A Friend in Need

I typed this after our visit to Craig Hospital back in August but for some reason I never pushed it out to the masses. August 8, 2009: We just got back from visiting our friend John at the Craig Hospital in Denver, CO. As I mentioned in my July 30th post John was in a terrible accident while biking with his girlfriend in Hawaii and was nearly killed. He spent several weeks recovering at Queens Hospital in Hawaii before making the trip to Craig Rehab Hospital. John only has less than a week before he gets to go back home to Hawaii to continue his recovery. We had such a great time visiting with John and his girlfriend Laurel. It was hard being so far away and not being able to give hugs or tell him in person how much we love him and care about him. It was amazing to see how far he had come yet how much of a struggle he has in front of him. He is determined and has people all over the world praying for his recovery and if anyone can overcome these odds it is John. We had a chance to go to a BBQ that one of the patient's father was having for some of the friends he met there. The patient, Chris, was in a skiing accident and when he did a flip he came down on his head and broke his neck - instant quadrapeligic. We met Russell, John's roommate for the first part of his stay at Craig. He was also a quadrapeligic after being pulled from a bucket loader when installing a roof on a children's playground. Flynn was a ski instructor at Big Sky in Montana and was in a car accident on her way home one day. She lost the use of her legs and had upper body mobility with some restrictions in her hands. What amazed me more than anything was that at this BBQ I didn't hear one of these people complain or ask "why me?" I'm sure each have had their moments but their loved ones were there supporting them through this difficult time and they all seemed strong and resolute and John was no exception. They all laughed with us and told jokes, shared stories, and enjoyed each other's company. Each of them touched our lives and reminded us of the fleeting nature of our time on earth, how blessed we are and how thankful we should be for what God has given to us. The Nugget ran around and gave kisses and smiles to everyone and it was touching to see the impact she had on their lives. To her everyone was the same and that they were in wheelchairs made no difference. She is so young and probably won't remember being there but I hope to share this with her some day when she is old enough to understand the impact she was able to have without even knowing it and the opportunity she can have to do the same thing throughout her life. The best thing was Liana pushing John's wheelchair around - she loved it!

You Better watch out, You better not cry!

It was Saturday, December 5, 2009 - the second annual Hasbro Breakfast with Santa. The Nugget got dressed up to go wait in line with the other kids to sit on Santa's lap and eat some luke warm French Toast stix. As usual she got some laughs as she yukked it up with the other kids and families in line and she ran around like a maniac with me in tow making sure she didn't get hurt.

As I stared at kids who were just a few months to a year older than her standing patiently next to their parents I wondered if the Nugget would ever do the same. I also wondered if I would want her to ... it takes a lot of energy to keep up with her but that is what makes her fun and unique.

Anyway, as we got closer Liana was checking out Mr. Clause and the other kids who were taking turns sitting on his lap. Someone nearby was jingling bells kind of like a siren song distracting the kids from the red and white velvety blob that had the potential to scare them to death. As her turn came the Nugget went down on her knees about four feet from Santa's big black boots and cried out "Noooooo...." Everyone broke out in laughter and mama was able to wrestle her to Santa's lap. The ensuing photo is priceless and one for the ages!

Let is Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

The Nugget got to experience the first memorable snowfall of her young life. Now certainly it has snowed and she has been in the snow but not until Sunday, December 6 2009 did Liana really experience snow that she was old enough to remember it. It snowed just a few inches overnight and we woke up to see snow on the ground. After we told her about it the Nugget proclaimed "snow!" several times. We learned an important lesson about timing and experiencing new things - we got her all dressed up in her snow suit to play in the snow but the real plan was to spend a few minutes playing and then go to Keith's Farm to get a tree. Well after running in the snow and pulling the Nugget in her sled for a few minutes we were ready to go to the tree farm. By, "we", I mean mama and daddy - we've seen snow a million times - been stranded by it, shoveled it, had snowball fights, built snowmen, etc - no big deal for us. However, the Nugget freaked out when we went to put her in the car - she just screamed "snow!" a hundred times as she fought to get out of the car seat and back out to play.

