Is It Mid-December Already?

I don't know what happened, but I have pretty much no pictures or video from the month of November and very little in December! So there hasn't been much to blog about. November flew by for us and I don't even really know what we did. And December is going even faster. The lights and tree are up, the cookies are made, the presents are bought and the ipod is playing nothing but Christmas music. We are staying home for Christmas this year for the first time so it is also the first time that we have really had the opportunity to decorate and bake.

Liam is doing well despite the fact that he has a new cold every other week and has popped through a few molars. He continues to change and grow so much. He has gone from walking to running in no time and is starting to really test the boundaries of his environment. He is also getting more and more opinionated. I put together a little video that will give you an idea of what he does and doesn't like and also give you a small glimpse into his personality.

Hopefully we will have some fun stuff to post after the holidays!

Getting Busier By the Minute

Liam is developing so fast every week it's getting harder and harder to keep up with him! He is walking pretty proficiently now and getting into everything. But he is a pretty well behaved little guy for the most part, so I can't complain. Some of his favorite things of late are books, he will sit and page through books for a really long time. I took him to Barnes and Noble the other day and he was content playing with the books for an hour and a half! He still loves the toy bin, as you will see, and he loves his purple ball and his John Deere tractor.

The walking progression has been fun to observe. Right now it is wonderful because he will take off walking and then come back and give a snuggle. Repeat and Repeat and Repeat. And what mom doesn't love a hundred snuggles in a day even if they are really short?

I edited this video a little to give you a better idea of a day in the life of Liam. He is a lot of fun and will definitely keep me on my toes. He is an active little guy!

They toy bin has been the best investment. It looks nice, is really sturdy and has been a constant source of entertainment since Liam could stand up. The play keeps evolving the older he gets. This video is of the Liam's current stage of play with the toy bin.

He also loves to get inside our corner cabinet in the kitchen and play. He fits pretty well in there!

Breaking News!

Liam is WALKING! He can make it across the room if he really puts his mind to it. I have tried to get some video, but the child will NOT walk when I pick up the camera. I'll keep trying, but I thought some of you would like the update.

Happy Belated Birthday to my Baby

I cannot believe our little baby is already 13 months old! The time could not have gone faster for us. But it has been one of the most amazing years of our lives. What a blessing God gave us in Liam. He's sweet, loving, social, gregarious, active, strong, funny, sometimes so serious and other times such a little clown. But if you've been keeping up with us you know all of that already! So we'll just get to what Liam is up to now.


Our little guy is almost 25 lbs, and about 33 inches tall. He has caught up developmentally from having been born 5 1/2 weeks early and surprises us everyday with his skills. He crawls with all the gentleness of a herd of elephants and is on the verge of walking, taking three and four steps unaided from one piece of furniture to another. He still puts everything and I mean EVERYTHING in his mouth. His attention span is getting longer, which means he will sit and play with one toy at a time and tries to figure out how it works. He has started heading off to play by himself in his bedroom for 15 minutes at a time, flipping through his books and exploring the toys we put in there. Mommy loves that because it gives her a little more time to breathe!


Liam is finally interested in books and will sit and snuggle while we read (not too long though!). He LOVES animals and is starting to make animal sounds. He also loves balls of any size or texture. He is talking more and more and screaming for fun. He is testing boundaries with mom and dad. He is finding all kinds of cupboards and drawers to explore. And he loves to open and close doors, which is fine as long as he doesn't block the door when we try to get him out! He is big into peek-a-boo, likes it when you scare him and squeals in delight when you chase him around. He won't be bothered by any accessories, such as hats, socks and shoes. If you put them on him he will work tirelessly, focusing on nothing else until he gets them off. I am just waiting for someone to make a comment about how inappropriately dressed this poor, defenseless child is this winter.


There is so much more to our little Liam, but if I write anymore you might not stick with me! Here are some pictures taken on his birthday by our friends, Aaron and Meg Nelson, http://www.evantidephotography.com/. They are so talented and such fun to work with! I would highly recommend them. They also did Liam's newborn pictures and I am sure we will be going back over the years for more. I feel like they did a wonderful job of capturing some of his personality. There were hundreds of pictures and it was hard to limit myself, but here are some of my favorites.

