15 Months Old

This first one was the best I could get...

The rest of them looked something like this-

or this-

New Words:
light- ite
dada
mama
tree- dee
woof
night night- nana
uh oh
shoes- sues
sock- ock
ho ho ho (pointing to Santa)
duck
quack- cack
block- ock
PawPaw- papa
moo (usually while looking at a cow)
*and of course no-no


*Some of these are not "new", but this is what we've got so far*
And he certainly doesn't do all of these on cue. You know how that goes.


Firsts:  Auburn football game; lots of new foods (favorites being: canned peaches, strawberries, vanilla wafers, pulled pork bbq); walking

Measurements: wearing anything from 12 month to 2T clothes, size 6 wide shoe, size 4 diapers, no dr visit yet (15 month was scheduled for yesterday, but no shots while you're sick- we've rescheduled for next week)

Other Info.:
*You now have all 4 molars, they finally cut through *praise Jesus* (total of 12 teeth)

*We're trying to get off of baby food (purees, anyway). You like mostly anything we give you, but never eat more than a few bites. Not enough for this mommy to think it's a good meal. You still love baby food, and that makes me feel like you're getting enough fruits and veggies.

*Doing much better with a sippy cup. Do not like any kind of fruit juice, but prefer milk or water instead.

*Sleeping from about 7:30/8ish until 6 a.m. (sometimes I have to wake you up)

*Napping once at daycare for about 3 hours, give or take. Napping twice when at home or at Nana's house, lasting about 2 hours each.

*You give hugs and kisses to any and all stuffed animals. Just last night, you were walking around carrying a monkey going, "Mmma, mmma, mmma!" and squeezing it. You can blow kisses too.

*You still take a bottle first thing in the morning and before bed. I keep telling myself that we'll switch to a cup soon. This is my cuddle time with you, so it's sooo hard to give it up. At least you drink out of a cup during the day.

*Tantrums have begun. Right now they don't last but for a few seconds- you are easily distracted. We try to redirect you to something you can do. During these tantrums, you are crying "No! No! No!" and there  is usually kicking involved. I tried to get a quick video of this- this one isn't that great, but here, he was trying to pull things out of the diaper bag and I said "no". Fortunately, he recovers quickly.

* Messes are becoming pretty common around here, whether it's dumping out a container of puffs or pulling out all of the baby wipes from a container.

busted...

Does this mean I officially have a toddler?

Here are some more pictures from the past 2 months:

bathtime is a favorite

 in your free time, you like to rearrange tupperware (or just chew on it)

First Auburn football game (I think it was homecoming)

 You did pretty well, we left after halftime but I think you could've made it a little longer. You were getting squirmy and very sleepy.

I mentioned that we are trying more solid foods here recently, one of them being spaghetti. You seemed to like it at first, even eating several spoonfuls. Well..... 

For those of you who aren't familiar, the next picture is the "pre-vomit" face. There are many mommies who probably know this look. 

Thank goodness you didn't throw up, but it was a close call. 

You recovered pretty quickly....

...but you sure weren't eating any more spaghetti. 

Back to baby food we went. Oh well!

The past week or so, you haven't been feeling very well and not acting completely like yourself. This made for some extra cuddle time, especially with daddy. He was loving it.

Despite the ear infection, you could still be pretty silly.

Those pj's just wouldn't stay buttoned!

Above is the scary tunnel I had referred to here. 

It's not so scary anymore! :)

Dear Sweet Will,

You are growing up so fast! We love each and every day with you. You are the sweetest, silliest, funniest, little thing ever. I have loved staying at home with you over the holidays- this makes it so hard to go back to work. You are learning new things every day- your brain is a little sponge. We love you so much!

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy

Christmas 2011

WARNING- very long post with lots of pictures...you may want to get a snack.

First of all, wow- Christmas with a toddler is completely different! And by 'different', I mean: exhausting, stressful, incredibly fun, hilarious, messy, etc. but I wouldn't want it any other way. We are so blessed to have amazing families and the opportunity to spend time together. 

Our Christmas festivities began on Christmas Eve. I took Will to communion at the church where I grew up. I knelt with Will at the altar and took communion while the pastor prayed for our family, calling us by name. Such a special experience. I look forward to doing this each year. 

After church, we went to Jeff's parents' house, aka Mimi and PawPaw's. The immediate family gets together every year for dinner and presents. I have several pictures from that night:

Will was pretty excited to see everyone 

(and yes, not only is he walking now, he is running- Lord help us)

 The first gift of the night

Isn't that rocking horse adorable?? I know one little guy that thought it was pretty amazing :)

I got a quick video of him riding- he caught on pretty quickly

And more running, in new Christmas PJ's by the way

While he wasn't running or opening gifts, he decided to do a little rearranging of the furniture

And then the picture with all the grandkids. 

Attempt #1:

"Let's see if he'll sit on the rocking horse"

 Nope.

Attempt #2:

"Ok, we'll just let him sit on the floor"

Nope.

 Attempt #3:

"Aha! One of those chairs!"

Priceless.

When you look away for just a minute, he disappears. Never good.

Little stinker snuck into the bathroom to play the game "How many things can I throw in there?"

Luckily, he only got 1 before he got busted.

Tried to get a picture with PawPaw, a little blurry

The boys playing with their remote control trucks (which Will found pretty interesting, too)

One of the cousins got a Wrestle Mania ring and a couple wrestling men...Will threw a Ninja Turtle in there for good measure. He wasn't quite sure what to do at first, but.....

...daddy swoops in and saves the day! He is teaching Will the proper way to use those guys.

