The Last Day

After three long weeks, we're starting to pack up. It's the last day of vacation, and the last day of 2008.

Today we will go to the park and the beach for the last time. The weather has cooled into the mid 70s, but it's still sunny and dry. Yesterday we met the "Greats" for lunch; Liam was especially excited to see his "Pa-Pa" as he calls him.

After lunch, we found the Tampa Zoo (Lowry Park Zoo) and we were surprised to get in for free with our Point Defiance Zoo membership. This zoo was excellent, just as good as the Brevard Zoo. The difference is that the Tampa Zoo has rides for the kids, and there were many more people there. The best part was at the alligator area. I asked Liam how many alligators he saw. "Four Chomp" (his word for gators). Then he added "Three Caw" (his word for birds). I don't know how this is possible, but he got it right. He can count to four!

We have photos from the zoo (and the whole trip), but they will have to stay on the cameras another day or two until we get home.

Goodbye 70-degree days and warm, sandy beaches. Next stop, Seattle!

And Happy 1st Birthday Kaile! See you soon!

Hello from the Beach!

Here is a video postcard. Hope you enjoy.
A day at the beach!

Bean's Second Christmas

Merry Christmas from Florida! It's Liam's second Christmas, and he's happily sleeping in his bed. This morning Santa arrived, bringing him a Blue's Clues DVD, which is exactly what he has been asking for. Every morning he asks to watch 'Blue' as he does at home. But it isn't on TV here. So now he can watch whenever!


We went to church after opening presents. Liam behaved though most of the service. The rest of the crowd went to the beach after church while Liam took a nap. We will eat dinner in about an hour.

Thomas was excited to see a dolphin swimming not too far from shore while we were at the beach. But then again, he was also excited to see Santa getting arrested (in the back of a police car) on the way home from church. They head home to England and will be missed by all of us, especially Liam.

Miami, Nana and the "Greats"

We have been in Florida for a few weeks already. We have seen Nana, The Great Grandparents, Granny & Grand Dad, Thomas & Amy, and Uncle Trevor & Auntie Lynda. All were very surprised at how verbal and active Liam has become. Since we have been here, Liam says 'thank you' for everything - even things he doesn't really like or want.

When we arrived, it was muggy and warm, but the weather changed by the next morning, and for our four days in Miami (and Liam's four days in Sun City) the weather was rainy and cold. Luckily the weather changed on our fourth day, and until yesterday, we have had nearly 80 degrees every day.

While visiting the Great Grandparents, Liam wore Nana out. They played and had adventures all day long. They visited a fire station, where Liam met the firefighters and saw the fire trucks. It was sad to see Nana go home. We hope to visit again soon.

Here at the beach, we go to the ocean every day. At first, Liam was scared of the waves, and wouldn't walk on the sand. He kept saying 'no' and 'home' and he insisted on being carried. But once he saw his cousins having a great time, he joined them, jumping and crashing in the surf. He asks to go to the ocean every day and yells 'fun' over and over while we are there.

What may have helped with Liam's interest in the beach was a trip to Aquatica, which is SeaWorld's water park. Liam wore a tiny life jacket, and he spent the day floating, swimming and playing in the largest spray playground any of us have seen. There we also played at the beach, but this beach had warm water, and waves much gentler (and less frequent) than the ones in the ocean.





More soon!

Ready or Not... Here We Come!

Liam-

You are asleep. Daddy and I have everything packed for our flight tomorrow morning. We are going to Florida! You are so excited about going on the airplane. More details soon.

Love,
Mommy

Christmas Present

Liam and I watched the UPS driver walk around the park, looking for the right house. We discussed whether she drove a brown van or a brown bus. In the end, we agreed to disagree.

The UPS driver finally came to OUR house with this big box that was making race car noises. She and I both laughed, and she saw Liam and said "this must be for you!"

So, of course, we had to open the box.

It was a race car spiral ramp! Liam loves it. Thank you Auntie Katie (which he says himself at the end of the video).

Liam's Present

In other news, we're off to Florida in a few days. That means Liam's due for some kind of messy illness. It came a few days early; today in fact. He barfed all over the car on the way to the doc. He was supposed to get his hearing retested today. They took one look at him and rescheduled for January. He has been ok since then, so maybe he just had an upset tummy!

Playtime

Yesterday we left Liam in the kitchen, alone, for a few minutes, while we checked on something upstairs together. Some parents would shudder at the thought of this. Liam's predictable, so we can get away with this on rare and necessary occasions.

So Lester and I hear him rummaging through the kitchen drawers (only two are unlocked and accessible to him: the leftover container drawer, and the one with Liam's plastic dishes in it). We heard containers and dishes flying everywhere for a few minutes, then silence. After five minutes, I run back downstairs to assess the mess. However, there wasn't any. Liam set the table with four plastic plates, each adorned with a graham cracker, and he was waiting in his seat for us at the table. I burst out laughing, as did Lester, while little boy sat quietly repeating 'num num' which is his word for food.

Lester found this funny mom's restaurant review of her daughter's restaurant: "The service and food are terrible, but I love it anyway."

restaurant review

October Photos

Photos Include:

Pumpkin Farm
Choo Choo Ride
Liam the Lion
Devin the Dog
Trick or Treat

Halloween 2008

Strong Medicine

For nearly the last week, I was away from Liam. On Thursday, I went to have the stent removed from my pancreas. Everyone told me not to worry, but I had a feeling.

After I awoke from the procedure, I was in pain. So much pain that they kept me overnight. I don't really remember Friday, but I know there were visitors, including Liam.

The diagnosis was pancreatitis. It was really painful and no fun, but I did what the doctors said; I didn't eat or drink anything for days. Today I was let go, though I still feel pookie.

Lester, being the thoughtful husband, posted photos of Liam in my room. When it got rough, I could focus on him. Plus everyone asked me about him, which kept me thinking of him. Today, when they said I could stay another day (fully medicated) or go home, I didn't think about it for a second. So now I'm home, with my family, recovering faster than I could in any hospital. I'm surrounded by the strongest medicine in the world: Love.

Liam took my absence well, though Lester said he asked for me often, and looked all over the house to find me. Today he didn't want to leave school; obviously he had no idea that I was waiting for him at home.

It's good to be home. :-D

Postcard to Bean

Hi Bean,

It has been a while since I've seen you. Mommy is still at the hospital where the doctors work non-stop to help her get healthy again. Mommy went to a doctor to have a little green tube removed from her pancreas. The nurse was nice enough to clean it up so we could show it to you someday. It looks like a tiny garden hose with slices cut along the sides to hold it in.

Daddy put a bunch of photos of you in my hospital room, and I look at them all day. It's not like being home with you, but looking at your smile makes me feel better.

