Happy 17 Month Birthday, Liam!

Dear Son,

I always knew I would be a mother. I wondered what my children would look like, what their quirks would be and who they might become in my care. The millions of things a prospective mother does to prepare herself for raising a child is no guarantee that she'll be successful as a parent. That simple fact made me nervous before you were born. I've since learned that each child is even more unique than I ever thought possible.

The fact is, you are special. Beyond unique. Your personality is more electric than I can handle sometimes. Really, you are just too good to be true! No book or any personal preparation could have clued me into the complete happiness you bring me. That motherhood is really all about gut instincts, not pre-learned skills. Now that I have you, I'm not nervous anymore. Your will to do good things will see you through to wise decisions, safe environments and loyal friends.

This past month I've been made more aware of your love and appreciation of me. It's very rewarding and very humbling. It's one thing for me to know how much I love you and how my heart skips a beat for you each time you smile, giggle or learn something new. It's another thing altogether to KNOW you love me back... that you are just as tickled with me sometimes! I love spending time with you. I love that you want to sit on my lap, that you greet me with big grins and offer kisses and hugs when I really need them.

The past few weeks we've been implementing the word "please." From the first time you've said "peez" or "eez" and every time since then, I get a surge of pride and joy. Today we noticed you even ask yourself please before you take another cracker or pretzel out of your snack trap. Just so thoughtful!

This morning you proved yourself a jokester once again. You were sorting coins between the two cup holders in your chair. First you put the coin up to your lips and I could tell you expected me to react as I said the words, "No, you know better!" So you continued passing coins between the two containers, then without a coin in your hand, you put an imaginary coin in your mouth! I started laughing! After making sure you were joking of course. And you were! I love how funny you try to be! You take after your daddy that way. It goes to show how intelligent and clever you are. And at such a young age... It boggles my mind, boy!

Tonight you said kitty kitty and meow (mou). You say da da on demand and when you see something that reminds you of Dad. When I ask you say mama, you respond with pop pop, pa pa and even ba ba. Makes me laugh because you used to say mama at random times.

You mimic what we do more often now. I was putting my head to the floor the other night to retrieve a toy from under the couch and you came beside me and touched your head to the floor to do the same thing. We looked so goofy with both our heads to the floor.

The other night Daddy and I were singing along to a CD in the car. I looked into your eyes and sang the chorus and you started singing along with us. It was a sweet family moment! I wanted to bottle it up.

Sometimes I get so emotional and wish I could slow your growth down. I am at the point in motherhood where I understand why folks choose to have more children. Taking part in your learning, language and manners is breathtaking! I knew this would be my responsibility, but I didn't know how grand of an effect it would have on my heart and soul. I've said it before, and I will say it again... that you are a marvel, Liam. It's evident that you are destined for greatness. I am so grateful to be playing a part in your path to excellence. Participating in your life has in turn made my life so full. Being your mother is an honor... an honor I am not sure I am worthy of some days.

Love you always,
Mom

PuZzLeS

I bought Liam a few puzzles before he turned one and so he's been practicing his skills on them ever since. Just the past 2 months he's really recognized the shapes enough to start doing them without assistance. As you'll see here, he knows exactly where they go and gets frustrated when he doesn't twist them just right so they fall into place.

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This kid...

I really enjoyed the evening with Liam. He continues to be wired constantly and is just so excited about everything. After dinner tonight we rolled and threw the beach ball back and forth to each other in the kitchen. When he gets really excited during playtime, he'll just stop and run to me with open arms and a huge grin, let me squeeze him and then he'll go back and continue what we were doing. He did this 3 times when we were playing ball tonight and 4 times this morning when we were playing hide, seek and chase. I LOVE HIS HUGS! Oh, and his kisses too. He was giving me and Ian kisses back and forth tonight too. I love it when he does it so willingly. Those pursed baby lips coming at you are the most irresistible thing on earth!

Anyway, Liam willingly came to me and got on my lap when he saw me getting the nebulizer ready for his treatment. I was so proud of him. He even holds the thingy sometimes and other times he'll bite down on the thingy and giggle like it's a joke... cuz it is.

After that he led the way upstairs as if he knew it was time for bed. I chased him around trying to get his PJ's on him. When I went to take his shirt off, it got wedged on his head and I started to laugh. So he went running for me to chase him and I just couldn't stop laughing at this site:

After we stopped giggling at his hat that was a shirt, he asked me to open the blinds so he could see if "da da" was outside (because if Ian is outside, I always take Liam to the window to say hello to him over and over... times like these Ian will do a dance or something silly to make Liam laugh). Ian wasn't home tonight, but that didn't stop Liam from clapping on the window and pointing and saying "da da" over and over. It was darling.

