21 Months

It's hard to believe that Will is now 21 months old...only a few short months until he turns 2!

Will had a wonderful time playing outside this summer. Despite my attempts to make our backyard fun (swing, basketball hoop, pool, slide), Will's favorite outside activities included picking up rocks and sticks, throwing balls, and picking blackberries. Marc and I worry about how we'll entertain him now that fall (and the rain) is officially here. Though Will did have a blast stomping in mud puddles yesterday, so I guess we'll just have to get some rain boots and a rain jacket!

Will has recently developed a love for music and, most days, you'll hear him singing "Itsy-Bitsy Spider", "Baa-Baa Black Sheep" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while putting himself to sleep at night. He likes to sing into his microphone, pound on the piano, and break out the pots and pans for a session on the drums.

Will's vocabulary expands on a daily basis - just today he opened the bathroom door and said, "Good Morning!" He also regularly puts 3-4 words together to form sentences.

Interesting Facts:

He knows names of many colors, but the only color he can identify consistently is pink. Go figure.

He uses a cardboard Clifford dog and stuffed Frankenstein to turn off his bedroom light every night.

He checks to make sure the cat is out of his room before going to sleep. "Go way kitty!"

He is currently scared of the shine on the supermarket floor. When told that we're going to the store, he excitedly says, "Coffee!" (Pathetic, we know.)

He cheers when anyone goes to the bathroom and has even used the potty himself a handful of times.

Yes, he has tantrums. No, he won't eat what he fix him for dinner. Despite it all, we enjoy every minute we spend with Will and can't wait to see what he does next.

Will's Visit From An Old Friend

Will’s Visit From An Old Friend

Will's has had a cold since Wednesday and when I picked him up from school on Friday, they told me that he'd only slept 45 minutes because he kept coughing. No biggie, we thought. He slept fine Friday night, but when he woke up on Saturday morning he was coughing pretty badly. We both thought it sounded like croup, so we took him to see the doctor yesterday. Nope, not croup. Even better - wheezing.

We were in shock. It's been 13 months since he's had wheezing, so our lucky little man gets to use the nebulizer again. 4x per day right now until his cough gets better. We see our regular doc on Friday for a recheck and to talk more about what this means. The on-call doc did say that since Will went this whole year without any wheezing he probably has a mild case of Reactive Airway Disease, which means he may be more likely to grow out of it by 2 or 3. Asthma isn't a done deal yet.

We broke down and bought Will his first DVD (Elmo's World: Pets) in an effort to make sitting with the nebulizer for 10-15 minutes more palatable. It's definitely working - he loves to sit and watch the puppies and kitties while he gets his treatments. We are so lucky to have such an easygoing kid; he really doesn't seem to mind the nebulizer at all. We know things could be much worse, but it's still not fun. Sigh.

4th of July

We spent the night of the 4th out in Long Beach with Grandma and Grandpa Daily, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Daily, Aunt Jen, Uncle Jay and Henry. The weather wasn't the best for fireworks, but then again, who stays up for fireworks when you have an 18 month old? We did manage to get Will down to the beach yesterday afternoon, but we had to immediately turn around because our big, strong boy did not like the wind. Yup, he's a tough one. It was a full house and I think we Will always look fondly on the night that our son slept in a laundry room. Luckily, we had a great view of most of the fireworks on the beach right from the comfort of our living room, since Jen and I stayed inside with Great-Grandma and Grandpa in case the dudes woke up. Plus, there was no way we were going outside in that wind!

Will enjoyed hanging out with Henry - stealing his toys and trying to play catch with him. Will was especially enamored by Uncle Jay this weekend, whom he affectionately referred to as "Bob." (Sorry real Uncle Bob!) Mom and Dad were certainly second fiddle to "Bob" and all of our attempts to try to give "Bob" a break from Will were very unsuccessful. This meant that instead of constantly calling our names, holding our hands and dragging us around, it meant that "Bob" was the unfortunate recipient of all of Will's attention. "Bob" had to play catch, run around the deck, and read stories to Will. Luckily "Bob" was a good sport! This morning we were up before anyone else (no surprise there!) and the minute Will heard another voice in the house, he called out, "Bob?" No joke. Well, at least Uncle Jay got a taste of what Henry has in store for him in about 9 months time.

