How do I love thee...

Nothing makes me feel better than when the Nugget...

...reaches up and says "hand" so we can walk together
...says "up please" and asks to "stir" an egg or whatever I am cooking
...leans in to give me a kiss on the lips
...crosses her arms and/or says "I you" (I love you) to show me love (the sign for love)
...runs across the room and jumps into my arms to give me a big hug
...yells "daddd-eeee" or "da-da" when I come down the stairs in the morning
...watches me in the window in the mornings when I leave for work and blows me kisses
...sings with me at night when we are settling down and preparing for bed
...cuddles up on me to watch Elmo and even better, if she falls asleep in my arms


All of these things make me proud to be her dad and everyday I am amazed and humbled by how she can melt me with the simplest of words, actions or expression.

Creature of Habit

I get to put the Nugget down most nights - it is our special time to hang out after dinner and spend some time together.

After we eat I tell Liana that we are going to go take a tub and she says gets her blankie says "stairs" and heads to the stairs so we can go up and start the process of going to bed. She loves to run around upstairs naked ("nake", as she calls it) while the water is running and the tub is filling up.

She will spend time coloring in the tub (fancy crayola crayons designed for the tub) and filling filling up and pouring water out of pitchers and cups and playing with her toys. there is lots of kicking and practicing of her swimming moves and I end up quite wet - the Nugget laughs hysterically and thinks this is funny.

Sometimes she just stands up and says "out" and wants to get out - other times she will sit there until all the water is drained out. She gets in her "ribbit" which is the froggy towel and we wrap her up tight and go to her bedroom, after she kisses the baby (aka Liana) in the mirror.

We put her diaper on and get her dressed and then sit down to read and sing. She has her bubba or bottle of milk and lately it has been a steady diet of "Where the Wild Things Are", "Peekaboo Baby", and "I love you Through and Through". Believe me, I ask her what she wants to read and she will say "no" or "yeah" - if you ignore her wishes she will say "no, no, no". She definitely knows what she wants. After we read the books we brush her teeth - a difficult and onerous task, however I always laugh when she takes the toothbrush and touches it to her tongue. The Nugget lets out a giddy laugh as she tastes the paste and will often ask for "more".

We then fold our hands and pray and the Nugget echoes my "Amen" with her own and then claps and says "yaaay". Then it is singing time and although daddy's singing voice is not that great the Nugget doesn't seem to mind. She now will sing with me (the La, La, La part of "Sing") and will ask me to sing about random things - including rabbits, apples and noses.

I tell her she is going into her crib and lately she has been very receptive and sometimes will tell me "crib" when she is ready to go. A few weeks ago she would say "sit" or "no" and want me to spend more time before putting her in the crib. I make sure she has her blankies, her bink and then I cover her up with her "hoo-hoo" blanket (it has owls all over it). After that I ask for a kiss and The Nugget gets up on her knees and puckers up with her bink in her mouth and lets me kiss her. then she turns on her aquarium and puts her head down for nite-nite time.

I love these times with Liana and know that they won't last forever ... even if she doesn't sleep all through the night or if she wakes up really early it can be frustrating but the bedtime routine is special and fun.

The year in review

It has been a great 2009 with the Nugget. She has grown up so much and developed quite a personality.

It was a year of firsts - first teeth, first plane trip (Utah), first sickness (RSV), first steps, first birthday, first international trip and first baseball game (both in Toronto), and first trip to the doctor for a boo-boo (cut over her eye in December).

Here are some of the fun things I have learned about her this year. There is so much more but here is what comes off the top of my head:

We have seen her love the water - the beach, her baby pool, swimming at the Y and taking baths.

She has been in love with the snow - eating it and playing in it.

Liana loves to color - with crayons, pens, markers or with her new crayons that go in the tubby with her.

The Nugget is a laugher and a runner - she does not stay by our side if given the chance. When we go to the mall or to someone's house she just runs and smiles and laughs and it is adorable - exhausting, but adorable.

Similarly, she loves to chase or be chased around the kitchen - mama will get her and they will chase daddy or daddy will chase them.

Her smile brightens my day and even when I get tired and want her to go to sleep she can say or do the littlest thing that cause me to crack up. Sometimes she just runs full throttle and opens up her arms as wide as an eagle in flight and as I kneel down she just jumps into my arms. Nothing is better.

I know her tickly spots on her chest, under her chin and in the little bit of pudge that she has left on her inner thighs.

Liana loves owls - she has owls on her socks, on her shirts, on a blanky, in books ... she has a stuffed owl in her crib, a stuffed owl pillow and she loves the owls in her books. She proclaimed "hoo-hoo" many times this year.

Sesame Street is her favorite TV show and her love for Elmo is unrivaled among 18 month olds! She has several elmo dolls and SS books featuring Elmo as the star. She has favorite episodes and segments within those episodes. She is certainly a girl who knows what she wants!

Talking on telephone ("hullo") is one of her favorite things - actually pretending to talk on the phone is one of her favorite things.

She loves to see our neighbor Shane - he is 5 years old and Liana says his name over and over again and makes a bee-line for his house when she gets outside.

Liana likes blueberries, pickles (pip-pip), beans, rice, and soup (anything in a bowl is possibly soup so she picks it up and tries to drink it)

Liana seems to really like music - she has a cute little spin move, some great hopping, and good clapping to the beat when the radio or her cd's are on. She has spent some time recently "playing" the piano at Auntie Jenn's and was proud of herself when she got up on the bench, positioned her feet forward and pounded away on the keys.

