Taking care of Liam (or weird things I might forget to tell my parents this weekend)

Here are some current odd things that are involved in Liam’s care these days.

-The bathroom door must remain closed at all times.  ALL TIMES.

-Ollie’s food and water can generally only be down when L is asleep.

-When you take the dog potty, be prepared for the baby to expect to come outside…like he will hear the front door open from three rooms away and start crawling as fast as he can…if he doesn’t get to go out, expect him to stand in the door, pounding and screaming.

-L only takes two bottles of formula now…one when he wakes up, and one at bedtime.  He drinks three bottles of milk each day.  Warmed for 25 seconds in the microwave.  (I need to wean from bottles next..we’ll get there.  Next month)

-Ollie is to be put away while Liam eats and cannot have any food.  He turns into a butt when he eats people food. 

-(This might just be me) When I put on my walking shoes, L crawls to the stroller and pulls himself up.

-If you say, “Good job, Liam” he may very well clap for himself.

-Liam drinks water like it’s going out of style.  He loves to have a sippy while he is in his stroller or his carseat…dude can drink a whole sippy on a walk.  We give him a sippy cup filled about 1/3 full for naps and bedtimes to help him settle down.  Also, he is going through diapers very quickly right now.  They are filling fast.

-If L goes in the office, he’s probably trying to get on my computer.  If he goes to our room, he is probably trying to get in the dog cage, pull the guitar down, or yanking the alarm clock down.  In the kitchen, he will probably try to open the drawer under the stove.

Liam officially has a favorite author

I have my clear favorites of Liam’s books, but he has started to develop his own tastes and preferences, and will grab one book over another, which is so exciting.  Liam’s current favorite author is Leslie Patricelli.  He has two of her board books: Quiet, Loud and Yummy, yucky and he wants them to be read over and over. 

Last night we were reading Quiet, Loud, and he was full-on belly laughing as we read it.  Then he grabbed the book from me and hit me in the face with it when we were finished..which I took to mean read it again…turns out, I was right.  We read it three times.  Then I grabbed Yummy, Yucky to see if it had the same effect—it did.

I am kind of excited to be entering the phase where Liam wants me to read to him…and especially that he wants certain books.

Mother’s Day

We celebrated our first official Mother’s Day this year…and I obviously forgot to take any and all pictures. (Funny side story/example of me being a brat…Andy said that he thought that technically this would be my second mother’s day…since Liam was born two days after Mother’s Day last year…but I told him that since he didn’t recognize it or honor it or give me anything last year, I assumed he didn’t think it counted….because I am that cheerful and wonderful all the time).

This year’s Mother’s Day was nice.  We had Liam’s baby dedication at church, and Andy’s parents came down.  It was the first time they had ever been to our church, and the first time Andy’s dad has been to our house since Liam was three weeks old (Andy’s mom came to drop off their dog in March when we watched him).  So it was nice to have them here—Liam was definitely excited to see them.  It took him a while, though.  Sometimes when people come over and he isn’t used to them being at his house, he just sits and watches them a while…he did it with my grandparents.  Surprisingly, I don’t feel like he’s ever done it for my mom and dad or for his Aunt Lauren.

I got to pick out my own Mother’s Day gift because Andy forgot that it was Mother’s Day (another funny side story—last weekend I told him that I wanted herbs to plant for Mother’s Day, and Saturday morning I asked if we could go to Lowe’s to pick out herbs for my mother’s day gift…Saturday night he said, “Tomorrow is Mother’s Day?  Shoot…I feel like if I was paying attention, I would have figured out something you might want for Mother’s Day”).  So we went to Lowe’s and I picked out herbs for Mother’s Day…only neither of us brought our wallets.  So we had to drive back home and get a wallet and then I repicked out my gift.  And we dropped off some stuff at the Goodwill…not important, but I always like getting rid of stuff.

As for Mother’s Day itself, Andy was playing, so he had to leave for church early.  I got Liam and myself ready, and we all hung out with Andy’s parents before church.  Then Liam was dedicated during church, and he was so much bigger than the girls being dedicated…mostly because he so much older.  He watched Pastor Mike so intently as he was talking.  He was just taking everything in.  Then after church, we went to lunch at Bob Evan’s, which was a madhouse.  Liam did really well for the first part of lunch…then he discovered that because the booster seat at Bob’s doesn’t have a belt, he can stand up in it.  And so he did.  And then he tried to leap out of it..three times in a row.  So I spent the last 35 minutes of lunch cleaning up food off the floor, cleaning up food from Liam’s hair, and carrying Liam around as he clawed at me because he wanted to get down.  Bonus: I am getting really good at shoveling bites of food into my mouth while tilted all the way to one side to avoid grabby fingers.  Also..this is why we don’t eat in crowded restaurants.

Liam took a crazy long afternoon nap, and I had a really bad headache, so I lazed around on the couch with Ollie, and it was glorious.  I never totally napped, but I took it easy for the rest of the day, and it was lovely.  We really did have a sweet day, and I am so thankful for my sweet, wild boy.