The Faces of Liam

I know it's been awhile since the last post. I really wanted to do this great birthday post for Liam's first birthday, September 23rd. We had the party the weekend before with family and friends and then celebrated his birthday the following Wednesday, just the three of us. We had some professional pictures taken that day and I had been waiting to get them back to do the birthday post. But it's taking a while and it's already been a month since his birthday! So the birthday post is still on hold, but it will come, and it will include some of what Liam has been up to lately!

Until then, here are some pictures of our trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday with a few of the babies from our childbirth class. Remember them? They are all getting so big and so fun! I was going to title this post something having to do with the pumpkin patch, but as I looked through the pictures I couldn't stop chuckling at how facially expressive Liam is. He has so many funny expressions! So I added more pictures than I had intended so you could see a few of them. 

They have this sign at the farm and I look forward to watching the progress of Liam's growth each fall. I can't believe he is already almost three feet tall! The ground slopes a little here and he is not super steady yet, but at the last doctor's appointment he was 33 inches long.

Liam is definitely expressing an interest in animals. He really enjoyed this part of the farm. There were bunnies, ducks, roosters, donkeys, goats, sheep and miniature horses. He gets really excited. He is even starting to make a few animal sounds with me when we read his farm books.

This little sweetie's name is Rayna.

And this is the other Liam and Jacklyn. They are all starting to show bits of their personalities, which was such a treat for me. I had so much fun seeing them all!

The kids had the best time at the baby pumpkin patch, crawling around free and playing with the little pumpkins. These are also more of the many faces of Liam.

Long Time no Blog

I do have a very good, albeit not so good excuse for the lack of blogging...I spilled 12 ounces of pink smoothie into my practically new laptop and have been without a computer for nearly a month!

But anyway, lets do some catching up. August was a really fun month for us and it flew by. One of the highlights was a 10 day visit from my mom and dad. We had a great time playing and eating and relaxing and doing a little work together. And I loved to see Liam getting so comfortable with them. In the middle of their time with us we went up to Victoria BC and had a great time. The weather was perfect for sightseeting!

On the Ferry

At the famous Empress for High Tea

Playing in the Park

Buchart Gardens

No appreciation for flowers.

The fountains at Buchart Gardens

Nothing like a good breakfast to put a guy in a good mood!

Liam loved the wind on the Ferry

Soon after Grandma and Grandpa left Liam started walking with his new toy. I think he will be walking on his own soon!

This last video gives you a little peek into Liam's personality. He doesn't always let people see it. And we are learning that meal times tend to be a catalyst.

This month is already flying by as well. Edwin's parents come today for a long visit and we will be celebrating Liam's first birthday in a week. I can't believe it has already been a year. Stay tuned for some pictures...

A night at home with Daddy

**WARNING: Long post. Make Coffee.**

About two weeks ago we had a heat wave in Bellingham.  We really do like the heat but Liam had a hard time getting to sleep, especially the first really hot night. I left for Bible study about 6:00 PM, which is a half an hour before Liam's bedtime. The usual program is as follows: 6:00 PM bath, 6:15 PM bottle, 6:30 PM bed time, and Liam usually falls asleep within about 5 minutes. So, lucky Edwin would have the whole evening to himself at home. Unfortunately for Edwin that is not what happened! This video starts over an hour after Edwin put Liam down for the night. Turns out he fell asleep about 15 minutes before I got home from my evening out. This is what an evening at home without Mommy looks like...

For all of you who are now concerned about our parenting skills, that was the first time Liam was able to reach the curtain and it has now been taken down!

And because I have not had much time to blog lately I am going to cram some other stuff into this post.
The heat wave lasted about 10 days and Liam adjusted pretty well. He spent A LOT of time in nothing but a diaper, which I loved. He is just so stinkin' cute!

Wednesday of the heat wave was the hottest day ever recorded in Bellingham history! It was 96 degrees here (I know that's nothing for many of you, but it's a big deal for Bellingham!) and people were melting. Lucky for us we had already planned on spending the day at the lake. Edwin's cousin, Darlene, and her family were passing through town for a few days to visit us and an old roommate of hers (who also happens to be a friend of ours) and the Chamberlin family graciously opened up their home and beach. I can't think of a better place to play in the heat!  

And here is a short little video of the battle of wills during bath time. 

Clowning Around

This kid is really funny.

And for those of you (Papa) who really like the toy bin video from the last post, I just found this one as I was downloading pictures from my camera. Oh how he loves his toy bin.