Celebrating my son's first birthday and surviving the worst bit of sickness this family has ever seen easily made the month of March the most eventful four weeks we've had since the start of the new year. I have never seen one of my babies so incredibly sick and I am overjoyed that Liam is feeling like himself again. For over two weeks our boy struggled with what appeared to be the common cold, but with a nasty viral spin. High fevers on and off for days, extreme fatigue, zero appetite, and a vomiting episode. All of us (minus daddy) had the same thing and after several urgent care trips, an ER visit for Liam, and antibiotics... we are back to our normal selves, including our favorite little man. I really feel like the last three weeks hindered Liam's growth (he still isn't walking) but I'm really hoping these next few weeks make up for that. The positive of this standstill was not being hit with all of these inevitable milestones and crying my mama heart out over the fact that my baby has made it to this toddlerhood stage already.

Clothes: Liam hit a plateau in his weight gain and has managed to stay in 18-month clothing for a good bit now. Because it's still fairly cold in Washington, we get to dress our sweet boy in the cutest little thermal shirts, dinosaur sweatpants, and all the shark footie pajamas. Everyone warned me that boy clothes weren't nearly as cute as girls... can I just say those people were SO wrong! I absolutely love shopping for Liam and I adore all the options we have. I normally try to dress him pretty casual, but there are times where I spot a Batman outfit or a button-down paired with a polo and I just cannot help myself. Having time to shop for things outside of pink, sparkles, and glitter is pretty sweet.

Health: Aside from the last two weeks, Liam remains one healthy boy! I feel so blessed that my son spent his first year of life incredibly healthy. This second year is already proving to be more challenging but I'm praying these bits of illness are building up the best immune system for our little one. Ironically enough Liam's eczema flare-ups were nonexistent when we were sick (not complaining at all) and outside of our normal moisturizing routine we didn't have to maintain much else. The other weird part is that we bathed Liam twice as much as we normally do while he was sick... and still his skin was perfectly fine and he didn't scratch.

Feeding: Liam is still breastfeeding! Yay! We've made it thirteen months strong. We are slowly but surely introducing more and more solid foods each feeding opportunity we get. So far we've tried steak, ground beef, chicken, kale, green beans, carrots, tortillas, tomatoes, different cheeses, oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, etc. We've tried such a variety of foods with our boy and I'm delighted that he's willing to try almost anything. We still offer those "little crunchy" snacks that each one of my kids has loved during their early toddlerhood stages but I am really not a fan of those. I really like to offer cheerios when Liam isn't in the mood for much else, solid food wise. He's a great eater and I'm excited to see what foods end up being his gotos.

Sleep: My Lamb continues to be an excellent sleeper, though those couple of weeks when he was sick was certainly challenging. He'd wake during the night trying to breathe and cry when he was unable to nurse the way he wanted because he was so congested. It was heartbreaking. Now that he is back in good health, so is his sleep (thank you, Jesus). Liam goes to bed around 730pm-8pm and wakes around 730-8am in the morning. His sleep schedule is so perfect and by the time we have to take Ava to school in the morning, I have enough time to change, kiss, and nurse my sweet boy for a few.

Milestones: Where to start. Liam lamb, you have grown immensely in the last month. His jibber jabbers are happening so much more and for a much longer duration of time. He can pull himself up on all the things and he can walk with one foot in front of the other if mommy or daddy is holding his hands. He waves hello and goodbye, he can high five, he LOVES to dance (and we listen to music ALL the time) - I'm pretty sure he's bum shufflin' like each and everyday.

Things You Like: You really like Alexa. I'm not sure if it's her voice, the fact that she does what we ask, or the fact that she plays all of your favorite songs, but you are instantly fixated on Alexa when she's talking. You love car jams - ring around the rosy is currently your favorite. You love your taco truck and we love watching you get excited about all the things it can do. You have also taken a liking to planes (you have a couple plane toys), helicopters, and police car toys. You enjoy when your sisters play with you and their kisses easily send you into a fit of laughter. You love being held ALL THE TIME and I love knowing that mommy/daddy's arms are still your safe place. You love being in the back carry (still) and strolling through our neighborhood in your stroller seems to be a favorite for you as of late.

Olivia Rose: Toddlerhood 13 months

Before I write these updates I always look back at Ava's and compare and contrast how different my girls are. This update couldn't be more parallel between these two. It's outrageous. Miss Livy bean turned 13 months old today and she is not slowing down anytime soon. Our girl is so sassy, smart, fearless, and receptive. She is running (to the best of her abilities), eating ALL the big girl foods with little limitations (hello dairy!), and her expressive language has increased immensely. The transition between infancy and toddlerhood couldn't be more distinct as it is right now with our growing girl.

New Things: Weaning is definitely something that is new. I had Miss Olivia weaned for at least a weekend until I relapsed. I had a delay in my fertility meds and I didn't see why I shouldn't be able to nurse during that time. This was more my fault, but now we are working on getting her completely weaned, yet again. That brings us to new cups. She uses a wide variety of sippy cups and straw cups for her water (we are desperately trying to get our babe to take to cows milk... with not much luck). The past month Olivia has started walking in SHOES! YES! Every time we leave the house, this girl is rockin' her shoes. Pediped + Saltwaters are the only brands we have used - with the exception of trying out Ava's old "See Kai Run" sneakers.

Milestones: Language is a huge thing with our girl lately. She mocks every single sound we ask her to and watching her gears turn.. watching her understand us, it is a HUGE milestone. I'm curious to see how Olivia's language progresses in the next few months. Miss Olivia is also currently cutting her 3rd and 4th teeth! She is definitely a late bloomer in the teething department but we are excited that she finally has more teeth to chew her food with. 

Changes: The only real changes this past month are the limited nursing and watching Olivia leave her infancy. I mean, she even sits and watches a movie with her sister for a good chunk of time. As I speak, both girls are sitting down watching a movie. Olivia's attention span is getting more toddler and less baby. I think food is a big one here too. Olivia has always eaten a ton, but now we have switched to more of a vast selection. Added dairy to the mix was really fun too. Olivia LOVES yogurt and cheese and has at least one serving per meal. This is the upside to our girl not taking to cow's milk. Like her big sister, we also introduced ezekiel bread too. We use almond butter with pretty much all breads and our girl loves it! The changes make me a little emotional but I do love watching our kiddo grow. She is doing great! 


♥- Leilani