My lists of fun Liam stories are growing quite long which is my fail-proof indicator that the time for a blog post has arrived. For David and I, Liam is a continuous fountain of fun so that over the past few months my feeble mind has only managed to hold on to a fraction of the tales of cuteness that make up our days. I console myself with the notion, that some is better than none and that it will be just a enjoyable to read these stories as it will be to suddenly remember others out of the blue in some future moment. I’m sorry about the dearth of pictures. Clearly, I lack my husband’s technical savvy. And clearly, he is occupied with other more pressing tasks. Because I’m pretty sure that he’d be quite content to snap, edit, and post photos of Liam ad nauseam were it not for his other duties. Perhaps the lack of pictorial evidence of all our fun will give somebody the notion that an in-person visit is in order. Our doors are always open, and the weather ’round here is pretty spectacular these days. California beckons you, do you feel it? I encourage you to follow the feeling!
I’ll Be You and You’ll Be Me, Oh What Fun It Will Be!
(This was one of the first items on my list, and since Liam has made great strides toward proper pronoun usage – what a smart cookie!) We are in the thick of language acquisition – Liam is working on pronouns. Currently in Liam’s language, you is Liam and I is the person to whom he is speaking. It makes for interesting conversations especially when we who are in the know are called upon to translate. Since Liam is so often one-on-one with people, it makes sense. It’s when we are in groups of three or more that we have a chance to see the full range of pronoun usage. At least that’s how I’ve made sense of this particular period in Liam’s language development.
The Stutter
This passed within a couple months, but I wanted to note here that Liam was consistently stuttering with certain sounds (s, z, ch, c, etc). Both David and I refrained from correcting him and practiced our patience while he worked to get the words out.
We Love (fill in the blank)
Now that Liam is repeating them, it is pretty fun to see what things I often say, and quite a relief to see what things he hasn’t yet been inclined to repeat (ahem). Apparently, I’m oft to declare our affection for certain things like cookies, particular books and songs, pudding, pizza, etc. So now Liam is prone to saying “we love cookies” or “we love this book”, with real conviction too. It is one of life’s simple pleasures to revel in enjoyment of everyday things, and it’s even more fun to have company in doing so.
Another frequent declaration of Liam’s is “it’s a beautiful day!” I always appreciate that one, because he’s inevitably correct, and it’s always a welcome reminder of all that’s going right given my slight propensity for focusing on other matters.
Music Baby
Liam has begun to request music. Apart from a few favorite songs (ba ba black sheep, row row row your boat to be sung by us, the wheels on the bus to be sung by Liam, and Borneo to be played for dancing), Liam’s genre request has lately been rock n’ roll. I’m sure that David is pleased with this given his love for classic rock, for my part I’m pleased that what passes for rock n’ roll in his mind is, jazz, motown, and old school soul or r&b.
And then one day he asked for music and a particular song: “jumping on head”. I didn’t know what he meant, but he was quite certain so I eventually started with his favorite (Borneo) and went down the playlist until I realized what he’d been trying to convey: Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head. Shortly after enjoying that one a couple times, he requested his “favorite song” which I, of course, could oblige. Within the week, he requested “raindrops” again, and this time I could hear him singing the lyrics a few counts behind the recording. It would seem that soon he’ll be able to serenade us a classic pick-me-up.
Driving Lessons
Unfortunately David is often at his wits end with driving around the busy streets of our neighborhood. It’s understandable, at many points in the course of a day, there is too much congestion for things to run smoothly and other people in transit are prone to committing errors in judgement (I can say this based on the personal experience of making such errors). Detail oriented folks like David are inevitably frustrated by such momentary lapses of order. On one such occasion David was attempting to do the right thing and give other drivers their right of way. Presumably they were confused because they were not taking it. David finally erupted: “THERE ISN’T A STOP SIGN, PEOPLE!” (Of course the only people to hear him were Liam and I). And of course, Liam repeated the statement with a gleeful conviction. (He is quite good at repeating things until we acknowledge him). Much later, Liam and I were driving in downtown Berkeley and we were waiting behind a car that was waiting for some pedestrians. Liam exclaimed repeatedly, “there’s not a stop sign people!”
Liam is also quick to note that we need gas when the little ding announces the illumination of the fuel light.
And when we are stopped amongst other cars, he declares that we are in a traffic jam. And within a minute or two proclaims that it’s time to be done with said traffic jam. If only it were that easy.
When we head out and about in the car, Liam has taken to rattling off a list of vehicles that he hopes to see in the course of our journey. He then proceeds to look for them for the duration of the trip. Sometimes he only sees the top of an ambulance but still points it out. Given that we live in such a populated area, he is usually lucky enough to see at least a couple of the vehicles on his list and he’s quick to point them out. It’s become such a common practice that now I tend to shout out the names of interesting vehicles even when driving alone – well I usually catch myself before the thought becomes actual words, but not always.
By the way, in Liam’s vehicular taxonomy any car with a spoiler is a “race car.” And yes, they are always worth pointing out.
Just a couple days ago Liam noticed some garbage on the curb as we got into the car (he’s quite observant). A discussion followed. He suggested that the garbage truck would come around to pick up the trash, and I countered that it would probably be the street sweeper and talked about how they do the same task at different scales. About ten minutes later he kept saying something that I struggled to understand until I finally did, “The garbage truck and the street sweeper are similar mommy!”
