Our angry, little gnome

So Chris, Liam, and I were in Macy's today when we noticed Liam making a face we'd never seen before. It started out innocently enough:



And then progressed to this:



That evolved into this:



Then, Liam looked down for just a moment...



And when he emerged from his angry contemplation, we were faced with this:



Chris and I almost fell over laughing our angry, little gnome. He didn't seem to mind, though, because a few minutes later, we were treated to this:





Yes, it's official: we've become THOSE parents, the ones who think that their baby is the sweetest, cutest, most hilarious, etc, etc. And ya know what? He IS! ;)

Avocado, baby!

Liam was 4 months old Friday before last! Here he is in his Bumpo, learning to sit up (he'd been doing what looked like crunches in an effort to sit up, and is pulling himself to a sitting position by holding onto our fingers).

Today was a fun milestone: we fed him his first solid food. I chose avocado, one of my personal favorites which is also supposed to be a good first food for babies. Here are some of his reactions:




"What? What's this, eh?"




"I suppose that this 'avocado' is tasty enough..."

(the last two photos are not that stellar because I took them with my iPhone-- sorry!)

All I can say is, it's a good thing that avocado is also good for the skin. I like to think that he got some nutrition AND a facial, all at the same time ;)

Congrats, Liam-beast, you've entered a world of culinary delight!

New Year's Greetings

I've never been one for going out on New Year's Eve. I don't like crowds and all that goes with them (especially when there's alcohol involved) , and I'm scared of running into a drunk driver. If we do go over to a friend's house, we leave well before midnight.

Now that we have Liam, we have the perfect excuse to stay at home and have our friends come to us! Of course, it helps to have understanding friends who don't mind doing that ;)

Our friends Andrew and Stacy, they of pumpkin patch fame, came over last night to ring in (or sing in as it turned out, more on that later) the new year. We kept the food pretty simple: brie, crackers, fruit, candied walnuts, smoked salmon; Stacy brought a veggie crudite, and Andrew made his famous guacamole.

I like the way the cheese board turned out:



The board is actually one that you knead bread on, but I like to multipurpose so I also use it for cheese and crackers. I bought one big ol' piece of brie and halved it. One half I kept plain, but the other I topped with this amazing Adriatic fig spread (soooo good-- you must try it!). I then scattered herbs de' provence over the board, added the crackers, and then labeled everything. Labelling saves time and, plus, I think it looks cool ;)




Here's a shot of some fruit and the candied walnuts. After washing the red, seedless grapes and putting them in the bowl, I decided to have some fun. You know that red stuff (is it cocktail sauce?) with which people eat shrimp? The shrimp are hung around the bowl, right? So I decided to put clementine slices around the edges in homage to that.


Ok, so now you're thinking that I'm weird ;) I have to amuse myself somehow, though!

The candied walnuts were delicious. I simply put honey and cinnamon in my wok, stirred it, and then added the walnuts. I coated the walnuts and then added more honey and cinnamon. After coating them thoroughly, I put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and stuck them in the 'fridge to harden. They are messy to eat, but soooo good.




Here's another bowl of grapes and clementines, along with some sliced pears.

We almost forgot the salmon, but luckily Chris spotted it in the 'fridge. That was after the picture taking, though.

After sitting around eating and sampling some artisanal beers, we popped in SingStar and proceeded to indulge in some really bad karaoke. Luckily, no pictures were taken; that sort of horror just doesn't need to be preserved for posterity :)

All in all, we had a really nice celebration. I hope that you did, too.

Wishing you all the best for a healthy, happy, and peaceful 2009,
Kimberley

Pics of Liam being held by various people :)

This blog started out as a chronicle of my various home improvement and decorating projects. Since September, though, it has evolved (devolved?) into a showcase for photos of Liam. Cut me some slack, people, I'm a first time mama and this site is followed with fanatic adoration by various family members. They EXPECT photos of this baby, and if I want to maintain my standing in the family I must comply with their demands! So here it goes:

It was Chris's parents' turn for Christmas this year, so we headed off to Florida. Liam got to meet several family members for the first time. Here he is with his great-grandmother:




Here he is with his great-uncle:




Liam and his aunt and uncle:




Liam and his cousin:




Liam and his mum (that'd be me-- ok, so we've definitely met before. It was such a cute picture of him, though, that I couldn't resist):



(Yes, Mom, I see the bra strap and I'M SORRY. But most of my clothes are too big now and there wasn't a lot I could do to prevent my foundation garment from presenting itself to the world ;) )

Here's one of the little man surrounded by some of his Christmas bounty:



("I do not understand this strange ritual. What's in these boxes? Why is this happening??") Oh, just wait, my son. Soon it will all be very clear :)

I hope that you had a very merry Christmas! Tell me how you celebrated.
Kimberley

Some Christmas photos

So, while Liam is no particular fan of Santa Claus (yet), he very much likes the Christmas tree. He is quite happy to spend long minutes staring at the lights and colourful ornaments. Here, he and Inspector Gateau (more on him later) graciously pose for Chris.





In this photo, you can see not only the Christmas tree, Inspector Gateau, and Liam, but also Liam's rockin' new monkey shoes (trust me, they are MUCH cooler when seen from above).





Me and Liam in front of the tree-- I swear, my little man seems to grow by the minute some days!

A word about Inspector Gateau: this esteemed French monkey recently joined our household to act as our Head of Security. He oversees all of Liam's activities, ensuring maximum safety. I recently sat down with Inspector Gateau and conducted an interview so that all of you could learn a little bit more about Liam's bodyguard, and I hope to post it soon.

Kimberley

Liam meets Santa Claus...

and couldn't care less ;) (Notice the one eyebrow lifted in complete boredom-- just like his mummy). His daycare had Santa in so that the kids could have their picture taken, and in all of the photos our little man looks supremely uninterested.




"Will someone get me away from this strange, old dude?"




"Please, jolly old elf, don't make me hit you."




"Fine! I may have to sit here, but I don't have to like it! I'm going back to sleep."


Perhaps Liam will be more receptive to the whole Santa thing next year ;)

Blessings

Today, while I was holding my three month-old son, I fell down half a flight of stairs. Though I am normally not given to going on and on about my spiritual beliefs, I believe that God was looking out for us.

I fell head over heels, hitting my head several times as well as my hips, legs, and shoulders, and slammed into the wall on the landing. Liam doesn't have a scratch on him. I was holding him as I always do, close to my chest with both arms wrapped around him. I guess that when I fell, I instinctively wrapped myself around him, and I thank God for that instinct. I don't know what I would have done if Liam had been hurt.

I immediately went to the infirmary and our excellent nurses checked both of us out. One called our pediatrician and told them what had happened and that we were on our way over. Liam checked out absolutely fine.

So tonight I'm thanking God for "all the blessings of this life", as the liturgy states, as well as more specifically for protecting my child. For that, I am truly thankful.