1 month old

I can't believe Ruby has already been in our home for 1 month! Time is moving so quickly - too quickly in my opinion. Ruby has been such a joy. She is such a cuddly, sweet girl, & we all love her so much.

- enjoys tummy time

- loves to sleep on her side & to spread her little body out

- starting to smile more & more

- laughed for the first time today

- doesn't cross her eyes nearly as much as when she was born

- loves to be held . . . a lot

- her arms, thighs, & chins are filling out more & more each day

Released After 9 Years

My dad was released today from his 9 1/2-year calling as Stake President. I know it was a bittersweet thing for him, as he has loved those who he served & served with.

Mexico - May 2004

After I went through the temple for the first time.

Dinner in San Francisco with our family friends the Carters.

Family Reunion in Cyclone, MO

my mom, Sammie & dad

Will's Baby Blessing - December 2008

relaxing after a long day

spending a day at the ranch - my dad & Brad

Mexico - June 2009 (growing out the beard for a King Benjamin speech for Youth Conference - He memorized the whole thing & performed it for the family while in Mexico. It was a very touching experience.)

my dad & Will in Mexico

carving the bird for Thanksgiving dinner 2009

Thank you for your wisdom, patience, love, generosity, kindness, faith . . . everything over the years.

We love you dad & are so grateful for the wonderful light you are in our lives.

Celebrating with a Cake - Finally!

Last night, we had some of our great friends over for a late birthday-cake party, since we never got around to having one for Will.

Carson: Andrew & Tiffani's little boy

Mia, Hailey, & Jake's legs: Jim & Shana's kids

blowing out the candles w/ some help from dad

We picked up an ice cream cake from Safeway on Saturday (Will's actual birthday) & stored it in the freezer until we were ready to celebrate with some of Will's buddies.

Thanks for coming everyone. We're so blessed to have such incredible friends!

(Sidenote: I'm really ready for a new camera - it's not the same using my camera after having my mom's nice one for so long!)

William's 2-Year Party

We invited some of our friends over for a small "2-year birthday" celebration last night, BUT we had to cancel last minute because everyone in our home has been sick! Scott has been getting over a cold, I'm in the middle of one, & I wasn't sure whether Will was getting one or not.

So we took our previously planned small party down a notch & just had our own little shindig.

Will was so excited about the balloons, that he didn't want to do anything beyond hitting & chasing them around the house. Scott finally had to hide them, so we could eat dinner & open presents - Will was NOT happy about this & cried until he was distracted by his favorite pepperoni pizza.

After dinner, we opened presents. It took some coaxing, but once he realized there were toys hidden in the wrapping paper, he got really excited to find out what he got!

Karen & Kayla sent him a fun Lightning McQueen car & Cars book (which he of course loved!).

Grandma & Grandpa sent him some ABC/animal flashcards that he didn't want to stop playing with. They also got him this shapes puzzle ball that he's already caught onto! This kid loves puzzles & is so good at them.

Scott & I bought him this awesome firetruck! It has storage in the back for his cars, he can push it around the house with the ladder (which allows him to steer), the helmet lifts up & the ladder forms a ramp that cars can shoot down & land in the storage under the helmet. It also makes some fun siren noises. It was a huge success!

We had such a wonderful time celebrating this sweet boy's birthday! He is so special to us (as every child is to his parents), & we recognize how blessed we are to have him in our lives.

We love you William!!! Thanks for coming to join our family!

12 July - swim lessons

Today was Will's first swim lesson! He loved being in the water from the very beginning.

It was his turn to spend some one-on-one time with one of the instructors, but he panicked & started to scream & reach for me (he's really struggling with separation anxiety right now). 

It took some comforting, but he finally calmed down. He eventually unlatched his legs from around my waist, so we could practice blowing bubbles & kicking again (blowing bubbles was more like Will laughing at me while I showed him how to do it, & when it was his turn to try, he just drank the water).

Will's favorite part, of course, was throwing & chasing after balls. He finally warmed up to the instructors by playing catch with them, & while chasing after the balls, he dunked/fell into the water about 3 or 4 times (I was shocked he didn't cry). Will loved his swimming time, & we're excited to head back tomorrow for round 2!

21 February - first haircut

 We propped Will in front of the TV to watch Elmo's World while Scott gave him his first haircut.

Look at those discarded curls :(

Not perfect, but it will do for now. I have to admit that I miss his soft, wispy hair - I liked that it curled under his ears & hung in his eyes. He looked like such a baby that way. But I guess the mullet & super long bang-things were starting to get a little out of control, so they had to go.

15 February - banged his lip

Scott came home from taking Will to the park today, & lo & behold, Will had a bloody lip!  He'd been playing on the slide, slipped, & banged his mouth against it.  Apparently he whined pitifully for about 10 seconds with his head resting on the slide & then acted like everything was fine.  When he turned around to face Scott, my poor baby was bleeding - he got his first official big boy cut.

You can see the puffy upper lip with some blood still dried to it - he kept sucking on & pointing to it the rest of the day.

Nothing Like a Fat Man in a Red Suit & a Screaming Baby

We went to my parents' Ward Christmas Party tonight - to celebrate the season, eat good food, visit with family & friends, but most importantly, to see the fat man in the red suit.  Much to my delight, Will started screaming as soon as I sat him on Santa's lap - honestly, I was happy to get a "screaming child w/ Santa" picture - those are always the classics!

