Baby Dedication

Photo Courtesy of Suzanne McNeil

Yesterday, Sunday, January 25, 2010, we had a Baby Dedication Service at our church where we dedicated Liam. Basically, this is just a way for Jonathan and I to declare publicly our desire to train our boy in the instruction of the Lord and to raise him in the knowledge of God. We strive to teach our children, to the best of our ability, about the Gospel and God's love. We know that ultimately, their lives are in God's hands, but we believe that He has given us our kids--Nora and Liam--as gifts, and we have a responsibility to love them, teach them, and care for them, in a physical sense and in a spiritual sense. We pray that one day Liam and Nora will come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and will come to understand all that he has done for them!

I love my kiddos so much, and every day I feel the weight of the responsibility of teaching them about the Gospel. However, I am so thankful for God's mercy and kindness and faithfulness. Where I am weak, HE is strong!

In Case You Haven't Heard....

THE SAINTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

That was seriously the most intense football game I have ever watched. We are SO thrilled that the New Orleans Saints are finally going to play in a Superbowl Game. They have had such an amazing season. I only wish I was home in New Orleans tonight surrounded by family and friends to watch the game. We are there in heart!

We can't wait to watch the game on Sunday, February 7, 2010!

GEAUX SAINTS!

Oh, and just for fun. Our friend from home, Josh Lincoln, rewrote some lyrics to a song called "Party in the USA." His version is called "Party in the MIA" and is about the Saints going to Miami for the Super Bowl. This song has turned into quite the hit!
Great job, JOSH!

....And at the Dinner Table.

Where There's A Will, There's A Way

SOMEONE has decided to be difficult. SOMEONE has decided that he isn't driving his momma crazy enough and that he needs to keep her on her toes even more than she already is. SOMEONE wants to grow up way too fast.

When I went in to get Liam up from bed first thing yesterday morning, I found a boy on his knees. He had managed to pull himself up to a kneeling position, holding on and grinning like a fox when he saw me. I thought it was a fluke. SURELY, we're not to this point yet.

I was wrong. Naptime was cut short because SOMEONE thought an adventure was in order.

This time, he was crying. Instead of letting him fuss things out for a while, I remembered how he woke up in the morning, and rushed in just in case he was about to topple out of the crib onto his head. GOOD THING I followed my gut.

This is the little face I saw when I flipped on the light.


I ran to get my camera because I'm silly like that, and I managed to capture a few priceless shots of the first time my little 8 month old boy pulled up in his crib.


When he started doing this, I realized that he was looking for something.


The paci. That's why he was crying. Silly boy.


I walked over closer to the crib, and that's when I realized there was more damage done. The sweet little mobile that hung on the side of the crib was now in two parts. The bears that hang down and dance over his head....on the floor. The arm....in the bed.


I spent a good thirty minutes trying to lower the crib a level all by myself. That is quite difficult, can I just say. But, I managed. I stuck him in there to see what kind of shennanigans he might try to pull off. He seemed pretty safe and less Houdini-like, so I thought we were good.




Nora wanted to get in too, to check things out.


Then, poor thing, she was tackled by the maniac.





That's all right. She got revenge.




UPDATE: Never under-estimate an 8 month-old. After his afternoon nap, Jonathan went in to get Liam and GUESS WHO HAD PULLED HIMSELF ALL THE WAY UP TO A STANDING POSITION? Um, Liam Piper!

I was shocked. Needless to say, we will be lowering the crib ALLLLL the way down as far as it will go. This boy is serious.

Moving On Up!

We have had quite a busy four day weekend around here that has included several big changes for our family! Both Nora and Liam are growing so quickly and making changes almost daily. Will they ever stop growing and changing? What can we do to make this slow down!?

Let's start with Nora.

