well it's about time!!!

At long last I have captured it! I finally got video of Liam laughing. It took Ben to get him going and I kept it up playing peekaboo over the camera. At long last, laughter, caught on video! Ah, sweet victory...

the elusive laugh

Liam has only "laughed" a handful of times. He smiles like it's going out of style and will chatter up a storm (not to mention screaming like a banshee whenever he feels the need) but the belly laughs have been sparse. Tony got him going the other day and I just couldn't get to the camera fast enough. I captured him "talking" to his Daddy and blowing his trademark raspberries, but no laughter. I will capture his giggle on film one of these days...

It's all downhill from here...

Liam has begun rolling over. It's all downhill from there. Once they gain mobility any semblance of sanity is gone...

jingle bells,jingle bells, jingle all the way...

The tree is up in the living room and the stockings are up on the railing (We learned the hard way that we can't hang them from the mantle. Ben is lucky he doesn't have a scar on his head from pulling the weighted stocking holder down on his head last year.) I have to admit that I'm not ready to put the decorations up on the tree just yet. Not because I'm not ready for the festivities but simply because I doubt with Ben they'll stay on the tree for more than a few minutes. He likes hiding behind the tree and laying underneath it and looking up at the lights. I just have to remind myself that, while curiosity may have gotten the better of the cat, it's a good thing in little people. Even if it makes the big people crazy, right? And boy is Ben curious. I love watching him try to figure things out. He gets this funny look on his face as he cocks his head to the side while he's looking at something. You can practically see the gears turning in his head as he watches something to see how it works. I have a feeling he's going to be like his Uncle Geoffrey, taking things apart and putting them back together just to see how they work. I'd better start hiding the radios now...

nap shmap

A milestone appears to be upon us that I am none too thrilled about. Ben has refused to nap for the last three days. The down side of this is that I don't get a break in the afternoon anymore. The (slight) up side is that he does appear to be going to bed earlier. Not sure what I think of this trade-off just yet. I rather liked that two to three hour break that he was giving me. I knew it would end eventually, the napping that is, but I was hoping it would last at least a little longer. I suppose I should be grateful that I got two years out of him. By eighteen months I could not have paid Noah to take a nap. Aahhh, the excitement that is my life...

nasal epiphony...

I've decided I know the genetic origins of Liam's nose. I was sitting here trying to convince him to burp after his last feeding and was enjoying staring at his sweet little old man face. In looking at his nose I realized that it looked awfully familiar. I knew it wasn't my nose and it wasn't Tony's nose. I looked and looked and looked and then it came to me...he's got Grammy Myrna's (Tony's Mom) nose. Interesting what comes out when you roll the genetic dice...

mama's boy my butt...

So I now have proof that, while Ben does indeed love me(he just said so), he likes being with Daddy way more. Tony has been home on paternity leave since I had Liam. Ben has gotten used to having him here and getting to go to lots of places with Daddy. So used to it in fact, that when Tony tried to leave to go to Lowe's a minute ago Ben literally fell off the kitchen chair to get down and go with Daddy. He picked himself up off the floor, said he was "okay,okay", blew me a kiss, told me "love you" and ran to Daddy. I am somewhat beside myself. I laughed, I cried, I'm overwhelmed at how wonderful my husband and my kids are. I feel unbelievably blessed that my boys have a Daddy who is so involved and hands-on with them. How lucky we all are to have each other...