One Year Old

Luke turned one yesterday. We started the day with a long walk to the North End because it was such a warm day. On the way home, we picked up a cake and some ice cream at Johnny's our local supermarket. I didn't expect the cake to be anything special but it actually was pretty good. After naps and dinner our neighbor Case came over. While we were waiting for Daddy to come home, the boys thought it would be fun to sit in the pan drawer under my oven.

It was hard to scold them for it - they were just too darn cute. Finally at 7 pm Daddy came home. We could have cake! Liam was remarkably patient about the whole thing. I don't think I would have been. I fully expected Luke to go to town on his cake but I think by that time he was too tired. He just had this bemused look on his face and didn't even finish his piece. Cake coma!

Seeing Santa

Christmas is right around the corner and we have been busy getting ready. We put our tree up last weekend after I hauled it out of storage. It is a very sparse fake tree that I bought at target last year when Liam was just starting to walk and I was about to burst with Luke. It doesn't look too bad if you are blinded by all the lights so that you don't notice the large gaps. Every morning when we get up (for some reason this week Liam has been up at 5:30 every morning!) Liam insists that I put the tree lights on and also turn on the snowman decoration with the ever changing rainbow colors. I don't blame him, a lit christmas tree in the dark makes me smile too. Even at that early hour.



Yesterday afternoon we met the Scannells at the annual Christmas party at CBC where Santa arrived by boat! I thought that this year, with Liam being two, he would enjoy sitting with Santa. I had even coached him a bit asking what he was going to ask Santa to bring him for Christmas. (A choo-choo of course!) Deep in my heart though I think I knew what his reaction would be again this year - sheer terror. Maybe next year?

Almost One!

Its really unbelievable that Luke will be one in just a few weeks. I feel like his infanthood has gone alot faster than Liam's. I suppose that's for a few reasons, mainly second child syndrome. With the first child you spend alot of time obsessing about every little detail. With the second kid, you've been there and done that so every milestone is not quite the big deal it was the first time around.

Of course Luke is not suffering at all. He has quite a strong personality all his own. He will grab anything Liam is playing with and if he sees anyone eating anything he will demand to have some too. If he doesn't get his way he will cry. The good news is, he is an excellent eater. He has been feeding himself for months and will eat EVERYTHING put in front of him. I have never ever seen him choose not to eat something in particular unless he is full. (And sometimes I wonder if he eating after he is full much like a dog.) Liam on the other hand was more difficult to feed as a baby and would often not eat something that he had eaten previously. He still is picky about what he eats and often doesn't seem to eat as much as Luke does. I can always count of Luke to finish his own meal and PLUS Liam's leftovers.


The last few weeks have been busy with Thanksgiving among other things. We spent the holiday in Worcester and the boys enjoyed spending time with their "Mia" and aunts, uncles and cousins. The picture shows Mia giving Liam cake or potatoes. She loves feeding him both!

We also have had some fun playdates with Ava Scannell who brought Liam his first playdoh and then joined the boys for a bath. Since then Liam has requested her presence at every bath. We will definitely be using the photos to blackmail them when they are 16.

Play ball?

Luke has been amazing us with his dexterity and skill doing all kinds of things recently from trying to pull himself up on the kitchen table in order to grab something on top of it to standing for a few seconds without assistance before slowly lowering himself to the ground. But what he came up with last night is really the best.

He just started playing with the ball, throwing it forward once or twice but mostly just tossing it over his shoulder and then going after it to do it again. He was playing catch with himself! He was at it again this morning and I believe I may have heard him say "ball" but it could have been anything. He's only 11 months old! Daddy may have his baseball player afterall.

Halloween Parade

This Halloween we went to Charlestown's annual parade and I neve realize how just many kids there are in Charlestown until we get there. Its crazy! The parade route goes around the Bunker Hill Monument and is led by a brass band. People who live around the monument decorate their houses and hand out candy. It is quite the scene! Liam went dressed as Elmo. It was a red furry pullover (sans arms) with a hood that had Elmo's eyes and nose on top. Liam absolutely refused to wear the hood for most of the night so he looked more like a red carpet. Happily though, everyone knew who he was - esspecially all the kids - and they all said "Hi Elmo!" I think he liked that. Luke wore Liam's green and red dragon costume from last year and looked just as cute. For some reason no one was smiling in any of the pictures I took!

Signs of Fall

The Head of the Charles was this past weekend and the boys spent a great deal of time working with their mother at HOCR central during last week. On Wednesday afternoon, the visiting Olympians from New Zealand were there while Liam was running around. They were absolutely amazed by Liam's new light-up sneakers. Do they not have them down under?

