see these two cheese balls?
this is justin mc'cheesy (future BIL) and becky mc'cheesy (favorite & only middle sister). they're getting married in april in punta cana.
they are visiting in december & in the span of ONE WEEK are having:
for reals Erin how do you not know who Chuck Bass is??
(do i have to keep telling you ppl to turn on sound or have we all read the memo by now?)
i'm working from home today & we slept in a bit. liam was up & down a lot last night; nothing that required intervention, but i could hear him fussing a few times. when 7:30 rolled around i called his daycare & let her know we would be coming in late. right after the call he made his first squeek like "aaaaiiiii!!! b-b-b-ma ma ma AAAIIIIIII" which means "hello... anybody? i'm hungry. where is my bottle?!"
when i opened his door i found him standing in the corner of his crib. when he saw me his face lit (lite? lighted?? why does that look so wrong...) up like Christmas & he started laughing. then he did something new - he jumped. bending his little knees he gripped the rails of his crib for leverage & he jumped & jumped & laughed & then held out his arms & demanded "UP-UP-UP!"
so i did what any good (lazy haha) mom would do. i scooped him up & trotted to my room & plunked him down into my bed with me laying beside him. lazy boy that he is (taking after momz), i held his bottle while played his new favorite game - poke momz face. touching my teeth, stroking my lips, patting my cheeks, poking my eyes, grabbing at my eyelashes & trying to pull them off my face.
when his bottle was finished he noticed my water glass on the dresser & demanded it. he pretended to drink water for a while, laughing at the hilarity of make-believe. then he held out the glass & made me drink his pretend water, which he found so hilarious he pooped his pants. no joke. he shat right then & there. then he laughed & pitched the glass over the side of the bed & thankfully it didn't break.
these are my mornings. are you jealous? you should be. they're pretty effing amazing.
ps. i went out to Absolute Comedy last night for my work's United Way Charity event. it was fun & funny (i know, novel concept right?). point is, thats the first time i've ever left him with a babysitter & he did amazing. so did she (the babysitter). just taking note of this for "remembrance" purposes
here are some clips from my favorite comic in the whole world - the late great mr. mitch hedberg
this weekend i packed liam up & we drove to Saunders Farm out in the middle of NOWHERE at least a million miles outside of ottawa. you think i'm kidding? think again. any sucker who is dumb enough to trek out to the farm best be taking a sleeping bag & cooler of snacks because you will be gone FOR-E-VER & they only have port-a-potties & DO NOT wear white kicks. okay, so its not forever, but it was a really long drive. anyway... here is there logo.
we watched my buddy ben from work take his kid through this (below). then his wife went through because ben was too tall. liam just hung out with me & attacked ben's phone.
we stood by this (minus the orange people) & looked at those (pumpkins. hello) & listened to the groovy sounds of Halloween on the loud speakers .. which were only semi-scary.. oooo... ohhhh..
then we rode something similar to this, except it was colder & everyone wasn't waving & the guy driving was a maniac who drove really REALLY fast so that i almost pitched over the side. do not sit at the front behind the wheels. do not. unless you really like being splattered with mud & dirty puddle water. i do, so i didn't mind, but thats just me.
today i tried to introduce bananas & it didn't go very well. he was NOT impressed (as per the usual); why won't he eat bananas? why??
before his nap he was - again - itching his spot on his back so i slathered it with lotion. thats all i've been doing since friday. slathering on lotion & trimming his nails. after his bath i started to do the full body lotion routine with Baby Aveeno from head to toe & Prevex on his spot. happy to report the spot is pretty much gone. this morning before i dressed him i did the full body lotion again & think it really helps. i know i get really itchy in the winter so i can't imagine how he much feel. viva la lotion!
new words:
- don't touch (can't imagine where he learned that from...)
