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!  

Chow time!

Remember this little boy?  This was Will's first time in the high chair.  Of course, he wasn't eating solids at this point.  At the time this was taken, I bet he still had bottles every three hours or so.

Fast forward several months and ...

Now, at 8 1/2 months, here is Will enjoying finger foods.  As you can see, the dogs are in position, ready to pounce on anything that hits the floor.  Will particularly enjoys puffs and banana pieces.  He was starting to fight his bottle, which until a few days ago, he still had four times a day.  It was a struggle to get him to take even half  of his bottle.  I finally decided it would probably be ok to cut down to three bottles a day as long as they were 8 ounces each.  Will was happy about the switch and now drinks his bottles happily.  He'd much rather eat "real" food, and although he still gets a lot of baby food, he's broadening his taste buds with samplings of our meals, including roast and mashed potatoes.  Yummy!

Round round get around, he gets around ...

Will decided to ease his parents' minds a bit by becoming increasingly mobile over the past week. He still isn't crawling on all fours, but he's scooting, rolling, and pulling up like crazy. I can forsee that I will be VERY exhausted at the end of the day now! It's amazing to see how fast these milestones come though. Here is a set of pictures taken quickly in sequence.  

Such a solid little sitter

"Hmm, think I'll get on the floor ..."

"What can I get into now?"

Lean to the left

Reach to the right

New Pictures!

Jessica Parris, the photographer who did Will's 3 month pictures, just gave me a sneak peek from our session last week.  

Check it out: http://jessicaparrisphotography.blogspot.com/

I can't wait to see the rest!