Playing with our new barn

Merry Christmas!

It's been a busy week in the O'Rear household. Liam is unwinding from all the festivities and late nights, and enjoying his many presents.

drumroll

Liam loves to play with all of his musical instruments, and when he is done he uses his mallet as a hammer on anything that will make a loud sound.

Another swiffer fan

Liam has taken over swiffering duties at home. He did a particularly thorough job cleaning up the fallen pine needles from our freshly decorated christmas tree.

Happy birthday baby boy!

Can you guess how old Liam is today?

Enjoying the new presents with dad.

Wheee

Outdoor playtime

First snow

Liam was excited to see the winter's first snow this morning.

Jingle Bells

Liam loves to play with jingle bells.

Better steps

First steps

Liam has been taking a few steps at a time... he usually does pretty well until he realizes he's hands free and then takes a spill.

Whistling

New skills... he's been trying this for some time now, glad to see the effort paid off.

Regent's Park

Bryan takes over control of the video camera and films our quintessentially English walk through Regent's Park - grey skies, rain, geese.

Harrod's Christmas Grotto

Maya and Liam got to meet Father Christmas at Harrods... look closely and notice that his (Santa's) eyes are closed in the photo. Liam and Maya were both unimpressed.

Playmates

Maya (15mo), Liam (11mo), Lana (10mo) enjoying the breakfast of champions - breadsticks - as they energize for the playground

Maya, Lana, Liam.

Hamley's

Hamley's toystore... decorated for Christmas and couldn't be more crowded. Liam LOVES the decorations, especially twinkle lights.

Hampstead Heath

We just beat the rain, as we walked through Hampstead Heath. Liam decided to boycott his stroller by then, so Bryan got to carry an extra 30 pounds home.

Science Museum

Liam's favorite part of the science museum was the children's hands-on exhibit, especially the giant legos.

Day 1 in London

So far, Liam has been a great traveler. He slept most of the overnight flight on our laps, and entertained the other passengers when he cured his crying spell with a loud burp. We spent our first day walking around our old neighborhood & enjoying the (cool) sunshine, and Liam slept 13 hours last night, showing us he handles the time change better than his parents.

Halloween

After a Saturday test drive in our Lion costume, Liam donned it one more time for a quick walk in the park, spooky music concert, and neighborhood trick or treat.

Liam der Löwe

ROAR!

Julien

Do you remember a post, "A penpal is born" earlier this year? Well Liam and Julien finally got to meet in person! We had a lovely visit with Julien's parents Alli and Jean-Christophe who were visiting from Versailles, and hope it won't be too long before the next visit.

Helper

"Time to do laundry, Mama."

Our little addict

Liam ADORES his pacifier. We try to limit his access to naptime / nighttime and of course those times outside where it prevents him from shoving other things into his mouth. We keep one tethered to his stroller. Liam has figured out where it is, and when he needs a "fix" our paci addict crawls over to his stroller, props himself up, and has a few quick drags.

Out for a walk

Speedy Climber

Floor to windowsill in 6.0 seconds.

Beach Day

Mid-October and 80 degrees here. Liam got in a little more beach time during the warm spell.

Harvest Fest

Clean Plate Club

Another satisfied customer at the dinner table.

My teeth

Still holding at 2 teeth, but now willing to show them off!

Little helper

I turn my back for one moment as I'm putting away dishes, and this is what I find.

For our northern friends

That time of year...

It's getting chilly out in the evenings so it's time for footed pajamas! The pjs also enable high speed crawling and sliding.

Shoulders

And sometimes we forgo the stroller and the backpack, and just enjoy a ride on Dad's shoulders.

My backpack

Liam now prefers riding in his backback to his stroller... better views. Here he is off for an early morning walk with Dad and Papaw (Grandpa O'Rear).

Typical

Figuring out how everything works.

Favorite activities

Liam's current favorite pastimes include 1) pulling books of the shelf; and 2) pulling clothes out of drawers!

Labor Day

Last unofficial days of summer spent at the beach.

Standing Up

Liam is now pulling himself up along anything within reach, and bravely walking along the furniture.

Wheeee