Nonetheless, she was able to experience snow in a whole new way once we got to the tree farm (see the video). We had a blast picking out a tree and Liana enjoyed all the other shoppers and the tractor ride out to the tree lots. What a great family tradition that we will hopefully keep alive for years to come. And I hope the Nugget continues to remind us of the things in this world that mama and daddy take for granted but are so new and exciting for her.

Ah-Men!

We are teaching the Nugget to pray at meals and at night before bed so when we say "let's pray" she folds her hands and waits patiently for us to say "amen". She kind of half laughs and then says "Ah-Men" while putting her hands in the air. Holding any phone Liana says "hallo" as she pretends to talk to her papa or any of her imaginary friends. When she is spoken to sternly if she is getting into something she shouldn't be getting into (and she knows) she will turn around and say "hiii" with the cutest little grin ever. Boo! is another one of the Nugget's favorite things. She will cover her eyes or hide behind a corner and then peek out and say "boo!". she loves it when you "boo!" her back :-) We can't resist the temptation to ask the Nugget to say "shake", "sit" or "shirt" because invariably those words all sound like a naughty word for "pooh" :-) As a side note sleeping has been a struggle but somehow Liana has an ability to get by on less sleep than most of us. It makes mama and daddy's life a little hectic and tiring but we don't love her any less! But Liana, as you read this some day when you are a teenager and we are dragging you out of bed, know that it was YOU that was making us wake up and get up at 4:30 and 5:00 am because you were ready to go and didn't want to just hang out in your crib. We love you baby!

Favorite songs: Ants go Marching, 3 Little Ducks, Ring around the Rosie (Ah-Choo), and the Nathan Lane "Sing" (la, la) on Sesame Street
Favorite things: binky, blankies,stuffed owls and owl socks, her boots
Favorite foods: broccoli (surprising), nuggets, pineapple, soup, riiiicccee, and goldfish (fishy)

Rubber Ducky, You're The One...

Okay, the Nugget was not a Rubber Ducky, like from Sesame Street, but here are some pics from her on Halloween and at the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park Zoo.

She took a couple of houses to figure out what the deal was but for trick or treating at 16 months old she did great and made it to about 10 houses or so. Mama gave her an m&m to eat after trick or treating was over and after chewing it for a few seconds Liana looked at us and said ... "more, more". Ah, just like her mom she is a chocolate lover!

Happ-EEE!!

A few times a day the Nugget will say "Happ-eee" and laugh or give us a big smile. We think she really knows what it means and is telling us she is happy, but who really knows. She is still loving her "ants go marching" and "3 little ducks" songs ... asking us repeatedly by saying "ma!" (march) or making quacking noises to get us to play "3 little ducks". She says "achoo" to hear Ring around the Rosie (in this version they say "achoo, achoo, we all fall down" instead of "ashes, ashes". She loves to hold hands and watch daddy and mama fall down when it is time - she usually stays standing and laughs at us. Now we notice she sings certain words - the "yes sir" as in "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full" and "happy" when the lady comes on and asks "IS Everybody Happy?" right before singing "if you're happy and you know it". At breakfast today when the waitress brought a tea kettle for mama she said "Hot tea" as soon as she saw the steam coming out of the pot. Nothing is getting past her now! This includes anything to do with owl's - I would have to say it is quite an obsession. She has a shirt with an owl on it, socks with owl's, pictures of owl's in books, and now she has some tiny owl's on the bath/shower curtain. When she sees any of these she proudly proclaims "hoo hoo!" We took a visit to PA last week to visit some friends - Liana got to see her buddies Aaron Oberholser and TJ Hillery. She did really well in the car but like all other trips her sleep was disrupted and nighttime was challenging for mom and dad. Now she keeps saying "car" because of all the hours she logged watching Sesame Street and Elmo on a portable DVD player - she now thinks Elmo is in the car! As I sit and write I am trying to remember all the fun things she says and does and I can't recall them all - it would take more time and space than there is in this world to document the number of times the Nugget amazes me, makes me proud, makes me laugh, makes me feel special, makes me reflect or makes me so grateful for her love, her health and safety and her unique personality. I'm so glad she is in our lives! Look for an update next week with some photo's from our recent visit to the Roger Williams Park Zoo Jack-O-Lantern Spectaular (pretty awesome) and Halloween pics. Liana is going to be a little duck!

