Dylan loves his Momma! And, now his first word proves it. We first began hearing Dylan say Momma while he was crying. Liam always laughs and says, "Dylan said Momma!" Now, it's even more clear and often separated into it's own word or a string of "Mom mom mom momma". During the night when Dylan wakes up, I usually let him fuss for a minute to see if he puts himself back to sleep. But, as soon as I hear him say Momma in the cry, I'm up out of the bed and picking him up. I think he learned very quickly that the word has lots of power. I finally captured it on the video below:
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Our Little Stand Up Comedian
Liam is becoming such a little jokester! Obviously he's learned it mostly from Neil who can make a game out of any situation. Here's a few pictures that show how daddy likes to have fun with (or poke fun at) his boys.
Now that Liam is understanding how humor works, he's trying it out on me. He thinks that if he's doing something naughty, he can just say, "It's funny!" I have to admit, when he giggles and declares that he's just being funny, I often end up laughing too. Baby Dylan seems to agree that everything Liam does is funny, even when he's getting bonked on the head with a ball.
We make coffee every morning and the other day Liam asked, "Want coffee, Daddy? Want coffee, Momma? Want coffee, Baby Dylan?" Then he shouted, "Momma!! Baby Dylan wants coffee too."
Here is Liam joking around at the library. We were playing with puzzles and he decided that it would be funny for him to put on the pants puzzle piece. I told him it didn't fit because he forgot to undo the belt. He told me, "No, too small."
Our funny little man climbed into a toy bucket and said, "Momma. I'm taking a Baby Dylan bath."
The latest laughs have been coming from "Knock Knock" jokes. As you can imagine, at first Liam was quite confused about what part was his in the joke. He would just repeat whatever Neil was saying. The jokes went like this:
Neil: "Knock, Knock."
Liam: "Knock, Knock."
Neil: "No, you say Who's there?"
Liam: "Say Who's there?"
Neil: "Boo."
Liam: "Boo."
Neil: "No, you say Boo who?"
They went around and around for awhile but after some practice, Liam got it. And now he's even made up a Knock Knock joke all by himself. Here's our little comedian with his Monkey Joke:
Who knew the fur attachment from mom's winter coat hood could be so much fun!
Now that Liam is understanding how humor works, he's trying it out on me. He thinks that if he's doing something naughty, he can just say, "It's funny!" I have to admit, when he giggles and declares that he's just being funny, I often end up laughing too. Baby Dylan seems to agree that everything Liam does is funny, even when he's getting bonked on the head with a ball.
We make coffee every morning and the other day Liam asked, "Want coffee, Daddy? Want coffee, Momma? Want coffee, Baby Dylan?" Then he shouted, "Momma!! Baby Dylan wants coffee too."
Here is Liam joking around at the library. We were playing with puzzles and he decided that it would be funny for him to put on the pants puzzle piece. I told him it didn't fit because he forgot to undo the belt. He told me, "No, too small."
Our funny little man climbed into a toy bucket and said, "Momma. I'm taking a Baby Dylan bath."
The latest laughs have been coming from "Knock Knock" jokes. As you can imagine, at first Liam was quite confused about what part was his in the joke. He would just repeat whatever Neil was saying. The jokes went like this:
Neil: "Knock, Knock."
Liam: "Knock, Knock."
Neil: "No, you say Who's there?"
Liam: "Say Who's there?"
Neil: "Boo."
Liam: "Boo."
Neil: "No, you say Boo who?"
They went around and around for awhile but after some practice, Liam got it. And now he's even made up a Knock Knock joke all by himself. Here's our little comedian with his Monkey Joke:
I can't wait until Dylan starts to talk and I have three guys that keep my days filled with laughter!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Maple Sugaring
This past Sunday was beautiful and we went on an adventure to Muscoot Farm to see the animals. But once we heard that a Pancake Breakfast was taking place, we couldn't resist enjoying breakfast at the farm too. The sugaring season had ended so we got our first taste of the fresh maple syrup. Liam couldn't get enough of the pancakes drenched in syrup.
A visit to the farm wouldn't be complete without a ride on a tractor. Liam thought the orange tractor was pretty cool but he still thinks tractors should be green and when we asked him if it was a John Deere, he correctly replied, "No, not John Deere." He's a pro at identifying John Deere after his trip to the John Deere Pavilion with Grandpa Hunter last summer. Later when he noticed a John Deere Gator utility vehicle by a barn, he pointed and shouted, "John Deere."