Liam is doing better

Liam is doing much better. Even Friday afternoon he had spurts of his regular happy go-lucky self. Saturday was better and today was the best. He certainly still has a cold and the runniest green nose on earth, but he is happy and feeling like himself. I noticed, though, that he is more wired than he usually is. When I got home from church today he came barging at me with a big snotty excited grin on his face. He gave me the sweetest, but short hug and then proceeded to run back to show me what he was up to. He was all over the place, one ricochet short of bouncing off the walls.

Later, when Uncle Drew stopped by he noticed Liam was a bit shaky. Drew said it was from the breathing treatments... and that it also makes you wired and hyper. Hmmm, no wonder!

While Drew and Ian went to go scope out some fishing spots, Liam and I went on a drive, too, but to find a prime playground. We went to a local elementary school first and played on the slides and swings for a bit. After about 20 minutes we got back into the car and drove around town. We found another elementary school way north and it had 2 playgrounds. One that I could see from the street, and one I didn't see until we were playing at the first. Prime park indeed! This little treat of a playground was nestled in the shade and surrounded by a brick wall. As we walked around the wall, there were protruding bricks forming squares that were each painted a primary color. Liam was facinated by them. He went up to each one and pushed on it like it was a very big button! I was laughing at him! It was so cute how he associated their shape and color, no matter how huge they were. This little nestled park was designed for pre-schoolers I guess. It was pint sized. Everything was just made for Liam to enjoy. We were both thrilled! I especially loved watching him jump and bounce on the little wiggly bridge. It's so cute when I say "jump" he does just that and seems so pleased with himself!

We got home, ate omlettes and toast for dinner, then Liam went swimming in the bathtub, then his breathing treatment mixed with a little Baby Einstein, then to bed.

He was so sweet to be around today. Just a little ball of energy and lots of extra smiles!

Liam this morning, reading his books.

Liam on Steroids

... Literally!

Liam and I didn't sleep last night. It was pretty rough the night before that too, but last night was a bear. I seriously thought he was teething and so I kept giving him Tylenol and teething tablets to settle him down. It all seemed to start at 7pm last night. He would NOT go to bed... we got him up twice to snuggle with us and he still wouldn't settle down after that. If he wasn't crying, he was moaning in pain. If I wasn't wrestling his writhing pain staked body, he was lying or sitting in his crib just sobbing... and then would take breaks to lay down and moan here and there.

I have never seen Liam THIS miserable in his entire 16 months of life. By the time Ian left for work this morning and Liam was still out of hand... I panicked. He really wasn't going to let me sit him down for anything today, I just knew there was something more going on.

I decided he needed a Priesthood Blessing. I called a good neighbor who is about my Grandpa's age and started to ask him the favor, but then I found myself crying on the phone unable to speak! How embarrassing. I didn't realized how overcome and distraught I had become. His dear wife, Pat, got on the phone and told me her husband was on the way and was picking up the Bishop en route. She told me she loved me and that they would be there in a few minutes. Two minutes later she called back to make sure she shouldn't just call 911. I told her that it wasn't an emergency, but that Liam just wouldn't stop crying and he was short of breath... that the pediatrician office wouldn't take my call until 9am, so I felt compelled to get him a blessing while we waited to get him in to see the doctor.

Our good neighbors came to our door with concern and worry on their faces. They blessed my baby as he screamed and squirmed. I was so grateful to them for coming so quickly and with so much love outpouring to make sure we were okay.

I got the pediatrician office on the phone not 15 minutes later and was able to get Liam in at 9:20am. I put Liam down for 30 seconds to cry and reach for me as I tried my best to freshen up and get dressed. Liam stayed in his PJ's and held his security blanket as I buckled him into the car seat.

Liam cried all the way there until the last 2 minutes he decided he liked my singing. Whew, silence for the first time in a LONG time. He continued to seem at peace as I took him out of the car and into then up to the doctor's office. I read him a book while we waited to be called. As soon as we got to the exam room, he was back to panic and sobbing. He knew this place.

The doctor examined him and decided he needed a breathing treatment before he could fully diagnose him. This was new to me... I had to hold my baby, pinning him down by myself for a 10 minute treatment. Liam would not give up... if we weren't already worn out enough, this added to our fatigue. He is a strong boy.