They Grow Up So Fast

I have heard this from so many parents, whether neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc., and always kind of agreed but without much conviction and now I think about it all the time.

The Nugget is growing up right before our eyes and at this stage in her life (16 months old) everyday she says or does something new and surprising. She attempts almost any word and does a good job remembering them from day to day.

Liana is getting comfortable with routines and goes over to the door after her breakfast and lunch reaches for the doorknob and says “walk” or “ah-side” (outside).

When she does get to go outside she heads for friends Shane and Christian’s house – she says “Shay” (Shane) and walks down the street with her mama sometimes to discover the boys are playing and other times finding they are not at home. It is at this point she throws up her hands in wonderment or tilts her head to the side insinuating that they boys must be sleeping.

We read books at night and sometimes over and over again as she signs and says “more, more” until she is satisfied with our renditions of “Mr. Brown Can Moo” or “The Foot Book”.

Other words of note: Towel, shower, tail, Shane, Mimi (Maria, Shane’s mom), Papa, daddy, mommy, paste (for toothpaste), ketchup, elo (elephant), Elmo, pease (please), “more, more”, “Ana” (Liana), va-va (vaccum), wa-wa (wagon), apple, bee-bee (means baby or bee depending on the situation).

Today she pointed at the word “Harpoon” on my shirt and correctly identified the letter A without prompting – conincidence? Maybe.

When reprimanding The Nugget for hitting (like me with a spatula) she will lean in for a kiss before you can finish saying “do nice nice”.

Favorite toys seem to be the busy ball popper, stuffed elephant, glow worm (she pushes the glow worm and rocks back and forth in the morning when we get her out of her crib), kiss-me elmo, and the princess mobile.

Oh, yeah, for some reason The Nugget takes a binky now – we don’t mind because it soothes her in the morning and we get more sleep but it is funny to see her with it since she never liked them before.

Notable words in addition to those above: Shake, boo, uh-oh, nack (snack), towel, puppy, tail, pane (plane), duck. There are many others, I just forget them all while typing!

All of this information about her learning and cognitive ability is great but the special times are running around the house or yard and having her “get me” or chasing the Nugget and listening to her laugh and cackle until she can’t take it anymore. Seeing her break out in a bobbing style dance to the radio or Sesame street is hilarious and because she truly dances like no one is watching. The most precious thing, however is an unsolicited kiss from Liana. Sometimes she just leans in and gives me one right on the lips and my heart melts. It makes me feel special and important and I know she won’t always want to give me kisses. Now, I am not the only special one - she regularly gives kisses to every animal in “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” and blows kisses to many of our neighbors and family but I like to think she has a special place in her heart for daddy. Either way, I’m going to enjoy every one of those smooches - they grow up so fast!

Time Flies ...

I can't believe another month has gone by since my last post - things have been busy this summer and The Nugget has changed so much in that time ...

Notable changes are her propensity for walking - she is a true champ in this department although we keep a close eye on her near the street and in the driveway. Walking comes with its pro's and con's - and they are both the same - she is more mobile. The Nugget can go on walks with us and actually walk although she is often distracted by mulch and dirt and would sometimes rather play than walk. Also, everything is a potential head-bumping hazard and new bumps and bruises are a normal part of the daily routine.

The Nugget gives out great kisses, on the lips and the "blow a kiss" kind and she is so sweet. She makes friends on the beach and has no fear of the dangers of ocean waves. Sand, shovels, and the water have been her favorite thing!

Liana's vocabulary is expanding - baby (bee-bee), bee, she will point to her scratches and say "boo-boo", she identifies the trash truck (tra tru), she has begun to understand the concept of "two" and will pick up or see two of something and proudly proclaim "two"!. While watching Sesame Street she often repeats the letters B, T, and L when they go through the alphabet. She of course says mama and dada a lot and sometimes mommy and daddy. She tries to say "Liana" but three syllables are tough and we mostly hear "ana".

