Liam's 1st Birthday and 2nd Christmas

It has been a hectic week. First Liam had 24 hour stomach virus that got him kicked out of school on Wednesday. Thankfully he made a quick recovery, enabling him to go to school on his birthday. He wore his birthday shirt and had little goodie bags for his classmates and Christmas presents for his teachers. They also had a little party for him and Liam enjoyed a cupcake.

Unfortunately, Liam passed the virus on to my mom (and a few hours later, my dad) when she had him on Wednesday so his party  that night consisted of Aidan's parents, Aidan's grandfather and us. We enjoyed soup and fresh made bread for dinner and then sang 'Happy Birthday' to Liam. He had fun opening presents and we were appreciative of the lovely gifts that he was given. His favourite gift is a xylophone from his Uncle Brendan and Aunt Suzy. We also put aside a gift that will go to charity (it's a habit that we want to make a tradition and therefore decided to start from the beginning).

On December 23rd, Liam spent the day with my parents. I went to work but was suffering the effects of the stomach virus. It still was a great day, seeing friends such as Josue and I was even a witness for a wedding! Aidan ended up dealing with the virus in the evening, which made for a very low-key night.

By Christmas Eve we were back to normal in the Stones household. Aidan and Liam treated me to a morning at the spa. It was so very relaxing and I loved every minute of it. We then went home and had lunch.... with a glass of champagne! We spent the balance of the afternoon playing, watching Doctor Who and eventually wrapping presents when Liam went to sleep. At 10.30 we bundled Liam up and headed off to church. Aidan played the clarinet for the '9 Lessons and Carols' before the Midnight Mass. Liam woke up during the rehearsal and stayed up the entire time. He was really good considering how tired he ended up getting. Aidan played beautifully. It is really wonderful to hear him play the clarinet and he enhanced the carols.

We slept in a wee bit and then Liam experienced his first 'stocking opening in bed'. He was so excited to see the lion and loved the books. Aidan seemed surprised by some of his stocking gifts (i.e. the 'Book of Mormon' CD) and Aidan made a fun stocking for me (I love the post-it notes that Aidan gave me - both novelty (pre-printed complaints) and fashion (Kate Spade!)). We then met up with my mom at St. John's to put flowers on family graves. After then going to the graveyard in St. Georges, we headed to my parent's for breakfast. Liam opened his gifts and gave us a good laugh with his shape sorter. After examining it, he pulled the top off of it and put the shapes directly into the bucket... oh well! He also received a gardening set that included a lawnmower!

Next stop was Aidan's parent's for lunch. The food was lovely and the pudding was eagerly anticipated as usual. Liam was much better at opening gifts and we enjoyed watching everyone open theirs. Liam was awed by Benjamin who was in the bouncer and experiencing his first Christmas. After lunch we went home and organized the house for dinner while Liam had a nap. My parents came up for dinner and we again enjoyed the food. Liam opened his gifts from us and then sat with my dad who read from Liam's new bi-lingual book (guess we're all learning Spanish). After my parents left and Liam went to bed, Aidan and I exchanged gifts and then watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Liam was up a few times because he is cutting his two front teeth - guess we should have been singing that to him over the last few weeks!

Boxing Day was relaxing. We all slept in! We then watched Season 2 of Glee. And then we went to Aidan's Parent's for the Boxing Day lunch. It was good to see everyone and Liam was spoiled by Aidan's Aunts and Uncles. He had fun playing and ate lots of turkey, mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts! We then went home and played until his bedtime. We finished up watching Glee and went on to Season 3 of Fringe.

So it's relaxation time for the rest of the week. Aidan is putting together Liam's tricycle and we'll go out for a walk with it later today.

We hope all of our family and friends have had a lovely Christmas and that you have a safe and prosperous 2012!

2011 Christmas Letter

2011 – Or more correctly the very tail end of 2010 was life changing.  At a little after 2pm on Wednesday 22 December 2010 we celebrated the birth of Liam Rórdán Klaus Stones. Both mother and child left the hospital on Christmas Day and 16-1 White Gate Lane has never been the same. The New Year rang in to the sound of baby wails and a never-ending cycle of milk and diapers. A full night’s sleep is a thing of the past. All in all however, the experience is well worth the sacrifice.