For my grandma and grandpa

Grandma, I thought you guys might like to see how much Liam loves his ball popper…seriously..it’s a hit.  I keep finding the balls all over the house, and it almost never fails that anytime Andy or I leave the room, we hear the ball popper start up.  He’s in love with it—and it’s way fun.  So here is Liam playing with his ball popper (he had been doing it for about 5 minutes before I started recording)

One Year Checkup

Liam had his one year appointment at the pediatrician yesterday.  Andy went with us for the first time since his one month, and I am glad he did.

Liam’s stats:

Height: 32 inches (98th percentile)

Head: (Large…98th percentile…technically height and head weren’t even on the chart)

Weight: 24 lbs. 14.5 oz (between 90-95th percentile)

Everything else was looking good.  He has a spot on his shoulder that feels like a veiny growth sort of thing, so his pediatrician was going to call the plastic surgeon at the children’s hospital in Louisville to ask about it because she didn’t know what it was.  We might have to make a trip there to get it checked, but it’s likely nothing.

After his checkup, he got 3 shots (one in the thigh and one in each arm) and then we had to go to the lab to have a finger prick for blood.  When he was all done, they gave him a sticker and a sucker (which he proceeded to get stuck to everything).  Here’s an up close shot of his sticker and the crumbs on his shirt:

Recent Happenings

Everything in our house is breaking.  The sewage line to the street is collapsing, so we have to replace it…the Cadillac won’t start….and the garage door broke.  There are a few others, but those are the big ones.  With that said, our savings account that we worked very diligently to build up to a decent sized number over the past five years will soon be all but non-existent.  So we aren’t moving.  So we need to get some of our stuff out of storage.  We’ll try again next year.  We went through our budget and cut it down to the bare bones to try to build up our savings again.  It’s been frustrating, but at the same time, not.  I’m aggravated to see our savings depleting, but thankful that we have the money.  Our emergency fund is just that…for emergencies.  And your sewage line collapsing is a definite emergency.  It will be good, too.  We were starting to spend some dumb money, and we weren’t being terribly careful with our finances…so this is a good reminder.  And I am kind of excited to see just how much we can save…and how little we can figure out how to live on. 

That’s been the big to-do around here lately.  Other stuff is pretty normal….Andy and I are celebrating our fifth anniversary this Saturday.  We have given ourselves one last big expenditure…we’re going away for our anniversary night.  We are going to the Westin in downtown Indy—the exact hotel where we started dating in 2003.  I’m excited for that.  Our tradition is a sushi dinner for our anniversary—we save a chopstick in a little vase and write the date, restaurant and anniversary…so I think we’re going to Mikado downtown this year.  I am so excited!  My mom and dad are coming to stay with Liam and Ollie—they are the best!

Ollie is suffering from some serious first world problems…my dog has entitlement issues.  So we’re working on it.  He thinks he should get whatever he wants…mostly Liam’s food.  And he’s being a brat about it.  So now he has to be put in the bedroom when Liam eats, and all food has to be picked up before he’s allowed out.  He isn’t getting any people food because he was being a real butt about it.  He seems to be a little nicer…probably in an effort to get some food.

That’s really about it…Liam and I can’t go anywhere while the car is broken.  We go for a walk every morning with MJ and her two youngest (Liam’s future wife).  and then we just hang out.  Pretty boring stuff, really.

Liam’s birthday video

Andy made this for Liam’s birthday party.  It gets me every time…Liam’s a fan, as well.

 

Liam’s birthday letter

Sweet Liam,

You are now a year old. It's a really weird feeling for your dad and I both. Sometimes it feels like it was just minutes ago that we found out you were going to join our family, and sometimes it seems like you have been with us forever. We talked about it the other day, and we are sure that Oliver doesn't remember life before you. We remember it, but we wouldn't go back to it. Because you are a delight and a joy and we just cannot get enough of you.

Your first year started with a bang. Less than a day after you were born, I was really sick. We had to stay in the hospital for a few extra days in order to get my fever under control. You were ready to go home,but I wasn't. When we got you home, though, you ended up with a horrible yeast rash and thrush because of the medicines I was on. It was a rough time, and your Grandma Keller and Granma Cook took such good care of us. Your grandparents were smitten with you from the get-go. You have had them wrapped around your finger from the moment they laid eyes on you. We spent those first few weeks of life figuring out how to be your parents, and learning how to administer medicine via IV. It was a crazy time. Daddy and I celebrated our fourth anniversary when you were just nine days old...and I'll have you know that eating sushi on the couch with your daddy while you slept a few feet away was pretty much my idea of perfection.

You are a study in contrasts, my dear boy. You are either incredibly difficult or an absolute delight. You had some terrible stomach problems and a touch of colic in your first weeks, and it was rough. Then you were magically better. Then you refused to nap. Then it was magically better. You have always been a good night sleeper, and for that we are thankful. Even now, at a year old, you are stubborn and strong willed and you scream like the dickens, but you are so sweet and loving. You love to give kisses and you like to climb all over us. Your laugh is the sweetest sound to me. You give your laughs and smiles your all...no holding back for my boy.

