HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

Its hard to believe that my little baby is 6 months old today. It seems like yesterday that he looked like this --

And we were feeding him every two hours, holding him all the time, and driving around at 2am in hopes that he would finally fall asleep. Now, the little guy looks like this --

And I find myself sometimes missing those chances to hold him for hours on end. Although, at the time, I couldn't wait for him to grow up a little bit so that he would sleep in his crib and play on his own so I could have some time to myself. Now, I realize how precious every single minute with Will is. I can't stop snuggling to him (when he will let me), covering him with kisses, and just being in awe of how much this little guy changes every day.

People often tell us what a happy baby Will is -- which makes me such a proud parent. And its so true! Will is a smiley boy. He loves people and will let anyone hold him. Its rare that someone will talk to him, and he won't smile. It takes a lot to make him laugh, but his smiles are abundant. I am so incredibly happy that he is this way.

Will is sleeping much better nowadays. Sleeping from about 7pm until 4:30AM (and falling back asleep until 6 with a little help) is normal -- at least for now. And he looks so peaceful now that he sleeps in the crib ...

I was brave enough to take that picture, and when I pushed my luck to snap a second one, he woke up. But even though he was woken up from peaceful slumber with a camera in his face. He still woke up like this --See - told you he was a happy baby! And the boy now LOVES to eat solid foods. He eats food 3 times a day now and has juice in the afternoon. We've just started some Level 2 foods - trying combinations of flavors. His favorites are the apple, banana, pear combo and peaches. Veggies aren't his favorite, but I've been persistent and he now eats carrots, loves sweet potatoes, and will eat some mixed veggies. He still loves his bottle though and if he sees you fix it or hears you shake it up before you give him solid food, he will not tolerate being put in the his high chair until you give him that bottle.

When Will eats, its hysterical. He is like a little bird and you can't shovel the food in fast enough. He'll open his mouth wide, make a little noise if the food isn't coming fast enough, swallow quickly, and open his mouth back up before you even have a chance to get another spoonful.

Will can't sit up on his own for a long time yet - but he can do it for a minute or two. And he has no problem being on his tummy anymore. He wants to crawl so bad. He'll get on his tummy and start "swimming" on his belly. Sometimes, he'll move just a teensy bit backwards. Its too cute. (I hope he takes a lot longer to crawl. Mommy isn't ready for that yet.)

The thing I find most amazing about Will right now is how he is just taking it all in every day. Everything is fascinating to him - a painting, the remote control (eek!), the container of his nighttime lotion, his mobile above the crib, a strap on his car seat, and especially our cat, Mitzi. "Kitty kitty" brings a huge smile to his face or a look of utter amazement when she walks by. Its is so much fun to see what small, new thing will bring him so much joy each day.

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM! YOUR MOMMY AND DADDY LOVE YOU!

Having fun

Will had lots of fun this weekend. He had a visit from his Great Uncle Tom and Great Aunt Becky who came across the country (literally!) to see him. We were really happy they came to visit!

I have gotten bad about taking pictures lately ... which is something I need to correct because Will is changing so fast and getting cuter every minute! But I think Gampa got some pictures from Will's visit with his relatives from "out west". Maybe I could get some? :-)

Look what I can do Mommy!

Today, for the first time, Will did this ...

He used to only prop himself up by his elbows but now can pull himself up to his hands. He was awfully proud of himself (and so was Mommy!). I know crawling is probably not too far away...eeek!

And although Will still can't sit up by himself yet, he is not far from doing it at all. He can sit up for a few seconds before he begins to teeter and fall over. But tonight, I sat him up on the "grown up" side of his bathtub and he loved it! I think the water really helped him stay sitting up.

He even tried out sitting up on his own after the bath on the changing table...

Happiness is....

.... coming home to this little booger every day.

Will's Baptism

Last Sunday, friends and family joined us for a very special day for our family when Will was baptized in our church. We brought the baptism font from Ellis's hometown church for Will to be baptized in. The family purchased the font in memory of Ellis's father, John Ellis. Will was the first infant to be baptized with the font, so the ceremony had even more special meaning for all of us.

Will is such a people person - he had so much fun with all the attention and everyone here to see him. A huge thanks to all our friends and family who came down to celebrate his baptism with us!!!

Gamma helps me put on Will's baptism bib (gotta do something for all that drool!).

Will is entertained by Nanny and Aunt Kathy before the service. An adorable picture of Aunt Kathy giving Will's cousin, Anna, a big kiss!
The proud family pictures after the service...


Afterwards, everyone came to our house for a BBQ lunch.
Toward the end of the afternoon, Will had tons of fun showing off to everyone how fast and high he can jump in his Jumperoo!

Busy Weekend

Will was baptized on Sunday, and we had a wonderful Sunday celebrating the occasion. Lots of friends and family came to the baptism and the luncheon at our home afterwards. Will had an absolute blast. Despite the fact that we are in the middle of very painful teething issues - you wouldn't know it from the big smile on Will's face all day.

Gampa took many pictures for us on Sunday. He is kindly working feverishly on putting them together. And the wait is well worth it because he does such a great job touching up the photos. A more detailed post about the day to come but, for now, here is little Will getting ready before the service started --

On the Move!!

This past Saturday, Will learned how to roll from his stomach to his back! So, he can now proceed to roll all over the place. He isn't particularly fast, but I think he is awfully proud of himself for being able to move to another place. Sunday morning, I was in the kitchen listening to him play on his play mat. It got quiet so I peeked over there and saw Will had rolled off the mat, off the carpet and was laying on his back on the hardwood floor looking up at the TV. When I came over asking him what he was doing - he just smiled and smiled.

Solids continue to go well. (Oh man, does that change a parent's perspective on the smell of dirty diapers. Egads!!) We tried squash the other day, and Will is really not too happy with that one. He is still a big fan of applesauce and his oatmeal cereal as this video shows. (DISCLAIMER: You have to listen to my very high pitched, rather annoying baby voice as I'm feeding Will. I did not know Daddy was filming -- as the end of the video shows. But it was too cute on Will's part not to share.)


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