As of yesterday, Nora is now in a BIG GIRL BED! I am still in shock!
We have had a twin-sized bed since before Liam was born that has been in Liam's room. I used to sleep in there when Liam was really little, but since he's been sleeping through the night, that bed has pretty much been unused. We went through the whole debate about whether to transform Nora's crib into a toddler bed or to just make the big jump to the twin bed. After going back and forth, we decided to go with the twin bed, just to get it over with and also to make more room in Liam's bedroom so that he can have more room to play and crawl around. (The twin bed was taking up a lot of space in his room). We had to make a few modifications to Nora's big girl bed as the box springs AND pillow-top mattress meant that it was a LOOOOONGGGG way down if she were to fall out of the bed. So, we decided to put the box springs in storage and put a piece of plywood underneath her mattress to make things super sturdy. Yesterday morning, Jonathan borrowed his dad's truck and got the plywood cut to fit, and then we moved the bed in her room. I thought we should keep the crib up in her room JUST IN CASE she didn't like her new bed or didn't make the transition smoothly. I don't do well with little sleep, and for some reason, I just kept having visions of her getting up out of her bed at all hours of the night, refusing to go to bed at night, crying, screaming, kicking, etc. I wanted a back up plan.

However, wise husband that he is, Jonathan said "No way!" He said that we needed to be committed to it, no matter how difficult, so he took the bed apart and whisked it away to his parents' house so they can have a bed for both kiddos over there. Bye, bye crib!

I spent most of the day reorganizing both kids' rooms, rearranging furniture, and dividing toys between the two rooms. I LOVE LOVE LOVE projects like that. I know, I'm weird, but I get so excited about organizing things. It was difficult, I'll admit, having Nora take books and toys out just as soon as I'd get them where I wanted them, and Liam "Destructo" Bradshaw into EVERYTHING. But, I managed to get everything done before nap time.

Let me just say, Nora did awesome! We have been talking about her big girl bed for the past few weeks. She knows that her best buddy Layla has a big girl bed and sleeps in it all the time, so we won't frequently ask Nora if she was going to be a big girl like Layla. To my surprise, she would get excited and smile and say that she wanted to sleep in her bed. When Jonathan was setting up the twin bed, she was right by his side "helping" and was just ecstatic! She climbed up in it, got her pillow, blanket, baby and bear and put everything right where it belonged (don't know WHERE she gets that). Even though nap time was hours away, she kept asking to lay down and wanted to know when nap time was.

When nap time came, she went down without any problems. I had to go in once to recover her with her blanket (a thing we do ANY time she goes to sleep), but she slept for almost two hours without any problems. When I put her down, I told her that when she woke up she needed to call for Momma and that I would come get her but that she was not to get out of the bed until I came. She obeyed! It was great!

Bedtime went just as well. We went through our routine, tucked her in, and didn't hear a peep out of her.....until like 4:30 or so in the morning. We were awoken in our room with the sound of Nora screaming through the monitor. Jonathan jumped out of bed, and I swear, I have never seen him run so fast. He was in her room in less than two seconds. When he got back to our room, I asked him how she was and he said that when he walked in she was sitting on the floor. Apparently, she fell out in her sleep (no we didn't put a rail up). There were no bumps, bruises or broken bones, and he picked her up, put her back in the bed, and covered her up. She slept until 8:00 am. It was great!

Here are some pics of Nora and her new bed!

Getting everyone in their place:

Tryin to climb in:

So excited!



I am SHOCKED at the lack of drama surrounding the new bed...as of yet. I don't expect things to be perfect, but I am just so thankful that things have gone so smoothly so far! Praise the Lord! Jonathan and I were so sappy and sad last night after we put Nora down because she really looked like such a big girl in her new bed. Ugh, I can't handle it.

Liam also had a big weekend! First of all, he has officially moved out of his baby carrier and has a big boy carseat. He'll face backwards atleast until he is one year old, but he is so long and so heavy that the carrier just wasn't working for us anymore. I can't tell you the last time I tried carrying him in that thing. First off, the carseat ALONE weighs like 12 lbs. Maybe not that much, but seriously! Then you add our tank of a boy (probably 20 lbs or more, I'm guessing), then you calculate in the awkwardness of the thing and it's really hysterical to watch Jonathan lugging him around. We had a combination of gift cards, coupons, and a major sale at Babies R Us, so we got a great seat for a great price! Jonathan installed it yesterday! Wow! Of course, there are some conveniences to the infant carrier. You can just leave the baby in it when shopping and stick the carseat on the grocery cart or in the buggy, but now when we hit up Kroger or Target, I'll have to let Liam ride in the top of the cart. Aah. Life is going to get even busier!

