Month Twenty-One

Liam,

Yesterday you turned twenty-one months old! This month has been another fun but busy month though the beginning of the month was a little rough on you. We found out you had another ear infection and had to be put on antibiotics again. To be honest I've lost count how many ear infections you've had but the doctor wasn't too concerned and didn't think you needed tubes. However, he did give you a stronger antibiotic to make sure your ear infection went away. Well it went away alright but giving you the antibiotics wasn't very much fun. The first couple times we gave it to you straight and  you started to dread it and would even run from us. You also would hold it in your mouth and wouldn't swallow it. So daddy thought if he plugged your nose you'd have to swallow...wrong! You spit it all out!! After that daddy and I made an executive decision and decided to mix the antibiotics with milk and a couple drops of chocolate syrup to hide the taste of it. It worked! You finished your antibiotics and the ear infection went away. The only bad news is we gave the antibiotics to you in a bottle so we had to wean you off the bottle again. You don't do a nighttime bottle anymore. Instead we give you a sippy cup of milk before you go to bed, read you a story, and put you to bed. Most of the time you go right down but occasionally you'll want the sippy cup in the crib with you. You still get a morning bottle but we are planning to wean you off of that real soon.

New haircut!

You are becoming quite the mimicker! So mommy and daddy really need to be careful what they say and/or do because you may repeat it later. A couple days ago I took you to Splash Montana (will post more about this later) and you loved the water slide at the shallow end of the pool. At first you'd go down the slide on your butt but you saw a kid in front of you go down on his stomach. You switched to going down on your stomach and wouldn't go back to sitting on your butt. We couldn't believe it! You saw it one time and just did it. You also like to mimic us when we're all eating. One night we had hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, and chips. You saw me scooping my baked beans onto my chips and did it to. You also want whatever we have on our plates so we always make sure to give you a little of everything whether you like it or not. You're talking a lot more now and have a new favorite word, "snack". Whenever you want a snack you'll look at one of us and say "snack" over and over and until one of us acknowledges you and asks if you want a snack. You'll look at us and smile and say "yes". I can't remember all the new words you're saying but a few are "bye guys", "game" or as you say it "geem" when you want to play a game on my phone, "bucket", "wet", "babies", "kitty", "cow", and "duck".

Trying out Meridian's bike...

Your new bike!

Now that it's nice outside, you love to just be outside, but you are really infatuated with bikes. Any time you see a bike or see someone riding them you point and say "bike". You have a bike but it's too big for you so you really can't ride it. But a couple weekends ago Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Brook, and cousins Bohdan and Meridian were in town. They brought their bikes along and you got to try out Meridian's little Strider bike. It was perfect for you and you loved it! You probably would've rode it the whole time if Meridian would've let you too. So we knew we had to get you one! Well Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Brook found you one and got you an early birthday present. It just arrived last week and we already got you a helmet so you're good to go. You're still getting used to it but will be zooming around before we know it.

I can't believe how much you're changing and how fast you're learning things. Each day it something new and I love it!

Happy twenty-one month birthday sweet little boy!

Love,
Momma

Month Twenty

Liam,

Another month has flown by and you are twenty months old now. It's been a crazy and busy month but that's to be expected now that you're a toddler. Only a couple more months and you'll be two years old!

You are a very busy little boy! Your favorite thing to do is run and explore!! Well the last couple Friday's I've had errands to run and normally I remember your diaper bag with plenty of snacks and stuff to drink but not the stroller. So if we go somewhere that has no carts I either carry you or you walk and most of the time you want to walk which turns into running around. It becomes a game of me chasing you around and both of us laughing. I enjoy it and love watching you have a good time but when I'm trying to shop it can be quite difficult trying to keep an eye on you and shop especially all by myself. Last Friday we were at the mall and I was trying to find a dress for a wedding we were going to that weekend. We went into the Trailhead first and you ran up and down the store running around all the racks. The two ladies thought you were the cutest thing ever. You even wanted to be their little helper and would go behind the counter helping them put hangers away. They laughed! I knew I had limited time so I quickly browsed around finding a couple things to try on. I took you in the dressing room with me and the mirror kept you occupied for a little bit but then you got bored. Luckily I have games on my phone so I whipped that out and it kept your attention until I was done trying on dresses. I didn't find anything I really liked so we went over to Gymboree and got you a cute little outfit. They had cartoons playing and that kept your attention for little while but as I was paying you wanted to be her little helper too. You were grabbing all sorts of coupons, gift cards, etc out of the drawers. The young lady at the counter thought you were so cute and couldn't stop smiling at you and didn't mind a helper for a few minutes. I knew I was pressing my luck so afterwards we took a break and had lunch. Then it was off to the Buckle for a quick stop as I saw a dress when we were walking by. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by three or four ladies that worked there. They loved you and you said hi to them immediately. You even gave them hi-fives and knucks! This was perfect for me because as you were making the rounds I quickly found the dress I was eyeing and we went into the dressing room to try it on. It fit and I loved it so we were done at last! Whew! It's a lot different shopping with you running around than pushing you around and leisurely looking at things. There were a few times you gave me quite the scare too! You weren't far but I couldn't see you and didn't know where you went. So for those couple seconds I'd freak out until I found you again....usually hiding behind a rack of clothes. I shouldn't be telling you this but your Uncle Keith and I used to hide from Grandpa Dave & Grandma Terry at clothing stores. Him and I would hide in the middle of the racks, laughing, as grandpa and grandma frantically looked for us. So now I know I how it feels and it is not a good feeling!

