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!

2 Already!

Another year! Really! You are 2! People call this the "terrible two's" but I like to think of it as the independent and knowing what you want stage. You love to "help" mommy and daddy. One of your favorite phrases is "Liam do it."

You are growing by leaps and bounds. The doctor puts you in the 90% tile for height, 75% for weight, and your head is in the 95% tile--you've got big brains. Most people who meet you would believe that. You know all your letters, most of your colors and the other day you counted to 20 and I am not even sure who taught you that.

If I had to predict what you are going to be when you grow up, I would say an engineer (because you seem to like to find out how things work and also, let's face it, it is in your DNA) or a housekeeper. You do not like disorder. One way to get you to stop crying is to tell you that you are making a mess.

You really seemed to enjoy your second birthday party. The music teacher that came to the house was a huge hit and you relished the the explosion of sesame street that was represented in everything from the cake to the giant balloons. You are a fun, curious, gentle little boy. It is a treat to be your mother.


This was more of a project than I would have thought. My hands were a red and black mess after this endeavor.

Dancing to Hanta

Liam doesn't understand that Christmas is over--He loves to dance to this song and requests it at least once a day. Especially fun to note in this video is the outfit he picked out for himself. I can never get him to wear a hat when we go outside, but this day, he didn't want to take it off.

Hanta's Little Helper

Liam calls Santa "Hanta" and really enjoying decorating what he calls the "Hanta tree." While wrapping presents, Annika told him who would get each one. Here he is, practicing to be Hanta's little helper

Go, Go, Go baby Go!

We made up some fun songs for Liam tonight.  I think he enjoyed them :)

We're trying to upload some video of him talking from a while ago... Technical difficulties are delaying that, but we'll get it up here someday!

Starting to read

Liam is on the cusp of being able to read. I noticed him reading some words in a book several weeks ago, but I think he's starting to sound things out now.

We had a fun time at IKEA today looking at things to make our basement more fun. They have a pretty cool slide. Beautiful weather today, so we're off on a walk!

Here's the Sesame Street song that made B Liam's favorite letter of all time!

Opening Doors

We'll have to make sure he doesn't just walk out one day!

Dancing with Ernie

On a trip to find a good toy airplane for Liam, we found out that the toy store can be quite a party! Sadly, we did not find a suitable toy plane.

Liam and I had a terrific weekend while Annika was out of town. I think my favorite parts were our walks to and from the local park talking about fall, walking in the grass and playing the stop-go game (or as Liam says: "Bop, doe").

Pivotal Moments

Liam enjoys a bubble bath by putting the bubbles all over his head

Liam comes to the rescue of his friend before she is cooked by the witch.  One of a few such scenes at a local farm where we got a pumpkin and some expensive apples.

About a week ago, Liam started putting words together in two-word phrases.  The phrases take the form "no kitty" or "bye-bye daddy."  The leading word in these phrases is called a pivot word - it can be used in many contexts preceded or followed by an open word (e.g. bye-bye daddy, bye-bye mommy, bye-bye kitty).  These short phrases are referred to as "telegraphic" speech because they resemble the short-cut wording of a telegram.

He's really interested in letters now and will point out an M, O, etc. in random words that we see.  He identifies yellow (la-lellow) and blue.  At first, I thought he might be red-green color blind, but he can point to the right color when asked, he just doesn't seem to be able to say those colors.

Sitting in a stroller can be a real drag, so Liam has taken to walking along with us while we push an empty stoller (which is just a bit slower).  Here he is preparing to walk the dog:

Mommy was recruited to add the video, so while I was here, I thought I would also share this picture, which shows what a difference a year can make. You can see from last year at the farm, he was not only smaller, but he didn't get the "put your head in a circle" thing. This year, he even smiled for the camera.

Number of signs, words and phrases Liam can express over time (months old).

Sweet Adeline

Liam is learning to share his house and his toys with our babysitter's daughter, Adeline--she comes part time 4 days a week now. The two were born mere weeks apart and show a blossoming friendship.


Meal times are always filled with laughter...


Enjoying the cool summer we have been having in their wagon...


Patroling the city streets together...


Trying to push each other off the couch...


But, possibly their most favorite activity is "Ring Around the Rosy" where they have mastered the "around" but are still working on the "down".

"The Knack"

 

As Scott Adams says in one of his Dilbert strips, Liam seems to have "the knack."

He's fascinated by mechanical and electrical devices and loves to "operate" them.

