It’s been far too long since I’ve posted a family update here. This is testimony to the amount of effort that has been going into other areas of our family life, namely getting my career back on track. It’s been a busy few months and the results have been good. As we wind down for the holiday season I’m looking forward to a simpler schedule before the high season of new year’s resolutions kicks into gear.
Liam continues to entertain and impress us in equal parts. For the past couple weeks, I’ve repeatedly had the feeling that I should have taken note of particular instances of cuteness and impressiveness. But alas, those moments will have to remain within my heart rather than here in cyber-space. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have stories to share, it has been a while since I last wrote….
Liam has proved himself to be one of us when it comes to being tidy. On one occasion he and Irma came inside from an outing. He rapidly stripped off his clothing and dropped it on the floor as he was rushing toward his next exploit. But after a couple steps in that direction, he paused, and turned back to put the discarded items up on the shelf. He puts toys away a fair amount of the time, with proper motivation he’ll even do it all on his own! On one such occasion, Liam was putting away two sets of wooden blocks (one with the Spanish alphabet and the other with the English one). David pointed out that he’d put a couple blocks in the wrong container. Liam said, “oh!” and quickly rectified the error. Liam has also become a fan of helping Irma clean which he does with a remarkable precision. This past week I watched as he wiped down every handle and knob in the kitchen. He was especially pleased when I finally took a hint and filmed him. It would seem that I’m not completely unreasonable in anticipating a tidy home some day in the distant future.
Liam also prefers to eat in an orderly fashion. While at his 2nd birthday party he realized that his “smash” cake was meant to be eaten, he waited patiently until the fork that he requested was in hand before tucking in. So it would seem that a smash cake is no longer required, nor was it ever. We do have to remind him to wipe his hands on a napkin rather than his shirt. But he is very fastidious about monitoring dropped bits as he eats. He prefers messes to be cleaned up sooner rather than later, unless the food is really good.
Generally Liam exhibits a level of caution that lays mama-worries to rest. But sometimes, mostly in the company of his father, he gets a little wild. On one such occasion, he took a superman dive into the headboard of our bed. Tears were shed, photos were taken, the doctor was seen. Strangely enough she didn’t wag her finger while saying “no more monkeys jumping on the bed,” but the three of us did. An awful lot. Liam still has a dent between his eyes. (I ought to be rubbing that more often, come to think of it).
I’m pleased to report that one of my original ideas for Liam’s education is being realized. Since the three lovely ladies who help with his care are all Spanish speaking, he is learning to understand and speak Spanish. Often I will hear them practicing vocabulary and reading together. And I must say that I feel quite pleased about it!
So far, Liam has remained true to his friendly, sociable nature. His California birthday party was a testament to how much pleasure he takes in spending time with the people that he knows and loves. But it has become increasingly obvious that he favors girls. Today in the check-out line at Whole Foods he started acting all goofy and I didn’t understand why until I realized that he’d locked eyes with the pretty lady standing behind us. Oh boy, here we go….
Every day ushers in new words for Liam right now. His pronunciation is getting clearer and clearer and he works at repeating just about everything that he hears. (Yes, I am trying to cut back on the cursing). A while back though, he was using “bye bye” for many purposes. To say goodnight to everything in sight a la “Goodnight Moon”, to bid fellow passengers at the Tilden Steam Trains adieu, to tell a friendly and very large dog that he’d had enough face kisses, and to tell me to steer clear when he wants free reign to explore each and every button on the CD player.
At one point a couple months ago I wasn’t sleeping well which made me crabby (more worrying about, than actually feeling, the effects of sleep deprivation). On the morning in question though, Liam managed to instantly cheer me up by picking out the most adorable outfit for himself. According to David, he not only insisted on the shirt / pant combo, but on wearing the body suit over the pants. Of course! Why didn’t we think of that?! Perhaps because it’s not 1982…
On August 6th, I heard Liam say his name for the first time. It’s still his own version of it to date. And he’s still figuring out his pronouns. But progress is being made inside that brain of his. I’m convinced that he inherited David’s brain by the way. And my skin.
