More from the weekend

As stated on the previous blog, last weekend was probably the best weekend we've had at the lake all summer. Not to say this coming weekend won't trump that, but we'll get to that in a minute. Here are a few more pictures from Will's adventures.

Bennett; Will's good pal next door brought Will an early birthday present. A Handy Manny cruiser. Will loves this thing, not riding it so much, but he's a huge fan of walking w/ it. Handy Manny is our (mine really) favorite cartoon, and Will does pay attention when we watch it, but his attention span for TV is pretty short which is fine w/ me!

You can see it's a little stressful, those wheels just take off so he's being extra cautious!

Now we are off for our boat ride, you know the one that put him to sleep behind the wheel? He's found his place in the mule, at least for now, next summer it's going to be on one of our laps behind the wheel, but for now, he's content holding on to Grammy.

Will's first trip to "The Cut", this place is a little nuts for my taste, especially on big weekends, so this isn't our usual hang out, but Will directed us here in his sleep, so he could meet some of Grammy and Grandpa' lake pals.

He became instant pals with Gina Gale a.k.a G.G. by her grandbaby, after Gina gave Will her Gatorade bottle.

And here he is sippy cup in hand playing in the boat.

"Here dad, hold the bottle, hats off!!!"

And the BIG NEWS from the weekend is Will's new swing was installed. Now, let's go over this scenario....Will got a swing a couple of weeks ago for the patio, and while purchasing the swing, myself and my mom (Grammy) got hooks to hang it. We THOUGHT we were buying the most sturdy hooks that wouldn't let the swing go anywhere, BUT oh were we wrong!

We took the swing hooks back and Grandpa started working on the swing brackets. He went to the swing set shop on NW Expressway to get thru bolted hooks (they have names, but I don't know them) and blocking (wood). Dad and Grandpa then cut the blocking to fit under the porch, painted it to match (because it has to look nice!!!), then drilled holes for the bolts. They mounted it Sunday morning. Not only does Will have a swing he can play on as a baby and child, but I'm very confident that as a 21 year old, if he gets the itch to swing, he can hook a big kid swing to that contraption and go to town. It's not going anywhere! Oh and he LOVES this new swing!!!

Now, as I said before, non of this will hold a candle to what's coming this weekend. Will gets to celebrate his 1ST BIRTHDAY with his family and friends which includes Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and his Nana Alice from Kansas City & Florida, his Nana, Grandpa Mike, Uncle Corry, Aunt Wendy & Baby Grace, Aunt Traci & Uncle Jason, Grammy & Grandpa, Mom & Dad....the list just keeps going. All of this at his favorite place....The Lake! We are sooooooo excited about this; of course we can't tell Will until we head down, because he'll drive us crazy with questions, but it's a big deal! So, Happy 1st Birthday Bear, we all can't wait to celebrate your big day.

Boat Ride

We had a GREAT weekend at the lake! Saturday we took Will for a boat ride. Actually, Will took us for a boat ride!

He's taking to the boating life rather quickly, already knowing what to do to get out of the dock. Here Will is, helping keep the boat away from the dock as we back out!

After he realized his arms aren't quite long enough to help, Will left it to his dad and took a seat to relax.

This is his new life jacket. It's quite big, the life jacket people should size these for babies a little different. There is a pretty big difference between a 30lb. baby and a 50lb. kid. BUT, they make 1 size for that range. Oh well, it will fit for awhile! At least he's not crabby in this one! AND, his head fits down into the jacket which covers his ears from the wind. He's not a fan of wind blowing in his ears.

So, here he is driving the boat. Quite a natural, hands a 10 and 2! He took us for a fun cruise around the lake; you notice grandpa isn't even holding the wheel....

BUT, shortly after he passed out behind the wheel. Guess you shouldn't leave the driving to an almost 1 year old.

He never stopped driving while he slept, his hand was on the wheel the entire time. Of course, Grandpa assisted a little more, with a sleeping baby behind the wheel, there was no telling where we might have ended up!

Playing Poolside

Do you ever notice how short kids attention spans are? It takes longer to set things up than the time they actually enjoy them! Michael spent oh....10 minutes blowing the pool up and putting water in it for Will to enjoy it for maybe 5 minutes! And I think 5 minutes may be pushing it!!!

Here he is already trying to make his escape.

Trying....trying to get out.

YEESSSS, freedom!

And he's off! Like I said, it takes longer to get stuff ready for him to play, than he actually plays with it!

Swinging in the Park

We finally had a nice evening to get outside and play!

