Lesson #11- Blessed Babies Have More Fun

Liam is no longer a heathen and I couldn't be happier.  Sunday, July 31, 2011 Liam John Flurry was baptized at Hope Church. Of course, he had to get pretty before the big event so we gave him his first hair cut on Saturday night.  The cool crazy hair of his youth had thinned into a combover of sorts, and so through laughter and tears, I cut it.  He was calmer than his folks and actually looked pretty adorable afterwards.

The morning had arrived and Liam got a good night's sleep.  He was so happy, in fact, that he decided to start the day with a little tickling of the ivories.  Cousin Jeremiah was gracious enough to show him how it's done.  Future Billy Joel and Elton John?

Liam left his musical ambition in time to get ready for church.  So many people came up to see the important event; the church was filled with such love. Liam arrived in his Sunday best.  As soon as we walked in, his eyes lit up and he turned on the charm!

The service was beautiful, complete with Children's Sermon.  Notice how Benjamin is already taking his role of "oldest cousin" very seriously.  He was adorable and even led the prayer at the end. Look at how he is herding Dominic and Jeremiah... so cute.

My favorite part of the day had to be watching Amy and Michael, as Godparents, take such good care of Liam during the service.  After the Christening was finished, they held Liam.  When I looked over at him, Liam was nearly asleep in their arms and they were lightly stroking his forehead.  Baby Ambien.  He was loving every minute of it.  After that, Amy picked him up and danced quietly with him in the corner of the church.  He is so lucky to have them in his life- I know that even though they live in San Francisco, he will seen them frequently.  I foresee him going out to "San Fran" often and him coming home with fun stories of the beach, the city and his canine cousin Cali!

After church we all headed back to Grandma Becky's house where she presented a wonderful spread for us, complete with a real "Bev" cake that was so cute and yummy! After many family photos out by the tree (in the blazing heat), we all change into our party clothes and enjoyed food and family and friends.  

 

Liam was a trooper and fell asleep in the middle of it all in my arms.  It was a wonderful and blessed day- thank you to everyone who was a part of it.

No longer a heathen, he is ready to take on the world.  Blessed babies do have more fun.  Lesson well learned.

Lesson #10 Grandparents Rock

 "Our grandchildren accept us for ourselves, without rebuke or effort to change us, as no one in our entire lives has ever done, not our parents, siblings, spouses, friends - and hardly ever our own grown children."  ~Ruth Goode

Ryan and I both were so lucky to grow up with grandparents nearby.  Ryan talks frequently about Granny in Oklahoma as well as Geneva and Walter's influences growing up.  He remembers playing Dominoes with Granny and that she took it very seriously.  When I asked Ryan what he remembered about Walter, he gets this smile on his face and says simply, "He was able to fix anything."  Geneva is famous in Ryan's heart (and stomach) for her apple pie and that she was always there- that it was great to have her so close.

Weezie and Buddy were, for me, surrogate parents.  The kind of people who gave hugs freely and could soothe any hurt with their kisses.  I spent many Saturday nights at their house, eating fried chicken tv dinners on real tv trays, watching The Lawrence Welk Show and singing along.  Afterwards we would color... Weezie always colored beautifully within the lines in small, circular strokes.  I aspired to color as well as she did, and so she would take my tiny hand in hers and show me the way.  Throughout the rest of her life, she was guiding me in much the same way.

Liam lives in Weezie's old house now, her last house.  And he sleeps every night in her room, where I am sure she is looking over him with lipsticked smiles.

And so Ryan and I feel lucky to have Liam's grandparents so nearby, so involved in his life.  Every month on (or very near) the 22nd, we have Mimi, Papa and Grandma over for dinner to thank them for all that they do for us and for their newest grandbaby.  The list is long but includes...
- being there from the time when he was born and then at our house, holding him, loving him, kissing him.
- doing laundry, making meals, cleaning the house up while I healed from the c-section.
- putting Liam to sleep so that Ryan and I could catch just a few extra minutes of sleep. 
- taking care of Lola, our first born.
- driving back and forth, back and forth, from their house to ours.
- Liam sitting so Ryan and I could have "date" nights.
- being an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on.

These dinners have also been fun to premiere "firsts" for Liam John.  First rice cereal.  First green beans.

Then there are the surrogate grandparents that Liam will grow up knowing and loving as well.  Steve and Anita Evans, for example.  Anita, with her uncanny ability to get the little guy to burp and who has watched him when I have been in a bind.

Ron and Marilyn Brewer (with Juliet of course), who are always good for a laugh and a cuddle.