A Momentous Occasion!
It was on Thursday November 21st (gosh it has been a while since I posted), that Liam demonstrated his new skill of memorizing a favorite book. We checked it out from the library on Monday. He asked me to read it over and over again. On Thursday he picked it up and read it cover to cover, all by himself. Needless to say, I was impressed. So I took a picture:
We Love Pizza!
Every time I go to the cheeseboard I am grateful that such a place is within driving distance. Put together live jazz, affordable and high quality food immediately (after you wait in a fast moving line), and friendly folks, and you’ve pretty much got my dream of a restaurant. In the last several months of 2013, David was working one evening a week to catch up and so Liam and I made a routine of visiting the cheeseboard. We’d get in the car and Liam would say, “we’re going for pizza, cookie, and soda.” And I would answer “we love pizza!” Sometimes we happen to drive by when we are out and about and Liam recognizes it, so of course we have to stop.
Notes on Befriending Felines
So far Liam and Siegfried have arrived at a fairly peaceable coexistence. Liam has begun to make a few moves toward a more engaged friendship though and I think that in some cases he might make some headway. In other cases no. I’m not sure why, but Liam seems to think that chasing Siegfried around while screaming or making monster noises is a good idea. David and I are still working out the details of how to convey just what a bad idea this course of action is.
But when it comes to opening doors, Liam and Siegfried may have a match made in heaven. Like any dignified feline, Siegfried prefers to pass through open doorways rather than pushing them open with his face or scratching his way through. Liam is quite content to monitor the doors of our small household, to open them when needed and to keep them shut otherwise. If only Siegfried can erase the increasing number of memories that involve a screaming Liam at his tail that seem to weigh heavily upon his mind when he sees that Liam has offered him a portal, we adults may enjoy the benefit no longer playing doorman to our feline friend.
Liam has also become quite vigilant about monitoring Siegfried’s food stores and providing him with nourishment. He knows the magic word to beckon Siegfried to his num numbs. On one occasion, he offered Siegfried raisins but then promptly ate them all himself. (Siegfried’s utter nonchalance probably had something to do with it.) But David pointed out Liam’s lapse in consideration all the same. Liam responded by taking the empty bowl over to Siegfried, and leaning in to say, “I’m sorry Siegfried, I ate the raisins.”
The New Face of Mr. Entropy
Liam is playing around with his powers of destruction these days. A week or two ago I was doing something in the kitchen while Liam was playing with his various vehicles on the living room rug. When I came closer for a check in I realized that he’d been using his Blue Angel model to rip up the rug. Luckily, it was the least expensive rug in our collection but it left me wondering how much of our home will remain intact for the duration of Liam’s youth (we have a fair number of chipped dishes and our home bears other such minor nicks and scrapes). Around that same time Liam kicked over one of his cranes and ended up breaking it. He’s also drawn on the furniture and has demonstrated a rather consistent penchant for ripping books. After one recent display of destructive behavior, my reaction was clearly one of upset. Liam stood back from the scene of destruction, and bowed his head a bit as he said quietly, “I’m sorry Mommy”. Of course, I said that I forgave him and gave him a hug. It’s such fun to see him know just what to say, that is one of the skills that he picked up in February. As far as the destructiveness goes, I figure that it’s a matter of evaluating and reflecting on a case by case basis. My hope is that with our consistent attention and feedback Liam will learn how to care for things so that they last a good long while.
Which Leads Me to the Topic of Manners
It would seem that my idea of modeling good manners is paying off. Liam has become quite adept at saying please and thank you which I really appreciate. Not only because it imbues even our most mundane interactions with grace, but because I’m pretty sure that as he goes out into the world, our friendly guy will be well-received.
Posing the Rhetorical Question
True to his age, Liam is inquisitive. Repetitively so. To the point where I’ve started to think that he’s actually exploring the concept of the rhetorical question. Now when Liam burrows into a line of inquiry, I turn it around after I’ve played the role of answerer enough times. I’m not sure of course, but this new take on the age-old game of question and answer seems to suite us well enough.
It’s a Good Thing that Hollywood’s Close By…
because our son seems to have the makings of a movie director. (I prefer that positive spin to the more anxiety-ridden theory that he’s a control-freak.) Recently we met a friend at the park and Liam had a very definitive notion of what we all should be doing. I was meant to be circulating and greeting all the other folks at the park, Liam was meant to be climbing up the ramp of the play structure and Deb was meant to be watching him. We were meant to be standing at a very particular distance with respect to each other, and our conversation was meant to be dictated by Liam. Apart from this fuller production episode, Liam is often directing others’ costume changes (mostly in the form of hats and jackets on or off with respect to his preferences about people staying or going). And then there’s my hair, which clearly ought to be worn a certain way (down), except when it’s time to play with my hair clips. Hey, if he can make us look a little better in the ragtag life that we are currently living, I’m all for it!
Here Comes the But
It’s become a thing in the negotiations that pepper our days. Liam states a preference. We acknowledge that preference and offer the specific scenario about how we think it can come about. Liam turns both hands toward the ceiling, and says “but, I want to….” It’s very endearing. But not always effective. You know life’s like that sometimes.
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