I miss you so much!

Love,
Mommy

Liam Loves the Garbage Truck

For the last week, Liam has been repeating 'gar-gar guck' (garbage truck) impatiently anticipating it's arrival. Today we videotaped his pure enchantment as the the truck rumbled through the alley, collecting all kinds of smelly refuse. Despite the drizzle, Liam enjoyed the performance.

October: Installations and Uninstallations

It has been 20 days since I last updated the blog. In retrospect, I had much time for updates, and much happened. However, I never thought I'd wind up at the hospital for emergency surgery an extended stay.

I'll start just after Liam's ear tubes. We waited for nearly a week to see what flora Liam's snot produced. There was some concern that he had a drug-resistant infection, but that wasn't the case. He had garden-variety nose stuff; streptococcus and hib (a non-flu form of influenza). He took antibiotics with few side effects. But his cough lingers even to this day.

A week after after Liam's ear tubes were installed, I had bad tummy pain and vomiting. I was up all night, but thought it was related to Liam's plagues. One week after that first sleepless night, I had another, exactly the same. Shannon dragged me to the ER on a Wednesday AM, and later that night, my gall bladder came out. The next day I had to have an endoscopic thing, so they could unblock my bile duct. I now also have a stent in my pancreas. I stayed at the hospital for what seemed like an eternity. It brought back a lot of memories of being in the hospital before Liam was born. The big exception being that Swedish hospital is so much better than Valley. The most annoying thing at Valley is the 'tinkie-winkie' lullaby piped thought the hospital whenever a baby is born. The lullaby only served to remind me that I was away from my Liam, which was so hard for me to do.

Liam and Devin had their first sleepover party Wednesday & Thursday night, and then he met me at the hospital for a few minutes before going to stay with Joya & Wiley for the weekend. Liam was somewhat worried to see Mommy in such a place and condition. Luckily, he was whisked away without much distress. While with the Crawfords, he had company. One of Joya's students was staying with her while a foster placement was being arranged. So Liam played with a little girl, which served as a great distraction. They also went to the pumpkin patch and the zoo.

The weekend before all of this happened, we went to Remlinger Farms with Devin and Liam. They had their big Halloween Festival going on, and the boys had a great time. The weather was warm and clear, and we had a fantastic day. The best part was when the boys 'drove' real cars around a track. The smiles were genuine and giant. We have some photos to post of that day. I'm glad we had a good day before all the chaos.

So to bring it current, I'm getting better. Liam's words are growing; the tubes were a great decision. Today, for example, he wanted to see the garbage truck. He repeated gar-gar guck (garbage truck) over and over while he looked out the window. He also picked up pumpkin, ghost and bat. A month ago he had so few words.

Halloween is around the corner, and my goal is to be well enough to walk around the neighborhood with Liam dressed as a lion. Photos of that will be posted soon.

On 10/20 Liam weighed 27 pounds.

Down the Tubes

On Monday morning, Liam underwent a procedure to place tiny tubes in his ears. Each tube is about the size of a grain of rice, and together, the tubes will help drain fluid from his inner ears.

The whole thing took less than an hour. Liam was a little worried when we entered the surgical suite. The bright lights cast a scary glow on the room. In addition, ten or so new people scurried around the room, wearing masks and blue gowns. If I didn't know what was going on, I'd think the mothership had finally landed. It all seemed like an alien encounter, and that would scare me at any age. Luckily, Liam has not yet seen any of the Alien Movies.

The nurse said he would cry and struggle as the anesthetic was given. She suggested thy could help me if I couldn't hold him, but I knew Liam would be brave. He didn't really cry, though he flailed around for a second before he drifted off to sleep.

The procedure took only a few minutes. Liam was so brave. He didn't cry after either. The nurse said she had never seen a child react in such a mild way. I told her that's just Liam. He takes everything in stride.

We hope the tubes will drain his ears. He's having a hard time hearing, and the tubes will fix that, we think. He's had the same ear infection for a few weeks now (nearly a month) so hopefully the tubes will work wonders.

On 10/6/08 Liam weighed 27.5 pounds and was around 31 inches tall. He also earned five choo-choo stickers at the doctor, which is a new record.

Zoo Day

The weather at the tail end of September is better than any we've had all year. The sunny, warm day beckoned us to come out and play. We went to the zoo!

When we arrived, we were met by a peacock. Liam was mesmerized by the 'bird'. Courageously, Liam crept closer and closer, until the peacock hobbled away. He had a foot injury, which only added to Liam's intrigue.

We played for a few hours, mostly at the new children's zoo. We ate our picnic lunch before catching a glimpse of the elephants, who were snoozing. We also saw the sharks and monkeys, both favorites.

It was a fun day.

The Good Doctor

Today we were watching MSNBC to see a repeat of Keith Olbermann on David Letterman. John McCain ditched Letterman to chill with Katie Couric and he told Letterman that he was on his way to the airport to go directly back to Washington. Olbermann stepped into his spot on the Late Show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Std7W74RlTg

Countdown is the only show we watch regularly, and it's on every day. So it's fair to say I like my politics with an Olbermann bias. Jon Stewart's pretty good too, but it's satire; infotainment. Countdown is more comprehensive and less biased; but heck, it's still very liberal-flavored. So why am I putting all of this on Bean's Blog? Well first, when he gets to be older, I want him to see how important politics is to his parents. Second, as we were watching MSNBC this morning, an ad comes on TV featuring the doc who delivered Liam!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlWmZ_aD8cc

I knew I liked her. I suppose she doesn't really care if a patient goes elsewhere because of her views, seeing as she delivers something like 300+ babies a year. Plus, in Seattle, I think most women would be in favor of keeping emergency contraception legal and readily available. From my experience, she was incredible in her willingness to allow me flexibility in my difficult pregnancy, even when the others ordered me to bed rest. I'm glad she was the one to catch little Liam as he flailed into his tiny new life. And it was a nice surprise to see her on TV this morning.

No Place Like Home

Liam was so happy to see Mommy at the airport yesterday. He was sitting on Daddy's shoulders, looking around... then he saw me, and his normal inquisitive expression broke into a giant smile, complete with a giggle. He reached for me and wouldn't let go. Running through Dulles Airport (full sprint down two whole terminals) to make the tight connection and get home before his bedtime was so worth it.

While I was gone, Liam's new choo-choo arrived. He loves watching it go around all by itself. Plus it sings songs and teaches him letters (we'll see about that).