You love to play, and to play hard. You like throwing things, and you likes balls and wooden toys and anything that makes noise. Pounding on things is your favorite game. You also like to open doors...and close them. Sometimes you shut yourself in your bedroom and you scream because you don't want to be in there. You are recently obsessed with the toilet and the toilet paper, so we lock you out of the bathroom. You like to climb, and you are completely fearless. You are trying to walk, but you aren't quite there yet.

You hate sleeping away from home. We spent a lot of time away from home last fall, and it was rough. Your grandpa Cook had lung cancer, and had to have one of his lungs removed. There were a lot of complications, and he was in the hospital for over a month. We spent a lot of weekends at their house, and you didn't always handle that well. Your dad was gone a lot of nights, too, which killed him. But your presence, my sweet boy, was one of the best things for your grandparents. They carried a picture of you with them wherever they were. They told the doctors and the nurses that Grandpa was going to beat cancer for you. You were their number one. They love you so much, sweet boy. Your very life was an encouragement and a blessing to them through one of the hardest periods of their life.

Your Grandma Keller is the one person who can get you to fall asleep away from home. She can rock you and hold you and you will pass right out. Your Grandpa Keller plays rocket ship with you and will do whatever you want. You love them both so much, and they cannot get enough of you.

Liam, so much happened this year. We had so many of your firsts—first road trip (to your Grandma and Grandpa Cook for 4^th of July...you screamed like a banshee from Columbus to North Vernon...we pulled over on the side of the road and gave you a bottle and you pooped and we changed your diaper in the backseat), your first Halloween (you were a dinosaur in a homemade costume), first Thanksgiving (we went to Grandma and Granddad's), your first Christmas (you did not love opening presents, but you sure liked playing with them after). First tooth (bottom right, came in March), first wedding (Mariah and Kory), and so many more. This winter was mild, so we only had snow one time, and I put you in a laundry basket to sled around the yard. You never loved baby food and by the time you were eight months old you were eating table food only. You love mango, avocados, rice, noodles, ground meat of any kind, and your favorite is broccoli. You ate salmon a week before your birthday and loved it. Your palette is quite varied.

Liam, your dad and I love you so much. We pray that you will grow up to be a man who loves the Lord. I want you to know that you are created for a purpose, and I want you to seek after God. I pray that he will be the Lord of your life, and that you will love him with all your heart.

Happy birthday sweetheart. I love you.

Mommy

Happy Birthday Liam

Sweet Liam turned one last week, and we had his birthday party the weekend before.  We did his party in Indianapolis, at Andy’s parents house, because it was a more central location (also…our house is small) and it was easier for Andy’s parents…his dad is travelling again for work, but he wears out quickly, so it was nice that they just got to stay home and the fun came to them.  Ultimately, I tried to not go too overboard.  We had Liam’s baby books out, and I attempted the photo thing above…definitely looked better in my head.  We had Jimmy John’s for lunch…it’s long been a favorite of Andy’s, and he wanted it for our rehearsal dinner when we got married, but it didn’t work it…so I was more than happy to give my husband what he wanted five years later. A party with Jimmy Johns.  Of course, I had to get something I wanted as well…so we ordered IZZE sodas in a can from Amazon….we first had them on our honeymoon, and I have been in love ever since.  And we also included Liam’s favorite food: goldfish crackers.  You know, since it was his birthday and all.

I was originally thinking whales for Liam’s party based on one of his baby blankets my mom made that I adore.  But then I found these napkins and plates at Target, and decided to just go for the brightly colored array.  The runner is just a few yards of fabric from fabric.com…I will probably use them for something else later….I just found a fabric I loved and went with it.

My mom made the individual fruit pizzas, and they were a hit.  I saw the husbands of a few friends eating multiples (like 3 or more each).  They were darn good.  My sister added some vanilla and cinnamon to the cream cheese mix and it was awesome.  The cupcakes just about did me in.  I tried to make a batch on Thursday night from a mix.  They exploded everywhere and were ugly.  Then I made homemade and they were fine…but I made the frosting too runny so it ran everywhere.  Then after we got home, Andy told me that we should have used the ugly ones because they tasted better.  I think I’ll buy my cakes in the future.

Liam with my grandparents…I love the way he is watching my grandpa in that second picture.

Liam with Andy’s parents—can you believe how good Andy’s dad looks?  I am amazed at how he has recovered from having a lung removed…and all of the horrible things that happened after that initial surgery.

Playing with Ady.  These two had a blast hanging out—and they get to do it again in a few weeks for Ady’s birthday party

Liam’s favorite toy—my dad.

New presents

Ady was in love with Elmo…Liam loves him too.  And everyone loved the dog guitar.

Birthday cake!

With Andy’s grandma, and with my dad again (he gravitates towards his grandpas….he likes to climb my dad and he points at Andy’s dad)

Playing with Uncle Mike’s sunglasses, and then with a balloon with Uncle Mike and Aunt Mavis

And finally: Aunt Lauren.  Possibly his favorite person in the world (right after Andy)