My son...the Starfish swimmer!!

Today was Liam's first swimming lesson, and I was so excited for it! Unfortunately I had to take him solo as Bill is out in the field cooking this week, so there are no pictures to document the occasion (other than the couple I managed to snag while we were in the changing room). Hopefully Bill will be able to come with us one week so he can see how darn fun it is.

Liam enjoying the chair on the wall...all ready to go in the pool :)

I won't go into details, but Liam was a horrible, horrible sleepet last night. I tried every mom trick that I could think of to get him to settle down and stay asleep, but nothing seemed to work. So we were both up into the early morning and I was afraid that we wouldn't be up to swimming. But we were! Oh...we were! lol Liam woke up after 7 (seriously...this is a momentous event!! If Bill and I ever get to sleep past 6:30 we are overjoyed) and I got him dressed for the day right away (usually we stay in our jammies until after morning nap). We had an early breakfast and bottle, and then we were off to Timmie's to get mommy some much needed caffeine. On a sidenote, I am finding it SO liberating to get to eat and drink whatever I want without worrying about whether or not it will make it into the breastmilk.

After Timmie's we headed over to the base pool (a little early as I had no clue what I was in for). I got Liam changed into his cute lil bathing suit and swim diaper, got myself ready to go...and then we bumped into our friends Maureen and Nolan who were also in the class. WOO! :) Liam started getting excited as soon as he saw the baby pool. And the moment he touched the water, the arms and legs started moving like crazy...water was flying everywhere. He really is a natural swimmer it seems...like he was meant to be in the water. I am SO happy as I am the same way. Seems like there will be lots of swim time in our future. Anywho..the class was only 30 minutes long, and Liam did awesome throughout the whole thing. It is SO cute watching all of these little ones floating around...so pleased and excited with themselves. We ended up knowing a bunch of people from the playgroup that we go to, so it was such a fun morning. The hardest part of the whole thing was definetly getting us OUT of the pool complex. I did not think about how much work it would be to get a 9 month old all dried and dressed, as well as myself...in a confined area. Thankfully our changing rooms have these little chairs on the wall that you can put the babies in while you change. Lifesavers!!! And Liam thought it was great being in it..wonders of wonders! lol

Liam napped as soon as we got home, so I was able to get in an hours worth of sleep (yey!! Thank God!). After he woke up, I gave him a bath to get rid of the chlorine (plus he has a little diaper rash going on, so I figured it would help anyways).

I love his raised eyebrow and cool hairdo in this pic! lol

After bathtime, I fed him lunch and then we headed out again. There is something to be said about having "at home" days...we'll probably do that tomorrow....but I like to take Liam out as much as possible so that he can be exposed to different things. Today we went to our favorite trail to take Chloe for a walk. I've blogged about this trail before, and today I actually managed to take some pics of the beauty! Enjoy!

The beginning of the trail sort of doesn't look like much...

Then you walk by an old cemetary surrounded by barbed wire... And then you come upon this gorgeous park and pond!

Beauty!

The End of Something Great...and the Start of Something Greater!

Whew...this week seemed to speed by! Bill was off from Sunday until Tuesday which made the time go by faster. On Monday we drove to Ottawa for Liam's 9 month Doctors appointment. It was in the morning, so we had to leave Petawawa pretty early. We got there with just enough time to spare to stop at Tim Hortons, grab some hot water, heat up Liams bottle and give him breakfast. Worked out perfectly. Liam got rave reviews from his Doctor which was great. He is now weighing in at a whopping 19 lbs, and he is about 29 inches long (it's hard to get an exact measurement of Mr. Man as he moves non-stop). I always feel a little funny when we get to the question portion of the doctors visit, as I usually don't have too many to ask. Liam has always been an awesome eater...he likes most foods that he tries (exceptions: broccoli, cauliflower, Kiwi on it's own, pureed Melon), he is growing at the proper rate (not too big, not too small), he is alway learning new skills and meeting all the developmental milestones at the proper times, he hasn't really been sick at all...so I never know what the say. I find myself asking the dumbest questions sometimes. Like...what is this little spot in his ear? Is is ok that he only crawls on his belly and not on his knees (which he started doing like yesterday all of a sudden..finally! lol)? Guess I shouldn't complain!