Another unwelcome guest arrived while I was gone. Liam's ear infections are back. The doctor today suggested the Ear specialist, who will likely suggest ear tubes. We'll know more on 10/2. Liam is really grouchy today, and I think he's in a lot of pain. Poor thing no longer responds to oral antibiotics, so he has to go in today, tomorrow and Friday for an injection in each thigh. We really *hope* that does the trick.

Happy Birthday Nana

Today is Nana's Birthday. Happy Birthday... maybe next year Liam will be able to say it... or even sing it!

Liam's at home with Daddy. I'm in New York for a seminar. This is the first time I've been away from Bean more than one night. I miss him so much. It's nice to be here in Syracuse though. I'm constantly reminded of good things. Tonight the seminar took everyone to Skaneateles Lake where Daddy used to dive... In the winter... Because he's a little crazy like that. Mommy and Daddy met in Syracuse.

I've learned a lot while I was here, so it was worth it to be away from my true loves for a little while. Plus I hear they have been having a little fun while I'm away. I can't wait to see Bean though. His laugh does not the same over the phone.

Liam's Language Grows

We now have a full list of 25; words Liam knows and uses daily.

In order:

1. mama
2. more
3. ball
4. book
5. baby
6. bye
7. dog
8. D (for Devin)
9. cheese
10. fish
11. nana (means banana and grandma)
12. cracker
13. car/beep
13. juice
14. cookie
15. bar (means cereal bar)
16. choo-choo
17. teeth
18. hot (means hot and cold)
19. baboo (means bubble)
20. bapu (Means daiper) [ He also says poo-poo.]
21. wash
22. cow & moo
23. hoo-hoo (owl)
24. ah-ah (sheep)
25. ca-car (tractor, farmer, barn)

This doesn't include his signs: all done, airplane, eat, more, milk, sleep, dog, bird, different; flower, turtle, fish, bath, hot, car, kitty, and no.

He has started using mama and dada to refer to us, but not all the time. Someone pointed out to me that I call Lester by his name most of the time, and he calls me Lisa most of the time. If talking to Liam, we use mommy and daddy, so that explains why he's just now starting to use these words. Also, Liam rarely uses no, but he means it when he says no. Most of the time he uses it when he doesn't want a certain food or toy. He also shakes his head no, but that can mean no, yes, or I'm tired.

In a very cute way, Liam has named his favorite books, even the library ones he really likes. So there's the choo-choo book (random story about a train), the aroo book (I'll teach my dog a lot of words), the ah-ah book (farm book), the bay-bee book (photos of babies smiling, frowing, etc.), the Knut book (about Knut, the baby polar bear in Germany), la la (moo, ba, la la la, by Sandra Boynton) and there are tons of others. We read a lot.

Daddy's Birthday!

Nine years ago, I took Lester on a week's vacation to Alaska for his 30th birthday. He flew in a single-engine bush plane over Mt. Denali while I hiked in the national park. (Hiking was the safer route; I'd likely get sick in the bouncy-bumpy puddle jumper.) Lester watched from above as thousands of Elk herded in the Alaskan Wild. I ran into a bear (almost literally) and her cubs, and had to hike miles back along a loop trail to avoid any trouble. I also felt the warm, stinky breath of a moose, who was hiding so well I could only hear and smell him breathing in the nearby brush.

This was long before little Bean, obviously. However, this birthday shared a few characteristics with the one nearly a decade ago; they both were entirely spontaneous and both involved animals in their natural settings.



On Saturday, Lester's 39th birthday, we first met up with Zinta and the crowd. It had been too long since we had last seen them. Also, we missed Imants' birthday a few days ago, so a visit was certainly in order. Guy and Cara met us at ZAGI Headquarters, where a big playdate kept all kids occupied for hours.





Guy and Cara, joined us on a trek to Monroe Elementary School, where thousands of birds circle above before swirling into the chimney all at once. Liam said (and signed) bird, and caw-caw, over and over.



You can't really see the birds here because of the low light and small image size, but you do see the crowd, the sunset, and the school. Watch the video (link below) and you'll see why this was so amazingly cool. This video gives you an idea, but I think it was filmed at a school in Portland. The same thing happens in Monroe.

This article is from last year, but it explains the event:
Swifts by the thousands target Monroe chimney

Monroe is only a few miles north of Joya & Wiley, so afterward, we stopped for a few minutes to say hello. Liam slept in the car the whole way home. With such a busy, fun-filled day, he was exhausted!

The wonderful day started me thinking about what to do for Lester's next birthday; the big 40! We could take another spontanuous adverture together, with or without Bean. (It would be more difficult for different reasons either way.) We could relax on the beach somewhere, but that's not Lester's preference. Plus relax=beach+Liam is an invalid equation. We could hear back to our roots, and have a stale roll and a pint of whatever at the Inn-Complete. I don't know if alumni are allowed in. Heck, I don't even know if it's there anymore. Only time will tell, and I have 362 days to plan.

On September 5th Liam weighed 26.8 pounds and was almost 32 inches tall.

Happy half-birthday Bean!

Liam is old. He's a little boy, clearly a toddler. We forgot to sing, in fact with it being a holiday, we didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Though this is interesting; for the first time in his life, Liam's age has caught up with his clothing size, at least with jammies and pants.

He wore newborn until he was 3 months; 0-3 until 5 months, 3-6 thereafter, and then size 9 months at around a year. He was in 12 months all summer, though with shirts we usually went up in size for comfort (don't we all?) But now, as he turns 18 months, he's finally caught up. 18-month everything.

I'm curious to see how much he weighs at his doc visit on Friday.

Happy half-birthday Bean!

End of Summer: early to mid-August

Summer hasn't really bloomed this year. We've had handfuls of nice days here and there, but most of August was raining or cold or both.

That doesn't mean we've been sitting around though! We went to the Woodland Park Zoo with Joya. Liam danced to Johnny D at Elbert's retirement party (in the rain!) and Liam's turning into a little boy a little more every day.

Liam's Taxonomy
To start with, the zoo was a hit! Woodland Park Zoo is bigger than the Point Defiance Zoo, which is the one where we usually go. As we arrived, we ran into my boss Julie and her daughter, who live near the zoo. (It's a tiny little world when you think about it!)

The first animals we saw were the jaguars, who were right up near the front glass, walking around. Joya said to Liam, "Do you see the jaguar?" and he pointed and said "jag-war." This was his first polysyllabic word, and it shocked us both. All the other animals were 'bird' 'fish' or 'ar-oo' which means dog. Bear = dog. Giraffe = dog (after a long thought). Flamingo = bird. Lizard = bird. Whale = fish. Otter = dog and fish. This is Liam's taxonimy.

