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