Will's First Birthday Party

His birthday isn't until Wednesday, but the par-tay was this weekend. We had a lot of people show up. Everyone was so generous to our baby boy. Despite the hot and humid Texas weather (90+ degrees yesterday, but nice and cool today, of course!), I think people had a good time.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

My Handsome Little Man

He looks like a miniature version of his daddy.

I'm Walkin', Yes Indeed...

Okay, so he's not exactly truckin' across the room yet, but he's at least getting the courage to take a few steps at a time. I'm so proud of him. He's such a little perfectionist that I didn't know if he would be walking by his first birthday. He seems to wait until he has everything down just so before he tries a new skill.

He gets so excited and he kind of flings himself at me toward the end, but considering we were alone and I had to get him with the camera and catch him, it's not too bad.

On a personal note, both Rolf and I are wiped today because we stayed up past 1:30 this morning to see the Stars eliminate the San Jose Sharks from the playoffs. The Stars are defying their critics. Let's hope we see them perform well against their next opponent - the Detroit Red Wings. Go Stars!

Bye-Bye, Boxwood!

Will is now completely over his rash, his fever, and any other malady (knock wood). We spent yesterday ripping out about a dozen well-established boxwood shrubs in our back yard, so I think we're all having a little "allergy hangover" today. The bright side is that our patio suddenly seems much bigger, and I honestly think we get a little more light in the evening. We're still trying to figure out what to do with the area - whether we'll plant something else, pave it out to expand the patio, or put a nice little container flowerbed out there.

Some pictures from yesterday...

My climber is blooming - we have 7 blooms now and another dozen on the way!

Will, enjoying the sunshine and watching us work.

Boxwoods - halfway gone!

Good riddance! (and Rolf's new garden shed)

I've never liked those boxwood, but we kept them because they were the only thing growing at the house when we moved in, save the giant nandina in the front. Now that we have other vegetation, and the house no longer looks like the Addams family resides here, it was time to rip 'em out. We had planned to do it last year, but by this time last spring, I was on bedrest and wasn't even supposed to go to the store, much less do heavy yard work.

I'm glad they're gone.

Some Pictures of a Happier Baby

We took these on Saturday before Will's rash got bad. If you look closely, you can see it just starting in his hairline. He's been so irritable since then (and who can blame him, really?) that I feel the need to remind myself of the sweet happy baby he really is. He's just the best thing that ever happened to us.

Culprit Identified

We think we've figured out what was wrong with Will. About 3:00 yesterday afternoon, Will's head broke out in a rash. Poor baby was itchy, irritable, and downright miserable.

After some research (and 24 hours with a very fussy 11 month old), we've figured out that Will had Roseola (the kid in the picture has a MUCH more severe rash than the Willster). The best we can hope for is that the rash will subside soon and he'll get more comfortable. He's just been so hard to deal with - so unlike him. He's been clingy, which really isn't a problem, except that if he doesn't get his way (or someone isn't holding him 24/7), he's screaming. That can't be helping the rash, since Will turns red as a lobster and gets really hot when he's crying.

All we can do for now is try to help the little guy stay comfortable until the rash goes away. At least he's not contagious anymore. I don't have any sick days left; I used them all up last year when I was on bedrest for the last six weeks of school. If he gets sick in the next two months, I may just have to eat the cost of a sub.

Update on Will

Will was up twice before midnight, parched. Once he got some fluid in him, he'd fall right back to a fitful sleep. When he got up again at 1:15, I just took him to the living room and slept with him on the couch for a few hours. Rolf had to conduct a training session at work today, and he needed his rest. I had already called in for a sub when I saw that thermometer pass the 104 mark. Will slept no longer than 3 hours at a time. He's pooped.

I had to tote Will up to school with me this morning to make sure everything was ready for my sub today. Poor baby. Everyone wanted to get up in his face to look at him, something none of us likes when we're feeling under the weather.

