Spotlight!

I originally wrote the first half of this post the day before I took my blog break, so obviously it never got posted. So the first half of this is more of a spotlight on Liam's 16 month traits and the bottom half is new 17 month things. I guess this could be considered another monthly update, but it's very unorganized. I just wrote down little things that are unique to him right now that I don't want to forget!

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(written 7/25)

I just wanted to write down a few things Liam is doing right now that are new or unique to his personality. All of this has just been within the past two weeks!

- He started signing please! After reading Tami's post on baby signing and watching Emerson do ALL those signs, I've started trying to be better about doing them with Liam. It took him about a week, but on Tuesday, July 24, he signed "please" for the first time! He was pointing to his milk on the counter and I asked him if he wanted it to say please and he did!

- Whenever he falls down or runs into something, he has started rubbing the area that hurts. It is too funny! My favorite is when he falls down and then gets up and rubs his bottom!

- Liam enjoys cleaning. Definitely didn't get that from his mama! If he spills his milk - which happens often because he likes to throw his sippy cups when he's finished with them - I will give him a paper towel and tell him to clean it up and he will! I also tell him to "clean your face" and he will wipe his face with a baby wipe or paper towel!

- Liam loves horsey rides! If Will or I are lying down he will come and sit on our backs for a ride, or sometimes if I'm sitting on the floor he will run up behind me and wrap his arms around my neck for a ride.

- He's gotten A LOT more active just in the past week or so. He is still cuddly in the mornings and after naps, but he has started bouncing and running around literally in circles! He will come sit in my lap and I think he wants to snuggle, but then he will start bouncing up and down and laughing like a crazy person. He is like the energizer bunny! He has also gotten a lot louder. I guess he's just turning into a little boy!

 

blurry = busy!

- I taught Liam how to step up on my feet and walk together, so now whenever he wants a ride he will wrap his arms around my legs and climb on. We will go for a walk or dancing around the room - I love it!

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(written now) 

- Liam is now signing "all done" "more" "please" and "eat." He picked them up really fast! He will sometimes also combine them to say "more, please" or "eat, please." He pretty much knows that if he adds a "please" he will get it because I think it's so darn cute :)

- I was just talking to my friend Amanda about how Liam's vocabulary seems to be dwindling lately and being replaced by nonsense sentences. He used to learn a new word and would say it constantly and for everything ALL day long. Now he just rambles ALL day long and I usually can't understand any of it. It worried me because I thought he had lost all the words he knew. And of course right after I complain about it, he's been copying us on new words every.single.day! I wouldn't say they are new words he fully comprehends and can use on his own, but he is definitely attempting to copy us. New words and phrases he's tried are...step, back, now what? (that one had me and Will in stitches laughing!), bye bye dog, and hot. New words he recently started saying on his own are nana (which used to just be rambling but now specifically means banana), cheese, and Bobo (which stands for his favorite book, "Where's Bobo?") He will bring it to us and say "Bobo, Bobo!" And he also still says mama, dada, dog, ball, and bye bye. 

- He has started giving closed-mouth smacking kisses! They are so stinking cute! And now we don't get attacked by the open-mouth baby slobber! If I say, "Give me a kiss and a hug" he will kiss me and then lay his head on my shoulder. Love!

- Not only is he copying our words, but he's been paying extra attention to our actions. Just yesterday I was reading to him and he picked up the Orajel off his nightstand, rubbed his finger on the lid, and stuck his finger in his mouth. I know that's something simple, but it is so crazy to sit back and watch him become this little person who can do things on his own, ya know?! 

- He has officially become attached to a few items. His white minky blanket, his stuffed elephant "Ollie" and his stuffed wolf "Beau" or "Bobo" because he looks similar to the character in his favorite book. He sleeps with all three and has to be picked up with all three in the morning and after most naps. He doesn't carry them around all day, but he has to snuggle with them for awhile when he first wakes up.

- Liam can identify his eyes, ears, nose, teeth, head, and belly button. He also says animal sounds for cow and monkey.

- He got two more molars during our Myrtle Beach trip. That makes 11 teeth total!

Liam loves brushing those pearly whites!

- I am NOT attempting potty training yet, but I bought a potty the other day and have put Liam on it a few times just as an introduction. He doesn't mind being on it for a short period of time and enjoys ripping toilet paper off the roll and throwing into the toilet. Then we will wave bye bye to it and flush it. So...I bought the toilet on Monday the 10th and sat him on it once. On Tuesday the 11th I sat him on it after his nap with a sippy cup of milk. We played with the toilet paper, read a book, and then I took him off. A few seconds after I took him off he started to go to the bathroom so I quickly sat him back on and he went in the potty! He obviously hasn't grasped the concept since he started going on the floor right in front of the toilet first, BUT he wasn't scared to go in the potty and now has seen exactly what it is for! I was so excited and cheered for him and took some pictures after of course! I wouldn't call that his first time since he didn't choose to go in the toilet on his own, but I still wanted to document it! 

P.S. I've finally updated my Crafts and Parties tabs! :)