The Little One

Liam's appointment yesterday didn't go well. We did the usual.....wait forever, finally get called back, undress, measure length, measure head and then off to the dreaded scale. I'm always a mess when it's time to put him on the scale. He weighed 19 pounds even. I knew it wasn't good, but he had gained a little bit of weight since his 15-month appointment. We went back to the room to wait some more. When the doctor finally came in to see us she said, "Ahhh, William, the little one. Let's see here...oh, this isn't good." And that's when I started to stress. She continued to explain that Liam had fallen even lower on the growth chart for weight. He is now in the .19 percentile. (He was in the .27 percentile at 15 months.) She started talking about red flags, tests they would run, searching for a needle in a haystack, and then she mentioned that he is possibly "Failure to Thrive". I'd heard of this before, but I thought it always referred to people who didn't want to live, people who couldn't get food, people who didn't eat at all. Not my toddler who has more energy than I do and sprints everywhere he goes.

The doctor explained that there may be an underlying cause as to why he isn't gaining weight the way he should and she wants to see him back in a month to decide how to approach the "situation". In the meantime she wants us feeding him high fat foods. Lots of butter, cheese, starches...all of those things I try to avoid. (So if you see me and think I look like I've gained a few pounds, you'll know why!) I told her how picky of an eater he is and she said to feed him whatever he'll eat. So, I guess we'll be doing a lot of this over the next month......

Our game plan is to feed him 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. After each meal, we'll give him something to eat that we know he likes, something that even if he's full he won't say no to. Hence the Cheeto's in these pics! (I had to include the two next ones....Liam learned to suck the Cheeto's dust off of his fingers today. I was cracking up!)

I'm just so confused about the whole thing. He seems healthy to me. Yeah, he's skinny, but does anyone remember how skinny David and I were back in high school? We were just as skinny as toddlers, but his doctor doesn't think genetics has anything to do with it. Really?!?!?!

Anywho....after Liam was stuffed with pizza and Cheeto's, I decided to put him in his OSU outfit. As soon as I changed him and put him on the floor, he went straight to his bucket of sports balls and picked up the OSU basketball. Smart boy!!!!
I'm sure that in this next picture he is thinking, "Mom, I don't have time for pictures right now...I'm going in for a slam dunk!"

I love this precious boy more than words can say. To think that something, minor or not, might be wrong with him breaks my heart. Please pray that Liam gains weight this month!!!

We are so excited for.....

Thanks to Nana and Papa, we have floor seats to Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! Liam is going to love it!!!! I can't wait to see his face when the YGG five walk out on stage in front of him. I'm pretty sure he's going to be one happy little boy!!!

Catch Up

It's time to play some catch up. I haven't been great about taking pictures lately, but here's what we've been up to through the pictures I have managed to take...

We went to Bartlesville for Father's Day weekend. Our 6 year anniversary was on the 19th, so we got a night out on the town B'ville style! We started out with dinner at Szechuan, my favorite, went to the casino, won enough money to pay for our drinks for the whole night and then met up with some friends at a local bar. We had a great night and are thankful that Nana and Papa were so willing to watch Liam for us!

The next morning we headed to the splash pad. Liam loves going to the splash pad, but only if his Nana is with him. I took him last week to meet our friends, Erin and Daxon, and Liam wasn't such a fan.

A couple of days later we ran into Casey and Owen at Target. We had been there forever, so I stuck him in the cart with Owen to keep him happy for a little longer. It worked! These two are going to be besties!
We've played LOTS of peek-a-boo.
We've hopped from toy....
to toy....
and even done a little dental check-up on Maudie. (Can you believe she lets him do this to her? She is such a great dog!)
Today, we had to take Ross to the vet at Petsmart. I promised Liam that if he was good we would go see the "ish". I kid you not, he sat on the bench in the room and never made a sound unless the vet or nurse was touching Ross. He would yell at them as soon as they got near his Ross! Other than that he sat quietly and colored the entire time. So, after the visit, we were off to look at the "ish".
Yep, both of my boys were on their leashes while we were in Petsmart!
I am having so much fun with Liam this summer. I can't believe it's almost July and the 4th is right around the corner, which also means that the beginning of another year is right around the corner. Ugh!!!