He still didn't have much of an appetite all day. He took a good 2 hour nap in the morning, and this afternoon, he still was running about 100.7 when he dropped off to sleep at 2:30. He woke up at 2:50, soaking wet, but his head was cool. That was the last of it. He drank some fluids this evening, and he ate about half of his container of sweet potatoes and glazed carrots. He played and talked with Rolf this evening, pausing every now and then to rest his little head on Rolf or me or the floor. I know he's wiped. He's resting comfortably now. I hope he gets to sleep through the night.


I've racked my brain trying to figure this out. I tend to run below normal temps, so if I hit 101, I'm REALLY sick. Rolf said that he ran a little high when he was a kid. Maybe for Will, 103 is like normal people's 101. For me, 101 is like everyone else's 103. Maybe it is just teething. Or maybe it's teething plus a virus. I don't know. All I do know is that this is the second time he's had a high fever spike with no obvious cause, and I don't like it.

Checkup, or Our Pointless Trip to the Pedi

Length - 29 1/4" (50th %)
Weight - 22 lbs., 10 oz. (50th %)
Head - 19" - (90th % - that's my boy!)

His head circumference is only 1/2" shorter than his whole body was at birth.

The last time we took Will to the doctor, he had an ear infection (which surprised the heck out of me. He had no symptoms but gunk in his eyes). This morning's appointment was to be his ear infection follow-up/9 mo. well baby checkup. Unfortunately, he wasn't well today. He was running a fever yesterday at daycare when I went to pick him up, he had no appetite for dinner last night, and he was running a fever most of the night. He slept fitfully, party due to his illness, partly due to the massive storms that rocked the DFW area last night. When we were in the pedi's office, his temp was 101.8. The doctor said his ears were clear, his lungs were clear, and there was no sign of a sore throat. He said all we could do was treat his fever. I gave Will some Tylenol in the exam room while we were waiting for the nurse to come back and prick his finger for the hemoglobin count, which helped him through the next 5 hours until we had run the rest of our errands and returned home.

When we got home, his temperature was super-high - it actually hit 104 on the thermometer. I think some of that was sleeping on the sunny side of the car all the way home. It dropped to 103.5 within 5 minutes. I had to cool him down with a cold wet washcloth, but it didn't help too much. When I got his temp down to 102.7 (with a dose of Tylenol), I laid him down to sleep. He slept for 30 minutes before he woke up soaking wet and screaming. His fever was down, but he was in pain. I couldn't tell if it was his head, his throat, or his tummy that was hurting. I couldn't help him. It was the most powerless I've felt in a long time. I would have given anything to take away his pain and taken it on myself. He finally calmed down when we stepped outside into the beautiful afternoon. His fever never really completely broke.

About 1/2 hour ago, I gave him a cool bath. We kept him in there until his head felt close to normal and his poor little teeth started to chatter. We gave him some more Tylenol about 20 minutes ago, but his temperature just seems to be climbing. Rolf is cradling him now, wrapping a cold washcloth around his head. I don't know what else to do. If he's still running a temp over 101 tomorrow, I'm taking him in somewhere.

UPDATE: Rolf seems to have broken the scary-high temps. At last check, Will's fever was only 101.1. Whew. Let's hope it continues to drop.

Will's Vocabulary

Thus far, at a week shy of 11 months, Will has said:

"dood-dog" - good dog (for any furry critter - squirrels, cats, cows, and of course, dogs)
"dindoh" - window
"dada" - dada
"mama" - mama
"gangah" - grandad
"mum mum mum" - num num num
"thilly" - silly (I swear, he said it! He was copying Rolf during a diaper change)
"mmm" - yummy sound when he had a bite of cheese
"uh-uh" - uh-oh

If he's getting into something he's not supposed to, he'll look at us, grin, and shake his head vigorously from side to side.

He squeals in delight if we head to the garage to get in the car. I think he loves his new carseats that enable him to see out of the window.

Did I mention he can whistle? He watches us whistle, purses his lips, and says, "ooo." Occasionally, he'll actually get a whistle in. Appropriate, since we call him Sweet Pea. Usually, his whistles happen on the inhale, but it's a bona fide whistle, for all that.

