The Gym

We go (usually once a week) to a cute little local kids' gym. It sometimes takes W a few minutes to warm up to the idea, since there are lots of other (bigger - and louder) kids running around, but we always have fun! By the end of the hour-long "open tumble time" he never wants to leave.

A few from today... I've never taken my camera before because I didn't want to bug anyone, but the rain must have scared everyone off because there were only two other kids & their mommies there, so I snapped away.

Our little athlete:

I always "ask" to go in the ball put but am never too sure about it once I'm in!

I LOVE the huge trampoline! Here I am concentrating, mid-bounce.

The mini trampoline is pretty fun, too.

Watching the other kiddos. They can do so many neat things!

Thanks for looking! I am very proud at the gym.
Bye-bye! ...which I am starting to say all the time now... Bah-bah!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Would you look at that? Two Saturdays in a row that we got to spend with special birthday people :) This weekend we went to State College for Grandpa's birthday. Despite a Parents-of-the-Year moment in which Esch and I let William touch a live lobster (they were dinner!) and his little hand broke out in hives (thank you SO much, Dr.-who-told-us-he-was-not-allergic-to-shellfish) we have so much fun!

Saturday was pretty blustery and cold, but WW was lucky enough to go on some fun excursions. Since he is absolutely obsessed with tractors ("rac-nuhs!") Grandpa had a great idea to take him to a local store/repair shop. I don't know where this child found his love of tractors, but he was in heaven. He walked around inspecting the 50+ John Deeres on display, shouting in excitement, all the while carrying his own little toy tractor along in his hands.


We also made stops at a playground, and later on William, his Dad and Grandpa took him to the PA Military Museum in Boalsburg, where I am told he oohed, ahhed, and "vroomed" over the jeeps and other neat boy toys on display.

We had LOBSTERS for dinner - yum! Again, despite the aforementioned near-disaster and very scary way to discover that William, like his father is allergic to shellfish, it was a delicious feast. As you can see, Tyson the dog was very concerned for his fellow creatures as they were making their way to the boiling lobster pot.

The Geises came over for Grandpa's favorite German Chocolate cake, and an "extra" lemon one as well - WWM was already in bed (slept like a champ on this trip! Thanks Pumpkin!) and we all had a fun time watching basketball & chatting.

On Sunday morning we went to the country club for brunch. Next time we visit we'll be there for the big Easter Egg Hunt! Can't wait. Thanks, Nanna and Grandpa for a fun weekend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, too, to Uncle David who is studying abroad in Spain and turned 21 this week!

Happy Birthday, Erika!

We went to Clarion for the weekend and got to celebrate Erika's 20th birthday. "Aunt Ka" makes William blush and flirt - he LOVES her!

We went for a hike in Cook's Forest on Saturday and William had a ball. He was on the lookout for birds and ducks (as always) and was yelling "DUH!" at the top of his lungs. We didn't see any "duhs," most likely because the echoing baby voice scared them away for miles!

Peek!

So happy.

That night, we went out to a nice dinner for Aunt Ka's birthday, and W managed to behave himself pretty well at the restaurant, despite one nearly-pulling-off-of-the-tablecloth-and-all-contents-of-the-table incident/close call.

When we arrived at Gula and Pop Pop's house on Friday, a new toy was waiting for W, and he took off on it immediately - a new car! It's "Lightning McQueen" from the movie CARS, so we decided to call its new driver "Lightning McCombie."


Aunt Ka gave W a bath and even provided entertainment in the form of bubble blowing. This is one of his very favorite activities.



W got to go to the park with his grandparents, and played, played, played all weekend. We had a great time.

Happy 20th birthday to Aunt Ka, and thanks, Gula and Pop Pop!

If you can't tell, "we" are very into bubbles lately. We'd put them away, and William would say "Muh? Muh?" (MORE!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We love you, little leprechaun!

16 months old

William turned 16 months old a few days ago, and is continuing to change and grow, and to surprise and wow us with each new stage.

