Sixteen months already? Geez.
Personality: Let's see...how can I describe Liam's personality? He's a boy who wants to do what he wants to do, and he doesn't want his mama stopping him. Unfortunately for Liam, sometimes he wants to do things he really shouldn't. He's definitely an explorer of his world, which I love. I try to give him as much freedom as I possibly can without him getting into potentially dangerous situations. He doesn't set out to do "bad" (98% of the time), but there have been lots of teachable moments this month where he's learning what he can and can't do. He's definitely been keeping me on my toes, and more often than not I regret it if I take my eyes off him for more than a few seconds. So that other 2% percent of the time, he knows he's doing something he shouldn't be doing. Climbing on the end table by the couch is one example. I would prefer it stay in its place so I can teach him not to climb on it, but on the days where I have to "teach" him that over and over, I move it! The other day, he climbed on it and as I was walking over to him to get him down, he gave me a mischievous grin and stood straight up on it. Good grief, that's dangerous! It only cost $5 at Target (they were supposed to be temporary...), and is flimsy. He's a daredevil for sure and climbing is his new favorite thing. A chunk of my day is also spent teaching him that we sit on our bottoms on the couch, not stand and walk all over it. Like I said, lots of teachable moments this month! However, as Liam becomes more daring, he also becomes more affectionate. He seems to enjoy cuddling more and more all the time, and just generally preferring to be super duper close to me if I'm on the floor playing with him. He loves to run to both of us for hugs and smooches, and he gives his stuffed animals smooches and cuddles. He's a sweet, sweet boy for sure! He hasn't screamed much lately, but he's still throwing fits if he's stopped from doing something fun (dangerous). Thankfully his fits last only a few seconds and rarely involve true crying. I just tell him that I know he's upset he had to stop (doing whatever) and that he doesn't yet know the words to express that, so I understand why he's frustrated. I tell him I'm doing it to keep him safe. He hasn't been nearly as clingy when going to the church nursery lately. I can usually easily distract him with a toy and leave. Liam has also learned how to tease. As in, he will hold up food as if he's offering it to you, and then when you get close to take a bite, he pulls it backs and laughs! This can also happen with offerings of toys. I'm not sure where he learned it, because we've never done that with him. But he thinks it's funny. He actually has a well-developed sense of humor. He especially cracks up at the Meow-Mix commercial with the cats singing "meow" over and over. All in all, I LOVE his personality, and he definitely has a lot of it.
Skills: Liam is seriously learning new words all the time. Boom, socks, throw, duck, and down are the new ones. He can now identify ducks and say the word, and when I ask him what a duck says, he will sometimes say, "kak kak." However, when it comes to animals, dogs are his love at the moment. He can identify real or cartoon dogs, and says "oof oof." Dog is his favorite word to say at the moment. Yesterday he also attempted to say "meow" but it sounded like "mao." I'm pretty sure he knows what all of his toys and possessions are. If we ask him to bring us a specific toy or something like his blanket, he brings the right one 98% of the time. We also think he might know the colors blue and green. If we ask for the blue ball, he brings the blue one. Same thing goes for the green ball. He can pick those colors out of a line-up. He doesn't know red or yellow, or any other colors. If we hand Liam a brush or comb, he will start brushing his hair with it. I've taught him how to sing the words "Row, row, row" in the song "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." He just does the first three words, but it's so cute. He loves to look at and hear the ABC's. If I ask him to bring me the ABC's, he brings "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" where they're in the back of the book. He knows the letter "D." It's amazing how much he is learning and understanding these days. We're working on his spoon/fork feeding skills and coloring with big crayons. He tends to try and eat regular-sized crayons. He also started making "vroom, vroom" noises while playing with his cars. I love that! In the area of sleep, he puts himself to sleep for his nap nearly 100% of the time. At night, I typically have to hold him while he falls asleep. If I don't, he will usually pitch a big fit. He also says "uh oh" in appropriate situations.
Food and Drink: This month, Liam has developed a love for noodles. Before then, he really showed little to no interest in them. Asian or spaghetti noodles, he likes them all! He does an excellent job feeding himself (with his hands) these days and eating food he can take bites out of. Like I mentioned, we're working on the spoon and fork feeding skills. He's getting better at getting food on the spoon or stabbing it with a fork. He actually does an excellent job of getting the utensil in his mouth, it's just that usually there's no food on it! He had his first Olive Garden breadstick, which I'm pretty sure he was enjoying until he decided to throw it on the floor. The second he's done with his food, he starts throwing it on the floor, so I have to watch him closely, especially with messy food. Since we're in an apartment, the high chair has to go on carpet, and there are already enough tiny fruit snacks smooshed in the fibers.
Events and Firsts: A couple of weeks ago, Grandma and Grandpa (Will's parents) came to visit. Liam had a great time throwing items over the safety gate with Grandpa and yelling, "Boom!" When he ran out of items, he even tried to push me over the gate. I obliged and hopped over it. Since the oppressive heat finally decided to take a hike, we've been able to spend more time outside at the park. One Saturday we went and Liam got to try his hand at climbing on some playground equipment. He also got to swing and walk around the park. I'm looking forward to going to the park a lot this fall. A funny first is that, while changing his diaper, he decided to run away before I got the new diaper on him. He promptly peed on his foot and the living room floor. Speaking of that, I started cloth diapering him again. I only have six right now, so it's not full-time, but I'm glad to be at it again. In August, I took Liam to a free music and drama class at a local cloth diaper shop. It was mostly just a lady singing kid songs while playing guitar. At first Liam was very clingy and glued to my lap. Then he kept sliding off of my lap more and more and eventually walked around. He doesn't dance yet, but he loves guitars, so at one point he just pushed his way up to the front and stood right in front of the guitar. He did enjoy playing the instruments she brought for the kids. Of course, he tried to take one from another child, but I think he picked a four year old to mess with and that kid wasn't about to give his tambourine up to a baby! At church, Liam is no longer in the baby rooms. He's moved up to the toddler room and is on the other side of the hallway. Before I know it, he'll be in the two's room and then in the older preschool building. As mentioned in a previous post, we all went to to Denton for the first time! On Labor Day, we finally trimmed the swoop! Just enough to where it's not constantly in his eyes. Still handsome as ever.
Teeth: Seriously, he still just has four teeth. I guess that's ok considering how tooth-brushing time has become a fight. It take less time with just four. The bulges on his gums are even though, so I am concerned that they will all come in at the same time...if that ever happens! Some days it seems like he's just going to have four forever even though I know that's not the case.
Favorites:
- eating noodles
- anything dog
- bringing us stuff when we ask for it (like playing fetch with a toddler!)
- climbing on EVERYTHING!
- watching his Baby Signing Time video
- listening to me sing songs
- playing with "cahs"
- messing with everything he shouldn't (throwing fits when he's prevented from doing so)
- still pretty obsessed with shoes and socks
- chasing the cats (they still hate him)
 |
| Swingin' good time |
 |
| Freedom at the park |
 |
| Touching nature |
 |
| Blue-eyed boy |
 |
| Those curls! |
 |
| Partaking in some "free-range" water from the bench. Yuck |