- hot
- yes
- peese (this means please. how cute? so cute)
- shooo (this means shoe. how cute? so cute)
- dssssl (this means diesel. how cute? so cute)
there are lots of pictures to upload & a video of liam talking into my phone. he is mimicking now, more than ever before & everything is a "phone" to him. his juice box, my shoe, my hairbrush, his teddy, i even caught him pretending a kiwi was a phone while he was waiting for my lunch. he actually has little imaginary conversations & he gets this really intense look on his face, like the person on the other end of the kiwi has just told him to pull his stocks fast. then he catches me watching him & breaks into the biggest grin
okay speaking of grins, my kid is a massive FLIRT. he loves little girls. loves them. smiles, tucks his head into my shoulder & leans over to grin at them.
and i think this morning he tried to kiss me on the mouth. he sort of lunged at my face with his mouth wide open & slobbered his lips around mine like he was taking a big bite out of the front of my face. it was adorable & gross at the same time.
i have to encourage my readers to click the above picture for Ideal Bite - if you sign up you get "bite sized ideas for green living" sent directly to your email every day. these tips are amazing too.
example:
It's called the bench. Whether you're a boy or girl Biter, kit up with recycled (read: used) and fair-trade sports gear before hitting the fields, and up your chances of getting picked first (well, on our team at least).
Benefits
check out this hilarious video poking fun at Sarah Palin & her magical ability to 'see' russia from her house ;) you'll need sound & a good sense of humor. enjoy!
So, I was a little optimistic yesterday. After checking out his spot again, his patch is still there. But, it does look significantly better than before. I think we'll have to keep up with cream to get it completely healed.
Today's the trade off day for Liam to spend the week with momz. Not looking forward to him being away, but it'll give me the chance to get the house back in order. I'm finding it a bit challenging to get stuff done around the house with Liam. Simple stuff too like dinner. We used to eat together as a family (I'd make the adult dinner, momz would prepare his) and we'd all eat together. But now, I can't even start to think about my own dinner until Liam is down for the night :( I don't mind so much, but I do miss the sitting all together at the table to have a meal. Just don't have enough hands right now.
This weekend I hope to find a Halloween costume for him. This will be his first (he was only a month old this time last year). Got a few suggestions of places to check out, so I'm hopeful I'll find something relatively easy. I think the hard part will be choosing one. I've been hunting online for ideas and find most to be a bit boring. I can't wait to take him out trick or treating. I'm thinking I'll take him to my parents and go ToT'ing in their area (where I would have done the same way back when). But may just stay in my area and take him around to the neighbors, we'll see.
Oh kiddo, you're the best!
So, as described, Liam's back has had this patch of irritated skin for a while. Recently, it seems to be bugging him and he scratches the area and makes it worse. We had been trying a cream recommended by his dr, however, it never really helped.
After seeing the scratch marks, I was trying to figure a way to help him. Thought about bandaging it up, but that would be a huge pain for everyone to change... Then thought of polysporin. As it looks almost bleeding with the scratch marks I decided to try it out last night.
And what did I find this morning? It's literally almost completely gone! Yay! I'll have to check it again tonight when I see him, but the change was drastic overnight :)
Still want to figure out the cause though. I don't think it's just sensitive skin area, and must be getting irritated by his diaper or pants. It's basically a line of skin where his belt line is, and only affecting his back. Are the diapers too big/small/tight? Think I might try out a different type of diaper if, after it's cleared up, it comes back.
Fingers crossed, but definitely a good sign this morning.
This past weekend I took Liam downtown to the big park. It was a really nice day, one of the few lately, and he seemed to have a lot of fun playing around in the grass and being able to run. Yes, run. He's going a couple feet at a time and needs some assistance (ie, hand holding) but just laughs up a storm while he books it.
The day wore him out pretty good and by night he was a little fussy. Gave him his bath then bottle and he passed right out. Later that night when I went in and checked on him, I really wish I had brought the camera with me. He was face down, covered by his pillow, with his butt up in the air. I guess whatever makes him comfy. It was really cute to see.