I always knew he was sweet, but

I had no idea he tasted that good. Last Friday, Will had an incident report at daycare. Apparently, Will awoke from his nap and stuck his arm through the bars of the crib. Another child bit him. Poor baby had teeth marks on his right arm until Saturday. Yesterday, Will had another incident report. This time, Will and his bud were at the table, having snack. Will got excited about what they were eating and pointed too close to his friend's mouth. As those of you who have been around teething toddlers know, that's not a good idea. Fortunately, neither bite broke the skin.

When we got Will home last night, Rolf noticed marks on his left arm. He had multiple bite marks. Poor baby had been chewed on pretty good. If he didn't cry, there was no way the daycare people could have noticed every little thing that happened all day, so I'm not mad at them about not catching it. I pointed the marks out today (they were still there, he was bitten so hard), and they promised to watch more closely and separate Will from the vampire (my term, not theirs). Apparently, it worked. No bite marks today! We'll see what tomorrow brings.

On the cute side of things, when Will sees I'm on the laptop, he comes over to me, peers around the screen, and sticks his wrist in his mouth to say, "bah-bwa-bah-bwa." He's letting me know he wants to watch the video I posted on March 22 (the one titled, "The Sound of ...Something." He thinks it's hilarious.

bonus pics are now in the picasa album. link can be found on the right ===>

We're coming to get you Barbara!

Here's where I keep my assorted lengths of wire.

You people actually EAT this stuff?

Hi-larious

It's Official

Will is a big boy.

• I put away the last of his "emergency" bottles this afternoon
• He stopped eating baby food about a week and a half ago. He'll still eat the Gerber Graduates stuff, but he's pretty much on to grownup food
• We bought three baby gates today so we can contain him in the living room/entry area
• We also bought another transitional car seat for my car. He's just getting too big for the infant carrier anymore
• His vocabulary is expanding every day. We can't understand all of it just yet, but he has names for most things in the house (and outside)
• We began putting together the plans for his first birthday party this morning

*sigh*

I love watching him grow up and learn new skills, but part of me longs for those early infant days when we could just snuggle him all day and he'd be happy. Now he's a wiggly, giggly near-toddler. No walking yet, just lunging from, say, the coffee table to my legs. If he had the confidence, he'd be there.

I love my little man.

I wanna be like Mike

Will has a new sports center that has a baseball he can hit on a swivel, a football/goalpost spinner, and a basketball goal that counts and cheers.

After getting his confidence up by making a few baskets, Will pulled a Michael Jordan and stuffed one - take a look.




the only difference (besides over 5' in height, pigmentation of the skin, and age)? Jordan drools less. Hey - at least Will has the same hairdo!

Will's First Soccer Game

Tuesday night, I took Will to the girls' playoff game. A couple of my sophomores are on the varsity soccer team at school, and they were in the first round of the playoffs. One of my girls scored two goals and had two assists, leading the team to a 6-0 victory. The Lady Jags scored all six goals in the first half, playing into a pretty rough wind. It was a fun game to watch.

When my student scored the first goal of the game, a beautiful arc from the right wing, I cheered right along with the crowd. Will's face just crumpled, and big crocodile tears rolled down his cheeks. He didn't know what to make of his mommy yelling like that. Unfortunately, keeping my cheering quiet and to a minimum didn't help much. Will cried for three of the goals, and stuck his little lower lip out and whined for the other three.

By the second half, however, Will started to get into the game...or at least the crowd at the game. He enjoyed playing peekaboo with the women behind us, and he even started clapping in delight. I was sure he wouldn't make it the full 80 minutes (high school games are a bit shorter than professional games), but he was a trooper. He held on for the whole game. I think he actually had more fun as the evening went on instead of tiring out.

This is definitely not his last game.

Water Baby

I once read advice to fill the bathtub before bringing the baby into the bathroom, so you don't upset the child with the loud noise. Not so Will. He practically flips out of your arms, fully clothed, so he can get his hands on that water.

ETA: The water isn't brown; Will's no-slip mat from IKEA is a biscuit color, and it is tinting the appearance of the water. ~ Ghost Writer.

An action shot of his hobby - whitewater bathing:

I can has Woodstock?

