Clingy

Yesterday afternoon when I pulled up to my dad's house, this was the site I saw.

Not only was I thinking how much I loved seeing Liam bond with his Uncle J.C., but I also thought that this was a good sign Liam was outside playing since he was been feeling pretty sick for the past few days.
However when I my dad come out he proceeded to tell me that Liam had been, and I quote, "the biggest pain in the a**" all day. Nice! So after some investigation, I found out that meant he had been crying non-stop, not wanting to be left alone, not wanting to nap unless he was curled up in Grandpa's arms etc. etc.

Yes, this sounded familiar. Not only has Liam been sick but he has also been clingy. In the mornings, he has started to cry when we leave him with the sitters. He is constantly coming up to Keith and I putting his arms up and will throw a fit if we don't pick him up that minute. And then last night as Keith was trying to do some push-ups, I was able to capture this.

We are hoping this is just a little bit of a phase he is going through. I honestly don't mind it because I love picking up and cuddling with the little guy whenever I can. But to my husband's point, we don't want to teach him that he can get whatever he wants out of us by constantly feeding into his needs.

On a side note, since I am sure you are curious, I am day 4 into my new job. Things are going well, but as to be expected, it is all very overwhelming. There is SO much to learn.
Tonight we are going to dinner to celebrate my new job and my J.C.'s new job. My two brothers and myself all got new jobs in the past two months. I would say that is something to be pretty damn proud of!

Big News

A couple weeks ago I posted about some stuff weighing heavy on my mind that I wasn't able to share yet. Well I think I can officially share my news now... I got a new job!

I have been working as a contractor for Monsanto for the past 6 years and starting Monday, I will get to start my career as an actual employee of Monsanto. My new job title is seed treatment account specialist.
I am so excited to start the next chapter of my life and excited that it is with such a great company. I can really see myself working there for a long time to come. However I am very sad to leave a place I have called "home" for such a long time. Stepping out of my comfort zone is going to be a huge challenge, but I am embracing it with open arms!

So now I have one thing I can scratch of my "Have to Accomplish in 2012" list. Many more to go! :)

We Discovered Books!

Liam has "discovered" books in the last couple of days. Although he is still not very interested in us reading to him, he loves to sit down and look at the pictures and turn the pages at his leisure. I just think it is the cutest thing in the world!

One Year Check-Up

I am still having a hard time facing the reality of my baby being a big one year old now. It's not like it doesn't slap me in the face everyday though. Liam is walking on his own, feeding himself (even has tried with the spoon) and continually sucking in everything like a sponge.

We had his one year check-up this morning and Liam passed with flying colors. :) Is he walking? Check! Is he using his pinchers? Check! Is he feeding himself? Check! Will he eat meat for you? Check! Is he able to drink from a sippy cup? Check!

At 23 pounds 6 ounces, Liam is in the 78% for weight and at 31 1/4 inches, 90% for height. Consistency is key here people!

Then three shots and lots of tears later, he reminded me that he still has needs his mamma every once in a while.

Birthday Party

Liam turned 1 on the Thursday and his big party was Sunday!
We decided to have the party at Sage just because our house would not have held everyone and of course it was a nautical theme. I got a lot of great ideas from Pinterest and Etsy and with the help of my mom, we were able to make some great decorations on the cheap. My friend also had decorations left from my baby shower (Ahoy It's a Boy) and we used those as well.

 We had a banner that said "I am One" with all of his month pictures below it.

The cupcakes were from Schnucks and they were amazing!

 We also made party favors for everyone to take home - chocolate covered pretzels!

We had a menu of pulled pork sandwiches, egg salad, "Zia's" salad and fruit kabobs (again, thank you Pinterest!)

Liam looked the part in his new shirt from Etsy. As soon as he got there we tied a balloon to his wrist which kept him highly entertained.

Liam got a ton of great presents but after opening the first two, he really wasn't interested anymore. So I enlisted the help of Colin, Olivia and Evelyn. Opening presents with three kids crawling all over you is not the easiest task! I just hope I get the correct thank you notes out to each person. :)

After presents, Liam got to enjoy his first cupcake. The icing was definitely the hit but he did eat about half the cake as well.

Thanks to everyone that came! We had an amazing time. Birthday number 2 will be a lot more low key and a lot less expensive.
Special thanks to Heidi for all the pictures, Karen for helping me set up and tear down and my mom for help with the whole thing.

Happy Birthday Liam!

Well the big day is finally here... Liam is 1!!

It is so crazy to think that last year at this time we were in a hospital room while it was snowing and icing outside and we hadn't even seen your face yet.

This year it is 60 degrees outside, I am sitting at work and missing your face that brings me so much delight each and every day.

This past year has definitely been the best year of my life. Thank you my big boy for bringing me more than I could have ever asked for. Happy Birthday Liam!!

(Pictures to be posted tomorrow, I promise! :) )

Liam Jonathan at 1

I have seen a lot of ideas, again on Pinterest, that track each year of your child's life by giving a brief glimpse into some of their likes/dislikes at each birthday. With Liam's big 1st birthday now two days away, I thought I would try to do something similar here so maybe one day he can look back at it and smile. Although to say that Liam has like and dislikes would be a lie. The kid is all over the place so instead I will just write about somethings that I am currently observing.

Liam is ALL boy. He loves getting into everything. The few things we have to constantly say "not for Liam" to are the toilet and toilet paper, the dog bowl and the front hall closet which houses some golf clubs that he is dying to get his hands on.

Liam is very independent. Don't try carrying him up the stairs because he can get up there himself crawling. Forget holding the bottle for him any longer or expecting him to fall asleep in your arms. He goes to sleep in his crib now on his own, holding his bottle.

Liam loves bath time. He would sit it there for hours turning into a prune if we would let him. He splashes and laughs and plays and cries when it is time to get out.

Liam loves to eat! Another thing he would do all day long if I let him. His absolute favorites are bananas, green beans and cheese. Randomly he decides he doesn't want to eat something and peas go flying off his tray, but for the most part he eats whatever is put in front of him. He has also tried pretty much everything including peanut butter, fish, and shellfish.

Liam is a giggle monster. Some things that really get him going these days are playing "I'm gonna get you" or when Daddy gets hurt. :) He is also babbling a lot more and can even sometimes get out a "Hi" "Da" or "Mama".

Liam is anything but anti-social. Wherever we go, he is waving at everyone and saying Hi. When he sees other little kids he squeals in delight and walks right up to them wanting to play. The kid is not shy.

Liam is definitely starting to generate an attitude and know exactly what to do to get this way. Case and point, this morning he was walking around holding my hair brush and when I took it away from him so I could get ready, he let out the most pitiful (yet cute) cry and of course stopped the moment I gave it back to him.

Liam is a daddy's boy. I know kids usually go through stages but right now he is all about Dad. If Keith leaves the room for one second, he walks over to the baby gate and stands their grunting and whimpering until he comes back.

Liam will not stop for a second, hence the lack of picture on this post. I tried my hardest last night to get a picture of him but most of them ending up the top of his head or his back. Here's hoping that I can actually get a good picture of him on his birthday!

Liam, we love you and you have been an absolute delight this year. We are so excited to celebrate the big 1!We can't wait to continue to watch you grow and change year after year.