2011 has also been one of the driest on record. At the time of writing we are only an inch ahead of the all time low in 1975. Consequently the water truckers have been doing an excellent trade this year. In addition, the economic situation has gradually worsened with construction drying up to a level most people cannot remember and Bermudians facing unemployment for the first time in living memory.

In February (27^th) Liam was christened at St. Anthony’s Church in Warwick. His godparents are Kali Winchell, Marie Trott and Brendan Stones. Fr. Joe Scollard C.R. presided over the ceremony. Liam didn’t try to dive into the water like his mother apparently tried to do, but he did not react negatively to the water being poured over him. Around this time we also held the first official Highland Dancing Competition in Bermuda, with almost all of our girls participating.

On 17^th March, Liam presented his grandfather with a shillelagh, the same one that had been presented to my grandfather on St Patrick’s Day 1973 by me.

April was a busy month. We held the second set of Highland Dancing Examinations. The Examiner was the President of the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing, Shendl Russell. We also had Easter. In the midst of this Liam developed his first ear infection and was on antibiotics for several days.

In May we celebrated Mothers’ Day. It also marked one year since we discovered that we were expecting. Our postponed vacation from last September also happened and Liam took his first flight and ride on a train. We stayed on a farm just outside of Canterbury in Kent, which gave us the ability to spend some time exploring the areas around which I had been at boarding school at Dover College. We visited Dover and Walmer Castles and Dover College, where I met up with my old Housemaster Mike Vanderhoeven and his wife (who also introduced us to his grandchild – now 13 and at Dover College). We had lunch in the old refectory (which is still being used for its original purpose, built in the early 1100s.) and visited the Chapel of St Martin on the grounds where I spent countless Sundays and other occasions as part of the choir. The new music school, built into what was the Headmaster’s House is now a first class facility. We also spent an afternoon with Leo Forsdyke, my former music master in Walmer. The end of the trip we spent in London. Natalie Pereech babysat Liam in our hotel room and we went to see Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing” starring David Tennant & Catherine Tate. We met up with Roz, Alan and Elizabeth and went to Hampton Court Palace, which was an interesting day. In the evening we had dinner at Le Meridien. We also met up with Josh Paulos for our regular Chinatown meal and were happy to have a coffee with Nigel Hickson on a Sunday morning.

June saw Liam go to the beach for the first time. He really enjoyed the water. He also visited the Aquarium and was fascinated by the baby turtles. It was also Fathers’ Day and Marisa’s birthday.

July was heavily weighted towards prep for “Fortissimo”. Liam went swimming and to swimming “lessons”. He also began to belly crawl and could stand on his own. Liam’s cousins, Alegña & Aliyah, visited with us from Florida and enjoyed playing with the dogs.

August and we celebrated Cup Match as far away from the crowds as possible. We had a picnic on the beach at Mangrove Bay and relaxed. The following week was hectic. Both the Pipe Band and Regiment Band travelled to Ottawa Canada to participate with the Canadian Ceremonial Guard for “Fortissimo”. The three night performance took place on the grounds in front of the Canadian Parliament Building, and the Regiment Band performed at the “Changing the Guard on the Friday morning. It was the first time that the Bermuda Regiment had participated in an official Guard Mount and therefore we became part of history.

In September we celebrated our 5^th Anniversary (yes already) and my birthday in Boston. We took Liam to the New England Aquarium, where he was fascinated by the penguins. We visited Babson College and met up with one of Marisa’s professors, Bill Lawler. We also met up with Carrie and Peter and were introduced to Ellie. We visited a farm and picked apples. Liam also had his first haircut and we took a picture of 3 generations of “Stones”.  At my Grandfather’s birthday (his 97^th) we took a photograph of 4 generations of “Youngs”.

October and November went by, with Halloween, Remembrance Day, Thanksgiving Day (we’ll celebrate anyone’s holidays). Liam is turning a toddler, and even though he is not walking, he is standing regularly and using things to prop himself up while he moves around. He also is a lot more animated, talking, complaining and generally making his feelings known. He has also perfected his “fake” cry, to which we are getting wise.

Marisa travelled to Antigua on business in early December and unfortunately missed his Christmas pageant, but we took pictures and video. The next big event will be Brendan & Suzy having their child – any day now!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope for a Happy & Prosperous New Year 2012.

