Liam turns TWO

My baby is growing up way too fast. Yesterday was his birthday and he had quite the day!!! 

Vito woke Liam up at 6:30 am so they could go hike the Y with some of the Fijian boys. I'm pretty sure Liam got a ride up the mountain on his dads shoulders though 😉. 

After that they went to Kiwanis park for touch rugby and Liam got to play with the boys all morning and into the afternoon. They got home around 2:30! 

Liam played for a while before we finally got him to take a nap! At 6 we had Mosese, Kainoa and the kids, my sister Sam's family, cousin Mckenzie, and our good friends Steve and Sandy over for dinner and cake. Liam slept through half of dinner! Once he woke up he had fun playing with all his cousins! 

At the end of the night Liam had a special treat--a Skype call from the family in fiji. They sang happy birthday to Liam and had him blow out candles on a Winnie the Pooh cake that they had made for him! It was so cool and Liam loved it!!! 

Liam is growing up so fast! Here is what he is up to at age 2:

Liam loves playing with cars, animal figurines, and balls. 

Liam loves making all the animal sounds. 

Liam's favorite foods are hot dogs, cheese, ravioli, grapes, and noodles. Some days it's a struggle to get him to eat, others he wants to eat anything in sight. 

Liam loves to say "ahhh" when he throws things. I took him for a run a few days ago and we stopped at a pond that has ducks and fed them. It was so fun watching him throw the bread. Every time he would throw a piece of bread he would say that. 

Liam has a really hard time staying still. He is constantly moving. 

Liam loves pushing things. A dream day for him would be to have a big wide open space where he could push his wagon around. He has a hard time on grass and gets frustrated when it gets stuck so a big parking lot would be perfect lol! 

When Liam wants something he will come and grab my hand and pull me to what he wants. We are still working with a speech therapist to try and help him vocalize his wants with words. Progress is slow but I know he will get it eventually! 

Liam's favorite show is backyardigans. He watches it in Spanish because we don't get the channel that plays it in English. 

Liam loves to laugh and gets in to these hysterical laughing fits. Sometimes if he gets too excited and laughs too hard he will throw up. We are learning when to try and get him to stop laughing to avoid that outcome! 

Layla @ 9 months

Layla turned 9 months old last week! Here is what she is up to: 

Layla won't eat baby food. She has to eat whatever we are eating and you can't feed her, she has to do it herself. Little miss Independent. 

Layla crawls all over the place. She pulls herself to a stand, cruises along furniture, and can stand on her own for a few seconds ( before she gets scared)

Layla loves to play with Liam. They both chase each other around the house. It's so fun to watch. 

Layla fights back when Liam is mean to her. When he tries to take her toys she hangs on with a death grip and/or crawls away with it as fast as she can or lays on top of it. Smart girl. Layla also pulls Liam's hair and has started smacking him...about time!!!! 

Layla flaps her arms and jumps up and down when she gets mad ( something she got from me, I did the same thing when I was little) 

Layla loves to sneak swigs of Liam's cows milk. 

Layla is a daddy's girl. If Vito is home, she refuses to come to me without a fight. She literally clings to him. 

We are having so much fun as layla is starting to show us the little fire ball she is. Even though she definitely has a lot if spunk, she is still a calm sweet girl. She always goes with the flow. 

Layla says mama, dada, bubba. She also has started mimicking some animal sounds. When Liam was having a speech session, his therapist was trying to get him to baa like a sheep. Liam was not focusing at all and wouldn't do it but Layla was right there "baa-ing" . I honestly think Layla will be a big help for Liam when it comes to talking. He likes to mimic the sounds she makes and she has gotten him to say sounds we have not been able to get him to say!!!! 

We love our sweet girl....she is growing up waaaaay to fast! 

Layla @ 8 months

Here is what Layla is up to: 

Layla is crawling, climbing, and standing up on everything. 

Layla is a little motor mouth now. She talks and talks all day long. Her babbles are so cute. She says mama, mostly when she is tired ad wants me. She also says dada and bubba. 

Layla has no fear. She will take Liam's toys from him or try and do whatever he is doing, even though she knows she might get smacked. Liam is getting better about not hitting her but sometimes Layla pushes his buttons. 

Layla loves Vito so much. She gets so excited when he gets home and if she hears his voice she always perks up. 

Layla loves to jump and whip her head back and forth. She usually does it when he gets really excited, or when she and Liam are playing with each other. 

Layla wants to eat big people food all the time and I always find her trying to drink out of Liam's sippy cup or my camelback.

Layla loves taking showers with me but doesn't like taking baths. She also likes to be in the pool. 

Our baby is growing up too fast. Pretty soon she will be walking...then my life will REALLY be a circus! It's tough enough chasing Liam around everywhere I go! 

We love out sweet sissy. She is such a blessing and we are so lucky to be her parents! 

7/22 updates

Layla: 7 months 

My baby is getting so big! In the last couple of weeks she has changed so much and is doing so many new things. 

Layla went from being the calmest baby to one that wants to move all the time. She is now crawling and is trying to get into everything. 