Country Boy
Our good friend Elbert retired this summer, and the BBQ party was held in his honor. It drizzled, but we didn't care. We were surprised to see some far away friends there, like new grandpa Joe Kresse. Dallas, who was maybe 8 at our wedding, was there with is mom Carolyn (also a good friend). They live in Canada, so we rarely get to see them.

Liam walked around the garden with Margie and Cara. The neighbor has a horse, which captivated (and frightened) Liam. The highlight of the evening was a John Denver performance. Is it still called an impersonator if the singer is dead? Liam stood outside the open window, watching John Denver play and sing. At the end of the evening, a beautiful rainbow crossed the sky.

New Experiences
The next weekend was a big one in Liam's little world. First, Liam's climber arrived. We've been discussing the need for some kind of climbing toy for Liam. He LOVES to climb and slide. With winter coming, it seemed like we'd better get one. Lynda told us which one Thomas loved, and that's the one we have!

The same day, by coincidence, one of our neighbors held a garage sale. We picked up food and a little play kitchen. When Liam's playing in his kitchen, he says num, num, num. He also picked up two new cars, which live in the oven. When you're one, anything goes! The same weekend, Liam spent his first night away from home, without Mommy & Daddy. He went up to Joya and Wiley's house, where he had lots of fun playing with the kitties and watching an Olympic diving competition on TV. Apparently Liam clapped after every dive, and he was captivated.

He also does a good job with his puzzle, which has animals on it. If you ask him to pick up the turtle, for example, he knows which one it is, and where it goes. (He still needs help fitting it into the space properly.)

New Words
Liam's become a lot more vocal lately, for sure. He doesn't yet say jaguar on his own, but if we had one at home he might! He learned about cows (they moo) at school, along with the choo choo. Trains, cars and trucks are nearly an obsession right now. Liam can't yet say tractor, so instead he calls the tractor book 'ah-ah'. He's gradually developing words for the things he likes.

Eating is also much better, now that Liam's taking medicine for acid reflux. We'll talk to the doc about keeping him on it. He must know that it helps him because he's always willing to take it. It smells like Listerene, so it can't taste wonderful. Liam loves bananas, cheese and cookies. Luckily, he can say all three of those words.

Photos below from the new climber, and an impromptu playdate with Liam's friends Carter (almost 2) and Devin (13 months).

August Playtime

Welcome Charlotte Pearl!

Charlotte Pearl Golbek
born 08-04-08 5:41PM CDT
6 lbs, 15 oz, 18-1/4" long

For those of you who don't know, this is Joe & Jan Kresse's 1st grandchild. The Kresse's were our first firends when we moved out this way, and we are so happy to hear their news!

From Joe: Dark hair, button nose & very cute according to biased sources.

Low tech Granny Jan will provide pix tomorrow. Jill & Chris are doing well and everything went just fine. Its 101 in Hot Springs with humidity to match.

Charlotte shared a birthday with Barack Obama, he is 47, she is 0.

List of 25

One thing about living right next to a playground is that we overhear some of the most interesting/banal discussions. Two mommies sitting out there... taking about the "List of 25." Of course, I was intrigued to keep eavesdropping...

"Ogre," she said, "Shrek was popular at the time."

They were talking about first words. Specifically, they were talking about the first 25 words. This got me thinking about Liam's list.

1. mama
2. more
3. ball
4. book
5. baby
6. bye
7. dog
8. D (for Devin)
9. cheese
10. fish
11. nana
12. cracker

This doesn't include his signs: all done, airplane, eat, more, milk, sleep, dog, bird, different

These are the ones he uses regularly. He repeats what we say, but I don't think the words have meaning yet. For example, if I say 'Lester', Liam says his version, which sounds pretty close. But it isn't 'Daddy', and he doesn't yet connect the two. If I say 'Daddy', Liam knows exactly who I'm talking about, and will even point to him. However, he doesn't yet say 'Daddy'. He also doesn't use 'mommy' (or mama) to refer to me all that often either. Most of the time 'mama' means 'more, more'.

Happy Birthday Devin!

Happy Birthday to Devin!

Devin was one year old on Thursday. Liam now says D all the time, especially when we drive past his house. He stands by the back door, wearing my shoes, waving, blowing kisses, saying bye-bye. I'll ask "Where are you going?" His response, over and over, "D." He's got a friend.

I think I started the Blog before we met D. Happy birthday Blog!

Summer Arrived!

Nana's Purple Popsicle


June 15-July15


If a month had more in it, we'd call it a year. June is my favorite month; for me it brings a break from work and the monotony of gray skies. Usually we vacation somewhere. This year was no different.

Granny & Grandad arrived in mid-June. It was so nice to see them both again. We went to Daddy's graduation a week after they arrived. It seems like we haven't stopped for a second since then.


We also took Liam to be assessed for his eating. The doctor suggested we do this to see if he has problems related to his tongue problem he had when he was so little. If I learned anything from the experience when he was 3 weeks old, it's to get to these things as soon as possible. We met with a nice occupational therapist named Joli who knows just how to interact with Liam. She recognized opportunities to help Liam be more comfortable with eating, which will hopefully help him to accept more solid foods. By no means is he underweight (he's at the 50th percentile), but I fear him becoming more and more attached to pureed food only. We will see how he does.

On a happy note, Liam and I visited Wisconsin for a wedding. It was good timing because we also saw the 3rd fireworks in downtown Milwaukee, and we saw Klode Park fireworks the next night. He loved it, and it really wasn't too late for him because of the time change. I really think his favorite was the Whitefish Bay parade, which has really turned into something of a speclacle. There were three college marching bands, bagpipes, a dixie band, cheerleaders, stilt-walkers, ponies galore, and of course, the high school and middle school bands... still in the dump truck.


4th of July

Klodie Park was exactly as I remembered it; filled with red-white-and-blue suburban soccer moms and $1000-dollar baby strollers. But the view is incredible, and the food's not bad. Liam enjoyed it so much, we spent the day there. Last year we spent the 4th at Les Grove Park here in Auburn. I suppose Liam was littler, but it seemed there wasn't as much going on. Parades for the 4th aren't that common out here. And it certainly isn't to the scale of WFB.

Parade Video
http://www.youtube.com/v/X07MAt_1F1I

We met with family friends, the Knudsens. I used to babysit for thier kids when I was in high school. Now they are grown up. The two oldest (the ones I so fondly remember) were home, along with their parents when Liam and I stopped by. It was nice to see them.

We also met up with Lorre and her kids. Liam adores Tommy and Claire, and their cousins, who were visiting. It's all good incentive to visit again.

The beauty of a vacation in the town where you grew up is that you know where all the good stuff is!

The wedding was beautiful and we enjoyed the related wedding activities. Liam doesn't really sit still through church, but being the only baby present, everyone cut him some slack. He really liked dancing to the organ music, and a chocolate covered strawberry at the reception.

