Liam's Ticker

Liam

Liam's Pictures

Check out Liam's Pictures and info on Mommy's Website. (Journal entries from birth to 3 years, plus easy index of photos by month/year)

Monday, December 27, 2010

Cindy Hah Ho, Tentacles, and TJ Hooker

Just a few random things about Liam that are bringing a smile to my lips.

First, there is his interpretation of what he hears, and what he thinks. He has gotten several matchbox rescue vehicles, including a Hazmat truck. He's been playing with it, and pretending it's been going to help people clean up messes...except that he refers to them as tentacles. The Hazmat truck has to go clean up tentacles from the road.

He also likes to sing various songs, and one of them goes like this: "Cindy Hah Hoh, having a wonderful time." He explains that there is a person named Cindy Hah Hoh and she's having a great time at Christmas. Heh. Yes...that IS the Paul McCartney song, "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time".

He has several TV shows he likes to watch, though we haven't had the TV on all that much. However, one of the shows that apparently he says he really likes watching (and this is something Matt left on for him), is a show called "TJ Hooker". I had never seen and had only heard of it, and it's not at all my type of show...but Liam seems to love it (because there is a police man in it), and insists on watching it. And he pretends to be TJ Hooker, running around getting bad guys. *sigh* My son...enamored with William Shatner. What's next.

There are more things, but I have run out of time for now. More at a later date.

I'll leave you with one of his devious little pictures.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Mommy can pull her pants up

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, my son wandered in after having gotten up out of bed, and climbed onto my bed. He chattered on about random things, in between me chattering on about all the stuff that had to be done still. Suddenly, out of the blue, he says to me "Wow, mommy. You are REALLY good at that." I paused, wondering what I was really good at? Venting? Complaining? Talking too much? So I asked him what I was so good at.

"Putting your clothes on" was his response. I had just pulled my pants on, and he had paid enough attention to notice me doing this and that I had done it pretty quickly (for a pregnant woman, anyway). He has been putting on his own clothes for a little while now, but still struggles a bit with it at times, having to figure out the orientation of the clothing (tag in back, waistband at top), and making sure each leg goes down it's separate pant-leg, and then he has to stand up and pull them up all the way and untwist the band and...well, it's a lot of effort. And apparently something he thinks about enough to notice I didn't have those problems. So....

I am a pro at pulling up my pants. Yay for me (it's good to be admired by yours kids for something).

Monday, December 13, 2010

Dry all day!

Liam has been doing exceedingly well with potty training now. He wears underwear when he is home with us and has even ridden in the car a few times, without any problems. He asks to go, and hasn't really had an accident in a while. He has been sleeping through naps and nighttime in underwear without issue as well. The only time he seems to be not using the potty is when he is at daycare, where he still uses a diaper. We had asked about sending him in with several pairs of pants and underwear, but they told us to keep him in diapers, because daycare is too distracting and he probably would just wet them a lot.

Well, today Matt took the initiative to send him in still wearing underwear, along with extra pants and a diaper. And Liam came home in his underwear, STILL DRY! He used the potty at daycare without issue, and didn't need his diaper. I am SOOO proud of him. And he was so happy and excited as well, as we praised him over and over again. I know there will be accidents, and even regression once the baby is born, but I think he's finally got it together now. Woohoo!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Unbelieveably sweet

At some point this past week, I got upset about something and broke down crying. That happens, I am emotional a lot (I am pointing a finger at being pregnant). While I was sitting there on the floor, just crying my heart out, Liam comes over to me. He has a very sad face, and he looks like he wants to cry, too. He sits down next to me, and puts his hand on my knee, and sniffs a few tears back. Every now and then he looks up at me, and when I thanked him for sitting with me, he patted my leg and said "It's okay, mommy. You're good."

