August 14-21: Dog Days of Summer

This week Liam figured out that he has a doggie. He reaches out to pet Zoe and grabs a fist full of fur. Sometimes, with the right encouragement, he actually 'pets' Zoe, and so far, she's been receptive to the whole relationship. Zoe loves any attention she gets these days. With the right supervision, Zoe's allowed to sniff Liam. Sometimes he gets an unexpected 'kiss' on the cheek. He smiles and giggles -- dog might be man's best friend, but Liam is clearly Zoe's best friend.

Liam and I watched the Packers vs. the Seahawks on TV Saturday afternoon. It was preseason, but the Packers looked really good. This was Liam's first game. Normally Liam doesn't watch any TV, but this was a special event. In Wisconsin, it's never too early for football, and I was likely watching football before I could say 'Go Pack Go.' Lester thinks Liam should be a Seahawks fan, but I argue that he has Green & Gold blood in him. Besides, being a Seahawks fan is so ordinary. Being a Packer Backer shows character.

Also new this week, Liam is eating a little oatmeal every day. We will see how that goes. He seems to like it. According to all the advice I've seen, now is the time to encourage cereal. Despite the rice cereal problems, oatmeal looks good so far.

The hospital sends an email every week to tell me how many weeks old Liam is, and what's normal for that week. This week there was a link to a neat little timeline tool. http://www.talaris.org/5ways/index.htm

As for six months... which is next week, this is the only one I don't know about:
Can perform simple addition and subtraction exercises (5 - 10 months).

Babies are supposed to know how to do math? I know some adults who don't yet have a handle on that one... what next, quadratic equations at 9 months? We are most certainly pushing kids too hard these days. ;-)

I digress. He has reached all of the 6-month milestones. This week we noticed he is capable of responding to own name (4 - 5 months), though he prefers 'Bean' to 'Liam'. He likes it when we spell his name 'L-I-A-M, Liam!' and when we slowly say the vowel letters. He now responds to voices over the phone, recognizing quite a few familiar voices. When he hears Granny, he starts 'talking' nonstop, and when he hears Nana, he smiles and trys to hold the phone. I'd say he likes his grandmothers!

Next week is Lester's final presentation for his MBA. One more 8-week class after this week, and he's officially over-educated. Liam sat in on one of Lester's group meetings, and he helped Daddy put together a few slides.

Over the weekend, we got to see a MO-VIE! We took the boy up to Joya and Wiley's house, which now has more toys than ours does. Liam had a great time hanging out there while we saw the Simpsons movie, which was one of the best movies ever. Lisa falls in love with a smart Irish kid with a dreamy accent. Need I say more?

OK, So Liam has just now reminded me of one more thing... HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY! Amy Power will be three years old this week! The four of them will get to meet Liam in October -- they are coming for a visit! Liam's so excited he just can't stop talking about it.