Liam ~ One Year Old

ONE YEAR OLD!!!

This little stinker bug! 

I can't get over the cutest baby boy ever. We basically can't have any more kids, because none stand a chance with his cuteness. ;)

This is his concerned face. 

On his actual birthday, he was walking a lot more. Long stretches, 5, 6 feet! He loves it and is so, so proud of himself when he does it. He also started clapping on his actual birthday. It's adorable. 

I know you're tired of hearing about it, but WE MADE IT to 1 YEAR OF BREASTFEEDING!!! Was it easy?? NO. Would I do it again? Absolutely. I got so much extra bonding time with just me and my little boy, we rarely had to buy formula, he got all the added nutrients that come with extended breastfeeding.. I'm just pleased as pudding to have made it. I know this is the beginning of the end, though. I've been only pumping once or twice at work. He still nurses several times a day when I'm home. And then he'll eat the one time at night. But, I'm pumping SO much less milk. And it takes him about 5 minutes to nurse, both sides. :) So, I know we're running low. And I'm ok with it. My goal was one year and we made it. I'm a little sad at times, knowing it's coming to an end, and knowing he's most likely our last baby. But it was a good run. 

He's saying Da-da, intentionally to Hector now. :) He will sometimes say Mama, not often at all. And he says Nananana when he's hungry. Call me crazy, but that's what he means. 

He loves to play with brother. He will lightly wrestle with Cohen and Daddy every night. He follows Cohen everywhere. Tries to take his toys. :) I'm sure it's only a matter of time before this is not so cute anymore.

Same 4 teeth. Likes to playfully bite... :-/ again, probably not so cute later. 

Still does his award-winning pout when he gets told "no". It's pretty funny/sad/cute. 

Oh, my joyful baby!!

Coco had to have a picture too! He made sure to point out that those were his letters, after all. :)

CAN I JUST FLASH BACK TO COHEN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY???

The similarities! The differences! It's astounding to me! 

I'm sure I'll do this again, when I blog Liam's birthday party tomorrow. :)

A year with Liam, in the books! My boys are my prides and joys. I'm so thankful to have these digital memories of them. 

Happy First Birthday, Liam! 

Liam ~ 11 months old

This big guy is 11 months old! I don't understand how he can be turning one next month! 

(This post is a little late.. the picture was on time!)

He is not walking yet, just pulling up and trying to cruise along furniture. Crawls very fast. He will sometimes let go of what he's holding on to, and teeter there for a minute, but then fall. I love it. :)

He is not very interested in purified baby food anymore... He mostly just wants little pieces of whatever we're having. Loves little bites of Chick-Fil-A nuggets. (Smart boy!) We are still nursing! One more month, and I'll have made my goal of 1 Year of Breastfeeding! I think it was all about determination. I can definitely feel my body tiring of breastfeeding... I feel like I am really struggling to make anywhere near enough milk for him. He gets quite a few formula bottles when I work on the weekends. But when I'm off, I can feed him enough. Oh well, we start introducing whole milk next month anyways. He loves minion Teddy Grahams, and chocolate teddy Grahams! 

He got two more teeth! Not where you might imagine.. hehe! They are on the top, on the immediate right and left of his two middle teeth! Kinda vampire-ish. So he has a total of 4 now. 

He's still a twice-a-day napper and he is nearly sleeping all night! He still wakes up one time to nurse. This feed is his best feed because he's basically asleep and not distracted. 

No words yet, just occasional Da-da and na-na.

The face I see 99% of the time--his sweet little grin!

Loves the little octopus, just like Cohen did.

And very interested in taking the camera into his own hands!

One, next month! How can it be?? We love you so much, William Emile! 

Liam ~ 10 months old

10 months old! Well, five days ago. Work got in the way of his picture. How cute is he?? Mannn.

On his exact 10 month birthday, we were at his pediatrician's office with a 102 fever that he'd had for 2 full days. Must have been a little virus because he's better now. So he didn't want a picture anyways. Mr. No-nap.

So, this guy is precious. He's crawling everywhere, pulling up on furniture, attempting to cruise along furniture, and beelines for the stairs if you look away for 30 seconds. Cohen considers it his personal job to go and grab him from the stairs and carry him to safety.

He is still just babbling unintelligibly. No words yet.

He eats several baby food meals a day. I feel like he's kinda "take it or leave it" with solids. He'll eat them, but he never cries for them or anything. Still breastfeeding! I can hardly believe we've made it this far. He still wakes up to eat at night. Sometimes twice... Ugghh.. Not loving that. Ready for my full nights of sleep again.

