Tis' the season!

Oh these kids, if they were any cuter... well, that's just not possible.

Ellis is a rolling machine. She's still not crawling at 9 months, but why would she? She just rolls and rolls until she gets where she wants to go. It's hilarious, I've never seen a baby roll as much as she does. All she wants are Liam's toys, and he's such a sweet big brother, he actually shares pretty much everything with her except his gears "no, don't like the gears for Ellis". She loves when I sing to her and gets the biggest kick out of her big bro.

I took them to see Santa the other day, and while I didn't get any smiles they both sat on Santa's lap without crying. Ellis was on the verge of tears, and Liam was surprisingly willing to sit on Santa's knee. He seemed a bit confused by the whole thing, but he keeps talking about seeing Santa again. Christmas this year is so awesome, Liam is so into the tree and going to see lights, and his "edevent calender" which he asks for all day long.

We had a holiday party a few weeks ago and Liam was such a good boy about sharing his toys. I'm so proud of what a nice boy he is. There were tons of kids here and he didn't complain once about them playing with his things. He was laughing and having a fabulous time. I guess he loves to entertain like his Mom! Watching him play with his sis and other kids just warms my heart. He loves to play with his friends Zach and Jaymin that live here in the complex, the three of them run around like a pack of wild dogs, all laughing and yelling together. When he hears kids outside he immediately wants to go out and say hi.

Tante Moni is coming in a few days, can't wait to see what Liam thinks of all his presents from Santa!

It's All About Liam and Ellis.

I keep meaning to blog about the kids, but I have literally no time these days.

Here's a few quick updates about my wee ones:

Liam:
-this kid is a CHATTERBOX. He is hilarious and some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth I have no idea where he heard. A recent favourite:
Me: That's a nice sticker Liam, where did you get it?
Liam: The old old lady gave it to me.
Me: Your (approx 40 year old) teacher at preschool? Please call her teacher and not old lady.
-he has also hit the terrible twos with a vengence. He throws tantrums that are pretty mild compared to what I've seen but he can be totally unreasonable at times. Always cute though!
-Liam's vocabulary is insane. He speaks in full sentences most of the time and is very articulate. He doesn't quite have the hang of pronouns yet (He says "you" instead of "I") but we're getting there.
-He LOVES to be outside and always wants to go into the backyard
-He also loves his little sis, and plays with her quite often which is cute. He even gives her kisses without my prompting!

Ellis:
-she is sitting great on her own now and desperately wants to crawl. She just can't seem to get it together so she rolls everywhere she wants to go. I can't leave a room with her on the floor or she'll end up who knows where.
-she is honestly the sweetest little thing ever. She is cuddley, kissy, and just plain cute. I always wondered when I was pregnant how I would love another little baby as much as I love my Liam. Now I know!
-Ellis is an even bigger mama's girl than Liam was a mama's boy. If I leave the room and she's watching she will often squawk and complain. Good thing for her I'm not going back to work!
-but her favourite is Liam. He can always make her smile even when she's in tears. I love seeing them play together!
-she still hates solids for the most part. She doesn't mind a few bites of avacado or rice cereal but anything else and I get the "you've poisoned me!" face. I think once she can have chunkier food that she can pick up herself she'll be more into it.

Smarty Pants!

Liam is changing everyday, it's hard to keep up! I thought I would post quick update before this turns into an "it's all about Liam and his sister" blog since there is no way I'll be able to keep up with two separate blogs for the wee ones.

Liam is a serious puzzle prodigy. I actually loathe puzzles so it's funny that he's so into them. He's recently started stringing words together and one of is favourites is "more puh" as in "more puzzles". We already have about ten for him and apparently it's not enough. He even does ones meant for three year olds, it's crazy!

On to his language burst, I swear this kid has about 200 words and he just adds more and more each day. Yep, Mike and I definitely have to watch our language around him. Speaking of Mike, he likes to call his Daddy by his first name now and again, usually when he's yelling for him (I guess I must do that??). It's so cute to hear.

He knows all of his colours, and can reliably count to three, but knows up to ten with help. He's also slowly learning the alphabet and knows a few letters. It's amazing how much he has changed since last year this time, he could barely crawl and now look at him.

Liam is as sweet as ever, often asking for hugs and kisses. He loves to "cud" (cuddle). He loves his Luna cat (he calls her "nana") and will pin her down for "hugs" and "pets". Hah, I don't think she's quite as excited about him, but that will come in time.

