HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY LIAM!

Ladies & gentleman drumroll please......we have reached the BIG 1-0!!! Liam officially graduated from baby to toddler on Monday and we celebrated in style with a Sesame Street themed birthday party on Sunday. I've been planning this for a month now and went quite over the top with Sesame Street paraphanalia. We rented a room at a pavillion and turned it into a themed playland that included a toddler roller coaster, mini slide, bubble machine & inflatable carnival tent filled with balls for the babies. My mom made an amazing Elmo cake & the entire place was decorated in Sesame Street balloons, streamers & a large sign that had Elmo's face and said "Liam 1" on it. Ian even contemplated renting a Cookie Monster costume but we decided it may be a bit too much - didn't want to scare the kids. Besides - he couldn't drink beer through the mouth. Liam had a ball wearing his "First Birthday" Sesame Street hat with a "I'm 1" rosette pinned to his white shirt (matching with daddy's white shrt) & helium balloon tied to his pants - not hard to spot him crawling around in the crowd since the balloon dangled from him like a beacon. The roller coaster was a huge hit with all the kids as was the bubble machine. Liam got a massive haul of gifts that ranged from wooden peg puzzles, to clothes, to special baby crayons for drawing (shaped like eggs so they're easier to hold), to books and a fabulous dump truck filled with blocks. Not to mention the multitude of cool cards. I am so looking forward to the second birthday party - gonna be hard to top this one though! I think Ian may hide my bank card though - parties don't come cheap. Ah hell - who cares? My little boy is one years old - YEAH!!!!

Monday I decorated the house with the left over party supplies & spent most of the day playing with Liam and his new toys. Ian came home a bit earlier and we drank wine and got sappy over Liam's baby photos. Later that evening we had light snacks with the family & ate left over cake & opened his big presents. Ian and I bought him a red wagon that you pull around & a Sesame Street helmet with tiny knee pads - he LOVED the wagon and sat in it for quite a while - I filled it with his carnival balls so he was a happy camper. My parents & Caylin got him some books, a Sesame Street squirt mat for Summer that you attach a hose to (the water shoots up through the holes) and a water playland table that you fill with water and has boats and a water wheel. Thoroughly spoiled! Summer should be a blast with all his new water toys. It's so exciting to see all the cool toys for toddlers - they're so much more fun (you bet your ass I'm playing with them too!).

So Liam is now a little boy - a crawling, talking, screaming, quirky little character (well what do you expect when his mommy & daddy are slightly quirky too). Such a little personality. I am so looking forward to this upcoming year and all the stories we'll have to tell! It's been one heck of a ride so far - from endless nights of no sleep, to up the back and in the hair poos & leaky boobs, to nursing colds & wiping green bogeys off your shirt, first smiles & belly laughing, first teeth & bitten "give me the frozen peas" nipples, first solid foods & projectile pea vomit, first sit up & head bonks, endless spit ups, first words & major tantrums, to first crawls and finally plug, soil & cat food in the mouth removal. The list goes on!

Happy 1st Birthday Liam - you're worth it all!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Week 51

Wow - we are only one week away from the big ONE!!!! We are just about done with our party plans and I'm starting to think that this party is more for us than Liam considering the huge amount of party supplies we've accumulated over the past month. Between the loot bags, food, decorations and activities etc. the room we've rented is going to look like Disneyland. Since I'm a party planner I'm in my element and it's going to show!

Up until now Liam has been quite mobile but moves around backwards everywhere. I was starting to think that he was never going to crawl forwards (he usually rocks on his hands & knees at the most) but I should learn never to assume anything in baby world - on Monday he started to shuffle his knees, on Tuesday morning he started shuffling slowly around and by Tuesday evening was motoring around at mach speed. God it's cute! Unfortunately we weren't prepared (are we ever?) and didn't think about the fact that now he can get to wherever he wants in 2.5 seconds flat. This takes keeping an eye on him to a whole other level. By Wednesday we were both scrambling to get him out of the plants (got a few mouthfuls of soil in there before we could stop him), away from the fireplace (he was licking the ash off the slate & trying to climb through the mesh), & out of reach of all the wires, plugs & anything else dangerous. Not to mention we now need a baby gate so he doesn't go head first down the stairs. Overnight our house has turned into a mine field for babies so we're taking it one day at a time and slowly replacing our not-so-child-friendly furniture as crawly pants makes a beeline for sharp corners. Either that or buy large squares of foam and stick them to the walls & floor. Probably cheaper than replacing all the furniture too. Liam could crawl head first into whatever he pleased and bounce off without a scratch. Either that or we could get him a giant foam helmet like a bobble head - not very attractive but oh so practical.