One early morning mama and I had to tend to the Nugget - mama cosoled her while I got a baba (another favorite word) and I came back to the room with the baba. While waiting for mama to give Liana some motrin I farted (surprised?) and Liana looked at me and said "pooh". We did everything we could to not laugh hysterically out loud and blow the chance for the Nugget to go back to sleep!

Animal sounds are also in the mix - mooo, arr-arr, rrrooooaar, baa, meow, gg-ggg (giddy up for the horsies), and the latest and most favorite is "hoo hoo" for owl.

Uncle Joe makes some strange noises at Liana when he sees her and has done so since she was a baby. While flipping through some pictures the other day we saw a pic of Uncle Joe and with no prompting Liana starting imitating the sounds Uncle Joe makes and we cracked up laughing.

Favorite books are "The Foot Book", "Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?" and her book of animals with the owl in it.

I'll make my next post more timely as there is a lot of stories and info that gets lost I'm sure ... our efforts to get Liana back on track for regular sleeping is a whole other post!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Typed on 7/26 but not posted until today

The Nugget is earning her wings for sure – at the ripe young age of 13 months she has taken many road trips – Utah, Kennebunkport, ME - , the most recent of which was a land and air trip to Toronto, Canada. The most recent trip was on the heels of visits from the Taylor family and Jackie/Noah – separate visits but both close together. We literally finished packing and saying goodbye to Jackie/Noah and we were in the car on the way to the airport.

Mama, Liana and I flew from Boston to Buffalo and then drove to Toronto to visit Krissy and Mike. The Nugget amazed us again at her ability to cope/adapt to the not so great circumstances that travelling can sometimes yield. Mama and I realize that the easy, breezy days of catching a snooze on a plane or reading a book or listening to iPod’s is so far gone. Keeping Liana entertained has become priority #1. That also carried over to the visit with Krissy and Mike – with no kids their house was not Nugget-proof so we were constantly on guard for possible injuries, broken remotes and dangerous stairs.

While in Toronto we went to see the Red Sox play – the Nugget’s first game. We dressed her up in her Sox gear and made a sign hoping to get on TV, but no luck. Daddy and the Nugget took to rally cap’s in the 9th inning to try and get the Sox back on top but to no avail – they lost 6-2. We hustled back and picked up Julie/Katelin at the airport (not before getting threatened by security at the airport parking lot) and they stayed with us for a couple of days before heading to The Cape.

Next up on the travel agenda is a trip to Denver this coming Friday to visit our friend John. He was in a terrible accident on May 2nd and almost lost his life. He is fighting hard to recover from his injuries and we are visiting to help him with his OT and PT. He wanted to see the Nugget so we are bringing her with us. The flight is direct on JetBlue and hopefully Liana will nap for part of it – PPLLLLEEAAAASSEE!

Liana has learned to march in place on command (and spin around while doing it), she likes to jump, blow kisses, comb her hair (and anyone else’s) and playing in the water is still one of her favorite things to do.

Her sign language includes “please”, “more”, “eat”, “cat”, and “milk”. Verbal vocabulary continues to expand and “no,no,no” seems to be a favorite lately – hopefully a phase! Elmo and kazoo are two new words and animal recognition is increasing – duck, bunny, cat, dog, bird, fish and some of the sounds are in the mix as well. While looking at a pictures of the respective animal she will say “moo”, “woof”, “giddy”.

This is a long post to really get to the point – it is so much fun watching Liana grow, learn, and interact with her surroundings. She has a great smile and people comment on her facial expressions all the time. I love the Nugget so much and look forward to all that the future holds with her.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

The Nugget is officially on her feet and walking around - her balance has come a long way over the past few weeks and although she crawls when she feels like it her preference seems to be walking on two feet.

Liana has started to associate more and more and a few examples come to mind - she has always chased the cat around (much to Frankie's dismay) but now when the Nugget chases Frankie she clicks her tongue like she has heard her mama do so many times when calling the cat. Too funny. Also, about 1 week ago Mama was clipping the Nugget's toenails and when she was done mama put the clippers on an end table. The Nugget reached up on to the end table, grabbed the clippers and flopped down on her bottom. She then proceeded to put the clippers near her toes and tried her best to clip the nails like mama had just done.