Here we are posing in front of the tapped maple trees. The sap was dripping into the buckets like a leaky faucet and will be used to make more maple syrup!
Baby Dylan was supposed to be napping in the stroller but he was too excited to be out and about during naptime. Next year he will be able to enjoy the pancake breakfast too!
When we got home, we realized that we didn't have any good pictures of the animals. We saw chickens, goats, pigs, sheep, horses and geese on this trip. Next time we will remember to take some pictures. We have a long summer of visiting the animals ahead of us.
A visit to the farm wouldn't be complete without a ride on a tractor. Liam thought the orange tractor was pretty cool but he still thinks tractors should be green and when we asked him if it was a John Deere, he correctly replied, "No, not John Deere." He's a pro at identifying John Deere after his trip to the John Deere Pavilion with Grandpa Hunter last summer. Later when he noticed a John Deere Gator utility vehicle by a barn, he pointed and shouted, "John Deere."
Here we are posing in front of the tapped maple trees. The sap was dripping into the buckets like a leaky faucet and will be used to make more maple syrup!
Baby Dylan was supposed to be napping in the stroller but he was too excited to be out and about during naptime. Next year he will be able to enjoy the pancake breakfast too!
When we got home, we realized that we didn't have any good pictures of the animals. We saw chickens, goats, pigs, sheep, horses and geese on this trip. Next time we will remember to take some pictures. We have a long summer of visiting the animals ahead of us.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Six months of Dylan!
Dylan turned 6 months old on March 6th!
Everyone told us, "They grow up so fast" and they really do! Maybe the time flew by because I've been in a sleep deprived daze but I also think it's because life with "two under two" is insanely busy. We are so lucky that Dylan is such a happy, sweet and giggly little baby boy. It makes the stresses of parenting much easier to cope with. To catch the blog up, here's a few facts about our "Baby Dylan".
At 6 months, Dylan is a big boy! He weighs over 18 pounds. That means he more than doubled his birth weight by gaining 10 pounds in 6 months. I can barely carry him in the car seat carrier. Actually, I can barely carry him period. Forget the gym, I get a workout by carrying an 18 pound baby weight while unloading the dishwasher, putting laundry in the wash, making baby cereal and picking up toys. He likes to be held and I like to hold him. At 28 inches, his legs are too long for most 9 month old clothes so we're now into the 12 month hand me down box.
Dylan is very strong and energetic. And, he's a hair puller. He even took my pearl earring off one day. I definitely will not be wearing any dangly earrings around this kid. He loves bouncing in the exersaucer when I'm doing laundry. He spins, bangs, plays keyboard and chews on all the fun toys. He can kick, roll and throw a ball already. He doesn't really like his pacifier but we use it to help calm him down at bedtimes. However, giving a pacifier to a kid that doesn't really want one can backfire. It's more like a toy so he thinks it's playtime. He pulls it in and out of his mouth, passes it between his hands, makes clicking noises with it and throws it. We recently lost a pacifier at the mall because he threw it out of the stroller.
Dylan is a TV junkie. If it's on, he's glued to it. If we're holding him faced away from the TV, he will arch his back and tilt his head backward to see it. Since he's too young to learn anything from the TV, we don't really want him watching it so sadly, no Today Show for mommy anymore. He also loves books. He's not into the pictures yet. He seems to prefer to watch our lips move and will continuously look up at us and smile while listening. He also likes to turn the pages and eat them.
It's still a toothless grin for Dylan. However, he drools a lot and chews on anything he can find so we know teeth are coming in the near future. In the meantime, we started Dylan on solids. The pediatrician got me excited because she thought solids might fill him up a bit more so he could sleep longer at night. It didn't work. But, he did love to eat. When the first bite came his way, he grabbed the spoon and shoved it in. So far we've learned that he hates green beans but loves peaches. He actually squealed in delight when he first tasted the peaches.
Dylan's been able to roll over for a few months now but it was hardly ever self-motivated. It's hard work rolling his 18 pound self over. But, more recently, he's been rolling multiple times in a row. He's officially on the move. I guess he discovered that toys are much more fun when you jam them in your mouth rather than just look at them from across the room. I keep finding him off the blanket and not sure what to do with himself in the middle of the wood floor. He can also sit by himself for a few minutes before he topples over. At least it's long enough to get a good picture.