Layla also talks all the time. I love her little babbles. She says momma, mostly when Liam is bugging her and she needs help. 

Layla wants to eat whatever we are eating. We always give her little tastes and she loves it. 

Layla is becoming a little bit of a diva. When something she is playing with gets taken from her she yells and starts crying until she gets it back. 

Layla loves her daddy... He can make her smile more than anyone else. 

Liam: 22 months 

Our bubba us getting so big. He is so much fun. 

Liam is making more progress with his speech. He makes a lot of animal sounds now and says a few words. 

Liam gets really excited for a few things 1. Backyardigans 2. Milk 3. His blankie 

So much so that he flaps his arms and can't contain himself. 

Liam loves being outside. He loves riding in his wagon and running wild and free at the park. He plays on the playground and goes down all the slides by himself now! 

Liam loves to swim, he had a blast when we went to California. 

Layla @ 6 months

My beauty is 6 months old today!

Here's what Layla is up to:

Layla is still the most mellow baby. She just goes with the flow no matter what. I never EVER have to worry if she's going to start crying or get upset.

Layla does get a little emotional when she just wakes up. If someone gets a little too close (not me, Vito, or Liam) just non-family she tends to get upset. But only right when she wakes up.

Layla is getting a lot more vocal! I think she hears Liam screaming all day and is trying to mimic him. It's pretty cute. She has kind of a low voice but its still super girly.

Layla eats oatmeal and baby food and still nurses 80% of the time.

Layla is an awesome sleeper. I feed her around 8 and she sleeps from then until about 7. I never have to worry about having to get up with her, it's usually Liam I have to get up for.

Layla gets SO excited when she hears Liam coming to see her. She flaps her arms and legs and can barely contain herself. If he laughs at her she starts laughing and they laugh back and forth at each other for usually 5 or 10 minutes. Cutest thing ever!!!!

Layla grabs anything she can and brings it straight to her mouth. She will prob get teeth soon as she gnaws on everything and drools a lot.

Layla holds herself in a crawling position and rocks back and forth.

Layla has the prettiest blue eyes and dark hair with golden highlights.

We love our Layla girl and love the joy she has brought our family. She is angelic and we could not imagine a more perfect little girl!!!

Liam @ 21 months

I looked at the calendar and saw it was the 21st and realized I had passed Liam's 21 month mark...seems like I just posted about him, time is flying by.

The last month with Liam has been full of fun, progress, and laughter, but also a lot of frustration. The frustration has come because Liam is still struggling with communication and has resorted to screaming at me when he wants something or is upset (most of the time at the top of his lungs). We have been working through it though and he is getting better each day.

Liam is starting to progress so much. I can see his mind working and he is really a smart kid. He is now saying "cat" "bear" "dada" "sissy" "mama" and makes a lot of animal sounds. He also has started signing "more". This may not seem like much, but for us these have been huge steps. We are so proud of him.

Liam acts like a big boy now. He eats at the table with us and sleeps in his big bed. Liam is an awesome sleeper still. He takes a 2-3 hr nap and sleeps at night from 8-7. I just put him in his room and he goes to sleep on his own after playing for a little bit.

Liam has recently become a mamas boy. He is always by my side and always wants to cuddle with me. He is a lovey dovey boy.

Liam loves music and when you sing to him.

Liam is still obsessed with opening and closing doors. He can't pass a door without playing with it.

Liam loves being outside. He goes on runs with me in the stroller and we go for walks. He hates having to come back inside.

Liam loves playing with his sister. He has a hard time sharing his toys but he is getting better at it. He loves to make Layla laugh. On the other side though is he thinks its funny to make her cry too so I always have to watch him when he is around her.

We love our little man and love seeing him learn and grow!

20/20

Today is the 20th and Liam is 20 months old! Can't believe he will be 2 in just 4 months! Here is what he is up to:

Liam is improving slowly but surely with his speech. He now babbles loudly all day long but knows how to say dada and sissy. He also makes animal sounds (dog, sheep, cow) and car sounds. All good signs that he is picking things up now.

Liam now sleeps in his big boy bed. Ever since he started that I feel like he acts more grown up. I just put him in his room for nap time or bed time and he usually plays for a while then falls asleep. For the first couple weeks he would fall asleep on the floor so I would have to go in and put him on the bed, but now he usually ends up there himself.

We also just got a new (old) dining table that is lower to the ground so now Liam sits at the table with us instead of his high chair. He thinks its pretty cool.

Liam is still obsessed with opening and closing doors.

Liam loves to go outside. When I ask if he wants to go he runs to the door( which he can open by himself now, good thing there is a deadbolt) and when it's time to come inside he screams.

I still have a really hard time finding any shoes that will fit his feet. So most of the time he ends up barefoot. This kid walks barefoot outside, over rocks, weeds, everything and it doesn't even phase him. Definitely an island boy.

Liam loves Layla. Don't get me wrong he still hits her occasionally and is a little rough, but he loves on her and makes her laugh...cutest thing ever.

I am loving watching my little man grow up and get more personality every day.