Well its only been a few months...

So it's clear... I'm not so great at blogging. But here I am putting up an update of the last few months because a few friends have made it clear that it is time :o) Well, a lot has happened. Where to begin...

The rest of January:

On January 12 Liam stood alone for the first time- just for a second or two, took his first step, and had his first haircut! That was a big day for him. Two days later his third tooth popped through- the top, right, middle tooth. That same day he began to feed himself full meals on his own too. That next week, January 20, we had professional pictures done for Liam's 1st birthday. They turned out absolutely great! The photographer is Tamera Hart and she just started up a new website- bumpmeetbaby.com. Two of Liam's pictures made it in the gallery! You can check out the rest of the pictures here at our smugmug site. On the 23rd of January Liam's fourth tooth came in- the top, left, middle tooth. Liam also worked on his vocabulary in January. Popular words were: mommy, daddy, baby (his favorite word that he says whenever he sees himself), me, bye-bye (which he'll say while waving bye-bye), bubba, and kitten (another favorite word that he does have correctly connected to our cat, Shadow).

Next, for my 26th birthday our family of three celebrated with a dinner out to Longhorn together. The next day my parents came into town on the way to Florida to babysit for Liam. Unfortunately, the little man was sick with a nasty cold. My parents enjoyed caring for him though- probably because he was so sick that he was happy to cuddle (which is a rare, rare happening). My parents stayed a couple days and then went down to see my brother and sister in law.

February

Febrary of course was the BIG month because of Liam's birthday, but we'll get to that. Febrary 1st Liam finally started to clap his hands. Then the 3rd he started pointing at things- this is usually paired with the adorable "oooh.... oooh!". Occasionally it's also paired with something that sounds like a very "baby" version of "what's that?". I thought I was crazy for thinking that until a lady at the store asked us today "did that baby just say 'what is that'??". Next, on the fourth my parents came back to town to get ready for his birthday party. Then on the 5th, Shawn's mom made the trip down. Sadly, Shawn's dad couldn't make it due to business. Liam decided with almost all the grandparents in town that the 5th was a great time to start walking. Oh my, he put on a show! He was so stinkin' excited to have our attention. Here's a video of his first few steps that night and then the next day too.

The next day was Liam's party. We had an open house party for Liam Saturday the 6th from 1-4pm. Friends from church came and enjoyed food, cake, and a few gifts. It was a good time. He really LOVED his birthday cake. Here's another video you can enjoy of Liam enjoying the cake. He enjoyed the day a lot. No tears, no breakdowns. Just a lot of fun! The next day all the grandparents left... and the colts lost the superbowl- BOO! That didn't stop Liam from cheering though!

February 9 was his actual birthday, and with all the family gone we spent it as a family of three. We started the day with Liam's first pancake breakfast, which he really liked. Then we made a trip downtown to see the South Carolina Aquarium. We all had a great time. The 10th Liam had his 1 year check up. He stuck to his curve on the 10th percentile in weight and came in at 19 pounds 6 ounces. He was 30 inches tall- the 50th percentile. His head was 18.5 inches- 75th percentile. Everything was perfect at the check up.

Later in the month on the 17th Liam got two more teeth! Now he has four straight across the top and two on the bottom. Then on the 24th he finally figured out how to stand up from sitting on his own. All it took was one time and then he could do it perfectly.

March

So far in March things have slowed down a bit. It really seemed like so much was happening in Liam's development in January and February. He still is growing up quite a bit. He's totally mastered walking now and is nearly running. Here's a little video of his walking last week.

Let's see, life outside of Liam. Nothing really has happened much in the last few months. The house is still on the market and we did have a showing here or there and one really low offer that didn't pan out. Other than that, just enjoying our growing boy.

Speaking of the whole home thing, here's what's going on there. From the very beginning we said we'd give it through the end of March to sell and then we'd take it off the market. So really we're completely planning on staying here since it hasn't sold yet. Also, we found out the jobs that were waiting for us are no longer there for us. We are definately ok with these developments. All along we just wanted to be where God wanted us. He's taught us a lot of lessons through these last several months of waiting, and I fully believe he has good things in store for us here. Will we every move back to Indy? Who knows. Right now I'm just trying to live in the present and not get too caught up in planning the future. When you do too much of that, you get caught not really living your present life- one of those lessons God taught me along this journey.

