Time with Liam & a Birthday

I have this week off of work because Monday was Pioneer day and I based my Indiana visit on that since it was an extra day paid off of work that wouldn't cut into my PTO time. We leave on Wednesday to see my family. I am so nervous to travel by plane with Liam. I think I have made it clear in previous posts that I don't like even driving anywhere without Ian as a chaperone. So this feels like a major undertaking especially since we'll be traveling ALL DAY LONG without Daddy! I am, however, excited to get home and see so many loved ones. I am grateful too that I have a layover in Minneapolis because Liam will get to see his other grandparents in the same trip! Ian's parents live in the Minneapolis area and hope to move out this way soon, but in the meantime they sure miss Liam (and us) so it will be so fun to see them en route. I can't wait for everyone to meet my little man! He is fun at this age! 9 months today in fact! He is so interactive and so entertaining to watch! I just hope everyone who meets him will see what I get to see each day! He has such an electric personality!

Last night Liam was having a hard time getting back to sleep when waking at 10:45pm. I suspected this might happen because he went to bed almost an hour earlier than usual. But it was so nice to savor putting him back to sleep. I got to hold him, stroke his hair, lock eyes with him and rub his back as he slowly fell asleep in my arms, then finally nuzzling his nose into my arm and dozing off into dreamland. What a charmer this boy is! It was nice to savor the day and this re-bedtime with him since I didn't have to work or rush to get my rest.

And since it is Liam's 9 month birthday and to keep my little tradition alive:

Dear Son,

You are growing a tiny bit slower than a weed! You are getting taller, faster, smarter and funnier! You are tracing, climbing and balancing! You are scaling our stairway like you are training for a race! You are grabbing our attention to communicate with us! You are charming us more than we ever thought possible! You are a copy cat. You can shake your head from side to side when we do. You can say "da da", "ba ba" or sing when we do. You can charge us like a bull when we come charging at you. You even wrinkle your nose and breath out fast bursts when we urge you to. You little comedian you...

You have better judgement then just last month! You know when you might fall and so you prevent it by slowly crouching down to the sitting position. You give us verbal warning when you are headed for a "no no" item. You throw little fits when we take a "no no" item away from you or remove you from that fun fun bathtub. You are one smart cookie!

You notice food more than ever before! You insist on eating when WE are eating! You will eat ANYTHING just as long as you are eating WITH us! You even ate gerber peas because it was food (and you have always rejected peas in puree form). You ate a "biter biscuit" for the first time yesterday and enjoyed the taste, texture and painting ability it had. You painted your whole face, your whole walker tray AND anything you could possibly reach outside the walker. You are one true boy who loves dirt, grime, dust, grass, rocks and cat dander. I have to wash your little mitts multiple times a day to keep my borderline OCD under control.

I have noticed that you enjoy feeling different textures. You are just like your mama. You rub soft fabrics and nuzzle your blankets. When you find lint on the carpet or floor, you don't pick it up... you rub it with the palm of your hand so you can feel it and watch it move. You make me laugh!

And last but not least, you can crawl after the cats faster than they thought you could manage. They have actually warmed up to you this past month. They LET you pet them sometimes. I have caught both of them inviting you to pet them. I guess that is just proof of how needy they are for attention since you joined our family.

As always, darling boy, you are a marvel to watch! You steal my heart! "My cup runneth over!"

Happy Birthday, Sunshine!