Liana has learned a couple more signs - "eat" and "more" are mastered and used appropriately 95% of the time and she is now using the sign for "cat" and she does it most of the time when Frankie appears or if she says another cat in the neighborhood. This is accompanied by a "ka" sound over and over again. The newest sign is for "milk" which her buddy TJ helped her learn this past weekend. We love watching the Nugget grow and every day is as special as the next.

Notes: A molar popped through on Monday and more seem on the way as The Nugget's appetite has decreased and so has her penchant for through the night sleeping. We knew the molar was on the way given the horrible rash and diahrrea she had over the weekend.



Attached are a couple pics of Liana doing her favorite things - walking behind her push toys, swinging at the park and cuddling with "DA"

Number 1

It has been a few weeks since I updated this blog - not for lack of wanting to but for lack of the right time and opportunity.

The Nugget turned 1 yesterday and I can't believe it. Seems like she was just born yesterday and I have been told by countless friends and family that "it flies by". Well, now I know what they mean.

In addition to turning 1 there were some other firsts recently - first steps took place last Wednesday, May 20th. I didn't see the very first one but I did witness the first series of steps - 3 to be exact.

First real bump on the head - that happened today about 10 minutes prior to taking the Nugget for her 1 year pictures. A nice egg that left a mark - we iced it down and went anyway - pics came out great with a little touch up :-)

More firsts will come this week as she gets to have strawberries and milk (not at the same time, but maybe) - two things she has not been able to have until she turned 1.

Liana knows so many more words since the last time I wrote and although she still says "ball" and "shoe" a lot she says "blue" (for blueberry), "boo" when she wants some mommy juice, sock, wow, Mama (and she means it now), "da" for daddy and she tries very hard to say "balloon". She uses her signs for "eat" when she is hungry and "more" when she wants something again (food, being tossed in the air, etc.).

We have been teaching her to hold up one finger when we ask "are you gonna be one?" She complies most of the time but reserves the right to ignore us if we over-ask.

Her birthday party was a success and she wore her birthday princess crown all day long (until it got frosting in it). About 45 friends, neighbors and family members joined in the celebration at our house and she put on a good show.

I love my baby so much and I love her mama for doing a great job organizing the party and making it extra special with picture collages, special name banner, "Liana" m&m's, and home made birthday cake (for the Nugget - we all got sheetcake from BJ's with her photo on it). The joy our family brings to me is beyond the scope of the written word but I know that everyday we are together I am a happier person determined to do all I can to provide for and protect my girls.

I love to stay at the Y M C A

So much has happened since my last post. The Nugget is more mobile than ever - cruising the furniture and standing unassisted for a few seconds at a time. We know she will be a climber - she tries to climb onto everything including window sills, her pack 'n play, cabinets, even up daddy's legs. She recognizes so many words and is certainly starting to say a few including shoe and ball, which are definitely her first words. Pretty fitting that "shoe" is one of those words since her mommy has so many pairs. The Nugget has several littel robeez and sandals already at 11 months old. I got to see her at her swimming class today (at the Y - thus the title of my post) and I just smiled the whole time while the Nugget and mama swam (mama walked around and kept the Nugget afloat) in circles. She loves her mama so much and it makes me happy to see them having such a good time. Of course I was also a proud daddy as Liana splashed and smiled and took note of me watching her and taking pictures. As usual, she was hamming it up and getting everyone to say how cute and outgoing she is. We also started teaching a little sign language and she is doing the sign for "eat", "more", and "all done". She is a little sponge and every day I am amazed at what she learns and all the sounds and motions she will mimic.

Whistle While you Work

Mommy and The Nugget just visited me at work. This is the second time in a couple of weeks they have been in and it just makes my day. Liana loves to wave and smile at everyone and she just hams it up big time. She crawled down the main hallway where my office is and she could have cared less if we followed her or not. Certainly no stranger anxiety for this future Mayor. The funny thing is she doesn't quite understand that Dad works at a toy company but when she finds that out I'm sure there will be daily requests for something new to play with.

