Something we are not used to hearing

Yesterday Liam had his 6 month follow up with the eye doctor to make sure his eyes were developing normally. We have not had any concerns, but premies are at higher risk for developing a number of eye/vision problems. Liam did very well at the doctor's office and we were very happy to hear everything is fine with his eyes.

As the doctor was examining him she kept saying, 'He is so big.' That is not something we are use to hearing. After months and months of 'He's so small' it was a little bit of a surprise to hear the doctor comment on that. His next appointment with the pediatrician is at 9 months so we won't have official stats on his size, but at least compared to the other premies the eye doctor sees he is getting big.

Liam is really starting to do a lot of neat things. He has begun to hold his own bottle, although he tends to lose interest quickly.

Liam playing with 'Seeloewe' (sea lion)

Liam will be a happy boy when he can finally figure out how to move forward!

Fun with Papi

Saturdays are always fun because Liam gets to hang out with Tobias. Today they had a lot of fun together.

There was an early start to the day since Liam decided our morning wake up call needed to come at 5:00 AM. We held him off until 5:45 but then the day began.

Liam and Tobias enjoyed watching the German Bundesliga on Premiere Live this morning

Which turned into floor time fun.
Opa, does this level of contact constitute a penalty kick?!


Then there was yard work

We'd like to say it was a wardrobe malfunction, but truth be told, Liam has taken to peeing on Tobias during diaper changes. He proved again today that he is a very fast fountain so Papi had to change his clothes. We love this onsie!! We also think these pictures help show how long Liam is getting. He growing, growing, growing!

I told Tobias a couple days ago that Liam's rolling is getting very fast. He rolls better from his right to his left from his back. In the following clip you will see that he has rolled as far as he can in that direction. We are trying to get him to work on rolling from left to right but he eventually gets frustrated when he can't keep moving in the direciton he wants. As you will see, the onsie has it right. He can cry in both English and German. But all is well that ends well. Liam makes it back to Papi and gets to end the afternoon with a bottle and a nap.

What does a baby do at the end of a long day? Hit the bottle!! I think this picture is interesting because Liam's hair (what little he has) is normally very dark, but it is becoming blond in the light. This picture really shows how light his highlights are!

Da do do do, da da da da is all I want to say to you . . .

Liam appears to be a fan of The Police these days. 'Da do do do, da da da da' is all he wants to say to us. Actually, it's closer to 'da da da da [squeal].' Mornings are a lot of fun because Liam is getting very talkative and playful. This was our conversation this morning.

Translation - Looking forward to another day of baby life. I'm gonna sleep, eat, drink, play and repeat. Oh, look, a white tray. Wonder what it tastes like. Anyway, as I was saying, just gonna hang with Mom today and have some fun. Hey, look my fist, wonder what that tastes like. [Smile at the end] You might want to get me to a changing table - - fast!

Hanging out with Papi

Liam loves to go for walks in his Baby Bjoern these days. Here is a picture of Liam hanging out with Papi on our way to Nanna and Poppa's for dinner last night.

Saturday soccer

This past week has been a difficult one. Tobias and I were both sick most of the week. Thanks again to Nanna and Poppa for helping with Liam!!

Now that we are all back on the mend, it's time to enjoy our new toy. Tobias found out that Verizon Fios now offers two German language channels. One carries the Bundesliga Premiere Live broadcast each week so Tobias can now watch the soccer show he used to watch in Germany each week. With this channel we are also set if we decide we also want to fill our days with bad German soaps and TV shows from the 80s and 90s. :)

Tobias and Liam watching Premiere Live

Liam after the first flash of the camera

7 months

Liam is 7 months old today!!
We love this picture because this is the face we get every
morning when we get Liam up out of his crib

Liam's first Easter

Happy Easter!!

Today Liam got to go to church for the first time since January. Since I had to be at church for choir rehearsal at 800 Tobias got to dress Liam. :) Liam's Easter outfit is from his family in Germany. The sweater and shirt were gifts from Tobias' Aunt Liesel and Uncle Alfred. The shoes are from Tobias' cousins Stephan and Claudia.

Mami and Liam
Easter 2009

After church we had a video chat with Oma, Opa and Dodi in Ingelbach.

Papi and Liam - video chat

Playing with Nanna and Poppa after lunch

The Easter Bunny was good to all. Tobias got another 1 Kilo Lindt bunny and Lori got a wonderful bottle of Spanish sparkling wine. YUM!

The only downer is that both Tobias and I are sick with allergies/sinus infections. Another reminder that parents don't get sick days anymore.

Five Guys

Liam and I went to visit the Powers today. Five Guys (a specialty hamburger restaurant) opened near them so we all went to check it out.

On they way back to the Powers' house Abby asked me what 'justice' is. Ever tried to explain that to a 4 year old?

Lala and Liam at Five Guys

Pears and snoring

Today Liam got to start fruits. He was really excited about pears!! Here is a video of Tobias feeding Liam today. The second half of the video is further proof that Liam is Tobias' son. Check out what Liam and Tobias have in common . . . what joy is mine. :)

Slumber party

Tobias and I enjoyed 'date night' last night. We started the night by going to eat at a new restaurant. Sitting to down to eat a meal together is a real luxury and we really enjoyed the time together.

We then had to laugh at how date night has changed. We then went to Babies-r-Us to buy a new crib and pick some essentials.

Looks like Liam is having fun with his cousins and learning lots of new things!

Forget pureed peas and rice cereal. This pizza is much better!

So this is what I have been missing!!

Before anyone panics, these were obviously staged by Traci and Bruce!! We have long joked about how hard parents work to give kids healthy foods but they end up going elsewhere and get corrupted.

Like father (and grandfather), like son. Liam plays with his first iPod Touch
. . . or as the Germans say, Der Apfel fällt nicht weit von Stamm.
(I hope that is right. Tobias is not awake to proof read my German.)

A Bumbo for my Liam

Liam is spending the night with his cousins, Ann and Abby tonight. Traci and Bruce offered to get Liam so that Tobias and I can have a date night and sleep through the night. We are looking forward to some time alone together, but we already miss the little man.

Traci has been sending some video clips from her phone so I could see how Liam is doing. He loves the 'b' sound and it usually gets him to laugh . . . as Traci saw today.

He will be going to swimming lessons with Ann and Abby this afternoon. I can't wait to hear how that goes!

What a week

What a week! The end of last week and weekend were tough days around our house. Liam was irritable and fussy all day and wasn't sleeping well at night. We were up at least 10-12 times a night for 3-4 nights in a row. We finally connected the change in his behavior to a change in his diet - oatmeal cereal. On Monday we switched him back to rice cereal and he is back to his sweet self.

This is the phase in life when we are supposed to expose Liam to toys that sort and stack and build. Liam had to explain to Tobias this is not what the books had in mind.

Eating oatmeal cereal upset Liam's stomach,
but eating his butterfly still goes down well.
(The lines on his face are from his sheet. He just woke up from a nap.)

Tonight in the bath Liam noticed several things for the first time. It's now getting harder to bathe him because he wants to grab everything and play. Getting clean is a secondary concern.

Look at this Mommy! Something I never noticed before.

This picture really needed to be video, but Liam discovered that kicking his feet splashes water.

Our little shark is getting bigger everyday
(His arm is outstretched because he is reaching for the camera!!)