10 Months for Liam

I could start this post with the same-old-same-old-yadda-yadda-yadda-about-how-fast-time- has-flown-and-I-can't-believe-he's-10-months-old-where-is-my-baby but, quite frankly, I haven't got the time.

You see this baby, he's got shit to do. And my job is to make sure he can get it done without getting electrocuted, decapitated, drowned, or otherwise.

Liam is moving around the house so fast on his belly you'd think Mr. Clean has moved in. My husband remarked to me tonight, "Wow, the house has really been clean and tidy lately." (Make note of the "wow" as this acknowledges that he has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the place). I guess when he gets home he hasn't noticed that I pinned a Swiffer sheet to Liam's chest and 4 Lysol cleaning wipes to his hands and feet.

Liam is so busy he has no time to figure out the whole crawl thing. It's all about doing the inch-worm. He gets up on his hands and knees and looks around and basically says, "Screw it, I could be over there already if I just went on my belly." So he belly flops and gets on with it.

Dan - The reason the house has been cleaner is because if it isn't, your son is INTO IT. "IT" being WHATEVER I DON'T WANT HIM TO GET INTO. The shoes, the dog's water dish, the magazines. The remote, the curtains, the electrical cords. The booze, the knives, the fire batons.

The dogs are afraid. He is busy chasing them. Liam wants their tails. BIG TIME. Their toys are manna from heaven. Especially their Nylabones. It's a hard, plastic bone that tastes like chicken and is digestible. Hm. Guess he can have that one. Sorry, girls.

Liam likes to play. He likes to play chase, throw it-pick it up-throw it-pick it up, peek-a-boo and anything that involves him being slightly startled. This means startled in a good way, not startled by barking right behind him, thank you, Lily.

Liam says Dada and MumMum. He said MumMum all day today. I like it when he says it with a question in his tone. MumMum, MumMum, MumMum? Yes, Liam? MumMUM! Most of the time he says it when utterly frustrated or upset. Usually he is frustrated because MumMum has blocked the way somewhere. He is usually upset if MumMum has had him standing too long or creeping too long or waiting too long or just BEING TOO LONG, MumMUM!

Liam has many sounds and overall he is getting very chatty. Loud and chatty most of the time. After sleeping 12 glorious hours he has LOTS TO SAY, DADA! And THANKS FOR THE MILK, MumMUM! LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY NIGHT!

Trying new foods is working out ok. Many regular vegetables still make him gag. And watching him puke isn't my favorite thing on for a food highlight reel so I give him a bit of whole veggie then still serve the pureed stuff. He likes cantaloupe, strawberries, cheese, corn flakes, chicken, meatballs, pizza, yogurt, corn, water, and Pirate's Booty. Oh yeah and MORE ANIMAL CRACKERS, MumMUM! Animal crackers almost threw off the delicate balance we've established with the Gerber puffs. No more animal crackers for a while. Puffs can almost get us through an entire meal at a restaurant or when eating as a family.

Liam has taken a liking to Boots, the little monkey from Dora the Explorer. Television doesn't hold his attention that long but he thinks little Boots is pretty funny.

Liam, SLOW DOWN. I am so busy vacuuming to keep down the amount of dog hair you ingest, sweeping to keep the dirt off your hands and out of your mouth, and wiping everything - oh the endless wiping - with Lysol to keep you from getting E-coli that I can barely even keep up with you!

You are so fun! You smile and laugh and giggle all the time! You are turning into such a little boy. An adorable one at that. We have such fun playing together. Today we built a tunnel between the couch and coffee table with a blanket over the top. You crawled in one side and I crawled in the other and met in the middle. Then later we were walking around the house with me holding your hands. I started moving quicker and saying LA LA LA over and over and you thought that was the funniest thing MumMum has ever done, like - EVER.

You like to give lovies to me and Dada. You bury your head in our necks with your mouth open. We love that. We also love when you call us by name. Every time you say MumMum my heart swells a bit.

In the near future you'll be moving more on your own and won't want my help so much. You'll push me away and probably say NO, Mum. So for now bear with me as I keep pulling you back in for hugs and kisses. Sometimes I feel like I need to store them up, for the days when you won't want them so much.

Love you, peanut.
Your MumMum