Will with a mohawk - and a goofy face

A Few Pictures from the Weekend

My brother came in for a visit from Atlanta, so we had a nice family get together on Friday evening. I think a good time was had by all. My Grandad came and spent the day, and my cousin (Will's fifth uncle) got to come in from Denton. This was the first time since Will was five days old that my brother had seen Will. He's changed quite a bit since last May.

Will and Uncle Aaron

"dood-dog"

Ian, Will, and Aidan - the cousins

Will and Mommy in sunglasses

The Sound of...Something

Not quite music, but this is Will's new favorite sound to make.

Even more hilarious is his reaction to watching this video. It's like he's having a conversation with himself in "bah-bwa-bah-bwa" speak.

Stand in the place where you live...

Will's longest attempt to date to defy gravity. It won't be long now!

What a Hambone!

You think this boy knows he's cute? We're in for it when he gets older!

Sing us a song, you're the piano man...

I think we may need to start calling him "Willy Joel."

A Change of Genre

Will apparently decided to renounce the rock star look in favor of...

...Marky Mark. Can you feel the vibration?

Practice Makes Perfect

After Will's escapades with the high chair the other night, we went to Target to get him a car to push now and ride later. We rearranged the living room to give him a nice big play area. Ignore the mess in the video - we were halfway through the move.

We're hoping he'll be ready to mow the lawn by his first birthday. :-)

My Little Rock Star...

...attitude and all.

Record High Temperature

Obviously, I'm not talking about Will's first snow on Friday. On Thursday, Will ran a temperature all day long. It spiked frighteningly high - to a 103.7 - at around 7:30 in the evening. Tylenol wasn't breaking it, sleep wasn't breaking it. It seemed that there was nothing we could do. Will was lethargic and glassy-eyed, like most of us get when we're feverish, but he didn't seem to be in pain. I finally got a cool rag and washed his head down repeatedly. I opened his pajamas and did the same to his chest and stomach. I rubbed lotion into his legs and chest - anything I could do to make him cool down. Eventually, his fever fell below 100 degrees around 9:30. He ran a low-grade fever until around 12:30, and never looked back. Rolf stayed home with him yesterday, but Will was nice and cool and energetic all day - maybe a little clingy and a little fussy, but he hadn't eaten much in the past 24 hours and didn't sleep well at all on Thursday night.

Speaking of Will's first snow, he was enthralled on Friday morning. He looked out of the patio door, pointed, and excitedly cried out, "Do-doo doo do DOO do DO!" I covered his head, and we went outside for about 30 seconds. We reached the grill, which had a nice dusting of slushy snow on it. I touched it, so he leaned over to copy me. As soon as his little fingers hit the icy cold, he pulled his hand back and turned away. Ah, that's my little Texan. Since he seems to have inherited his mommy's cold-sensitive hands, he does NOT like to be cold. He did think the snow was pretty, though.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

Will's latest feat, taken last night...

He is also trying to stand on his own more. He usually only has the confidence or balance to hang in there a couple of seconds, but it won't be long before he's doing all this on his own. Eek!

Will's New Hat

He's ready for his next trip to First Monday! Now if the weather will cooperate...

Will Likes to Boogie

His favorite song to rock out to? Apparently, it's "The Farmer in the Dell." Be sure your sound is up, or you won't hear his music. He's pretty rhythmic. He's certainly a better dancer than his mommy!

Good, good, good, good vibrations...

Will hates teething rings. He inherited his mommy's cold hands, so holding a refrigerated (or worse, frozen) gel capsule is not comfortable for him. A lady at work recommended the vibrating teething ring. Since Will is feeling better, we went out and found him one today. As soon as I washed it and he had finished his biter biscuit, we tried it out. Here are the results:

This wasn't just his initial reaction, either. The more he chewed, the more he laughed (and so did I). We may have to ration his time with the teether so we can save the battery. He loves it that much.

What a funny kid.

This Morning

Will was sent home from daycare with a fever yesterday. He has to be fever-free for 24 hours before they'll take him back, so we're home today. He seems to be fine today. We were listening to Will's new Sandra Boynton CD, Blue Moo, when I took this video. He bopped along more when the camera wasn't rolling, of course. This kid has never done anything on cue, even from the time he was in the womb.

You didn't believe me about the teeth?

