Spending time with my boy

The other day it was beautiful outside, so I decided to take William out to play in the backyard. I turned the waterfall on, laid out a blanket w/ toys on it, & let William enjoy.He loves playing with his blocks from his aunt RachelHe's sitting up so much better on his own. (I love the pink flowers in the background.)He loves watching the waterfall:Love that little guy:And I think he loves me too.He's starting to lose his baby look & turn into a big boy.Making sure I'm still in the room - he doesn't like being left alone.Playing peek-a-boocomplaining:happy again:Eating sweet potatoes - I think they might be his favorite (even though the look on his face might not show it).

Tehachapi Visit

Here are a few pictures of our trip to Tehachapi. My battery died, so all the really good pictures were taken on Dennis' camera.
Grandpa Denny & Will4 generations: Great-grandma Lou, Grandpa Dennis, daddy & WilliamHolding the bottle like a big boy:

6 Months

William is 6-months-old today! He went in for his shots, & he started screaming with the first poke (he had to get 3 as well as the rotavirus). He weighs 15 lb 15 oz & is 26 1/2 in. He's a lightweight for his age, but in the 50th percentile for height.
William loves to play w/ his feet & hands, listen to me sing "Old MacDonald," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," & the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (he loves the hand motions), rolls over in both directions, sits up pretty well on his own (I still stay close by because he doesn't completely have it down yet), sticks his tongue out & drools a lot, gets "pee shakes" (or at least that's what it looks like), throws his hips up in the air & grunts when he's on his back & wants to be picked up, likes to talk by sucking air in instead of blowing it out, hates eating solid foods, loves his bottle, & is officially sleeping through the night (we've been letting him cry it out for the last 4 nights, & the last 2 nights he slept almost 12 hours w/o waking up - 8:30 to 8:15 w/ us waking him up to eat one last time at 10:00 before we went to sleep). We love you baby boy!

Sitting On His Own for the First Time

Swing, Bear, & Backyard

This last week, we went down to my parents' house: this is one of Will's new favorite toys to play in while we're there. He was exhausted, & it only took a few swings for him to fall asleep.I dressed Will up in his fuzzy bear outfit today - he's got to wear it while he can before it gets too hot! (Don't judge me for not being able to pick just one photo of William: I'm his mother, & as such, I'm at liberty to post as many pictures of him as I want. How can you expect me not to? :)

"Why I oughtta . . ."Our backyard: finally, pictures of the grass.The tree on the patio is a lemon tree (I've always dreamed of having one) - we just need to buy a pot for it.Close-up of the landscaping: there's a bird in the "little Christmas tree," but it's hard to see. I was just so happy that he chose our backyard to play in.

Disneyland & Grease

Scott, William, & I went to Disneyland on Wednesday & Thursday of last week to spend time with Scott's family:
Day 1:
In the airport: getting ready for our first flight with William:Happy baby: until the plane takes off, of course. He cried or fussed for a good portion of the flight.Arriving at Disneyland: William's tired from crying so much on the plane. I love his long eyelashes, pouty lip, & everything else about him.Happy again after getting some shuteye:Saying "hello" to Grandma - I love his somber face:Preparing to fight the "Evil Emperor Zurg" - Will's psyched:Wanting to get in on the action: Will started crying about halfway through the ride because it was so loud & there was too much to look at - sensory overload:Going to dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The soft-serve ice-cream was SO good.

William w/ Aunt Karen & cousin Kayla: After we finished dinner, we took William back to the hotel to stay with Grandma & some more of the younger cousins while the rest of us went back to Disneyland. Dennis, Karen, Kayla, Scott, & I spent most of the time on Thunder Mountain. It was so much fun zooming around on the roller coaster at night - it was even better when the fireworks show started & they lit up the sky in front of us as we climbed the hill of the roller coaster - it was such a happy experience.
Day 2:

Scott & I got to the park early, so we could get pictures of William with the characters.

Really excited to meet Goofy - Will looks like he can barely contain himself ;)PlutoFlying w/ Dumbo:Going through a tunnel on Dumbo's Circus Train: William's eyes got so big - I think this was his favorite ride - it wasn't scary like Snow White & Pinocchio.Taking a break from "The Happiest Place on Earth" to get some grub at Denny's - Scott & I were craving biscuits & gravy. William had his first taste of gravy & didn't seem all that impressed:My handsome boys: I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love them (I know that might sound cheesy, but it's true).Grandma & Grandpa got William a Mickey firefighter pin - as a matter of fact, they bought pretty much everything for everyone this trip: Disneyland tickets, food, gifts - thanks Dennis & Gail!Ben & Jessie tried 3 or 4 times to get in the Jedi Training show until they were finally picked: it made their day.

Ben (in the Fantasia hat) & Jessie (in the pirate hat):Abbygail, Josh, Ben, Noelle (in the background), Gail, Scott w/ Will, Michelle w/ Barbie, & Kyle w/ Nicki (even though you can't see her):Racing to get food:Nicki, Ben, Barbie, Abbygail, Jessie (behind Barbie), & Kyle sitting pretty at Cheesecake Factory: Will loves his bottle - he starts to cry/laugh when he sees it & reaches for it with his mouth wide open: We finally got a picture with Mickey - we went back to the park after dinner w/ our only mission being to find him. Will was so tired, but he toughed it out to meet his destined-to-be-best-friend:Out like a light: You may notice the white stuff around his hairline: the suntan lotion from the previous day wouldn't rub all the way in & wouldn't wash off either (it's still there today as well, 4 days later):Well rested & happy - William was such a good boy at Disneyland, especially for being 5 1/2 months old. It's going to be so much fun to take him back when he's older & he will actually be excited to be there: When we arrived back in the bay area on Friday, we left William w/ my Aunt Bev while Scott & I went w/ my mom & dad, Steven & Amy, & Brad & Rachel (Steven & Brad are my brothers) to San Francisco. My parents bought us tickets for Christmas to see "Grease" on Broadway. We went into the city on Bart & ate at Taylor's Refresher - they have amazing burgers, fish tacos, sweet potato fries, & milkshakes. After dinner, we enjoyed "Grease" as a family - the cast did an awesome job, & we even got to see Taylor Hicks perform as Teen Angel (the "Beauty School Dropout" guy) - he was such a dork, but really good & so fun to watch.

Man, we've had a busy & amazing week!

Baby Boy Cousins

This last weekend, I went down to my parents' to visit with cousins who came into town.
William & Carter (Will was born exactly 1 week after Carter)

William, Carter, & Max (Max is 2 1/2 months)Max & Will in coordinating outfits: we didn't even plan it this way.Dani & I basically grew up as sisters. It was so fun to meet her little boy for the first time & to see what a loving mom Dani is. We had a great time together w/ our babies & our moms: Almost all of us fell asleep while watching Twilight the night before (we stayed up way too late), & then the next day, we drove to St. Helena to eat at Taylor's Refresher & to window shop.