Another big thing for Liam is that as of this morning, I have officially weaned him. It has been a very gradual process, but my milk was just not cutting it any more. I have been gradually dropping feedings over the past month, but have been nursing him twice a day for a while now, supplementing the other feedings with formula. Just this past week, however, I have noticed that even after nursing him those two times, he was still hungry for those feedings, so I would fix him an additional two ounces to top him off. Apart from the nutrients, I didn't really see a point as my milk just wasn't satisfying him anymore. I am doing surprisingly well with this. I had a hard time letting go of the nursing with Nora. She pretty much weaned herself, and I fought it tooth and nail. Liam didn't really wean himself; it was more directed by me, but I think the gradualness of the whole process has given me time to let it go. It was not nearly as sudden as with Nora. He was such a great nurser and did great for over seven months! Praise the Lord! I'll just have to wait on future babies to nurse again. Atleast we will have more freedom than before....Jonathan is quite excited about the freedom that comes with bottles!

On a less serious note, Liam had ice cream for the first time last night. (At least I THINK it was his first time). His first ice cream from me...we'll just leave it at that. He was quite interested and really enjoyed it!

Kitchen-ette

Hey gang!

I have finally bitten the bullet and done something I've been wanting to for quite some time now. I've decided to create another blog to keep up with all of my recipes and cooking endeavors. I plan to transfer all of my recipes on this blog to the new site, and I'll continue to add new ones over there!

Please check it out:

kitchen-ette.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

And by cheesy, I mean dairy. Not corny or silly.

Does Velveeta really qualify as cheese?

Moving on.

A good friend of ours from dental school, the one and only Lauren VanBebber (now Lauren Davis) gave me this recipe. She is from Hot Springs, AK, and is such a great cook with soooo many recipes up her sleeve. When we all lived in Baton Rouge following Hurricane Katrina, Lauren lived in the same apartment complex as Jonathan and I. The three of us, along with a few other friends, would get together weekly for a supper club. We would rotate homes, and if it was your week to host, you provided supper for everyone in the club! I loved eating at Lauren's place because she always had the most wonderful, comforting food! Here is one of our favorites:

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. chicken, cooked and shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use reduced fat)
1 smallest package available of Velveeta cheese (not certain of the number of oz.), diced into small pieces
1 large can of Veg-all mixed vegetables (I use the Homestyle)
1 can corn, drained
2 refrigerated pie crusts
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, boil chicken in water with butter, salt and pepper. Once chicken is cooked, let cool and shred. Return chicken to pot along with soup, cheese, and vegetables. Mix together and stir frequently until cheese is melted and everything is combined. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one pie crust in bottom of pie plate. Pour chicken filling on top, then cover with the second pie crust. Pinch the two crusts together. Bake in oven until pie crust is golden brown, approximately 45-60 minutes. Enjoy!

***This meal is so yummy and so comforting!

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

May I Not Get This Wrong...

Photo-A-Day 2010

I am getting on the Photo-A-Day bandwagon! I am going to attempt to take a photo a day! (DUH!!!) It is not even the second week, and I am already failing miserably, but I think having a really sick girlie is a good excuse. I know there will be other reasons (including laziness) that will cause me to get behind schedule, but I would really like to try to accomplish this little goal. First of all, I want to capture more precious moments of our blessed life. Second, I want to get in more practice with my camera and new lenses and Photoshop. So, I see this as a win-win situation. Here are a few of my photos for the month of January so far.

Just A Spoon Full of Sugar...