Second blog

I started training for my very first half marathon this week. I really wanted a way to keep track of all my workouts and to hold myself accountable, so I started a new blog that will be strictly dedicated to my workouts. The name of the blog is, Slow and Steady...finishes the race. I've considered posting about my workouts on this blog, but then thought that my readers (all 2 of you! ;) are here to see what Liam has been up to...not to read all about me. So, feel free to stop by the new blog with words of encouragement or to check up on me and make sure I'm not slacking!

18 Months

How in the world is my baby 18-months old?!?! Time is flying by. Here he is a year ago today. He was so easy to take pictures of back then. I could pose him and just snap away!

Now, he's a mess! As soon as I got out my camera this morning he started clicking his tongue. It was almost impossible to get a picture of him without his mouth open!
At 18-months old, Liam is one active little boy. He goes non-stop and is into whatever he's not supposed to be into.
He still loves to wrestle with Maudie whenever she's up for a good fight.
Liam learns something new everyday. His new words for today were, "yes" and "ready". You never know what he is going to say or do!
He loves attention. Anytime we are in public, he says "hi" and "bye-bye" to everyone we see. And with those eyes and that smile, he gets everyone's attention!
He is still small. I don't have the exact stats yet because we don't go to the doctor until next week. We're hoping that he'll weigh at least 20 pounds. He's wearing 18-month shirts, but 9-month shorts. He is skinny!
He's a very picky eater. He would eat bananas, rice, chicken nuggets, veggie nuggets, and french fries for every single meal if we would let him. He has almost mastered using a fork and spoon, but he still makes a huge mess when he eats rice!
The last 18 months have been amazing! This little boy makes every single day better than the one before. I am so blessed to be his mommy!

Liam's first baseball game and another 5k

Three years ago, David and I were having a bad morning. A really bad morning. We had been trying to get pregnant for several months, and the monthly visitor came that told us we weren't expecting. On top of that, I got a phone call saying that the father of one of my students had passed away. We were really bummed, so we decided to do some of our favorite things to keep our minds off of all the bad stuff for a while. We started out the day by eating lunch at Van's Pig Stand. Then, we went to Penn Square and did some shopping. After that, we headed to Bricktown to eat at Hooters (I love Hooters...their fried pickles are amazing!) and to go to a Redhawk's game. While we were waiting on the game to start, a 5k race was finishing on the field. We watched all the runners crossing the finish line and I decided that one day I wanted to run the Bricktown Blaze.....well, I did just that this past Saturday!

The race was miserable! It started at 5:30, which means a temp of about 95...too hot to be running!!! There were several times in the race when I thought about just giving up, but then I'd see a little piece of shade coming up or a water station, and I'd keep pushing. It was so fun to cross the finish line on the field! My time was pathetic. I'm not even going to share it on here. But...I finished 22/41 in my age group. Not too bad considering the heat!

After the race, we stayed for the baseball game. Liam had so much fun! His nana and Uncle Bear came into town to watch him during the race and go to the game with us. Here are some pics from the night....

The racers got bananas before the race, and of course Liam stole mine! This kid loves a good nana!!!

He also stole my water! I'm so thankful my mom was there. She did a great job of keeping up with Liam while I took it easy and waited for the race to start. Thanks, Mom!!!
David and I before the race....
Our little family pre-race...
David's best friend, Ryan, ran the Blaze also. He did great! He finished 3rd in his age group. (He's in the orange shirt.)
David did awesome, also. He definitely improved his time from our last 5k!
All three of us post-race. (I have a pic of me crossing the finish line, but I'm choosing not to post it....it's AWFUL!)
Nana and Liam...listening to Dada's iPhone....love this pic!
Liam and I with Chris Davis in the background. I really wanted his autograph, but didn't have the nerve to call him over to us. (No, my child is not wearing a shirt. Please don't judge. He was HOT!)
Liam was so excited when he spotted the Redhawk. He kept clapping and pointing at him. So, my brother and I took Liam down to meet him. Liam continued clapping and pointing until the bird got close by. Liam gave him a high five, and then lost it! This is the best pic we could get of Liam and the Redhawk!
We stayed at the game until the very end, which put Liam being up 3 hours past his bedtime, but he did great. He was out cold within seconds of being in his car seat and never made a sound when I transferred him to his crib. I'm so thankful I have such a great sleeper!!!!

