What's up at 5 Months for Liam

Happy as a clam!

Five months old now!  I wish the time would not go so fast!  Liam is adorable and still very easy to take care of.

For daytime naps though he can easily sleep in his bassinet if I am able to place him there at the right "window of nap opportunity". He can also nap in his crib but I don't think he thinks of it as a place to sleep, since it has been used mostly as a diaper changing station. I've moved all the diapering stuff off the crib now and will try to place him there to nap more often. He is a bit more fussier now closer to bedtime. He sleeps in bed with me, I rarely place him into the bassinet for the night.

Liam cannot quite sit up by himself yet, but he can hold the pose for a minute or more without support.

Other milestones reached: he can hold/grasp items such as his toys. Yesterday he grabbed my dinner knife as I held him next to the table! Have to keep an eye on him, he is fast!  Often he will gnaw on his toys or a cloth or a bib - he is likely teething (but it may be a month or more before the teeth will show).  He often plays with his hands and feet. Definitely shows signs of separation anxiety from his momma. Here is a list of milestones: http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-1-to-6-months_1496585.bc

Asleep in mommy's bed, not a care in the world.

Sitting up for the camera!

Sound asleep in his bassinet.

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Connor's Tattoo

Check out Connor's tough guy tattoo! He was gifted a sheet of temporary tattoos for his birthday - Cars and Spiderman. The one he's got on his arm is Sarge from Cars. He picked the spot on his arm - the same spot that Daddy has his tattoo!

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Learning to Save

Yesterday I took Connor and Liam to the bank and finally set up an Ontario bank account, and set up the two kids with accounts as well. Everyone needed identification; a passport was sufficient (I have passports for both kids). To my surprise, the bank account representative asked Connor to sign his name on the application form! Here is a photo of his very first self-signed official document!

Connor still doesn't really understand the concept of money and saving, other than the fact that it does require money to buy toys. We deposited all his birthday money into his account, and afterwards went to Toys R Us and he picked out a Thomas Toy Train, named "Diesel Ten".  

The event took a lot longer than expected and Connor ended up eating 3 mint candies, half a box of Pocky chocolate sticks, one pack Baby Mum Mums, and all the Vegetable Thin crackers I had brought in a very small container.

Attached is also a goofy photo that Linds took of Liam with a silly little toy hat on his head. The hat is from a large German soldier doll that we picked up at a garage sale on Sunday.

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Toes

Yumyumyum! Toes sure are yummy, especially with a dash of beach sand!

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Liam's First Time Sitting by Himself

Liam sat up by himself for the first time on July 13! He was sitting in my lap and squirmed to get down so I tried to sit him on the floor... and here he is, the moment captured...  of course Connor wanted a picture taken with Liam too!

Liam sitting up in his big red bouncy car.

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Connor Turns 4

We had Connor's birthday party on Saturday. The theme was "Connor City 4" - a take on "Lego City", a Lego product line.

I spent lot of time over the past few weeks preparing for this party.I guess this is what happens when a focused achiever like me gets into doing something - I was obsessed!  I learned how to make sugar cookies and ice them so that I could make Lego cookies. I searched and tested for the best and easiest cake to make, and the icing too, so that I could make a Lego cake. Made a "Connor City 4" T-shirt for Connor. There was also a themed goodie bag for the little ones. We also planned a few games and prizes for the "big kids".

The day was super hot. We started the party at 2pm and by the time we cut the cake around 6:30pm (yeah kind of late, we don't know where the time went!), Connor was very tired and didn't have any cake. Although right before that, he got a tiny boo-boo - a minor fat lip after he tipped out of his new wagon (a friend was pulling Connor and Megan around in it). Plus he hardly ate all day. Poor little guy. He did have fun opening all his presents of course!

Grandma Jackie helped keep Connor occupied in the morning while Mom and Dad set up the party.

 

The party animals.

Birthday boy was all possessive about his play structure.

Liam was cool as a cucumber.

GF Megan helped Connor with his presents. Overwhelmed with generous gifts! Lots of Lego, including a 748-piece Lego Mining set, and a 211-piece Alien Conquest.

Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Brian gifted this wagon, which the two kids loved! It can hold up to 300 lbs!

The Lego cake that I spent tons of time planning and executing. The recipes used (for my own future reference) were the Busy-Day Chocolate Cake and Sturdy Whipped Cream Frosting.

A thank-you hug to Megan for her gifts. They gave Connor a racing set, a car garage, and a 'Disgusting Science' set.

Still guarding his play structure.

Party in full swing. Some Lego-playing happening too.

The goodie bag had funny sunglasses, a Lego character, Lego crayons and a colouring book, a plastic cup, Lego-shaped candy, gold coins, a rolling ball maze, and marbles.

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School!

We just received our notice from the school board. Connor will be in the morning classes. We get a PT meeting on Sept 4 and Connor gets orientation on Thursday morning Sept 6, and school starts officially on the 10th. Exciting!

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Liam Rollover and Kicks

Liam can roll over already. First he was able to roll from his front onto his back. Then a couple of days later, I had left him on his back in his crib and when I came back he was on his tummy! The first time he did it was around June 3rd. This is on the early side for a baby to be turning over - typically it occurs between 4-6 months. Here's a video of one of his early turnovers from front to back.






These days when we place Liam in his bouncy chair, he really kicks up a storm! Check out this video - it's like he's boxing with his cute little feet!

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Connor and Megan

Connor has a girl friend, Megan. She is the lovely child of a friend of Linds'. She is very kind and very friendly. Connor and Megan can play together for HOURS without needing adult intervention; they almost never fight over anything!

A couple of weeks ago Megan's brother Clark was baptised and we were invited. Here are a couple of photos from the church. I asked them to hold hands - Connor usually will not hold hands with any other kids - and they did! They look soooo sweet!