We are on day four of sick days here in the Bradshaw household. Nora has one heck of a virus this past week along with an ear infection, and Liam has just started with a cough and runny nose. I have NEVER seen Nora as sick as she was. It was just so sad and scary. To say this least, the week has NOT been fun, and I can't really even remember what day it is. Saturday, that's right! In addition to us being sick, Knoxville has been in a winter wonderland with snow and ice and weather in the low teens! I feel like we're in Minnesota, not east Tennessee! Poor Nora has had to look at the snow from inside this time, but perhaps we'll get some more before winter is over that she can enjoy.

Seeing my girlie sick these past few days has helped me to cherish her even more! As my good friend Amy T. said the other day over the phone, you become so thankful for their sweet little personalities, and you get so excited to see those personalities come back around when they start to feel better. Now that Nora is almost over all of this, we are starting to see all the things we know and love about her blossom again. Here are some of those things that she is doing at this age that are sure to be gone before we even realize.

Before I discuss some of Nora's favorite things, I want to record a first that happened just the other night. Nora is NOT a snuggler. Little Miss Independent rarely likes to snuggle on the couch with you. She would much rather sit in her own little chair by herself. She, for some strange reason, doesn't like to crawl up in Jonathan and I's bed unless it is made. She won't crawl under the covers or put her head on our pillow. She won't crawl in bed with us on Saturday mornings, even if we bribe her with watching cartoons. I don't know why, she just won't! Anyway, the other night when Nora woke up after having thrown up in her bed, I offered to let her come into our bed for a little while. Even in saying that to her, I didn't expect her to want to. But, she did! She got in bed between Jonathan and me, but still wouldn't let us pull our covers up over her. She awkwardly positioned her head in my stomach with her feet pushing into Jonathan. He just looked at me and smiled as we realized how sacred this little moment was and how rare! (It wasn't but 15 minutes later that we brought her back to her bed, the little wiggle worm).

One thing that Nora is just slightly OBSESSED with these days is Mary Poppins. I mean, this girl LOVES her some Mary Poppins. Nora has always been into music, so this movie is just right up her alley. We have bought the soundtrack to listen to in the car, so we are always singing, "Spoonful of Sugar," "Let's Go Fly a Kite," "Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious," and many of the other songs! I'm amazed that she knows so many of the lyrics. A few funnies regarding Mary Poppins and Nora include the other day when she and I were at Sam's. I was unbuckling her from her carseat in the parking lot when she heard some kids with their parents heading toward their car. Nora asked me, "Momma, is that Michael and Jane?" Apparently, she thinks Michael and Jane are kids just like her that we might just run into around town. It was so sweet, but I told her that it wasn't Michael and Jane but some other kids. Also, I recently got a new black peacoat for the winter and Nora calls it my Mary Poppins jacket. Every time I put it on, she looks at me and asks, "You wear your Mary Poppins jacket, Momma?" (The funny thing is that when I was in high school, my drama teacher used to call me Mary Poppins because I am a perfectionist and like to have everything "practically perfect in every way." Also, my diaper bag is filled with so much stuff that I often think of it as the MP bag where she pulls all kinds of things from).

Nora is a sponge these days when it comes to her vocabulary and expressions. Here are some of the more recent ones that we get a kick out of:
*** Nora woke up from her nap recently and started calling for Casey, instead of Momma.
*** "I wanna cook, Momma." "We make sugar togeder, Momma." (Apparently all cooking involves the use of sugar. Can you tell we did lots of Christmas baking?)
*** She uses Momma after most of her sentences.
*** "I gawgous." Yes, we taught her that and realize we are encouraging vanity ;)
*** "I want just ONE grape, okay, Momma. Just ONE grape." She often asks for "just ONE" of something. Just one grape, cracker, chip, etc. It's really funny, and almost like she's bargaining.
*** "I'm a gurl." I'll say something like, "You're my potato," or I'll call her "lovee," and she'll say, "I'm not a lovee, I'm a gurl."
*** Whenever she's around kids or people she doesn't know she is now starting to ask them their name. She follows it up with, "My name Nora."

***When we play with Nora's kitchen and pretend food, she loves to make you some "coffee" and then tells you that it's too hot. She wants you to "take a sip" of the coffee, pretend to burn your tongue, and then scream in (pretend) agony because it hurts.

