Just another day...

It's been a challenge to get some pictures with just my phone, but these two turned out pretty good!

My sweet boy!



And Emma enjoyed writing in the flour that I left on the counter when I made bread. Of course, she enjoyed some dough and flour too!

My Morning Coffee Buddy

One year check-up

It's always interesting to guess where the kiddos are going to be on the charts when they go for check-ups. No real surprises at Will's one year!

He is right at the 25th percentile for height at 2 feet 5 inches, and is just under the 25th for weight at 21 pounds. His head size shot up quite a bit, now around the 80th percentile. Our doctor commented that it is just to hold all his brains!

We had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday and were so thankful that so much of our families could make it! Sadly, our camera met a rather untimely and unexplained demise in the middle of the party, which has made blogging even more challenging!

But, since it would be a pity to post without a picture, here is a repeat: the birthday boy in all his glory!

Will is 1!

October 13, 2010

The weather had just turned cooler and William Paul decided it was time to make his appearance. We were at the hospital just 2 hours before he was born and signed the "you can deliver my child" papers while holding him in our arms.

Our sweet boy, just 30 minutes old.

Will weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and arrived 4 days before his due date.

First family of four photo

From day one, Will has been completely doted upon by his big sister, Emma.

November

Will has always been a strong kid. He held his head up very early and started rolling over at 4 weeks old.

He began to smile near the end of the month, more than a week after showing us his rolling skills.

December

Will got a lot of use out of his fuzzy bear suit between cutting down our Christmas tree, taking walks in the stroller, and even going outside in the snow. He loved to be in the middle of whatever we were doing.

January

Will started looking less like a newborn and more like a baby. He also began to spit up more and more and be very cranky during feedings. He spit up blood more than once, which prompted us to have him examined by the GI specialists at AI Dupont Hospital for Children. Diagnosed with moderate to severe acid reflux, Will ended up taking Prevacid to help with the pain. Thank God for medication!

Will also gave us quite a scare in January. An ambulance ride to AI and a few hours in the ER because of RSV. He was a trooper and put up with all the nebulizer treatments and saline drops and we are so thankful for how well he pulled through.

February

Once we got the reflux medication figured out, Will was able to return to his happy, content self. We love that sweet smile!

And he fully embraced his role as the little brother. He laughed and smiled for Emma and loved when she played with him. He also started eating rice cereal and LOVED it!

March

Will began to try and sit on his own, but mostly enjoyed the Bumbo seat. He wore his Orioles gear proudly too!

April

Will perfected his sitting skills in April, got a tooth, started scooting around on the floor while on his back, and babbled non-stop! He also began eating more variety of foods and loved every single one.

May

While Will worked on three additional teeth, we traveled to North Carolina twice...to see Aunt Becca graduate and for Evan and Jeanine's wedding.

Will started trying to crawl, but it mostly involved scooting backwards!

June

Will began to make forward progress with his army crawl/scoot at the beginning of the month, and by the end of June was making great time all around the house. He also got a ton of teeth, which really made him start looking like a big boy!

July

To beat the heat, we spent many mornings out back in the shade with a little tub of water. Will loved splashing and playing in the water with Emma. He started pulling himself into a stand and this is still is favorite (dangerous!) way of bathing. He is a total dare devil and has no fear of falling.

He even convinced himself he could walk...he would pull up to a stand, then let go and lunge forward without moving his feet, totally face-planting every single time. And loving it!

August

Will and Emma started really playing together in August. He would follow her around and try to take whatever toy she had (like a good little brother?). They both love music, and Will especially enjoys our family worship time at night before bed. He started taking steps early in the month...3 here, 6 there, and by the end of the month was purposefully walking where he wanted to go.

Near the end of the month Will started signing more!

September

Last month Will really blossomed into a big boy. He looks much older. He interacts with us using several signs, and he understands much of what we say to him. He gets very upset when he does not get his way! He still loves to eat, and plays the dropping game in his high chair.

October 13, 2011

Our big boy still looks so much like his newborn pictures...amazing!

He has a wonderful laugh and beautiful smile!

Over the summer, Will's hair lightened a lot, and it is looking curly in the back.

He is a confidant walker.

Loved brother,

and cherished son.