We also made it to Chicago to see Sian. She and I took Liam to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Great place. One of the photos below is of Liam playing in the fountain at Millenium Park.

Before our trip, a little accident happened. Liam dove over the edge of the couch, and hit his mouth on a toy on the way down. At first we though he knocked a tooth loose, but after visiting the ER, we learned he lost one tooth entirely, and he kncked the other so hard it also had to come out. So Liam lost his first two baby teeth on June 28th. We will have to wait for his adult teeth to grow in, hopefully when he is 5 or 6. Liam was very brave through the whole experience.


We debated cancelling our trip to Wisconsin, to give him more time to recover, but I'm glad we didn't. Both of us really enjoyed getting away.

When we arrived home, Granny and Grand dad returned from their trip up to Whistler. They spent another few weeks with us before heading home. While they were here, we met with Robin and her family. (Robin's mom and Lester's mom were cousins.)

Liam also has two new molars. We went to the dentist for the first time after Liam's accident, and were surprised to learn he had a new molar! The one on the other side has been coming in since then, taking it's own, sweet, painful time.

In the last month, Liam's vocabulary has grown. He now says more (which he has always said) along with ball, book, 'nana, baby, pease, bye, cheese and fish. He also makes the sound for dog (and all other animals) which kind of sounds like a dog's bark. He makes a noise for airplane (ssshhhh) and points to every one he sees. Cars sometimes warrant a bee-bee or ba-ba. He signs sleep, more, eat, all done, milk and airplane (sort-of). He also shakes his head no. (We get a lot of no and all done at dinner.)

So now we are settling back into routines. Liam is back at Building Blocks, with Mrs. Ally, who missed him very much. He's there three days a week, and he gets to see Carter on Monday and Friday.

More photos:

Summer 2008

It's October Again

click to enlarge

For those of you basking in the heat wave, consider this: yesterday, if I had gloves with me in the car, I would have worn them. On Monday, we had wind and rain like November. The skies have been dark since I don't know when. People are starting to talk about relocation.

Liam would like to play outside on swings that aren't damp and puddle-less slides. The wading pool is semi-deflated; waiting. That's it, we will now have to call it the waiting pool.



In protest, perhaps, Liam is not eating solid food right now. Only crunchy and baby food. No squishy bananas or sweet grapes.

There is a splash of hope though; granny and grand-dad arrive tomorrow. Liam understands this too. When he sees a photo of granny, he smiles and starts laughing. When I told him she's visiting tomorrow, he flapped his wings in anticipation. :-)

Healthy Again

Early June

Just an update: Liam's cough and runny nose seem to have subsided. I think he's made a full recovery.

We also have zoo photos. These are from the 'scavenger hunt' activity. Keep in mind, disposable cameras were used by everyone to level the playing field.

secret

reflection

Let Summer Begin Already

**Sitting in the fridge**

Last Summer, Liam was really too little to do anything besides look at stuff. We went to the park, and the zoo, but he couldn't interact with anything but his binkie. This summer will be very different, I predict.

I was out for a while, and as I always do, I asked Lester what they did. Apparently, my little boy likes to go down the slide in the front -- headfirst. As soon as he's at the bottom, I hear, he begins shouting 'mo mo' (means more) and runs back up to do it again. I have yet to see this feat, partly because it sounds a little dangerous, and partly because Liam's not feeling all that well lately.

Yesterday we went to the doc, to see if he had yet another ear infection. The good news? No ear infection. The bad news? Pnuemonia. So we are taking it easy for a few days, to let the antibiotic kick in. The weather isn't very nice anyway, so being inside is less of a hassle.

Last weekend, the weather was ok. Devin has a new wading pool, so we headed over to check it out. The 'frog' pool fits on the front porch, and as is the case with any activity involving water, it was a hit. Our friend Kaylie (5 months old now) was there for a little while too, but she got cold.

That's the update for now. Hopefully by the next update, there will be news of a complete recovery, and lots of fun outside.

As of 5/29/08 Liam weighed 24.5 pounds and was 29 inches tall.

As of May 26th, Liam weighed 24 pounds.

Not much to report. Just thought I'd post his weight.

The best birthday present

Today Liam greeted me by blowing me kisses. He slept a little later than usual to allow daddy to make me breakfast in bed. mmm!

As he left to go to school this morning, he was waving and blowing me kisses from his car seat. I thought about how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful little boy to celebrate number 33 with.

Other random things -- Liam was born on 3/1/07. 3 x 1 x 7 = 21.

Busy Weekend

Early May: 5/1 to 5/19

Liam speaks gibberish fluently now. It's a mysterious language that contains few vowels - a cross between Chinese, Portugese and Dutch. He also has started using his sign language all the time now. More, please, eat and gentle (which he made up himself). He also says 'yeah' if you ask him a question. Do you like dogs? Yeah. Is your name Zoe? Yeah. Should we feed you squirrel? Yeah.

We had a weekend full of adventures. The weather has been hot (record heat!) so we went to the splash park in Auburn. Liam enjoyed it so much we had to go back the next day with Devin. We grabbed a few photos.

Auntie Katie is here on business for two weeks. She was amazied to see how big Liam has gotten (the last time she saw him was at her wedding last June!) On Friday night we all met Katie and Ronnie for a nice dinner on Puget Sound.

Saturday morning we went to the zoo for Weyerhaeuser's annual photo scavenger hunt. Some areas of the new kids zoo were open for the first time. Liam was the first one (ever!) to play in the new spray park at the zoo. Most of my 'scavenger hunt' photos were of Liam. I'll be surprised if any are good though. Everyone had to use a disposable camera provided at the start. My flash didn't work, and I didn't realise the focus distance was 1 meter, so the photos may be odd. But we had fun.

Dinner in the back yard is such a great way to end the day. Thanks to the Ikea high chair, we can easily move dinner outside. I think we'll be doing that a lot this summer. Liam loves being outside. Even when he's just looking at the rocks, or pushing his 'hippo car' around, he's smiling and having a great time.

A Quick Break: May 4-6, 2007

Liam now has seen both oceans, though it was too cold to swim or play in the sand. We joined our friends, the Griffiths, on their trip to Ocean Shores. We didn't really do anything while we were there, though we did walk on the beach. Both boys fell asleep in their strollers. We mostly played inside, safe from the wind. We also celebrated Brian's birthday, which was the reason for the trip. Everyone had a good time, in fact we would have liked to stay longer.