The doctor examined him again and determined that Liam had suffered an asthma attack. He continued to tell me he knew from the moment he saw the panic in Liam's eyes... the "I can't breath, help me" look. Wow, I had no idea. I did hear wheezing and his breathing had become more rapid early in the morning, but I thought it was just from the constant crying and drainage from his runny nose... you know, the teething runny nose.

So I was told to give Liam another breathing treatment while we were still there. Liam actually smiled and seemed more himself as we got half way through this session. I was amazed. I was so happy to see my darling boy again. Thank goodness he could breath normally and feel better.

The doctor gave Liam two prescriptions. One for the breathing treatments every 4-6 hours and one for steroids to be administered for the next 5 days. Little did I know that prescription was a liquid oral medication. Laughable that they think my kid will not gag on that then throw it up altogether. Yeah, so after two rounds of trying to keep the steroids inside our small boy (and after cleaning up two rounds of vomit), I called his nurse and she said we had to come in to get him a shot instead.

I took Liam in for the shot and he didn't seem to approve of the procedure. We tortured him anyway and he was fine 2 minutes later.

His fourth breathing treatment right before bed went swimmingly. He even helped me hold the thingy and happily watched Baby Einstein as he breathed in the cool mist.

He went to bed pretty easily tonight. He asked for a second helping of cuddles after about 15 minutes in bed, so Ian obliged him and 10 minutes later he was happy to go to sleep in his crib.

I have to give him a midnight breathing treatment. I have an extended hose to see if I can't put the compressor in the hallway and give the treatment without waking him up. Crossing my fingers that it works. Here's to hunching over a crib for 10 minutes!

{I left out many many details such as Rose stopping in to check on us when we were back from the doctor. Pat had asked her to do this and of course Rose was worried and wanted to help. Shari offered to come over to love Liam for an hour so I could get some work done... and Ian came home as Shari was leaving so I could get even more work done... then Liam taking a nap from 3-5pm so I could work even more. It was a horribly stressful and tiring day. I hope the weekend proves to be a relaxing one.}

Popcorn please!

Liam said "opcorn" more than twice tonight! He also pointed to his dad and said "da da" over and over since last week. Also for the past two weeks we've implemented "plee" and also "eez" if he wants something from us.

I cannot get over the popcorn bit tonight... I mean WOW that is a big first word! He loves the popcorn... And he loves his daddy even more. And he loves many other things just enough to say please for them. A very determined child to get what he wants.

We've got a swimmer!

Sunday morning I was pretty ill, so I was being pretty lazy, not tracking Liam's every move as I usually do. Plus, we had company staying, so we took the kiddie gate down from the downstairs bathroom. Can you see where I am going with this? I was being lazy for about 2 minutes... it was VERY quiet. I went to investigate... and this is what I found:

He was SO proud of his self-bathing skills! He stood up in the bowl and stomped to splash his feet. Luckily the camera wasn't far... I got that proud grin captured perfectly! Funny baby!

P.S. Lucky we did have company, so that bowl was sanitized 2 days previously... still a pretty yuck place to find your baby though. After the photo was taken, I wrapped him in a towel and put him in the real tub. He was equally delighted.

Bread and Seagulls

I woke up with some kind of flu bug today. Ian was gone until 2pm, so I was feeling really desparate up until that point. He got home and took Liam outside to play. I immediately hit the hay. Ian and his brother Drew later took Liam to the docks at Utah lake. There were no ducks to feed, so they fed the seagulls. I was laughing when Ian came home with this footage. Liam was eating the bread and then Ian had to show him how to share with the birds. So funny!

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New Buddies and a Crush?

Ian was gone all of Saturday working again this weekend, so I was sure to fill it up with activities so I didn't find myself feeling depressed and lonely again. Plus it was a warmer weekend which was a welcomed bonus.

My friend, Saedi, who lives in a town not far from here invited us over for a play date. So we went over there at 10am and left at 2pm. The last time we met up with Saedi and her 3 boys, Liam had a ball! I was so grateful she invited us over again. Liam loves those boys and they seem to like him too. I even caught the oldest, Mason, sniffing the back of Liam's head. I thought that was very sweet because he appreciated the smell of a baby's head.