Another insight into Liam’s particular take on the English language. Lego figures are characterized as “papa men” and “mama men”. Most women of the world, take for example the gal who picks up our garbage every week, are “mama”s.
When anybody comes to the door, or the studio for that matter, Liam is eager to great them. He’d be happiest if each and every person came on in, sat on the floor, and joined him in a rousing session of making automotive sounds while pushing cars around on the floor. Alas, more frequently than not, his hopes are dashed.
When Aunt Joan sent Liam a new jacket for the upcoming cold season, he was very excited. Upon seeing what was in the box, he insisted upon putting it on straight away and was very happy to pose for a photo (and then immediately look at the photo, of course).
Liam and David were frequenting the zoo for a while which led to Liam asking on many occasions to go see the animals. But he’s mostly into domestic ones that aren’t at the zoo.
Our morning routine of preparing scrambled eggs together was going strong for a while, but Liam has begun to lose interest. I think that this is because he’s reached the limit of what I’ll allow him to do. But I’m still confident that he’ll be preparing our breakfast by the time he’s four.
Along with his friendliness, Liam’s sense of determination has remained thus far. As he’s moving through the standard developmental stages of year three there’s a fair amount of negotiation going on. Temper tantrums are happening as are avid debates about just how such and such a thing should happen. These days, we’re all working on getting Liam to speak before crying. He seems to be picking up the concept (thank goodness!).
I believe that I already mentioned that Liam’s grandpa Twist (although grandpa likes to credit the Easter Bunny) gave him his first set of wheels. In spite of logging a rather slim number of hours on his balance bike, it should come as no surprise that Liam has become something of a speed demon. (He thrills when David accelerates on the freeway which has the duel effect of encouraging David and worrying me). Which all goes to say that if you find yourself in our neighborhood, you may catch a glimpse of Liam gliding along and David or I running after him. What a thrill for each of us!
Anybody who knows David well knows that he’s not a morning person and that coffee is part of his formula for managing to remain upright for any amount of time before noon. Given that the boys are on their own Saturday mornings while I’m in the studio, Liam has learned about brewing coffee. He and David now have a ritual of brewing the coffee and enjoying it together. Liam insists upon sitting in the same type of chair as David which means that they sit across from each other at our rather large square-shaped table. Once they return from David’s office where the brewing takes place, Liam asks for his “own cup”, gets right into his chair and waits patiently with his hands folded on the table. Meanwhile, David gets a cup for Liam, has a seat and pours him abut a half teaspoon worth of coffee. Once Liam finally partakes of the morning beverage, he puts down his cup and says “ahhhh” with a smile of satisfaction.
We recently visited grandpa Twist at his home in Lake County. Liam enjoyed himself immensely and has been very happy to play with the toys of David’s that we brought back with us, especially the puzzles. This is rather timely because a client of mine was just telling me about how her daughter was remarkably good at putting puzzles together when she was little. As if on cue (I swear Liam never heard any talk of this though), Liam has started putting his firetruck puzzle together on his own.
Today, I was changing Liam’s diaper. He was looking for something to do and started rubbing my arm. He stuck his hand up my sleeve and it emerged out of the neck opening. He was quite pleased at finding a “tunnel!” and requested multiple opportunities to repeat the satisfying experience. I pointed out that he could do the same with his own shirt and he was equally satisfied. But even still, he decided that it was better to move on to eating my elbow. I have no idea why it’s so appealing, and I wish it weren’t, but he is often playing around with my elbow during diaper changes. That’s when I call him a little weirdo. And I mean it. Liam is currently very interested in the three creams that we have for his bottom. He insists on getting a bit on his finger and applying it himself.
I’m finishing up this post while Liam watches videos on the iPad. I’m not that happy about it, but it’s become one of his favorite activities in recent months. To counter my guilt over that situation, we’re about to begin a new schedule which will involve more mama-Liam time. I’m really looking forward to this as I’ve been feeling remiss about my many educational goals for Liam. Soon we’ll be devoting more time to dancing, listening to classical and jazz music, doing art projects, baking, and playing together out in the world. I’m looking forward to this new phase of our life together, and to seeing all the new ways in which Liam impresses and entertains me. The fun never ends!
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