I see lots of these moments in our future. This makes my heart happy :)

You may not be able to tell from the above pictures, but our little man has been one sick baby the past few days. We finally went to the dr today (Rapid Care because pediatrician was not open....NOT 'rapid' at all, by the way). Double ear infection and a cold. Bless him :(

And now, moving on to Christmas Day. He did sleep in those adorable pajamas, but vomited all over them first thing Christmas morning. So we had to settle for snowmen pj's- still pretty cute :)

Jeff and I are calling to him "Will, come in here! Look! Oh boy!"

And he's thinking, "What is going on in here?"

New books and a puzzle (this teacher sure is happy...haha)

giving the puzzle kisses :)

He also got several other things, one being one of those expandable tunnel things that he can crawl through. I thought it was a brilliant idea. However, when I took it out of the bag, it flew open and scared him to death. It took until tonight before he would go near it. He crawled through it though, finally, and discovered that it was pretty cool.

After eating breakfast at Mimi and PawPaw's we then went to my parents' house for brunch around 11. 

Will got a cute puzzle

and this tricycle. He hopped right on! 

He hasn't quite figured out that it has wheels, so he just walks with it for now. But either way, he had a blast :)

Then he remembered one of his favorite things to do while at Nana and Grandpa's house:

We tried to get a family photo by the tree....semi-successful, considering we had a sick, over-tired baby on our hands

We went back to Jeff's parents' house that afternoon for the big family dinner. I didn't get any pictures. Will was either asleep, or not a happy camper. He then proceeded to sleep for 12 hours last night.  Much needed sleep for our little buddy. 

Merry Christmas!

New Tricks

Will has been working hard this holiday season. He has been learning how to play "pee-pye" (is that even how to spell it? who knows....) AND figuring out this whole walking thing! He can go 5 or 6 steps right now, and you should see his sweet face when he finishes- he is so proud of himself :)


Here's his version of "pee-pye" (one-handed) Please excuse my overly excited voice- it's rather loud...ha

And here's a little bit of walking!

Check back soon for a 14 month update! :)

13 Months

I have been trying to decide if I'm going to continue the monthly posts now that he has turned 1. He is changing and growing so much, I think I'll just take it month-by-month. There are lots of new updates this month, so here we go!

Firsts: drinking whole milk (no more formula for us, yessss), dropped daytime bottle- switched to sippy cup of milk, first pair of real shoes, getting your feet measured, going to the mall (I know...we don't get out much), lots of new foods (a favorite is mandarin oranges), going to a birthday party (Tyler- who you share a b'day with)


Other Info.: (I think just a list is the format that will work the best from now on)


*You really like the whole milk (I was a little nervous about the transition)- I don't blame you, that formula is pretty yucky

*We had your 1 year pictures made the other day- they are going to be precious! You sat on the grass for the first time and weren't quite sure how to take it. I know, isn't that pitiful that we haven't set you down in the dirt before? I'm sure you will grow to love the dirt as you get older!

*You are still taking 2 naps a day- both around 2 hours (usually). I don't know when we'll make the switch to 1 longer nap- I guess you'll let us know when you're ready.

*You still wear size 4 diapers, day and night- Pampers/target brand during the day, Huggies overnight diapers at bedtime

*You have really figured out this "cruising" thing- you can travel around the coffee table, corners and all, especially if there's a toy you want nearby

*You now have 10 teeth (almost)- two of your top molars has been coming in for a couple weeks now, those things are HUGE, bless your heart

*You still take a bottle first thing in the morning and at bedtime. I think it will be harder on me than you to take these away. That is my only snuggle time with you :( But I know it needs to be done soon.

*You talk ALL the time! All kinds of sounds and words. You start when you wake up, before I even get in there, and don't stop until you're asleep!

*You still sit rear-facing in the car seat. At your 1 year check up, the dr. said the AAP has changed it's recommendation to stay rear-facing from 1 year to 2 years. The actual law is just 1. He said really, to do it as long as you're comfortable (maybe 15 mo. or so) and then turn you. Since you are so tall, we may not make it to 15 months before you have your feet against the seat. Thankfully, you don't seem to mind riding backwards :)

*When you turned a year old, we started getting all kinds of variations of the question, "So when are you having another baby?" I don't mind the questions, and just to answer them- Yes, we want another one. No, not right now. Unless the Good Lord has other plans, we are thinking at least another year or so. Will is still our baby, and we are loving every minute of it :)


A few pictures from this month:

 Self-serve Cheerios

 

Do you think the TV is up too high?

At Tyler's birthday party- playing with a sweet friend Thomas

One of your favorite birthday presents- a musical table from Mimi and PawPaw (already on our 2nd set of batteries)

silly goose :)

practicing your standing skills

getting your feet measured for your first pair of shoes- yes, I was the weirdo mom taking pictures :)

Pumpkin Patch 2011

"And this is supposed to be fun?"

....and a car just drove by.

finally a hint of a smile

 we had to get you a baby pumpkin :)

"can I have two?"

so proud of your little pumpkin (the stem was pretty tasty, too)

The best shot we could get- too bad little buddy wasn't smiling. I think he's just agreeing with daddy that the pumpkin patch wasn't all it's cracked up to be.

Next year, I hope to go to Tate Farms, and I know Jeff is super excited....haha....if you are interested in going, he probably would pay you to go in his place, seriously :) If you've never heard of it, apparently it's AWESOME. Check out their website. They have tractor rides, farm animals you can feed and pet, hay rides, a corn maze, pumpkin painting, and so much more! I really think that Will would enjoy it next year!

Coming Soon!
- Your 2nd Halloween and Thanksgiving
- Christmas pictures
- Maybe an Auburn football game?