Will,

This first year of your life has flown by so quickly, and we have loved watching you grow and develop from a helpless newborn into a rolling and cooing infant into a stumbling toddler and now a sweet and fearless boy. God has used your little life to make us trust in Him more and to show us that He is in control. You've made our lives full in a way we never could have imagined before you were born. We love your kisses and your running start hugs. You are full of energy and love life!

As you grow over this next year, we will be constant in prayer for your safety and hope that you learn a little caution! We look forward to seeing you and Emma grow together even more. We will seek God first and foremost and do our best to lead you closer to Him through our example. Happy 1st Birthday, Little Man!

Love always,

Daddy and Mommy

Apple Picking

Last week we had a great trip south of Dover to Fifer Orchards.

Emma was super excited to pick apples!

Will enjoyed the sights from the backpack while Emma and I picked apples with our friends.

After picking apples we spent time in the Fall Festival area at Fifer. We went through a corn maze, enjoyed some huge slides (they put ArmourAll on the slides every morning...they were fast!), played in the hay, and did rubber duck races. They had several of these tanks set up. You used the pump to push water through the shoot and push the rubber duck along. They were awesome!

All the kids!

It was a great trip!

What a difference a year makes!

A year ago, just days before Will arrived, we did a pre-baby photo shoot. We thought it would be fun to get some pictures one year later of our big boy!

October 7, 2010

Emma was so little a year ago!

Now she can't imagine life without her little brother.

Mommy waiting for baby to arrive.

Mommy and big boy

Walking with Daddy.

Sacked Out

The kids were wiped today...I guess I wore them out! They both went down for their naps early and passed out.

For some reason, Emma decided to curl up on her floor this afternoon. Why? Who knows!

Will fell asleep in the exact place I left him when I laid him in his crib. It was took dark to get a good picture unless I used the flash...and he slept right through the whole thing.

Too cute!

Tot School

Emma is 32.5 months

Will is 11.5 months

Tot School via 1+1+1=1

We've been enjoying a lot of fall activities over the last two weeks. Unfortunately, I lost several pictures when our computer died, but I'm hoping that will be only temporary once we get them off the hard drive.

We have several fall books from the library that we've been reading every day. We really like It's Fall. It has beautiful pictures and is a great introduction to the change of seasons. Footballs and Falling Leaves is a counting book with great fall themed items. We also liked the simple book, I know its autumn.

To talk about the different things that happen when the seasons change, we took a nature walk. I put a piece of clear tape on Emma's wrist with the sticky side up and she picked up different things to stick to the tape along the way. She loved finding leaves, flowers, and sticks to put on her tape, and I loved seeing what caught her attention. This was a lot of fun and I'm sure we'll do it again soon.

We found a caterpillar one day and kept it in a tub with some leaves for a day or two. Emma thought the caterpillar was the coolest thing. She is totally unfazed by bugs and loves to poke at them and pick them up.

We didn't keep the caterpillar for too long, and Emma loved getting to put him back outside.

I found this great tree printable from First School. We scrunched up different colors of tissue paper to make leaves for the tree.

I don't have a picture of the finished product, but we put a bunch of "leaves" on the ground under the tree also. It turned out really cute and is hanging in our art gallery.

Another great printable from First School is this acorn sheet. We keep it inside a plastic page protector and Emma uses a dry erase marker to do a number of activities. Counting by dotting the acorns, circling, coloring, and then practicing writing numbers. She did all of these numbers on her own!

I'm so excited to see Emma wanting to trace and actually doing it. She is so pleased with herself and did a great job. I'm hoping to do some more tracing with letters in the coming weeks!

Tiny Tot School

Will has really enjoyed our sensory bin, especially the leaves. He likes the texture of the leaves and really likes to put them in and out of different containers. I don't seem to have a picture of this yet.

He also added to his signs with "all done". This one is not a favorite sign since he loves to eat so much, but this is a really cute photo!




He is showing a lot of interest in our wooden puzzles even though he can't actually do the pieces yet. He has the concept, though, and likes to put the pieces on the puzzle boards.

We had a fun time with Daddy this weekend. We went to an area of Middletown that has big trees and hills and collected leaves, acorns, twigs, and flowers.
 
Emma loved talking about the different things we saw and both Emma and Will enjoyed having time outside and spending time with Daddy.

That afternoon we also took a hay ride at a local farm and enjoyed some other fall activities, including apple cider!