Oh yes, one other development- we traded in our Xterra and got a used 2006 Nissan Armada today. We knew that whenever we have another kid the Xterra wouldn't be big enough when we take trips to Indiana and Pennsylvania. So we've been keeping our eyes open for good deals. We came across a great one and took advantage. And just in case you're wondering- NO I am NOT pregnant! haha. Just a good deal that we knew we'd need sometime soonish (Lord willing). So here it is.

Christmas and more

Well it's only been forever since I updated, so I thought it might be good to do. We had a great time in Indy the beginning of last month. We started out our time there celebrating Ethan's first birthday. It was so much fun to see him again and to see so many great friends!

Next, we were finally able to make it up to Chicago to introduce Liam to my family up there. He met his great grandma and grandpa again and got to meet a lot of my cousins and my aunts and uncles for the first time. They loved him, and he was spoiled with gifts! He also was able to experience his first snowfall.

Before leaving, we celebrated Christmas with my parent, my brother Joel, and sister in law Tiffany. It was Liam's first Christmas, and he had a great time. He sat on grandpa's lap while he read the Christmas story and enjoyed opening gifts.

Also while in Indy we job and house hunted with great success! Long story short, Shawn and I were both offered jobs at Methodist hospital that are open to start whenever our house sells (WOW!). We also spent some time looking at a model home of a house we were interested in building. Since our visit we have decided to move forward with building that house. So we have a refundable deposit down on a lot to build our new home! If our house doesn't sell here, no worries, we'll get the money back. If it does sell, we'll meet with them and finalize things and the house should be built in 90 days! So everything is ready for a move except for our house selling here. We've had a few showings, but no offers yet. I guess we'll see what happens.

Onto other news, Liam also enjoyed some time with his grandma and grandpa Mayle over Christmas here in Summerville. It was a wonderful Christmas and we were happy to have family around for Liam's first Christmas. Liam got a lot of toys, clothes, and books. He was also able to meet Santa. This was a much better experience than I expected. Liam loved Santa and just sat and smiled at him!

We really didn't do anything special for New Years or anything since then really. Liam is on the verge of a massive tooth production though. He has 3 or 4 teeth across the top that are very close to coming in. (You can see them and feel huge bumps). He also turned 11 months old last Saturday! It's so hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly, but it has been so much fun! He is such a great kid! Next week we'll be getting 1 year old pictures done with a professional photographer and we're really excited about them. Next up, a birthday party! February 6 we'll be having a little party to celebrate the one year mark!

First Thanksgiving and more

Well little Liam just keeps growing up. It's just amazing to think that in just over a week he'll be 10 months old. The last few weeks have been filled with different activities. We've been working on trying to get Liam to take solid foods. He's done great with pureed foods but has had serious trouble taking anything with any texture to it (as in projectile vomiting sort of trouble). We made sure the doctor knew he was having so much trouble, and she wasn't concerned. She said he just wasn't ready and to keep trying. Same thing with the sippy cup. He's not too interested in really trying to drink from it. He can drink from it, but doesn't like to. Well we're finally having improvement with these two things. Although, there's definately been more improvement with solids. Liam is now feeding himself Gerber Puffs and eating rice, chicken, and had a turkey on Thanksgiving. We're working on the sippy cup, but oh well. At least he's drinking his formula just fine from the bottle (a problem we've had in the past).

Another new thing for Liam was getting sick a couple weeks ago. The 19th poor Liam woke up with a 101.2 fever :( Thankfully he wasn't too unhappy. He was definately not feeling great, but he did ok. Shortly after the fever came a red rash ALL over his body. This lasted for about three days, but thankfully the fever was just that one morning. We went to the doctor, but she said it was just a virus. Here's a picture of the rash on Liam's face... it may be a bit hard to see.

Next, the 22nd we had a baby dedication at church. We were really excited about this. We go to a small church called Journey Church. It's been around for 2 years now, so this was the first child dedication for the church. Liam got a picture Bible from the church. Below is a picture of the dedication. (sorry its so far away).
Then of course there was Thanksgiving! Shawn and I had to work Thanksgiving night so we weren't able to be with family. Instead, we went to our great friends John and Amy Mills' house. We did the same thing last year, and again this year was a success. They also babysat Liam Thursday night while we worked. They have two girls of their own and the girls enjoy Liam (or "baby Lamb" as their daughter Rachel says). Liam tried some turkey, sweet potato casserole, and mashed potatoes. He did ok with this. Below are a few pictures of Thanksgiving.

