A glimpse

Liam doing his own oral stimulation with peanut butter on a Nuc brush. Lupe reading to Liam in bed. Lupe and Liam watching a video called your baby can read. Finally trying out the breakfast at Louisa's Place- two for one huevos rancheros, we'll be back! BooBoos music time and the bookstore on a Wednesday morning.

New skill

I had no idea that Liam could do this. The therapist brought over this game where you need to put the peg in the hole of the other peg. And he could to it! Developing some awesome fine motor skills! Or rather hand eye coordination

Remembering

This seems like so long ago. It was our first moment together and he was looking up at me. I even got to nurse him for a moment. And so quick so quick he was whisked away. It still hurts remembering how brief was our bonding. I should have been holding him close. And I look at this picture and think of it now as he looks up at me with feverish eyes. And I am tired of
holding him for seven days as this influenza exhausts his body with its But it is exactly what he needs from me right now.

Satisfecha, aquí y ahora

I'm making a decision. A decision to be not just content, but happy (dare I say ecstatic?) about what my life is like- right now. We have been using up a lot of energy thinking about buying a house and how hard it is to do that in the town I grew up in, where my parents live. (Plus, Wondering if I am doing enough for Liam- getting our neurodelopement program done, balancing home visits with therapists, finding alternative methods, remedies, trying to research supplements. And the list goes on.)
Their truth is, we have a lot to be happy about. We frickin live downtown! We walk to the library, to the cafe, to my parents house. We sit on the front step and watch the world go by. Although it is hard to park ,friends do stop by, cause we are centrally located. Pedro walks to work, and has for five years. Our landlord is very fair, we are not paying an arm and a leg for rent. He's a good guy. We have a big back yard, we just need to put some work into it. If we continue to live here, the kids will walk to high school. their friends will come over and we wont be always driving them places. Sometimes the house feels cluttered, and we certainly need to get rid of some stuff, but it is also cozy and creative and comfortable. It is home.

Sick

Five days of fever. Boy who wants to be held. Who the hell wouldn't?
Tired mom.

Almost 19 months

Its easy to get caught up in thinking about the areas in which Liam has some delays, especially watching younger ones advance past him in certain areas of development. We recently had a six month evaluation by our team of therapists and while lagging a bit in gross and fine motor areas, in the cognitive and social areas he is zooming ahead! I feel like writing a tally of all the FABULOUS things our little Liam can do now at almost 19 months.
Starting to point to things.
Cruising along the furniture.
Standing on his own a few seconds without holding anything.
Laughing and playing with his sister.
Swiping flash cards on the iPad.
Doing the hand movements to itsy bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle little star, buenos dias, round and round the garden, and a little bit of wheels on the bus and our bumble bee song.
Waves bye bye, high fives, blows kisses, hugs.
Touches his head, toes, belly, ears when asked.
He dances.
Loves books and turning the pages.
Loves playing with cars and trucks, can even make one zoom forward after pulling back on it.
Says "up".
Signs "eat" and "more".
Is beginning to use a cup to drink and spoon to eat, with a little help.
Can throw a tantrum.

Cutest boy ever

Monarcas

Um, yes. The Central Coast is the absolute best place to live. Yesterday we went to Pismo beach to see the butterflies and play in the sand. The cold spell is over and the days are in the 70s again. It was perfect.

Dream

Last night I dreamt he was walking.

Bread

I'm pretty sure that Liam's first two phrases are "Up Papa" and "more bread". You may not recognize what he's trying to communicate but at home we do! He gets REALLY excited about bread. I'm raising a carb junky! Which is why I'm excited to find the missing piece of the bread maker a friend gave me so I can give him the healthiest bread possible. He also really likes muffins and pancakes (conscious of kids with DS having weight issues my baked items are low in sweetener and have added vegetables, flax, etc. don't say, poor kids! They turn out yummy!) I had heard that gluten intolerance was common for people with DS, but fortunately we think that is not the case for our Liam. Yeah! I tried, but gluten free bread sucks- um, i mean, is not great in my experience.
Last week we had friends for dinner. As we were eating I held up a piece of bread for Liam and asked him, "What's this Liam?" and he made his excited "baaa!" sound while our friend said "mine!" That doesn't come across as funny written down here as it did at the time.
Do you see him looking longingly at the toast in the picture below?

Today our little guy started to use his pointer finger more, singing "buenos Dias". And then, he finally touched his own nose!
On Christmas night he let go while standing in his crib and balanced for a moment on his own! Good things are waiting for us in 2013.

Tis the season

Play with my babies

Searching for inspiration for more sensory play with Liam and fun for Lupe, especially with 4 or more days of rain! Now Liam, he puts everything in his mouth. So I could play with oatmeal, flax, dried beans, but if I watch him carefully. Play dough? Homemade wouldn't harm him if ingested, so that is what we made tonight, spur of the moment, with kool aid for color and smell. Papa came out of the shower and found us making mess all over the kitchen floor!
What shall we try tomorrow? Edible finger paint?
Lupe loves when Liam goes to bed BEFORE her and if she cleans up while I nurse him to sleep, then she gets to choose an activity to do together, just the two of us. So tonight we drew a picture together, of a princess of course.

Snip snip

We did it! We took Liam for his first hair cut. I wanted to do it myself, as I am the only one who has trimmed Lupe's hair. That first hair cut is a BIG deal, like snipping the umbilical cord. Don't laugh, even if you think I'm being melodramatic. Some of you understand I'm sure. But I didn't think I could do a boys cut very well, especially a 16 month old boy.
Some friends recommended Tigerlily salon so we went there. The four of us went in to this hipster hair salon to get our little guy's ten minute cut! Applause to Josh who managed to do it with Liam squirming in Papa's lap. Notice the blurry motion of scissors snipping and baby squirming and the furrowed brow of concentration of the stylist? I think the pictures capture it pretty well. And yes, he looks older now. My sweet baby is growing up! Sigh.