That's all for now, I can hear him torturing the cat....

Panettone?!

We just got back from Cabo, and I thought I would post a quick update on our little guy.

We've been trying to teach Liam his colours, and he's known blue for a while, but will often say "blue" to any colour that I ask of him. But in Mexico Mike found a small pink shell for him, and without prompting him he said "pink". We thought it was a fluke, but today I asked him the colour for a flower in a book, and sure enough, he said "pink". What a crazy kid! Of all the colours to say after blue, I can't even remember the last time I told him something was pink. It just reminds us that kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

I mentioned in the last post that we can't keep up with all his new words, I swear he's up to 100 by now. But his latest as of tonight is "tone". As in panettone. Hah! He asks for tone now when he wants some of our panettone. Is this kid cute or what.

Quick update!

Sorry for the long delay, but our computer had a virus that prevented me from accessing anything google-related (including my blog!). All is well now, computer is wiped clean though so no pics this time.

Liam is a little chatter box which is awesome. I've stopped keeping track of all his new words, there's just too many! He's even starting to string two words together occasionally, so cute! He's learned how to walk upstairs and is currently working on going down, but he's very cautious which is good! He loves the park, and can do the slide by himself if it's short. Well, he could probably handle bigger ones but Mama is too nervous to let him try. :)

He's also a total whiz at his wooden puzzles. We buy him a new one and he has it down in a couple days! Such a little smartie!

As you probably know, Liam is going to be a big brother this March! We're having a girl, which we're thrilled about. I bought a cute little pink dress for her and asked Liam if he thought it was pretty, he said 'no no no'. Haha.

Oops?

Okay, so it's been a while, but we're busy busy busy as usual.

Liam had a great visit with his family in Canada, and enjoyed our road trip down the Oregon coast (for the most part). He was just great in the car, despite what many a horrified friend had to say about it. What can I say, my kid is an angel. He got to see his Uncle Steve and Aunt Emily get married, and was baptised at Oma and Opa's church in Kelowna. He was spoiled rotten as usual (seriously, this kid has so many cars already! And loves them all of course) and had a great time at the beach.

Oregon was a blast, he loved running up and down the long beaches and would just laugh and squeal with delight. It is just beautiful there and we plan on going back someday soon.

Hmmm, what else is new? New words or signs are added to Liam's repertoire every few days, and it seems to be speeding up. His current favourites are: 'no', 'don't', 'up', 'down', 'fish', 'bird', 'owl', 'uh-oh', 'go', 'dada', 'mama', 'dong dong', 'bum', 'ball', 'book', 'hi', 'wawa' for waffle, 'wowo' for walrus, and our personal favourite is 'gogen gogen' for moon.

He also makes a lot of sounds like 'brum brum' for car, 'baa' for sheep, and 'woowoo' for dog.

He said 'Opa' the other day, although now it's just 'pa', and tries to say 'Echo', the name of one of his little friends.

What a smart boy!

He is a pro at his shape sorter, and claps for himself (and of course expects you to as well) when he completes it. He likes his magnadoodle for scribbling, and loves to throw balls at the cat.

One of the cutest things he does lately is try to feed his stuffed animals, adorable!

New Words Update

Quick update before I forget Liam's new words: he says bug, but only in reference to ladybug. He also says "go", I guess from me repeatedly saying "Liam let GO of Luna's tail!". Haha.

A couple other cute things: he does the actions to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, If You're Happy and You Know It, and The Wheels on the Bus. So cute!

Quick Liam Update

We're busy busy busy as usual, Liam is always on the go these days! I thought I would post a quick update on what the little man is up to.

He understands so much, if you tell him we're going out and to get his shoes he finds them, brings them to you, and sits down. He also tries to get them off himself when we come home. It's beyond cute!

New words include: done, bird, bubbles, clock, bunny, book, and car. He also signs music, airplane, and lion. It's so fun to have him communicate with us.

He loves going to pool almost every day, and we took him to the water park recently which he loves as long as there aren't too many big kids around.

That's it for now!

Liam in Vancouver

Liam and I are in Vancouver for the week, visiting his Tante Moni, Oma, Opa, and Cousin Caitlin. Liam is having a lovely trip, and I thought I would do a quick update on the little man before I forget all the new things he has been up to these past few weeks.