We're really forward to a visit to Indy starting on Friday! As some of you may know, we've decided to try to move back to Indy. Basically, it just comes down to family. It's really hard not having family around to help, and also we just really don't want Liam to miss out on growing up with family around. Our house went on the market the 23rd. So far we haven't had any lookers, but then again it was Thanksgiving last week. We'll leave the house on the market til March and if it doesn't sell, we'll just try again later on. We've been praying for God's direction and are just leaving it up to Him to open doors for us. Do be praying, while in Indy we both have interviews at Methodist Hospital for jobs in case the house sells.

Below are some pictures of Liam doing his new favorite activity... playing by the sliding glass doors.

9 months old

It's hard to believe that Liam is 9 months old aready! We went to the doctor yesterday for his 9 month check up. He was 17 pounds 4 ounces (10th percentile), 27.5 inches (25-50th percentile), and his head circumference was 18 inches (50th percentile). Everything looked great! She's pleased with his growth; he's just a little guy. He's moving right along with his milestones too. The beginning of this month he learned how to cruise along the furniture. Standing and cruising are his favorite things to do! He will hardly touch his toys anymore because all he wants to do is stand and walk. We got him a little walker toy, and he can do some wobbly walking on his own with that.

At the end of October my parents came through to see "us" (we all know they came to see Liam) on their way to Myrtle Beach where they were celebrating their 30 year anniversary! They babysat Liam while Shawn and I worked. They LOVED it. I couldn't believe it, but my dad even changed Liam's poopy diaper, picked out his clothes, and got him ready for the day all by himself while my mom slept in after taking the night shift! He sure does love his grandson. After they went on to Myrtle Beach, Liam and I made the 2 hour trip to stay overnight with them midweek. Liam enjoyed a trip to the IMAX theater to watch an Under The Sea movie. He really did quite well and only got scared once and cried a little. But other than that he sat through the entire 45 minute movie quietly. We also went out to dinner at PF Changs and enjoyed a nice walk on the beach. My parents also came through on their way home and watched Liam again while Shawn and I worked on Halloween night. I wish I had a lot to report about Halloween; however, since we both had to work we were unable to celebrate it with Liam. Oh, well there's always next year when he'll actually be able to walk and possibly enjoy it some.

We're all looking forward to a trip to Indy the beginning of next month! We'll be in town December 4-9. We'll be celebrating Ethan's first birthday, hopefully seeing family in Chicago, and celebrating Christmas early with my parents and Joel and Tiffany. We absolutely cannot wait!

Moving along!

Wow! Liam is on the move!! In the past two weeks Liam has gone from not even being able to get up on his hands and knees to being able to crawl a little and walk with help! He also has learned how to pull himself up to standing and how to sit up from a laying position. It is just amazing to see the change! He still prefers the "army crawling" but he has done the "real crawl" a couple times. Liam also went to the doctor for a weight check. At two days shy of 8 months he was 16 pounds 4 ounces. This is only the 10th percentile, but he is up from the 3rd, so the doctor is pleased. We go back the beginning of November for his 9 month checkup. Below are some videos showing his newfound movement, enjoy! (go to www.mayle.smugmug.com to enjoy several more videos!)

Visit with Mimi and Bubba

Shawn's parents (Mimi and Bubba to Liam) came for a visit September 25- October 4. It was an awesome visit! They had not seen Liam since June! Needless to say, he had changed quite a bit- and he continued to while they were here! The first full day of their visit Liam got up onto his hands and knees for the first time. We were hoping this would progress to a crawl during their visit, but nope- oh well. We enjoyed wonderful weather during their visit- mid 70's to 80's with clear skies! Bubba spent a lot of time at the pool and Liam joined him too! We also had an outing to Sullivan's Island (Liam's first trip to the beach). We were able to get some wonderful family photos. Then we went to Poe's Tavern, one of our favorite local spots, and Liam charmed the waitress and other patrons as usual. We had a wonderful time and can't wait til the next time!

I spoke too soon!

Well last night I mentioned how Liam was still toothless. Well that changed today! Both of Liam's bottom two teeth started poking through today! I felt his gums this morning and looked- nothing. Then this afternoon he was jumping in his jumperoo and I could see his gums- and something looked different. Go figure, I touch it with my finger and I could feel TWO teeth poking through! How fun! Guess that explains the runny nose, excessive drooling, and crankiness of the past two weeks :)