Here's proof - this was taken 2/9/08 in the back seat of the car.




If you value your finger, don't get it near his mouth!

38 Weeks

That's how old Will is today. Because of my pre-eclampsia, that was his gestational age at birth. He has been out of the womb as long as he was in it. These past 8+ months have gone by so fast. I have really done my best to enjoy Will at every stage of the game, but he is changing and growing so rapidly that sometimes it is difficult to take a breath and step back. He's such a little overachiever that he seems to grow by leaps and bounds daily. As Rolf said, it's been fun to watch the little lights come on as he reaches new developmental milestones, but this past month or so, it's like someone threw the generator switch and lit up the whole town. Since Christmas, Will has grown six teeth, started and mastered crawling, gotten more specific with his vocalizations (including a "muh-muh" every now and then), gotten the courage to shuffle along the coffee table as he holds on, learned how to set himself down gently, transitioned mostly from bottles to sippy and regular cups, and begun to eat "chewy" solid food. Whew! He's been a busy boy.

I suppose, when you think that it took us 56 months of actively trying (after 32 months of "if it happens, it happens"), 9 months isn't such a long time. That makes me feel a little better about how fast it all seems to be flying by. The joy Will has brought us in these last 16 months makes up for the years of despair we felt when we thought we'd never get to have him. Just looking at his sweet face, listening to his precious laugh, and feeling his little arms cling to me fills me with indescribable love and satisfaction. Parenthood is all I ever hoped (knew) it would be, and I am thankful every day I get to experience it with Rolf and Will.

Daily Dose of Cuteness - Friday

The final day in our installment - Rolf comes home tonight! Hooray!

Daily Dose of Cuteness - Thursday

Go Mean Green!

LA LA Land

San Diego is a pretty hip town. kinda like Austin on the beach. i dig it, and would readily come back here for a vacation. that being said, we just got back from a road trip up the I5 to los angeles, and i'm a little wonky. i truly had some strange experiences there. while trying to find graumann's theater we stumbled into a 'museum' on psychiatry...the subject matter merits discussion but the folks running the joint seemed to be mixing their own brand of kool-aid. we beat feet after about 15 minutes of a really slick audio program ( i swear it had the "in a world" movie trailer voice over guy). after a freaky windstorm, dodging a cnn satellite truck, and stumbling onto the set for the california democratic presidential debates, we made it to the theater. only to find out that the movie we bought tickets to wasn't in the super cool chinese theater you see in the movies. it was to the cinema six inside the upscale mall next door. major let down. after nearly breaking my ankle in alice's rabbit hole at the museum, i had no interest in five thousand dollar purses or the virgin megastore. kate blanchette was apparently in attendance at the chinese theater for the premier of her newest movie. i still have no idea what it was, but hey, i almost bumped into a star. i've uploaded the best thing i found in my visit to la and hollywood. those of you who know us will hopefully agree, it's not easy bein' green.

-Rolf

Super Monkey Cuteness

I love his monkey pj's!

Daily Dose of Cuteness - Wednesday

About to leave for school this morning. He looks so much older in this picture.

sunny san diego

aside from being fed on business dinners and corporate double speak, i get to see this every day at sundown. unspeakably beautiful. this alone is worth the trip. i just wish ghostie and will could join me. -rolf

Good Clean Fun

I promise, no nudity! :-)

Will loves baths.

Daily Dose of Cuteness - Tuesday

Pardon the snot-crusted nose and lip. He had JUST awakened.

Daily Dose of Cuteness - Monday

Since Rolf is in San Diego all week for training, Will and I have decided to take pictures to send to him every day he's gone. We'll post them here as well, so if we take any video, we can post it here for Rolf to see.

Last night when we returned from the airport at 9:45, a sleepy Will rubbed his eyes, looked around, and asked, "Da. Da do do do doo?" I know he was asking where Daddy was. Very cute. His eyes were open when Rolf kissed him goodbye, but I don't think he was really awake.

Anyway, here is the installment for day 1.


I know I'm biased, but damn, that's cute.

Spoon!

All references to The Tick aside, Will decided this morning that he was such a big boy that he could help Daddy feed him. The results were slightly messy, but adorable. He did a great job, though.

