tactic, he says we're "almost done" (i.e. not quite done yet) when we start to sing. So, we ask him what he wants to add. Sometimes we say "OK, you tell us 4 more things about your day." We get some funny responses.
One was: "1, 2, 3, 4."
Another was: "Wiggles!" (We said "OK, that's one" and he said "No, that's two!" as if to say "the Wiggles are so great, just saying their name takes up two slots.")

Filling up

Liam got a loaner cozy coupe today and really enjoys it. The only
drawback is the terrible gas mileage it gets. Liam got out, filled it
with gas, got back in, buckled up, and drove a few inches when it
would run out of gas again! He filled up 5 times between the curb in
the background and where he is in this picture!

Steve

Why?

We are definitely in the phase of "why?"

There is no limit to the "why" sequence. We fairly quickly reach the
point where we really just don't know the answer. Tonight, after a set
of answers involving lactose and lactase, I eventually said "because
magic." :)

Earlier this evening I turned the game on him and continually asked
him why. He got a good laugh out of it as did I. His end-game solution
was "I don't know," so I figure that's a fair answer for me to end
with too. Although sometimes he retorts "you do know."

Another good technique Liam has when I "why" him is to get circular
and ditch causality. An example from last night: "why did he fall
down?" "Because he bumped his head." I'm waiting for a good
opportunity to use that technique.

Sometimes his questions really make me think and are inadvertently
deep. And while I contemplate an answer and start rethinking
everything I once took for granted, he says "I have something on my
finger."

Steve

Portland Summer 2010

Here are some (very overdue) pictures from our trip to Portland. It was great to see the family out west--they were all so so good to us. Steve and I even got to have some grown-up time together because there are so many Aunties and cousins to entertain and amuse the little guy.

The group of second cousins from L to R: Macklin, Greyson, Camilla, Carson and his little brother Preston, and Liam


Greyson and Liam--they visited the children's museum in Portland together.


Camilla knows how to smile--not sure what Liam is doing :)

The next few pictures are from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI--pronounced am-zee--don't try to spell it out and say O-M-S-I, you will be laughed at!)







Visiting my Mom's bench at the Portland Audubon Society

Switching beds

Steve: "You're gonna sleep in your crib all night tonight right?"

Liam: "No. First I say 'Mommy! Mommy!' Then you come get me and I
sleep in your bed."

So it was all a ploy last night eh?

Steve

Dessert math

Annika: "You can have one cookie or some ice cream but not both. So
you have to choose."

Liam: "No. I can have half of a cookie and a little bit of ice cream."

Steve

Just because

I have been bad about posting, so here are some pictures that I thought were cute, but never got around to blogging about.


Trying on mommy's shoes


Working on potty-training. He is sporting some very cool Buzz and Woody undies.




Fun with play-doh


He actually looks light here...looks can be deceiving.

Soon to come--trip to Portland pics.

First day of school

During the summer, Liam has been going to camp at his school, but today was the first official start to the school year. While he has yet to show enthusiasm to go to class, he always seems happy to be there when I pick him up. Here are some pics from this morning. Do you think they teach kids how to smile at a Montessori school?

Japanese

Liam's new teacher is Japanese so I told him he should say "Ohio" whe
he sees her. He said "I can't say that." I said "why"? He said "I
can't speak Japanese."

Steve

Wisdom

While watching the intro to a Wiggles DVD I ask if he'd like me to
skip it. Liam calmly and cheerfully replies "no, it will come."

I guess I need to be a little more zen.

Steve

Gary

Liam was carrying a stuffed Bambi toy and I asked him who it was (I
told him it was Bambi yesterday).

Liam: "Its Gary."

Me: "What!? Gary?! I thought that was Bambi. Who's Gary?"

Liam: "He's another deer."

Steve

Busing dishes

Me: "I don't think you can carry your cup into the kitchen"

Liam: "Yes I can, it's not heavy, it's light."

Me: "Well I know you can pick it up but I don't think you can take it
all the way to the kitchen."

Liam: "Yeah I can. I pick it up and give it to Mommy."

I did eventually succeed in getting him to take his own two cups into
the kitchen :)

Steve

Encouraging the plane

While taxiing to the runway to take off, Liam said "come on plane, you
can do it!"

Steve

Portland with Grayson

At the Portland children's museum with second cousin Grayson (3 in
October). They are brushing a crocodile's teeth.

We're all having a great time visiting, seeing the sights and museums
and relaxing.

Steve

Trip home

We visited Sperryvile, VA today. It is now 9:30 and we are 1 hour
into our drive back home. We are also 1 hour into a Liam monolouge.
We have learned the following:

When Liam wants to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed, he coughs (insert
fake cough) and then he can sleep with mommy and daddy. Also, in the
morning, he will go downstairs and watch the wiggles and then he will
feel better.

When he plays bubbles with our neighbor friend, Liam gets three turns
and the other boy only gets one.

When Liam gets bigger, he plans to take mommy and daddy to school,
drop them off and then pick them up after he goes to work to pay money.

When he goes to school, he asks his teacher if his name is Jose. His
teacher says "no, it's Mr. Jose."