Megan's mom is currently on maternity leave, too, so that's how the two kids got to playing with each other. Most times Connor will visit Megan at her house. They've also been to the Science Center and the Toronto Zoo together. For a couple of months they took the same art class together.

There was only one time that we know of where there was a problem. Megan had come to our house and Connor wanted very much for Megan to play specific toys with him. But Megan was more interested in other toys that Connor had... and Connor wasn't happy with that. It was his way or the highway! Well, he'll soon have to learn that it's in his best interest for the girl to have to her way!

At the Church. Megan's all dressed up for his brother's baptism.

A sweet moment between the two. Sorry I am no great shutterbug and
it's a bit blurry... but still sweet!

In Connor's room, the day he got all upset. That's why he's not looking too happy here.

Happily fingerpainting at Megan's house.

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Just a cute video... Liam sleeping, kicking, sucking his fingers

I think these videos are adorable and sure made me smile. But then, I'm his Mom so I'm biased. Hope you enjoy the two videos!

(Remember to view on the website if you received this via email)

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Post-Partum Discomfort Update

 

I saw a chiropractor last Wednesday and she determined the problem source to be a weak core. She tested this by having me contract my transverse abdominis muscles (the lower abdomen) and then try to move my leg in the manner which I was having problems (ie I have pain when lifting the right knee to swing the leg out of the car). Sure enough, when I did this I was able to move my leg with much less pain.

The weak core led to the problem muscles working much harder than required. Additionally this meant my back was doing more work as well. So the chiropractor did some 'adjustment' to my upper spine. She also adjusted my sacroiliac joint, which she said appeared quite stable already.

This in addition to some simple exercises that strengthen the transverse abdominis appears to be doing the trick. On Thursday we were out walking for several hours and the whole time we walked I kept the transverse abdominis contracted. This made it easier to walk without pain. Today, I am better, I can walk with only slight pain but still getting sharp twisting pain in the thigh when going up and down the stairs. Hopefully this will all be a memory by next week. I have another chiropractic appointment on Wednesday.

Enjoy the pics on this post. They were taken with my iPhone and template photo effects were applied using the free app 'Instagram'. You can view all of my Instagram photos at http://instagrid.me/lulubabyobaby

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Liam's 3 Months - Milestones

Liam is now three months young, and weighs 15 lbs. It's been exciting to observe that he's reached a few of the three-month milestones: 

• While on his tummy, he can keep his head off the floor for quite a while. 
• He is now using his hands and his feet to swat at his toys on his bouncy chair. 
• He is now grasping objects.
• He has laughed out loud on occasion. This is such a joy to watch!

The new fascination with his toys means that we can leave him in his bouncy chair and it appears he is very entertained. He kicks at the toys more that uses his hands. Below are two videos, one of Liam's first time swatting at the toys in his chair. The other video shows Liam holding his head up during tummy time - and Connor being a bit naughty and I subsequently had to place him in a time-out!

Note, if you are receiving this by email, you will need to go to the website to view the video.

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Post-Partum Discomforts

Liam is almost 3 months old - no longer a newborn. He is much more aware and he 'talks', 'coos' and smiles a lot more. He has also started to laugh out loud, which is so wonderful when he does it.

My friend Amie visited last week and brought back my baby scale for me from Vancouver. So now I can weigh Liam anytime I want. Liam now weighs 14 lbs. What a heavyweight!  It's great but also adds to my health issues.

My right leg/hip hurts when I walk, especially if I am carrying extra weight or going up or down stairs. My physiotherapist says it is instability at the sacroiliac joint (side effect of pregnancy, the joint relaxes or is sprained during delivery). Because the joint has too much movement, other muscles are trying to take up the slack. I've had this problem since a week after giving birth to Liam. So I cannot run or easily go up or down stairs or do any exercise.

I've also got carpal tunnel in both hands, and also plantar fasciitis in both feet - I had both these conditions with Connor as well. Plantar fasciitis causes pain in both feet when walking, especially upon waking in the morning.  I'm just falling apart!

I need to try harder to do all the prescribed physio exercises to get better. I've been doing them but I also seem to keep aggravating the SI joint every other week.

Connor loves being a big brother!
He loves Liam's soft hair and skin.

With my friend Amie, visiting from Vancouver

 

 

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The Textbook Baby

What luck! Liam is so far a textbook baby. Textbook in all the good ways!

He is now 2 months young and his poopys have reduced so that there is none through the night. He also has slept through the night 3 or 4 times - from midnight to 6:30-7:00AM. And after a feeding at that time, he usually sleeps until 9:00AM. When he cries, it is always one of three things: needs food, needs a diaper change, or needs sleep. He can be put down in his bassinet or bouncy chair and he will sleep. He can also self-sooth at times (sucking on his hands/fingers). Basically everything I had read about what babies should do, but Connor never did!

Lucky for Connor because it means we can still focus on this needy boy. :)

Liam is a little bit more interactive now. If you move an object from left to right he will follow it with his eyes. He will "coo" or "agoo" at you - sometimes I feel like we are having a conversation!  I think he's a cool little guy.

Oh, and his hair is growing in now!

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Connor's Drawings - Little Picaso?

I am amazed at Connor's drawing and colouring abilities. His control of a pen is much better now, and thus he can draw with a lot more detail. His drawings are very deliberate and structured. His colouring is also much improved - he can colour within the lines very well.

Connor drew this yesterday. He started with the object on the right. He said it was something that needed to go to the hospital. The object on the left is supposed to be a road.

This was last week. See the detail in his drawings!

See how Connor holds the pen?

Connor appears to be ambidextrous, although there is a bit more right-hand use. It's cool when he picks up one pen in each hand and tries to draw or colour at the same time!

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