On the Mend

Liam is doing so much better! We do not believe that he really had the stomach flu. We are thinking it was more of a reaction to the meds that he was on. He is getting back into some of his usual eating habits, but not all of them. He is still being picky. And no more diarrhea!!! Thank you! His personality is coming back too. For so many days he just kinda sat there in our laps and didn't want to get down and play. It is nice to see him back again. Although.... if he had it his way, I think he would try to live off of mini pancakes forever! That is all that he wants to eat right now. We got a bunch of fresh produce today though, so I am thinking about making him something yummy... Let's just see if he eats it!

Sick Baby Update!

Well it has definitely been a trying week. Let's start from the beginning. On Sunday, Liam's diarrhea started. It wasn't too bad, it was controllable. He also threw up on Sunday. All Over... Monday he had diarrhea again, and went through 3 outfits at the day care. Oh, and he also threw up over there. Tuesday, just diarrhea, Wednesday, diarrhea, but would drink any milk while at day care. Wednesday night he actually ate a little more than he has been eating. We gave him a bath, gave him a bottle, then he rolled over on top of me and threw up. Lovely! So we gave him another bath, and then he went to sleep. Today, just some diarrhea. I tried calling Kaiser a couple times this week, but one time there were 51 people ahead of me waiting to talk to a nurse, and the second time I was number 63 in line. I called the doctor today and she said it sounds like he has the stomach flu. She told me to take him off his amoxicillian (Thank you) for a little while to see if that helps. We are hoping that being off the meds helps. He puts up a fight every time we try. Sorry for all the poopy talk... but that is what my week as been full of, and it comes with the territory now!

Helpless!!!

This is how I feel right now. We were told Liam has an ear infection on Thursday, and lately he just seems to be so irritable. He is taking medicine, but it really doesn't seem to be doing much. I think tonight was the breaking point. Over the last few days we have had a really hard time feeding him. He doesn't want to eat anything we give him, except, of course, fruit. We are giving him food that he eats all the time, and he doesn't want it. We are trying new foods since the doctor said he needs to be eating regular food now, and still, he wants nothing to do with it. Basically, anything with any texture, he gags on it and spits it out. I don't know what to do. I don't know if he is getting picky, or if his ears are bothering him so much that he just doesn't want to do anything. Any suggestions??? He has been whining ALL evening, and finally, I just skipped the bath, and put him to bed early. He crashed so hard. In fact, I think he has a leg propped up in the air on a pillow and his arms flung out to either side, and he just fell asleep in that position because he was so tired.

When it comes to the food situation, this kid does NOT eat greens. I have to mix them with cottage cheese and sometimes he still won't eat them. We are trying to mix things up and give him more solid foods, but he just doesn't want to touch them. I steamed some carrots last night, and he wouldn't touch them because they are slimy. I warmed up some ravioli's, heat ate 4, then threw them on the floor. I guess this is going to just take some time, but I am getting so frustrated. When we went to see the doctor, she made me feel that I have to totally change everything we do with him because he is 1 years old. I am trying, but I feel lost on how to do all this the right way. If anyone has any good suggestions on how to get a 1 year old with 2 1/2 teeth to eat more solid foods, your advice is greatly appreciated!

1 Year Check-Up

I took Liam to the doctor today for his 1 year check-up, and this was the hardest appointment yet! First of all, Liam only wanted to get down on the floor and play. So we basically fought the whole time we were in the office. We had to wait a really long time for everything, and he wanted nothing to do with food, books, or toys. When the doctor finally came in, we found out that Liam has an ear infection. She asked if he has been really irritable lately, but other than the teething, he hasn't. So we were prescribed amoxicilian for the ears. Then she told me that he was going to have to get blood drawn today to make sure he's not anemic. Great...another needle in addition to the 4 that he was already going to be getting. Liam had 6 immunizations today, and he was not a happy camper when the nurse put those needles in. He did stop crying right after though. Then we went downstairs to get blood drawn and it was so sad. He had a little tourniquet on his tiny arm, and right when he saw that needle, he put his head down and cried. Poor baby! Other than the trauma, Liam now weighs 23.4 lbs (which I thought was low...) he is 2' 5.5" tall and his head is 19" around. They said that he is average size. We have to go back in 4 weeks to get the flu shot booster. And then in another 6 months to have more shots. Good news is, he is not anemic!

Argh!

When Liam was born, I was on Paid Family Leave from the state. Well, I have been wondering for about a week now when and if I would be getting a W2 from them so I can do our taxes. Since they are only open while I am at work, I had to make the call from there, and this is how an hour and 11 minutes of my time went!

-Called Disability... on hold for 10 minutes, then I was told that there were too many people on hold, and I had to call back later.

-Called the Tax Department... on hold for 32 minutes. I didn't want to hang up because I was afraid of losing my place in line. When I talked a tax representative, she informed me that I had to call Paid Family Leave, so she put me through to them.

-After another 15 minutes of waiting, come to find out, she transfered me back to disability, and they said I had to call Paid Family Leave.

