Happy 4th of July!!!

So last week, Liam celebrated his first 4th of July! It was a pretty fun day. We started out by packing for our move (we recently moved into a larger apartment so Liam could have his own space), then I realized the unthinkable--Liam didn't have a 4th of July outfit! This would be the first holiday he didn't have a shirt, onesie, or bib for. I quickly ran to the store & scored a 4th of July onesie on clearance for $3! Awesome, so now we were set to go celebrate. We decided to go downtown to sit at the bayou for the "Freedom over Texas" show that they do near Eleanor Tinsley Park every year. At first I was a little nervous as to whether Liam would like the fireworks or not, but he did great! He was a little distracted by the crowd's "Wooos" and "yeahs," but he overall watched the whole show. Not one tear! Here are some pictures that document our night!

Liam's 4th of July outfit... he looked so handsome. Can you see the smile behind his binkie? lol

Daddy wore Liam on our walk from the parking garage--here is Liam in the Beco Gemini (great carrier if you're in the market for one)!!

Where we sat!

Me & my baby boy. He was super excited!

My loves--Liam & daddy!

I hope y'all enjoyed this short post. Stay tuned for next week's post--10 months! Ahh!

-Amber

9 months old... oops what happened to 8?!

So Liam officially fast forwarded past 8 months and said "Hello, momma and daddy! I'm 9 months old today." (well, 2 weeks ago) If you keep up with his monthly updates, you probably noticed I skipped his 8 month update, well there's really no excuse for that except that I was a lazy momma and life just gets a little hectic at times. Anywho... we're here now so I'm sure you're dying to find out what Liam does now that he is a whopping NINE months old!  hahaha! After looking at the comparison of his skills today than the skills he had when I wrote his 7 month blog post it is so surreal. I can't believe our baby boy is growing up so fast!! 
In just 2 months he is now sitting up like a pro, he can crawl as fast as a 1 yr old can run, he can stop mid-sprint/crawl and sit up like it's nobody's business, and he also stands and climbs on furniture like a pro! He's even let go of furniture before and stood for 1-2 seconds before he plops down onto his booty. Liam now eats 2-3 containers of baby food a day, plus his 24-30 oz a day of formula (he eats six 5oz bottles a day, but sometimes only eats 4 of the 5oz). He weighed in at 15lbs6oz and he measured in at 27 inches long. The doctor witnessed first hand how hyper and on-the-go he is and said that she thinks he's really small b/c he burns too many calories! Takes after his mom & dad! He has also started eating solids. We have given him spaghetti, string cheese (a favorite of his), fruits, ground turkey/rice filling (we used it in stuffed peppers), guacamole, blueberry muffins, and even BBQ baked potato (his absolute favorite). There are so many changes. It is amazing to see how quickly babies learn things. Liam is such a smart boy. He now high fives and tries to clap (he hasn't gotten the clapping thing down yet). We have no teeth yet, but the dentist said that's completely normal since boys develop teeth a little slower than girls. I am in no hurry to see him suffer through teething, so it's fine by me! lol 
Since there's a lot of catching up to do, I'll leave y'all with your favorite part - pictures & videos of the little man. ENJOY! ^_^

5/21/12: 8 months & 1 day old - Bath time with his letters.

Memorial Day - all cleaned up after a day at the beach.

Daddy feeding Liam his dinner!

Just 1 week shy of 9 months old on the day he nearly gave me a heart attack by climbing the entertainment center!

Liam eating puffs--his favorite snack besides cheese!

Celebrating 9 months by eating his first PBJ!

Liam giving high five to daddy!

Dear Liam #4 (First Time At The Pool)

Hey son! So, this post is to share your first "swimming" experience with you. The other day, dad & I decided that we should take you to the pool for the first time since it's about to be summer time. We expect to visit the pool a lot since it's so hot in Texas and figured that it might be wise to introduce you to the pool beforehand. You did great! I think the water was a bit too cold though b/c your bottom lip was shivering after about 10 minutes of wading around in the water. You were too cool though with your little swim trunks and sunglasses on. Most babies tug on stuff that is on their face or head, but not you! I guess they didn't bother you since you are smart enough to realize that they're protecting your little eyes from the sun. Smart little man! Here are a few pics for you to reflect on:

Your first feel of the water... you look a little shocked! lol

Me & you!

Ahhh! Scary moment alert! This is shortly after I realized there was a huge black flying ant on your back & in an attempt to swat it off of your back, I accidentally dipped your face in the water. Oops!!! Sorry baby boy. You were quite upset, but got over it quick.