***A first for Nora recently was going to see Sesame Street Live! Jonathan and I decided very last minute (right before midnight on New Year's Eve), that we would take her to see it. Jonathan's parents volunteered to keep Liam for us, so it was just Nora on a date with Momma and Daddy. It was a great little show, and I must say that I think some of the former choreographers for the Backstreet Boys must have been the choreographers for SSL! I mean, Bert and Ernie had some wild moves. It was hilarious!





Nora Kathryn at 28 months old.

The Johns Come to Knoxville

Since Jonathan and I and the kiddos weren't able to make it back down to New Orleans for Christmas, New Orleans came to us! Sort of. My parents and two sisters made the long drive up from Louisiana to Knoxville to spend a few days with us. It meant so much that they came all this way, and we had such a great visit. Jonathan's parents opened up their home to my family, so we really had the best of both worlds. Everyone hung out together, my parents stayed with Jonathan's folks, and my sisters actually stayed over at Jonathan's sister Amy's house. (Unfortunately, we don't have any spare rooms for guests anymore.)

The fam arrived on Sunday, December 27th around suppertime. We picked up Famous Dave's bbq for dinner (my dad's favorite up here) and sat around our kitchen table for a while eating ribs and catching up on the holidays. After supper, we exchanged Christmas gifts with them. Nora got a "Fancy Nancy" doll and some "Fancy Nancy" books from my momma. I had no idea who Fancy Nancy was, but now that I know, she is so cute! She is a book character who uses "fancy" words in her books, then she explains what the "fancy" words mean. For example, Fancy Nancy might say, "I went to the garden to pick a bouquet of daisies. 'Bouquet' is just a fancy word for a bunch of flowers." She helps little readers increase their vocabulary. Not that Nora's reading or even close to it, but we all know how much my girl loves her books, so she totally loved her gift from Nana and Grandpa!

I was so surprised and excited by my gift from my parents. I got two new lenses for my camera. I got a 50 mm lens that I have really been wanting to get, and I got a 50 mm/2.5 macro lens. I don't really know what to do with that one yet, so I need to take some time to play with it and research what all it is capable of. I am so excited! I have been using my 50 mm fixed lens like crazy!

Finally, we got everyone situated where they were going to be staying the night. Early Monday morning, we all met up at the Bradshaws' house for breakfast, and then while Jonathan worked, the rest of us took my sister Emily shopping for some winter gear since she lives in NYC and was desperately in need of some new shoes, gloves, scarves, etc. New Orleans doesn't have a big assortment down there since it's basically summer all the time.

Monday evening, Ms. Joyce made a big pot of soup, I made dessert, Emily made her famous guacamole, and everyone else pitched in on salads and other yumminess. We had a big ole soup and salad night which was perfect because the weather was freeeezzzzing! (So Emily works at a Mexican/Italian restaurant (???? what does that mean exactly ????) in Brooklyn where she makes homemade guacamole table-side when it is ordered. She makes the most AMAZING guacamole I had ever had. I need to get the exact recipe from her, but I think she just sort of does it).


Tuesday, the family came over to our house. We went out to lunch, then came back to the house so the kiddos could nap. Jonathan and my dad graciously relaxed at the house on the sofa watching some TV so that my momma, Hillary, Emily, and I could do a bit more shopping and get our toes done! Lots of girlie time! We ended that wondrous day off by taking them to eat at our favorite......Casa! My family LOVES Mexican food, just like Jonathan and I, so they were thrilled with our choice. Jonathan, my dad, and my sisters left from the restaurant to go see the new Sherlock Holmes movie, while my mom and I got the kids ready for bed, ate a cupcake, and relaxed on the sofa to watch some episodes of The Closer. (Have I mentioned that I love that show?)

Wednesday morning, my sister Emily flew back to NYC. We spent the remainder of the day hanging out at the Bradshaw's house. We sat by the fire, relaxed, and ate a chili supper. After dinner, we loaded up the kids, said our sad goodbye to my parents, and went home. They left before we even woke up on Thursday morning to make the drive home to New Orleans. We had such a great visit. Even though most of our time was spent hanging out at home or at the Bradshaws' caring for and playing with the kids, we got lots of quality time and had so much fun. I love, love, love my family and miss them so much!