He rarely sleeps in our bed anymore, unless he's been up twice already and is still fussing. But overall, he's more comfy in his bed. He is getting better about taking two pretty good naps each day. But if we are out and about, it gets ruined. Ruined, I tell ya. He's one of those kids who will fall asleep five minutes from the house and then wake up when you pull in the garage and be wired to the max, refusing to nap in his crib.

He loves to play pat-a-cake, be sung to, get big brother's cars and nerf bullets, take mama's glasses, pull on cords, bang on the lap top, splash in the bath tub... He's so fun!

And just because we were at the pedi's office, he weighed 20 pounds 11 ounces.

He's still got two teeth, there on the bottom.

Those puppy dog eyes.. they get me every time.

Oh, and he's such a sensitive little guy. Anytime we have to raise our voice or speak sternly to Cohen, he gets a sad, sad look on his face then cries so sincerely... it breaks my heart and I just have to squeeze and hug and kiss him to make it all better.

10 beautiful months with this sweet bug. Better get to party planning! :)

Liam ~ 9 months old

Well, our tiny baby is not so tiny anymore! He turned 9 months yesterday! **pats self on back for getting a picture and a blog post done on time**

This was a month of milestones!! But first, his Tonka picture:

He changes so much each month--I can't stand it!! 

Listen to what this kid accomplished this month:

1. Got TWO bottom teeth!

2. Started CRAWLING like a BOSS.

3. Started pulling up on furniture and in his crib.

4. Can feed himself PUFFS. 

5. Can halfway sign "more" when he wants more PUFFS. :)

6. Can crawl up stairs. *heart attack*

7. Got a double ear infection on his 9 month bday. O_O

8. Loves to hug his brother!

9. Went swimming in the big pool--loved it!

Still no words. 

He is still breastfed, though, he is way more distractible. His best feeds are in the middle of the night and right when he wakes up in the morning. In addition to nursing, he gets solid food several times a day. He loves pretty much all the fruits. And some veggies, if they are mixed with fruit. ;)

He is 20 pounds, 1 ounce. So big! (Cohen was 20 pounds, 15.5 ounces!) Crazy how similar they are! His thighs are so big and chunky!! PERFECTLY SQUISHY. 

He goes to bed between 8 and 9 (We aim for 8) and wakes up somewhere between 2-4am to eat. He honestly likes to go back to his bed, where he can spread out, but I'm sleepy and lazy and usually keep him with me, until he fights it too much. Then he's pretty much up by 7:30. He takes a 1-2 hour nap after he's been up for about 2 hours (unless he has an undiagnosed [yet] double ear infection, like today) and then another 2 hour nap when Cohen naps (around 2 or 3 pm.)

He's loving sound toys now, and trying to push the buttons. :) We're training him to love his lovey ;) by tucking it in with him each night and at nap time. (Cohen still very much needs his, and treats it like his baby now.. putting it for naps, feeding it) :)

Here were some outtakes:

Ummm.. I think this is the last one, Mom...

Yup, I'm outta here!

Ok, one more. :)

Buh-bye!

That elbow, though!!!

It is the perfect age right now. Perfect. Stay little, my sweet boy. Please??? We love you!

Liam ~ 8 months old

Yaaay! A week late! We've been busy, okay??  There was the Fourth.. there was work.. there was Cohen going to Granna and Pop's, then US going there.. there were home repairs..

Anyways, I took his picture today.. at 8 months and 10 days old. Oh well. At least I took it. :)

I. just. can't.

This has got to be the best age. He's figured out how to scoot backwards, so that's fun. He rolls every which way, so that's also fun. He's for real teething (for real, this time), so that's not very fun. No seriously, I can SEE a tooth coming in on the bottom, right middle. :)

He is still breast fed, and we've added in 2-3 meals of baby purees each day. He's a fan of them now. He's had everything from carrots to sweet potatoes to beets to mango to pineapple and everything in between. He also loves the puffs. (who doesn't??) He likes to drink water from a sippy cup, but he thinks it's real funny to let the water run right out of his mouth, while smiling real big. :) Silly boy. 

He wears 9 month to 12 month clothes.. although, I got him into an 18 month onesie the other day...

He shows no interest in standing up or cruising. And I'm perfectly fine with that. 

No words, lots of babble. No "ma ma" yet. Still pushing for that one. 

Oh, and he hates napping. I hate that he hates napping.

outtakes:

Funny boy!

Still likes sticking that tongue out!

I told Cohen to jump in with him and Liam immediately moved in for a hug. :)

Mr. Soon-to-be-crawling!

What baby brother does, big brother must imitate... >_<

Mama with my baby boy! Cohen is getting pretty good at snapping pictures ;)

I like to chew on everything.