Bev w/ Carter (Will's cousin) & Silvia w/ Will

Video of William Walking

Will's been walking for about a month now. He has great balance, is very sturdy, can pretty much turn on a dime, & dribbles balls down the hall.  I'm amazed at how fast this kid learns - it may take him a while to do something (like walk, or clap his hands), but once he decides he wants to do it, he just takes off!

Video of William walking in his squeaky shoes - he really gets cruising at the end.

Forward Facing

Will is growing up so fast! He's sitting in the forward-facing position on his carseat, & is so amazed by all there is to see through the car windows.

William's 12 Month Checkup

Will had his 12 month checkup today, & it was horrible.  He had to get 4 shots! The first two were bad enough, but the third one, he was screaming louder than I'd ever heard him scream & was looking in my eyes terrified.  On the last shot, he started shaking - he was shaking so bad, I was scared he was having a seizure.  I just put my head down on the table & started sobbing.  When the nurse gave me the go ahead, I grabbed Will up in my arms, & we both cried together, & I repeated over & over that everything was okay & that it was over. My poor baby boy - it broke my heart to see him hurt like that. 

Weight: 20 lb. 5 oz.
Height: 29 1/2 in.

Gross

So William had another 1st today.  I was organizing my bedroom a few hours ago while Will was just playing with his toys.  All of a sudden, I notice a splashing sound.  I look in the bathroom, & Will is splashing in the toilet! (What? I am OCD about putting the toilet cover down.  How did I forget?) I quickly grabbed him & washed his hands while telling him 'no, yucky' over & over again.  I put him down & continued to go about my business when I look over, & he's lifting the seat cover on his own! My little fish is determined to find water anywhere, even if that means in the toilet. How the heck did he learn how to do that? I don't know what I'm going to do with this little guy.  He's awesome, & I love letting experience new things, but I definitely draw the line at letting him play in the toilet water :)

11-Months-Old

William is 11-months-old today. 

He has 6 teeth, & I believe he is getting some more in (or at least I assume that's why he's biting everything & drooling like none other). He loves to sing along to Popcorn Popping, Itsy Bitsy Spider, & Old MacDonald - it doesn't matter what song I'm singing, he starts opening & closing his fists (like popcorn popping) & chanting/grunting in rhythm with the song.

He crawls all over the place (hence the scratched up knees).  He pulls himself up to standing & walks along the furniture.  He still loves taking his baths, but now he plays with the bath toys instead of just soaking everything around him with his splashing.

He loves to cuddle, drink from his bottle, eat whatever mama & daddy are eating, spin in circles on his bum, stare at the TV (I swear it's not on very often), & chase balls - you can't forget the chasing balls part. He is constantly climbing up the stairs while I chase after him - this, of course, only makes him want to climb stairs even more b/c my chasing him has apparently turned into a very funny game. He makes animal sounds, 'reads' books, spits his food out, tries to climb on the dishwasher door while I'm loading it, stares at the laundry spinning in the washer & dryer, 'helps' me cook (holding him while cooking so he won't cry), laughs whenever Scott & I laugh like he's in on the joke too . . . We are so blessed to have such a sweet & happy baby boy.

We love you William - thanks for coming into our lives.

Dog, Cousins, Rash, Rain, Quilt

My sweet baby 'Kissy Cheeks'

Will was cracking me up the other night.  To start, Will LOVES dogs.  He gets so excited whenever he sees them, & I think he thinks he's one of them. So, the other night, I kept asking him what the dog says & then "Ruff"-ing, so he'd know what to do.  He totally surprised me when he pointed at the dog (Toodles) & started barking at her.  He then got down on all fours & "ruff"-ed - a perfect 11-month-old impersenation. I can't believe how fast my baby's learning & growing up. He can also 'quack,' 'moo,' roar,' & 'baa.' He has also said his first word this week - "Ba" for 'ball.'

Playing w/ Grandma & Carter (one of Will's many cousins - they were born one week apart exactly)

Last night, my brother's family came over for dinner.  Will really liked that there was another little boy his age to 'play' with (if you can call trying to poke Wes's eyes out playing).

Say 'Cheese'

Will also got this weird rash on his back last night - any ideas what it could be from?  I'm nervous he's allergic to something I'm feeding him, but I don't know what it could be.

Last night, it started to rain - one of the first rains of the season.  It was so beautiful & it smelled glorious - there's nothing quite like the smell of freshly fallen rain. Will was also able to have his first experience playing in the rain.  He'd just barely finished getting ready for bed, but I couldn't resist letting him have his fun.

And this is what we woke up to this morning - isn't it beautiful?:

I also stayed up late last night and finished William's baby quilt.  I honestly never thought I'd finish this thing.  I started cutting out some of the fabrics when I was pregnant with Will, but set everything aside until one week ago.  After finishing my "Belle" quilt, I got a sudden desire to get this baby quilt done.  So here it is, & Will already loves playing Peek-a-boo with it.  Every time I tried laying it out to get a picture, he'd head straight for it, hence the series of pictures of him playing with my quilt . . . his quilt.

I finally just pinned it to the wall out of the babe's reach. I think this quilt may be my favorite one so far.