We also learned some fascinating information about Grandma and Grandpa Daily's past. Someday you, too, will have to hear the stories about Aunt Sharon's play pen being on the dance floor of the restaurant they owned, the illegal poker room, moonshine, and the night they (and some other friends) busted another friend of the slammer. Seriously.

It was a nice, albeit short visit with the family, but after being gone last weekend, Will (and Mommy and Daddy) just wanted to be back in the comfort of their own home where everything is baby-proofed. Hope you had a good one, too!

Trip to Hood River

We spent last weekend in Hood River with the Daily side of the family and had a wonderful time! On Thursday we wandered around the town, even stopping in a winery for some tasting. We weren't sure if we could bring Will in or not, but the beckoned us in off of the street and pointed us towards the toys they have just for people like us. It was great to do something that we haven't been able to do in ages. That night, we ate at Full Sail to celebrate my birthday and it was fun to be in a "bar" that allowed us to bring in our little guy. Again, something we haven't been able to do in ages!

This was our first experience with Will in a hotel room since last summer, when he was far more portable. Lucky for us, our hotel room had a great little nook in the sink/closet area that was just perfect for Will's pack 'n play. Marc duct taped a blanket to the wall so that Will would have his own little sleeping cubby. Fortunately, Will fell asleep without any problems both nights we were there. He did wake up earlier than normal, but oh well. Vacations just aren't what they used to be when you have to be chained to your room starting at 8pm because your child is sleeping. However, once the rest of the family arrived our second night in Hood River, we did go hang with the fam in another room. Thank goodness for baby monitors!

We spent our second day in Hood River visiting Thomas the Train. We knew that we bought tickets to ride on Thomas mostly for us, but we thought Will would have a bit more fun than he did. (Maybe it was the 100 degree temperatures!) He did enjoy looking out the window and shouting "choo choo" or "bus" when he saw another train, but he surprisingly didn't really understand that he was actually on a train. When it was time to get our picture taken in front of the train, our sensitive little guy cried, "no, no" and was petrified of the big cartoon train. Needless to say, we didn't buy the overpriced souvenir photo where our son looked petrified. It's one thing for Santa, but not for Thomas. Friday evening we attended a BBQ with Marc's family before the big golf tournament. We enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa Daily, as well as the rest of the family.

Saturday all of the guys played in Grandpa Gene's golf tournament, so Jen and I took the little guys out for a stroll around town. We left early, thinking we'd beat the heat, but it was already sweltering at 10am. We thought we'd have a nice little panini lunch at a coffee shop, but the babies had a different idea. We did eat, but it was more like a race against time, trying to be finished before any major meltdowns. The moms won, but it wasn't without some touch and go moments. Once the tournament was over we spent a bit more time with the family, but Will was done. Three days away from home was beginning to wear on him, so we left around dinner time, just a few hours earlier than we had expected.

All in all, it was a nice weekend and Will did great for his first long(ish) trip away from home.

Father's Day Recap and Photos (Better Late Than Never)

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To celebrate Father's Day, we met folks from both sides of the family to take in a M's game. In attendance were Grandma and Grandpa Richards, Grandma Jordan, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Sasha, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Jay (who was celebrating his first Father's Day) and, of course, Cousin Henry. Will did fantastic at the game, which was to be expected, considering he had all the attention he could want. Not to mention that Mom and Dad relaxed their food restrictions, so Will enjoyed Dippin' Dots, Lay's potato chips and garlic fries. I did manage to get a few bits of soynut butter/jelly sandwich and broccoli in Will's mouth, but that was about it. Marc really enjoyed his day and we look forward to taking Will to another game here soon.

Mother's Day

We had a busy and fun Mother's Day weekend. On Saturday we went to "Mom and Me" at the Point Defiance Zoo with Grandma Jordan. Will enjoyed looking at the other kids at the zoo more than the animals. Also, when looking at the gigantic polar bear, he was more interested in "quacking" at the seagulls. He loved feeding the goats, however, which surprised us. Today we went to Seattle to have brunch with the Richards half of the family. We ate great food at our favorite restaurant, the Maddox Grill, then spent some time at Grandma and Grandpas, as well as Uncle Bob's new apartment. We ended the day by paying a visit to Cheryl, who was busy working at the Sunlight. Will slept the whole way home and still went right to sleep without a peep. I had a great 2nd Mother's Day...much better than my first one when Will was sick with pneumonia! Will got me a new flash for my camera...he sure knows what Mommy likes!

