Cruising

Will has been pulling up forever. Until tonight he really hasn't done much cruising once he gets to standing. His routine was pretty cute, and very consistent : pull up, see something interesting that he couldn't reach, do his graceful plop, crawl over, and pull up again. He would follow this routine over and over. No matter how close the interesting object might be, he wouldn't move his feet to get there. Until tonight. He was cruising all over the place tonight, the end table, the window, the ottoman.

It is like our littlest man doesn't want to really try something until he knows he can do it well. As I look at the first picture in this post I can't believe how OLD Will looks. He is starting to look more and more like a toddler and less and less like a baby. Sigh. . .

I also had to share this picture because it is just too darn cute - He loves his new sun hat!

11 Months Old

Will celebrated turning eleven months old with a visit from his friend Blake. The two boys enjoyed banging on the loud silver bowl together. Well I guess a more accurate description would be that Will banged while Blake encouraged him by blowing raspberries. A fun time was had by all.

So let's see. . . what is new with Will this month? Well he spends most of his day pulling up on things, just so he can practice falling back down. He has perfected a graceful plop. Will has also discovered a love of table foods. Most of his meals are now real foods and he is doing pretty well with it. In fact I even broke down and bought him braunschweiger. Totally disgusting, I know, but he can't get enough of the stuff.

Will has also perfected his play of So Big and loves to attempt patty cake. He can clap, but he gets so excited when I start singing the patty cake song that he just starts waving his hands and forgets all about the clapping. He just laughs and laughs in anticipation of the belly tickles he knows come at the end of the song.

We have a visit from our Parents as Teachers educator tomorrow. Sue is wonderful and I always look forward to her visits. I feel like she really does a good job of outlining what milestones Will should hit next.

Spring Break Tuesday

I was all disappointed that it was supposed to rain all week when I'm off. Fortunately, the weather men were wrong. What a beautiful Tuesday morning! We played outside for a while this morning.

Max was all excited to bring out his bucket of cars so he could 'wash' them in the dirt. He even let me know when they were clean so I could take them inside.




Will on the other hand was not so wild about our outdoor time. He had his first touch of the grass and he didn't like it one bit. The only thing that would appease him was playing with mommy's phone. Go figure. I think part of it was that it was almost nap time for Will. Maybe we can get some more outdoor time this afternoon and he will be in better spirits.

I'm hoping the weather cooperates again tomorrow so we can do some type of fun outing. I'm not sure what yet, but I need something to keep this big four year old busy - not to mention to keep momma sane.

Happy Birthday Max!

Wow. Four years ago today our little man graced us with his presence. Every day since has been and adventure and a blessing. Max is a lucky little man because he had not one, not two, but three birthday cakes so far. . .

We headed to Kansas City to visit friends this weekend and on Friday afternoon Kristen, Max and I made a birthday cake. When we cut into the cake after dinner Max was quick to remind us that we forgot to sing. Saturday we spent with our friends the Slattery's. Graham and his daddy made Max another cake and this time we remembered to sing first. Max was so excited to blow out the candles that he drooled on the cake. Today was birthday cake number three at Nonna and Nonno's house. Uncle Will and Aunt Sue were in town from New York and several other family members came over to celebrate Max turning four. Luckily for all in attendance he was able to keep his drool under control when blowing out his candles tonight.

It has been a wonderful birthday weekend for Max and as it does every year it makes me think of how lucky we are to have Max in our lives. I also can't help but think about how much our lives have changed and how much I have learned. Year four of motherhood has taught me. . .

• pictures are more valuable than nearly anything else
  
• a good camera helps with the picture taking
• dropping the afternoon nap makes for tough weekends
• enforcing 'quite time' in his room is hard
• library fines add up quickly - I still am too embarrassed to admit just how much my fine added up to
• setting up play dates is tough when you work full time
• parent teacher conferences feel very different from the other side of the table
• 'squishy pants' make for a happy, although not very stylish, boy
• preschool is exhausting
• my little guy is tougher and more well rounded than I give him credit for
• Max is an amazing big brother
• starfall is a great website - some day I may even buck up and pay for full site access
• it is tough to make Halloween costumes
• Christmas is amazing now that Max really gets it
• every day is full of wonder when you are three - from trash trucks, to police cars, to boogers - everything is exciting
• a little boy can never have enough cars
• watching Max in his big brother role makes me love him even more
• Max is one smart cookie - although I have to admit this isn't something I just learned
• I don't think Max will ever get tired of his 'Max music'
• even on a rough day, I'm still the luckiest lady around
  

There are days when I want to pinch myself - I still can't believe that I am fortunate enough to have two amazing little boys. When I think of the day Max was born it seems like yesterday, but then in some ways it seems like so long ago. What an incredible four years! I can only imagine the joy, laughter, and fun that the next four years will bring.

Mr. Analytical and Mr. Mischief

AKA Max and Will. I swear that Max is the most analytical three year old around. The other day in the car he counted to 134 then he told me he was all done. Crazy little boy. Today he counted to 100 in the backseat and told me it was time to go backwards. The rest of the drive we worked on counting backwards from 100. He actually did a pretty good job.

Then there is Mr. Mischief. I think I must have blocked out this whole crawling everywhere, into everything, can't turn your back on the baby stage. Changing clothes is impossible, let alone trying to cook dinner. Tonight as I turned around to throw some fish sticks in the over for Max I heard Will in the bathroom. Not good. With a three year old in the house (not to mention a daddy) the door never seems to get closed. Before I could get to him he had half a roll of toilet paper on the bathroom floor. I couldn't help but embrace the chaos. He then thought it was a great opportunity to play peek-a-boo behind the door.