But I have to end with a special shout out of thanks to the two women in Liam's life who look after him the most (aside from us)... his Mimi and his Grandma.  I hope he inherits your goodness, your caring, your selflessness.  Thank you. 

"Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting."  -author unknown   


Lesson well learned.

Lesson #9 Non Verbal Communication Revisited

This is a really short one.  So Ryan, Liam and I attended a really fun reunion picnic for SM West teachers (many of whom have gone on to other schools, chosen to work from the home or, like Ryan, turned to the dark side of administration :) ).  We managed to get ALL the children in attendance to pose for a photo and had Blake Sinkler, the oldest at age 11, hold Liam who is the youngest at 4 months.

Revisit my earlier blog on Liam's love of flipping people off and then look closely at the picture below.  Really?  I am half embarrassed, half proud.  Lesson well learned once again.

Lesson #8- Colorado IS the Best Place on Earth

This past week, Ryan and I took Baby Liam to our favorite place on Earth, Colorado.  We wanted him to visit the place we got married less than two years ago, and it couldn't have gone better.  First off, just like his first airplane trip to San Francisco, he traveled like a rock star.  Bottle on the way up, slept during the whole flight, binkie on the way down.  He was awesome.  This is what he looked like when we landed (Aunt Amy said that Colorado Tourism should use Liam's expression in their ads... this is how everyone feels when they arrive in Colorado).

 Within the first few hours, we had stopped at a Denver Target to stock up on groceries (Liam always loves Target- well, let's face it, we all do), driven over Loveland Pass, toured Main Street Breckenridge, checked into our lovely condo and had a picnic near Maggie Pond.  It was a busy first day, Liam was pooped and took a long afternoon nap during the rainstorm.

Liam proved to be incredibly flexible during our stay, which is always a great attribute in a traveler.  Too cheap to pay the ridiculous $25 a night rental fee for a Pack 'n Play, we decided to "McGyver" it and do what Grandma Becky suggested- put him on the floor.  It was strange that Liam had his own bedroom in the condo and couldn't even enjoy the double bed, instead he slept between the bed and the open closet door on a very simple blanket and cooled off by a small fan.  The room was REALLY dark, so whenever Ryan or I checked on him (very often that first night), we had to take our cell phones with us and shine the light on him.  He looked kind of weird, frankly, in the blue tint of my I Phone :)

That evening Ryan grilled an amazing steak and we had a lovely dinner after Liam went down. He slept like a little Rip Van Winkle and didn't wake up until what was 5am KC time, then slept a couple more hours for good measure.  He did surprise us though when Ryan went to pick him up at 5am, dark as it was, he grabbed him off the ground and was surprised to find him turned upside down, laying on his stomach, but happy as a clam.  Later that day, he turned over several times on the creepy (what looked like) baby bear rug in front of the fireplace.

On Thursday, we spent a wonderful morning showing Liam the site of our wedding, at Peak 9 at Ten Mile Station.  Of course, it looked very different without the snow cover, but beautiful just the same.  We  enjoyed just walking around and taking photos- Ryan even worked out the timer on the camera so we could get a family shot.  The place was set up for a wedding, so it was very meaningful.  We talked about how two summers ago we had driven up to the site with Becky and Mom and Dad and had decided it would be the perfect spot.  And now, here we are showing our son.  Very cool.

Next, we took Liam to Maggie Pond Bridge, where we had our first wedding photos taken.  This self photo was taken about 5 minutes before a HUGE storm, and about 4 minutes before we got safely back to the condo.

After another nice long nap during the storm, it was time for a bath.  On Friday we were able to meet with our wedding photographer, Robin, who took Liam's first professional photos.  So of course he had to look good.  Believe it or not, this was not a manipulated pose.  He really just kicked back as if he was in a hot tub waiting for a pretty lady to join him :)  It's my favorite photo of the trip.

We will get the professional photos in a couple of weeks and we can't wait.  This was a magical trip and Liam reminded us what we already knew to be true... Colorado IS the best place on Earth.  Lesson well learned.

Lesson #7 Life Goes On

Memorial Day weekend was very special this year. While always sad to recognize the hole in our lives that our loved ones once filled, it took on a different meaning this year now that we have Baby Liam in our lives. It made me realize that my dad, John and Ryan's dad, Dolph, live on in him. And I see them every day in not only the way that Liam looks, but in his mannerisms and little personality traits as well, and so I feel blessed remembering them.

Most of Ryan's family looks at Liam and says "Wow- he sure is a Flurry." And my family looks at him and sees all the Heidersbach traits. That's what is beautiful to me... that he inhabits the best of both grandpas in one little package.