Dylan's a charmer. He's got huge brown eyes and long dark eye lashes. Most people say he looks just like his mother. I love it. The mohawk is his trademark. At birth it was jet black but now it seems much lighter and possibly reddish. We can't wait to see what color his hair ends up.
Dylan is growing and changing by the day. The next six months will be full of exciting milestones so there's much more to come from Dylan.
Everyone told us, "They grow up so fast" and they really do! Maybe the time flew by because I've been in a sleep deprived daze but I also think it's because life with "two under two" is insanely busy. We are so lucky that Dylan is such a happy, sweet and giggly little baby boy. It makes the stresses of parenting much easier to cope with. To catch the blog up, here's a few facts about our "Baby Dylan".
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| 2 weeks old - The Thinker |
At 6 months, Dylan is a big boy! He weighs over 18 pounds. That means he more than doubled his birth weight by gaining 10 pounds in 6 months. I can barely carry him in the car seat carrier. Actually, I can barely carry him period. Forget the gym, I get a workout by carrying an 18 pound baby weight while unloading the dishwasher, putting laundry in the wash, making baby cereal and picking up toys. He likes to be held and I like to hold him. At 28 inches, his legs are too long for most 9 month old clothes so we're now into the 12 month hand me down box.
Dylan is very strong and energetic. And, he's a hair puller. He even took my pearl earring off one day. I definitely will not be wearing any dangly earrings around this kid. He loves bouncing in the exersaucer when I'm doing laundry. He spins, bangs, plays keyboard and chews on all the fun toys. He can kick, roll and throw a ball already. He doesn't really like his pacifier but we use it to help calm him down at bedtimes. However, giving a pacifier to a kid that doesn't really want one can backfire. It's more like a toy so he thinks it's playtime. He pulls it in and out of his mouth, passes it between his hands, makes clicking noises with it and throws it. We recently lost a pacifier at the mall because he threw it out of the stroller.
 |
| 3 months - The Stud |
Dylan is a TV junkie. If it's on, he's glued to it. If we're holding him faced away from the TV, he will arch his back and tilt his head backward to see it. Since he's too young to learn anything from the TV, we don't really want him watching it so sadly, no Today Show for mommy anymore. He also loves books. He's not into the pictures yet. He seems to prefer to watch our lips move and will continuously look up at us and smile while listening. He also likes to turn the pages and eat them.
 |
| 4 months |
It's still a toothless grin for Dylan. However, he drools a lot and chews on anything he can find so we know teeth are coming in the near future. In the meantime, we started Dylan on solids. The pediatrician got me excited because she thought solids might fill him up a bit more so he could sleep longer at night. It didn't work. But, he did love to eat. When the first bite came his way, he grabbed the spoon and shoved it in. So far we've learned that he hates green beans but loves peaches. He actually squealed in delight when he first tasted the peaches.
 |
| 5 months - "Finally, real food!" |
Dylan's been able to roll over for a few months now but it was hardly ever self-motivated. It's hard work rolling his 18 pound self over. But, more recently, he's been rolling multiple times in a row. He's officially on the move. I guess he discovered that toys are much more fun when you jam them in your mouth rather than just look at them from across the room. I keep finding him off the blanket and not sure what to do with himself in the middle of the wood floor. He can also sit by himself for a few minutes before he topples over. At least it's long enough to get a good picture.
 |
| 6 months - Baby Mohawk |
Dylan's a charmer. He's got huge brown eyes and long dark eye lashes. Most people say he looks just like his mother. I love it. The mohawk is his trademark. At birth it was jet black but now it seems much lighter and possibly reddish. We can't wait to see what color his hair ends up.
Dylan is growing and changing by the day. The next six months will be full of exciting milestones so there's much more to come from Dylan.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Liam turns 2!
Liam turned 2 years old on February 17th!
