September 27, 2009: Baseball and Body Parts

Here are two videos showing Liam's latest developmental milestones...playing tee-ball and recognizing his body parts! When he gets drafted into the MLB, we'll have to show this video on ESPN :)

Sorry I don't have any pics...Nick was in Chicago this week and being a single mommy wore me out. I fell asleep at 8pm one night, which you know is not my norm! We had a good mommy-son week...a lot of down time just going on walks, playing at the park, reading and snuggling in bed...that's always how it is when daddy goes out of town, Liam gets to sleep with me! We also ate alot of pancakes...about 3 times this past week :) And once Nick returned we also learned that Liam likes tacos...he must have the Barker taste buds cause he gobbled down the taco meat, cheese, avocados and Spanish rice. We have a big week coming up with Grandma Debbie coming in town and Nick and I preparing for Drew and Liz's wedding weekend...I'll be sure to post it all!

September 17, 2009: 13 months old!

So I'm late in posting but here is what Liam is up to at 13 months old!! After multiple ear infections and a nasty stomach bug, Liam is off dairy. Mostly to let his stomach heal, but there's also alot of belief in a dairy-free diet helping to prevent recurrent ear infections....this is not supported by research, but I thought it was worth a shot if we could spare Liam surgery for tubes in his ears. Hopefully this dairy-free diet is just temporary, but for now he's on rice milk/soy yogurt/goat cheese...you get the idea. He's okay with most of it, but I think he misses his grilled cheese sandwiches and YoBaby yogurt. Liam's new words for this month are"ank ooo" which is "thank you" and "uuh" which is "up". He is also using more baby signs and now tells us "all done" "hungry" "more" "hurt"...and he blows us kisses which is the ultimate heart melter! He understands so much and is so smart when pointing out animals and other favorite objects (like balls, babies, robots, trains, balloons, trees, sun...I could go on and on!) in his books. We still read all the time and are now going to story time at the library. Liam has just started taking steps by himself towards his toys...he was just walking to us, but it's amazing to see him get more confident in his walking. He's also practicing using his spoon..sometimes to feed himself, sometimes to feed us:)

Here's Liam in his ultimate-alpha-male-outfit...yeah it's his batman shirt and camo shorts!

We finally turned his car seat front-facing...although he really does love it, in this picture he's giving me the "Mom, puuuhlease" face.

In the morning while I was making breakfast, this is Liam watching Sesame Street while snuggling his kitty. This is the only show he watches and he LOVES Elmo. What's so funny about this picture is that so many kids have those cute, miniature chairs....Liam's just relaxin in his chair...the adult-size leather club chair :)

Here is Liam using his spoon to feed the family...

Here is a cute video of Nick and Liam playing. He laughs so hard when Nick is "chasing" him and it's so fun to see them already starting to rough-house with each other :)

September 12, 2009: Growing up too fast

So here is Liam doing what babies this age do best...imitating his parents. Back in the day, we probably imitated our parents ironing and mowing the lawn. Now kids, like Liam, imitate texting and talking on their cell phones! Next he's going to be blogging and tweeting :) As you can tell, he had a lot to say to the person on the other line...Be on the lookout...if you are in my contact list, there's always a possibility of Liam calling you!

We went to a Hawaiian festival today where Liam had his first shaved ice. He kept making this awful face but then asking for more...too funny. We also listened to the music and danced on the lawn.

Here are some pics of Liam this week just during his normal routine...Eating spaghetti (which is probably his favorite table food), playing in the tunnel at the park, snuggling with Puffin while he sleeps (that wet spot is drool...yeah he drools that much), and just making a mess playing with all his books and toys.

No wonder he's sleeping so well this week...he's wearing himself out!

September 7, 2009: Labor Day Weekend!

We had a wonderful family weekend just hanging out, beaching, visiting the aquarium, and attending a Labor Day BBQ. I'm too tired to write all the details so let's just see it in pictures...