Unfortunately, even though I had two new lenses, I didn't take too many pictures of their visit. I guess I was too busy shopping because it feels like that is what we did mostly. Here are a few:

Nora and Nana, reading books


Sweet Liam


Trying out my new lens


My dad wanted a picture of all of his girls. Nora wouldn't have anything to do with this, and my sisters weren't cooperating very well either.

P.S. No, I don't have make up on. I know, I should have thought about fixing that.

Dorks.


Better

Mustard-Crusted Salmon and Roasted Potatoes

I have always been intimidated by the idea of cooking fish at home. It seems beyond my ability. Fish is so delicious, yet so delicate. And, I have a thing about fishy fish. I like my fish fresh, and I guess I've just always been afraid that by cooking it myself I will make it more fishy. I don't think that's possible, but anyway, that's what I thought. The other night, however, I faced my fears as Jonathan suggested we try a salmon recipe out of a new cookbook I just got from Williams-Sonoma. Have I mentioned how much I love that store? And how ridiculously expensive it is? And how wonderful it smells when you walk by there? It's a total marketing ploy that sucks you in to the store so you will sample their delicious delicacies and then be forced to buy something.

So, I tried this new recipe using fresh salmon (a splurge for us, and one we won't be doing regularly). It was amazing! And so simple! Here is the recipe. It was such an easy meal to prepare that I bought some frozen salmon fillets from Sam's yesterday because now I am craving salmon and want to fix it again really soon. (Frozen fillets are MUCH cheaper than the fresh ones).

Here it is:

Mustard-Crusted Salmon & Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lb. of red-skinned potatoes, quartered
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of dry mustard
1.5 lbs Salmon fillets (4 servings)
4 tablespoons Panko or fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Roast the potatoes: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large roasting pan, toss the potatoes with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes evenly in the pan. Roast until the potatoes are golden, about 10-15 minutes.

2. Season the salmon: While the potatoes are cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the Dijon and dry mustards. Coat one side of the salmon fillets with the mustard mixture, then sprinkle evenly with the panko, gently pressing to adhere.

3. Bake the salmon: Arrange the fillets in the pan, breaded sided up, next to potatoes. Bake until the fillets are barely opaque, and the topping is golden brown, and the potatoes are tender, 15-18 minutes. Arrange the salmon fillets alongside the potatoes on a platter, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

(4 servings)

***I only used 2 salmon fillets. I, not thinking, made a full batch of the mustard spread, and put all of it (4 servings worth) on just 2 fillets. The mustard was a bit too overwhelming, so we took off some of the topping. Next time, I will spread just a thin layer of the mustard on the salmon and top with the breadcrumbs.
***I served the salmon and potatoes with roasted asparagus.

Liam Piper: 8 Months Old

Today Liam Piper turns 8 months old! I am sure I say this every month, but MAN, is time flying by with this boy. He is such a joy, so much fun to be around, and just the sweetest boy there ever was! Everyone who is around him can't help but love him.

This past month, Liam has grown up so much. He is no longer a little baby but seems to be growing into a little boy more and more. He has had quite the busy month with Christmas and New Years having come and gone! Here are some of the things that are going on with our "Buddy Man":

Feedings: Liam still eats every three hours. I am only nursing him twice a day now, so the other feedings he is receiving a bottle of formula. He gets nursed at 8 am, a 4 oz. bottle around 11:30 am, a 4 oz. around 2:30 pm, nursed at 5:30 pm, and a six oz. bottle before bedtime around 8:30 pm. He is also eating three "meals" per day. I have tried several times to give Liam finger foods like rice, yogurt melts, cheerios, etc., but it seems that he has a very intense gag-reflex, so for now, the only thing he is self-feeding with are puffs! And man, can that boy put away some puffs! He LOVES those things, and he has pretty close to mastered the pincer grasp. We go through a can like every 3-4 days.