The Nugget was focused in on a big stuffed Big Bird and I'm sure she recognized him from her favorite show, Sesame Street. It won't be long before all of this crawling around gets old - Liana is pulling herself up on everything and getting more daring by the day. She recognizes so many words although everything is "doh". We aren't sure what that means but she points her finger and says it quite a bit. I wasn't there but mommy had her on a blanket in the yard the other day and it was as if there was an invisible forcefield keeping her off the grass. I don't think she was afraid of the green stuff, just a little unsure. Since then, she crawled around and foraged in the yard so it must have been a temporary thing. So, back to work, but will be thinking of my girls in the meantime!

All She Wants To Do is Dance

The Nugget is really coming into her own and loves to dance, especially when she hears her favorite Sesame Street songs.  Take a look at our Dancing Queen.

Big Girls Don't Cry (but little ones do)

Both mommy and daddy are quite weary today after a rough night. Nothing seemed to console Liana - nursing, bottle, blanky, ducky - NOTHING during the night last night. We tried the "cry it out" method and after plenty of crying and screaming and then a rescue attempt by mommy I went in and was able to get the Nugget to finally go to sleep. All of this took place from 11:45 to about 2:something. Mommy will hopefully get a nap today and let's hope this is a blip on the screen! No matter what, though - we love our little girl.

On another note, after seeing the Nugget crawl around lately with a bottle or a toy in her mouth I had a great idea for a posting caption - "Look Ma, No Hands". But since the camera never seems to be around to capture these funny moments there is no picture for now! Yes, as noted Liana is crawling everywhere and she is recognizing more words every day. It just amazes me how quickly she picks up on things. A good example - this morning in bed (after the rough night) I was rubbing my hands together, (kind of Myagi style from "Karate Kid") while she watched in amazement. I said "rub?" and when I held my hand out flat she took one of her hands and rubbed it back and forth on my hand - just like that! It puts a lot of self-inflicted pressure on to constantly teach her something new.

Hello Kitty

The Nugget certainly is a crawling pro now and she gets around every which way she can. The safety gates are up and although confined to the kitchen and living room Liana finds no shortage of small crumbs and otherwise insignificant items that she can put in her mouth. I had to install a cat door on the door in our kitchen that leads to the basement (and the kitty's food supply). We typically have left the door open but with an active Nugget that is no longer an option. The funny thing is that every time Liana hears the sound of the cat door she scrambles as fast as she can over to it in hopes of getting to catch up with the kitty - to see her, pet her, etc. The cat, realizing the Nugget is now so much more mobile, does everything in her power to avoid Liana.

As I mentioned the gates were installed but we did have to elevate them a little higher than normal so the cat can go underneath. The attached photo shows Liana looking for the kitty - she saw the kitty go under the gate and got as low as possible to the floor to see if she could watch kitty some more. Too funny. Newest things are that the Nugget mimics me when I make a "quacking" sound - usually in the tub with the rubber duckie and she also mimics the "wee wee wee" sound made when I tell her about the infamous "little piggies".

Batten Down the Hatches

Right before our trip to Utah the Nugget was making some significant strides in the crawling department and was clumsily piecing it all together. While on vacation she certainly beefed up her skills and showed an uncanny ability to pull herself up onto ottoman's, exersaucer's, coffee tables, you name it. I've attached a brief video of her showing her crawling skills - note that everything must be bolted down from this day forward!

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz

We just got back from Utah and our trip was a success. Mommy and Daddy got to do some skiing and hanging out with friends and the Nugget got to get familiar with the ski lodge at Deer Valley and she got to visit her friend Katelin (who calls her "Ana"). Part of the experience was tubby time together. Katelin, at 19 months has a little variety with her tubby time as her daddy drops in colored fizz bombs to change the water color. Everything was going well when blue was added, and then yellow, and then something happened ... the Nugget created her own plop, plop and added a brown bomb to the mix. Yup, for the 2nd time in her life she did a #2 in the tubby - Katelin was whisked away, Liana was taken out of the tub and daddy got to scrub with the lysol spray! Good comic relief - how can you get any cuter than these two?!

Side note that Liana became very fond of a big mylar heart shaped helium balloon and now looks for a balloon when you say the word. She also was making a "buh" sound and all four adults confirmed that this was a true attempt at a first word.