The past two years have flown by very quickly and Liam has grown into such a fun and charming little guy. To catch up the blog, here's a little info on Liam's first two years:
Liam loves music. We find ourselves listening to the "Cars" and "Toy Story 3" soundtracks every day. Neil tries to mix it up with Jethro Tull, The Who or Bob Dylan but Liam usually insists, "No, Daddy. Buzz Lightyear music." He hasn't even seen the movies yet but he's obsessed with all the characters and now the music too. He still plays the harmonica. His famous harmonica video will be in a future post. He also sings made-up songs while Neil plays guitar. The song, "Oh Momma, you are so beautiful, it's true. Oh Momma, thank you for everything you do" is my personal favorite. His first concert was Little Sammy Davis at Uncle Colin's bar, The Keltic House, in Fishkill. At the Clearwater Music Festival, Liam wore the tie-dyed onesie we bought in Woodstock. It was the first baby purchase we made after we found out we were pregnant.
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| 4 months old - Clearwater Music Festival |
Liam loves the water. Baths, pools, lakes and oceans. Wherever he can find it. Liam and I went to the pool everyday last summer, even with my 9 months pregnant belly. His first underwater dunk was in Aruba when he was 7 months old. A few tears were shed but he recovered quickly. He likes to help with Baby Dylan's bath, which means that he gets a second bath because he always ends up soaked. In addition to the water, he likes the sand as well. Cleaning him up after the beach was a lot of work and sandy diapers are no fun.
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| 6 months old at Lake Sacandaga in the Adirondacks |
Liam is very outgoing and social and my favorite thing about him is that he's a hugger. Whenever anyone comes to our house, he runs over to greet them with a hug. The hugging is slowing down for strangers, which is a good thing. He used to hug random people in the doctor's waiting room. He's definitely an easygoing child and an amazing traveler. As you can see by his Halloween costume, he certainly isn't shy and doesn't get embarrassed by much. Or maybe it's because he's too young to know how funny he looks.
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| 8 months old - Spongebob for Halloween |
Already Liam is very courteous for a 2 year old. He's very proud to say, "God Bless You, Baby Dylan", "Thanks, mom", "Excuse me" and the newest one, "No thank you". Since he weighs a slight 24 pounds, the "No thank you" comment is usually around foods he doesn't want to eat or has had enough of. We can't seem to convince him to take one more bite once he's politely declined. Although he's been playing in the fridge since before he could walk, he isn't really interested in the food, except yogurt.
Liam loves hiking with daddy and insists that the hike isn't over until he's seen some animals. When you ask what he saw on the hike, he can tell you all about it. Sometimes Liam's description takes some decoding by daddy. He told me they saw a "coyote foot" which meant coyote footprints. I didn't need further explanation for "deer poopoo". But, oftentimes something funny will happen on the hikes and it's the first thing Liam remembers. He was excited to tell me when Neil said "Whoa" when a bird flew out of the tall grass. Another funny time was when Neil fell in a deep snow bank with Liam on his back while trying to pick a swamp reed for Liam to take home.
Liam loves to help with everything. He's always saying, "My do it!" He gets his own tissues, blows his nose and throws the tissue in the garbage with no help. If we aren't fast enough with getting his breakfast in the morning, he will go to the pantry and get the Cheerios out himself. He even gets a cup from his drawer, takes the milk out of the fridge and unscrews the cap. I can't believe we haven't had any major spills so far. We're taking a Mommy and Me cooking class right now and his favorite thing is to whisk.
Of course we think he's very smart. Liam can count to 15, recites many nursery rhymes (Humpty Dumpty and Baa Baa Black Sheep), knows his colors, sings lots of songs and can actually hold a conversation. However, his ABC's still need a little work. This is his alphabet so far: "a,b,c,d,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,l,m,n,o,p". With two stamps in his passport so far, he's definitely learning about the world at a rapid pace.
Liam is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear, or "Buzz 'Ear" as he likes to say. It all started with Buzz pajamas and a Buzz sippy cup that I bought around the same time. He started to see Buzz everywhere when Toy Story 3 came out and he's been hooked ever since. When I ask him what he wants to do today, he often says, "Go to the store to look for Buzz and Woody." It's a game we play when we're at Target. Let's see how many Buzz Lightyear's he can spot. Every night Liam wants to wear his Buzz pajamas (he has 3 different pairs) with matching socks. He tries to convince me everyday to let him wear the pajamas during the day too. When I dropped my mom off at the airport, I told Liam that Grandma was going to her home on an airplane. He added, "Grandma is going to fly like Buzz 'Ear". Elmo is still a close 2nd as his favorite superhero.