Singing in the Rain

Late April/Early May

The weather has yet to turn nice, but Liam doesn't mind too much. He just learned there's a small yard out back with a ton of interesting things, like stones, a garden hose and a water meter. Today Lester took him outside barefoot to stomp in some puddles. At first he was a little reluctant to walk on cold, wet concrete. (I would be too!) Be then he tried it, and as you can see from the expression, it's fun.

This last week marked the arrival of tooth number seven. We didn't have the drama like before, but certainly a little less sleep. Bean also nods his head yes (sometimes even when he means yes) and he also sometimes says 'yah' when you ask him to do something. (Doesn't mean he'll do it.)

Liam has finished at Building Blocks school, and will have a little time at home with me. Currently I only teach on Wednesday nights.

Tomorrow we're off to the ocean for two days. I was thinking about how lucky Liam is to be able to travel. Lester and I were both adults before we'd seen both oceans. Liam will be just over a year. We updated our destinations map in the upstairs hallway to include Liam. (With help, he added green pins for Portland, Austin, San Antonio, Tampa and Cocoa Beach.

On May 2nd, Liam weighed 23.5 pounds and was tall enough to reach the doorknob.

Where did my Zen Baby Go?

Back in September, I commented that Liam was a little Zen Baby. Where is that child?

These days he runs around, all day long. He walks almost all the time now, looking for trouble to get into. Most of the time he climbs up onto things where he doesn't belong. He'll maneuver a toy into just the right spot, then scale the toy to reach something way up high. His tippy-toes get a lot of exercise.

He pounds on the windows, grabs cords, slobbers all over the remotes. In his high chair, everything goes directly to the floor. Then, with a sheepish look, he says 'mo, mo' which means more. I think he' a Newtonian physicist in training.

Before bed, we take a bath, read a story and play. Regardless, he nearly always crays for a few minutes and then falls asleep. However, I would no longer classify him as a Zen baby. :-) He LOVES to scream quite often. When he doesn't get what he wants, look out!

This week, we went back to the doc. The perpetual ear infection is gone, and with summer on the way, the doc no longer thinks tubes are needed. yay!

On April 2nd, Liam had his first haircut. We took a walk to the haircut place beside our local grocery store, and he sat still the whole time. He was such a brave boy!

A few days later, we took him for his first pair of walking shoes. He's looking very cute!

One step forward, one step back

If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion.

We had one crazy month. It started with a nice party, new friends and a new school. Along the way, we had a few "monster-trance" first steps and much happiness. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a party and Easter with an Egg Hunt. Unfortunately the month ended with tears, infection and an assortment of messiness.

**The egg hunt photo**

On Easter morning, Liam wake up too sick to go to church. Luckily, he and Dev went to the neighborhood egg hunt on Saturday. We also went to the other park, to try out the baby swing again.

Just after Easter, Liam went to the doc because he wasn't keeping much down. He had a whopper ear infection in both ears. The medicine made poor Liam erupt from both ends before doing any good. He missed almost a week of school. Lester went out of town to help my mom move from San Diego to San Antonio. It was a difficult and mostly sleepless weekend here as Liam suffered from painful diaper rash, continued explosions around the clock, and boredom from being cooped up at home. Luckily, our neighbors fed us and helped while Lester was gone.

Over the weekend, Krysti and Carter were over, and the two boys played happily together. Liam studied Carter's walking (and running) ability, which fueled a zeal to take more steps at once. He walks a little every day, but still prefers to crawl. Being so sick, Liam didn't get much walking practice for about a week.

It snowed just before Lester left, and again on Friday.

Liam's lost a little weight. He's down to 20 pounds again, having lost nearly two. However, in the last two days, he has eaten nearly everything in sight. He once again likes food he previously didn't, including some new solids, like dried apricots. The doc said we'll worry about his eating issues once we know his ear infections are gone.

More next week, including photos from Liam's first haircut.

Baby Steps

Tonight, Liam took his first few solo steps! He was pushing his little red car all over the kitchen, perhaps trying to run over the dog. He stopped, just beside his high chair, and stood by himself for a moment. Then he took three or four steps towards me, right into my arms. It was all on his own, and I think the trick was that he wasn't thinking about it.

He hasn't really repeated the feat, but in his defense, he was very tired.

How fitting that Liam took his first steps on St. Patrick's Day.

Full Speed Ahead!

March 2nd through March 10

A year ago Liam was just figuring out life. He slept a lot (we didn't) and we introduced him to the world one piece, one friend, one day at a time. So it seems only appropriate that a year later, he's absorbing every detail that surrounds him.

This week he has started saying Mama. Previously he said mamamamama, and sometimes he looked in my direction. We were never really sure if he intended to speak a word, or if he uttered a meaningless sound. But really, right on his birthday, he started to say Mama and mean it. This morning, when I first saw him, clear as day, he said Mama and pointed. So far, it's the only word that we recognize, so it's his first word. He also infrequently says 'hiya' on the phone, so that might soon be his second word. He also says it randomly too, so it could be coincidence. He says 'da' a lot, but it still means too many things to pinpoint one meaning. He might be smart, but I think homonyms are still too advanced.

Other recent advances:

• He goes to school now. His friend Carter is there, and they play well together. He doesn't eat much while he's there, so that's something to work on.


• Little Bean stands on his own, and when brave, he takes a step between us. Still no walking.


• The car seat faces forward now, at least in one car. Liam likes to see where he's going.


• He gives us hugs & kisses. Gotta love these.
  

On 3/3/2008, Liam was 22 pounds, 11 oz. He was 29 inches tall. (Compare that to 3/3/07 when he was barely 6 pounds and 18.5 inches!) He is one year old.

Happy Birthday Baby Liam!

March 1st, 2008
Liam's first birthday!


Yesterday was Bean's First Birthday. It was a special day, so we celebrated with a party. Liam started his day early with breakfast. He ate yogurt and oatmeal as usual. After breakfast all the family from England called to wish Liam a happy birthday. After Liam's nap, we went to the grocery store, to get a few things for the party. We also found a 1st birthday balloon for the birthday boy!


At home, Shannon came over to help decorate the house. Liam decided he wanted to help too, so he climbed the ladder all by himself. It would have been frightening for us to watch, except he was up the ladder in a flash. By the time we noticed, he was halfway up the ladder! Luckily we were all nearby to make sure he didn't fall.

Around 3, Liam's friends arrived. The party started with a jelly bean egg hunt in the front park. Then we came inside for tea and cake. Finally, we all had cake and sang to Liam. He wasn't sure what to make of the cake at first, but eventually he discovered what to do. His cake was a round angel food with whipped cream frosting. The number 1 was on top, in blue sugar sprinkles.

Finally, Liam helped open his birthday gifts. He received many nice gifts, but the favorites were the handmade ones. Friends stayed at our house until Liam's bed time, and I don't think he fussed or cried the whole day. It was such a treat to have all of his friends over at once!