Look at that boy, playing with his truck!

(remember Cohen at 8 months? started taking interest in his truck at this age too!)

(and look at Coco wearing this outfit at almost the exact same age!!)

Liam ~ 7 months old

Welllp... He's closer to 1 than a newborn now. :) I really wanted to put sad face there, but in reality I'm so glad he's growing and thriving and healthy. And that's a happy thing.

Growth.. probably 18 or so pounds now.. Big guy!  He wears 6-9 month clothes and can usually fit in some of Cohen's old 12 months sized things. (The things that shrank in the wash, 3 years ago)

Development.. He sits unassisted. Still no rolling! Just the half roll onto his side to sleep. Hector thinks he doesn't roll because we skimp on the tummy time.. because he HATES it, still. Ha! He grabs any toy he wants, reaches for everything. He likes to hold our hands when we clap in front of him, but he doesn't do it on his own yet. No waving. Hasn't said anything yet. Babbles, of course. Just waiting on that "mamamamama"! Loves to sit and play with toys and still loves his jumper! He is reaching for you now, when you go to pick him up!

Eating.. He's getting slightly better with solids! I've been able to give him some applesauce, and a few other fruit purees. Still hates the cereal. LOVES the puffs. Likes the yogurt melts, but they just get lodged on the roof of his mouth and make him mad. :) I'm still nursing him. (yay!!) I stopped with Cohen at 5 months, so I'm just thrilled to still be going strong. I know many can't, so I consider all of this breastfeeding a huge blessing. I have been making "lactation cookies" that I LOVE. They have several "active" ingredients that help with milk production... brewer's yeast, rolled oats, and flaxseed meal. They're great.. mayyyybe because I add chocolate chips. :) I usually have a couple cookies a day.

Sleep.. He takes an hour long nap in the morning.. then usually a two hour nap in the afternoon when Cohen naps. He naps in his crib now, Praise the Lord! We actually got rid of the swing because he's too chunky for it to swing. :) He goes to bed around 8-9pm. And will wake around 1-2am usually to eat. Then he sleeps with us, and nurses once or twice more. Ready for some full nights of sleep over here!! (Though, I still really love the snuggles!!)

Seriously??

Fingers and piggies!! Mushy goodness!

Into the hand.. next stop.. Mouth. Always.

That sweet baby face. 

"Hi mama! I love this chew necklace!"

Liam ~ 6 months old

Look at this boy! It is so hard to believe he is 6 months old already! When we went to his Pedi appointment, he weighed 17 pounds, 11 ounces!! (at 6 months, Cohen weighed 17 pounds, 7.5 ounces!!) Crazy, Liam was so much smaller at birth and has caught up tremendously!

Liam is getting so fun, and I just love this age. He has learned to sit up on his own!! Yay! He prefers to sit up, actually. No more of that boring laying down for him! ha!

Still no rolling. That's weird, right?? Big brother (and I try REAL HARD not to compare) was already rolling everywhere at 6 months. Maybe it's a good thing. I don't have to chase him down yet!

We attempt solids with him, but the kid isn't interested. He likes Puffs.... and he has eaten part of a strawberry and banana. This kid may skip all the baby food and just have grown up food. O_O
He is still 99% breastfed. (Might get one bottle formula when I work and the sitter is here, and she runs out of breast milk) He still eats around every 3 hours during the day. He will wake at night to eat, but not eat very much, and falls back to sleep with us. So, I'm starting to think it's just a comfort thing at night, that he's not really hungry. If we could just get him to sleep longer at night in his crib before waking to come sleep with us.... hmmm... What can I say, he's a snuggler. :)

He still seems to be teething (copious slobber and chewing on everything!) but no sign of teeth yet. He now wears just an Amber necklace (his Hazelwood necklace was staining all his shirts brown!). And he is responding well to it. His little eczema spots are kinda flared up right now. On his neck and stomach and legs. Doesn't seem to bother him. We've started giving him culturelle (probiotic) because we can't get his poops normalized. TMI, sorry.

He's a rough napper. Giving a 45 minute nap most of the time. But, he has started going down at night right about 8, he gives out! So now brother and Liam try to go to bed at 8. Opens up some time for Hector and I to be kid-free for a bit! We can watch our shows! Or just talk! Or go to sleep early! haha.

He babbles a lot, says "Heeeyyyy!" And he'll do a little fake cough to get attention now, too! I remember Cohen doing that too. :)

So serious!

The hair, these days

Liam loves to be naked! If he's like this for a minute, then you go to put a diaper on him, he cries!

Liam Emile, we LOVE you to the moon and back!! Keep growing strong, baby boy!