Liam and his numbers

Liam and his letters

Smartypants.

Happy 18-monthiversary!!

Happy Half-birthday, Liam! Hope you have a wonderful day playing with Mommy and Daddy!

Love,

Mommy

Montessori Mornings

This morning was our first Montessori Mommy and Me playdate at the library. Our teacher, Vivian, owns 3 Montessori schools in the area and is giving a free 6-week introduction to Montessori on Friday mornings for 2 hours. (Montessori philosophy in 10 words: child-led exploration, all-natural materials, individual and group activities) We signed up and I told all of the mommies and 4 other mommies/kids signed up, too. The kids played, ate snack, and sang and danced. They were worn out! I was pleased with Liam's focus and attention -- he was the star of the show! He was able to do a lot of the activities and had fun doing so. There will be some new activities next week, so we are excited to see what Vivian will bring!

This is Jake serving his friends some grapes after washing and preparing them.

When Jake serves grapes, you get the full treatment!

This is Liam and Jake colouring with pencil crayons for the first time.

Liam playing with the wooden coin shapes and jewelry box.

Liam screwing and unscrewing nuts and locknuts from their bolts.

Snack time! Cheese cubes, snack mix and water to wash it all down. Liam's friends Andy, Gus and Evan are here, as well!

And to take advantage of the beautiful afternoon we had today, Liam and I hit the park for the first time in a looooong time! Liam was THRILLED to see where we were headed and tried to undo his own harness from the stroller since apparently Mommy was just too slow... He ran and played, climbed onto everything and slid down the slide all by himself. I hardly had to be there! It was fun and Liam had a blast.

Liam and his soccer ball.

Liam at the water park--ah, only a few more months, bud!

Liam vroom-vrooming.

Five minutes of fun!

Needless to say, Liam crashed right after bath and books with Daddy tonight and there hasn't been a peep out of him since. This weekend will be busy--breakfast with friends tomorrow and swimming in the afternoon, then celebrating Liam's half-birthday on Sunday with activities to be determined! Fun! Rest up, little bunny, there will be lots to keep us entertained in the next couple of days!

love,

b

12 weeks and growing like a weed!

There are arms!

And legs!

And fingers and toes! And a pretty little face!

It was fun to see the little babe kicking and wiggling and waving to his/her family! It's amazing how much growth occurred in just 3 weeks since we last had an ultrasound. The little arm and leg buds are now fully formed into 12 week old limbs. Baby is just over 2 inches long and is measuring a few days older. Over achiever.

Liam was thrilled to wave at his baby sibling and was a champ throughout the whole appointment. I had to get stuck for bloodwork (um, twice--apparently I was accidentally stopping the blood flow with my hair elastic around my wrist--oops!). The bloodwork will take a week to get analysed with regards to genetic diseases, but in looking at the ultrasound the risks for down syndrome are quite low. Baby has a nose bone and a nuchal fold (the white stripe at the back of the neck) that is the right thickness and these are the two things they look for.

It was far too early to tell if baby is a boy or a girl (not until at least 15 weeks), but we're not going to find out before the Big Reveal, anyway. We're the only family in our playgroup of 7 (who are all pregnant with their second!) that wants to keep it a surprise. So far there are two little baby boys on the way! Poor little Brooklynn is outnumbered yet again.

Well, Liam's napping and I need to make dinner and take a nap before playgroup starts at 2pm. Gotta run!

love

b

Happy 17-monthiversary, Liam!

Enjoy your day little guy!

love,

Mommy and Daddy

Ps: I think we need to get a Liam-sized train for you to ride around.

New Addition

Ahem, Liam has an announcement. (see shirt)

We went for our first appointment with the Obstetrician this morning and scored a video of the first ultrasound! :) You'll see the little tyke pretty much just chillaxing, but near the end, there's a bit of movement. Keep your eyes open for the yolk sac (looks like a halo on our little angel), some arm buds and leg buds, and for the heart beating. At the 2:24 min mark, you can even see some fingers and toes! Too cool.

Next appointment is at 12 weeks and since I'm of ...ahem...advanced maternal age (being 35+, and all) we get to have extra ultrasounds! Yay!

Specs: 9 weeks and 1 day today, estimated due date: August 5, 2009 (Liam's same due date--although he was 10 days late. I guess we're going to try again for this day!)

Well, Liam's napping, Baby #2 is resting, so I guess it's time for me to nap, too.

love,

b