Eager Beaver

Liam is changing oh so quickly and I can't seem to keep track of it all! Recently his favorite thing to do is stand up. Even when you just try to get him to sit up he sticks his legs right out and suddenly pops right up to standing. This picture is a bit blurry but it's him leaning on the couch holding himself up for a few seconds before I insisted on a break.

He is cooing and gooing a lot these days too. Sometimes I feel like we're actually having a conversation! He seems to particularly respond to compliments and to "I love you's". He also tries to talk to the lights in the bathroom a lot. A week and a half ago he was going through a bit of a tough time and the one thing that always seem to bring a smile to his face and make him cheerful again was looking at those bathroom lights. This video is not great, but it's an attempt to catch him at it.

New Ways to Play

Recently Liam received a small toy elephant with a music box inside as a gift from the Bendels. A few mornings ago I decided to see what he thought of it and placed it in the crook of his elbow as he lay on the bed. I went out the room for just a few minutes, and this video is what I witnessed apon my return. I have no idea exactly how he managed to guide the elephant trunk into his own mouth, but much to his delight, he did!

First Jabs and Early Spring Days

Liam is now just a few days past the 2 month mark and, according to the doctor, he's doing very well.  Today he was measured and is now a tall 59cm (10cm growth since birth!), and he's gained another 800g since last month, coming in at a chunky 5750g.  Head circumference: 40cm.  Erfan plotted his stats on one of those health charts and it seems he is between the 50th and 75th percentile for everything - yes, even his head.  A perfectly proportionate little boy!

Unfortunately we also had our first experience with shots, and it was not such a happy one.  What a cruel trick to be playing and so active and happy with the doctor and then suddenly get jabbed in each leg!  He cried and his face almost made me cry, it was so sad looking.  Since then, he fell asleep (probably traumatized) and hasn't wanted to wake up since - it's been a good 2.5 hours!

His sleeping pattern seems to slowly be emerging.  At least for now, we can kind of bank on him getting tired after being awake about 1.5 to 2 hours.  He's getting better at sleeping in general but has gotten into a new habit of falling asleep in my arms during the day as a way to get his naps in.  He'll start off crying and I know he's tired, but if I put him down to sleep he just gets more upset.  So I'll walk around with him for another 5 mins to calm him down, and next thing you know, he's out!  Very clever little guy!  At night he is still sleeping in between us and so often I will stay around and be with him as he's going to sleep because otherwise he's up and awake crying when he looks up and sees no-one there.  We'll have to get better at letting him sleep on his own, but I think it's a long process.  The most amusing thing is when he's suddenly wide awake after his 3am or so feed, and starts looking back and forth from me to James in this expectant "let's play" kind of way.  It's so sweet it makes me laugh, but of course we work hard to ignore him so that we can all go back to sleep.  I feel we're doing ok getting him to sleep a 4 or 5 hour chunk and then two 3 hour (or there about) chunks following.  The only issue is that he's still not getting to bed very early (normally he's not asleep before 9pm).  Little by little we'll get there!

He's started re-growing hair on the top of his head which, for now, seems quite light to me, but who knows.  Don't worry, it's still a party in the back with his mullet thing going on.  He's also getting more definition to his eyebrows which makes his faces even more expressive.  We're loving all the tiny changes taking place.

Here are some recent cute pictures of Liam out and about.  He's such a little Mister!

Out for a walk with Mom and Dad in his puffy vest (thanks Nass and Erf!)

I think he looks like a construction worker here! 

Walking part of the Percorsa Vita with snow and sunshine on an early spring day

This one's just because it was his first time wearing shoes!

Like father like son - a total James outfit, though I was the one who dressed him (hmm, maybe I dress both of them?)  At any rate, I can't get over how cute he looks!

Babies in Romper Room Land

Char and Otto and the delicious spread of food she put out

Also during Academic Travel, we finally managed to have a "play date" get-together with all the new babies in the TASIS community (and one new friend with a little 6 month old girl).  Charlene put on a great lunch spread and brought out every toy and baby apparatus she has (and she has a lot!), and we spent the afternoon hanging out.

Drake in one of the gadgets

Liam attempting a nap in another fandangled chair

Jen with Griffin and Chloe

One of the goals was to get a picture of the four boys altogether.  It's funny to see how different they are even though all are born within 3 and a half months of each other.  Otto is the eldest, born Oct 10th, and Drake is just 2 days behind him.  Griffin was born on my birthday - Dec 4th, and then Liam is the youngest born Jan 7th.  The funny thing is that there are at least 3 more babies being born this spring in the TASIS community.  What a year for babies!

As it turns out, it's pretty challenging getting multiple babies to sit still, keep their eyes open and not cry!

Otto (crying just a little), Griffin, Liam (half asleep)

Griffin, Liam (crying and falling over on Griffin), Drake (eating fists)

Success?  Almost!  All four boys with eyes open, not crying.  I think that's pretty successful. In reality, it turns out Griffin really is the only photogenic one in the bunch!

Liam Has His Passport!

The fantastic news is that as of about a week ago we have a passport for Liam.  During the week of Academic Travel (14-19th Feb) James stayed home so we could be together as a family.  We also managed to take a day trip up to Bern with Liam and all the paperwork in hand, to apply for his passport, social security number and certificate of birth abroad.  Despite getting up at 4:30am, and more than 6 hours total driving in the car, Liam did really well.  I guess he's probably pretty used to 4:30am!

  Liam takes the wheel

The passport process was as smooth as it could be.  Once we figured out how to get the Swiss Birth Certificate everything else seemed fairly basic to us.  Besides having to wait our turn at the US Embassy, all was in order and we were all set by just about 11:30am.

James and Liam soaking up some Bern sunshine

This may be the last time Liam gets to wear his snow suit!

After the passport stuff was sorted we were pleased to even have a couple of hours to spend in the sunshine wondering around part of the city.  Bern feels a lot more accessible and city-like to us after spending so much time in Lugano where you find yourself facing one jeweler after another followed by watch stores and other designer labels.  We even found a charming food court or markthalle (not a US mall kind of fast food court) offering such delectible food choices as Indian, Mexican, Japanese, Turkish, and more.  What a treat to be able to feast on some pretty good Indian food, and even with Liam in tow it was an easy enough sit down lunch.  After a quick stop in to Starbucks and a pop in to a bakery for German Bretzels we were back on the road by 3pm.  It was definitely a whirlwind day, but mission accomplished and at least we had the rest of the week to recover!

Liam having his diaper changed in the front seat of the car!