You've become quite the ham! Everywhere we go you say hi to anyone and everybody who walks by you and you almost always get a smile or hi in return. But there are a few times you've gotten treats for being so cute and saying hi. We were at the grocery store a week or so ago and when we were waiting to get meat at the deli counter you were saying hi to everybody including the woman behind the counter. She loved you and asked if you could have some cheese. I said of of course and you got your first treat. Then we went by the bakery to get some bagels and you said hi to the lady behind the counter. She yelled over at her coworker to come say hi to you so you'd say it back. It took a little doing since they were both staring at you and I think you felt a little pressured but you said hi to her too and it sure paid off. She gave you a cookie! Luckily we were about done because you had a cheese in one hand and a cookie in the other, you didn't have room for anything else.

You are getting really good at saying please and thank you though the thank you is more pronounced "thankum". It is so cute and so is how you say please especially when you really want something and you'll look at us and say "pleeeese". How can you say no to that?  You know exactly when to use please and thank you as well! When I picked you up from daycare the other day you said "thankum" to another parent as she held the door open for us. It caught me off guard because I didn't even prompt you to say it! But we have been working on these with you and so has daycare.

This month we've been working really hard with you in getting rid of your bedtime bottle. Instead of taking you into your room and rocking you with a bottle we've been getting you into your pajamas a little earlier so we can give you a sippy cup of milk and read you stories. The first night didn't go so well! You pushed the sippy cup away and didn't really drink out of it. So we decided it's now or never and we put you to bed with hardly any milk. You cried for fifteen or so minutes but fell asleep just fine. The next night wasn't as hard and you drank out of your sippy cup here and there and only cried a little bit when we put you to sleep. We've been trying to stick to the same schedule every night so you know it's getting close to or is almost bedtime. We normally get you in your pajamas, give you a sippy cup of milk, read you a couple stories, brush your teeth, and then put you to bed but of course not before we both kiss you goodnight. You've been doing really well with the schedule and don't even ask for the bottle. Though the last couple days we've back tracked a little bit and have been giving you a bottle because you've been sick and haven't been eating very well. But starting tomorrow you're going back to the sippy cup again!

Happy twenty month birthday sweet little boy!

Love,
Momma

Please & Thank you

You're getting really good at saying please & thank you and know exactly when to say them too. Just today as we were walking out the door at daycare you said thank you to another parent holding the door open for us. And I didn't even prompt you to say it! It was was so cute and I just love your version of thank you!

Swan Lake

We went to Swan Lake this weekend and stayed with the Mintyala's. We had never been to their spot on the lake until now so it was great we could finally make it up. It was a little early to be playing in the water and the weather wasn't supposed to be very nice so we didn't even bring our swimsuits up. But we did lots of other fun things! You were content playing on the beach, throwing rocks non-stop. Then when the boys put the dock in, you of course wanted to go on that. We forgot your life jacket but luckily Jay & Sandi had one that fit you. You were "Mr. Independent" and wanted to do everything yourself including walking on the dock yourself. Alex kept a close eye on you so I didn't worry to much.