While we were at the Doctors I made a pretty big decision. Up until now I have still been breast feeding Liam in the mornings when he first wakes up. He really doesn't seem to have the patience for it anymore, and last week I was lucky if I could keep him interested for 5 minutes....so we have officially stopped. He is now fully on food, water and formula only. And he is perfectly happy...I don't think he even noticed a change. Me on the other hand....it is such a weird adjustment. Because I weaned him so gradually, I am lucky to miss out on the physical pain that can happen when you stop feeding, but it is sad in a way to not have that attachment anymore with him. I am so thankful that I was able to give him what I could for 8 months, and I am so thankful for the quiet time I got to spend with him when I was feeding him. I will miss it. On the other hand, I have to admit that I am enjoying the freedom that comes with being breast-feeding free. I drank regular coke today and did not worry about the amount of caffeine in it! Glorious freedom! lol. It's hard to see that he is fine without me, but I think a little freedom will be great for both of us. Before I got pregnant, I had gotten the first of two shots to immunize myself against Hepatitis A (in case we decide to travel anywhere in the future). I wasn't able to get the second shot because of the pregnancy, and haven't gotten it up until now due to breast feeding. I decided while I was at the doctors with Liam this time to get the shot, which essentially meant I was done feeding him.

After the Doctors on Tuesday we did some Ottawa running around. We spent WAY too much money at Costco, but got some amazing deals and lots of Christmas shopping done. WOO! (Note: the snap peas from Costco are AMAZING!). We spent a little time in the pet store because Liam had just fallen asleep in his stroller and we didn't feel like disturbing him (he looked way too peaceful). We are hoping to get our niece a fishtank for Christmas so we were checking some of the options out there. We also got some puppy Christmas presents bought. After lil man woke up we did a quick trip to Bayshore Mall to buy Liam some more fall/winter clothes at Old Navy. We also picked up his Halloween costume. TOO cute!! We zipped home after that because we had left Chloe at home and didn't want her to be alone for too long.

Tuesday was a pretty relaxed day. We took Chloe and Liam for a hike in this new spot we had heard of. It is called Petawawa Terrace Provincial Nature Reserve, and it is amazing. Lots of nice wide trails, little trails if you're in the mood to venture off the beaten track, forests, fields, water...it was great. It was rainy the day that we went, but we put the hood down on Liam backpack carrier and kept on. He loved it! And we loved it! We couldn't stay for too long though as I had to get back into town to pick up our new friends Pauline and Addy for playgroup. Liam continues to enjoy going, as do I, so we make it a point not to miss a week. I am hoping that we can keep the friendships that we are making there in the years to come. It it so important to me that Liam has some little friends to interact with.

For the rest of the week Liam and I have just been hanging out and having fun together. He is getting so much better at holding onto things and walking (he loves to walk along the couch), he has learned how to crawl on his knees, he is starting to eat food with more textures now, and he just loves watching everything around him. He thinks Chloe is the greatest toy ever, and would LOVE to play in her food and water dishes if I would let him. He enjoys going outside for walks...hardly makes a peep the entire time we are out...and he continues to love the water. This Wednesday we start swimming lessons which should be a great experience. I have to admit though, I am not looking forward to donning a swimsuit in such a public place!!!! lol The things we do for our little ones. I'm planning on just using him as my tummy shield. lol.

And on that lovely note, I will sign off for tonight. Sorry for the epic post...we are one busy family! And I never seem to have time to write lately (I am working on a photobook for Liam which is eating up all my free/Liam is napping time....which also involves teaching myself Photoshop...GAH! lol)

A sneak peek at Liam's Halloween costume. The cutest lil Monkey in the world!

Gotta love weekends away!

So the Adams Family is back from their weekend away...and what a productive weekend it was. Bill and I knew that it was going to be one of those crazy, busy time-offs, but we went for it anyways (because we're just crazy like that! lol). Bill worked until about 2 on Thursday, so while he was away, I was working at home like a mad woman. Got all of Liams food and bottles ready for the weekend, got him and myself packed, got Chloe's food and bed all ready to go, got the assorted jackets/footwear ready if we needed it at the cottage (which we did) and got a huge bag of Liams toys ready to take along (and the exersaucer which is huge and clumsy to pack in the van, but a lifesaver!). Needless to say that by the the time Bill got home, I was already pretty pooped, but Bill was even more so, so nice lil me offered to pack the van up while he watched Liam. Then we were off to Ottawa! I pretty much take any chance that I can get to go and visit my grandparents and other family there. I miss it a lot since we've moved away. Seeing the city as we appear over the hill as we drive in from Kanata....it feels like we're going home in a way. My grandparents were super happy to see Liam and were amazed at how much he has changed in such a short time. In his 8th month alone he has learned to do SO many new and amazing things. Every time Liam spots his grammy, his arms go right out and he leans in for her to take him. It's the cutest thing!

