Memorial Day

We had an extra-long, extra fun weekend. Went to Clarion to see Gula, Pop-Pop, (who William is now calling "Pap" - we may have to leave the Grandparent-naming up to him and change it!), and Aunt Erika.

On Friday we spent the afternoon at the river, having a big cookout with their friends. It was fun for William to see the boats going by, stand on the dock, and visit with everyone. He went on a nice hike with Gula, played bridge with Pop-Pop... I didn't take my camera down, because it was raining when we left, and I regretted it later!

On Saturday, WW was very lucky to have Gula babysit him while Esch & I went to Cate & Craig's wedding - he had fun while we did, too! He went to a nice park on a playdate with Lauren Bachman (ooh la la!) and we got to see pictures, thanks to Aunt Erika. He also got to play with a neat sand table that Pop-Pop had for him. Very lucky little boy.

Sunday morning we left for Nanna & Grandpa's house for Memorial Day - William's first one in Boalsburg! It was beautiful out for the festivities in town. Sunday afternoon we went to the club to go to the pool. W scared us by going completely under the water in the baby pool a few times, but quickly figured out the trick of walking in the water and maintaining his balance while he played. He had a ball!





We also got to see Uncle David, Uncle Andrew, and Nain and Taid! William hadn't seen his great-grandparents since Christmas, and it was so fun to see him with them, especially since he had changed so much in the past few months.

Nanna and Grandpa had a nice cookout Sunday night, and on Monday we took William downtown in his wagon to check out all of the Memorial Day goings-on (carnival, military reenactments, which he LOVED - including the loud booming cannons, art fair, etc.).

This one cracks me up. Just one of the boys, listening intently to the Civil War reenactor.




Although he was a VERY busy little guy this weekend, W also managed to relax and lounge by the pool in his new perfectly-sized antique beach chair from Nain and Taid. Thanks, everyone, for such a nice weekend!

#2!

NUMBER TWO.

If this doesn't make sense to you, please read the post below.

We just took the next step! I can't believe it (and I can't believe I am posting about it on the internet)... so proud of W!

Number One

Recent 18-month shot. He looks SO big to me here!

Our Number One Man is very proud to announce that last night HE went #1 in the potty! I had to employ some real self-restraint to not rush to the computer and post this exciting development on Facebook, to shout it from the rooftops. (I figure if you're here and reading about William, you don't mind a quick tale of potty success, but an unsuspecting, single friend with no interest in kids, let alone MY kids' bathroom activities, might not appreciate it showing up on their home page!)

We've had a little potty seat in William's bathroom for a few weeks now, and only ask him to sit on it when he's getting undressed for the bath. I figured that yes, it's early, but some kids do show signs of readiness at this age, and it couldn't hurt to have it out for him to see and get used to. I didn't think that we'd have any victories this early on, though!

It was my bath night last night (Daddy and I take turns so that W has fun time with both of us) and as usual I asked William to sit on his little frog potty, and try to go to the bathroom. Lo and behold, as the tub was filling, he did just that! Never thought you'd hear a play by play about #1, did you?

I called Esch in, and we clapped, made a big deal about William's new skill, and told him how proud we were. He was mainly concerned with hopping into the bath to play with his toys. As he should have been. Our little restroom champion.

It has been a rainy, rainy week here in the Lehigh Valley. We had a relaxing weekend at home (I think it might literally be the last one of the Summer - we're traveling constantly!) and spent a gray Sunday at a new park nearby. We stopped at a garden/landscaping center on the way home as signs of fresh fruit tempted us (and then it was nowhere to be found!) but William had fun playing on a life-size horsey for a bit. Other than 2 photo sessions (and 1 rescheduled due to the weather) the three of us got to hang out all weekend, and it was great. We played tee ball, we read books, watched a few "shows" (William's new word - he points at the TV. Lucky for us he doesn't really care about watching the TV, but lets us have things on in the background while he plays), and made some yummy meals.


This coming week we have all kinds of fun planned: a play date with the playgroup tomorrow, to the Please Touch Museum in Philly on Thursday, and off to Clarion AND State College over the long Memorial Day weekend. Hooray!

Rainy day fun

It has been raining for days and days on end. After being stuck inside for about 5 days, we've gotten creative with our playtime:

Puddle splashing. One of the happiest half hours I think he's ever spent.
He was in little boy heaven!

These were from today - neat "recycled"(melted) crayons from a friend's birthday party paired with Mommy's used seamless backdrop paper. We are so environmentally friendly! ;)

Fun weekend

W got to spend the entire weekend with his Nanna and Grandpa, who came to stay with him while I was in a wedding in Philly. Esch and I had a fun time away, and William had a GREAT time, too.

