Ashton and Liam

Here are a couple of pictures of Ashton and Liam. Ashton was so sweet with Liam. He would come up and kiss and pat Liam. With the cutest little voice he would talk to "Baby Liam." He also really wanted to teach Liam. We have some really neat black and white flashcards for Liam. Ashton loved to show Liam the flashcards every chance he got.

At the doctors appointment

Swimming pictures

Swimming fun at Long Pond.

First doctors appointment

Liam had his first doctors appointment yesterday. All checked out well. The only thing we need to watch is his weight gain. He is back up to his birth weight but he should have gained a bit more since it had been three weeks since his birth instead of the customary two. I have a feeling that he might have his father's metabolism, he sure has his appetite.

Poor Liam did get his first shot. It was so heartbreaking. I had to have Mike hold him as I just could not stand it. He was terribly mad at first and his face turned bright red but he soon recovered. I am sure the shot was just the first of many heartbreaking moments we will have to endure.

On our own

Mimi and P-Paw left us on Thursday. It was hard to see them go. Trevor, Sarah and the kids left early on Friday only to turn around and come back to leave on Friday night. We used their extra few hours to go swimming at Long Pond. Trev, Mike and Ashton had a great time in the water. Mattie had fun splashing around as well. Sarah, Liam and I watched the festivities from the shore. After our time at the pond we cleaned up and had one last dinner before the Dunlap's started their trek back to Ohio.

It was so fun to be able to share our surroundings with the family and to have them meet Liam. I can't wait for us all to be together again.

We are anxious for Liam to meet his other grandparents. They will be coming up in August. We also look forward to the day when he meet the rest of both sides of our family.

Mimi in Acadia

It just occured to me that there is very little proof that Mom was with us while we were in Acadia. Here is a picture to prove it.

Exploring tide pools in Acadia

We spent a beautiful sunny day exploring in Acadia. Ashton and Mike had a blast exploring the tide pools. Mattie is going to become a rock climber without a doubt. She is a fearless little girl. It was so fun to see her experiencing the rocks with her feet and hands. It was a day to go forever in our memories with the sun shining and the waves crashing, I think the day that was close to perfection.

Pictures at the lab

Back to the lab and Acadia

Last night after dinner we went back to Mike's place of work. We wanted Ashton and Mattie to see all of the neat sea creatures they keep in their touch tank. It was so much fun to watch Ashton as he experienced the touch tank and watched the sharks. He was literally jumping up and down with excitement over seeing the sharks. He also got really excited when he was able to scoop up a bunch of little fish in his hands. Mike had a great time telling everyone about all of the creatures. Ashton was like a little sponge picking up the information.

Today we went back into Acadia National Park. We all spent a great deal of time by Thunder Hole checking out the tide pools. Mike and Ashton had to be torn away from them. It was fun to watch Mike as he taught Ashton about the animals in the pools. I am sure that he is looking forward to the time when he can do the same with Liam. After leaving Thunder Hole we went to Otter Cliffs and also to the top of Cadillac Mountain.

The Bar, Sand Beach, Jordan Pond and others

Just a whole bunch of picutres from the last few days. Liam has been having a great time with his cousins, aunt, uncle and of course Mimi and P-Paw.

Playing with the family

As Mike said yesterday Trev, Sarah and the kids arrived from Ohio. Trev, Sarah and Mike went on a nice long bike ride today. After they returned we all went to Jordan pond to have tea and popovers. Once finished with our afternoon snack we walked around on the carriage trails and a nature trail. It was a fantastic afternoon. I am sure we will have more adventures to come.

Fighting Sleep

Well, not me (or Tara) - the boy is fighting sleep.

It seems that the boy likes to take after his dad when it's time for bed. I was holding him this evening, both trying to lull him to sleep, but laughing at the same time at how he was fighting it. According to my parents, I did the same thing when I was little - falling asleep standing up in the back of the family car but fighting it all the way. There's just so much in the world to see to sleep through it!

Anyway, I was holding Liam and he'd go from wide eyed to sleep and back to wide eyed in a moment's notice. It's like little toothpicks were holding his eyelids open. Eventually, he couldn't resist and I finally found a position to hold him in which he as fooled into thinking his pacifier was a breast. I felt pretty pleased with that little bit of trickery. I need to figure out the little pressure point that Mr. Spock uses to knock people out - I bet I'd make a million bucks.

This post is going in reverse order. Trev and Sarah arrived yesterday from an all night drive from Ohio. It's a long one, and they pulled it off with Ashton (2+) and Mattie (just turned 1). One word - DVD.

Anyway, their first full day on the island was a big one. We took them to the Mike Ostroski honorary sandbar, and later into Acadia where we explored Sand Beach. Then a drive through Seal Harbor (whoopie pies) and Northeast Harbor and Trev and I went to Southwest Harbor to purchase some new bike pedals. We'll probably go 25-30 miles tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike. Let's hope Liam wants to sleep for a few more hours.