So our mission in Ottawa was to get Liam a new carseat and to pick up a MEC Baby Carrier that someone was selling. Mission accomplised! We took Chloe to the dogpark early on Friday morning which was great. It was a beautiful day and I didn't feel so bad for making her come along with us on all of our errands for the rest of the day. I carried Liam around the park in the Snugli which was a great workout for me (just in case Bill had to run after Chloe at any point...a real possibility with our crazy pup....but she actually behaved perfectly this time), and Liam loved watching all the dogs running around. After the park, we drove REALLY far out to the East end of Ottawa to pick up the carrier from a woman who lived near Metcalfe. Honestly, if I had realized how far she really lived, there is a strong chance we would not have made the drive. But we did, and it was gorgeous out in the country...Liam even had a lil nap so Bill and I got a chance to just talk and laugh and have fun. The woman lived in this pretty rich looking area, so we knew the carrier would be in great shape. And it was! Seriously....$40 for a Mountain Equipment Co-op Baby Carrier...how great is that!!!!!! We are SO excited to get to try it out with Liam. He is quickly outgrowing his little snugli, and we like to go hiking quite frequently, so we needed something more heavy duty.

After that awesome drive, we attempted to find the Kiddytown Warehouse that I knew was also located in Ottawa's East end. We found it finally...after a long, hot drive through lot's of horrible Ottawa traffic. Bill stayed in the car with Chloe while I took Liam into...Mommy Paradise!!!! No joke..this place was like an airplace hanger full of anything you could ever want or need for your child. Stollers, carseats, snowsuits, toys....you name it. I zeroed right in on the Britax carseat I wanted, which was in stock (YEY!) and turned out to be on sale. Even better! It was a feat in itself that I didn't spend hours in there, and thousands of dollars. But our van was already packed to the brim and I knew Bill would be less than pleased if I came out with boxes of stuff (though I did managed to sneak a little yellow, prickly ball into the mix for Liam to play with in the car) :) LOVE the new carseat...it is super cute...and I love knowing that Liam is SO safe in it (I did lots of research on it beforehand).

And then...after all of that running around...we headed back to the grandparents to say a quick goodbye and to feed Liam some lunch...then we were off to the cottage. The drive was pretty uneventful. Liam slept until we hit mad traffic in Arnprior, and he got woken up by like 10 semi's driving by us. The cottage was great as it always is. It was freaking cold there, so I was happy that I had packed Liam some warm clothes and hats. On Saturday night we all went to this party that the people on the lake call a "Wing Ding." Basically they deep fry all sorts of food...chicken wings by the pound, onion rings, cheese sticks..you name it. I was pretty good and tried to stick mostly to the salads and what not, but it was one of those situations where you feel like you've gained 10 pounds just by being in the same room as the food. Strollercize starts on Thursday this week...so lets hope that helps. lol. There was no swimming or boating this time at the cottage due to the cold, wind and rain...so stayed pretty quiet and just played with Liam and watched movies. Bill's sister and brother-in-law made it up which was great. We don't get too many opportunities to see them, and when we do it's lots of fun. Liam loves them also! And they finally managed to get the footage they took of our wedding onto some DVD's...WOO!!! :)

ANYWAYS...super long post already...all I'll say about this coming week is that it is shaping up to be pretty busy. We have playgroup tomorrow afternoon, I'm hoping to make it the library finally on Wednesday, and then me and a new friend are checking out this strollercize group on Thursday. Oh, and swimming lessons registration is on Wednesday...and apparently it is pretty competitive to get into around here due to the number of babies on base...so I'm going super early!! My son is getting IN!! lol Today...I dunno yet...maybe the park and a nice long walk with Chloe and Liam.

I will leave you with an oldy, but a goody of Mr. Liam as I haven't uploaded the pics from this weekend yet :)