So Thankful

It's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but in honor of the holiday later this month I've been doing the 30 days of Thankfulness postings on Facebook.  Today though I had too much I wanted to say that I had to spill over to the blog to post day seven.

I'm thankful for the kindness of strangers.  Liam and I flew to Michigan yesterday and from the minute we got off the shuttle at the Des Moines airport, people were stopping to ask if they could help me.  So thank you to the gentleman who took the stroller through the revolving door, the woman who lifted the carrier so I could get that darn belt off at security and later carried a bag for me until I dropped off the stroller.  Thank you to the awesome flight attendants who were always there with a smile for Liam and who made a point of telling me specifics of what we would want to know in an emergency.  Thank you to the two women we sat next to on each of our flights who were happy and kind enough to help entertain a sweet little boy with games of peek-a-boo.  Thank you to all the passengers around us who responded with smiles to Liam's attempts to say hi. Thank you to all the random strangers in the airport that took a moment to hold a door, offer a kind word or a moment of help.  Even just a smile made such a difference.  While we had an easy trip overall, all these little (and not-so-little) things made the day so much easier.  On a day with so much negativity going on with the election, it was nice to have moments of sunshine.  It has also made me much more determined to try to be aware of this when I'm traveling on my own, and I will be sure to return this favor many times over.

I'm thankful I've learned to say yes (at least some of the time) when people ask me if they can help me in some way, shape or form.  

I'm so thankful for my Kindle Fire.  Without that and the downloaded episode of Curious George and the Animal Match'em game, that hour or so we sat on the runway in Des Moines before takeoff would have not gone nearly as well!

I'm thankful that Liam is such a good traveler, making little to no noise on each flight except for his giggles and chatter.  Granted, this probably made some of the kindness of strangers happen, as I know it's easier to smile at a kid being adorable versus one screaming...which makes me even more appreciative of this fact :)  I'm also thankful that his ears seem much improved and made for a better trip. 

I'm thankful that I watched TV today and did not see a single political ad! Yea!

I'm thankful that Grandma and Grandpa let me take a nap today while they entertained Liam.

I'm thankful for the generosity of friends who have helped provide everything from car seats to cribs to toys and everything in-between, making the invasion of two little ones easier on all of us!

And more than anything, I'm thankful to be able to spend several days with my family here in Deckerville.  These opportunities are few and far between and being able to take advantage of them when we can is special.  I'm thankful that Liam got to meet several of his great-great aunts and uncles today, and that we get several days to spend here with the family and our wonderful friends.  And I'm most thankful that we get moments like this to enjoy and remember...

Happy Halloween!

It was Liam's first Halloween!  We didn't get him too dolled up, but he did get to dress up twice since trick-or-treating isn't actually on Halloween around here.

I had two adorable helpers when it came time to hand out candy!  Liam and Harley were definitely the draws at our house, kids would see them at the door and come running to say hi :)

Harley, our furchild, has quite the collection of Halloween costumes.  Bumblebee, devil, cow...and jack o'lantern.  Since she and Liam weigh the same, and are about the same size, it was perfect to share costumes!  Poor kid may be traumatized by the fact he wore a dog costume his first Halloween, but I think he's tough ;)





And he was pretty darn adorable.  We didn't have him wear the topper, but I did put it on his head to get a few shots of the whole look.

Then for Halloween Day, Baby Lamb seemed appropriate (especially since Amelia still calls him that)!  So an Old Navy critter hoodie made for an easy, and warm, "costume".  I'm already making plans though for the first time he goes trick-or-treating...I think I even have Jay agreed to the costume, as it involves him as well!  Good thing I have a year (or maybe two) to work on this...

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.