I see my Daddy John in Liam's eyes the most. My dad had beautiful, expressive eyes that told a story long before his words did. All his emotions were in those eyes, dark blue gray eyes that I knew so well. My dad smiled with his eyes. And I always felt better when I gazed into them. They comforted me and made me laugh.

Liam has Dolph's mouth that curls into a sly smile. It is Ryan's mouth as well and I am so happy that Liam has it now. He looks like his Daddy and his Grandpa Dolph, strong men with a sensitive side as well; men who know that family is the most important thing in our lives and should be cherished. Liam's devilish little grin will always remind me of Dolph.

I believe in angels. I believe that there are two amazing ones looking down on us, looking over us, and who had more than a small hand in gracing us with Baby Liam.

And so when I think of Daddy John and Dolph now, I still miss them. I still wish they were here, but I look at Liam and I realize life goes on. Beautifully goes on. Lesson well learned.

Lesson #6 Better Late than Never

Okay, so I have to begin with an apology for waiting sooooo long to blog again. There has been a certain nameless family member (but who resides in Texas and whose name begins with "M" and ends in "arcia") who has been giving me a lot of well-meaning trouble about falling behind in my blogging responsibilities. I have been feeling guilty about it, but honestly, I have been having such a blast with little Liam lately that I have to force myself to put him down or quit just looking at him in order to get on the computer at all. He is a beautiful distraction!

It has been 5 weeks since I wrote about Liam's (sometimes embarassing) non-verbal communication and so much has happened. Liam had his first plane experience to San Francisco for Aunt Amy and (now) Uncle Michael's FABULOUS wedding weekend which coincided with my first Mother's Day as well. He has had his first Easter in St. Joe at Hope Church and learned about the Easter Bunny. He has learned to giggle, which leads to even more laughter from those watching him. He has passed 12 and 13 pounds and is sneaking his way up to 14. He has attended the birthday parties of all 3 cousins and can't wait to have one of his own. He has nearly mastered controlling his head from flopping around like a Bobblehead and he now recognizes everyone that loves him, greeting them with that sly, sweet smile. I love to see him greet his cousins Benjamin, Jeremiah and Dominic with a grin while they respond with sweet hugs and kisses. He even seems to give Grandma and Mimi special, knowing smiles full of love and promise of a fun day to come. But the best are those knowing grins he throws at me and Ryan at bedtime or just after he wakes up, so unconditionally, that tells us he knows we are there, he knows that he is safe, and that he is loved beyond imagine.

In turn, I have done a lot too. I returned to work for 3 weeks, and cried the first 5 mornings but knew how lucky I was that Grandma Becky and Mimi were taking care of him each day; and I have to admit that it felt good to be back with my students and colleagues at West. Ryan and I also were able to go to Mexico for our friends Jessica and Matthew's wedding, but had to leave the little one here. That day we left was one of the most difficult of my life not because I was worried about Liam (who was in Mimi and Papa's wonderful care), but because I was worried about me and how I would do without seeing him everyday. But the following morning when I talked to mom and found out that Liam had slept 10 hours and was smiling and happy, the worry went out the window and Ryan and I had a fantastic and needed vacation.

So sorry for the late post, but better late than never. Lesson well learned.

Lesson #5 "The Beauty of Non Verbal Communication"

So Liam is a gang member. Or a hippie. Or just an mean little guy. Let me explain.

Liam has found out that he has hands. And fingers. And now he insists on using them, but only in inappropriate ways at inappropriate times. Example: The other day we were having a lovely time hanging out and singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" on the changing table. I ended it with "I love you sweetheart." And he proceeded to smile his cute grin, threw up his right hand, and flip me the bird. Nice.

Next, we're at Target at Ward Parkway. For those that don't know, this Target is a wonderful bed of cultural diverse patrons. Anyhoo, I roll Liam up in the cart to check out and a really nice young man is helping us. He talks about how cute Liam is and Liam proceeds to smile his cute grin, throw up his right hand, and make a gang sign. I was mortified, but the cashier just laughed and said, "I recognize that one... don't go gettin' into those." Classic.

Finally, we were walking home from the Village shops on Sunday and crossing Mission Road, a crazy driver nearly runs us over. I yelled. I mean LOUDLY. I look down at Liam. He smiled his cute grin, threw up his right hand, and made a peace sign. :) Good point little guy- Mommy just needs to calm down I guess.

So all in all I am happy that Liam has found his hands and fingers. If only he could learn to give the peace sign to me when I tell him I love him and flip the bird to crazy Prairie Village drivers! Oh the beauty of non-verbal communication. Lesson well learned.