Moving!

Our Adventures in Ireland are coming to an end. I will no longer be updating this blog, but please feel free to visit us at our new blog for a glimpse into a brand new chapter in our lives.

Happy Birthday!

Happy First Birthday to my little lion man.

At his birthday party last weekend

A birthday picnic in the park, April 23

A more detailed post and update to come next week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Enjoy the day, wherever you are... Irish or not! Just promise me you won't drink any green beer. Make it a Guinness!! 

Our Family

Most days, it's just the three of us in the wide, wide world.

We have ups and downs and none of us are perfect, but we learn and grow together.

At the end of the day, I thank God that I get to walk down life's path with these people.

Mom's Visit

My mom left on Tuesday after being here for 11 days. We had a marvelous time despite both Liam and I being sick for part of her visit. Poor Liam had an ear infection for the first few days she was here and after it cleared up we went on picnics in the park, did a bit of shopping on Grafton Street, saw the seals in Howth, went to lunch and coffee, and went for a beautiful walk up Killiney Hill with my mummy friends where we dined on olives, cheese, crackers and humus. We may or may not have enjoyed sips of prosecco and champagne....

Howth

Mom and I on Dun Laoghaire Pier

Kara, Jenny and their boys on top of Killiney Hill

Playing at H's house

Towards the end of the trip, I got hit with a nasty flu bug. It hung on for 4 days! I was so annoyed to be sick when all I wanted was to enjoy my mom's time here. On the other hand, I was so thankful to have her here to help with Liam. Not fun taking care of a baby while you're sick! 

Watching mom leave was harder than ever before. Now, with Liam, I have this unrelenting desire to be nearer to our families. I want them to know him like we do. And I want him to know and love them like we do, too. It was incredible watching Liam fall in love with my mom. It makes me sad that we're not sure when the next time we'll see them will be. (probably this summer, one way or another)

"I love you, Grammy!"

We miss you so much!!

10 Months Old!

10 months old

When I posted Liam’s last update he was 5 months old. He’s now twice that and I’m not sure how it happened! He doesn't seem like a little baby anymore... which is kind of sad, but great at the same time. Watching him become a little person with likes and dislikes and sense of humor has been more fantastic than I ever dreamed. I was afraid with Liam being so active and curious he would fast forget his mama and be constantly on the move. Much to my pleasure, my sweet boy loves to give his mama cuddles and will even sit on my lap for three books straight! He definitely keeps me on my toes 90% of the time though, but I wouldn’t change it a bit.

Stats:

• Weight: at 9 months he was just over 21 lbs. I would guess he’s still in that range. (50^th percentile)
• Height: 29 inches (70^th percentile)

What he’s doing:

• Pulling himself up in his crib and on furniture
• Starting to cruise between furniture
• Says mama, dada, uh-oh (though it sounds more like uh-uh) & other strings of jibber-jabber
• Understands “no” but usually disregards the command by cheekily smiling and continuing the behavior
• Eats well! He has tried many, many foods and likes most things. I’ve discovered a dairy sensitivity which we’ll reassess when he’s 1.
• Starting to sleep well at night – yay! He finally learned how to self soothe. He only needs about 10.5 hours at night though. I’ve tried everything to get him to sleep longer and he just won’t!
• Takes 2 naps during the day
• “Dances” to music
• Has 4 teeth (top and bottom front two)
• Absolutely goes nuts over Classical Baby. We watch it every day before his morning nap. He always waves when the "busy caterpillar" turns into a butterfly. It's so cute!

A few favorite photos from the past month:

Mommy and me at our friend Cecelia's house

Welcome, Auntie Kate!

Lunch at the Porterhouse in town

New cars from Gramma Irish!

Ready for the Ireland v France rugby match! 

Liam's first Christmas

A lot has happened in the months that have passed in my blogging hiatus, most of which I'll just skip over (Thanksgiving, my and hubs birthdays, etc) . Liam's first Christmas is not one of those events I can let slide by without notice! I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Liam with the Christmas package from Grammy and Grandpaddy!

After a trip to the A&E on Christmas Eve (we discovered L had croup, poor thing!) We let him open this lovely lion hat from his Grandparents, he smiles even when he's sick!!)

Christmas Day Liam was feeling much better

 Christmas morning!!

Our little Santa

Santa and his elf (aka Henry B)

An out-take from the Christmas card photo shoot

A white Christmas in Dublin!

Apologies for the pictures being a little out of order. You get the idea! We had a great first Christmas with our little man despite the illness. We made the most of the situation and enjoyed some relaxing time, just the three of us. It was actually quite nice not to have any obligations, though we did miss our families dearly. 

6, 7, 8, 9!

Holy cow, I have a lot of catching up to do on my growing boy! In a little over a week Liam will be 10 months old! I'll give a proper update and progress report then. For now here are his "bunny and me" pictures from months 6-9. 

6 months

 7 months

8 months

9 months

We are having a ball trying to keep up with our very active little man!

Fresh Start!

Gave the old blog a bit of a face lift in hopes that it would inspire me to get back at it! Here's hoping... the dilemma is: should I re-cap the last few months or just begin from the more recent past?

Comedy and Tragedy

Aren't they the best?! Liam and Jude, October, 2010

Baptism Day

The day after the Harvest Party was Liam's baptism. We had been looking forward to this day for a long time... we were exhausted from the festivities the day before, but ready for another fun day. It was a small affair with just family, but it was just perfect. Father Tom did a wonderful job and even forgave Liam when he knocked the anointed oil over on the alter. Oops!