First Pictures with P-Paw

Here are Liam's first pictures with his P-Paw. Also there is a picture of Liam's first experience with ocean water.

Liam meets P-Paw

We picked up P-Paw yesterday. He flew into Bangor and was due to arrive at 10:20 p.m. Mom, Mike and I drove up to Bangor earlier in the evening to run some errands. Poor Liam was beside himself with exhaustion by the time all was said and done. I am starting to believe that he is going to be one of those kids that really fights sleep. He is still rarely fussy but when he is fighting sleep he can get a little cranky. Anyway, by the time we got home last night it was about 12:00 and we were all really ready for sleep.

Today we all had a nice relaxing morning. Everyone but me got to sleep in and it seemed to do everyone a world of good. Once everyone was up and moving we went to get some lunch. After lunch we headed down to the water. Liam had his first experience feeling ocean water. Mike dipped his feet in the water and Liam was such a champ. He let out one good cry and then went right back to sleep. Following that we all sat on a bench listening to the waves and watching the tourists.
Liam pretty much slept through it all. We really tuckered the poor little guy out yesterday. I think he was pleased just to be carried around all afternoon.

We are all looking forward to the arrival of Trev, Sarah and the kids. I have no doubt that there will be many wonderful photo opportunities when everyone arrives.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Liam and the Anteater!

Here is Little Liam and his cute little friends Henery the Frog and of course the Anteater!

Pictures of the little guy

Liam is often so alert and will spend so much time looking up into your eyes. Check out Liam checking out his Grandma.
I personally think Liam is adorable when he sleeps. He loves to be snuggled up on your chest. Look at how cozy he seems on his Daddy's chest. Look at Liam right after bath time. See how startled and not pleased he looks.

Two weeks old!

Liam is two weeks old today. It is hard to believe that two weeks have gone by so quickly. We are so lucky that Liam is such a good baby. He hardly ever cries. He loves to snuggle and have books read to him. The only time he really fusses is when he is super hungry or when we are bathing him or changing his diaper. This kid hates to be naked.

The last few days have been pretty low key. Mom and I have been trying to organize the house a bit so we have spent more time on Greely Ave. then anywhere else. We do try to go on walks around Bar Harbor and we did make a trip to Ellsworth for some errand running.

Liam is really looking forward to the arrival of his Grandpa (P-Paw) on Friday night. He also can't wait for Uncle Trevor, Aunt Sarah, and Cousins Ashton and Mattie to arrive in Maine over the weekend. It will be so fun to see what Ashton and Mattie make of Liam. I am sure that we will have so much fun when everyone is here.

Sorry that it has taken so long to get another post up. Hopefully, I won't always be such a slacker.

Getting ready for the movies and reading time with Daddy.

Check out Liam's really cool onesie. He wanted to look good for his trip to the movies. His hair is also really cool. All we have to do is comb it back and it goes naturally into a mohawk.

Ten Days and two movies

Liam has been in this world for a total of 10 days and in that 10 days he has seen two movies. We watched An Inconvienent Truth on Thursday. We want to make sure that Liam is well aware of the global warming problem so he can be ready to solve it. Actually, it did really make us all think about the future and our responsibility towards Liam and his future friends in regard to this issue.

Last night we watched A Prairie Home Companion. Liam will certainly be listening to that show a lot in his little life so we thought this was a good way to introduce him.

During both movies he slept almost the entire way through. It is wonderful to be able to continue to be out and about around town. We are so lucky to have such a good baby.

The ocean, some sharks and Liam

I am not so sure that Liam was a big fan of the sharks. He seemed especially frightened of the shark that looks like it is kissing his head. To think he hasn't even seen Jaws yet and he already cries when placed next to a tank of sharks..... I can see this coming up as an issue years later in therapy. Or maybe it could be that I was making us take pictures when what poor Liam really wanted was some dinner.

Trip to the lab

Liam had his first trip to daddy's workplace today. We headed to the lab for family dinner night. Liam was a big hit of course. He certainly gets more attention than most Hollywood stars. After dinner we went down to the dock to give Liam his first up close look at the ocean. We also stopped by the aquarium to see the sharks and skates, which the lab studies. He was getting a bit hungry so he was fussy for these photos but I will post them anyway.

Liam also had his first trip to the library today. There were some library patrons who thought it was great that we were already taking a child so young to library. We do want to make sure that he is well read. To help ensure that Liam sees some good modeling, I checked out a few books for myself. I have found that I am getting really good at reading while nursing. A good friend reports that when she nursed her son she would read aloud whatever novel she was reading. This seems like an excellent idea as I would be lost without reading and nursing provides the perfect down time to do so.