First and foremost, Liam walks! For about two weeks now he has been toddling around on his own, and he gets better each and every day. It's the cutest thing, he walks with both hands in the air for balance, and is so proud of himself. He also loves to carry toys around with him, but God help you if you try and take it away.

Speaking of which, his latest development is his strong will. He was always a bit on the stubborn side (where on earth could he have gotten that from I wonder??) but this past week he has gotten extremely demanding, and will let you know loud and clear his likes and dislikes. He also loves to grumble when things don't go his way.

Liam's vocabulary is also expanding leaps and bounds this week. It's actually really amazing! He says 'bye', 'cat', 'dog', 'duck', 'dirt', 'bum', 'ding' (for when we get into the elevator), 'door', 'knock', 'rock' and I'm sure I'm forgetting some and will update when I remember. He also loves to imitate sounds like 'quack' and 'crackle'.

Tante Moni has been teaching Liam plenty of songs and actions this week. He can now touch his head and tummy when asked. He also loves the songs she made up for him, especially the troll song (which ends with him saying 'dirt'). The above picture is courtesy of Tante Moni, she's quite the photog don't you think!

This is such a fun age, watching him make his way around Tante Moni's apartment and give hugs and kisses to his family is so adorable and sweet.

Tomorrow we head home, back to Liam's Daddy who is missing him terribly. I gave Liam his Dad's picture last night and he hung onto it for dear life.

Liam's First "Real" Word!

I have lot's of updates but no time, this kid is running me ragged (and I love it).

But, other than Mama and Dada, Liam has announced to the world his first word. Ball! It's so cute, I ask him all day 'what is this Liam' just to hear it. The 'L' isn't very pronounced, but you can understand him loud and clear.

We're headed to NYC on Friday, so don't expect any updates for a while!

Oma, Opa, Tante Moni, and Caitlin Visit, Easter, Happy Birthday, and NYC... phew!

Life with Liam is so busy I never have time to update his blog! Let me try and recap the past couple months, but before I do, let me tell you that Liam has started taking his first steps!! It's so exciting, and he's so proud of himself when he does it. It's only a matter of time before our little man is literally running circles around us. :)




At the beginning of April Liam's Oma, Opa, Tante Moni, and Caitlin came for a visit to celebrate Easter and his 1st birthday with him! He enjoyed having a full house of adoring fans, and was sure to give everyone plenty of smiles and laughs in return for all the love and gifts he received.

Liam's first Easter was a blast, we had a little Easter egg hunt indoors for him which he loved. His Tante Moni wrote yet another amazing poem/story for him, which I will put in a separate post. That is one talented sister I have!

Then came Liam's birthday. We filled the living room with balloons and gifts, and he had such a look of wonder of his face as we led him down the hall. Then he got his first taste of cake (a somewhat healthy carrot cake) which he enjoyed shoving in his mouth and generally making a mess with.

A few days later we had his big birthday bash in our clubhouse. All his little friends showed up, and he had a great time playing and being the center of attention.

Liam loved having his Oma, Opa, Tante Moni, and Caitlin around for the festivities. We also went to the Zoo, did some sightseeing, and shopping of course!

We then only had a few weeks to relax and then it was off to New York City! A first for Mama, Daddy, and Liam. Other than someone stealing our laptop (with all our pictures from the past couple months!) and camera, we had an amazing trip. Liam is an excellent little traveler, and logged countless hours and miles in the stroller and carrier. He seemed to love taking in the sights just as much as we did! He loved all the cupcakes we sampled, but turned up his nose at the New York cheesecakes.

And now we are back at home, getting back into our routine of playdates, walks, and fun!

Grandma and Grandpa visit Liam!

We've had a busy few weeks so no time to post. Liam had a wonderful visit with his Grandma and Grandpa from Canada! There was plenty of time for playing, reading, and fun. A great time was had by all!

Liam's latest and greatest skill is pointing (as pictured above!). It started with him pointing at random things, so I started telling him what they were. Then all of a sudden, if asked, he started pointing at things when you ask him where they are, such as kitty, clock, light (his latest sign), Mama, Daddy, just to name a few. He will even point out things in his books, such as baby, kitty, and frog. What a smart little man!

He has also started to crawl 'normally', which is nice since he can pull himself up easier, and he loves to cruise. He can walk a little with me holding just on one hand, so who knows how soon he'll walk solo. Yikes!

And yes, I know I'm very tardy on the Liam VS Bear pictures, but they are stashed away safely on my camera, I promise I will post them soon!

