Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The One with the Year in Pictures

These collages really put in perspective how much this little man has changed over the course of the last twelve months.

What a difference a year makes!



The One with the Twelve Month Update

**This post was written on Liam's actual birthday, but I waited to post it until I had his official stats from the doctor.**


*********************************************************

Liam Michael you are

TWELVE MONTHS OLD!


You are officially a toddler now and that is just the most surreal thing!

It has been a crazy month of firsts around here to say the least.

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?
We went for your one-year well visit on May 6th and all is well!  You weigh 26 pounds, 7 ounces, which puts you in the 90th percentile for weight.  You are 30 1/2 inches tall, which puts you in the 75th percentile for height.  Dr. G. and Mommy talked all about your latest developments and how you were eating, sleeping, and all your newfound skills.  He was throughly impressed with your walking skills (more on that later in this post) and gave us the green light to start whole milk.  We talked about a schedule for eating and milk drinking and he went over the shots you were going to get.  Unfortunately, you ended up with three shots (MMR, chicken pox, and bacterial meningitis) and one routine finger stick to check your lead levels.  You were not a happy camper with all those needles, but you did calm down after some loving from Mommy and Nana.

What are you eating?
You continue to impress everyone with your eating skills.  You had a short period this month where you weren't eating as much, but it turned out to be another tooth coming in (more on that later!).  This month, you tried watermelon, blackberries, grapes, pizza, shrimp scampi, and egg salad.  You eat three meals a day and definitely let us know if a meal is late!  You still love any and all kinds of fruit.  Earlier this month, you started to "refuse" some of your late morning and afternoon bottles.  You would drink some of them, but were consistently not finishing them.  So, we decided to give you fewer ounces of formula during the day.  At this point, you drink one 8-ounce bottle first thing in the morning when you wake up and then two 4-ounce bottles throughout the rest of the day.  You still have one 4-ounce bottle before bed and are drinking Similac Advance in all your bottles.

Enjoying shrimp scampi for the first time.

When do you sleep and eat?
Other than a few days this month where you were teething and congested, your sleeping has been going very well!

Your schedule has stayed pretty consistent this month.  You are awake between 6:00 and 6:30 most mornings and you have your first bottle of the day with Mommy in your room.  Once Mommy and Daddy leave for work, you have breakfast with Nana in the kitchen.  You are usually ready for your first nap by around 9ish.  This nap ranges from 30 minutes to 60 minutes depending on how long you decide to stay in your crib!  You have another little bottle around 11ish and eat lunch a little after noontime.  You are getting ready for another nap by 1:30-2:00 on most days.  This naps tends to be longer, although there are days you survive on 60 minutes of total nap time!  You are still asleep most nights by 7:15.

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?
You can still wear a few 12 month onesies, but are in 18 month clothes for the most part (the pants are still a little long though).  You are still in size 4 Pampers Cruisers during the day and size 5 Pampers Extra Dry at night.  You have had some leaking issues lately, especially on the nights when you are more restless, so Mommy started putting an extra absorbency pad inside your diaper at night to help.  So far, so good.

What are some things you love?
Does making Mommy, Daddy, and Nana tired count?!  You definitely like to move all over the place and are having quite a fun time having everyone follow you around.  You love flirting with all the women and girls you meet.  You laugh hysterically when someone "chases" you and you still love to roll around on Mommy and Daddy's bed.  You love to explore the cabinets, open doors, kiss yourself in the mirror, and dance to music.  You still love the Weather Scan channel and it will always calm you down.

And you still love swiping Mommy's water bottle.

What are some things you don't love?
You are having a little stranger anxiety lately, mostly with men, and will cling to Mommy in an unfamiliar situation.  You don't love getting your diaper changed and we are constantly looking for new ways to entertain you on the changing table. 

What can you do?
You are officially a walker little boy!  When we were in Maine for Easter, you did a lot of walking while holding someone's hand and by the time we came home, you were off!  You are walking all over the place and the new bumps and bruises all over your head are a clear indication that you are still a little unsteady at times.  You can sign "more" and "all done".  We are working on please and thank you.  You can climb up and down the few stairs we have in the house but we have yet to try a full set of stairs. You can put shapes inside the holes of your toys, although they don't always match up to the correct shape.   You can clap your hands and love to do it when the music is on.

What are you saying?
You don't have any real words yet but you understand quite a lot. You know who mama, dada, nana, and Max are and will sometimes follow simple directions (sit down, turn around, close the door). 

How many teeth do you have?
Mommy was right about more teeth little man! Last week, during your bath, I put my finger in your mouth to check and you bit right down with your first molar.  It is on the top left and your top right one is just at the surface. So that makes nine, almost ten, teeth!  *After we went to the doctor today, Dr. G. informed us that your bottom right molar is also right at the surface, so we are almost at 11 teeth!

What are some firsts from this month?
You walked for an extended period of time this month (and are now all over the place!). You visited Maine for the first time and celebrated your first Easter.  You tasted your first piece of cake and played outside in the grass.  You also had your first real blood-causing injury.  You are officially riding around in your big boy carseat now.  You are out of the infant tub and now getting a bath inside a laundry basket in the big tub.  We also celebrated your first birthday as a family with a Cinco de Mayo night.



What are some of your nicknames?
Still calling you Swiper.  Mommy started calling you Keurig yesterday because you have been making a noise that sounds like the coffee pot when it makes coffee in the morning.

What are Mommy and Daddy's "Parents of the Year" moments?
Mommy and Daddy can't take credit for this happening on their watch but we still felt pretty awful about it (Nana felt horrible about it!).  A couple of weeks ago, before you started walking on your own, you were still holding onto the wall and doors to cruise around the house.  You missed the door when you were walking and tumbled forward onto your face.  Your mouth and lip instantly started bleeding and we discovered the next day that you had actually chipped your front right tooth just a little.  You were a little swollen for a bit, but you loved eating all that ice!

Sad, swollen lip.

What are we looking forward to in the next month?
We will be celebrating your first birthday with all our family and friends with a Very Hungry Caterpillar party later this month.  You will also celebrate a friend's first birthday next weekend and we will celebrate Mother's Day.  

This was by far the hardest month to get good pictures of you!  You found that sticker almost immediately and nothing would distract you from it!







 Clearly you are still loving to screech and scream.



Mommy and Daddy cannot believe it has been one whole year since you were born.  We love you so very much and you are the best thing that has ever happened to us!


Sunday, May 4, 2014

The One with Happy Birthday

One year ago today, at 1:28 pm, the most amazing little person came into my life.


He came into this world like lightening (hello two hour labor!) and hasn't stopped since.

He is funny, adorable, loud, a bit of daredevil, and full of personality.


He is the boy who made me a mama.

He is my son.

And I love him right up to the moon and back.

Happy First Birthday, Liam!

(lots more to come, including the 12 month update, birthday party details, and first year photo shoot pictures)