Hair Club For Baby

Yes, its is true...our little man finally seems to be growing some hair. You have to spike it up to really see it, but it is there!

Procession of the Species

Yesterday we had a great time with our friends at the Procession of the Species. Before venturing down to see the hippie-fest, we invited people over for a BBQ. Will and Sophie enjoyed getting to know each other on the couch. Will had fun running around the streets of downtown Oly while eating chalk and chasing Hannah. Actually, was quite taken by Hannah yesterday, hugging her every chance he'd get. (It eventually devolved into tackling Hannah to the ground and trying to drag her back to his cave.) Needless to say, it is obvious he is *very* advanced for his age.

Happy Easter!

Will had a fantastic Easter! He thoroughly enjoyed coloring Easter eggs, hunting for eggs filled with goodies, eating a few nibbles of a chocolate egg and some Peeps. Most of all, Will enjoyed the fact that Grandma Jordan, Uncle Jay, Aunt Jen and Cousin Henry came for a visit. Will tried to share the bounty of his Easter egg hunt with his cousin Henry and even tried snuggling with him a few times. For the last few weeks, we've had a couple of pictures of Henry on our refrigerator and, as soon as Henry left today, Will grabbed one of the pictures and studied it intently. We think, and Grandma J agrees, that he knew who it was in the picture. It was so cute!

St. Patty's Day

Future Career?

Will has turned in to quite the little helper! He loves to help Mommy and Daddy vacuum and sweep. Let us know if you need some help - the little man needs money for his college fund!

13 Months

Will-Will (as he is called by everyone at daycare, including the older kids) is growing leaps and bounds each day. He continues to develop his vocabulary - the following constitutes those words that Will uses with some regularity. Well, he's said each of them at least a few times!

Baber - Diaper
Buh - Book
Ba - Ball
Baba - Bottle
"quack" (when he sees a particular plastic duck)

Will likes to take his books off of the shelf and bring them to me to read, but he doesn't like sitting still long enough to finish any of them. He loves to try and brush his own teeth, but despises when Mom or Dad try to actually clean them. At the zoo yesterday, Will enjoyed admiring the walrus and beluga as long as they were far away, but he absolutely hated it (even cried) when they came too close to the window. Will hates to lie down to get his diaper changed, but loves to get away from us so he can run around free as a bird. He continues to love flavorful foods with some spice and a *little* heat to them, but he's not too fond of bland foods, especially potatoes.

Each day is a new adventure and we're loving every minute of it. (Well, now that Will's ear tubes aren't plugged anymore and he's happy again!)

Family Vacation

Last weekend we spent Friday and Saturday nights in Long Beach, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Daily. It was a relaxing weekend, just what we needed. Will LOVED the beach - the wind on his face, the sand in his mouth, just about everything!

One Year Old!

William turns one year old tomorrow and we can't believe it! He is walking all over the place and rarely stops moving. Last week Will got his first pair of real shoes and did not like them one bit! He stood in the middle of the kitchen whimpering and pointing at his soft, old Robeez. After a few minutes wobbling around the living room with Mommy's help, he figured out how to move his feet and all was well. He can say "mama" and "dada" and seems to know to direct these words towards the appropriate big person in the room. He can also say ball, though he prefers to simply say "ba". He "meows" back to the cat and tries to pet her, but its more like a slap, really. Will also loves to snuggle with soft blankets and stuffed animals. He is old enough now to sleep with a little blanket and pillow and he giggles each night as we tuck him in. Will's favorite foods include peas, taco soup, and spicy spaghetti. The last year has been amazing - its hard to believe that our little man isn't so little anymore!

Will celebrated his birthday on Saturday and we thank everyone who made the trip to our house to be with us. Will had a wonderful time and has had lots of fun playing with his new toys and looking at his new clothes.