All calmed down after that crazy ant & face-in-the-water ordeal!

You & daddy... looks like I caught both of y'all off-guard!

So, there you go, Liam. Your first time "swimming." The date was March 19, 2012. Yep, one day before you turned 7 months old. Dad & I plan on enrolling you in swim classes this summer at the YMCA down the street. Since you're so young, we'll have to be in the water with you. Of course, you won't be expected to learn to swim... it's really just to get you used to the water so that you will, in turn, not freak out when you have real swimming lessons in a few years! Hope you enjoyed reading this. Love you so much!

-Amber (Mom)

Look what I can do!

Liam is slowly learning new things every day & as I stated before he recently started crawling & standing against furniture. Here's the proof!

Liam's first time crawling on camera.

Standing against the couch.

Liam, 

I would just love to say that daddy & I are so proud of you. We never once underestimated your abilities. You are so intelligent & talented! You absorb everything that we try to teach you & that you see on your own. You're like a little sponge, ready to take in anything new that you can learn. We love you, little man! 

Love,

Mommy & Dada

7 months!!!

Holy moly... Our baby boy is 7 months old today! Time is flying & every day Liam is surprising us by doing something new. He is now standing by pulling up on furniture & sitting a lot better on his own (still wobbly though). Most exciting of all, Liam decided to celebrate turning 7 months old by crawling for the first time!!!! I walked in from work today & he crawled toward the door. I said to Kobe, "OMG! Is he crawling?!" Kobe said, "I guess so!" Then my first reaction was to throw myself down on the floor with Liam & videotape him. Well, wouldn't you know as soon as the camera came out he refused to do it again! Haha... go figure! We also recently had to move his crib mattress down one level bc he started trying to stand in it. It all started with him just peeking out between the bars of the bed, then it went to full blown pulling up! I have to admit though, him peeking through those bars was so darn cute! One morning he sat there & watched Kobe & I getting ready from the comfort of his crib. All we saw were two little eyes, big & bright, right between the bars. lol!

This is the very first time Liam stood up! Now he's a pro at it.

Liam pulled himself up & stood there in sheer joy banging his hands on the entertainment center! lol

Sitting up playing with his blocks!

Peeping Tom Liam! lol... Is that not adorable??

"Mama look at me!!!"

"Oh hai! I'm just playing with my alligator learning my colors, shapes, & 1,2,3's." lol

Liam's First Easter!

So today is slowly coming to an end & I must say it was a nice day. Liam started the first half of the day with just dad. As a nurse I have to work holidays every now & then- today was one of those! Anywho... Liam had a great first Easter! He received his first Easter basket with lots of goodies inside-I'll go into more detail on the contents in a bit. We took lots of pictures, practiced first words, and played the afternoon away, then ended the day with the movie Cars. Did you get that last part about first words?? Yeah, Mr Liam is saying "dada dada dada" over & over & over again. It's so amazing how he is able to mimic what we say. I think that's how he learned to say dada- by imitating Kobe's lip movement. Proof of that was when Kobe repeatedly said "mama" to him- really slow & in between one of the million "dadas" he managed to squeeze in one "mama" just for me! Thanks, son. Mommy loves you! I'm so excited to see what else he starts trying to say. Alright, now let's get to the pictures...

First look at his Easter Basket! This is what Liam got: a Pat the Bunny book - I love that each page has a different texture for Liam to feel. This will help with his sensory development! He also received a set of rompers, two wooden goose eggs for him to clap together, some candy for momma & daddy to eat, and some polarized Baby Banz sunglasses! I bought the crochet bunny from one of my patients' daughters & will be using it in Liam's basket every year from now until he's too old for an Easter Basket. The bottom of the bunny is empty, so it holds an egg. We're making that our little tradition and making the bunny egg, the golden egg every year!

Here is Liam again... this time with his new sandals on!

Looks like he's thinking, "Gosh, another picture mom & dad?"

Here is Liam in his new shades... stylin!

Smarty pants!

So, Mr Liam is a little smarty pants... he can pick up on things so quick! I love it when Kobe or myself can show him something and he'll do it soon after. For example, when he was trying to roll, but didn't know how yet, we would nudge him over and before we knew it he was rolling. Next, Kobe taught him how to hold himself up on his hands and knees. Now he gets up on his hands and knees, but isn't crawling yet... very soon he will be though, I'm so sure of it! I guess you could say it's like that saying "Monkey See, Monkey Do" except it's "Liam See, Liam Do!" lol... Here's another scenario so you can see what I mean.

See what I mean? hahaha...

-Amber