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