Just Like His Daddy

Liam may look a lot like his Grandma Williams, but he definitely takes after his daddy :)

 Whether it be cheering on the Hawkeyes...

Or playing on the computer!

Ten Months!

Little man is already 10 months old, and I'm pretty sure each month goes by just a little faster!  October was a busy and fun month for him, but the poor kid can't shake these ear infections.  He's battling a double one now, but we're hoping that it is cleared up before the trip to Michigan in a bit over a week.

To get a picture with the monkey this month, I had to catch him with his evening bottle...if Liam isn't eating or sleeping, he is on the move!  I suspect he'll be walking by his first birthday, he's quick when holding on to things and even walks now holding our hands.  Grandma Zwagerman taught him how to "click" his tongue this past weekend, so that is his newest trick!  I'm pretty sure there was a very clear "ma-ma" tonight as well, the next step is getting him to realize that's me :)

 Liam eats more and more real food, much less baby food or purees anymore.  Tonight I made a pasta bake and thought we'd give that a shot.  Let's just say it wasn't a hit, but he had a great time making a mess of himself!  We went straight up to the bathtub after dinner.

Liam is also convinced that if one pacifier is good, two is better.  He's even managed to somehow get two in there at the same time. 

Fall Fun

Liam has had a number of new adventures this fall!  In addition to getting even cuter (which shouldn't be possible), he's had lots of time with BOTH sets of grandparents this month, which he has just loved.  He had a week with Grandma and Grandpa Williams when they came to visit, and Grandma and Grandpa Zwagerman have been down to visit too.  










Grandma and Grandpa Williams helped Liam master "clapping", and Liam helped them remember how much fun it is to be up before the sun rises :) The week they were visiting, Liam decided it would be a good idea to get up about 4:30 or 5 am every morning.  I think this was just to get some extra play time because the morning after the left to head home, he slept in until 7 am!  He must have known that Christmas isn't TOO far away...

Having fun with singing and playing with Grandma

Liam and Grandpa having a very important conversation

While Grandma and Grandpa Williams were visiting, Liam and his cousins all went on a trip to the pumpkin patch.  Amelia won the "feats of strength" and pulled Liam, Hattie and about 6 pumpkins all around the pumpkin patch in a wagon.  After we picked out the perfect pumpkins, we got to go play, with visits to the swings, the "horses" and even a hay ride!

October also brought a big play date during the MSU/Iowa game with his Landon, Emma, Amelia and Hattie.  The kids had a great time and the Hawkeyes in the house (which was pretty much everyone but me...) were all happy with the outcome of the game.

With Grandma and Grandpa Zwagerman we've gotten to watch Amelia play soccer (her best move was a taking a quick break in the action to run over and give Grandpa a hug) and enjoy some beautiful October weather by grilling out and learning how to play bags in the backyard.  He had fun playing outside with all the girls, including our neighbor who had lots of fun making Liam giggle.
 

 

Liam discovers that Grandpa likes to tickle feet!

All in all, October has been a busy and adventurous month for Liam...and we haven't even hit Halloween yet!

So Old

There's something about putting shoes on little feet that just makes my little baby boy look so old and so much more like a toddler.  I think I'll keep him in just socks here as long as we can (with the exception of these fabulous Spartan shoes of course)

And for the record, he was officially neutral during the divided house game between Iowa and MSU in October.  Although I'm pretty sure he was secretly cheering for MSU :)

Nine Months!

Little Liam is not-so-little anymore!   He is now (because I'm slow to post this) about 9 and 1/2 months old.  We are getting ever closer to that 1 year mark and it just doesn't seem to be possible.  At his nine month appointment he flirted with the nurse (as always) and charmed the doctor (of course).  Those baby blue eyes already have the women falling for him.  His measurements were good, he is still in the 98th percentile when it comes to head size, he was 28 inches long (30th percentile) and weighed 20 pounds 10 ounces (64th percentile).  Everything else was healthy and looked good! 

WHOA MOM! Easy on that flash

Well, except for those darn ears.  His 9 month appointment was also his two-week follow up from his first ear infection.  That ear looked good, but the other ear, not so much.  The poor kid has had a rough month or so.  Since mid-September we've had croup, a left ear infection, a right ear infection and as of this week, pink eye in both eyes.  If this is how healthy we are through the fall, I'm almost afraid to see how winter is going to be.

Even with all this, he sleeps like a champ, which we are so thankful for!  And even when he's not feeling great, he's such a happy, smiling kid that half the time you can almost forget he's sick.  He's starting to eat real food, he had such food envy going at day care that we had to give permission for him to start eating food with the "big kids".  We still only have the two bottom teeth, but I suspect that by the time I do the 10 month update he'll have some top ones to add to the collection.

Liam has discovered that there is an entire house to explore, and the kid has some speed.  He now crawls all over the downstairs and we've learned to keep as many doors closed to block off rooms as possible.  Containment is next to impossible, but we limit where we can!  Walking isn't far off...he already walks while holding on to the table or other furniture.  I'm not hurrying him along though here, it just seems like he is growing so old so fast!

Mr. Monkey continues to shrink it seems, at least when compared to Liam.  This month it was next to impossible to get a picture of the two of them next to each other!  I may need to find more creative ways for a comparison in the coming months.