Liam and Mason

Liam and Ethan

On the way home Liam took a bit of a nap and was transferred to his crib pretty easily. He slept for an hour (to my dismay as I was hoping for a better nap for myself). After some cuddles, I got him into his coat and sun hat then plopped him in the stroller. We went on a walk to go pay Shari since Ian picked Liam up early on Friday and I didn't get a chance to see her.

On the way back I saw that my friend Leatha's car was in the driveway. She has a girl just 2 months younger than Liam so we made a stop. They welcomed us in. Liam and Jaya seemed to like each other. She is a very amiable little girl. She wanted to give him hugs and kisses. When it was time to say good-bye, we picked up our babies and they leaned in 3 times to kiss each other on the lips. It was so so sweet!

New make-out buddies

The rest of the day was pretty good. Liam played well enough by himself that I was able to make a delicious meatload, fried cabbage and brown rice for dinner. Trent (Robin's hubby) is in town for a few days and Ian's brother, Drew was here too... they both got here just in time for dinner... and dinner was done right at Liam's bedtime so I put him to bed and we 4 had a nice dinner together.

After that, we reset our clocks for daylight savings and all went to bed early. Of course I stayed up way too late reading my book, Second Glance... it's so so so slow! The report was due a week ago and I am just having the hardest time with it. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I will be able to finish it. ARG!

Feeding Marlo

I caught Liam doing something cute once again... and it was too late to take a photo. I gave him some pretzel sticks this morning and he wandered around as he snacked on them. I noticed him putting something in Marlo's mouth. Marlo wasn't fighting it of course. Apparently Marlo likes pretzels just like Liam.

I took this photo a couple weeks ago.
Liam requests me to top him with this
hat before he then asks to ride on Marlo.

High Fives

I just caught Liam with his plush Grinch doll. He was taking the Grinches hand and giving it high fives! I just laughed and wished I had the camera out in time.

He takes a dive...

Literally!

After Liam's bath yesterday, I wrapped him in his towel, plopped him in his crib, slathered him with lotion, put on his diaper and all his clothes... the crib is his corral after baths to he can't run off when I am doing all these things, you see.

He was having a grand time prancing back and forth in his crib, so I thought I'd go brush my teeth. I get the teeth brushed and then I hear a huge THUD! Crying ensued. I ran to Liam's room, you know, five feet away from where I was... he was on the floor. He took a nose dive!

I picked him up and he had reopened a rug burn on his forehead from the day before. I could see a goose egg appearing from under the bleeding rug burn. Oh this poor kid! We dropped his crib mattress long ago when he started crawling and standing. Apparently it wasn't low enough.

Ian lowered the bed, it's practically on the floor now, but he's safe. Safe to prance around and also use his crib rail as a ballet bar... if he can reach it with his foot now... not likely.

1 year ago

One year ago I started blogging. It's changed my way of thinking. It's changed how I spend my free time... it's even changed the way I dream at night. Yes, if I blog too much before bed, I dream in some weird blog layouts.

You can visit my two short posts from March 3rd, 2006 here and here.

Also, this date marks the two year milestone of when I found out I was pregnant with Liam. It's so odd to think it was THAT long ago! Even though pregnancy seems slow while you are in the "thick" of it and even though those first few months of being up in the night just seems to go in slow motion... it really did fly by. And even though it's flown by, I have no regrets and wouldn't want to do anything over. Each new stage of Liam's life is savored.

Liam today

My darling, darling... you precious little friend.
Those eyes, your smile and even your chin.
You've stolen my heart, you get me high.
Just knowing you'll always be the "apple of my eye."

Your toes...
The lobes of your soft ears...

I love to kiss your little face and look at YOU in the mirror.

Your reach, your tugs, your toddles and hugs.
I want to stop time, please stay a little bug.

Your glimmer, your jokes and when you prance with delight.
You are the daily beauty I am privelaged to have in my sight.

Random catch up

I took this photo a couple weeks ago. I think it is so cute of Liam reacting to his furry cousin, Wyatt. He's really warmed up to this pup over the past couple months. Wyatt barrels towards Liam and knocks him down like a bowling pin, but they both love it. They are kind and loving towards each other and seem to have a really good time. We noticed that Liam and Wyatt seem to vie for Drew's attention at the same time. If Liam is sitting on Uncle Drew's lap, Wyatt comes over and says he wants to sit with his daddy and seems to want Liam to back off. Kids...

And here are some videos that I never posted from all of February. This one's for the Grandparents. I know they will watch anything Liam does no matter how mundane the footage.

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