Since the novelty of speed wheeling around the house in the Winnie The Pooh car was starting to wear off for both of us, I decided to venture outdoors and take him around the block. Looked too adorable with his legs sticking out Harley style on either side (has a hard time keeping his feet on the pedals for very long) while honking his little horn. Bit hard on the plastic wheels though which are not designed for off roading - you could hear us coming from a mile away with the grating noise, the horn honking & Winnie The Pooh playing over and over again. Not to mention the intermittent screaming - that novelty still hasn't worn off.

Thursday night Ian had a work dinner so Liam & I went to visit a friend with her 3 year old daughter who just loved him. All throughout dinner she would hop off her chair to feed Liam grapes & strawberries and then wipe his face while constantly calling him baby. Such a big difference between 1 and 3 years old - I can see why people wait for that age gap to have a second kid - they're like little grown ups. Not that I'm even entertaining the idea of having a second child yet - have another year or so before we go there. I'm far too busy with one thanks.

Last night smart daddy decided to give Liam an "empty" Lucky beer can to entertain him for a minute which Liam immediately stuck in his mouth. Apparently there were a few drops of beer left as Liam started smacking his lips and then tipped his head back trying to shotgun the beer. As soon as smart daddy realised what was happening he took the beer can away which did not go over well and prompted full blown screaming (the bad kind this time). He was still grumpy an hour later - apparently he was still miffed at daddy and looking for his beer fix. Better hide the 6 packs from now on - I have no doubt he'll eventually recognize the labels and learn how to crack them open!

Week 50

We have been screaming all week at eachother - but not in a bad way. Liam has discovered that screaming is fun and absolutely loves it when we scream back at him - cracks him up. I can't imagine what our neighbours think since the louder we scream the funnier he finds it. Makes driving interesting when you're kid is letting rip while trying to concentrate on the road. He doesn't show signs of letting up yet either- so far he's been screaming for 6 days straight.

On Wednesday we met up with our mommy group for lunch & a walk along the marina and to enjoy some sunshine. The marina has some resident seals which come right up to the jetty and stick their heads out at people so the kids were quite interested - I figure that's a good sign since we're only 3 months away from taking Liam to Seaworld. He seems to like fish - he likes the look of them & also the taste of them. Not sure how I'm going to explain that Shamu sometimes ends up on a dinner plate but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In the eating department (while we're on the subject), Liam has discovered grapes which he loves almost as much as screaming. He takes huge handfuls and shoves them into his mouth. I have no problem with that since they are so much less messy than avocado which he mushes in his hands and then smears all over his face, in his ears and in his hair. Add the rice, toast, sweet potatoes, bananas etc. and it's a food fiasco. I've resorted myself to the fact that crawling around on the floor picking up pieces of food in a fruitless attempt to keep my kitchen somewhat clean is part of life. I probably crawl around as much as my kid does.

Since Liam is getting more mobile and likes to hang out in dangerous places like under the coffee table we decided we will avoid future head injuries and traded our glass coffee table (very un-kid friendly) in for a nice leather ottoman. The great thing about the ottoman is that it opens up and is hollow on the inside for storing toys. Bonus! At least half of Canada's wonderland can fit in there. Of course Daddy decided that we needed a new toy for Liam to go with the ottoman and picked up a Winnie The Pooh car. I must admit he really loves it. It has a safety seat with a steering wheel & horn that he can beep & comes with all sorts of talking buttons and things that he can play with while we push him around by a handle that sticks out the back. Picks up some good speed too since we have hardwood floors. That's one thing I know my kid loves - to go fast!