Days away ...

We have officially entered the birthday week. Friday is the big day. I tear up just thinking about it. My little man is growing up! We're going to celebrate with homemade cupcakes that I'm making (well, semi-homemade thanks to "The Cake Mix Doctor" recipe book), and I'm sure if Will is anything like his momma, he'll LOVE his first bite of cake.

Will is standing more on his own now and can cruise furniture like a pro., but when he's motivated to get somewhere quick, he still drops into a crawl. His newest trick is escaping the "fortress" we created in our living room to keep him in. We've tried filling in gaps with step stools, pillows, etc. but he always finds a way. He's quite the problem-solver.

I hate I didn't get a picture of him on his first Thanksgiving, but he wasn't up to photos since he was sick. Yup, sick on Thanksgiving, just before I pulled out the turkey. He was running a super high fever, and it gave us a little scare. After talking to the pediatrican on-call, we felt better and were able to get it down a bit. I was super disappointed that we had to cancel our holiday dinner plans with our friends (Will's best friend Elias and his parents). They still came over, but our leisurely dinner plans became a quick food swap (food was yuuuummmmmy). Our Black Friday was spent at the ped's office, where my suspicions were confirmed - ear infection. Although his sleep is still a bit unpredictable due to his discomfort, his fever is normal and he's feeling much better. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tonight goes well. Otherwise, we may put in a call tomorrow to see if we need to come in for a follow-up. Will is supposed to go next week to his one-year checkup, so maybe we could just get it done early and have his ears checked all at once.

Stay tuned next weekend for birthday pictures of our small party for three. Until then, here are a few I snapped today. He's too busy to pose these days!

Here, he's moving the pack n' play in search of crawling freedom.

November is flying by

This month has gone fast! It's already Brian's birthday (Happy Birthday :-), then we have Thanksgiving around the corner, then Will's birthday, then Christmas. Whew, this year will be over fast. We've been on the go so much that I haven't been as good at taking pictures lately. Here are a few ...

Finally, a sippy cup he likes - plain straw ones.

Momma gets big smiles.

Will and my dear friend/coworker Jamelia, or "Jam-Jam" as Will knows her. She always lets him play with her phone, which he loves.

Will was not enthused about being at Strollerstrides this particular morning.

The quality of this video is poor, but it shows how Will pushes his little walker around. He's getting really good at it and can go much faster when given ample floor space. He's also standing by himself some now, which is very exciting. He can do about ten seconds before he reaches for something, someone, or the floor, but that is ten seconds that he couldn't do a week ago. It's amazing how fast they learn.

I'm going to sign off and eat a piece of Brian's birthday cake. He requested a Dairy Queen ice-cream cake, and I had them add a little bit of 'Bama to it. Yum!

One more old pic.

I need to snap some new pictures, but Mr. William and I have been super busy. I'm loving my mom's group, and that plus our regular 3 days a week of Strollerstrides keeps us on the go. Add in a few errands here and there and we are hardly ever at home all day. It makes us appreciate days we are able to veg out here at the house. Until a take some more pics., here is one that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! My friend Christy took this with her awesome camera. It's from the same day as the blog below, but I didn't have it when I did that posting. Doesn't this little face beg to be kissed? :-)

One month away from being a YEAR old!

It seems like these monthly updates go by waaay too fast! Will is officially 11 months old as of yesterday. Nothing huge has happened since our last update, but here are a few things I want to note:

• He stands very solidly now and cruises furniture with ease. He's not trying to walk yet though, but he will take a few steps while holding on to his push walker. I think we have a climber too!

• Will is finally getting better with the sippy cup now that we stick to ones with straws. The stinker STILL demands that I hold his bottle, but he will hold his own sippy cup (stinker!). He's still into the same foods, but he eats less and less baby food. Who can blame him when everything else is so much tastier?

• He's slowly growing out of some of his 12 month-sized clothes and is in mostly 18 month. I haven't weighed him lately, but I'm guessing he's about 22 pounds. One thing is for sure, he's long and lean! People comment frequently that he's a tall boy - something I'm kind of proud of since I've always been a shortie!

• The boy is a little HAM! He loves to bat his eyes, smile, and wave at people when in public. He's already stolen the hearts of many! I am so proud when someone stops to admire his adorableness. See the picture at the very bottom of the post, the one with him waving? He was waving at a cute little girl on the playground - no joke. What a flirt!

• His babbles are becoming more and more word-like. He still says Mama and Dada a lot (this week, Dada has been the favorite word, which makes Brian just a little bit proud). We've been working on the word dog, and I think he said it tonight although I'm going to wait until he's clearly repeated it several times before I'll let it "officially" count. Even though he's not saying more, he'll try to repeat what I'm saying. Often his babblings will have the same number of syllables of whatever I'm asking him to repeat. I'm fascinated by language development and enjoy seeing it in action.

• He loves his Dada - he lights up when he hears him coming up the stairs. He smiles and starts bouncing with excitement, then makes this funny squeal. He waves at him to say hello, then immediately crawls over to him so Brian can scoop him up. I've never seen Brian look more happy than when he sees his special little greeting. He loves his little man, and I love seeing the bond they have.

• Of course, he's still crazy about his Mama! He makes me feel like the funniest person alive. I can do the least little goofy thing and he falls over laughing. It's such an ego-boost, I must admit. I smile just thinking about making my little guy laugh. I also adore how when he wakes up from teething or just being plain upset, somehow my presence is like a magical power. All of the sudden, he's settled and snuggle-y.

• He's turned into a little bookworm! We're thrilled! He loves his books, and will hand me a board book to read to him. Lately, his most frequent choice is, Guess How Much I Love You. He can point to the pictures and even turns the pages on time (most of the time, anyhow!). I love this time together because he'll actually sit still for it - a rare treat these days! I really think I've read, Guess How Much I Love You five times a day or more for the past week! Yes, it gets a tad old, but I love that he's interested. Besides, I almost have it memorized which makes it much easier! I still prefer to read him any of his Sandra Boynton books (if you're unfamiliar, check out her books, they'll grow on you and they're really funny). Since I have my signature spin on several of the books, Brian decided that he needed some "Daddy Only" books. I guess when he tried to read some of my regulars, Will looked at him funny because he didn't do the voices like I do (oh yes, I do voices!). Now Brian has his own little collection of books he reads to Will, and Will enjoys his book time with Dada.

I'm sure I'll think of more stuff later, but that's the bulk of what's new. I'm sad at how fast time is passing, but each phase is more fun than the last. It just keeps getting better. Of course, I couldn't end a post without a few new pictures. These were taken today at one of the few toddler-friendly parks I've been to in the area. We met up with friends Christy and Elias, who I'm SO glad to have met. We have so much in common, and with the boys being the same age, it's such an easy playdate! Christy edited the picture below - isn't it precious? Enjoy!