Liam was fully immersed in the font and was a real trooper! After the Holy Water bath we dressed him in his grandfather's baptismal gown, which hubs wore as well. I think I should put him in dresses more often! I kid, I kid...

Waiting patiently...

"What just happened??"

"A bonnet, mom, really?"

Liam with his Godparents

Free Christmas Cards? I'm In!

(For bloggers with a U.S.  address only)

One of the mom blogs I follow recently posted about getting FREE cards from Shutterfly just by blogging about the photo site. Now that we have a darling baby, of course we want to include a picture of him in our holiday greeting, and after looking at what Stutterfly has to offer, I have to say there are several I love. I would buy them even if this offer didn’t exist.

Personally, I like the flat Christmas cards selection best – the ones printed on premium cardstock. Another one of my requirements is that the greeting uses the word Christmas and not Holidays. So many designs to choose from... the question is... what fits our family’s style best? Here are a few I’m considering:

This one is a good option if we want just one family picture, or one of just Liam, I think it's my first choice

Love this one too. Great for a single shot of the little guy

If I can't pick just one photo to go on the card, isn't this a cute option?

What's your vote? What are your favorites? Happy shopping!

A Michigan Harvest Party

One of the highlights of our time in Michigan was the Harvest Party held at the Stover family house (aka: The Burrow, because it reminds us of the Weasly home in the Harry Potter saga). Most who came dressed up as it was the day before Halloween. It was great fun! I think the icing on the cake was that the party also served as a 30th birthday party for hubs - it totally caught him off guard when we brought out the cake and a giant photo board chronicling his life.

Chimney Sweep & Mary Poppins!

A wee Harry Potter!

Harry Potter & an adorable dalmatian with their grandparents, American tourists in Europe

Surprise!!

Next up.... Liam's big Baptism day.

Before I regale you with our U.S. trip...

I've been tagged by Liz over at It Be Liz! And since I am a huge procrastinator, I'm going to complete this little survey before I sit down to tell you about Liam's second All American Tour. (I know... I'm also behind on his monthly updates!)


Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you. .
2. Paste these rules on your blog post.
3. Respond to the following prompts.
4. Add a prompt of your own and answer it.
5. Tag a few other bloggers at the bottom of the post.
6. Leave "Tagged You" notices on their blog/Facebook.
7. Let the person who tagged you know when you've written the post.


(I'll do all of this except the last two :-P)


------------------------------------------------------------

1) The best investment you ever made:
My Wedding (Ok, so our parents helped out with that investment.)

2) If you could’ve written any book, directed any movie, and composed any song, which three would you pick:
Book: Harry Potter (I wish!)
Movie: It's a Wonderful Life
Song: Baby Got Back

3) Weirdest quirk:
I like the smell of skunk. It reminds me of summer.

4) One wish immediately granted:
A great job for Hubs next fall.
5) Most expensive hobby:
Travel or clothes shopping

6) An inexhaustible gift-card at which store:
I'm with Liz on this one. Target.

7) In another lifetime, you’d be:
A bird. 

8) The most famous/interesting member of your family tree:
Joe Dimaggio. My Grandma's cousin. 

9) What would you say to your teenage self?
Wax your mustache, fool. 

10) What do you want to be when you grow up?
Producer of a TV show on TLC (I'm not telling my idea because I'm not grown up yet - there is still hope!)



EDIT**


Forgot to tag!
I think most of the people I follow have already been tagged so I just have two: Liz & Heidi

Five Months!

Liam, 5 months!

Today my baby boy is 5 months old! The past month Liam’s personality has really started to emerge. I think he’s a lot like his mama in this department – very friendly and ready with a smile; but there is no denying that he looks just like his daddy! That nose! Those eyes! Not to mention the size of him; he is such a chunk and so tall! He is getting really heavy and I definitely can no longer cradle hold him with one arm. Teething is on in full force (still!) I can still see the little buggers under his gums – just bust through already, I say! Let’s get this show on the road!

Also this month Liam had his second travel adventure, this time to Paris to visit his daddy.  Though he was generally good on both flights, it was really exhausting for me! (See this post for more on our trip).

Here’s what the little lion is up to this month:

• A week ago he weighed 16 lbs 12 oz., jumping into a new percentile curve – around the 70^th. Not sure how tall/long he is.
• Wearing mostly 6-9 month clothing now. A few 3-6 things still, but also a few 9-12.
• Now rolling over from tummy to back with ease. Though he seems to be over rolling from tummy to back now!
• Sleep is pretty unpredictable. Some nights he only wakes once, and others as many as 5 times! The good news is that on some occasions he can sooth himself back to sleep without me going in.
• Still being breastfed, but have added rice cereal in the evening (right after he turned 4 months) and just recently pears in the morning. He LOVES food! He grabs the spoon to try to feed himself and is so smiley for the whole process. I think we might try apple next. (I puréed the pears myself and intend to make his other foods, too. It’s so easy!)
• He’s been saying “mamamamama” for a couple of weeks now! If only he knew he was saying my name!! Regardless, I love it!  
• Grabs for whatever I have: coffee cup, remote (his favourite! Typical man, right?), food, phone... etc.

Favorites from month 5!

Our little family in Paris

Liam loves jardin du Luxenbourg!

A coffee break at Starbucks for some mom lovin's

Good buddies with auntie Kara