On Saturday, the boys were with Daddy at the course socializing with the crowds of people lining the banks of the Charles and Liam yelled "Go Rich!" for 'Uncle' Rich who was racing by in his single.

The weekend before the Charles I took some "Fall" pictures of Luke.

Play? Or is it?

Every day the boys are playing together more and more. Liam is still not happy about sharing his toys and Luke is still trying to grab everything his brother has but they truly seem to have a good time together. They especially like to wrestle. I'm not sure where they learned that but I am guessing it's an inate boy thing. Luke is the one who generally initiates it by going over to Liam and getting in his face. It usually starts off fine - they are both laughing - but it nearly always ends with Luke falling over, cracking his head on the floor and crying. I suspect in about 6 months Liam may be the one to end up on the sorry side.

Keep it coming

Luke loves to feed himself. He is always much happier eating when it is something he can put in his mouth instead of being fed to him on a spoon. If I want to get something into him with a spoon, I make sure he's got something in his hand as well and just sneak it in. Beside cheerios, he like pieces of banana and string cheese, rice, beans and peas.

Last week we noticed that Luke would start getting fussy for no apparent reason - all his needs like naps, bottles, and meals were being met - or so we thought. I finally thought to give him a snack of cheerios in his highchair and he went town, polishing them off in a few minutes.

Hmmm...snacks! This kid needs snacks!

I figured he was so good with his hands he could handle one of Liam's Snack Trap cups (It has a perforated lid that kids can put hands in to get the snack without the snack spilling out.) and he figured it out immediately. He loves it! I attached it to his car seat on Friday and I could hear him eating and making umm umm noises. I looked in my rearview and saw that his eyes were closed. He was sleep eating!

9 Month Check-Up

Luke turned 9 months on Monday and just as he did, he accomplished two things. First: His belly-crawl became a real crawl - up on his hands and knees. When he wants to move fast, he still gets down on his belly and hauls himself across the floor but he is getting very adept at the real thing. Second: He is pulling himself up to standing. Imagine my surprise when I went in to get him from his nap and there he was standing up in his crib. He hasn't really figured out that if he lets go he will fall over though. He keeps pulling himself up on the toy box, losing his balance and then crashing over. Either that or Liam is pushing him over. Sometimes when my back is turned it's really hard to tell which.

9 month check-up stats were:
Weight - 21lbs 12 ounces, 60th percentile
Length - 29 inches, 70th percentile

Brothers - Friends

It amazing to watch Liam and Luke interact and play with each other. From Day 1, Luke has watched everything his big brother does. Now he follows Liam around and tries to grab anything he has. If Liam is eating, Luke wants to eat too. If Liam is playing with a toy, Luke wants to play with it. The trouble is Liam does not always like to share. Even if he is not playing with a particular toy and Luke starts to play with it, Liam will go and take it from him and say "share!" (Hmm...Liam...that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.) In the instance of this video though, he was quite happy to let his brother come and try to get his sippy cup and make a game of it.

Now we are two

This is the face of a two year old. A preschooler. A little boy. My baby is gone. Sigh.

Liam turned two yesterday and something has changed. It's been happening over the last few weeks really but it is like he has suddenly left babyhood behind. He is more content to entertain himself and his brother, he is able to communicate what he wants, his likes and dislikes and make deliberate choices. He has had fewer and fewer tantrums and has been listening better and wanting to please. He actually picked up his blocks today when I asked him the first time. Well, he got through about half of them before getting distracted but that's a huge start!

Over the weekend we had a two family parties for him. At the first, his cousins Quincy and Chloe and friend Ava were there so we had Sesame Street decorations and an Elmo pinata. Liam didn't really understand what the pinata was but Chloe, who is 3, gave Elmo a great big hug and told him "Elmo, you have candy in you" before she bashed him over the head.

Box-o-fun

Luke's new car seat arrived yesterday and it came in a great big box. What more fun can there be? Liam started dragging it around, rolling it over on all sides and beating on it like a drum. And then I suggested to him that it could be a house. Well, that was it. He climbed right inside until I dragged him out for dinner. This morning I cut out a door and windows and he was in absolute heaven. He even ate his lunch in it. When I put Luke down on the floor nearby, he immediately hauled himself over to it and squealed for his brother. The two of them playing together is just the best. I don't think I even got the best footage - when Luke tried to get inside and Liam tried to shut the door on him.