He just doesn't look like a little baby anymore. It's such a mixture of emotions to watch him grow up and become more independent. Part of me is so proud to see him try new things and watch his little gears turn as he tries to figure something out. The other part, deep down, is screaming, "NO! You're my baby! Slow down! You'll be in kindergarten before I blink twice!"

The best thing, though, is that he's started to give hugs. REAL hugs, not just snuggling his head in. I picked him up from daycare yesterday, and he put his arms on my shoulders, laid his head on my left shoulder, and squeezed. It was, as his Bear in the Big Blue House CD suggests, "better than the best."

My Little Snaggletooth

Check it out - you can see both of the top outside teeth, and the front one that broke through today. I guess he won't be a snaggletooth for long! Poor baby has an irritated face from his snotty nose and dried out paci at night (and sweet potatoes from an incomplete dinner), but that grin is super cute.

Such a Big Boy

Today, I was cleaning up the kitchen (it's nice to be able to get housework done in the middle of the week), and I decided to try a new position for Will's high chair. He's always trying to be involved in our dinner, so I thought I'd try taking the tray off his high chair, lower it (love the adjustable height feature!), and see what will thought of it. He loved it! I actually ended up lowering the chair one more level so I could push him up closer to the table. The CD player? So we can listen to They Might Be Giants, of course!

He sure isn't acting or looking sick today, but the glisten of snot beneath his nose and the heady stench emanating from his hindquarters tell a different story.

Ugh

Will recovered quickly from his febrile spike last Thursday. He was able to go to daycare (and stay the whole day) on Friday. I had to travel with the school's Academic Decathlon team to Frisco. The team did very well, especially considering we lost two of our highest scorers to other pursuits. For those of you who know (or care), we won Super Quiz (both relay and team scores), and came in an excruciatingly close second to South Grand Prairie. We only lost by 271 points, and when you're talking about scores over 37k, that's not a lot!

The fever seemed to precede a bit of a cold or sinus infection. Will got a little rattly over the weekend, and that has continued through today. Yesterday, he wasn't feeling well at daycare. He was fussy all day, and they said it seemed like his tummy was hurting (he was drawing his legs up as they rocked him).

Last night, after a long evening nap, Will started throwing up. At first, there was nothing in his tummy but drainage, so we thought that the post-nasal drip was upsetting his tummy (it usually does mine). After his bottle, however, it became apparent that was not all that was bothering my little man. I won't go into gory details here. Let's just say that two (for him and Rolf) and three (for me) sets of pajamas later, we were able to get him to keep down a couple of ounces of apple juice cut with water. He then promptly fell asleep. He woke up in the middle of the night starving, and kept down a bottle then. He has kept down his oatmeal and pears and some more formula this morning, but things are coming out the other end now. In the last hour and 20 minutes, we've had four incredibly nasty diapers. In between, he's playing and crawling and climbing, but if I pick him up, he cuddles into my shoulder and rests his head. He's not 100%, that's for sure, but it's much easier to deal with a nasty diaper every twenty minutes than it is cleaning up puke!

Poor Little Punkin'

I got a call today during my third period class saying that Will was running a 103.2 degree fever. I had an hour to go before the kids left (they were taking semester exams), so I called my dad. He came into my classroom to get the keys to my car so that he could get the car seat and pick Will up from daycare, but then he asked, "Would you rather handle this yourself?" Of course I would. So Dad kindly watched my third period (there are advantages to teaching at the same school) while I went and picked up my little man.

Will was exhibiting no signs of illness except lethargy and a reduced appetite (and that usual spark in his eyes was dulled). We came home, he fell asleep on me, and his temperature seemed to drop pretty dramatically. He was wearing a polarfleece top over his pirate onesie, so I couldn't take his temperature without disturbing him. Fortunately, he woke up, drank 8 oz. of formula (from a sippy cup, of course. Even when he's sick, he's a big boy), and kind of chilled out, resting his head on me. It's obvious his head doesn't feel good. He cried while I tried to change his diaper because I took off his 1/2 zip polarfleece top. He didn't want his head messed with. I don't blame him, poor boy. That's the last thing I want when I'm sick like that. I took his temp, and it had dropped to 100.2. He's asleep again, so we're going to wait this out. I haven't given him any acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and his temp is dropping, so I think he'll be okay. We'll watch it, of course, and if it skyrockets again, we'll take him in. For now, though, he needs rest and fluids more than anything.

