Happy Halloween...

Liam and Annette went to the doctor's office today for Liam to have his shots. He got a series of shots in rapid succession but he took it like a man (in other words...he screamed). The good news is that he's feeling well despite the shots today and is now inocculated against all sorts of things.

He also was measured and weighed and he's doing great having grown to 23 inches long and 10 pounds 5 ounces.

We're gearing up for our trip back to New Jersey on Thursday and hope that he (and we) handle the flight okay. We are returning for Annette's cousin's wedding on Saturday and are a little nervous since this is our first big trip with him. But the Baran clan are looking forward to meeting him for the first time!

I've also put a picture of our deformed and scary pumpkin which we carved over the weekend. Scary...

Family photo day...

Today we took Liam to have some photos taken by a professional. Even though I have been trying my best to take 'professional' photos it has been difficult to get any good family shots.

Liam was a handful during the photo session as they were taken with him in the nude (careful of course not to take any R rated shots) for the most part.

He took the opportunity to smile for one of the photos and shortly afterward we realized why he was so happy...he pooped all over my arm. He then showed us his imitation of a fire hose on both of us!

But it was good fun and I think the photographer got some excellent shots. They should be featuring there in the coming weeks as we get the proofs back from her.

In the meantime, here are some others that we took today at the house.

Liam's almost 6 weeks old....

Today we took Liam for a walk in the morning near the trails near our house. The views were incredible today as there was fresh snow the past few days, yet the temperature was about 70F and sunny.

When we first went out this morning we expected it to be really cold so we bundled him up. We had a good laugh as he looked like the little boy in the movie A Christmas Story.

Liam continues to change each day but he's a happy little boy (most of the time) who loves to smile!

Winter is here...

Denver had its first winter storm on Thursday with over a foot of snow. It's not supposed to last long however as it's going to be about 68F this weekend with lots of sun.

Liam had a good day out today with some other kids at a pre-halloween party. Of course he wasn't really participating in the halloween fun but he seemed to think his little ghost outfit was pretty cool.

He's growing really quickly still and will soon be asking for the phone number of my good friend Roberto's daughter. She was born in July in Spain (Roberto and I used to work together in Krakow) and is of course lovely. Once Liam is old enough to talk he'll be calling Ariadna.

We are planning on heading off this weekend for a few hikes and to buy our Rocky Mountain ski passes. We aren't sure how much skiing/boarding we're going to get in this winter but are determined to get out for a few days at least.

Liam is growing and changing every day so we're doing our best to keep the blog up to date so you can all see him grow.

This was today's sunset out of our back window......

Liam and his buddy...

We had a great weekend and some friends over (Heather and Joel) who had their son, Austin, 3 weeks before Liam was born. The two of them are both growing quickly and will be off causing trouble in no time! In this photo Liam is on the LEFT in case you weren't sure!



Liam also reponded well to his new baby bottle .... like father like son :)

Liam and Annette have joined a "Mommy and me" course and will be seeing what it's like this week.

The class is held at our local recreation center with another bunch of Mom's (and Mr. Mom's I suppose) and it is mean to provide an atmosphere to stimulate the babies and help them learn and develop.

I'm sure Liam will be the head of the class in no time :)

Liam's photo session......

This morning we decided to try to take some photos of Liam that would test my skill with my new digital camera. Some of the pictures turned out well we think and he really seemed to enjoy himself!

One Month!

This week has been busy so sorry for not posting any messages. I was in Atlanta and Virgina (in the same day) with a lot going on at work and Annette was busy with Liam off visiting some other boy and girl babies of some friends she has here in the neighborhood.

Liam is growing well and smiling a LOT which is great. Nothing better than coming home from work and seeing him smile at me! Makes troublesome clients worthwhile!

We had snow here during the week but it's disappeared now and it's supposed to be about 65F for most of the weekend.

We are planning on seeing some friends over the weekend (they have a 9 week old baby boy) and perhaps using our new dinning room set that just arrived.

A day out...

Today we all went to Golden Canyon state park for a walk and a picnic. The weather was great (about 67 F and sunny) at our place so we thought we'd pack a lunch and sit outdoors in the state park. Turns out it is at about 9000 feet so it was actually about 54 F with a strong cool wind.

We had a nice (albiet quick) lunch regardless and Liam even tried out his new warm outfit...even though it's still a bit big for him

We also had a great hike on the trail near our house before heading out.

Liam also wore his favourite outfit today and looked very charming in it.