We were planning on staying in a tent and had brought all of our gear but Jay and Sandi had a camper nobody was using. So we thought why not, it would be more comfortable for you. Little did we know it would be a chore getting you to fall asleep! First, when you're camping you're oblivious to the time and since we didn't get to the lake until lunchtime Saturday the day had really flown by. Plus with it light out so long we didn't realize how late it was. So once we realized it was your bedtime, I took you in the camper and tried to lay you down. We didn't bring a bottle and only had a sippy cup which wasn't a bad thing because we're trying to get you off the bottle anyway. But the camper was so bright that you wanted nothing to do with going to sleep or laying down period. I called in for reinforcements and got the DVD player thinking you'd fall asleep to a movie. But that didn't work either! So we decided to wait until it got darker or until you got a little more tired and then try it again. Kody and Alex had gone into their motor home to watch a movie so you went in there for a little while. But then you came and sat around the campfire with us. You made the rounds in all of our laps and when you got to Uncle Jay he tucked you in holding you tight. At first you wanted to escape but he was rocking you and you got heavy eyed real quick. Before we knew it you were asleep! Hooray, great job Uncle Jay! It was an easy transition to your bed too! The next night was a little easier because Jay and Sandi went home that day and let us stay in their motor home instead. Their bedroom gets really dark so I just laid on the bed with you for a few minutes and before I knew it you were out. From this I found out you like to suck on your hand and bite it, leaving teeth marks. You also like to chew on your puppy pillow almost like you're trying to rip off tiny pieces of the fur. I couldn't really tell though. I was just happy you fell asleep!

We had a lot of fun at the lake and can't wait to go back especially when it's nice enough to play in the water!

Wrestling with Kody

Enjoying the beach with daddy

Throwing rocks, the bigger the splash the better!

Daddy taking a quick kayaking ride to help put the pump in

Having fun on the dock with Alex

The Three Musketeers!

Licorice break with Uncle Jay

Oh Wow!

Mother's Day Hike

For Mother's Day last Sunday we decided to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.We decided to hike one of our favorite hiking spots, Morrell Falls. I think a lot of people had the same idea because when we got there the parking lot was packed, the busiest I've ever seen it actually. On the bright side we got there late enough that a lot of people were already on their way down. We decided to push it to the top so we'd have plenty of time to play at the waterfall and also if you wanted to walk a bit on the way down. So daddy put you in the backpack and in no time we made it to the waterfall. There was just a little bit of snow on the trail but nothing that we couldn't handle. The waterfall was roaring! There was so much mist from the gushing water that we had to hurry and take photos and then take cover behind trees. It was a little chilly and wet so we didn't stay at the waterfall long. On the way down you got tired and actually fell asleep in the backpack. I felt bad for you because you looked so uncomfortable. You couldn't really rest your head on the pad in front of you so your head would bob every time daddy took a step. We pushed to get out so we could put you in your car seat to nap. But as soon as we got to the truck you woke up and never went back to sleep. Figures! To end the fun day we stopped in Seeley at the ice cream shop and had huckleberry shakes. They were delicious and a wonderful treat!

Hike up to the "M"

Last Friday I took you up to the "M". We met aunt Jenn and one of her friends there. The "M" is very convenient because it's close and it's a fun and easy hike. Though carrying you up the mountain isn't as easy as it used to be! It might have something to do with you weighing 24 lbs now. I carried you the majority of the way but let you walk the last few switchbacks. You loved it and would stop and pick up rocks along the way. You needed a snack break so we hung out at the top for a little bit and enjoyed the beautiful view. Then it was back in the backpack for you and we made our way down. We had the best weather and even had a little bit of breeze to cool us off on our hike!

Taking a break on our way up

We made it to the "M"!

Look at that beautiful view!

First Hike of the Season

Yesterday we took you on your first hike of the season. We went up to Blodgett Canyon which is a fun and easy hike not to far from our home. The last time we were up there I was six months pregnant with you. So it was fun taking you back up there where you could get down and walk the trail yourself. You stayed in the backpack most of the way up but we stopped a couple times so you could get out and play. You wanted to go in the water and why not, it was a beautiful day and was 70+ degrees. As soon as we put your feet in the water though you wanted to get out, the water was still a little cold from the snow run off. On the way down, you wanted to walk most of the way. It was a little rocky at times which made it extremely difficult for you to walk yourself. So daddy and I played a game with you where we each grabbed one of your hands, we'd count 1...2...3, and swing you. We probably swung you halfway down the mountain. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather. We wore you out too because you slept all the way home!

Look at the size of that tree!

Play time!

Decided to take a break from the backpack and walk a bit

We made it!

Summer 2011, 6 months pregnant

Spring 2013, 19 months old

Making our way down