Here is Liam playing around with Nick's glasses...yeah they fit his head just as well as Nick's :)

Storytime with Daddy and Bobo (the dog)

I know I've posted these types of pictures before, but just in case you were wondering, yes, Liam is still obsessed with his books...I still find him in the book corner at school flipping through books like he does at home:)

Hanging with friends at Venice Beach...Liam loves the ocean, even though it's too cold for my taste...I know by next summer, he'll be begging his Daddy to take him out farther...

This is Liam's "club house"...He always plays/hides under his high chair, of course with Bobo and his bat.

On Labor Day we went to the Long Beach Aquarium. We had no expectations but Liam seemed to really love it! You could even touch some of the sea life including some sharks, sting rays, star fish, and plankton. He looked at everything and got especially excited about the shark tank, as you can tell. He called the sea lions, seals and sharks "doh" (dog) and called all the fish and birds "duh" (duck). I guess those are his only classifications for animals at this time :)

I just have to include this pic of how seriously Liam is reading the map deciding what exhibit we should see next...

After a big day at the aquarium and a BBQ at Annie and Kevin's, Liam literally crashed...

Okay, just one more pic of that sweet face...
We meet with the ENT tomorrow and I'll keep you posted on that...but for the most part, I can't complain because Liam is thriving and life is good...we are so blessed!

September 1, 2009: Liam's Staycation!

I think that is a nice way of saying Mommy and Daddy got a real vacation for the first time since Liam was born, while he stayed home with my parents. Nick and I went on a bachelor/bachelorette cruise with 22 of our friends to Mexico! Despite making daily international phone calls, I think I did pretty well for being away from Liam for the first time. We had such a fun weekend and Liam did wonderful with Mal and Dal despite the fact he was still sick...more to come on that later, but basically we are seeing an ENT for persistent fluid effusions in his ears with multiple infections...poor little guy:( Anyway, it's been a while so I have alot to catch up on...

Before the trip we went out to a post-birthday dinner with our friends Benoit, Yasmine and Matteo. We ate at PF Changs and Liam loved the chicken rice and noodles..and the chopsticks of course :) He stayed in his chair the whole time and we get alot of compliments at restaurants for how well behaved he is now...a very important skill since he lunches with me and the girls. Here is Nick with Liam and Matteo..

So a few days before we are due to leave, Liam spikes another fever. I'm already stressed about leaving him for the first time and was worried that he would get sicker. Luckily, his fever broke fast (thanks to Motrin and popsicles!) and by the time we left he was eating and playing normally...just not sleeping well due to the fluid in his ears. But his Mal was more than willing to rock him and love on him in the middle of the night! Here are my mom's pics from their weekend with Liam.

Liam got another gift from Mallie and Dal...a new piano! Our little Baby Mozart LOVES his new piano and serenades us daily now :)

Their main activities included reading hundreds of books, walks in his Step 2 car, visiting the park and duck pond, and walking the beach...not too shabby for a staycation.

While we missed Liam alot, we did have a great time with all our friends....just getting to party with everyone was so fun. I was mostly with the girls and Nick was with the boys but we all managed to run into each other occasionally :) Here's a couple pics from our trip...

The only thing the bride and groom asked of us was to wear jhorts (jean shorts)..I guess it has to do with their Indiana roots (jk!) But we all rocked the jhorts hard core...

So this week we are back to work and preschool...Right now Liam goes 3 days a week while I'm working part time. So on our two days together we hit the parks, a mommy and me group, and do lots of walking around Santa Monica. On our regular routine is the dog store where Liam can watch tons of dogs play through the window...Okay so if this blog isn't long enough I have two new videos. The first is Liam walking again...he gets up on his own and takes 8-10 steps! He's still super wobbly, but so proud of himself. And of course he's always walking carrying a bat or his beloved soccer ball :) The second video is Liam saying his new word "uh oh". We are trying to teach him to say that when he drops something or falls down...He doesn't always use it appropriately, but it's so darn cute!!