Liam is starting to talk more and more and Jason and I find ourselves laughing as his personality emerges. One funny development is that, out of nowhere, he has decided the word yes is "oui." I captured it in a few video clips, but all day long any "yes" answer is undoubtedly "oui."
I'm trying to go easy on the brother comparisons, but one thing is certain -- Liam's a hungry little dude. He is starting to speak more and more, but without a doubt his clearest words are "chocolate cake please, chocolate cake please." Kiwis have noted what a husky and healthy little guy he is, and I attributed that to the slimmer-Kiwi body types compared to Americans. We recently had an amazing visit with the Bosley family from Minnesota (must post about it soon!) and they also commented on Liam's "healthy" appetite (as well as how thick his arms are - just like when he was born, his forearms are as big as his biceps). Liam is extremely proportional, and by no means fat, but he may make a better rugby player than a marathon runner. :)
Here's a funny pic I recently received from Aunt Sarah from her wedding in September (she added the caption).
We were really spoiled in the US with Aunt Maria's regular haircuts for the boys. While I like the "wild"look of unkept Kiwi boy tresses - my boys start to get this homeless abandoned-child look that I guess we want to avoid. I bought a pair of hair shears about 6 months ago, but finally got enough nerve to cut Liam's hair last week. Charlie's hair is a bit coarser with lots of waves - very forgiving. Liam's hair is very fine and stick-straight.
Here is the outcome. Jason came home and said he looked like a girl. I do see a resemblance with Aunt Emily and Aunt Juliet when they were little. It's really uneven in the back, and I couldn't figure out how to take any off the top. Let's say it's a work in progress.
We are friends with a family in Wellington who have three sons (ages 15-20). The mom cut all of the boys' hair. They were watching old home videos and noticed the funky haircuts. One son commented on how much she has improved over the years with their haircuts. I guess it shows I need to start somewhere...
A "weather bomb" hit last weekend and cancelled our Wellington Embassy Amazing Race. I've never heard the term, but I think it is probably the equivalent of a tropical storm??? We were all set to dominate the race as Jason and I teamed up with Patrick and Jessica Carroll on Team Flat White Fury. As it turned out the weather wasn't that bad (Jason was afraid Charlie was going to be blown off the face of the earth on a stop to the grocery storm - but there were really no casualties). We still had a babysitter scheduled for the day so Jason and I went on a nice date to a french cafe and watched a matinee at the Wellington International Arts Festival. It took place at the marae (Maori Meeting House) just down the road from our house. The play was called Tu and it was EXCELLENT. It told the story of a Maori family in Wellington in the 1940s who lost many sons to WWII in Europe. Really phenomenal. I guess we missed Sir Ian McKellan at the previous evening's performance.
We had beautiful weather this past Saturday (1 week after the weather bomb). I got to take a 4-star General's wife around Wellington for the afternoon while Jason babysat (ahem - parented) the boys. It was fun to show off our gorgeous city. I'm hoping I can add it to my performance report for my Air Force reserve duty... After the boys' naps we went for a run along the waterfront, played in the sand, and then met our friends for fish and chips at the beach.
Finally, our AMAZING sponsor family at the Embassy is heading back to DC. They have a 4 year old son Chase (mentioned earlier) and they gave us all of his hand-me-downs. I really miss garage sales in the US and it was so fun to get all of her goodies. I wasn't the only one excited about the new stuff!
Liam played with this basketball thing for hours straight.
He loves to dance to the music and he just keeps shooting baskets over and over.
Charlie and Aldous
(Liam is now BIGGER than Aldous was in this picture - CRAZY!)
I honestly CANNOT believe this picture was 1 year ago. Okay - honestly it feels like 5 years ago - SO MUCH has happened in these short 12 months. That being said, how did my baby change from living inside my big belly - to the delightful, curious, and crazy 1-year old he is today? I promise more tomorrow about Liam and his birthday...
