4 Months Old

Liam turned 4 months old last Monday and celebrated with a visit to Dr. D for his next check-up. Our baby boy is now weighing in at 19 lbs 9 oz and measures 26" long. On to the 9-month clothes! Doc says that given his size and head control, he's ready for solids... but I think we're going to wait just a little longer.

It was then time for the not-so-fun part of the visit. Although Mommy was seriously dreading those shots, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that they got a new shot that combined 3 of the 4 vaccines he needed in one, which meant we'd only have half the needle sticks. It went so much better! He cried for only a few seconds and then seemed to be fine. Phew!

Liam is grabbing anything within reach (and even things that really aren't but he somehow manages to get anyway!) and is especially finding interest in faces. He is grabbing chins, eyebrows, noses ("no Liam... you can touch the outside but please not the inside!"), and even grabbed his Daddy's cheeks to give him a wet, slobbery, and very cute kiss. He discovered a funny clicking noise he can make by sticking out his tongue and sucking it against his upper lip. He was having fun doing this after his bath the other day (sorry, no audio yet):




Liam's other new trick is blowing raspberries, which he started doing just this past week. He had woken up Tuesday morning at 4:30 am and decided that was a good time to start his day, even though Daddy and I disagreed. We laid him in bed with us in the not-so-secret hopes he would fall back asleep. Instead of falling asleep, however, he figured out how to razz and proceeded to shower us with his spit for the next 20 minutes. You know you're a parent when you find that both funny and totally adorable!

This week marked another exciting event in Liam's life... his first time swimming! We went to the Pocono Mountains for the weekend, where I have gone almost every summer since I was a kid. On Saturday morning, our little Waterbug put on his snazzy new swimming outfit (thanks Grandma!) and was ready to hit the water:




Liam was a little baffled at first, as he tried to figure out how his tub got so big!




Although he mostly studied his surroundings, he definitely tolerated it and maybe even liked it (evidenced by a few big wet smiles). On the way back from swimming, all cozy in his sweatshirt and wrapped up in a big towel, Liam dozed off with Nana:




On Saturday afternoon, Liam stayed in the Poconos to play with Nana and Grandpa while we went off for our first date since my birthday. Daddy's college roommate Chris was getting married in Northern NJ, so we went to help celebrate. Here is Chris with his beautiful bride saying their I Do's:




The wedding was beautiful, as was their incredible reception. We truly felt the Italian welcoming hospitality and had never in our lives seen so much food! Here we are with the groom:




Congratulations Chris and Dana! Although we missed our baby, it was nice to get away for an evening and we had a great time. We also got to reconnect with some old ND friends and found some new little blog buddies for Liam. Check these guys out!!

Back in the Poconos this morning, we celebrated Nana's July 4th birthday a little early:




While Nana opened her present, Liam and Daddy had some play time on the grass:

We got back to KoP this afternoon and are looking forward to a quiet couple of weeks at home before it's time for the trifecta of family fun: SC vacation, Uncle Tim's wedding, and Liam's baptism!

Father's Day Weekend

To all the dads, both new and seasoned... Happy Father's Day!

We spent most of the weekend in York, celebrating with Nana and Grandpa before they left for their vacation in the Poconos. As we drove into town, we were suddenly surrounded by hot air balloons! As it turns out, the York County Balloon Festival (who knew there even was such a thing?) was going on. I caught a quick shot out the window of the car, but this by no means does the sight justice.

Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of the balloons, thanks to some really nasty rain storms on Saturday!

When we arrived, Liam had some fun with Grandpa and his bee (which is Liam's favorite chew-toy of the moment).

On Saturday, after "only" 2 months, we finally got the title and signed the paperwork for our car! The car was the company car used by my dad's office, and other than needing a good interior bath, it's in great shape... and MUCH easier to get Liam and all his gear in and out of! We sold the Alero last Wednesday, so we're hoping this is the end of car talk for a long time.

Saturday night, GG took us out to dinner on the deck at Bogey's. After a stormy day, it ended up being a gorgeous night, and we enjoyed the pretty sights and the live jazz. Liam loves any excuse to be outside and to stay up past his bedtime! Here is our wiggle worm having some fun:

To welcome GG back from her trip to Oregon, Liam showed her how hard his grip is (to be followed by a tasting of GG's fingers...)

The guests of honor:

Our waiter was kind enough to take a photo of the table, and other diners joined in to try to get Liam to look at the camera. No dice... GG is way more interesting!

Liam playing "airplane" with Grandpa:

This morning, Liam wished Daddy a Happy Father's Day, and then they got down to the serious business of playing together. Their new game: Liam pushes the music buttons on his ExerSaucer, and Dad does a funny dance. The little guy was not the only one who found this hilarious!

After breakfast, Liam marveled at the enormity of Grandpa's present!

Liam sporting his proper Father's Day attire:

Back at home, Liam gave a Father's Day card to his pops and called it a night.

4-month check-up tomorrow... dreading that next round of shots!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Liam woke up excited this morning, because today is a very special day!