To end the day, I rocked Liam to sleep as always. He hadn't eaten much 'real food' all day, so we fed him baby food and yogurt before bed, as always. So as I was sweetly rocking my 1-year old son, he closed the festivities by barfing all over himself and Mommy.

It was a good day.

Hello Nana! I missed you!

February 14th to February 19th

The last time Liam saw his Nana was at Katie's wedding in Texas. Liam was a tiny Bean then, just shy of 4 months old. So when Nana saw Liam at the airport again, passersby thought she'd never seen him before. There were more hugs and kissing flying through the air than planes!

The week went by so quickly, but we accomplished so much. Liam's now enrolled for a new school. He'll start on March 3rd, just after his birthday. It seems like a kid-friendly place, and he'll be with his friend Carter. On Friday, Liam visited his class while they were having snack. He sat in a chair, beside Carter at the table. The babies shared some muffin, which Liam enjoyed tremedously. When it was time to go, I told Liam to say goodbye to Carter, and he gave his pal a gentle pat on the head. My baby is growing up!


Nana also bought Liam his birthday present: a rocket. It's similar to his Radio Flyer car, but a little smaller in scale. He loves that it makes a rocket noise. Liam now splits his time between the two toys - car, then rocket. Both get used as a push toy, pull toy, snowplow, ladder, toybox, and wagon, frequently.


We're busy planning Liam's first birthday party. Taking a lesson from a few of our friends who have had big parties, we're going small and casual. We have invited Liam's Godparents and his two baby best friends, Carter and Devin. More about his party soon.

The Howler Monkey Returns

The last few days, Liam's started screaming. I think it's just that he figured out that he can. We tell him not to, try to ignore it, and hope it will pass. He's also crawling all over, up and over stuff, on top of, under and through.

We had a busy weekend. On Friday Daddy stayed home with Liam while Mommy went to work. University Day was at the Pack Forest near Mt. Rainier. While it was nice to get away for a day, I really missed hanging out with little Bean. On Saturday, we introduced politics to Liam's little world. We went to our local caucus. It was impressive -- hundreds of people filled the elementary school gym across the street. Then Cara came over for a sleep-over. Miranda and Cassie came down for a visit too; Liam had three friends to play with! We all went swimming at the Y and then ended the fun day with pizza. Liam loves pizza, of course!

Speaking of food, he tried green beans again, and liked them. He loves grapes... would eat them all day. I've thought about giving him eggs, but we'll hold off for a little while longer.

We're planning Bean's birthday party. Everyone says the first party is for the parents, but we'll have our St. Patrick's Day party a few weeks after Liam's birthday. Currently I'm trying to dream up a 'jelly bean' theme cake. Sure, I could get a grocery store cake for him to sink his little hands into, but I think I'm happier knowing what goes into it. Lester seems to be against the smushed cake tradition... guess it's not really a British thing.

11 months old

Happy Bithday Little one. You are 11 months old today!

In an hour, Daddy and I will sneak into your room to sing 'Happy Birthday' one more time. In one more month you'll be a year old. I can heardly believe how big you are getting, but all I have to do is look at you and I'm fully convinced that you're not the helpless tiny thing we brought home eleven months ago.

For example, today you learned to clap your hands. I showed you; then we practiced together for a little while. After a few minutes, you did it on your own for the first time ever. Now if I say 'clap your hands' you know exactly what to do. You're darn proud of yourself when you get it right too.

We love you.

M & D

January 21-28: Milestones

Bean's almost a year old. This week he'll be 11 months, and secretly I'm surprised he's still alive. In the beginning I wondered how anyone ever made it past the first few weeks of life. We start off needing a small team of assistants to manage everything for us. But every day little Bean learns how to do little things for himself. Once and a while the little things add up to bigger things, and we call those milestones. Then his assistants are relegated to measuring, tracking and recording the milestones. We can observe, but really, our role in making these events happen is quite limited.

So this week, I'll quickly sum the events, and then I'll hit the milestones.

Liam has a redesigned play area. We have reorganized the furniture, so now Liam has a giant space for play. He can run laps with his car, which he likes to do.

Liam also had a breakfast of tea and toast with marmite (with Daddy, of course!). Liam most certainly has British blood in him, because he devoured both. A real treat for him now is a sippy cup of chamomile.

We also discovered that Liam now loves being read to. He'll sit quietly and pay attention through multiple stories. He also has preference for certain books. He really likes Doggies, Mr. Brown Can Moo, and the ones that have textured pages.

Also in the news... we found out one of our good friends is expecting a baby in August. However, we're not sure if this is our news to share yet, so we'll leave you guessing for now.

Milestones...
• Becomes increasingly shy or anxious with strangers (8 - 13 months) Not yet
• Begins to show the emotion of fear (8 - 12 months) Still laughs at ROAR!; Gets scared sometimes though
• Begins to test parental responses to behavior (8 - 15 months) December & January
• Develops stronger preferences for people/toys (8 - 12 months) January – Blankie, Mommy
• Prefers primary caregiver above all others (8 - 15 months) December & January
• Separation anxiety increases (12 - 18 months) only with Mommy
• Acquires the notion of object permanence January, especially with remote controls and dog
• Attempts to use objects "correctly" (8 - 15 months) December & January; phone, cup, spoon
• Explores objects in many different ways (shaking, banging, throwing, dropping) (8 - 16 months) October
• Babbling appears less random; inflections apparent (8 - 14 months) Ah-tah
• Begins to use gestures and sounds to communicate (8 - 11 months) December; pointing
• Can respond to simple verbal requests January; no, more, eat, wave
• Begins to understand that words can refer to physical objects (9 - 12 months) November
• Begins to imitate spoken words (10 - 14 months) December; ma, da, ba, ta
• Taste: ability to taste salt improves, and babies prefer it (4 - 8 months) December; LOVES pickles
• Touch: can perceive different textures with hands (6 - 10 months) December; likes the texture parts of some of his books
• Capable of poking with index finger (8 - 11 months) November – especially likes faces
• Crawls forward on belly (8 - 10 months) October
• Lets objects go voluntarily (8 - 11 months) October
• Puts objects in and out of containers (8 - 11 months) December
• Uses pincer grasp (8 - 11 months) November/December
• Walks holding on to furniture (8 - 11 months) December

Mommy's Milestones:
• First steps on the beach - December
• Met Great Grandparents - December
• Gives hugs - January
• Listens to stories - January
• Plays by himself - December/January
• Says Mama ?????

As of January 28th Liam weighed 20.5 pounds.

Happy 6-month birthday Devin!