Liam survived one trip to the ER after falling in his booster seat. We were advised to take him in when he started vomiting during his nap later that day. He thought the ER was fun. I guess the bracelet, special time with daddy and the tunnel ride (CAT scan) would seem fun to a 2 year old. A few days after the fall, we realized that his vomiting was most likely due to a stomach virus and not a concussion because Neil and I both got the virus. Too bad he wasn't wearing his scooter helmet!
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| 11 months |
Liam loves hiking with daddy and insists that the hike isn't over until he's seen some animals. When you ask what he saw on the hike, he can tell you all about it. Sometimes Liam's description takes some decoding by daddy. He told me they saw a "coyote foot" which meant coyote footprints. I didn't need further explanation for "deer poopoo". But, oftentimes something funny will happen on the hikes and it's the first thing Liam remembers. He was excited to tell me when Neil said "Whoa" when a bird flew out of the tall grass. Another funny time was when Neil fell in a deep snow bank with Liam on his back while trying to pick a swamp reed for Liam to take home.
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| 14 months - Hiking Bear Mountain State Park, NY |
Liam loves to help with everything. He's always saying, "My do it!" He gets his own tissues, blows his nose and throws the tissue in the garbage with no help. If we aren't fast enough with getting his breakfast in the morning, he will go to the pantry and get the Cheerios out himself. He even gets a cup from his drawer, takes the milk out of the fridge and unscrews the cap. I can't believe we haven't had any major spills so far. We're taking a Mommy and Me cooking class right now and his favorite thing is to whisk.
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| 15 months - making Mother's Day pancakes |
Of course we think he's very smart. Liam can count to 15, recites many nursery rhymes (Humpty Dumpty and Baa Baa Black Sheep), knows his colors, sings lots of songs and can actually hold a conversation. However, his ABC's still need a little work. This is his alphabet so far: "a,b,c,d,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,l,m,n,o,p". With two stamps in his passport so far, he's definitely learning about the world at a rapid pace.
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| 16 months - a snack at Stonehenge |
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| 17 months - driving the boat on Lake Sacandaga |
Liam is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear, or "Buzz 'Ear" as he likes to say. It all started with Buzz pajamas and a Buzz sippy cup that I bought around the same time. He started to see Buzz everywhere when Toy Story 3 came out and he's been hooked ever since. When I ask him what he wants to do today, he often says, "Go to the store to look for Buzz and Woody." It's a game we play when we're at Target. Let's see how many Buzz Lightyear's he can spot. Every night Liam wants to wear his Buzz pajamas (he has 3 different pairs) with matching socks. He tries to convince me everyday to let him wear the pajamas during the day too. When I dropped my mom off at the airport, I told Liam that Grandma was going to her home on an airplane. He added, "Grandma is going to fly like Buzz 'Ear". Elmo is still a close 2nd as his favorite superhero.
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| 22 months - A Buzz Lightyear Christmas |
Liam survived one trip to the ER after falling in his booster seat. We were advised to take him in when he started vomiting during his nap later that day. He thought the ER was fun. I guess the bracelet, special time with daddy and the tunnel ride (CAT scan) would seem fun to a 2 year old. A few days after the fall, we realized that his vomiting was most likely due to a stomach virus and not a concussion because Neil and I both got the virus. Too bad he wasn't wearing his scooter helmet!
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| 2 years - scooter fun |
This year we learned that Liam is a birthday diva. He loved all the attention and said "my birthday coming" all week. He thought anything that was being opened was a present for his birthday. He even sang "Happy Birthday to You" to himself when his cake came out before all the guests got a chance. Now we hear "my birthday is over" every day. We're not sure when the day will come that his birthday will not be mentioned in some capacity. Two weeks later...
So, that's our Liam! One amazing little boy. We can't wait to write about all the great things to come in his third year.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Dylan Joins the Flock
Dylan was baptized in the Catholic Church on Sunday, February 13th. He wore our family gown (not a dress) which is sixty three years old. It's been worn 15 times. I wore it, my mom wore it and it was originally made for my godfather. With his mohawk on full display, Dylan was ruggedly handsome in the gown. Thank you to John and Annie for serving as Dylan's godparents.
Joining the Blogosphere
Hello family and friends. Welcome to our blog. We decided that although the baby books are stuffed with tons of precious mementos and little notes recording major milestones, most of the pages are blank and lack photos. Hopefully we can capture important memories for the kids and keep far away family up to date at the same time. Thanks for reading!
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