-Called Paid Family Leave, was on hold for 14 minutes. The representative told me I was getting a 1099G mailed to me. When asked what I am supposed to do with that (because I have never had to do this before...) he said well I would assume that you have to mail it in when you do your taxes!

I just don't understand why no one knows what is going on, let alone the tax department people! This is why I do not like the EDD!

My Big Boy!

Today is officially Liam's birthday. I cannot believe that he is really 1 year old. I don't know where all the time has gone. We didn't really do anything today. Deron had to work, so Liam and I just hung out together and went to the grocery store. This morning, I made Liam some birthday waffles and served them to him on his new Spiderman plate.

After Liam's nap, we went out to the car and moved his car seat to the front facing position. It was really weird to drive with him looking at me. But he was laughing a lot and seemed to enjoy it a little more since he could see more of what was going on. Liam seems to have woken up this morning a different person. He just seems a little more grown up. I know that may be strange to say, but he really does seem a little older. He has been conversating more with me today than he normally does. It makes me sad a little because his first year seemed to fly by so fast that we didn't get to enjoy every little part. He is growing so fast and I just want to cherish every moment.




Besides the nap that he is currently taking, he has been going all day, playing with all his new toys that he got for his birthday.

Party Pics

Alright. here they are. Liam finally went down for a nap, so I am now able to post these pictures. We had some family and a few friends over for Liam's party. My parents let us have the party at their house. I was able to find some perfect little 3" cake pans to make Liam's cake. It was the perfect size for him. He got so many wonderful things for his birthday! We love and thank you all for coming and being a part of this special day!










Liam loves Angelica!








Uncle Mike & Aunt Leanne






Grandpa McCandless & Aunt Katie




Great Grandma & Me











Aidan would walk by and lick Liam's fingers since they were covered in frosting. That is true family right there!








When we were leaving, Liam didn't want to let go of Uncle David. It was too cute!

Liam's Birthday Party

Well, it was a success! Liam's party was so fun. And, he wasn't cranky at all, until the bitter end. He even put on quite a show with his cake. He crashed in the car and is still sleeping. We are about ready to get him in the bath! He was smiling at everyone and loved playing with Angelica and Aidan. We have pictures, but I am way too tired and have too much to do right now to get them all posted. I will get them done tomorrow. For now, it's off to the bath, then to bed. Tomorrow is Liam's actual birthday, and we aren't really sure what we're doing yet. Deron has to work, so we'll see what happens.

1st Birthday Pictures

Today I took Liam to get his 1 year old pictures. He did so well! He has always liked the girls that work at Kiddie Kandids. I was able to get a little kids Lowe's apron at work the other day so he could take a picture with it on. After all, he is a Lowe's baby! Here are the pictures. His poor little feet are red because he is always crawling all over the place so he has acquired some rug burn on the tops of his feet. Hopefully they are big enough and clear enough. I had to save them from the website.

One week and counting!

It is officially one week until Liam's 1st birthday! We are going to have his party on Sunday since his birthday is on a Monday. I cannot believe this day is almost here. It doesn't feel like it should be. We only have a few more things to do until we are ready, and it mostly consists of the food! I am so excited about making Liam his first birthday cake. Deron and I found a 3-4" cake pan that is perfect for his first cake. We were going to take Liam to Disneyland on Monday for his birthday, but Deron wasn't able to get the day off, so what to do for Liam's actual birth day is still up in the air. Any suggestions?

Early Birthday Present

We bought Liam a couch/bed for his birthday, but since he found it already, I guess it is now an early birthday preset. He sat right down on it and leaned back to relax. What a silly!

Attack of the Cupboard Monster!

Liam's favorite thing to do is play in the kitchen cupboards. We have put safety locks on all of them except the Tupperware cupboard. Needless to say, my cupboards are NOT organized! I don't even want to try, because if I do, all of it will end up on the floor in a matter of minutes anyways. He also loves the utensil drawer. All those spoons and measuring cups make perfect drum sticks on the plastic bowls!

What a Year!

Happy New Year everyone! We pray that God will bring you all many blessings in 2009! We decided to stay home and celebrate as a family this year. Our celebration, however, happened at about 7:15pm, instead of midnight. Liam was exhausted. We tried to keep him up, but it did not work. So right before his bedtime bottle, we got out our noise makers and wished each other a happy new year.


Deron & I cooked up some hamburgers and sweet potato fries and just watched Anderson Coopers New Years coverage. After 12am hit in NY, I was off to bed at about 9pm after being up since 4am, and waking up twice during the night with Liam. Midnight would not see my little face. And I think Deron got to bed around 11pm.We had a fun, quiet little night by ourselves.

This year has been quite eventful. We welcomed our little Liam into the world in the beginning of the year, and everything has been challenging, interesting and fun since. We have experienced some up and downs but God has pulled us through it all. We can only look to Him for our future. As for resolutions... I know that this is a cliche because everyone says this, but I really do want to loose some of this baby weight! This is something that I have really struggled with physically and emotionally over this past year, so I am going to be determined to stick to this resolution unlike many others that have not worked!