Liam's best friend Devin is six months old today. Happy birthday Devin! According to the Blog, we met Dev sometime between July 25 and July 30th. At the time, Liam was a little smaller than Dev is now (Liam was 5 months old at the time, and Devin must have been a few days old). From the July 3oth Blog:  

...we met the newest baby on the block. Liam no longer has that title. There's nothing quite like a new, tiny little one, as light as a feather. Hard to believe Liam was ever so small.

Funny, now Kailie is tiny little one, and Dev's only a little smaller than Liam! They grow so fast...

So this afternoon, Devin will graduate from the 'beginner baby' class, and he'll join Liam in the 'advanced baby' class. Liam's not going to be there much longer though. This week he's starting to prove his readiness for the next level of life, 'beginner toddler'. (I have a feeling there's more homework in the toddler class... at least for the parents.)

Liam's learned new things just recently. First, he's figured out how to stand up in his car, on the seat. This seems dangerous, but he doesn't care. He now likes to stand in the high chair too, and if the strap isn't super tight, he can get himself out of it....also very dangerous. He's also learned how to bang on windows with blocks and other toys; noisy but probably harmless given the strength of modern windows. He can jump up and down, while holding onto the baby gate. He likes to take off his shoes, socks and any other clothing that's easily removed. On Tuesday I spent an hour at Costco looking for his shoes, which he covertly dropped from the cart without me noticing. 

The final, and most appreciated evidence that's he inching closer to toddler-hood is that he's started giving hugs, and once and while, big sloppy kisses. Yesterday he said ma-ma-ma-ma-ma. Like da-da-da-da-da, I don't think the sound had meaning to him, but in my world, he was singing my song.

Baby Packer Backer

Liam's first football season is over. The Green Bay Packers were robbed of a Superbowl berth in the heart-wrenching conclusion of the last playoff game this evening. Liam watched some of the game, wearing Packer colors, of course. My hope is that with this loss, Favre will hang out for at least another year. I think the Pack could make another run next year, and with a third-place finish, maybe the networks will carry more of their games out here.

So I now have eight months to teach Liam to say 'Go Pack Go'. Shouldn't be too hard, except for that technicality that gets in the way right now... Liam's vocabulary consists of ah-tah, dah, and the occasional eh-dul-eh-dul-eh-dul. To pronounce the last one, say eh and quickly move your tongue left to right repeatedly. As you can see, we have some work to do.

Here's to Superbowl XLIII *next year*

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

January 7-14th 2008

We have been back from Florida nearly a week. Liam's getting back into his eating and sleeping routines. It's hard being a baby!

He was pretty good coming home on the flight. We sure did learn a lot about traveling with a baby. We had a seat for him on the flight home, so he slept a lot more than he did on the flight there. He's been waking up really early this week, but I think he's adapted better to the time change than we have!

He's gotten a little fussy about eating again. He still loves yogurt, puffs and bread (especially olive bread) and baby food. We've tried pancakes (Thanks Krysti) and toast again. Toast still isn't interesting. He doesn't like bananas or bagels, which used to be on the hot list. {sigh} I'm tempted to try more 'solid' things that require chewing now that he has 6 teeth.

While we were in Florida, Liam sprouted the two front middle uppers, one on the last day of the year, and one a few days earlier. So now he's a regular piranha, especially if he chomps down on fingers.

This week has been adventurous; we went to story time at the library and swimming at the Y. Liam loves swimming so much! He figured out how to kick on his own last night. We had extra fun because Devin (and his parents) joined us. He's still getting used to the water, but he had fun too. It was only Devin's 2nd time swimming, so he's a little unsure about it all.

Wave Bye-Bye

Today's our last full day in Florida. The weather has been outstanding. Liam's totally adjusted to this time zone, so I predict a few very early mornings when we return.

Saturday was our third visit to the great grandparents. Grandpa took us over to see the Manatees near the warm water outlet of the power plant. There were at least a dozen manatees hanging out in the water. We also went to lunch, where Liam enjoyed another pickle. He LOVES pickles.

Yesterday we went to the Brevard County Zoo. Liam met several giraffes, nose to nose. More about that when we get home.

Today we went for a walk along the beach, and then swimming at the Cocoa Beach Pool. It's a world-class facility. Liam loves to swim.

Now it's time to head back to the beach house, and start packing it up. Can't believe how fast two weeks went; it always does on vacation.

Photos in two days.

Baby New Year

We're still in Florida, though today you wouldn't know it. For the first time since we've been here, the weather is cold. However, it's still sunny, and warmer than the weather at home, so we're not complaining! Besides, we're having so much fun with the grandparents and great-grandparents.

Liam's typical day starts with Granny getting him when he wakes up. He eats his yogurt with the grandparents while we get a little more sleep (yay!). Then he plays for a while before his morning nap. Then we go out -- to the beach, or the pool. Yesterday we saw the space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center. Liam likes walking around looking at new things. Then we have dinner at home and Liam plays some more. Liam's grand-dad sometimes reads him the new books from Roy and Muriel in Ireland. Then he has a bath and falls asleep listening to the frogs, crickets and ocean waves.

Once and a while we make the 2-hour drive to the great-grandparents south of Tampa. Liam and I did this by ourselves a few days ago. There he crawls all over the floor looking for trouble -- lamp cords, remote controls, mini-blinds, anything little hands are supposed to keep away from. So we try to take him outside as much as we can.

Liam has tried some new things while on vacation. The "Greats" live on a golf course, so we walked along the cart path one afternoon. There are so many interesting birds to look at, and of course we always have to look for alligators. Liam learned to drive the golf cart, when we went to the clubhouse for lunch. There he also stole Mommy's pickle, which he devoured. He's also tried macaroni salad, which is also a new treat.

We went to Kennedy Space Center yesterday. It looks like we will not get to see the shuttle launch as we hoped. The launch has been postponed indefinitely. We did learn that there are only 13 shuttle launches left. Then NASA is switching back to the rocket and capsule program, ending the shuttle program entirely. So we have only 2.5 years to get back here to see another launch. Lester and I love space exploration, and we hope Liam also likes learning about the planets and space missions. They said the first person to set foot on Mars is currently between 5 and 15 years old -- I guess Liam's a little young. But it was encouraging to learn that it will be in Liam's lifetime (and hopefully ours too!) Wouldn't it be incredible to be a little boy seeing humans go back to the moon and on to Mars?

And one last bit of news... Kailie Bale was born on New Year's Eve. She will be the newest kid on the block back home, replacing Devin, who is inching up on 6 months old. Welcome Kailie, Liam can't wait to meet you!

I have a few photos from our vacation, but they take forever to upload on the library's free wi-fi. More soon.