Visitors from the east coast...

Two of Annette's good friends are visiting us this weekend - Elena and Marisa - so we went for a hike this morning near our house and then to Boulder for some sight seeing and lunch. Liam has a way with the ladies it seems as they are both smitten with him.


Liam continues to grow like a weed and seems to be growing longer each day - we are already having to move on to his bigger outfits (although some of them are questionably unmasculine!).

He is more and more alert during the day as well and really enjoys being out and doing things. Seems that the more ambient noise for him the better - he doesn't like it when things are too quiet.

Ticking along...

Things are going well and we've all settled into a routine now. Liam is much more lively during the day (although not in this picture!) and he only woke up twice last night to have some food!

I had a trip to Atlanta for about 48 hours and Annette survived just fine on her own. Fortunately my travel schedule is pretty light over the next few months so I'm generally home for dinner...which is unique for us all and great.

Colorado hiker...

Today we took Liam on his first real hike in the baby bjorn and he slept through pretty much the whole hike.

We went to Roxborough State Park (elevation 6500 feet above sea level) about 10 miles from where we live and we were surprised how much it was like "Garden of the Gods" in Colorado Springs. We'll definately be going back!

We took a lot of great pictures of the views as the rock formations are amazing. We also learned after the hike that there are black bears, elk and mountain lions in the area too (but we didn't see any)

Water bug...

Liam had his first real bath today - that is he was put into his little mini-sink tub and submerged in water (for the first few weeks we could only sponge bathe him because his belly button had to be kept dry). He was a little confused at first to the new sensation of the water, but didn't cry and seemed to enjoy himself!

He is growing FAST and seems to get 'longer' every day.

This weekend we are planning on taking him out to a few more state parks and using the baby borjn now that we know he likes it. Will be great for us to get out into the mountains and some fresh air.

Some other good news is that my brother Ian and his wife Tammy (who have 2 kids) bought a cottage in Ontario, Canada. We are already making plans for the cousins to all play on the little beach together next summary and we're really looking forward to it.

Little Canadian....

Liam showed off the fact that he wasn't 100% American today with a t-shirt from his Uncle Craig and Aunt Nadine. This means he will be able to travel the world later in life with a legitimate Canadian flag on the back of his backpack...unlike some Americans who just pretend to be Canadian so that people won't abuse them in foreign countries (blame Bush for that....and the people who voted for Bush).

He had a bit of a rough night last night feeding every hour or so as he seems to be in a growth spurt!

9 pounds 4 ounces!

Liam had his 2 week check-up today at the pediatrician and he's doing really well. His birthweight was 8 pounds 11 ounces but he lost 10 ounces in his first few days of life (this is normal, and attributed to the mothers milk coming in).

Two weeks after being born he's now 9pnds 4ounces - which is great! He has also grown an 1 1/4 inches in length. He is now 22" tall [long] now.

He also had a 'heal-prick' to draw some blood for some common checks that they do here in Colorado for all kinds of things. Obviously we're sure that he is just fine but these tests will show if there is anything to be concerned about. These are mandated tests here in Colorado and apparently they do more thorough and rigorious testing that most states to try and identify treatable/curable childhood 'problems'.

His belly button (dried up cord) also fell off the other day (yuck) so he can now have tummy time and go in the baby bjorn. Annette has taken him for a few walks with it now and he seems to really love it (we assume so given that he immediately falls asleep once in it!)

Weekend with Liam...

We took a drive to see the fall colors in the mountains this weekend. We drove about 40 miles from our house into a state park to see the aspen trees changing color. The views from a panorma point were incredible although it was a little chilly at the elevation - so we didn't really stay very long!

We are becoming pretty adaptable to feeding and changing Liam on the road and timing our stops. We arrived in perfect time for him to be changed before a short drive up to the top of the lookout. However, Annette and I both got a surprise when the little guy decided to time his next pee to the time when Annette was changing his diaper. Before we both knew what was happening, his chest and cheeks (!!) were wet! He didn't seem to mind too much and just stared at us, but we both laughed once we'd got him cleaned up.

Liam turns 2 weeks old tomorrow and we're amazed at how quickly he seems to be changing. He is also much more alert and looks around a lot more than he did previously. We are working hard to get him on a day/night schedule that matches ours and for the most part he's cooperating. Annette is still doing really well with feedings and despite getting up every 1-2 hours for the past 13 days she's holding up really well.

For me it's back to work tomorrow, so I'm already looking forward to next weekend!