Liam's Treasure Box

Although Liam has a number of toys that are designed especially for kids his age, with the colors, lights, and sounds to prove it, he seems so much more curious and interested in the regular things around the house. So, I decided to give him his own little treasure box full of daily items for him to explore. His little basket (previously our bread basket in its past life) includes items of different sizes, textures, shapes and weights for him to play with. I introduced him to his little basket this evening for the first time, after gathering some items from around our house. The basket currently includes a metal spoon, a length of green ribbon, a fabric coaster, a Nerf soccer ball, and an empty water bottle. I have to say I think it was a big success. Liam spent over 30 minutes this evening quietly exploring the items. He'd stretch and stretch when he accidentally let the ball or the bottle roll too far out of his reach and I'd retrieve it for him. I think I'll try to occasionally replace the items he rarely takes out of his basket with new items for him to explore. Ideas?

Eating like the grown ups

Liam is now eating foods twice a day. He's taken to it really pretty well. It is still really fun to introduce him to new foods and watch his reaction. Last night Jon introduced peas. They were... not a hit. Liam made horrible faces, but begrudgingly ate a handful of bites any way. Prunes over the weekend got a similar response; can't say I blame him on that one.

Normally our fabulous sitter feeds Liam foods twice a day while we are at work. I try to catch up with his growing skills at eating on the weekends when I get to feed the boy. Tonight, however, Liam hadn't eaten yet when I got home so I got to feed him. As is becoming typical for him, he approaches eating with focus, determination, and attempts at independence. He grabs the spoon with such strength I have trouble prying it out of his little hand. Tonight I decided to indulge his desire to do it himself and let him have both the spoon and the bowl. It seemed like he might enjoy exploring the texture of the food with his hands. I'm not an idiot - I knew it would be a mess. He ended up with food in his hair, eye, etc... but he had a blast. I snapped some pictures of his exploration.

Sit. Stay.

After a few days of unsteady wobbling, Liam mastered sitting a couple weeks ago. His balance already impresses me as he seems to reach out for toys in front and to his sides without toppling and has started to transition to his tummy with some ease. Its really fun that he can sit on his own now for a lot of reasons. Not the least among them, I can set him down a little more. I never thought I'd be able to say I'm getting arm muscles but my little 9lb newborn has quickly become a 19.5lb 6 month old and I'm starting to get the arm toning to prove it.
Liam had his 6 month doctors appointments last week. He remains in the 90% for height (28inches) and weight. In addition to his pediatrician Liam sees a pediatric ophthalmologist for the eye issues that are characteristic of his albinism. His visual acuity test this last week showed continued improvement, which we were pretty excited about. Less excited about the 2.5 hours we spent in the weighting room, but c'est la vie.

Misc.

We had a good weekend in our house doing pretty normal low key things. On the weekends I get to feed Liam his foods (he's recently expanded into vegetables). He is getting much better and seems to be enjoying eating like the grown ups (sort of). He even manages to get some of it in his mouth (see the photo). Liam's personality seems to be coming through more and more these days. He has a propensity to be strong willed and incredibly focused (not sure who that sounds like). I am excited to get to know him more and more as he grows.

Self Reliance

A good friend lent us this bouncy seat when Liam quickly grew out of the baby papasan that he used as a newborn. He used to sit in it and just watch what was going on for a few seconds and then protest being put down. I put the seat away thinking that he had grown out of its useful time. This weekend however, I decided on a whim to give it another try. Low and behold, Liam has discovered that the can make it bounce all on his own. I've attached a video of him showing off his skills.



Liam:
Loves: Mortimer Moose (see the video)
Hates: Going down to sleep
Reading: Duck in a truck (He is doing more eating of his board books than reading of them these days) and Llama Llama Red Pajama
His parents are: hoping he'll start sleeping through the night

Adventures in solid foods

Liam has been trying out solid(ish) foods now for a bit more than a month. He has gotten much better over his weeks of trying. His initial attempts were plagued with the distractions of chewing on the spoon and most of all chewing on his high chair. So far we've learned that he likes apples more than bananas and that he likes the highchair tray more than anything. We introduced carrots this weekend and they were met with a big smile. I call that a win. I've attached a quick video below of one of his first feedings.

hi!

Sorry haven't posted anything new. Liam is trying his first foods these days, scooting around on his back , and generally making himself heard. More to come soon. :)