Ho hum.....

This picture about sums up the month of May. Liam has been having more of a difficult time as he realizes that Daddy is not coming back soon. The social worker that I meet with says that he is doing some reemergence of the ego or something like that...basically, when he was two, life was safer and more comfortable, so he is regressing back to behaviors he had when he was two. Well, however you want to put it, the poor little guy just misses his Daddy and is showing it.

It hasn't been all bad, though. Some fun things we have been doing to pass the time are:

1. Eating an M&M each night from Daddy to count down the days until he gets back...when they are all gone, Daddy will be home.



2. Snuggling with special friends when we need a hug.



3. Going to the zoo to see an air compressor (yes, this is the one thing that made him smile at the zoo).



4. Getting a tattoo of a panda (his favorite zoo animal).



5. Celebrating Mother's Day.



6. Making treats for Daddy.



7. Reading. He now gets four books at bedtime for good behavior in school...three if he didn't make wise choices.



8. Playing dress-up.



9. School...which he LOVES. He is constantly suckering his teacher, Miss Patricia, into making pictures for him.



10. And playing with George.



All in all, Liam is okay....just struggling a bit with his emotions. While he deals, I try and get him on the computer with Taylor as often as possible (which isn't much for the boys) and spend extra one-on-one time with him each day. We do our best to keep things active and positive out here and I think it is helping. He is a resilient and smart little guy and we are both looking forward to having Daddy back home with us. So, farewell, May. We won't miss ya!

Goodbye, May....Hello, June

I know George would agree with me when I can say we are happy to see May gone. Even though it has been a month, there is not much to say since we have been just trucking on day to day. That has really been the theme of this month...just one day at a time...while we continue on through this deployment and some of its rougher patches.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, though, I thought I'd share some updates about George:

Weight: according to the very official of method of weigh myself, weigh both of us....21.6 lbs He is mostly in 12 month outfits!!

Eating: Not a lot. He does eat cereal mixed with fruit in the morning and a veggie in the afternoon. He is not taking his bottles well for a few weeks now. That being said, he obviously is not malnourished, so just hanging on with two meals for now until he starts drinking more. He has had a few finger foods...some waffles, teething biscuits, and wagon wheels and does okay with those. Not interested at all in the sippy cup.

Favorite Book: Big, Little by Leslie Patricelli

Sleep: Finally! George goes to bed around 6:30 p.m. and sleeps until I wake him up around 7:00 a.m. Sometimes he will wake up earlier, but is extremely content to just relax in his crib and talk to himself. He also LOVES to wrestle with his Taggie and/or Daddy Doll. He falls asleep to Rocabye Baby's Coldplay album.

Comfort: George is rarely upset. His two big comfort items are his Taggie (he MUST have this nearby at all times) and his thumb, which seems to have parked itself in his mouth.



Personality: George is happy 24/7. It is very, very rare that he is fussing or crying (unless hungry, but refer to eating to know why this is not as often); he has begun a little bit of separation anxiety, but not too bad now. He smiles and laughs a bunch and is generally content with his taggie and or thumb.

School: George LOVES school. He literally screams and starts bouncing up and down with excitement as soon as we enter the lobby. (I swear I don't beat him or anything). Activities enjoyed at school are: art projects (painting, drawing, etc.); music; buggy rides, and playing with his friend, Rivka. The two of them often enjoy screaming and/or growling contests.

Gross Motor: George sits very well on his own now, but cannot get into a sitting position on his own. He has just started to Army crawl....rather appropriate. You can see a video of this on our videos site (see link at top of page). He has a good grasp on things now and loves to jump.

Talking: George still babbles "Dada", "baba", and "Mama" (but the latter only when upset. He is trying to wave goodbye and hello (another thing they work on at school) and will mimic you very often (a favorite game).

Miscellaneous: G is just a happy little kiddo. He adores his brother and loves listening to his Daddy....we watch a video of him every night before bed. He is an extreme source of comfort to me and just a joy to have in our lives. He will be 8 months on Tuesday, and I can't wait to see what the next month will bring!

A bit more cheerful...

Well, a few weeks have passed since Taylor's latest departure and Liam is doing really well. The past few weekends have been spent with family, which Liam always enjoys.

The weekend after Taylor had left, Mike came to visit. It was a nice time to just relax and have some good playtime with her. The weather turned out to be not stellar, but everything said, a good time was had:



Liam is really beginning to play with George a bit more and pay more attention to him. The morning that Mike left, there were pretty decent thunderstorms, which really freak Liam out. Liam actually asked if he could keep George safe under his blanket with Snoopy...pretty cute:



Later that day, it was off to Aunt Katherine and Uncle Judd's to celebrate cousin Ben's 2nd birthday! Liam was sooooo excited and a bit hyper, but had a fabulous time....



