reflection + celebration post number two: a small snippet of liam's life.

welcome to post number two!

before i wrote this post, i gave myself a challenge.

the challenge: pick ONE picture and ONE video per month of liam's life.

for the record, i have over 8,000 pictures in liam's album on my computer- it wasn't easy, people! 

although it wasn't easy, it was so much fun to look through all of the pictures. i laughed, i cried, and was amazed as i watched his change and growth from month to month. with each picture and video, i provided a brief description. enjoy!

birth:

this picture was taken after we had settled into our recovery room, and i just couldn't stop holding and staring at our wee babe. the reality still hadn't set in that we were parents. it was such a special day for us. 

liam found comfort in his fingers right off the bat. when he wasn't eating, he was sucking on his fingers. this video was taken the second day of liam's life- the day with all of the tests, heel pricks, and circumcision...so needless to say it was a tough day for all of us. our little guy was such a trooper, and i was a bucket of tears. i laugh looking back at this video because you can obviously tell that he was exhausted, but i had my phone out and recording his every move. typical new parent, am i right?

one month:

right away, we knew that our little guy was a man of expression. he was so young and managed to give us a look of "really mom, really?". to this day, his facial expressions have us laughing all day long!

facial expressions, need i say more? gosh, this kid.

two months:

this sweet picture was taken after an early morning feed, and i love it so much. his calm demeanor, and his sweet face made getting up out of bed from a deep sleep much easier.

although it was hard to watch liam struggle during tummy time, i just couldn't help but smile and laugh with his cute little coos and facial expressions as he tried lifting his head. such a sweet and handsome little boy. now that liam is a walking maniac, i miss these times of laying him down on his tummy and him still being there five minutes later. 

three months:

while we were on our first trip home, we were able to be with my family for the Superbowl. i don't think liam was too happy with the onesie i made him wear, but i'm pretty sure he was the seahawks good luck charm. go hawks!

this is liam's first big smile. we were about to get on an airplane to go home to washington, and we were saying good-bye to daddy. i was nervous to say the least, but this smile made things a little bit easier. for the record, this baby was born to fly!

four months:

one day, liam saw me pull out my phone to take a picture and immediately lifted his right foot. after i put my phone down, he lowered his foot back to normal position. i lifted my camera again to see what would happen, and sure enough, his little right foot was in the air. such a funny memory. he loves his stuffed elephant named peanut!

i loved watching liam being interested in grasping onto things.

five months:

 that little hat with his ears poking out kills me. such a goof.

trying to roll over! go, liam, go!

six months:

liam has been such a wonderful, happy baby to raise, but the only thing that has been a real issue is sleeping. he just barely started sleeping through the night consistently being a year old, and his napping was horrible up until he was about eight months old. we read every book, magazine and article there was to read about sleeping issues, but nothing seemed to work. now that we are settled in our new home, we've been able to really establish a good schedule for him and we've all been sleeping better because of it. there's just something about a sleeping baby picture that makes me so happy. 
such a sweet little boy.

liam was very good at entertaining himself, but eventually started to hate the bouncer. 

seven months:

we had a swimming pool at our condo complex, and that's where liam and i spent most of our summer. liam loved to swim in the pool and soak up some rays. we have a future swimmer on our hands, just like his daddy.

gosh, words cannot express how much i love this kid.

eight months:

nothing like an adorable clearance rack hat at target and a cute baby to make a mama smile!

his first word!

nine months:

his favorite game was/is pulling everything out of the cupboards.

liam's first experience on a trampoline.

ten months:

our little guy L-O-V-E-S being in the bathtub. 

warning: a cute, naked baby ahead!

eleven months:

have i ever told you that liam is obsessed with cars? that, my friends, is an understatement.

probably my favorite video of liam, EVER.

ONE YEAR:

while we were home for thanksgiving, my amazing and talented sister did liam's one-year pictures for us. this is just one of the thousands of gems that she took for us.
i come in peace.
{photo credit: Hannah Fine Photography}

look at me everyone, i can walk!

as you can see, this is just a small snippet of liam's first year of life. 

i had an extremely difficult time picking one picture and one video from each month, but it allowed me to reflect on some of those moments that you can sometimes forget being a busy parent. his first year of life has given us so much joy, and we are so eternally grateful for our little boy. 

stay tuned for post #3: liam's first birthday party.