Also, the Nugget was very good on the plane rides (we had a connection on both ends) and was complimented on how well she behaved. One gentelmen who was travelling on buisness on our last flight from Chicago to Boston - with whom the Nugget exchanged several smiles - commented that she made him miss his kids. We are so blessed!

Utah, Get me Two!

We are taking the Nugget on her first airplane ride today as we visit our friends Dave, Julie and their 16 month old Katelin in Utah. We are leaving the cold weather to go to colder weather and more snow. This time in 2007 and 2008 we were in Aruba enjoying warm sun and white sand. I'm sure the sun in Utah will be warm, but the wind will be cold and no white sand - just white snow. Well, gotta go pack but we are hoping the Nugget has no issues flying and that we can keep her quiet. Amazing how perspective changes - I used to hate flying when kids were seated near me because I could never get any rest or peace and quiet. Now I will give the evil eye to anyone who suggests that my baby is ruining their flight!

Sock Monster

Liana has learned a trick from me - not sure if it is a good thing but it sure is funny. A couple of months ago I used to pull her socks off slowly and one at a time to get her to laugh - she thought it was hysterical. So now that she has some more dexterity and motor skills she pulls her own socks off and ends up with cold feet. She needs to hands and really needs to yank but she gets it done!

The Invisible Man

I forgot to write this in my eariler post today - probably because I am a little foggy from being up with The Nugget in the middle of the night. Anyway, when mommy finally got Liana back in her crib and settled she was amazed to see that The Nugget wouldn't lay down as usual. She sat right up in her crib with her back to the bedroom door and was seemingly in some kind of trance. I came in to see and it was pretty funny - her head would bob to the left and as she started to topple over she would catch herself and do the same thing to the right and then to the left again. She was so tired but wouldn't lay back and fall asleep. So sitting in the upright position she kept nodding off again and again. She repeated this for a while before eventually falling asleep. One of the funniest things she has done yet!

Chicklets are here ... now what?

Liana has her top two and bottom two teeth and had been recovering quite nicely from her RSV. Her appetite is back and she is the happy even keeled baby that we have come to know and love :-)

However, just when things seemed back to normal it now looks like Liana is getting more teeth. The signs are there - red cheeks, chewing on her fingers, a little unexplainable diaper rash - and hopefully the tooth or teeth (or teef as I call them) poke through. At bedtime Liana has been going down pretty easy but she has been waking up and fussing inconsolably in the wee hours of the morning. When she gets up she doesn't really want to take the booby juice and she just cries and cries. It has been a joint effort to get her back to sleep and mommy is more than a little frustrated - not at Liana, but at the prospect of missed sleep and then dealing with a baby who only takes 2 naps a day for 30 minutes max. It doesn't allow mom to get any real down time or rest during the day. All in all, we realize we have it pretty good - many people experience this type of interrupted sleep for weeks, months and years.

We love the Nugget and hope she gets those teeth through soon and gets back on track.

Here is a pic of her showing the chicklets (the top two teef). Although it looks like she is crying this is her newest face indicating she wants something. We crack up every time we see it.

Sick for the First Time

As optimistic as we were that Liana would get through her first winter without being sick the reality of germs and children have set in. After a week of watching and waiting for a cough to go away we found out on Friday that she has RSV. The poor little Nugget just hasn't been herself but I must say she has been quite a trooper through it all. We have had to "trick" her into taking her nebulizer treatments by turning on Sesame Street to distract her. We found out that she loves Elmo and will pretty much allow for us to give her the nebulizer if she can watch him.

Outside of the RSV things of note are the top two teeth coming in - I call them chicklets and Liana is making a new face where she bites down and scrunches up her whole eyes and nose. Very cute. Lots of "da..da..da" type babbling and crawling is around the corner. She is recognizing the words "hat", "light", "elmo" and "eyes" and will look to the appropriate item when quizzed.

The Little Nugget

Our daughter Liana is just over 8 months old and ever since she was a baby I began referring to her as The Little Nugget. I don't know why but it has stuck and many of our friends now call her that as well. I don't always take the time to write down my thoughts and record the milestones like I should so I opened up this blog to give me the opportunity to just write a quick note when I think of it. I'll get some pics on the site so in case you do read this you can see Liana continues to change and grow and enrich our lives.