Funny rubber band

We love finding out what Liam thinks is funny. One day it was watching us eat edamame from the pods. Another day it was watching GG tear paper. Today it was watching Mom snap a rubber band while Daddy was driving us to the store. Enjoy our little gigglebox!

The apple and the tree and all . . .

Oma, you will be happy to see that Liam has taken to running off with my curlers. I am waiting for the day he informs me that is will cost me 8 Marks per roller to get them back. :)

Our little squirrel

We made an interesting discovery over the weekend. Apparently, Liam has been using the 'crying corner' of his crib as a teething toy. (We call it the crying corner because it's the corner closest to the door and that is where he stands and fusses when he wants someone to come and get him.) Tobias saw the teeth marks over the weekend and called Liam 'our little squirrel'. Of course, the cute part is that this crib coverts into a toddler bed and then into a twin bed. This means we will be able to look at Liam's little teeth marks when he is sleeping in that bed as a teenager. I bet they will be even more cute then!!

(Click to enlarge and admire Liam's work)

A related question for the Germans . . . if the suffix 'chen' indicates a small something, why can't I call our little squirrel 'unser Eichhoernchenchen'? And what exactly is an 'Eichhorn' so that a Eichhoernchen is a small one? Just wondering. :)

Kicking back

Liam really got comfortable taking his bottle this morning. We'll talk to him later about putting his feet on the table. :)

I'm so cute I must be German

I am a sucker for novelty shirts. It's difficult to get Liam to pose for pictures now so this is as good as I got today. His shirt says, 'I'm so cute I must be German'. :)

Loving my teeth

Liam discovered that his teeth bite things today. I have always let him 'eat' my apples when I eat them. He usually gums them and sucks juice. Today, his teeth did their work and he bit off tiny bits of the apple. He laughed and squealed and worked on the apple for 30 minutes.

Liam's new favorite toy

Look what my teeth can do!!
(OK, so Mommy helped a bit)

Germerican/Deutschikaner

Liam received his German passport today. He is now an official Germerican/Deutschikaner. He had the same reaction to his US passport when he got it . . . he tried to eat it.



I gave him both passports to see which one he went for first. Just like in soccer, the Germans win!! I asked him why he picked the German passport first and he told me it was because the US passport tasted too sweet. :)

11 months old!!

11 months old

After a very difficult week of what we thought was just teething, we learned that Liam also had Roseola. Luckily, the treatment is the same as teething (nothing much you can do but manage the fever and keep him comfortable). We are hoping that everything is nearly out of his system and that he will remember how to sleep through the night. And, we are thankful he made it to within days of 11 month before getting his first illness.

He is getting very good at climbing and getting around. He has climbed an entire set of stairs by himself (with Mom right behind him, of course) and he is learning how to get around obstacles and barricades, which all makes keeping up with him a full time job.

It's hard to believe, but Liam has almost completed his first trip around the sun!!

Balls, calls, and pajamas

In honor of Ginger's infamous thank you card . . . Liam loves playing with his balls. They fit perfectly in his little hands. :)


Liam now loves the phone. It lights up, makes noise, and fascinates him. We put in on speaker phone and he loves to 'talk' to people (which means he smiles and looks at the phone when he hears their voices). This was Liam 'talking' with Oma on Sunday.


And, finally, for the boy who started life so small . . . our 10 months old (nearly 11 months old) now needs 18 months clothes! This is his new sleeper that Papi bought him.

The boxer

This video supports the theory that the best toys are free. These boxes kept Liam occupied for 20 minutes.

Smiling . . . at least for the camera

Liam has entered another round of teething. He has two visible teeth now. Unlike what the baby books said about teething getting easier after the first teeth are in, this round is worse. He is running a low grade temperature, not sleeping well, fussing, and he has trouble eating his favorite food - Baeren Kekse (bear cookies from Germany). Yesterday was a challenging day and I gave him his cookie after dinner hoping it would cheer him up. When it hit his gums he screamed and cried and stopped eating. Hopefully this won't last too much longer.

Here are some pictures from happy times the last couple days.

What's different?

Today Tobias and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. It has been our tradition to have dinner at the Trellis each year since we ate there on our honeymoon. It has also been a tradition that I wear the same dress I wore as my 'get away' outfit from the church. So, this year, like 11 of the last 12 years we headed to Williamsburg for dinner. (We were in London for one of our anniversaries. That's why it's 11 of 12.)

Here is a picture of me in my get away outfit getting ready to leave for dinner. Something is different this year though. Can you spot what is different. :)

A big THANK YOU to Nanna and Poppa for babysitting Liam overnight so we can enjoy some Lala and Bias time . . . and a good night's sleep. :)

GG and the tooth

Liam is still teething, but today we got a sign of hope. When Liam tried to gum Mommy's finger today she felt the tip of a tooth!! Hooray!! They are finally coming in.

Liam spends time with GG each evening at 6:00. This started as a help to us when Liam had his fussy time every night at 6:00. Going to GG's gave him a change of scenery, gave Mommy and Daddy a little break, and allowed GG, the baby whisperer, time to work her magic. Here are two very short video clips of some of Liam's favorite things at GG's house. (These were taken from my cell phone so the quality is not great.)

Going for the birdhouse (but not touching the lamp!)
Liam loves grabbing the little birdhouse on GG's porch. This is something he thinks of every time he is in that chair - - which can happen in the middle of bottles and while he is falling asleep. He jumps up and goes for the birdhouse.

Fun with Sesame Street characters
Liam loves pushing the characters back down! He's not so interested in making them pop up but he wants them down as soon as they pop up.