More Milestones!!

Our laptop is broken, so the above picture was taken when he was just a few days old (and all I have on our tower).

So! Little Liam has been busy as per usual. This past week's feats include:

-pulling himself to standing in his crib! This is great because it requires him to get up on his knees which he was unwilling to do before. He was able to pull himself up if could reach something from a sitting position, but it was hard work for his little arms.
-standing for about 10 seconds on his own.
-starting to cruise furniture, as long as there is something enticing him. Apparently he has much love for the remote control.
-searching out particular books and "reading" them on his own. This kid LOVES books. I think he would sit all day and let you read to him as he flips the pages.

Liam's First Sign!!!!!

We are so excited, Liam has officially started doing his first sign, it's "more"!!!! He has been doing "milk" for a while now, but he does it sporadically when he wants something so it was all over the place. But when he does "more" there is no doubt, he wants more food. I am so proud of him, he's really communicating with us! He seemed pretty pleased with himself too.

Liam and the Valentine Thief

Liam's Tante Moni wrote this awesome and brilliant poem for him and posted it in comments. I keep re-reading it because it's so fantastic and thought it deserved it's own post. Thanks Tante Moni for once again spoiling the little man!

Liam and the Valentine Thief

Liam ate breakfast with a grumble,
a glare.
His mama made oatmeal.
Liam said, “It’s not fair!”

“I do not like oatmeal.
It’s lumpy, it’s goo!”
Mama just smiled,
“But oatmeal is good for you.”

Liam took one more bite,
then tied up his sneakers.
He ran, dashing outdoors,
yelling, “Jeepers, creepers!”

“Why must I eat oatmeal?
Why must I eat peas?”
Liam huffed and he mumbled,
till he came to the trees.

He stopped in his footsteps.
His eyes big and wide.
There were hearts hanging everywhere.
Should he run and hide?

Hearts big. Hearts small.
Some red and some pink.
Hearts hanging from branches,
Liam didn’t know what to think.

Then he heard a small chuckle.
A “Ha” and a “Hee.”
Liam spun round in circles,
to see what he might see.

And there near the rose bush,
dressed all in red,
smiling and grinning,
stood a Gnome on his head.

The Gnome laughed even louder.
Liam said, “Oh no” and “Good grief.”
For there before him stood the famous,
the legendary, the Valentine Thief!

The Stealer of Hearts,
slowly stood up…1…2…3
“Hello little Liam,
will you give your heart to me?’

Liam shook his head,
determined not to cry,
and remembering his manners,
politely asked “Why?”

The Thief was astounded.
The Thief was impressed.
For little boy Liam,
was not like the rest.

The Valentine Thief,
feeling sad and blue,
whispered “Because nobody loves me.
What else can I do”?

Liam thought for a moment.
He thought a whole bunch.
Then in an instant he decided,
to take the Gnome home for lunch.

Liam would be a friend to the Gnome.
His heart had plenty of love to spare.
And the love that he had,
Liam was willing to share.

He loved mama and daddy,
and Oma and Opa too,
and Gramma and Grandpa,
loving was easy to do!

So Liam and the Gnome,
skipped back to Liam’s house for a munch.
Where mama had broccoli
and Cheerios ready for lunch.

Mama kissed Liam’s cheek,
And hugged Liam’s new friend.
They all knew it would be fine,
The stealing of hearts would now end.

The Valentine Thief,
had disappeared from sight,
The Gnome had a new friend,
Now everything felt right.

Liam and Gnome knew that,
to be a good friend all it takes,
is love, hugs, and kisses,
and sharing coconut sprinkled lemon cupcakes!

The cutest boy in the world

Seriously, just look at this face! This is taken just after a disastrous attempt at feeding Liam some lentils and carrots.

On an exciting note: Liam's first word is: MAMA!! Sometimes is mamama, but lately it's usually just mama. He's been doing the mamama for a while directed at me, but in the past few weeks it has been shortened. He only says it when he really wants my attention, which is he usually has all the time anyways so I don't get to hear it too often. He does say Dada as well, but this also includes the cat and anything fun and exciting (can you tell Daddy time is a blast??).

He is doing fantastic, everyone always comments on how happy he is. Always smiling and laughing. He loves to eat, as long as he can pick it up himself. He is so over purees. Except for Mama's homemade apple cinnamon oatmeal that is.