100th Post and Zoo Fun

This is my 100th post!!! Kind of lame, considering how long I've been blogging. Ha!

On Tuesday, Liam and I went to the zoo with my friend, Amy, and her daughter, Kaitlyn. I've only been to the OKC zoo once. Since then they've added a new Children's Zoo, which was perfect for our little ones! Liam was pretty excited about the goats. I was a little worried he would go in for a kiss (like he does with Maudie), so I stayed pretty close by the whole time.

This is Amy and Kaitlyn. Is Kaitlyn not beautiful?!?!
Look at that red, curly hair! I love it!!!!
And that smile! She is such a happy girl!
Liam stood at the sheep cage saying, "Baa" over and over again. I think he was hoping they'd talk back!
This next picture cracks me up. He was so into seeing all of the animals that he squatted down to get a better look at the rabbits. He looks like he's just going to hop away at any moment!
This pic was taken in the parakeets cage. Liam kept trying to point the parakeets out to Kaitlyn. At one point, Liam ran up to a lady who was in the cage with us, grabbed her leg and pointed at the parakeets that were bathing. I guess I need to start teaching him about "stranger danger"!
After seeing the parakeets, Liam got tired. Look at how serious he is in this pic and how happy Kaitlyn is!
Liam loved looking at the monkeys. He kept saying, "Ah, ah, ah!" That's his favorite animal sound to make! :)
Thanks so much, Amy, for inviting us to go to the zoo with you. We had so much fun and can't wait for our next play date!!!

Great Grandma's visit

Grandma Dye and Great Grandma Brooks came to visit! We had so much fun just hanging out with them. We went to dinner Monday night to celebrate David's birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings. Yum!!! After dinner, Grandma found this basketball goal for Liam. He loves it!

His daddy loves it, too! David hates this picture, but I had to post it. He has lost so much weight and it really shows in this pic! I am so proud of him, and a little jealous of his will power!
Here's a pic I snapped of David, Liam, Grandma Brooks, and Grandma Dye...
Great Grandma Brooks and Liam hanging out in the recliner...
Grandma Dye decided that she wanted to get Liam a new outdoor toy, preferably a slide. We looked at two Wal-Marts, Target, Sams, Toys R Us, and Big Lots and came up with nothing. So, when we got home we hopped on-line and found this slide....
It's perfect and it will arrive at our house in about a week. Liam is going to LOVE it!!! Thanks so much, Grandma Dye!!!! Come back and visit soon!!!

Visit to the 'Ville

Last weekend we packed up the car and headed to Bartlesville to spend some time at Sunfest and with David's grandma while she was in town. Before we went to Sunfest, we had a late breakfast. My dad had to work early that morning, so our late breakfast was like his morning snack. What did he choose for his snack? An ice cream sandwich, and of course Liam needed a bite. Oh the mess!

Sunfest was HOT this year. And kind of lame. There weren't nearly as many crafts as there have been in the past, and the Indian Tacos weren't as good as usual. But, Liam still had fun!
Nana helped him knock down the bowling pins.
As soon as Liam spotted Great Grandma's walker, he just HAD to have a ride!
What is a trip to the 'Ville without a trip to the local Wal-Mart?!?! My parents took off with Liam for a bit, and when we met back up with them, this is what I found. Spoiled much? Not to mention that as soon as we left Wal-Mart, we HAD to stop at McDonald's to get Liam some ice cream, per Papa's orders!
Before we left town, we spent some time at David's parents. Liam had so much fun following his cool, older cousin, Logan, around. Can you tell just how excited Logan was to have Liam sitting by his side and helping him play his video game?!?! He got really excited when Liam pushed the off button on the game system! LOL!!!
Thanks, Logan, for being a good sport and not getting too mad at our little man!!!