The Nurturer

We've known all along that Liam is a truly sweet child and now he is showing us just how much. He has grown quite fond of his stuffed bunny and has begun to take care of him like we take care of his baby brother Luke. A few weeks ago he started taking the changing mat, wipe box and a diaper out of my bag and laying bunny down on the mat. He then pulls one wipe out of the box and wipes bunny down with it. He can't really manage to get the diaper on him so he puts it on top of him and comes to get me to do it. He also puts bunny in the highchair to feed him and calls him "kiki" which is what he calls Luke. The topper was last week though when he disappeared and started saying loudly "ba ba" which means bath. Daddy got up to see where he was and found him in the bathroom holding bunny by the ears - in the toilet. Bunny got a bath alright - straight into the washing machine.

We are in big trouble!

Luke is on the move! This morning I placed him on his gym mat and when I looked over at him a few minutes later he was making his way toward Liam's toys. I asked Liam if he saw how his brother had gotten there but didn't get much of response. Anyway, Luke had gotten ahold of Liam's toy cellphone and was pushing the buttons. He kept making it say "Hi there! Want to go out and play?" He seemed to like that. I got some video of how he actually got from point A to point B. He kind of drags himself rather that getting up on all fours but it seems to be working for him at the moment. Except when he gets into trouble. He seem to like Liam's toys rather that his own so several times he got himself to Liam's backet of toys. The problem is he seems to clunk his head on the basket every time. I guess he'll figure it out eventually.

Luke's other new trick is eating real food. We had bacon and eggs this past Sunday and Luke wanted some. I think he would have really liked some bacon but had to make do with toast.



Liam has been busy too, especially when it comes to water. A few weekends ago, we went to visit family at their lake house. Liam has always been hesitant around water and has never really been able to relax and have fun. This time I held him with me in a big inflatable tube while Daddy did silly things like swim under us and pop out the other side. In no time at all, he was laughing and splashing. He even let his cousin Katie take over and had lots of fun with her too! The highlight of his whole day came later though when he got to help Uncle Frank drive the boat.

Ready for College?

Luke is now 7 months old and I think he'll be off to college or at least shaving in no time at all. He can sit up pretty well and is very close to crawling. He can get himself up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. He just hasn't gotten that last piece of propulsion yet but I suspect it could be any day now.



The best thing about Luke is his personality. He is so easy going and rarely fusses. When he does he sure lets you know it but it's only be when he's hungry or tired and both of those things can be easily addressed. Most of the time he is happy playing and watching everything around him. He particularly loves to watch his brother. Whatever Liam does, Luke is watching closely. He will often make some sort of noise just to get his brother's attention and if Liam comes near him, Luke will grin from ear to ear. Liam, for his part, has started to pay more and more attention to Luke. He loves to bring Luke his pacifier or bottle or try to share his sippy cup with him. Every morning when Liam wakes up he asks for "Kiki' and is only satisfied when I tell him where he is. Usually "He's sleeping. Don't wake him up!" which of course does not work.

Here, there and everywhere..

The summer is flying by and it seems we've had something to do almost every weekend and most of our time has been spent visiting with friends and family.

At the end of June, we spent a fun afternoon in Plymouth with some of my college friends and their kids. The big kids were terrific with Liam and he just thought they were awesome, particularly Max, pushed him on the swings when he wasn't zooming around on his bike. Liam spent some time "driving" a car around the back yard and also helped himself to a broom in the shed so he could sweep the yard.

On July 4th we went to our friends the Sheehans for a cookout. There were a bunch of kids to play with including Kaiden, who is 6 weeks younger than Liam, Alex, who is 7 months older, Nolan, who is about 6 weeks older than Luke and of course Ava.

Last weekend was a huge family reunion in NH with 240 members of the Bradford family. There were lots and lots of kids. Liam had a blast with all of his cousins including cousin Cooper who just turned 2. They will probably both be embarassed when they are older but I had to post this picture of them. It's cute now. Later it could be blackmail. :-)

Armenian Picnic

On Sunday we went to visit cousin Haig in the Armenian Nursing Home in Jamaica Plain for their annual picnic. Armenians love picnics and I remember as a child going to Waverly Oaks in Belmont where lots (hundreds?) of Armenians would gather to eat shish kebab and pilaf. My mother tells me that they used to have giant picnics with thousands of people probably up to the 70s. Anyway, this was kind of a modified picnic, being at a nursing home. They has some tents set up in the parking lot and volunteers did the cooking for the residents and visiting families.

Best of all, there was a group of Armenian musicians playing traditional music. As soon as they started playing, Liam's face lit up and he watched in awe. He especially loved the dumbeg (drum) player who played just for him, made duck noises in his microphone and during a break let Liam play his dumbeg. Later a man got up and did some Armenian dancing and Grandma and Liam joined him. Luke hung out in the stroller and seemed to take it all in. It was a fun, fun day.

