July 4th to Autumn

Liam nonchalantly observes a passing fire truck in a 4th of July parade while casually holding his "iPhone."

Before Liam's first haircut (other than the ones I've given him).

First official haircut wraps up and everyone is happy!

Liam and me at Luray Caverns.

Liam ready for his first day back at Montessori school after a fun summer at camp.

Liam and I pose together before I take him to his first day back at school.

Mommy says goodbye at home, but will pick up a happy Liam when school ends.

A rare shot of all three of us - thanks for taking this Joe!

Today we went to a farm to do mazes, see pumpkins and animals, slide down huge slides and take a hay ride.  Liam and I also shot an apple cannon together and hit the target twice!

Liam and I were "matchers."

Spoiler Alert!

 

    We've put a big emphasis on communication for a long time with Liam.  We reward him for communicating calmly and effectively by giving him what he wants when he asks for it.  This has led to at least two things: Liam's ability to communicate very well, and Liam's expectation that he gets whatever he wants! Recently, we've begun to feel that he's started to get a bit bossy :)  The other night, he asked for his dog pajamas by doing the sign for dog and saying 'woof woof' while we were changing him.  Usually, we would comply, but the recent cold weather doesn't fit well with a t-shirt for bed time, so we wanted to put him in warmer pjs.  This was not acceptable to his highness, who definitely let us know.  After much protest, we got him into his warm pjs and then put his dog pajamas on top :)

    Sometimes, Liam doesn't even have to try.  We just loved this wooden train set our neighbors have, so we got it (for Liam, not Daddy ;). 

Shoe Fetish

Until a month ago, despite our wishes, Liam has not found himself a lovey (a creature comfort he can turn to when feeling sad and abashed). Finally, Liam has found himself a lovey: his shoes. These shoes are now one and a half sizes too small, are incredibly smelly and he can't get enough of them. He will find them in the closet and want to put them on. He refuses all other shoes and when we bought him new shoes, he said "no, no, no" over and over and eventually ripped them off.

These shoes have finally taken their last steps. I have hidden them away and bought new awesome shoes; they are even named Liam. He doesn't love them, but he might learn to tolerate them. Sometimes, I think taking a pacifier away would have been easier.

In addition to his love for his own sandals, Liam enjoys looking in our shoe closet and taking out shoes so that he can return them to their rightful owner. He will carry shoes the size of his torso around until he can give them to his Daddy or Mommy to put on.

Dressing Liam

When I was pregnant and shopping for baby items, one of the things that always caught my eye were all the adorable baby clothes. I couldn't wait to meet my little guy and dress him up. I figured I would change his outfit a few times a day just because it would be fun. Turns out, that we do change him a few times a day, but it is out of necessity and not out of desire. A note to all mothers to be: babies are not barbie dolls. They have big heads that don't like to fit through neck holes. They have arms that you can't just bend in any direction. They squirm and thrash all around while you are changing them. And probably most important to note: they scream if you take too long (bet your barbie never did that).
As a result, Steve and I have taken to outfits that zip or snap up--no over-the-head move required. Luckily, his Grandma Betty has given us many of these "easy" outfits. One day, I did decide to try to dress him up and take a picture. This picture shows that even when you put him in something cute, he still might not end up with that barbie doll perfection.
Even though he is not without his faults, having him is way better and more fun than having a doll. I am really looking forward to watching him grow.