Steve

Puzzler

Liam enjoys puzzles so today we bought him this tricky one. The puzzle
is "lenticular" which means it looks different depending on the angle
at which you view it. Also, the image on the box is clearly different
from the image on the puzzle: for one, there is no Donald Duck on the
box! Quite challenging for a 2 yr old or even the recommended 3 yr old
Disney!

Steve

Laps

54 feet per lap times 50 laps running around the inside of our house
equals a little over half a mile Liam and I just ran inside our
house :) And it all started with "let's run around the house three
times."

Steve

Skip Stack

Skipping through the stacks at the local library.

Slow Slide

Slowest slide ride ever! Fortunately, the kids behind him were pretty patient.

Rock Star

Liam has picked up some rockin' moves!

Love

Out of the blue tonight Liam cuddled up to me and said "I love you."
he also told me we are "best friends." It was very sweet.

Now it's here on the record so I can remind him when he's a
teenager :)

Steve

Can't try

"Do you sing the clean up song at school?"

"Sometimes... Not a lot... Just a little bit."

...

"I not getting tired! I can't go to sleep."

"that's ok, but lie down and Close your eyes."

"I can't close my eyes."

"Try."

"I can't try... I can't do anything."

...

It's really hard to get someone to sleep while you're both laughing.

Steve

Catch

After telling me it was my turn on the slide, Liam went to the bottom
and said "I catch you!"

I went very slowly down :)

Steve

Mustache

"Its a big one. Mustache!"

Who taught him what a mustache is?!

Steve

Gym

Since it's raining today, I told Liam he'd probably play in the gym at
school today. I asked "can you say gym"?

Liam thought for a second and said "I can't say gym."

Steve

How's your day?

Each night at dinner Annie and I ask each other "how was your day."

Tonight, for the first time Liam turned to me and asked "How's your
day?" And I said it was great thanks very much for asking. I was so
surprised that he decided to join in on the little ritual.

Then I asked "did you ask mommy?" So he turns to Annie and says "how's
Daddy's day?" :)

Steve

Bedtime talking

Some quotes from Liam tonight while talking about his day before
bedtime:

Mommy not go bye-bye anymore? Mommy go bye-bye three times: 1, 2, 3,
4, 5.

...

Liam woke up. Mommy came up. Give Liam books. Liam said "mommy mommy
mommy!" Liam not take a nap. Go downstairs, had applejuice.

(we crack up laughing)

Mommy's funny, Daddy's funny, Liam's funny.

...

Liam has Liam's Mommy. Liam's Mommy named Annika. Liam not have Addy's
Daddy, Liam has Liam's Daddy.

...

Liam not wearing sandals. Liam's right foot got stuck in a shoe. This
is the left foot (pats his left foot). This is the right foot (pats
right foot).

...

We went to Old Mcdonald's. Liam had French fries and a hamburger.
Uncle Muck came. Said "hi Uncle Muck!" Not Bobo. Uncle Muck go bye-bye.

There was so much more but I couldn't remember it. He was very
talkative tonight.

Steve

Summer Begins!

Liam had a busy Memorial Day weekend. We drove down to southern Virginia to visit my college roommate and her family including her two sons, Marc and Luc. Marc is a year and half older and Liam was very impressed with his cartwheels and acrobatics. Luc is a year and a half younger and Liam seemed interested in his doings, even though they were not nearly as active, as well.


Liam inspects Luc to make sure everything is ship shape


Up close shot of some very impressive face painting done at an art fair and some very impressive thumb sucking.


Word!

The next American Idol?

Recently, Liam started singing songs as a way to pass the time. Many times, I will hear him in the back seat practicing his ABC's or while I am making breakfast I will hear Twinkle Star. These videos show only a taste of what we see on a day to day basis. Many times, when he knows a camera is watching, he is not willing to perform.


Aerobic ABC's by Liam


Apples and Bananas

You need to do a twist!

Daddy: (singing) "Come on everybody let's do the twist"
Liam: (singing) "Come on everybody you need to do a twist!"

Steve

Meeting Barney

Sometimes meeting your favorite character...

Isn't as fun as you think it would be.

Don't worry Hit Entertainment, he's watching a Barney DVD now and saying "I like Barney"!

4 Steps

Step 1: Daddy pulls Liam in the wagon
Step 2: Daddy pulls the wagon and Liam walks
Step 3: Liam pulls the wagon and Daddy walks
Step 4: Liam pulls Daddy in the wagon

Steve

Play house

Now we just need to re-do the patio and put some crash pads around the
house :)

Steve

Growing up

Besides the lack of hair, Liam is growing by leaps and bounds. He has developed a sense of humor and seems to purposefully try to make us laugh. In the above picture, he thought it would be funny to put all the puzzle pieces in a big circle. He plays the "Hi" game which goes like this:
Liam: "Hi, Mommy"
Mommy: "Hi, Liam"
Liam: "Hi, Grover" (*Smirk)
Mommy: "WHAT? Hi, Elmo"
Liam: "Hi, Ernie"
Mommy: "Hi, Swing"
Liam: "Hi, Slide"
...
We took him to the Children's museum in Baltimore the other day. He is still a little young, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.


Making a big bubble with Mommy


Exiting a giant obstacle course with Daddy


Leaving a toy market