That's right-- it's Grandma's birthday! We called her early to wish her a happy birthday (sorry to wake you up, Grandma!), but since she couldn't see Liam's smiles over the phone, Liam wanted to make sure she knew he was sending his love:





Liam even wore a special outfit in honor of the day (and to make Daddy happy as we kicked off Father's Day weekend!):





Happy Birthday, Grandma! We love you!

In other news, now that Liam is rolling all over the place, his gym mat is no longer his #1 destination for fun (at least not when we need to keep him contained, anyway!). That's right, there's a new hot-spot for play time-- the ExerSaucer! So much to play with... and to try to stick in his mouth! We learned quickly that a bib (a.k.a. drool-catcher) is the new play time uniform.

Liam's 1st Wedding

Liam received an invitation to his very first wedding a few weeks ago, and since he loves a good party, he RSVP'ed yes! Adam and Emily's big day was Saturday. It was about an hour away, so Liam grabbed his favorite puppy and we hit the road.



Despite the torrential downpour, it was a beautiful day. Here is the happy couple taking advantage of a break in the rain:



At the reception, Liam even got his own placecard! Too bad he didn't eat much...



Liam enjoyed hanging out with some of Mommy and Daddy's friends. He gave Justin a little workout (as he discovered that Liam is heavier than he looks!)



Table 8 with the groom; Liam napping in his stroller:



Before heading home, we snapped a quick family portrait:



Congrats Adam and Emily!

Bashes, Bachelors, and Bikes

It was Uncle Tim's bachelor party weekend, and while Daddy joined in the festivities, Liam was also out and about! The weekend started with a quick overnight trip in York, where Liam got spend some time with GG and then head out to a teachers party to celebrate Nana's last day of school (for 15 months-- Nana is now officially on sabbatical!).

Between my return to work, no longer swaddling him, and his teething issues (and with no help from the bachelor party revelers in the middle of the night), Liam has been struggling with sleep lately. The poor guy is so tired but just can't seem to get the longer stretches of sleep that he (and WE) had been enjoying for the couple of weeks prior.

So after returning to Philly on Saturday, Dad hit up Phase II of the bachelor party while Liam and I went to a friend's house for a relaxed cookout. Liam enjoyed some time hanging out with his cousin Caitlyn by the pool:



A babysitter in training, no doubt!

On Sunday, we jumped on the train and headed to the Manayunk Bike Race. We had found out that Liam was "in the oven" just 4 days after last year's race, so it was crazy to now be back this year with a 15-week-old baby! Liam enjoyed his first train ride, and we distracted him from staring out the window at all the sights long enough to snap a quick photo with Mommy and "Aunt" Jen:



Once in Manayunk, Mr. Mom took over. A classic shot of Daddy carrying the heavy cargo:



Don't ya love Liam's big bucket hat?! It was great for keeping that hot sun off his little face! (Thanks Sam and Terry!)

Here is Liam checking out the racers whizzing by:



We were excited to get to meet up with the bachelor himself at the race. Our two favorite Fly Guys (which, in this picture, looks more like one Fly Guy and one hat with arms):



Mommy and Uncle Tim hanging out at the race:



Liam was such a trooper with all the chaos of being shlepped around all day (and all weekend, for that matter)! He just couldn't keep his eyes open a minute longer and slept through the train ride home:



Back at home, no sooner did we lay him in his crib when he rolled over onto his tummy to show off his cute little behind:



The world looks so different from this angle!



So we've discovered Liam's new favorite sleeping position, which he will get himself into no matter how or where he is laid in his crib: spooning with his crib bumper, with one hand gripping the rail!

More Fun at Julie's

Julie sent some photos of Liam's adventures with little Brigid last week while I was at work, and I just love seeing this duo in action! Brigid was such a good little friend to Liam and showed all kinds of fun new toys and activities. Here she is demonstrating how to play with her bouncer seat:



... and showing him all the fun bells and whistles on her gym mat (which, as we all know, is one of Liam's favorite places to be at home):



Brigid must have thought Liam did a nice job playing, because here she is giving him a little kiss:



Love it! Liam is becoming quite the little ladies' man :)

Liam's New Friend

It was Mommy's first full week back at work this week... and also our regular sitter's week off! Daddy took off Monday and Friday, and our wonderful friend Julie took him Tuesday-Thursday. It's been a difficult week (more for me than for Liam!), but it sure made it easier to know that Liam was in such great care. What would we have done without her?!

Liam loved playing at Miss Julie's house, and especially loved his new little friend Brigid. Julie has lots of adorable pictures of Brigid and Liam's adventures this week, but for now, here are the two little buds:



Brigid is 10 months old and is just the sweetest, smiliest little girl! She is also quite the cruiser! Liam was enthralled by her and even learned a thing or two:




When I picked him up this evening, Julie said he'd been rolling both ways all day. I couldn't believe it! He also took all of his bottles today, so we are hoping he is finally over the feeding struggles.

In other news, we are officially retiring his swaddle. Daddy found him yesterday morning having rolled over from back to front, facedown in his blanket. Yikes!