Conversations over peas & mac n' cheese

Mealtime is usually a hit, especially when it involves peas and mac n' cheese (a new favorite). 

Will takes a break from eating to say his favorite word ... :-)  See video below.

The Great Pumpkin!

One of the most fun things about having a child is that it gives you an excuse to do fun kid-stuff.  Sure, Will won't remember his first pumpkin patch trip, but it'll be fun to do every year and show him the pictures one day.  I want to start traditions when he's young - things he'll look forward to year after year.  Today, we joined up with friends Christy and her Dec. '08 baby Elias for a pumpkin patch trip.  There's a nearby farm that has a hayride to their pumpkin patch.  I'm not sure what I was envisioning, but I didn't picture it being so muddy!  It was authentic to say the least.  We had fun seeing the farm animals and riding the bumpy trail to the patch.  Here are some pictures of Will and his friend Elias.  The top one is of Will hamming it up for the camera on a horse tire swing.  

Yes, we dressed them in matching shirts!  The similar brown shoes are totally coincidental though.  

Posing with one of the giant pumpkins.  The ones we picked out are MUCH smaller.  Who'd want to lug that big ole' thing back to the car?

Will decided to try to climb the pumpkin, but he lost his balance and fell into the mud.  He wasn't too happy about it, but I assured him that a little dirt just made him a tough little man.  

I looooove this one - how cute is this?  

We never got a shot where we were both looking at the same time, so I picked one where at least he's looking at the camera

I love this one - captures a totally sweet and spontaneous moment.  Will decides to give me kisses - very slobbery ones - hence my face!  

Happy 10 months!

Mr. William, who is ten months old today (WOW!), is a bit under the weather.  Whether it's a byproduct of teething or a true cold, I'm not sure.  Hopefully it's not the flu, since his fever has gone away.  His little runny facet nose is pitiful, and it's really messing up our wonderful sleep routine.  He wants the comfort of his mama, which is sweet, but I think he's milking it for all it's worth.  Oh well, he's only little once.  I'm spoiling him a bit and letting him snuggle more with me when he's usually in his crib, and I'm hoping that he'll return to his normal 12-hour sleeping self once he feels better.  He's been fighting sleep a lot lately, and he'll sit up in his crib and fuss.  Here is a picture from a few days ago, when he was so tired that he fell asleep awhile sitting up in his crib.  

 

He felt much better later on that day, so I let him crawl around his room and play while I folded and put away his clean clothes.  I looked up from my laundry-folding to see this.  He opened a drawer and stood on up using it for leverage.  Luckily my camera was handy, so I snapped a few before he resumed to crawling.

He's actually napping right now, and I'm hoping he'll continue to sleep for awhile so I can do a few things around the house.  Mandy gave us a huge collection of hand-me-down toys that have been sitting on our dining room table for days now, so I'm going to clean and sort those into different bins.  Yay for great free toys!  

If Will continues to feel better, I look forward to getting back into our normal routine of stroller class and playdates.  Hopefully that includes a trip to the pumpkin patch soon, with lots of pictures! 

It's official: we FINALLY have a crawler!

Will is FINALLY crawling! He's been on the brink for awhile now, but this Saturday (Sept. 26th) at Mandy's house, he finally took the plunge and really crawled! It didn't take him but a few times to become quite proficient, and now he's into everything. Time to take baby-proofing to another level, and hello vacuum cleaner - we'll be good friends now. Will must have learned new tricks from his cousins Graham and Anna, because after playing with them, he decided that he was a big boy that needed to move around more. Thanks to Mandy for capturing the moment on her phone. We had a great time and are very thankful to have such a great family. Despite the age gap, Graham, Anna, and Will got along wonderfully. I am excited to see how they'll grow up as "cousin-friends."

Here is Will's big moment.

Video of Will Waving

The quality is poor because it's from my camera, not the camcorder, but here's Will's latest trick.  

Oh, and forgive my annoying voice :-)  

Picture update

My little "jailbird" - that's what he reminds me of when he puts his hands on the bars and looks out.

Almost bed time

He looks like he's about to do push-ups!

All dressed up

It's the return of the monkey towel!

9 months

Oh the difference a week or two makes! Here is what our 9 month old is up to:
He …
• can now move from a crawling position to a sitting position
• rocks on all fours and pushes his way across the floor
• says “Mama” now! He also knows it means ME! I’m thrilled!
• reaches for us and points at things.
• recently started waving, but still only does it when he feels like it!
• is pulling up more

• still just has two teeth, but acts like more are on the way soon (see below)

We recently enjoyed a visit from Grandmonty, who was a huge help with Will while I prepared for and hosted a Bunco group. Will loved playing with Grandmonty, especially when she let him play with her watch, which he found fascinating.  We love you, Grandmonty!

This has been a big few weeks with Will’s milestones, Mom’s visit, and a job offer for Brian! He will clerk with a federal judge for one year (although plans have changed and he may have to now do a bit of commuting between here and Huntsville), then he will work for one of the law firms he worked for the past two summers. I’m extremely proud of Brian, and I can’t wait to cheer him on as he graduates in May - even bigger cheers for when he finishes the dreaded Bar!

Naptime is over, so I must tend to my little man. He’s saying “Mama” over the monitor now. Music to my ears!

Roll Tide!

Ever since we found out we were having a boy, I tried to envision what he would look like in a little Alabama jersey. Here's my NINE MONTH OLD (as of yesterday, can you believe it?), in his new 'Bama jersey. Maybe he can sneak in a bit of the game tonight with his Dada before bedtime.

If you remember, Will was born just before the season ended last year.  Here is a flashback picture of Will at a few weeks old in his first Alabama apparel.  

Regardless of which team you prefer, happy football season!

New friends!

In the "olden days," you made friends by getting to know people in close proximity to you - individuals with whom you cross paths on a regular basis.  This is not always the case in the modern world.  The internet is changing the way our society works, and friendship is no exception.  

Since early on in my pregnancy, I have regularly checked a message board specifically for people due the same month as me.  These women have been a great support group throughout pregnancy, and now, as we raise our little ones.  One day, I saw a post from a member that was moving to the area.  We kept in touch through the message board, and eventually, added each other on Facebook and our blogs.  Now we're "real-life" friends, and all because of the internet. 

Here is Will and his new buddy "E," both Dec. '08 babies.  They had a great play date at the mall today and even got matching final-clearance BabyGap shirts!  Shopping, adult conversation, AND happy babies all at the same time :-)

More mobility

Here is more photographic evidence of Will's increasing mobility.  He gets up on all fours now, but mostly, he does it and scoots backwards.  I'm sure he'll get the hang of it soon though!  He also is Army-crawling some, but he still rolls to get to where he wants.  

Also new is the word, "Mama!"  He's said it all day, mostly in a whiney tone when he wanted me to either do something or stop doing something (like diaper changes or getting him dressed, which he hates now!).  I'm so excited that he's finally saying it.  I've been waiting for ages it seems!  

I'll keep this short, but more later in the week ... 

Looking at the dogs I'm sure!

His dad is not a big fan of the leg warmers (babylegs), but they protect his legs while crawling and make potty trips easy while at home (yup, still doing the potty routine and it's going well).

I must teach him not to text while driving!