Im really enjoying my time with him. I really miss him when he's not around. I just keep trying to make the most of the time we get together... and take plenty of photos for when he's not :)
Speaking of scratching backs, yesterday I noticed Liam had these welts across his back, it looked like he ate pavement with his lower back, you know that look right?
Let me back up … he gets really bad eczema patches, we’re not sure what its from but think its related to his coeliac disease…
Anyway he has this recurring bad spot on his lower back where his diaper rubs against the skin (under his pants) & I noticed he had these horrible looking scratches there yesterday; which of course I freaked out about & called his dad & asked him if he fell down or got dropped or – basically – WTF WAS ON HIS BACK??
Only his dad didn’t know so we pow—pow’d about how we were going to call our day care agency & raise bloody hell because (obviously) our little son was being abused (mommy got her back up!!). It was the only thing we agreed on all day…
So fast forward & we’re in the tub (Liam & I – yeah, so what?? I take tubs with my kid right? Its adorable & saves water & we have fun playing with his water squirting bath toys…) anyway… We’re tubbing it up & I’m looking at his back feeling all sorry for his little abused ass when he reaches around & starts GOUGING this patch of eczema with his fingernails. I grabbed his hand & pushed it away & sure enough, big red welts rose up right away & he started crying.
So there we have it. Mystery solved. Liam scratched his OWN back
dear mr. nose hair,
i know we ride the same bus together everyday. me, you & your nose hair. the three of us squish together & you rub your stinky grey suit jacket against my arm while your nose hair waves "hi" at me from your left nostril (gently in the breeze of the recycled air on the bus). you look like the kind of guy that eats grape nuts. in fact, i smell it on your breath (would it kill you to brush your teeth after breakfast?!).
just because we always end up sitting beside each other on the bus, it does not mean that you & your freaky over involved nose hair should read over my shoulder. trust me, the contents of IPhone will not be interesting to you; i'm not googling the price of wheat or sarah palin in her underwear or anything to do with your best friend grape nuts.
in the words of my friend Al, "shape up & ship out! then tweeze that shit, its disgusting!"
thank you
Our first full week together went very well - Momz was working insane crazy hours, but Liam didn't even know because I was there to pick him up on time (almost) every day & after he went to bed I started working again (except for Thursday night when he was up & down, up & down).
Mr. Liam is now walking. Yes, walking!! All the time. He even pulls himself up into standing position from sitting on the floor without the help of coffee table or TV stand or couch. This was really amazing to witness. He still isn't saying more than Dad, Mom, Dog, Door, No-no-no BUT he is clapping & it is the most adorable little thing in the whole world.
Liam is learning (finally) to hold his bottle for himself. I think he's been able to do it all along, but he figures "why bother when I have a nice warm Momz/Dadz to hold it for me?" We discovered his bottle holding ability after the evening bath when he literally melts down from wanting his bottle but not being given it until after dressing. Now we towel him off, plunk him down on the change table, he reaches for his bottle & starts guzzling it while we apply cream, diapers, jammies & all that fun pre-bedtime cuddle stuff. Then we hold him while he finishes off...
This past week Dadz & I discussed & decided to introduce a crib pillow. We went to Ikea last weekend, found a little soft pillow (one for each of our houses) & put it into Liam's crib. At first he didn't know what to do with it & regarded it as some kind of colorful flat intrusion on his crib space. By the end of his time with me, he was cuddling into it & chattering away to it like a long lost cuddle friend.
Its really amazing how much he is changing day by day. This age is so much fun
Dadz here.
So Monday I had Liam and went to my parents for the thanksgiving feast. I picked him up after his nap and took him over. He seemed to have a great time seeing and hanging out with all his family.
Dinner was great and Liam absolutely gobbled up his turkey. He also did really well eating ham and some veggies, but kept looking for more turkey.
After dinner, I watched as he walked for about 8 feet! He started at the dinning room table and starting walking towards the front door. He made it about 1/2 way before stopping and plunking himself down (as he does usually, though it's normally after only a few steps). Everyone was amazed at his progress and big smiles seeing him walk and chat.
