Easter Egg Hunt

Compared to last Easter, when Liam was only a little over five months old and could barely sit on his own next to his Easter basket, this Easter was action-packed. Although the idea of an "egg hunt" still escapes him, he totally got into the idea of running around the backyard with his cousins, basket in hand, and (occasionally) picking stuff up off of the ground. Luckily Mommy and Daddy were there to help him out, and there were even a few times when he followed through, picking up an egg and putting it in his basket. But for Liam, the hunt was mostly about running back and forth across the grass with his basket. He had a blast, and all of that running around helped tire him out for his nap--score!

As I mentioned in my last post, Liam is doing his best to test out his new sense of independence, which for me is simultaneously exciting, amusing, and frustrating. My frustration is mostly a result of my limited ability to communicate with my tenacious toddler, but there are signs that things might get a little easier very soon. For awhile now Liam has been able to follow basic verbal instructions or directions, but in the last two weeks or so he has started answering questions with a nod--that's a full-body nod, leaning back and forth--or a "Nooooooo!" or even "No, no, no, no, no, no!" Clearly, the boy has "no" down. As much as I try to introduce the word "yes" into his vocabulary, I think "no" will continue to dominate conversations with Liam for now. Consequently, when he answers a question I'm not sure if he truly means what he says, but we are at least one step closer to breaking through another verbal communication barrier. Until then, we'll take what we can get, and try our best to give "yes" a fighting chance to break into Liam's ever-growing vocabulary.

IN-de-PEN-dent

I took this photo not all that long ago, and when I finally had a chance to sit down and add it to my photo archive, it struck me once more that my cute little baby is rapidly becoming a little boy. The occasional word is turning into a veritable (toddlerish) vocabulary, and he is already starting to test out a fierce streak of independence that is clearly going to be a hallmark of his burgeoning personality. (He got it honest.) So far he mostly prefers to assert his independence at mealtimes--he absolutely refuses to be fed with a spoon or fork anymore. If he is going to eat it, he's going to put it in his mouth himself. What choice does a weary mother have except to hand over the spoon and let him have at it? He still uses his hands, but he prefers to use a baby spoon or fork if possible. While his dexterity definitely leaves something to be desired, I've been rather impressed with how well he's done. As long as the spoon starts out in the right position, the bite usually makes it to his mouth successfully. However, he hasn't quite figured out how to manipulate the spoon back into the proper position if it gets turned sideways, and he's not all that good at shoveling food onto his utensil yet. Even though I can tell this problem frustrates him, it clearly irritates him more if I try to help him out. He squawks and pushes my hand away, leaving no doubt about how he feels about my help. If he had the ability to form a sentence, I'm sure this emphatic gesture would be accompanied by a "Me do it!" My only regret is that he doesn't seem to have the same motivation for independence when it comes to baths and diaper changes... Oh, well. I'll take what I can get!

There you are! Playing at Aunt Erin's house.

Happy boy.