A few shots (outtakes included, because, let's be honest, they're the most fun!) from his 16 month "shoot" - he was not too interested in sitting still. I don't blame him!




He has some new words, perhaps the most used being "more," which sounds like "Muh? Muh?" and is applied to mean "More grapes!" "More water!" and "More birds!" (we bought and hung a little birdfeeder in the tree that hangs over our deck, much to his delight).

He's a budding environmentalist who is fascinated by all animals, but lately especially birds of all sorts - the cardinals and blue jays who land on his feeder, the ducks and penguins in his books.

He's suddenly sworn off all types of starch - he used to gobble up grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas, but lately picks them apart, only to eat the inside. No big deal, as he scarfs down yogurt, cheese, sandwich meat, and all fruits and veggies, his recent favorite of which has been steamed broccoli (yahoo!). He can feed himself with a fork, which is successful about half the time (the other times it's just too much fun, and ends with stabbing and moving the food around his tray).

Our little athlete is getting to be a pretty good runner - he still tangles his little legs up with dramatic crashes to the ground, but is moving REALLY fast. All the time. As of yesterday, he can climb onto the couches (yikes) and I am absolutely petrified that he might soon escape his crib.

Even with the Spring time change this weekend, he's still the best sleeper we could ever ask for. He sleeps through the night every night from 7 - 7, and is still usually taking 2 naps a day.

We're getting busier and busier with fun play dates and now that it's starting to get warmer out, more excursions to parks and taking Georgia out for nice walks together. He LOVES going down slides, and does not especially like swings.

I was just talking with Esch this week about what a great stage this is. Everything with William is (dare I say it?... knock on wood...) easy. He calls me "Mum" and Esch "Da," the dog is still "Ga-guh" or "Go-guh."

We're all looking forward to a trip to Clarion this coming weekend, and then to State College the next! We have an extremely busy (but fun) Spring coming up with three weddings, a trip to Austin, and more.

Just loving life. Happy 16 Months, WW.

The Littlest Zookeeper

Communicating with... er, growling at... your furry friends.

This Saturday (which happened to be 2 years to the day that we found out we were expecting a baby!... I remember that like it just happened!) we woke up with no big plans. I was supposed to have had a photo session, but the client had to cancel due to a health issue, so we suddenly had a completely free day ahead of us.

As we drank our coffee (and our big boy milk) we schemed about what to do. As soon as we said it, it was decided... THE ZOO!

It was supposed to be 60 degrees out and cloudy, but as we approached Philly (an easy one hour ride) the sun started peeking through. We had the most perfect family day.

William, you LOVED the animals. You liked the zoo when you were littler, in Austin last Summer, but now you know the sounds of the animals, can identify them, etc. It was a blast (for Mommy and Daddy too)!

We saw monkeys, a giraffe, lions, tigers, cheetahs, snakes and huge tortoises (you really liked them), gorillas, antelope, penguins... and of all these exciting animals, I kid you not, the things you loved the most were the geese that weren't even real zoo residents, but landed and waddled around begging the guests for bread crumbs. You went absolutely berserk for the geese. You chased them, shrieked, yelled "Duh! DUHHH!" (you thought they were ducks) clapped, and ran. We don't have photos of it because Mommy was too afraid that you were going to get attacked! Everyone survived though (geese included), and you had a great time.

We had lunch together, stopped for snacks, and happily explored the zoo for hours. You took turns riding in the stroller, the backpack with Daddy, or walking around. One of the last exhibits was your favorite - the BEARS! You excitedly "roared" at the polar bears, pointed out their beach balls in the water, and would probably have stayed there all day. We thought that nothing could top that for you, until we came to the black bear, who was sleeping right up against the glass. You were literally one inch from him - he probably weighed 100x what you do, but he was so soft and big just laying there breathing peacefully. You were in awe. You looked like such a toddler standing at the railing, STARING at the bear. Sometimes when I catch a glimpse of you I do a double-take, or catch my breath.

You look like a little boy.

...a very sweet little boy.

Checking out Mr. Bear.

All tuckered out on the car ride home. What a day!