Liam - Week 52

 Date/Week: December 22nd; week 52

Milestones: Our Little Boy is 1! First Holiday Open House on Dec 18th. No longer Baby Liam - Baby Benjamin was born on Dec 16th (Liam's first male cousin). 2nd haircut. Featured prominently in this year's Christmas letter (to be published to the family blog shortly).

Developmental Progress:  He hums/sings 'Jingle Bells'. Continues to take a few steps on his own. Drinks from sippy cup as easily as the bottle. Loves to 'read' his own books.

Energy level: I'm a little frazzled at the moment...

Exercise: only walking - putting together my fitness programme for 2012 though!

Thoughts and Feelings? I cannot believe that Liam is 1. It has been such a busy year. And even this week - with the Open House, Student Event at work, turning in the dissertation proposal, Liam's b-day, Christmas - it's been crazy. I am glad to have captured so much of it and am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to see Liam's journey from this vantage point!

What I am looking forward to: Christmas is coming!

Newborn

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

1 year card

Liam - Week 51

Date/Week: December 14th; week 51

Milestones: First Christmas Concert (he was Joseph); Has sandwiches for lunch (he loves them)

Developmental Progress:  Understanding more words; will usually hand you something if you ask for it. 

Energy level: So much catching up to do to get ready for Christmas after a week away. I will admit that I am a little overwhelmed at the moment.

Exercise: only walking

Thoughts and Feelings? There is so much still to do to prepare for our Open House, Liam's 1st birthday and Christmas. I am looking forward to some downtime. On a positive note, the tree is up with lights on it and the Christmas cards with Christmas letter included have been mailed.

What I am looking forward to: All the festivities of the coming two and a half weeks!

Liam - Week 50

Date/Week: December 7th; week 50

Milestones: 1st Christmas Fair; now has a walker; 1st time away from me for more than one night

Developmental Progress:  He is able to navigate his walker - turn, push it backwards, etc. Getting better at 'patting' the dogs

Energy level: I went from frantic before flying on Monday to a few restless nights due to being in a strange place... but I am a bit more relaxed than usual

Exercise: Dance class on Saturday was good. Looking at what activities will make up my workout programme for 2012 - I need to look at getting back my endurance

Thoughts and Feelings? I miss my family. I speak to Aidan (and Liam) nightly and each morning. I am enjoying the intellectual aspect of this conference but it is tough to be apart from Liam for my first time. He isn't eating his solids and is clingy so he is missing me too. This is a tough first for me...

What I am looking forward to: Going home...

Liam - Week 49

Date/Week: November 30th; week 49

Milestones: 2nd time receiving antibiotics for ear infections :(  Preparing for his first Christmas concert (which I will miss) 

Developmental Progress:  He has done a few steps on his own but is still not comfortable with walking unaided. Give him something to push though and he goes all over the place; He has discovered that he can crawl faster if he puts whatever he is holding in his mouth

Energy level: Hectic week - I cannot wait for some time off to spend at home doing nothing (once Christmas is over...)

Exercise: Danced at Fort Hamilton on Monday (but also have been told that I have plantar fasciitis on my left foot... sigh)

Thoughts and Feelings? We purchased our tree this past weekend and are starting to get into decorating now that we're into Advent. I am looking forward to catching up with friends and family during the holiday season. I am also excited to see what Liam makes of everything - the lights, the tree, the music. 

What I am looking forward to: Our Open is on December 18, followed by Liam's birthday on the 22nd - it should be a great week of celebrations leading up to Christmas!

Liam - Week 48

Date/Week: November 23rd; week 48

Milestones: He's 11 months old! He's the oldest in his baby class. We received his first class picture (he looks like he is 3!)

Developmental Progress:  He will go over to his book storage cube, pull it out, pull out a book (usually Thomas the Tank Engine), sit down and flip through it. He's still talking up a storm.

Energy level: I caught Liam's cold... which he still has!

Exercise: none this week...

Thoughts and Feelings? We're getting into the holiday season and it is going to be busy. And sadly, I'll miss his Christmas concert because I'll be away on business. It really sucks.


Need to start thinking about what to do for the little man's 1st birthday.

What I am looking forward to: Some sleep!