6 Months!

Luke's 6-month birthday was this past Sunday and he had lots going on. First, I had decided a few weeks ago to wean him. It all went according to my plan so that on Sunday, Luke was shut off completely. He didn't seem to miss it at all. In fact, he is sucking down formula like he has been out in the dessert for a month. He can go through 9 ounces in about 5 minutes flat and would happily keep going if I let him. Sunday I also decided to add another meal into his schedule thinking that was why he was sucking down so much formula. Um...yeah. He is still drinking a ton and enjoying his food too!

Our doctor's office did not schedule a 6-month visit (we are going at 8 months instead) so I weighed him myself. He is just shy of 19lbs. I have no idea how long he is, maybe 26.5 or 27 inches but that will have to wait until our next appointment. Anyway, 19 lbs is 75th percentile. If he didn't puke so much he would probably weigh well over 20 lbs!

A little this and a little that

A couple of weekends ago, we visited our friends the Carlstoms for a bbq. Ava was also there and she and Liam played very nicely together as he was able to hold off her agressive advances toward whatever he was holding. I think Liam's favorite game in the playhouse was "open and shut" with the door. Always the gentleman, Liam held the door for Ava.

Last week we went to a special ceremony where grandma received an an honor at work. She got a pen and a handshake and her grandsons were there to cheer for her.

A few weeks back we met our friend Martha, who was visiting from Minnesota, at the Vic. She sent us this picture of Liam ordering extra bacon. It's amazing how well Liam does when he is out at restaurants. I hear horror stories of toddlers misbehaving and being miserable in restaurants but Liam has always been an easy child to take out. I think it's because he is so sociable. So far Luke has been easy too although we haven't taken him out all that much.

Luke will be 6 months old on Sunday and I'll post his stats after his doctor's appointment which is not yet scheduled. He loves to roll onto his tummy and can spend quite a while playing that way. He pushes his arms straight against the floor and he is able to keep his head up and look around. He has also become distracto boy. Any noise or movement nearby and he turns to see what's going on. Bottle feeding is easier than nursing when he is like this because at least you can move the bottle with him. Nursing, not so much. Thank goodness he is weaning pretty easily. I am moving to 2 (from 3) nursing sessions per day today.

Double the fun

Yesterday was a fun day - once we got out of the house. Every Sunday, we have had an open house to try to sell the condo. Getting ready for it is extremely stressful with a toddler and a baby and all their stuff. The place has to be spic and span with EVERYTHING put away and out of sight. That means no toys, pack-n-plays, or diaper pails among just about everything else we need to live with. We never get to enjoy our Sunday mornings. No lazing about drinking coffee and reading the paper. Instead, we strap Liam in the highchair and feed him munchkins while we go on high gear to get everything perfect and then the whole family packed into the car before any child can undo what we have just done. Basically, it sucks.

Yesterday we went through all that and got in the car. Since it was a beautiful day we decided to go to Castle Island in Southie. We got hotdogs at Sully's and strolled around Fort Independence. You cannot actually go into the fort because it is "too dangerous" as we were told be the lovely old ladies at the door. By that point anyway, Liam was dying to get out of the stroller so we got him out and he walked with us for probably a mile! He loved every minute, There were boats zooming around the harbor and airplanes taking off from Logan every few minutes. A little boy's dream. I forgot to get my camera out so I don't have any pictures from our day.

On the way home we stopped at our storage locker and got Liam's old Exersaucer, which was a hand-me-down from my sister. It's missing a few toys but I don't think that matters. The minute I put Luke in it, it was instant entertainment - for Luke AND Liam. They can actually play together for the first time.

Luke is 5 1/2 months old and I am officially starting the weaning process TODAY. My goal is to have him completely on formula by his 6 month birthday.

Pack N Play

We finally moved Luke into the pack and play which we set up behind the dining table. (Not much dining actually is done at the table - Liam eats in his highchair and sadly, we generally eat on the sofa.) In the mornings Liam usually likes to have mommy to himself and is not all that happy when I go to get his brother. THIS morning, he wanted to get in the pack and play with his brother and play with him! It wasn't all fun and games though. Note the hand bearing heavily down on Luke's chest.

We spent a few days this week at grandma's house where I found a "jolly jumper" in an upstairs room. I hooked it up and put Luke in it assuming it had been used for my sisters kids, Quincy and Chloe. I called my sister while Luke was happily bouncing around in it and she told me that "Oh no!" it had not been hers. "Kids fracture their legs in those things!" I took some video of Luke having a jolly time in the contraption before taking him out and packing it away. Unfortunately, I must not have hit record or something because nothing was there when I went back to look. Maybe there was a reason for that...!