Wasn't a great year to be thankful for much, but I definitely am thankful I have Liam in my life. It's really the only thing I could think of during grace and kind of sad, but at the same time, he's so insanely worth it. He's the best!
lil prince
Moe Moe & Liam
Liam & his cousin
oooh, kitty cat
his cutie look
his not-so-cutie look
Liam and another of his cousins
So yeah, Thanksgiving in a nutshell. Cant wait until I get him again Friday. Miss you bud!
you, mom, get me a french fry!
20, 20, 24 hours to go, i get to see my daddy
momz new living room ... in progress...
momz new kitchen (with all its ugly floor glory)
momz teeny tiny itsy bitsy bathroom
Yesterday when I finally arrived home from work (oh, around 6:30 pm - yep...) I opened my mail and found a very cool envelope from Google. Have you ever got mail from Google before? Me neither! It made me feel very uber and cybery and matrix-ish. It was a small square addressed to me (duh) and had a huge Google logo on the back. I excitedly waved it around in front of my dogs nose and he ignored me. Like he always does. He can be such a jerk sometimes...
What was inside?
A Pin Code ... for my ... wait for it ... Google advertising cheque!
So to answer everyone's question: "Yes, Google ads DO really make you money"
Now replace "You" with "Me"
And replace "Me" with "Liam"
Because the money is all for him. For his school right? Because - realistically - how else are we going to afford to pay for it?
Google you are a good friend. Thanks for all the money. Which is really just a tiny amount of money (maybe $10) ... but I'm not complaining! $10 richer today means something.
Went very well... Biggie was very excited to explore my new apartment and eagerly crawled/cruised from room-to-room opening drawers and shouting "door! door!" at everything. Seeing him reunited with Diesel-el-doggy was heartwarming. Biggie pulled his tail, stuck his finger in the dogs eye, yanked his butt hair & Diesel (the good sport he is) licked Biggie's face so that Biggie got a massive rash. Awe true love.
Near the end of the night Biggie was so tired he was a big crank before bed and literally threw down like a spaz after his bath, shrieking and screaming and slamming his legs into the change table. Parents, never EVER make the mistake of giving your baby a bottle and then taking it away after a few sucks to get his arms into his PJ's ... this did not go over very well. I'm talking bright-red-face-inhale-staggering-yelping-scream-I-saw-his-tonsils!!! The second he had his bottle back it was all smiles. Whew! Lesson learned: Arms first, bottle after.
The morning trade-off didn't go as smoothly as either Dadz or I would've liked. It all felt very rushed, even though I got up at 5:45am to give myself extra time to pull it together (still not enough time, not nearly enough time...) Dadz and I are going to talk this weekend about how we can make it work a bit better for all three of us.
Biggie slept for 12 hours almost straight last night which is normal for him, but amazing considering he started a new daycare yesterday and spent his first night at my house the same night. Having him in the house felt wonderful. He is a little ray of sunshine.
This week is Liam's first week alone with me. Things have been going smoothly so far. He's so easy to please and always in a great mood. His rash has cleared up, so that's a big relief for us all. Im still keeping up with the lotion to make sure it doesn't come right back.
Although things are changing drastically, he's adapting well so far. He is still seeing his mom often and Im sure that's helpful.
I dropped him off this morning with Maria, his new daycare. She seems like a very nice lady who only has 1 other girl to watch for, but has the room/toys/experience for a lot of kids. We do hope they add more in, but I think it's good right now that Liam can get settled without a crowd. He cried as I left this morning, but Im sure he'll open up to her quickly. It's sooo much closer and convenient than where his last daycare was. It's sad he had to leave, as she was amazing and he developed friendships, but it wasn't possible to keep her. It took over 2 hours for me to leave home, get him to daycare and get to work! Im happy we were able to find a good caregiver close to both of our places so fast.