...although he was not thrilled with the end-of-night photo session:



This past weekend, we met up with cousin Ben again for A Day Out with Thomas! The boys, as always, had a blast together and got to ride on the REAL Thomas! They did really have fun, but as lunch and nap time were desperately needed, their enthusiasm is a bit masked:



Liam also really enjoyed all the other trains that were there at the railroad museum. I, too, was really impressed with the sheer size of some of the engines they had:



While it was a bit challenging to handle both boys at an event such as this, Katherine and Judd were an immense help with Liam and he had such fun because of it:



Mr. Man has really been such a help and comfort to me with Taylor gone. Just when you get a bit in the dumps, he cheers you up with stunts such as making his H2 into a convertible by putting his blanket it on him and calling it his convertible top (the weather has been getting nicer and he is fascinated with these right now):



He tells me over and over each day "Mom, I like you" and has become really cuddly and lovable. The other day in the store, I was bending down and groaning that I'm getting old and he said "I don't want you to get old." When I asked why not, his response was "Because I like you." It is these little moments that make me love him more and more each day....like the day we found a turtle in our backyard and brought him in for a science lesson:



While he is definitely missing Taylor (he constantly asks if we can call him), he seems to be handling things extremely well. I think we all wish that we had the innocence and imagination of a 3 year old at times...I know I do. Whenever I remind Liam that we can't call Daddy, as I too wish I could, he just says okay and goes and gets the nearest toy phone and proceeds to have a "conversation" with Taylor anyway. What coping skills! I am truly jealous! I am amazed every day at all the things he is learning (he knows all his colors in spanish now) and all the ways in which he is growing (he can get his own juice/snack/etc.) now and am just really enjoying every day with him more than ever.

When I was on the operating table prepping for G's coming and getting my spinal tap, I learned that Liam was my happy thought....if I just thought of him and his smile, I could block out all that I was worried about with the tap itself and the impending surgery. So, Liam, thank you for being my happy thought through all of this...my sunshine through the rain...the smile to begin and end all my days with....my Mr. Man.

I promised a positive update...

....so here it is. It took me a few weeks to feel a bit more rested and therefore not as grouchy. George is actually doing really, really well. He is taking in a fair amount of solids at this point. He has some cereal mixed with apples or pears in the morning and cereal mixed with more fruit at night. He is LOVING the apples and pears:



Yesterday was his first day of bananas, and well, I guess you could say the verdict is out on this one:



Liam tries to help out and show him how it's done:



He still drinks a fair amount and will only take the cereal mixed with fruit, but it's far better than earlier when he wouldn't even open his mouth!

The week that Taylor had left, I thought about how different our lives are with him gone and how I want to make things as much the same as they would be for the boys as if Taylor were here. Well, as we know, most babies tend to say Da-da before "ma-ma" so I decided that I would work with G on that. Well, lo and behold, he picked it up right away! Now, I know he doesn't relate it to Taylor at all, but that part will come. He is babbling a lot now, especially to Liam, the pets, and his friends at school.

George is seriously on the move now. He rolls over everywhere and somehow scoots himself everywhere, too! No crawling and not so much we need gates yet, but definitely does not stay in one place. His teacher and I think it's because he really loves playing with this girl Rivka at school. She is army crawling and he wants to keep up with her. The two of them actually play together a ton and babble and giggle at one another. It's pretty cute! Either way, G is on the move and I'm just waiting for him to get up on all fours and pick up speed!



The past few weeks have brought several visits with family. My nephew Ben, turned two a few weeks ago and G got his party hat on for the celebration:



He seemed to enjoy himself, although was deathly afraid of their dog, Sammy. Granted Sammy is neither calm nor tiny, but George has been around Sam several times before with no reaction (not to mention we have a dog, too!) . However, this time, any time Sam would just walk by, George would get the saddest face ever and just start crying. It was cute and pathetic at the same time. We also took time that day to get some good cousin pics. I'm not so sure Ben thought a lot of the photo session, though:



Mike came down to visit one weekend and we had fun just enjoying some quiet play time with her:



George is still as relaxed as ever. He is (finally!) sleeping through the night and doesn't really cry that much...mostly only if he's hungry. He puts himself to sleep each night while watching his crib soother (which he loves):



And hugging Taggie (another huge love):



Lately, though, all of a sudden, he has become a HUGE thumb sucker and comforts himself that way:



All in all, though, he's still very easy and very chill....a happy baby. So, if you're reading this, don't worry Daddy...I'm still the same ol' George!

Goodbye, Daddy

Taylor titled this photo "sad Daddy", but G doesn't look thrilled either. After a couple of awesome weeks home on leave, Taylor has taken off for Iraq. Now comes the task of keeping him as real as possible for little George. We have a large framed photo of the two of them in his room and a small photo album as well as the Daddy doll, but reality is that a lot will be missed between these two. But instead of dwelling on that, I'd like to focus on things not missed over the past few weeks:

Snuggles with Daddy:




First time in the Jumparoo:



First Easter:



Lunch with family:



Snuggling with Hoodies:



6 month appointment and first taste of solids:



First Opening Day:



And a trip to the airport that just plain sucked, but thanks to small blessings, this little one won't remember:



Come back soon and safely, Daddy. I'll try not to grow up too fast while you're gone!

Sigh....Gone Again

First off, I hope that anyone reading this never has to watch their child suffer the pain of saying goodbye to a parent and I send out a prayer for all those other military children who have had to do this that their mothers and fathers come home safely....you little ones truly are heroes without asking for it or knowing it.

I promise that all posts will not be doom and gloom for the next year, but it has been a tough weekend and there is little energy in this house to say much. It was an awesome 2 weeks with Taylor. Liam, however, became more attached to Taylor than ever and you can tell how well he understands what is going on and that Daddy left us for a long time. We have gotten through a few months already, though, and day one of the most difficult part. While we wait for R & R and Daddy's final homecoming next April, we eat an M & M every night to count down the days (when they're gone, it's time for him to come home). In the meantime, and with the promise of a more upbeat post next time, here are a few pictures of the great times had these past few weeks:


Playing in the backyard with bubbles:



Enjoying an afternoon snack during a boys day home:





Liam attending his first Orioles game:





Lunch with family:




Fun on the playground:




Easter fun at Aunt Katherine's: