Monday, December 31, 2012

National Children Study

Since before Will was born, we have been participants in the National Children Study. Basically, every few months I get a call to answer some questions. It's really not that time consuming and I'm happy to be a part of it. In early December, they had a little Christmas gathering for those in Cache Valley. They served breakfast, had pictures with Santa, and had a few little crafts.

Will loves to sit on the counter and watch while I get ready. Well, mostly he likes to turn the water on and off and reorganize all my jewelry.



 The line for Santa was a bit long so we took some pictures while we waited.

 Will even found a little friend to run around with for a little bit.
 Will wasn't excited to see Santa, but he didn't scream either. He doesn't quite understand what he is yet.
 It was a fun little outing and nice to have something to do.

And lastly, just because he's cute:

 Was trying to find Will to get him into his pajamas and walked into his room to this.
One Sunday after church. He is definitely one handsome boy!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

More Videos

We have a goofy kid. He does things every day that make me chuckle. I always wanted to do a lot of home videos for my kids, but I haven't been very good so far. But I've been better lately at catching some moments that are more fun to watch then to read about.

One of our favorite things to do is to chase Will around the house. And once you start growling, he will usually cover his eyes immediately so we "can't" find him. But then he started growling back. The best was when Will and I sneaked into the room while Lance was sleeping and I told Will to growl. He sure did and it scared Lance pretty good. Still laughing about that one. Wish I had that one on camera. Instead, just some growling instead of eating dinner:

 (Well apparently the video doesn't want to load onto my blog. So for now I have just uploaded the video to facebook until I can figure out how to get it on my blog.) Here is a link to the video on facebook:

And second, he loves to "jump" off of things, except his jump has yet to leave the ground. Whenever I change his diaper, he pushes me away then wants to jump off of the changing table so I can catch him. His new favorite thing to do is either jump off of the window ledge onto the love sac, or jump off of the couch.



I promise I do dress my kid. He almost NEVER is in just a diaper, though these videos would make you think otherwise.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Yes, That Just Happened

So there I was sitting in my living room, just watching some tv while Will ran wild throughout the house, when I heard a strange noise coming from the back of the house. At first I thought it was Will crying. But usually when he gets hurt, he comes running to me to make it better. And I waited for him and waited for him, but he never came...yet the noise continued. I finally realized he was laughing over something, so I grabbed my camera to investigate and this is what I found:


Apparently this is super funny and he was sure getting a kick out of it, and wasn't stopping anytime soon. I think I got about 3-4 different videos, and he was laughing and entertained the entire time. It was fun and amusing until:



Oopsie!


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Gratitude

I know this is a bit late, but having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I really wanted to do a post about the things I am grateful for.

I'm grateful for:

1. Lance - He is my best friend and probably knows me better than anyone. Even though he goes to school  and works, he never complains when I make him help me around the house. He does so much for our family and I appreciate him so much.

2. My kids - Even though Will can be hard at times, I am so grateful for him and his personality. He teaches me so much and I love having him around. And while we haven't met our little girl yet, we love her and are excited for her to join our family.

3. My mom -  I talk to my mom almost every single day. She is always helping us out, or sending Will little packages in the mail. She has always been there for me and I don't know what I would do without her.

4. My in-laws - I was blessed to marry into an amazing family and I just love my in-laws. They do more for us then I think they realize, and we are so appreciative.

5. Other family and friends - I love my siblings and wish I got to spend more time with them.

6. Good health - We have been extremely blessed to not have any serious medical problems so far. We are very healthy overall, and for that I am so grateful.

7. Work - We are also very fortunate that we both have stable jobs. They aren't ideal jobs and don't make nearly enough, we are grateful for the opportunity to work and provide the best we can right now.

8. Medicine - Will has been sick recently and it's amazing how much a little bit of medicine can help. I'm grateful for doctors and all hospital staff for their hard work and dedication. 

9. Our house - Although our place isn't "officially" ours and we don't own it, I'm am so grateful that we have a nice place to live and that we live in a safe neighborhood for our kids. We have been very fortunate with our housing situations so far.

10. Music - Music has always had such a huge impact on my life and I can see how much it already affects Will. He can usually be calmed down pretty quickly by singing some primary songs or other peaceful songs. Or he can get excited and riled up when I have some upbeat music going.

11. Prayer - I'm grateful that we are able to talk with our Father in Heaven and express how we are feeling. I love how Will constantly reminds me that we need to pray. He even made me bless his oreo the other day before he would eat it.

12. School - We are so blessed to live in a country that has so much opportunity to learn and grow and pursue whatever dreams we may have. I am so grateful for the chance I had to get my degree and that Lance is able to go to school to better provide for our family.

13. Books - I have a deep love for reading. There is something about sitting down, forgetting all your problems, and getting lost in a good book. It's one of the few things that I consistently make "me-time" for.

I have been blessed with SO much and I know sometimes I fail to recognize how blessed I really am.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was pretty low-key this year. We stuck around Cache Valley and got to enjoy a great meal with Lance's family. I'm usually pretty good about not forgetting my camera, but I didn't get a single picture this year.

Due to Thanksgiving being so early this year, Lance's birthday was the day after. Normally he would make sure to get work off, but his manager gave him football tickets to the last Aggie home football game on Saturday (the day after his birthday), so he volunteered to work Thanksgiving and his birthday so he could get that Saturday off.

We invited a couple from our ward and we went to the game against Idaho. It was a lot of fun watching our Aggies finish a great season with a win and be WAC Champions. It was a bit rough for me to stand for that long, and my back was killing me most of the game. Luckily, Lance was nice enough to rub it every so often to help ease the pain.

Most of the students rushed the field after the game. We decided not to.
 I have also been getting a little better at crocheting and have been on a hat making spree. Here is one of the hats I made.

Friday, November 9, 2012

18 Months Old

Weight: 26.9 lbs - 60%
Height: 33.5 inches - 83%
Head Circumference: 49 cm - 82%

It's amazing how much difference just a few short months can make in the development of a child. While it can be sad to see them grow up, it is exciting to see him learning and to see him so curious about everything.

Here is what Will has been up to lately:

He is getting better at feeding himself with a spoon. He insists on feeding himself cereal in the morning. I try to be patient and let him do it, even though a good portion ends up on the floor or anywhere but his mouth.
Some of his new favorite words: wa-dee (water), mmm...or mere (more), dodjee (doggie), owie,  ba (ball), sheese (shoes), and AHT! (hot) And he can't simply say "hot", he screams it as loud as possible. But at least it gets him to stay away from whatever it is.

When we go to the park, his favorite thing is the swing. He would swing for hours if I had the patience to push him that long. I let him swing for a while, then let him go down the slides.
If something is aht (hot), he will scream aht, then blow on whatever it is. Sometimes he will randomly scream it then start blowing, even though there is nothing around.

His favorite thing to eat is cereal. I think he would happily eat it every single meal if I let him. A close second is pancakes. He will eat more pancakes than I will.
We ended up rearranging our house a little bit and switched two of the bedrooms. Our old office is now the kids room, and his room is now the office. The other room was a bit bigger and we needed to extra space to add a toddler bed. Lance thought Will would be sleeping in the toddler bed from then on, so he put the crib at the highest setting. So we tried letting Will sleep in the toddler bed. We put him to bed and went to watch a show. All was quiet and we assumed he had fallen asleep. About 45 min after we put him down, he came walking into the living room carrying all of his blankets. So he ended up in the crib.
 
The next day when I put him down for his nap, I was on the computer when suddenly he came walking in. Because the crib was still on high setting, he had climbed over the rail, onto the rocking chair, and was able to get out.
Will loves anything chocolate. He especially loves chocolate chips, kit kats, and ice cream. Wonder who he got that from...
Will has a recent obsession with airplanes. Whenever he hears an airplane/helicopter, whether we are inside or outside, he will immediately stop what he is doing and start screaming and pointing. If we are inside, he will run to the window to look out. If we are outside, he will stare at the plane until he can't see it anymore. He also yells at it as loud as he possibly can the entire time. It sounds like he is yelling..."TOUP""..?? Maybe he is trying to say "up", I haven't been able to figure it out.
This is his screaming at an airplane.
Will really likes helping around the house. If I am cleaning, he always likes to help. If there is a spill, he will wipe it up if given a rag. He also likes to sweep, mop, and his speciality is throwing things away. He's even getting really good about only throwing garbage away.

He also really likes help mowing the lawn. He will help push for the entire yard.
He loves singing songs and is learning the hand motions to go along.
Will loves to play with the blinds and open and close them. He does it as fast as he can and it always cracks me up (except when I'm afraid the blinds are going to break).
He loves to do little mundane/repetitive tasks. I bought a bunch of small balls and let him play with a muffin pan. He will put the balls into the muffin holes, then take them out. Repeat.
Will also really likes to stack blocks.Actually, it would probably be more accurate to say he likes to watch us stack them, then he knocks down our tower when we're midway through it.

When we go on walks, Will prefers to walk with us instead of ride in the stroller.
While on said walks, Will has some really funny quirks. Often times, we will just be walking along, and suddenly he'll start doing little circles. He'll do a few, then continue on the walk. It's pretty random though.

Will loves to see dogs and he gets excited around them, but he doesn't particularly like when they get in his face or push him around.
Will has a bad habit of hitting me in the head. When he does this, I usually get a sad face and say "owie". His way of saying sorry is to softly rub his hand under my chin, while muttering something in a sweet voice. I really need to get it on video because it's so cute, but hard to describe.

He prefers to drink out of a normal cup or use a water bottle. But I still make him make him use sippy cups as much as possible since he ends up spilling most of the time.
Will was a hobbit for Halloween.
He goes through phases where he likes to take off his clothes.

Will likes bath time, but HATES lying down in the water. To get shampoo out of his hair, I either pour water over his head or lay him down and wash it. He HATES both of these, but especially lying down. It seriously traumatizes him, and I can't figure out why he hates it so bad.
He knows where his eyes, nose, and ears are and can point to them and say them. But you have to be careful because he usually ends up poking your eyes out.
Will has this extremely high pitched squeal that he often lets loose for no reason but to drive me nuts. I call it his pterodactyl screech.
He loves going for short rides in the car and sometimes screams when I take him out. He would also play in the car if I would let him. He especially likes to sit in the driver seat and pretend to drive.
He loves baby swings. If he ever sees one, the first thing he will go is run and sit in it.
Will really likes to say prayers. If I tell him its time to pray, he will close his eyes and fold his arms. But if we are at the dinner table, he will often sneak bites during the prayer. He keeps his eyes mostly closed, but grabs bites of food. There have been many times before a meal that I have forgotten to pray and half way through the meal he suddenly fold his arms. He's really good at reminding me when I forget.

Lately, Will has been more attached to his blankets. He has two in particular that he carries everywhere. If he ever gets upset and starts crying, he'll run and grab his blanket.

Will has also recently become a fan of Ring-Around-the-Rosies. And he doesn't even need someone to play with him. The second I start singing, he will twirl in circles...though he usually falls over a few times before the end.

Although there are moments when he can be extremely difficult, Will is a great kid. The biggest thing for me was learning to let him be a toddler. The house will be a disaster. Toys will be scattered everywhere. He will scream places he probably shouldn't. But he is learning and he is happy. And we sure love him.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Halloween 2012

One of the great things about having kids is it makes the holidays so much more exciting. Halloween has always been an on and off holiday for me. Some years I get really into it, while others I could care less. And although we knew this year would be pretty uneventful, we still had to come up with a good idea for Will's Halloween costume.

Thank goodness for Pinterest.

I found so many cute ideas and was having a really hard time choosing between them. Then I stumbled across this one..and I knew it would be Will's costume this year.

We, as well as most of Lance's family, really love Lord of the Rings and are super excited for The Hobbit movie to come out. What better way to get ready for the movie than by dressing up!

It was fairly cheap and relatively easy for me to make, though it didn't turn out quite how I wanted it to.
A Hobbit!
We used a ring pop for "The One Ring" and he even had a pipe at some points. The only thing missing was hairy feet.
Early that morning, we went up to USU campus to show Lance's dad Will's costume. We also got his dad a grey robe and beard so that he could be Gandalf. He was a good sport to humor us and get a picture, though he didn't exactly look very "Gandalf-ish".
 

Lance had to work all night so I asked my neighbors if we could tag along with them trick-or-treating. They had a pretty big group and it was a bit hectic, but it also made it fun.
Will is at a difficult age for trick-or-treating. He wanted to be out running/walking with all of the other kids, but he is so slow I didn't want to make them wait. So we alternated between having him in the stroller and letting him walk.
There was even one house where he knocked on the door. Then when they didn't answer immediately, he grabbed the door handle and opened it right up. Luckily they were right there close.
The other challenge was the candy. He wasn't interested in putting it in his bag. He wanted to hold every single piece. I think he had three pieces in each hand at one point.
We only went about an hour before I decided he was done. Then we went over to a friends house to hang out while they passed out candy. Will had fun playing with all of their toys.

Overall it was a fun evening, but I think next year will be even better once he is a bit older.