FOL Weekend

My little boy turned 1 1/2 years old on Friday. He is just growing like a weed and is more and more "boy" every day. (18 month update to follow later ...) We ended up with a fun-filled weekend for him (without intending for the fun to coincide with the occasion). In addition to a fun play date with Clare and Wesley consisting of popsicles and naked streaking through a sprinkler in the backyard, swimming lessons, and pool time with his grandpa, the FOL crew arrived Saturday. We had another weekend of fun chaos. This time, we went over to my parents' pool first to swim for the afternoon. I finally have pictures of an event involving Will because my dad snapped a bunch of awesome pictures. (I have got to get a new camera ... then maybe I'll have something to post more often.) The pictures are all great! Many thanks to dad for taking them!! He even managed to get one of all 11 of us (even if we are all scattered through the pool - its the only one we have.) So here is sampling (don't worry Jenn and Julie - a CD of organized pictures that Dad put together is in the mail to you):

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Ellis's birthday was today and his co-workers decided to fill his office up with balloons. Will and his friend, Patrick, got to come visit and had lots of fun running around in Ellis's office and playing with all the balloons!

Happy Birthday Ellis! :)

Playing at Day Care

Last week, Will's day care had an afternoon of water fun - and I hear Will had a blast playing in the water with his friends! I mean really, what could possibly be better than an Elmo sprinkler? (The kid is OBSESSED with Elmo.)

Backyard Fun

(What do you think of his bathing suit? They are reusable swim diapers that we have to use for his swim class. I have to say that I like the trunks better, but it is nice not to be throwing away the disposable ones, and these supposedly are better at keeping stuff in.)

First Swims of the Summer

Friday afternoon, Will and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's to swim in their pool. It was the first time I'd taken Will in the pool since last summer. He had a ball! Until about 20 minutes later when he wanted me to let go and threw a little tantrum over it ... can't tell you how tempted I was to let go of him and let him see what happens if he doesn't hang on!

Saturday morning, he and I went to his first swimming lesson. The main purpose of the class is to get kids under 3 used to going under the water, learning to kick, float, and learning to jump from the side of the pool, turn around and hold on to the side. Because his grandparents have a pool in the backyard, I wanted to give him that extra safety measure of being a little more aware of the water.

It went great - I was so proud of Will. He is like a little fish! There are 4 kids in the class. All the rest are over 2 years old and are girls accompanied by their daddies. But, for being the youngest, Will did great! First, we started by kicking front ways and then on our backs. Will didn't quite get that concept yet. He'd rather just float while I took him around the pool. Then we sang, moving in a circle, while the instructor would pour water on their back and head. Will loved that. Then, we moved the kids under water for a dolphin-like swim. I was nervous of what Will would think, but after a couple of tries, he was eager to go under the water and smiled when he came up. I even passed him under the water to the instructor and then we did it back to me. He did it with flying colors. And the first exercise in learning to grab the side of the pool went well too - Will would sit on the side of the pool and I'd hold him and then count to 3, lift him into and under the water, and back up for him to grab the side to get a little toy waiting on him. And he did it - like 5 times!

I'm very happy with the class. Everything is made fun and is very low key. And they certainly don't make any of the kids do something they are not comfortable with doing, especially going under water. Ellis is planning to come next time and maybe get a few pictures! :)

Where Mommy & Daddy Have Been...

Vegas! This past weekend we met up with my brother and sister-in-law to celebrate my 30th birthday. We had a blast, and I was awfully proud of Ellis and I - we've still got it in us to stay up late at night (or into the wee hours of morning!). It was a whirlwind tour of Vegas, and Ellis and I are already thinking of what we would want to do next time. I am so happy Steve and Mary could join us, and we've all vowed to return for Ellis's 40th (which is not far away at all)!

I wish we'd had a little more time in Vegas, but it was awfully wonderful to come home to this little guy who had a fun weekend at Grandparents' camp. HUGE thanks to my mom and dad for taking care of him while we traveled!

A Funny Boy at 17 Months

Will is changing by leaps and bounds now that he is 17 months. He really does understand so much, and it amazes me every day what I can say or do that he picks up on. Like, this weekend, Will lost his shoe as he was playing in the back yard. Ellis told him to "bring me your shoe." And Will went and got it and promptly brought it over to Ellis for it to be put back on. (I know, its the little things that impress us as parents. But I was in shock I tell you!) He is very famliar with all the normal commands - no, sit down, stand up, lie down, time to go to bed, etc. His favorite - "no you can't have that" or "no, you can't have more." That will start a tantrum of wailing in no time. The day care has started to use time out when he is misbehaving, so we're prepared to start using it as well.


Will babbles a lot and loves to imitate sounds you make, but he isn't a huge talker (with words we know) yet. He knows a random range of words - mommy (used very infrequently), daddy, diddy (his pacifier), balloon, blue, moo (for what a cow says), kitty, juice, cheese, shoe, Elmo, a ball! (usually said with great excitement as in "look there is A BALL!"), more (we're working on "more, please"), no ... and, of course, he is good at nodding or shaking his head in answer to any question you might ask him (even if you weren't necessarily looking for a response).


My little boy is such a comic though - he loves to make you laugh. And if he is successful, he will do the particular funny thing over and over. For instance, he has recently learned that if he sticks his fingers in his ears, he can't hear as well. It is hilarious to see him stick those fingers in there and start smiling in amazement, and then all we can do is laugh at him. So, of course he does it over and over. Although strong willed and constantly on the move, Will is a such a happy child, and I can't ask for much more than that.


He also loves to dance to songs and, when the song is finished, clap and shout "YAY" at the top of his lungs. His favorites for us to sing to him (some of which he knows the motions to) - the Chicken Dance, He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, When You're Happy and You Know It. I need to capture him dancing to one of these on video to share. Its just terribly cute.


His favorite thing in the world right now is to check out Elmo on the computer. I'm afraid Missy at the day care is to blame for this one. (Ahem!) But I am equally guilty because I have shown him that the computer at home also has Elmo on it and taken him to the Sesame Street website to listen to Elmo. He LOVES it. Anytime he sees a computer screen, he points at it gleefully and shouts "Melmo!".

Will has also really become interested in drawing! I am eager to get him some more "artsy" projects that he might enjoy. If anyone has suggestions on great art projects or art things to purchase for around Will's age, please let me know!