The hands man

Luke rolled from his tummy to his back last night. It was during American Idol and he was laughing so hard it must have thrown his balance off...six times.

He is using his hands alot now. Beside grabbing and batting at toys hanging in front of or above him, he has also started helping me give him his nightly bottle. He wants to hold it by himself! He has also decided it is fun to grab (and annoy) his brother. I can't really blame him for that...Liam trys hard, but he is not always gentle. I think Luke realizes he needs to hold his own with his big brother.

Spring!

Well...almost. Last week with the good weather we got to go out and play! We took a couple of trips to grandma's back yard, where Liam had a blast running around with a plastic shopping cart and a pink ball that belongs to cousins Quincy and Chloe. We also went to the playground with our friend Ava. Liam loves swings so we spent some time on them. Then he found the sandbox and sat down with a shovel and a stick. Hovering nearby, I witnessed a funny interaction he had with a little girl who came up to him. She must have been about 4 and she really wanted his shovel. She stood in front of him, and kind of waved her hand in the direction of it. Either Liam didn't have a clue as to what she wanted or he really wanted that shovel because he just stared right back at her and didn't give an inch. She eventually walked away without the shovel. That's my boy!

Liam is 20 months today and Luke is 4 1/2 months. Luke is pretty darn funny and talks and laughs alot. All you have to do to get him laughing is smile and talk to him. I finally got up the courage to start putting him on his tummy again. (A spit cloth close at hand is a must!) The kid is the most determined baby ever! He is trying so hard to crawl. He seems to be making some forward progress and I think it won't be long before he really figures it out. Good thing the house is already baby-proofed!

Food Glorious Food

At his 4 month appointment we got the go ahead to start Luke on solid food. His first bites of rice cereal became a family effort...

4 months and already with alot to say!

Luke's 4 month birthday was this week and he went for his check-up on Monday. His stats are 15 lbs 6 oz and 26 inches long. So 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height. He is definitely not the little chub-chub Liam was a the same age although I think he is longer. I found this picture of Liam at 4 months and he just had more rolls.

We recently took out the old bouncy seat that had been put away in lieu of the fancy swing. Luke loves to swing the butterflys and make the birdie spin. (above video)

I also pulled out the bumbo to help him sit up. The problem is that with his reflux, the bumbo tends to make him projectile spit up alot more. The poor kid is also not getting much tummy time because its just pretty gross to have a face full of puke. His legs are really strong though. The other night he inched his way on his tummy across Daddy's legs onto me while we were sitting on the sofa.

Bampa Bo

The last few weeks have been difficult and sad. The boys' grandpa Bo ("Bampa Bo" to Liam) went into the hospital on Easter and passed away last week. It was a wonderful thing that he was able to see his grandsons but so sad that they won't have the chance to get to know him and enjoy him. I know Bo would have loved the boys' Easter madras pants which were purchased with his style in mind!

We took the boys to the hospital a few times and they did remarkably well. Liam took many trips around the unit with his grandmother and aunts and smiled at all the nurses. We all know where he gets that from. The pictures above are Bo with 3-day old Liam and 6-week old Luke.

Party Time!

It was our little friend Ava's first birthday on Saturday and although Liam wasn't really into the hat, he had a great time eating mini hotdogs in blankets and cake. Lots of cake. I am pretty sure at one point he licked someone else's cake because after dissapearing for a few minutes, he re-appeared with frosting on his check. I wonder if anyone noticed tiny little fingerprints on their piece. Or perhaps one big lick mark? Anyway, there were lots of kids there including 10-year old Joe who was super nice to Liam and 6 year old Anna who Liam tried to kiss several times. Of course she wanted nothing to do with that. Best of all, Liam got to play with Ava and her cool toys when all the other kids went home.

The Easter Bunny Gets Around

This being the first Easter Liam could really enjoy, we did it up big. On Saturday morning, I took him to an Easter egg hunt in the Navy Yard for all the kids in town. We got there 10 minutes late to discover that all the eggs had already been picked up by a stampede of kids. Liam had no idea that there were supposed to be eggs in the first place so he didn't mind a bit. He was just happy to be carrying his basket and running around outside with it. Later, while we were waiting in line to get a balloon, a little girl gave him one of her eggs and Liam tried to kiss her. Ladies man!



Easter morning Liam was up at an ungodly hour so by 6 am he was already looking for Easter eggs...




Later on we went to visit cousins in Worcester and Chelmsford for two more Easter egg hunts. Liam and Luke both wore their new madras pants. Liam got a toy remote control dog that barks and walks - he thinks it is the greatest thing ever invented!