Recently, he learned how to take the vaccuum cleaner canister off and put it back on.

Now we just need to teach him how to dump its contents into the trash can :)

Stand Up

Liam continues to learn more each day.  He's added some signs, like book, dad, bird and done.  Interestingly, he'll sign bird when he hears one, even if he doesn't see one, so he's linked the sound with the animal in his mind.  One of his most powerful new tricks is to shake his head "no" and nod "yes."  This leads to a narrowing-down process where he'll sign "more" "book" and then we take out books one-by-one and ask if he wants that one until he gives an enthusiastic nod.  Of course, sometimes we have to make him do something he is clearly shaking his head "no" to (like leave the playground after playing for an hour), but that's just early practice for many years of not always getting his way :)

Liam's also getting more physically capable.  He can walk on his own for a few feet and stand himself up:

Go get it!

We have taught our dog, Makoto, 1 trick: You tell him to stay, you throw his toy and then he will wait patiently until you say, "go get it!" Upon that command, the dog will jump into action and retrieve his toy. We have just now introduced Liam to this and he seemed a little perplexed, but also eager to get in on the action. You can tell in the video that he is wanting to be the boss and tell the dog to go get it. Now, we just need to teach Makoto to respond to "BUHHHHHH".

Walking

These are some of Liam's first steps on his own! (We hadn't gotten the camera out yet for the first few steps).

Nach Vorne, Nach Hinten

During my freshman year of highschool, my German teacher, Frau Luchini, taught us a German song: Nach Vorne, Nach Hinten. Translated, this song reads "To the front, To the back, To the left, to the Right, to the Up, To the Down, To the Left, To the Right." During this song, we were required to actually make the directional movements. Little did I know then that over 15 years later I would use this German song to bring laughter to my first born. You have to excuse the singing and the camera work, but you will get a glimpse of a Liam laugh.
As a parent, it is very rewarding to be able to make your child smile and laugh. For a long time, I was convinced that Liam would be identifying with Oscar the Grouch.

Addicted

As a follow up to Steve's post about how Liam gets to sleep, I feel the need to tell all of you that I and (if I can be so bold as to speak for him) Liam are addicted to the swaddle. It looks terribly uncomfortable, but it quiets him down almost from the minute you velcro him in (we use the swaddles for dummies). I spoke to the doctor about it, and he thinks it is fine to keep swaddling him. Unfortunately, the pre-made swaddles only go up to 20 lbs, so we have been trying to phase it out. As you can see from the video below, moving to the sleep sack instead of the swaddle has not been an easy transition. He is obviously very tired in the clip, but can't seem to get to sleep because his silly arms keep hitting him in the face. In comparison, the swaddle lets him be as snug as a bug in a rug.

Activity Mat

Liam spends some time every day on an "activity mat." This is basically a piece of cloth with two arches crossing above it. From the arches hang various items that might interest a baby like toys and mirrors. In the first picture, we see what Liam looks like on one of the mats from our point of view. In the second, we see Liam's point of view while lying on the same mat and looking up. Of course, he can also look around and see other dangling toys and he always does. We usually put him down on the mat and talk, read and sing to him while he looks around and bats at the toys. After a while, he gets bored and we pull him half-way out so he gets a new view. When he starts getting cranky again, we pick him up and walk or dance around with him as he settles down.

In my last post, I might have given the false impression that Liam is easy to put to sleep. Let me expand on that a little. Sometimes, it takes an hour or more to get Liam to sleep and it might involve a fair amount of crying. However, sometimes (especially after a long period of activity time) it only takes about 30 minutes - 10 minutes of put down, cry, pick up, repeat - 10 minutes of calmly lying there or "dozing" - 10 more minutes of pick up, walk, put down, cry, repeat. After that second round, he tends to really fall asleep for a while (at least 30 minutes). Here's a video of Liam during those middle 10 minutes of calmly lying there.

Fully Dressed

There is a song in the musical Annie that says, "you are never fully dressed without a smile." I am very happy to report that as of last week, Liam is fully dressed. He is starting to become much more animated and I feel as though he is starting to imitate us. During activity time, Steve and I make faces at him and he seems to really enjoy it, although sometimes I wonder if he is thinking, "these guys are nuts". He has also recently noticed himself and spends some time admiring his cute little face in a mirror--I guess he can't resist either.
Here is some video of one of his first smiles; I also edited a small little coo that we heard. (Amazing what parents thrive on!)