Liam's 1st Birthday

Well our little man turned one yesturday, so hard to believe. It is harder for me than when Katie turned one, I looked forward to her reaching each milestone and when she turned one, in my mind she became a toddler.

Liam on the other hand is still very much a baby to me. It boy has been quite a year watching him grow and we have really enjoyed it. He continues to be a very laid back, happy boy, with a touch of a serious side. He is very cuddly and loving, full of hugs and kisses. He has hit a more challenging stage, into everything he can reach, starting to climb on furniture, open cupboards and reaching up to the counters. Sitting still is something he does on his own time, generally not during a diaper change!

He continues to eat well but has some texture issues - he doesn't like hard chuncky things - like raw apples, pineapple. He also isn't fond of mushy things like bananas. However if we cut it up really small or throw it in the blender for a minute he's okay with just about anything. As of last week we've stopped nursing, which makes me very sad. The only time line I had was to make it to 12 months, beyond that my plan was to take it a day at a time. Well he likes to gnaw on anything he can put in his mouth and that included me. We'd been struggling for about 6 weeks and he was doing more biting than nursing - and it hurt. He wasn't happy about stopping but also not as bothered as I had anticipated him to be.

Night time sleep is great, he sleeps through from 7:30pmish til morning, but morning varies - maybe 6am maybe 8am or anything in between. Naps on the other hand are challenging. He naps once a day quite well, but that is usually in the morning and then he decideds he can go 6-7 hours with another one making him a grumpy bear come supper time. As there is little opportunity for routine with all else we have going on this is a continual struggle that we are dealing with. Like Katie he needs to be in a room removed form activity to sleep as he is soooo nosey, however the background noise level is not an issue.

He has 5 teeth now, 3 bottom and 2 top. He is kneeling on one knee with the other foot firmly planted on the floor and has let go of things while standing for a few seconds while drinking from his cup (not realizing he has let go). He still isn't fond of walking and I don't anticipate him walking on his own too soon but does like to push anything he can around the house, or holding our hands for a few steps. He climbs the stairs and into the small chair in the living room now and can get up on Katie's bed using her little chair and the footboard. He claps and waves, gives high-fives and shows us "who's a big a boy". His favorite place to be is in the bath tub and every change he gets he wanders in and looks over the side, his way of asking to get in. He cries when we take him out and rushes back the look over the side as soon as you put him on the floor. He LOVES the dogs, Blazer in particular and constantly tries to give her kisses. He really is just a very sweet little man and we love him so much!

We look forward to all the next year has to bring as he grows and learns.

Happy 1st Birthday Bubba. Love Mommy, Daddy and Katie

Handsome Birthday Boy

The cake

I always stress about the cake but enjoy making them & I think it came out great!

Bryan's self-portrait in fruit

Using the toy basket to climb on the coffee table

He has 2 walkers but prefers to push furniture around instead

Octopus

Checking out the cake but not sure what to do with it

What's this stuff?

Mmmmm

Checking out presents, thank you everyone for your thoughtfulness

A little help from Sissy opening pressies

New rubber boots from Katie - with puppies all over them

Loving the tissue paper

Our little puppy - he carries things in his mouth all the time

Happy to be 1