Sleep: The past week or so, Liam has consistently been sleeping through the night from when we lay him down at 8:30-8:45 pm to 8:00-8:30 am. He may fuss or stir once or twice in the early morning, but he settles himself back down with needing me to find his paci for him. That has been wonderful. Prior to this past week, he had been sick for roughly two weeks, so he was having some sleep trouble. However, we seem to be past that and are definitely enjoying better sleep! He still naps 2-3 times a day, depending on the length of his naps and our schedule for the day. His longest nap is usually in the morning and lasts anywhere from 1.5 -2 hours. Nice. Very nice!

Mobility: Liam is everywhere and into everything! He can army crawl wherever he wants. We spend lots of time in Nora's room playing where he has plenty of room to move around and there are lots of toys for him to get into. This past month, he has also mastered sitting up and can do this for long periods of time without getting tired. The only dilemma he has right now is that he hasn't figured out how to go from sitting up to on his tummy to crawl, so usually when he decides that he's had enough of sitting up, he'll face-plant himself onto the floor, which I can't imagine feels good, so he cries for a second until he gets over it. It's kind of funny, actually. (Don't tell anyone I said that). Oh, he has also started "dancing." When he hears music from a toy or the radio, he'll start rocking back and forth to the music! It's so cute and he can really get going. We call him our Rocker Boy!

Growth: I am not sure how much Liam weighs at this point, but he sure is solid! He has basically outgrown his infant carrier carseat, but we are waiting a bit to move him to the next one. I am sure we'll get one sometime this month. I can hardly carry him in the carrier any more. He and Nora now wear the same size diaper! Isn't that hilarious!? We have officially moved him up to size 4. This is really convenient for buying diapers, but I guess it is also a sign that we need to potty-train Nora. We're getting close to perhaps being ready to maybe try that, but I can't sell myself on the idea just yet. Guess I am lazy. Liam is now in 9-12 months, but mostly 12 month clothes. (Nora is wearing 18-24 months stuff, still). Won't be long till he's bigger than her.

Personality: This month has definitely brought out Liam's personality. It's so cute to see a bit into what he's going to be like as he gets older. Not only is he sweet. THIS BOY IS STUBBORN! I think we are going to have our hands full with this one because he is so determined to go after what he wants, and even if you try to stop him or tell him "no" to something, he will do anything and everything he can to get to what he wants. He has also started voicing his dissatisfaction with things. He'll cry and fuss if you leave him alone in a room (depending on his mood/time of day), and we can definitely tell when he is unhappy about something.

Milestones: Liam now sits in a chair when we go out to eat at restaurants! He can support himself so well that he doesn't have to be confined to his carrier. He is also discovering his voice and is VERY vocal! He says "dada" mostly, but can also say "mama" and "baba." He blows raspberries a lot! Between the raspberries, the drool, and the spit-up, this boy has MANY outfit changes a day. Liam has three teeth now, his top right tooth being his latest. His other three top teeth should break through before too long, but right now he looks pretty cute with just one sticking out up there! Wish I could capture a picture, but he'll barely let me touch his mouth these days.

Memories: Liam has had his very first Christmas! We had a wonderful time of having Jonathan home for nearly 2 weeks, our first time of having Christmas at home ever! Liam got several new toys that are great for his age and are more boyish than some of Nora's toys. He really seems to be enjoying them! A few days after Christmas, my parents and sisters came up to Knoxville to spend a few days with us. Liam continually steals everyone's hearts, and he and my dad have quite a sweet relationship. He is just so lovable!

Life with a sister: I must say that this boy LOVES his sister. Whenever she walks into the room, his face just lights up. He adores her and loves to touch her, pull her hair, kiss her face, etc. Now that he is mobile and can get into things, she is starting to get a bit annoyed with him and is getting territorial of her things. We are working on sharing and being kind! HAHA. It is so precious to see their growing affection for each other and I know they will be the best of friends before too long! Even though he absolutely loves his Nora girl, he is a Momma's boy. I think I am his ultimate favorite, at the moment, which is fine by me because this boy is growing up way too fast.

Enjoy some of the pictures of Liam from the past month!