My hope against hope is that this is teething-related. He is cutting at least 2 more teeth at the moment. I know that's probably not the case, since his temp was so high (they add a degree at the daycare, though), but one can hope.

Big Boy Food

Will decided this week that he was too big for baby food. He would cry with every bite of puree, so we decided to try him on small chunks of food supplemented with formula for dinner. He still ate his oatmeal this morning, but we put diced cooked apples in it. For lunch, we gave him 8 oz. formula in a sippy cup (he'll still drink out of a bottle, but we're going to try to wean him off them except for the rare middle-of-the-night emergency feed or if we're out and about and have no sippy cup) and diced apples and two cut-up chicken sticks. They looked like vienna sausage, but they didn't have the preservatives and sodium. He did really well. I think he actually ate probably 75% of the meat and 80% of the apples and drank 6 oz. of the formula without a fight.

He's getting so good at feeding himself (with his hands, at least).

He gets distracted by Brandon cooking his lunch at the end of this clip. The Daddy Show always trumps whatever meal he's eating.

I Have Toofies!

Check out Will's new chompers -

First, the two on the bottom (they're getting so big!)

Then, his little snaggletooth on the upper right

He's getting another tooth on the left, so he's going to have his fangs before he gets his top front teeth.

Back To Work

We're both back to the grindstone this week. Workworkwork. :P seems like a different world after the fantastic time we had these past few weeks.

Watching our little boy's first Christmas, seeing him crawl, and sprout teeth all in the little time we had together over the break was amazing.

He's mobile now! further babyproofing of the house will take place this week. He's part pogo stick i think. BOING BOING BOING

Will's teachers at daycare were very happy to see him return. Almost as happy as we were sad to see him go.

Will's Christmas - Finally!

I got the link to this cool scrapbook online from my friend Elizabeth

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

The Baby in Black

sigh...

Tomorrow, our holidays are officially over and it's back to the routine of work, commute, daycare, no time for each other.

It's been so nice being home as a family for nearly two weeks. Rolf worked his vacation/holidays so that he's really only had to work two days since I've been off of school. I'm not sure our heads are back into the swing of things just yet. We have to get more organized. It takes a lot more planning and pre-packing to get us all out of the door in the mornings when we're working than not.


Rolf and I figured that Will would have the best day of the three of us tomorrow. His teachers at daycare love him (who can blame them?) and have missed him these past two weeks.

What a difference a few days makes...

Rolf and I left Will with my dad on Wednesday as we headed to Vegas. By the time we returned on Friday evening, Will's bottom two teeth were halfway in (see picture below), his right top canine was almost in (it broke through yesterday), and he started to crawl - not just the ooching, either, real crawling!

He's also outgrown just about all clothes that say "6 mo" in them, even if they're 6-9 mo. He's just getting so big. Last night, though, when he was cuddled up on my shoulder after a bottle, I could see that tiny newborn we brought home nearly eight months ago buried deep within my big boy. Rolf lowered Will's crib mattress two notches tonight because we've responded to his cries twice in the past week to find Will standing in his bed. Kind of scary.

Will's New Teeth (and the usual accompanying drool)

Will standing in his new, lowered crib (the hydraulics will be installed next)

Here's a video of Will crawling:

He has also shown signs of "cruising," that is, holding onto the coffee table and shuffling his way along it. He's not even eight months old yet, but he's been trying to walk for a month now. One of his favorite things to do is walk around the room while holding onto someone's fingers, as seen in the picture below. He also loves to bounce and jump. We really considered getting him a jumperoo or a jolly jumper, but most of them have weight limits of 25 lbs. Considering Will was nearly 18 at his last doctor's appointment a month ago (and has grown considerably since then), we figured that wouldn't last long enough to be worth the money.

He gets so proud when he walks.