And so some pictures,
so interested in the camera:
finding the hiding spots:
came home tired yesterday, awe:
loves keyboards:
hey you:
not happy when I take keyboards away and try and take his picture:
For a while, this post has been swirling around in my head. I was reluctant to post it because I'm not sure if there are any lines I'm crossing & not knowing made me wary... however, this is a blog for Biggie, about Biggie's life & this is pretty much the largest, most significant event to happen in his brief little life since - well, since his birth I would warrant.
Momz & Dadz don't live together anymore.
Biggie, you are with your Dadz this week & Momz is missing you something horrible. I worked tirelessly last night to pull your room together at my new appartment - its not nearly as nice as your room at Dadz, where I painted the dinosaurs on the wall, chose the wood blinds & curtains, picked out the crib set with your Aunt Carey back when I was still pregnant with you, chose the crib/change table to match the shelving unit your Dadz & I bought way back when we first moved in together... I feel so bad about your new room. Its not nearly as nice in any single way. There is no amazing globe light hanging in the corner, gorgeous palm tree rooting from the floor to the cieling... the only thing that is sort of similiar is the closet organizer (Biggie one day you'll hear the story of how Momz spent approximately three days installing, ripping-out, then re-installing the closet organizer at Dadz because I kept leaving out stupid, but VITAL pieces & every time I hung something up or tried to open a drawer the whole thing would come crashing down on my 8-months pregnant body)
All of this to say that tonight is my night with you :) I get to see have you at my new house tonight. I hope you aren't disappointed. I hope you don't hate it. I hope that I didn't miss a staple or a nail or a loose screw because you will surly eat it (being at that age where you eat everything you find, even if its not edible).
Biggie I am so excited to see you tonight. I miss you.
That this sickness isn't rice milk related. Biggie has been sick, sick today. Flu? Maybe... probably since Dadz mentioned he's feeling sick today too. Please don't let me get the flu this weekend God, please. Seriously. Pretty please with sugar on top.
Hey, this is Shaun, Liam's dad. Jenny's added me as a guest blogger so that I can share my experiences with Liam as we go through this transition.
And it's not great timing. Liam's sicky :( Jenny took him to his doctor, and it looks like he's got a yeast infection :( He's getting picked up from daycare and coming home for some treatments. Hope we can make him feel better.
Anyways, you'll start to see posts from me as we try to keep track of all the amazing things Liam does. It'll be a nice gift for him when he's older ;)
The Jamaica diet + Bikram work-out routine is still going very well. I'm down to 125 (new record in over 3 years!) & don't remember the last time I had to wear my Spanx to work or grocery shopping or out for dinner.
Jamaica in little over one month! Can I get down to 120? You bet your ass I'm going to try!
Momz thinks it might be a yeast infection (based on last night googling). I'm calling the doctor as soon as the office opens & trying to get Biggie in today. Who knows what it could be? It could be a million things.
Kimmers (my sister nurse)... what do you think? His only symptoms are a rash on his boy-bits, its dotted, not blotchy like hives or that other rash he had that one time we thought he looked like a giraffe, I can't post a picture because I don't want to get hauled away by the 5-0 for putting up child porn... he cried for about 2 hours last night but calmed down once Motrin took effect. He also cried when I put him in the bathtub which has never happened before & he kept grabbing at his ding-dong (... admittedly that's nothing new; he's just found out he's got a ding-dong & when his diaper is off he's always pawing at it - insert 'typical man' type snarky remark here)
He also had a bad tummy reaction to the Rice Milk, in the form of poop-galore :( I didn't think anyone ever had a bad reaction to Rice Milk but Biggie did. Monday he had some with dinner & the poops started Tuesday. He had some more Tuesday at daycare & they've continued into this morning. I finally wised-up & DID NOT pack any Rick Milk in his lunch today so we'll see if the poops clear up. They are nasty, foul poops too. Poor little boy - "down there" is just a mess for him right now.
Can't we get a break? Come on God, we really deserve one with this kid...