I think that is all Liam's big adventures for today. Tomorrow we may head to an auction and then we may try to take it easy.

Big Foot and Little Feet

It is amazing to see Liam's feet next to his daddy's feet. Is it really possible that Liam will have feet that big someday?

Playtime for Liam

Taking it easy and playing tourist

We decided that we would take yesterday easy as we had had Liam all over the town in his first 5 days. So, Mom and I relaxed most of the morning and just let Liam do his own thing. He seemed to want to eat all morning long. Before I knew it it was two and I was still in my p.j.'s. He had his first time on his little playmat and he seemed to love it. He just hung out there taking in all of his toys. He seemed particularly fond of the ladybug. He also seems to really love books. I am not sure if that is really possible at such a young age but he sits so contentedly when any of us read to him. His eyes scan the book and then he will gaze up in our eyes. It is enough to make my heart melt each and every time. We also try to play a bunch of music for him. He is very fond of a recording we have of Mike O singing to him. We of course also sing to him. Mike loves to sing to him and I have heard everything from Bob Dylan to camp songs. I think I could sit and listen to Mike sing to little Liam all day long.

Mike had to go into work for a bit yesterday. When he came home we decided to go play tourist and check out the Queen Mary 2, which was in for the day. It is the largest cruise ship and it is a sight to behold. I think it holds about four thousand people, which is about half the population of all of Mount Desert Island. Liam was of course very impressed by the sight of such a large ship.

Liam actually let me sleep for about 3 and a half hours straight last night. It feels so good to have just that extra little bit of sleep. I won't count on such a good nights sleep on any regular basis but I am feeling grateful for it this morning.

Thanks to everyone who is leaving comments. It is great to know that Liam has so many people interested in his little week old life.

Fourth of July Pictures

Fourth of July

Liam has survived his first Fourth of July! It was a very big day for him. We went to the Bar Harbor parade in the morning. Liam slept through seeing the Shriners race around in their little cars. He also slept through the fire trucks, bagpipers, scary clowns, and my favorite, the cartoon characters whose outfits are so old they are falling apart. I will post pictures from the parade later.

After the parade we went to a cookout. He did really well there as well. In fact, he does a bit too well. He seems to have his days and nights all mixed up. We need to work on getting him to wake up during the day and to sleep during the night. Mom keeps reminding me that he is less than a week old and it is normal for sleep patterns to be a bit mixed up.

Following the cookout we went home to relax and nap before heading out for the fireworks. Around 8:30 p.m. we bundled Liam up as it was pretty foggy and cool outside. We headed to the town green to watch the fire works be launched over Frenchman's Bay. Unfortunately, it was so foggy that the fireworks were really muted. It made for a really interesting experience to see the foggy sky lit up with the colors of the fireworks. Liam slept through the whole event. I am pretty sure he didn't hear much of what was going on as we had his ears padded so they wouldn't be hurt.

He certainly was a champ for such a big day. We are going to keep today low key as the last few days have been so busy for all of us. I think I need to have the day be quiet as much as Liam does.

Liam and Daddy

Big Day Out

Liam has had some big days out. Yesterday we went to Bangor to pick Mom up at the airport. After we picked her up Liam had his first experience at Target and Kohls. We also went for dinner so he is becoming so wordly already.

Today we had a follow up appt. at the hospital. Liam has gained back a half an ounce since leaving the hospital on Saturday. He left the hospital at 7 lbs 2 oz. and now is up to 7 lbs 2.5 oz. He has been eating like a champ so I guess that is working for him. He did keep me up almost all night eating or as I learned today he was really just snacking. I learned some ways to make sure that he really eats his fill with each nursing so that he will sleep longer at night. Hopefully that will work tonight.

After leaving the hospital we went to lunch. We have run into many people we know in town and everyone comments on how beautiful he is. I can't say that I disagree.

Tomorrow he will have another big day. We will attend the 4th of July parade in town, attend a barbeque, and then hopefully see the fireworks. Not sure how he will do with the loud noises but we will try to figure out some way to muffle the sounds for him.
Liam's first 4th of July should be a pretty good time for all.

Homecoming

Last night was Liam's homecoming. We could have stayed for one final night (Saturday night) before we were booted, but Tara and I figured it would be a rough first night whether it was Saturday or Sunday. So we came home.

It was a pretty long night - mostly for Tara. His feeding is still pretty erratic, and Tara was having a hard time feeding in the dark. So she ended up moving down to the couch, which I think is a favorite place to nurse.

But the first night is under our belts, which feels nice. And I don't want to think about all the nights to come and be quickly overwhelmed. It's enough to listen to him breathe and enjoy these moments of quiet when he's swaddled and asleep and deep in our arms.

Oh, and I know I promised the full story on the marathon labor and delivery - I mean, really, you guys are begging for it, right? Soon...