He is also an avid reader, he loves to turn the pages of his board books, of which he has a library's worth (thank you Tante Moni!). His army crawl has gotten extremely efficient and he pretty much hauls ass after the cat, who is very patient with him. Once he learns not to smack her or pull her fur I'm sure they'll be the best of friends.

Bad Mama!

Yeah, I'm a little tardy with Liam's blog, but what can I say, we've been busy!

A quick run-down of what's new with the little man:

• today he just started his version of the army crawl. It involves sticking his butt in the air, getting his toes underneath and pushing off. Totally inefficient, totally slow, and totally adorable! Seriously, I'm so proud of him.
• loves kissing himself in the mirror. We get kisses too, but oh my if he sees himself he gets all smiley and smoochy. Love it.
• standing while holding on to something is another new favourite pastime. His legs are getting really strong and he tries to cruise but it's not quite working yet (legs move, arms don't, or arms move, legs don't)
• he loves walking with me holding onto just his hands. The week before he would only move if we held him by his armpits, but now he's confident enough to move with just a little help
• getting me to bite his toys. He just did this today, with his spoon at lunchtime (he won't eat unless he has his own spoon). He kept trying to get it into my mouth, and thought this was just hilarious. Later I saw him shoving one of his toys into the cat's face
• waving bye-bye. It's still hit or miss, but he does it occasionally, usually when saying bye -bye to his kitty collage on his wall
• bath time = good times. He is all about the bath, as soon as he hears the water running he freaks out. He rubber ducky is also his favourite friend right now
• He says di-di-di when he sees something he really wants. I wonder what word that will eventually turn into
• He says du-du-du when he sees his rubber duck
• I've gotten a "cuh" sound out of him a few times when he sees his kitty collage
• His Opa taught him to hit the table when someone says "bang bang bang!". Seriously, and through Skype without video on our end. The kid is brilliant.
  

And he still is the happiest, sweetest little boy in the world. I'm sure I'm forgetting loads, but I promise I will update more frequently!!

It's Christmas Time in the City

I love all things Christmas (0kay, the Christmas carols are starting to get to me a bit) and so on Saturday we headed into SF to check out the lights in Union Square.

First off, let me say that you would never know we are in a recession looking at Union Square. I have never seen so many people out shopping, not even on Boxing Day or Black Friday. It was insane. Thankfully Liam was in his carrier, so no unruly shoppers could jostle him about.

So we went into Macy's for our favourite treats at The Cheesecake Factory (1 hour wait!). Liam enjoyed hanging out in his highchair checking out his surroundings.

Then we went down to Union Square to check out the massive tree and skating rink. Liam loves looking at all the Christmas lights, and they even had the palm trees decked out in lights which looked beautiful.

On the way back to the BART we looked at the Christmas windows in Macy's, where they showcase cute little puppies and kittens waiting for adoption. So adorable!

It was a long day for Liam, and the little man fell asleep promptly in the car.

California Academy of Science

Mike's work gave everyone the day off today, so we decided to head into SF to the recently opened California Academy of Science. It was, in a word, awesome. Seriously, if you're ever here for a visit, I highly recommend it.

Liam, was fascinated. He loved watching the fish, trying to reach out and grab them. And by far his favourite was the penguins. There was one particularly friendly one who kept diving down and nudging the glass where the kids were. Liam kept reaching for him and was absolutely riveted. It was so cool!

Liam's parents spend an evening out... without Liam!

So last night was the first night that Mike and I went out without the little man. It was Mike's work's holiday party and we felt it was important to put in an appearance. So at 6:30pm we dropped Liam off at my friend Dana's house and off we went.

I was initially a little nervous, obviously not because I don't trust Dana, but because this is really the first time we have left him. I thought he would do great though, and I was right. He enjoyed seeing his little "girlfriend" Hayes (Dana's daughter is 4.5 months old), playing in her exersaucer (which we will be purchasing for Christmas), eating pears, drinking his milk from his sippy cup, and getting loads of attention. So all went well, and by the time we picked him up at 9pm (a little past his bedtime) he was just getting cranky.

I'm sure it helped that Dana is a familiar face and Liam loves her, so yay! I'm glad he wasn't upset at all, and my friends and I have all decided to do some babysitting swapping, so we'll probably be hosting a baby playdate at our place next!

Picture above is Liam playing oh so gently with Hayes' ear at the Baby's Holiday party.