. . . Liam lately (14 months)

It's been a few months since I have given a real update on Liam and how much he's grown. My "baby" is a baby no longer -- he is a full-on toddler and proves it to me on a daily basis. The way he moves, talks, interacts, and communicates with us is unbelievable! I am having so much fun being his Mama and watching him learn new things . . . this age is truly amazing! Included in this post are some of my favorite pictures from the last month, so you can see how much fun we've been having!

Liam has another check-up at the end of this month, but I can give you his stats from his doctor's appointment last month:

Weight: 11.32 kg (24 lbs. 15 oz.) -- 69th percentile
Length: 81 cm (31.9 in) -- 90th percentile
Head: 47.8 cm (18.8 in) -- 78th percentile

I'm sure he has grown since then, but we won't have real evidence until his next appointment. : )

Liam's first milkshake -- he loved it!

Liam wears size 80/86 pants and size 86 shirts, which I think is the equivalent of 12-18 months in the US. He wears size 21/22 shoes -- maybe a size 4 in the States? I'm not sure what the equivalent is! He has also moved into size 5 diapers recently.

Liam's eating is definitely that of a toddler now -- he eats 100% "people food," 3 meals a day plus a snack or two. He still breastfeeds in the morning but drinks whole milk the rest of the day. We transitioned to whole milk right after his first birthday. Every morning I was always nursing on one side and pumping the other so that he would have a breastmilk bottle at night; but when Liam started signing "more" to me after nursing a few days in a row I stopped pumping and let him nurse on both sides. We had already been adding some whole milk to his bottle at night so transitioning to only whole milk was easy. I'm just happy that we have made it as long as we have with breastfeeding! I will continue to do it in the mornings for the time being because it is still works for both of us.

In regards to his meals, his very favorite thing to eat is his Dad's spaghetti (or recently my chicken tetrazzini). He LOVES all fruit, fish sticks, pasta, and cheese, but isn't a fan of veggies. I've been working on sneaking them in to his favorite meals, but the boy has a great palate -- he will pull out whatever he doesn't like and keep eating what he does. What a stinker!

Liam pulled out all his blankets one day and rolled around in them for 20 minutes :)

Liam has seven teeth and has for a little while now. I keep waiting for more to pop up, but nothing yet! His hair is getting longer, growing over his ears and unkempt in the back, and he gets this one wavy curl in the back by the end of the day. It's still a dirty blonde, but seems to get darker the thicker it gets.

visiting the Philips orchard

Liam's sleep schedule is pretty spot on. He wakes up around 8:00 or 8:30 most days, and then takes a nap around 12 or 1 that usually lasts anywhere from an hour and a half to two and a half hours. He then gets some milk around 7:30 pm and hits the sack after that. He sleeps all night (a blessing, I know!), and usually sleeps around 12-13 hours a night. One big difference is that gone are the days of napping with Mom. : ( I can't get him to sleep with me anymore, which makes me a little sad. I know that will come back at some point, but right now Little Man loves his crib and wants to be in there. He will even sit and play in it in the mornings, not wanting to get out until he's good and ready!

Liam's gross motor and fine motor development has really advanced these last months. He has gone from taking steps, to toddling, to walking (all before his first birthday), and now the kid is full on trying to RUN. We have to make him slow down a lot because he slips and falls if his shoes or socks are too slick (or his upper body gets ahead of his lower body, haha!). He even is starting to drop the "drunk sailor" walk with both hands in the air -- lately he is just super confident and walks around, like, "Hey, you guys didn't know I could do this?" We also taught him how to come down the stairs backwards, which is super helpful since we have 5 sets of half-stairs in our house. He has actually gotten really great at it and needs no help, but we still stay close behind him in case he slips.

running home from the grocery store one day

I'm also so amazed at how he plays with his toys -- he looks at stuff, tries to figure it out, manipulates things to get them to go where he wants, and is a great helper when it comes to clean up time. All I have to say, "Time to clean up your toys," or occasionally sing "The Clean Up Song" and he immediately starts putting stuff where it goes. I of course have to help him, but he really remembers where things go and what things go together. It's precious!

playing with a box kept him entertained all day!

Liam's communication and understanding of what we say is incredible. He signs A LOT now -- he will sign the words: more, all done, eat, milk, thank you, bird, tree, car, shoes, socks, fan, banana, hat, dog, brush teeth, bath, hear (as in "What do you hear?"), wash hands, hot, wind (as in "the wind is blowing the trees"), thank you, please, and we are working on you're welcome, diaper and light. Some of these signs may not be recognizable to someone else, but I understand what he's saying so I think that's the important thing. As far as talking, Liam says the words: mama, dada, MoMo (for Murphy), dog, duck, no, and his latest words are "Yeah," "uh-oh," and "dat," which to him means "that" -- he will point to things and say, "Dat?" and go back and forth between two items wanting me to name them for him: Dat? Puzzle. Dat? Penguin. Dat? Puzzle. Dat? Penguin. over and over again! It's like I can SEE him learning. He will also say the animal sounds (do those count?) for: duck, sheep, cow, snake, monkey, dog, horse, pig, and we are working on cat, bird,  right now. : )

It's crazy how much he understands, too! We can ask him a question or tell him something and he totally gets it. He will answer simple yes or no questions with the right response (most of the time), and follows simple 2-step directions, like "Go get your dog and put it in your chair." He loves to get dressed (especially putting on socks and shoes), so if we ask him if he wants to get dressed, he always answers "Yeah!" and drops whatever he is doing to run for the stairs. We can even say "Let's go to Liam's room" (or the kitchen or the potty, etc.) and he knows where to go. He distinguishes between items as well, such as the difference between my slippers and boots -- if I ask him to get my slippers he knows that they are on the other side of our bed and will go get them for me (better than a dog!). After he gets dressed in the mornings he loves to go into his Dad's office and take him his slippers as well, just to make sure all our feet are covered. : ) When I put laundry away in his room I will give him his socks or washcloths (anything small) and he knows exactly where they go and will open the drawer to put them in, closing it behind him. He can point out many body parts like: feet, head, mouth, tongue, teeth, nose, ears, hair, fingers, hands, feet, toes, and belly (maybe more? I forget!).

Liam's favorite songs to sing are Wheels on the Bus (he loves to do the motions) and Old MacDonald (he always sings "ee-i-ee-i" and will do the animal noises for me). He also loves to watch the Baby Einstein video of Wheels on the Bus after being introduced to it on You Tube one day. : ) He plays peek-a-boo with us or anyone on Skype, and loves to "tap dance" -- especially when Keith or I sing "tap, tap, tappin', tap, tap, tappin'" from this scene in The Break-Up :)

My fave movie ever!

Now that Liam is a toddler I am constantly chasing after him . . . we have tickle fights (I always win), tender moments, and pull my hair out moments (the dog bowls come to mind). He is a complete joy and I am enjoying watching him grow up right before my eyes. Love you, little boy,

~Mom

PS---Just a few more pictures from this month . . .