Dear Omi & Opi,

Thank you for all my new PJ's! As you can see, I'm looking mighty good. Last night I wore my football ones and slept oh so well--until 7 am! My mommy and daddy were very grateful for that extra hour of sleep. Thanks for thinking of me. Love, Will

Beach Bums

We spent last Tuesday night through Sunday in Corolla, enjoying Colin's week off from work. The Gallahans joined us for the first half of our time there, and the Sewards came for the weekend. We ate a ton, went for walks, swam some in the ocean, and relaxed as much as parents of an active 9 month old can relax. One night Colin & I actually grabbed some Mexican and played mini-golf--all by ourselves! That's always a treat. Colin took advantage of Will's early risings to catch the sunrise on the beach one morning...

Will had a great time--the kid has NO fear and kept crawling straight into the ocean, over and over again. He laughed at the sight of particularly large waves. Here he's taking a break from such daredevil antics & is content playing with the ocean kayak strap. He's a little over 22 lbs & almost 29 inches, and he just got his 5th tooth. Our little guy is getting to be not so little...

We're pet-sitting for our friends Annie & Neal over the next several days, and I'm hoping that'll help entertain Will. After days of non-stop attention, the boy needs someone else besides mommy to give him some attention and listen to his shrieks.

I wish we had more pictures to share, but I tend to get lazy with my photography while away. Off to Kroger we now go... Let's hope Will can stay in the cart this time!

An Apple A Day...

Unfortunately doesn't keep the doctor away, at least for Will. He's got his 9 month checkup today. I don't have quite as many questions for his pediatrician this time--could I possibly be getting a little more laid-back about this whole parenting thing??

Here are a few shots of Will enjoying his new favorite food--the remains of my apple. At this point, he'd rather subsist on yogurt, fruit, graham crackers, and fruity cheerios. He certainly inherited a sweet tooth from both parents! Getting him to eat meat or veggies is not an easy feat... He did however eat a respectable amount of refried beans yesterday for lunch--I was so proud to witness my son's foray into the wonderful world of Latin cuisine.

Last night I ventured out by myself and had a fabulous time roaming the aisles of WalMart... How funny that an errand like that is such a treat nowadays :) It's nice to drive somewhere without singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to quiet wailing, and it's especially nice to take my time in a superstore without a (heavy!) baby in my arms who won't stay still in the cart. Much to my dismay, Will does not appear to like shopping. That could be a problem. Maybe it'll grow on him?!


He's got one of those horribly messy biter biscuits stuck to his shirt (& all over his face, hands & hair...)

Just Cruisin'

Will loves to cruise around our house, moving from couch to table to window drapes to TV to whatever else might be nearby. He loves his new fire engine shoes & is getting lots of use out of them with all that "walking" around.

This weekend was fun, since Colin was off for TWO days in a row! Amazing. We swam again in nearby Fall's Lake and witnessed a rather looong black snake's capture by park rangers on the shore--a tad disconcerting. Will moved up to the big boy Toddler I room in the church nursery, and he did much better. I guess he just needed more "mature" companions (or maybe he just appreciated the graham crackers they fed him). We also had company--my friend Kerri--so it was good to have another woman in the house to balance out all the football being watched, listened to, & talked about. Ahh--my respite from the pigskin madness is over. It's amusing to see Colin once again so revved up...this is his favorite time of year, after all!

This week holds play group, story time, Will's 9 month checkup, & his first swimming lesson (just signed us up for that!)... And the following week is Colin's first vacation week of the year--To the beach we go! Hopefully all is well after Ernesto...

I turned the news on for a few minutes, & Will was mesmerized by Matt Lauer.

Can't see them here, but 2 more teeth have come in on top! When I remember, Will loves to have his teeth brushed...I'm so proud of his interest in oral hygiene :-)

I wanna be just like daddy...

This was taken a couple of weeks ago... but I don't have anything new to share, & I think it's cute. Like all babies, the only thing Will wants most to play with is the only thing he's not supposed to play with. So I gave him my old phone. I think it might still work, so if you get a call and hear "hahaha ga ba hee," it might be our son.