I do realize I have a poor concept of how tired and huge I look when I'm pregnant. Honestly - I think I felt "smoking hot" in this picture and I sort of felt like maybe people wouldn't notice I was pregnant. My eyes look so swollen in every picture during the last week leading up to the birth. The important part was I felt great, right? I really do love being pregnant...
We are back in the South Island for the week. Here are some pictures from the day. We are staying the Nelson Lakes area for the night before heading down the West Coast tomorrow (we will drive the marathon route tomorrow!)
Awkward family photo on a run/hike outside lodge
Alpine Lodge
It's funny but I see so much of aunt Emily when she was a baby in Liam right now .
So much joy!
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Little Liam is getting more comfortable on his feet and I know it won't be long before he is walking without the help. As much as I want Liam to be my "baby" forever - I am looking forward to the end of the crawling phase where EVERYTHING goes into the little guys' mouth. He finds every little speck on our floor and it immediately goes into his mouth. Charlie was nearly 15 months when he started walking, so my "aching arms" we're also thankful when he had improved mobility on his own. Still I can't believe my baby boy is almost 1!
I love how Charlie is in the background saying: "I can do it, watch me," after he saw all of the attention Liam was getting with his skills. Overall Charlie is a champ with the whole transition to big brotherhood. That being said, we can see his occasional struggle to share the limelight with his little brother. Emily, I have a feeling I was a lot like Charlie - sorry!
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Overall I'm pretty bad about frequently bathing the boys. I do think Americans have a tendency to take too many showers/baths but I may go to the other extreme. When Liam was a baby he would get these strange skin infirmities. I couldn't figure out what was going on for a few days and then I would decide to bathe him and his skin would immediate clear up. Oops!
Jason does most of the heavy lifting with bathing Charlie, but I enjoyed giving both the boys their baths recently. I think we have many fun brother baths in our future! (I wish I had the cute/awkward bath pic of me and my three sisters all together in the tub - I think I was 12 yrs old).
Here is Liam learning to splash.
And here is a fun Christmas throw back with Charlie.
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Liam was a little put-off by Uncle Aaron's comment about his cute video from yesterday so he decided to up his game
And he is on the absolute verge of crawling on his hands and knees. I had my first morning of work and I came back to the babysitter and found he was this |---| close to crawling.
5 other points of interest:
1. There was a 4.0 earthquake yesterday that I completely didn't feel. It's officially my first earthquake and I was running (literally) like a crazy woman around town with the boys and didn't feel anything.
2. The wind here is insane right now. I think I quite like it
3. Charlie is developing a kiwi accent and it is actually making me a little sad. It is very subtle but unmistakable. He doesn't sound like Jason and me. Joanne - did you ever feel weird that the boys had a different accent from you?
4. The outdoor pool near us opened up last week. It's really just for lap swimming but I'm going tomorrow at lunchtime.
5. Liam is usually not a night pooper (Reference Sunday's post). Yay!!!
We had a lot of drama today when we couldn't find paci - it's time to part with the little guy.
I really wanted to train for a marathon in February but I've had some sciatic pain on my long runs. This picture was after a sweaty 10-mile run this afternoon and Charlie told me I was a "pretty girl" with my hair like this.
Okay so I'm super excited about what the videos below reveal about Liam (hint - he just ate 2 bowls of food)
We are taking the boys to a Halloween party tomorrow at the embassy tomorrow afternoon and I'm not sure what costume is best for Liam. Charlie will be a train engineer. Please cast your votes!
Overall I'm pretty bad about frequently bathing the boys. I do think Americans have a tendency to take too many showers/baths but I may go to the other extreme. When Liam was a baby he would get these strange skin infirmities. I couldn't figure out what was going on for a few days and then I would decide to bathe him and his skin would immediate clear up. Oops!
Jason does most of the heavy lifting with bathing Charlie, but I enjoyed giving both the boys their baths recently. I think we have many fun brother baths in our future! (I wish I had the cute/awkward bath pic of me and my three sisters all together in the tub - I think I was 12 yrs old).
Here is Liam learning to splash.
