The Liam Sleeps Tonight...

Liam sleeps around...

with Mommy...

With Daddy...

With Grammy...

This is the only way to get him to take a nap...If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Taco Night Meets the Sunday Morning Omelet

Saturday night was taco night at our Liberty Street palace. Sue and Pete joined us for chips with salsa and guacamole, chicken quesadillas, make-your-own tacos, frozen strawberry margaritas (with an assist on the blender), and sundaes topped with chocolate and Spanish roasted peanuts (courtesy, again, of Sue).

Before the big game...

Ryan got promoted to head cook.

Liam decided to get very angry because no one offered him a taco, but other than that, I'd say it was success.

This morning, in a flash of inspiration, I decided to make taco omelets...so that the fun (and the indigestion) could continue.

And, yes, mom...you're invited next weekend for dinner...I'll make "that chicken stuff."

How Sweet It Is

Liam has started eating solid foods...well, more solid than breast milk, anyways. He's shown quite an interest in what Ryan and I eat for quite a while now and has reached the proper developmental milestones...doubling his birth weight, holding his head steady when sitting supported, not pushing everything out of his mouth with his tongue, etc. He was eyeballing my enchiladas the other night, but we're not quite there yet.

We started with the obligatory wall paper paste, I mean, rice cereal. He liked that well enough...until he got some sweet potatoes.

I surprised him with the first spoonful, so you get his funny face, but after he figured it all out he gobbled it right up.

If you don't have the audio it goes something like this:

Liam: "The service in this restaurant sucks...I've been waiting for at least a minute and a half! Where's my food? What is that thing?...Why is it furry? Why is it sniffing my feet? Tell it to get away from my cereal...You'll let anybody in here, won't you? What kind of restaurant is this? Where's my milk?"

If you do have audio, you know I'm full of crap...well, even if you didn't have audio you probably guessed that.

Liam Sings the Blues

Ok, maybe not the blues, but Dave Matthews.

I had a really long drive to work every day while I was pregnant during which I listened to my iPod because Erie area radio sucks. The iPod is a little heavy on the DMB...just a little. That might be what is to blame here.

The angle is a little weird because if he sees you he won't do it anymore. I had to wait around the corner for a couple of minutes to catch him doing it again. He does this a lot lately. He's actually singing John Mayer behind me as we speak...but I know that if I turn around he'll just look at me like he wasn't doing anything.

New Frontiers

Liam and I took our second trip to Frontier Park. We went this weekend with daddy, but since somebody's got to make the doughnuts we were on our own this time.


No problem, though. We got all packed up and headed out on a little St. Patty's day expedition. Liam made sure to bring everything an explorer needs...burpie, blankie, spoons...


We decided to do a little off-roading in the Cadillac Escalade of a stroller that we have and took a little detour to this green bench...


Where Liam got out and took a look around. It's tough to explore when you're lying on your back and all you can see is the tops of leafless trees. This is a much better view.


He also got to see what was making all that noise. Here Mr. Robin poses for a shot.


Soon, we head back to the beaten path...and by beaten path I mean relatively well-maintained, paved trail...and continue our journey, spoons at the ready.


Heading around the south horn of the park we venture into uncharted territory...wait, no...there's a bench...I guess somebody's been here before. Oh, well...it's still pretty.


We round the corner and stop at a local establishment for some refreshments.


Just kidding...we stopped and got some chocolate! No...I'm kidding again... really, we stayed on the other side of the road. I swear! Jeez! Ryan's going to be searching for this imaginary chocolate now...


Next stop...Bridge. Liam likes water almost as much as I do.


See? Doesn't he look fascinated?


You really can't blame him, though. Enough of this and you'd fall asleep, too.

On our way back around, we stop and have a little sit on the stones.

This elusive creature is rarely caught on film...so enjoy it now.

Liam is almost overwhelmed with excitement about his walk in the park.

He's even more overwhelmed to be returning home. You can tell by how he's almost moved since the last picture.


As always...happy to be back at the crib...

Splish Splash

Liam likes the bath. He's determined that if he kicks his right leg, mommy gets the brunt of the splash. He seems to find this amusing.

He doesn't like to get out of the bath...except for one thing, his big towel.





This is the only thing worth getting out of the tub for. This and maybe some milk...

You Be the Judge

I know that babies lack not only the intellectual ability, but also the physical ability to speak at this age. They start to make cooing sounds and "ah" and "goo" usually follow shortly after. They start to babble around now.

Babies usually say "da-da" before "ma-ma" because the "d" sound is easier physically to create. We could get into the hole conversation about phonemes and language, but we won't.

I know he's not actually saying what it sounds like, but it's still fun for me.

I'll let you be the judge.

Rollin'

He doesn't look quite as surprised as he did the first time he made it around, but...

The judges deducted points for getting stuck on the landing. Hopefully, he'll realize that if he just moves that one arm and puts his head down he'll roll all the way over.

Valentine's Day 2.0

Today is the second Valentine's Day Ryan and I have celebrated together. Last year was great. This year wasn't so shabby either.

Ryan brought home some red roses. A first. I've gotten lots of flowers...everything from sunflowers to orchids, but these are the first red roses.

He also brought home some Romolo's chocolates. I think this might have been a ploy to get some himself, but it was still sweet.


And of course, our old favorite...the Chateauneuf du Pape...the only red I like.


So we have a romantic setting for dinner. Wine, candles, roses, chocolates...

and a baby in a swing.

Now all we need is food. We decide that chicken stir-fry just isn't all that romantic and Ryan heads out to find some red meat.

I get a little bored waiting for Ryan to get back from the store and start playing around with the camera...

Soon we have a delicious meal. Steak au poivre with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms. It might look familiar.

Here is one very lucky guy about to enjoy the fruits of his labors.

And here's a very lucky girl with a very lucky guy.

After Much Deliberation...

The first time Liam swatted the blue thing it was a a little random. He did it a few times in a row, but still...it wasn't a terribly deliberate effort. The swatting is a lot more deliberate now that he knows that he has hands!

After spending a month or so in the jungle, he has become quite the hunter. He kicks the jingly toucan, he smacks the rattly elephant, talks trash to the butterflies, and swats the blue thing with the fiercest intent.

And when he's done he stares at that handsome guy in the mirror.