They went to the Da Vinci Discovery Center, and I was happy to receive a few texted pictures of W exploring and having a ball there. When we came home on Sunday, he had learned a few new words! It's amazing how that little mind learns new things every single day. He has officially said his first "sentence" (two words used together)... unfortunately, it revolves around going to the bathroom, so we will leave it up to your imagination. Ha!

He is such a lucky boy, and got his very first baseball bat (and tee!) from Nain & Taid. He LOVES it - he puts the ball on the tee ("tee" is another new word) and hits it with the bat. In a cute little twist on the traditional method of holding a bat, William usually holds the thick end and hits the ball with the handle.

Thanks so much to Nanna and Grandpa for playing and staying with the little man. He was wiped out from his big weekend and has been asking for you both this morning!

18 month stats

WW had his well-visit today and everything is just perfect!

He's a string bean per the Dr. (no newsflash there!):

23.2 lbs (16th%)
35 inches (98th%)

To keep things interesting, a few pictures from last night at the Macungie Fire Department carnival :)

18 months old

It's officially toddler time around here! William is a year and a half old (yesterday - I hate being late on the milestone entries).

We've got his 18-month checkup tomorrow. I have a feeling that he's had a growth spurt in terms of height recently and am anxious to hear his stats.

He's learning new words left and right, which are very sweet and very much his own interpretation. My parents are coming to spend the weekend with him this weekend while Esch and I are out of town for a wedding, and I wonder if they'll be able to decipher anything that he babbles on about!

He's finally nodding his head "yes" consistently which does not sound like a huge feat but is VERY exciting as we can get actual answers from him, or help to fix a teary situation involving a lost toy (What are you looking for? Your blue truck?) or what CD to turn on (Do you want to listen to "Baby Beluga?") Unfortunately he's also saying "no" at times, too (William, please eat the rest of your quesadilla...) but it's still new enough that it remains cute most of the time!

Apparently someone is ready for Summer! This was taken at roughly 7 a.m. this morning. He did this on his own - begged to go out on the porch (in his PJs - why not?) and immediately climbed into the pool. Several hours later, there was quite a collection of toys out there - from trucks to toy food to "Stuffed Georgia."

Our little gardener, working hard.

This past weekend was Mother's Day - which marked 2 years since we announced that we were expecting William (and 2 years since this blog was made public)... really can't believe that that much time has passed. We're having a wonderful time with our little guy. I dread the day that he will stop being our little baby - for now, he's still very happy to give out kisses, calls for us from his room when he's awake in the morning or after naps - and am trying to soak in all those moments. My favorite time of day is after Daddy has read W his books, and I go in to hold him on his rocking chair and talk to him about our day. He still snuggles into the nook of my arm and sometimes pats my hand while I whisper to him about what we did, and what we're going to do tomorrow. Esch and I often ask each other if he's "real."

William, you are just too good to be true.

And you're halfway through the year to two.

Playtime

^This is what most of my pictures lately look like. He's so speedy!

Beautiful May weather today, and our little explorer was having a ball running around outside. He is such a boy!

News in our world

William, if you read this blog someday (I hope you will!), know that this past week was almost overwhelming with all of the news we saw and read. Some of it, you will probably know about. It was part of history.

There were horrible tornadoes in the Southern U.S., and over 300 people were killed. Prince William married Kate Middleton in London, and 2 BILLION people watched the gorgeous ceremony. Last night, after we were asleep, safe in our beds, President Obama announced that a special U.S. mission had been successful in finally capturing (and killing) Osama Bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world. I have been a bit appalled at the public "celebrations" of his death, but understand the extreme emotion around what this terrible man did. It's a sigh of relief that you will now live in a world without him.

I can't help but feel grateful today that in our little family's world, things are peaceful. And lovely.

This weekend we were actually at home together (having been busy almost every recent weekend), and just relaxed. We took you to the park to feed ducks, to your absolute delight. You were so excited that even on the ride there, you were literally screaming "DUUUUCK!" in the car as we told you where we were headed.

I watched you in the middle of a beautiful green field, blowing on dandelions with your Daddy.

We went out to dinner, at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, and the restaurant was completely empty. It was heaven. We're now "early bird special" type people whose meals revolve around our little guy's schedule, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

We took you to a small local "May Festival" where you ran around picking up sticks and playing in an obstacle course set up for little ones.

You'll be 18 months old soon. I can't believe it.

The "news" in our world is that you're talking more and more. You started pointing at bees and ants and excitedly saying, "Buggy!" You now nod your head "yes" and are thus able to start answering questions. You're growing up, and you're just a joy.