*melt*

Monday, November 29, 2010

Dry Weekend

We have been trying to potty train Liam and it's not been going all that well. He was doing much better half a year ago...asking to go most of the time he had to poop. Not really good about asking about having to pee. He would forget half the time, but would remember other times. He got incentive from getting a piece of chocolate when he went. But then that stopped really being incentive for him and he kind of just stopped asking. It's like he didn't care. A little bit of despair sunk in. Even when we promised that he could get a new fire truck toy (he loves fire trucks) if he went in the potty successfully enough times, it didn't seem to do it. We tried using actual underwear, hoping he would hate the feeling of the wet fabric. Didn't seem to concern him. He never pooped in them (thankfully), but would pee whenever he felt like it. Even character printed underwear didn't really give him incentive (in fact, he couldn't wait to pick out the next character after he peed. Arg.)

I didn't want to have to change two sets of diapers come April, so I was determined to get him learning. So we tried another approach. Every time he went in his diaper, or underwear, he had a toy taken away from him, starting with his favorites. This upset him when it happened, but he still wasn't really good about asking for a while. Whenever he DID ask and went, he got to pick one of the toys he had lost and got it back. Some days were good, some days were bad.

Then, suddenly, Thanksgiving he did pretty well most of the day. On Friday, he went the entire day without any accidents. We put him in underwear, and he asked every single time. He had all of his toys back, so we wanted to continue to give him incentive somehow. So we started putting hearts on a chart, telling him that if he got 5 hearts, he could go pick out a new fire truck toy at the store. And that if he messed up, we would take a toy away, and he wouldn't get a heart until after he had gotten all his toys back again and there wasn't anything to pick from. He did great most of Saturday, with only one big mistake in the evening, where he lost his toy. He promptly got it back the next morning. By mid-day Sunday he had 5 hearts, and he went to Target to pick out his fire truck toy. He was very thrilled with it, and proud, and has been playing with it non-stop. He now has one blue heart in the next row, ready for another 5. I am SO proud of him. Maybe this is where he'll suddenly just start doing well. That it will click in for him now. He has even had dry nights, even though usually it's a while before that happens while they are learning. I am not sure how many more toys we will get, but for now I am fine with getting him a few, if it serves as incentive for him.

Way to go, Liam!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Joy of Fire Trucks

I know...the joy of fire trucks? What is she talking about? Do fire trucks actually bring you joy? Do they bring me joy? Actually, yes they do.
...Why?

Because Liam loves them.

I never thought that seeing a fire truck on the road would make my heart happier and bring a smile to my lips and even make me exclaim "Ooo look! A fire truck!" to no one at all while driving somewhere. But suddenly, now it does. Because my son loves them so much, and gets so excited when he sees one...heck, when he even just hears one. They bring him such delight. And I love that delight in him so much, that it brings me joy, too. So, yes...seeing a fire truck on the road, as I did today coming home from my yoga class, brings me surprising joy.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Updates to come

Yes, I am way behind on posting about Liam. Sorry, things have been hectic. I promise I will try to post more often. He's doing great, and it's always amazing to listen to him, to watch him. There are times when he seems so much older than his 3.5 years, and while I am proud of him growing up, I just want him to stop for a little bit. I'll definitely have to share some of his moments and quirks with you. But it will have to be another day.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

No longer a toddler

I think I finally have to accept it. I can no longer call Liam a toddler. He is a boy now...my little boy. Growing up quicker than I can almost keep up with. This was realized today, when a big change was made.

Rewind to almost two weeks ago, right after I put Liam to bed. I had peeked in to check on him...and he wasn't in his crib bed (crib with the side removed). He was laying on the floor. I asked him why he was there on the floor. He said "My bed is not comfy. I need a big boy bed." This was news to me. Was he serious? Night after night, nap time after nap time, he insisted on sleeping on the floor, claiming that he was waiting for a big boy bed. He DOES have the softest carpet in the house and the crib mattress IS super firm, being made for an infant. Maybe it was time for an upgrade. Time to make the dreaded move away from toddler-hood.