The moon is one of Liana's favorite things to spot during the day or at night. She loves to point it out and doesn't care if it is crescent or full, in a book or in the sky - the moon is pretty cool.

Liana loves her papa - she sees him a couple times of week through Skype and I am pretty sure he is one of her favorite people.

And of course, I know she loves her mama so much and it is amazing to see the bond they have together. Shelly is a great caretaker and always makes sure food is prepared, clothes are bought, washed, dried, and folded, toys are handy and that learning is being achieved regularly.

It is going to be great to see the Nugget grow even more in 2010 - she has a big year of assuming leadership responsbilities as a big sister.

Latest words and phrases:
"I see it", "I see you", "I did it", "up pease" - said when she wants to see what mama is cooking, when she wants to get in a cabinet to choose a cup, or just after she gets out of her chair at dinner so she can sit on mama's lap and feed her the rest of her dinner.

"mon" - means "c'mon" and is accompanied by a wave of the hand
"nose, tissue" - the combo means she needs a tissue and help blowing her nose - which by the way she does like a seasoned professional at 18 months!

Uncle Joe is no longer 'blah, bloh, blah, blip' - he is officially "Joe"

Telling Stories

Liana took a day trip with her mama to see grandparents and aunties/uncles and from the sounds of it had a good time. She slept in the car on the way home and was wired at bedtime so we decided to let her up for a bit until she was ready to sleep. She was blabbing and talking to me while I sat with her in her room for about 45 minutes before she fell asleep. I told mama about what she was saying and we decided she must have been telling me about her day in the way she knew how. She was pointing to the ceiling (there is a light that projects fishies on her ceiling) and saying "moon, papa". At another point she firmly held up her left index finger and said "no" over and over again. She also said, "arf, meow" a couple of times. Mama told me she had seen a cat and a dog at Aunt Joanne's, had looked outside at the moon with her Papa Dion and told Max the cat (at her grandpa/grandma's) "no, no" after he kind of boxed her when she went to pet him. Too funny!

We now know Liana has been a bit restless and not sleeping well because she has croup and the week between Christmas/New Year's has been a tough week of sleeping for mama, daddy and her. She is taking medicine and we just hope and pray she sleeps through the night and gets back on track!

Merry Christmas 2009!

We had a fun Christmas with the Nugget. She was infatuated with the tree early on - she had an "L" ornament kind of like a gingerbread cookie and before we decorated the tree we let her put it on and take it off over and over again. Eventually
Liana grew to mostly ignore it other than pressing the button to turn the lights off and on which mama told her was okay.

On Christmas morning she awoke to presents under the tree and a new play kitchen all ready and waiting for her to play with. This thing is pretty cool - it only took about 1.5 hours to assemble and it has all kinds of battery operated goodies including buttons for the microwave and stove, over the sink light and telephone. But coolest of all is the weight sensitive stove burner that sizzles when the fry pan is put on it and makes a boiling sound when the pot is put on it.

She spent so much time playing and exploring - we were able to make breakfast and open some of our own presents while the Nugget played with her kitchen. She was pretty good about opening presents but took her time and still doesn't realize there may be more for her under the tree so she plays with what you give her. Liana did want us to get whatever she had opened out of the box and asked by saying "hep" (which means help).

Both sides of the family plus our neighbors Leslie, Darren and their 3 year old son Ewan came over for Christmas dinner. We had a good meal and a fun Yankee swap. Everyone got the news that the Nugget is going to be a big sister on or about 8/14 - we are sure she will be great at it but who knows how she will respond to having to compete for mama and daddy's attention with a little baby.

The Holiday Pops

We have a 5 year running tradition of going to see the Holiday Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston on the Friday before Christmas. We get a floor table so we can order food and we go to the 4 o'clock show - a matinee for kids where Santa shows up and there is a caroling sing-a-long at the end. This is the Nugget's second Christmas and therefore her second Holiday Pops performance. Last year we went in a blizzard to the show and Liana was a perfect angel hanging out on our laps or in her car seat. We fed her some baby food during the performance and she fell asleep by the time the show had ended. This year we got to the show late and made our way to our seats. She sat patiently on my lap and ate some veggies and dip - that lasted about 30 minutes and then it was dancing and running time! I put her down and she hopped, spun and smiled her way through the aisles without a care in the world. Afte the show a few women a few rows in front of us said her smile and dancing made the show for them. When we made our way out to the lobby other people walked by proclaiming "there she is - we saw her from the balcony". Someone else said "there's the star of the show!". We just laughed and rolled our eyes as we are used to the Nugget doing her thing and having a blast no matter where she is. We look forward to this tradition continuing and hopefully the Nugget will continue to bring a lot of joy and happiness to those around her.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

The weekend before Christmas we got hammered with 18+ inches of the white stuff and the Nugget loved it. It was the biggest snowfall of her young life and she had a blast playing in it. We showed her all the snow in the morning (it was coming down pretty hard) and she kept declaring "snow, snow"! We went outside and down the street to play with her buddies Shane, Christian, Kara and Libby. We did a little sledding but mostly running around and eating the fresh powder. It was fun to see her having such a good time, but also hilarious as she yelled "mow! mow!" when I was starting up and working the snowblower. She loves the snowblower as much as she loves the lawnmower and daddy cutting the grass.

The Nugget also loved the fake snow at the Jordan's Furntiture Enchanted Village. They had a cool set up that made it appear like it was snowing every 10 minutes or so. When the fans came on and blew small bits of wet, sudsy "snow" she proclaimed "snow!" and didn't want to leave - very cute.