Monkey Bean-Sprouts: The Good Times in May

I know I keep saying that Liam is at the best age and I just don't want him to get bigger/older, but really there is so much fun to be had with him these days! I wish I'd been more on top of taking videos of all his talking and funniness, but hopefully I'll have enough written down to remember it.

Hanging out downtown and thrilled about the balloon!

Unfortunately he let go of it shortly after and it was lost for good!

It is amazing how immediately after our return from the USA he decided he'd like to use the spoon or fork himself. Now, just 2 or 3 weeks later he is becoming quite skilled at eating without making a big mess, but if he does have any spills he will let me know right away by saying "ohoh", or "oh no!" "mess!" It's quite handy in general because I always know that something's dropped!

Besides the new utensil skills he has also become really interested in people. The biggest change since spring break is that he has finally stopped - for the most part - calling James "Mama". He now asks for "Daddy" pretty regularly and seems to understand the difference. He will also call out for him and if I say daddy's at work he'll say "no daddy", which is a bit sad, but also very sweet. One of the best things to see is how much he loves seeing his friends. In particular he has become quite close with Drake and Stirling (who he calls Deetch and Durling). He asks for them every day without prompting, and any time I say we're going to see them he does his little happy feet dance. They interact really well for the most part, and for some reason he and Stirling tend to get along like a house on fire.

Here's a photo of me and Liam on mother's day. James made a lovely breakfast and we got to eat out on the patio.

We have spent a lot of time outside in the past few weeks, with normally a trip to a playground or some other outdoor activity at least once a day. He loves the freedom of running around, and likes the slides, sandpits and a short visit on the swings. He also loves to play with rocks, picking them up and collecting them, or throwing them in something, and even trying to slot them through bench holes. His vocabulary keeps growing and we amusing ourselves at night recounting his pronunciation of certain things. He has expanded his love for cars to include words like digger (deedger), truck (cruck), plane (baine), bike (bite) and more. He recognizes many objects in books and will point to them when prompted with the word. He also has more sounds now, including choo choo, beebah, eeawh (donkey), moo, and bee beep.

Recently one of our friends turned 1, and we went to a lovely party for her. It is great to see all the little ones getting bigger, and for all the adults to spend some time together. The party was at UBS sports complex, which is a lovely outdoors complex that we can use as residents of the collina d'oro.

Kat, Drake and Eric at Isla's birthday party