Today it happened. Today, THIS was how he started his nap:



His big boy bed arrived today. We ordered him a twin mattress and frame...and it arrived today. We set it up, threw some CARS sheets on it. And he was thrilled. VERY excited. Giggled over it, jumped on it a few times, laid down on it. No complaints about taking a nap. No complaints about going to bed tonight. And no more sleeping on the floor. He is a very happy boy. And I am a very proud (if somewhat sad for the moment) mother, of a little boy who is no longer quite so little.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Blood, blood, everywhere

Okay, well maybe not EVERYWHERE. Although it looked like it at first. All over the sheets. On the bed frame. On Emily…

Oh…what I am talking about? Hehheh. Sorry. No, it’s not a slasher flick. I am talking about Liam’s night-time nosebleed. I had just put him down for bed, and was downstairs for less than 3 minutes when I heard him call to me in some distress. Sighing, I went back into his room, asking him what was wrong. “Boogers, Mommy. Lots of boogers”, he informed me in a teary voice. I sighed again at how dramatic my son could be over a runny nose and fetched a tissue. Upon handing it to him, though, I noticed dark spots on the sheets in the light of the nightlight. Crap. Sure enough, turning on the light revealed that he had a nosebleed. There were splotches all over the sheets and he had managed to smear it all over his face and both arms, and had rubbed it all over Emily’s face (she is his stuffed ermine…a white weasel for those unfamiliar). He had even managed to get some of the bars of his modified crib. I spent the next half hour cleaning up, as it took a while for the bleeding to stop, and I had to comfort him and give him an ice-pop to help apply ice to the area (or as close as possible) and to give him something to keep his mind occupied, while I changed the sheets on his bed. Then it was back to bed, and I then had to scrub the blood stains out of the sheets and Emily (note: cold water and rubbing salt into the stain works great apparently). And now I am finally done.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

No more crib

I have said this many, many times...but I will say it again. My little boy is growing up too quickly. Gone is the little baby that relied on me to get around. The little baby that I would rock and sing to sleep. And then would lay down in his crib...

...his crib that now looks like this.



He no longer seems quite so little...no longer sleeping in a crib. He can get in and out of his bed at will and seems quite tickled with this. He spent the first 15 minutes after I removed the side climbing in and out of his bed...pretending to be asleep, and then waking up and getting out of his bed. His first night went pretty well...some chattering and getting out of bed once to cover up his air vent...no falling out of bed. And when he woke up, he was immediately thrilled that he could get right out of it. I heard him from our room: "MOMMY! I woke up!" And then "I am standing up on the floor!".

*sigh*

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Quadruple Three

Just thought it worth noting that today Liam is 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days old.

Monday, June 28, 2010

"Little Daddy"

I am constantly amazed at Liam's conversations...of the things he says, and he puts ideas together. Maybe it isn't as amazing to others, but to us it's wonderful to see how he develops his thoughts and how he improves on his understanding of how different ideas go together. We listen to him on a daily basis and sometimes the things he says just make us giddy with pride and or/amusement.

Last night, as I was putting him to bed, he wanted to get his caterpillar (a small stuffed version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar). Liam and I are upstairs, Matt is downstairs in the living room.
Me: Where is your caterpillar Liam?
Liam: I don't know. I'll go look. (he leaves his room to go downstairs)
Me: Hold on Liam. Matt, where is Liam's caterpillar?
Matt: In his room I think.
Liam: No it's downstairs! (he says this with the air of one who knows)
Matt: Are you sure, I think you had it upstairs.
Me: Liam, Daddy says it's upstairs, let's try to find it.
Liam: (who is on his way down the stairs now) Daddy, it's on the couch. Right there. (it is) I'll go get it.
(Liam retrieves it, being faster than Matt, and starts to head back up, but then turns back to Matt briefly)
Liam: I'll go back upstairs. Goodnight little Daddy....oh, wait. *little Liam laugh* I'M little. You big. Sorry. Goodnight big Daddy.
(and then he comes upstairs)

*happy sigh*

Thursday, June 24, 2010

5 AM Potty Trip

I am all about Liam asking to use the potty...I am proud when he does. But when that request comes at 5am, 1.5 hours before my alarm is going off, I am understandably not as thrilled. Especially when he doesn't actually go (at least we didn't see anything in our bleary-minded state). If he starts making a habit of this, it might be time to remove the side from his crib, teach him how to remove his own pants/diaper, and leave the portable potty in his room for him.

