I'm a few days late with this update but Liam is now 13 months old. He's growing so fast and the last month has been pretty exciting for us. There have been a few milestones as well as a few lessons learned.
I shared a few things with you guys already (such as his first haircut) but there have been a few things that haven't made it into the blog yet. Liam has officially started saying "bye" as well as waving. Now Liam is a stubborn little guy. He only does this when he wants to and if you try to get him to do it when he doesn't want to, he'll just look at you like he has no idea what you're doing. I'm sure there will be many more "talking" milestones to come but as of right now, "mama" and "bah" (we're still trying to figure out what "bah" means exactly) seem to be his favorites. He especially loves to say "mama" while making spit bubbles.
Other than that, his other milestone is climbing. He can climb onto the sectional and just figured out that he can climb onto the ottoman as well. This milestone (which can also be called the "give mom a heart attack" milestone) has not been much fun for me. I'm hoping that this daredevil phase doesn't last too long but then again, I do have a boy on my hands.
Okay, here are a few more stats on Liam's growth before we get to his 13 month picture. I weighed him a few days ago and he came in at 24.5 lbs. I didn't take his height but I'm guessing that he's maybe grown an inch since the last time he was measured. He's wearing 12 month clothing and size 5 shoes. He's growing into such a big boy and now on to the picture.
The last two days have been a little rough for us. Liam is on the move and in typical boy fashion, is very daring. He has taken a liking to standing on furniture (especially the couch and bed) and had his first accident yesterday. Whenever he stands on the couch, I'll tell him to sit down and once I get close, he'll sit and laugh. Well, he was standing up and when he went to sit down, he hit his mouth on the back of the sectional. I picked him up and that's when Will noticed that he was bleeding from his mouth. Talk about a scary moment. Luckily he didn't hurt himself too bad but the sight of the blood on my shirt was enough to freak me out.
If that wasn't enough, today one of the dogs nipped Liam after he scared her while she was sleeping. Our two dogs are very little guys (Shih Tzus) and although they are well behaved, I knew something like this would eventually happen. Liam is very rough with them and even though we try to minimize the amount of contact between them, it happens. Will and I will make it a priority to teach Liam boundaries when it comes to the dogs. I know some people would think about giving the dogs away after an incident like this but something like that would not be an option for me (I mean, Liam bit me yesterday but I'm not going to give him up for adoption). We're all a package deal. Life with a baby is new for all of us and we have plenty of time to figure things out.
Since Will is returning to work after a month of leave, he was definitely due for a haircut. We decided to take a trip to the salon this morning since I have drill and will have the car out of town until next week (yay for hotel living with Liam). The topic of Liam's hair has come up a few times in the last few months and since Daddy was already going, we decided to get Liam's first haircut.
When we walked into the salon, there were two chairs right next to each other open. Will sat in one and I sat with Liam on my lap in the other. I had originally planned to take pictures during the process but that didn't happen. Now that I think about it, I should have taken one of him before so that we could see the difference. Even though we didn't get tons of pictures of this milestone, I was able to get a lock of his little curls and snapped pictures afterwards.
Every time I look at him now, I start to tear up. He looks like such a big boy now that he doesn't have his crazy, curly, baby afro. It makes me realize that I have a toddler on my hands. Definitely makes me want to cry...or start planning baby number two :)
#1: Will's R&R
Will had arranged to be home for his two week break in January since my due date was January 10th but Liam decided to make his appearance three weeks early. Although the timing didn't end up being perfect, we still had so much fun with the tiny baby.
#2: Our First Family Photo Session
Even though this happened during R&R, it was definitely one of the top moments of 2011 (I also think it set a family tradition of capturing the growth and change of our family). It was our first time meeting Melissa Bradfield (our amazing photographer) and I'm so glad she has become a part of our lives by capturing Liam's first year.
#3: Our First Wedding Anniversay
Although we celebrated this special milestone thousands of miles apart, it did not make the day any less special. We have experienced a lot during our first year of marriage and although it's not always easy, we stick it out and plan on celebrating many more anniversaries.
#4: Baby Milestones
All of Liam's little milestones fit into this top of 2011. From teeth to "talking", Liam has kept our lives exciting. Here's Liam during the teething phase as well as a shot of his first baby teeth.
#5: Liam's First Halloween
Halloween was a little disappointing for me since I expected Will to be home from Iraq. I had all these ideas for costumes but when I realized he would miss Liam's first Halloween, I put everything aside and planned on staying home. Well, that changed a few days before Halloween, lol. Luckily I was able to find an adorable costume for Liam (and throw together something for me) and I'm so glad I did.
#6: The End of Operation New Dawn
The end of a deployment is always exciting. Having Will home after nine months of Skype, phone calls, letters and care packages was a blessing that we definitely do not take for granted.
#7: Liam's on the move!
Walking! Luckily, Liam waited for Daddy to be home to share in this milestone (although he had been standing on his own and taking a few steps). Walking has made our lives super crazy but so exciting at the same time.
#8: Liam's Cake Smash
To prepare for Liam's first birthday, Melissa Bradfield photographed a cake smash for us. The pictures were absolutely beautiful and we were even able to get a few family pictures as well. Liam had a blast eating the cake and we're glad we were able to capture that moment.
#9: Liam's First Birthday
This was definitely one of the biggest, most exciting events of 2011. Our little guy turned one and reminded us that life goes fast. We had a great party and celebrated his milestone in style.
#10: Our First Christmas as a Family
It was so exciting to spend Christmas together as a family. Although this is technically Liam's second Christmas, it's the first one we've celebrated. It was definitely a blessing and we're excited to spend/enjoy lots more holidays together.