Liam...I love you...but please wait until it's time to get up. *YAAAAWN*

Friday, June 18, 2010

Happy Pappy

Today began our trip to West Virginia, for the Oliver Family Reunion that happens every year this same weekend. Liam hardly gets to see this side of the family. I told him we were going to see his Aunt Debbie, and Aunt Dawn and Uncle Greg, and Granny (Darlene, my husband's mother) and Pappy (Dan, my husband's father, who chose this nickname himself). The whole car ride, Liam kept mentioning the names of the people we are going to see. But for some reason, he just won't say "Pappy" instead, he says "Happy", and no amount of trying to correct him seems to work. He just starts giggling and keeps saying "Happy". Sorry Dan/Pappy...you just became one of the Seven Dwarfs. Heh.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Potty trip

For the first time (for us), Liam asked to go potty because he had to pee! Up till now it's just been number two, and the first is so much harder for toddlers to master/recognize. But he actually asked. And he went! We are so proud of him...and he was SO proud of himself. Which made it all the better. It was a good morning.

Friday, June 11, 2010

I miss him

Liam is staying at my parents' place this weekend. Staying with "Grandmom and PopPop". He does this pretty much once a month. And it's always the same. I look forward to having some time to myself, to not have to worry about taking care of him for a few days. I look forward to the break. And then he leaves...and suddenly I want him back. I miss him. I want to play with him, read to him, kiss his cheeks, tickle him, and hug him close. And suddenly I wish the weekend were over and he was back home. He brightens my life so much, and I forget all the annoyances that go along with raising a toddler. *sigh* Only one and a half days to go.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Quick Update

Don't have much time for posting, it seems. So much is going on with Liam, can't keep up with it all, though I would love to share it with all of you. He talks like crazy, almost too much. Definitely in the stage where he is right about things, and he likes to argue with us about them. He wants to play all the time, doesn't want to stop for eating or sleeping/napping, although we usually can get him past the arguments and get him to eat/sleep/nap. He pays attention, even when you think he isn't, and it's amazing what he picks up on. Gotta be careful. Heh. I'll try to get on more often to post about Liam. Sorry.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Happy Third Birthday!

Today my little boy turns 3!
Wow, I can't believe it. Three years old already. That's just crazy. It's DEFINITELY going too quickly. I mean, I am thrilled with how much he is learning, with how he is growing up, but I feel like I am losing my little boy way too quickly. *sigh* No more little baby, or even toddler...he's becoming a kid now. Today we celebrated his birthday with a few fun things. First we ate cereal and watch PBS Kids Sprout's Sunny Side Up Show, to see Today's Birthdays in the Sunshine Barn. Liam's card that we made for him was not shown, but his name appeared in the scroller at the bottom of the screen and Liam was pleased when I pointed it out for him. Although I was probably more excited about it than him. Then we played with some new toys from Saturday's party (BTW, thanks everyone who came and celebrated with us, and for all the cool stuff), including expanding foam bugs in little plastic capsules. Then we went to Barnes and Noble for storytime, and then browsed the books a little. Then we went to the mall food court for lunch, and Liam loved "the eating place" with the fountain. After we got him, we had a very successful potty trip, which Liam was thrilled about, and it earned him two Hershey Kiss candies as a reward. Then he topped it off with a call to Grandmom and PopPop to tell them about his day so far.

After Liam's nap, we played some more, and watched some of Liam's favorite shows. We had a great dinner, some cupcakes, and read some great books. Liam was extraordinarily polite, and thanked me for everything today, almost as if he knew he was older and more mature.