Yesterday we took Will over to Hafer Park to swing. I wanted to play on the slide too, but he wasn't having any part of it. Swing only...

If this face doesn't explain how he felt about being removed from the swing; I don't know what will.

Here we are enjoying the evening on the swing.

Then dad decided he wanted to swing too. He said those swings weren't so comfortable on the tush! Silly dad, there were big kid swings right next to the baby swings! Let's hope for more days like yesterday this summer; Will loves being outside!

Who's Almost 1?

I can't believe this sweet Bear is about to be one! Time has gone by way too fast.

Seems like yesterday he was small enough for me to cradle in one arm, now he's almost walking, talking, climbing and constantly discovering new things to get into.

My little man can't be this big yet... It's been such a fun year, I believe life truly begins when these precious babies come into our life. I look forward to all the fun adventures Will takes us along for and all the discoveries around every corner. The big day is just around the corner and though I'm sad he's growing up too fast, every milestone has been more fun than the last, so I can't wait for what's in store.

Trip to Branson

We just got back from a family vacation in Branson, MO. The above condo is where we stayed. This 4 bedroom condo was amazing and on a beautiful golf course, that I don't think the Martin family will ever quit talking about.

We arrived Monday morning and spent the afternoon getting naps for the babies, settling in and relaxing. Will is playing with Uncle Corry above!

After his nap he decided to hammer out a few things around the condo...

Tuesday, while Grandpa Mike, Aunt Wendy and Uncle Corry played golf, Michael, Will and I went into town to do a little shopping. Then came back that afternoon to hang w/ Nana. This place had an amazing porch that overlooked a greenbelt and a stream that was very peaceful after the major rain we got Tuesday morning.

Then dad came out to grill the steaks, so Will "kindly" asked Nana to be quiet while he talked to his dad! ; )

And here is Aunt Wendy, Uncle Corry and Grace. Both babies did really well w/ this trip, though by the end Grace wasn't eating well and Will put up one heck of a fight to go to sleep and an even bigger fight to stay asleep.

Wednesday we took a short trip over to Table Rock lake for lunch. I was itching to get on the water, but we just enjoyed the scenery instead and had a great lunch on the deck of this nice hotel. The weather this past week (in Branson) was perfect. 80's-90's all week, so sitting outside was pleasant.

Here is Will hanging w/ his dad. We are sporting the Fauxhawk these days. His last haircut wasn't as great as the first, so it looks the best when it's spiked like this. Regardless, I think he's precious with a hawk...

So to sum it up, we had a great time, I can't wait to go back w/ Will when he's a little older to do the water parks and Silver Dollar City. There is a slide on the main strip that is calling my name next time we go! Thanks Nana and Grandpa Mike, we had a blast.

Laughing With Grandpa Mike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWzh14lObCc

I will post pictures from our trip after this, but wanted to put this video out for you to see. We had a great time in Branson w/ Michael's parents and sister's family. This video is of Will giving his Grandpa Mike a workout!

Dad The Ladder

As a Dad you take on some interesting roles. In this case, Dad is the ladder! Will is very interested in getting on the couch and dad is the perfect way to get up there!

Now it might look like Michael is helping, but he's just holding him as he climbs; so not only is he a ladder, he's a brace!

Will was almost up, then he decided to take a break, he found a toy or two he wanted to play w/, so Dad is holding position as the ladder and brace and maybe chair....

But after all the physical labor he goes thru to entertain his baby boy; he does get some serious cuddle time!

July 4th Weekend

Another relaxing weekend at Lake Eufaula. We had a very uneventful, laid back weekend. Will's 1st July 4th.....and it rained!

Friday we set up an umbrella in the water and played in it's shade for probably 2 hours. Will had a ball, grandpa went fishing, so it was just dad, mom and grammy.

Saturday there was cloud cover and a nice breeze so we played all day at the beach and in the water.

Will made a new friend this weekend; this is Kathryn, she is 8 months old. Will and Kathryn had a ball in the sand!

We tried to keep Will up for the festivities on Saturday night, if anything to watch them thru the window, but the rain delay made it too late and Will wasn't having it, so he missed the show. He was dressed for the occasion though.

We went for a boat ride Sunday. His new (bought last year) life jacket already doesn't fit him, this was the first and last time he wore it. Maybe the next baby can wear it...

We went into Eufaula Cove for lunch and to see if the store had the next size up for him, but only in pink; that clearly won't work. Will didn't take much interest in driving, probably because he couldn't move his arms, but he liked sitting in grandpa's lap.

And after lunch, he took a 2 hour nap in the back seat under the dock shade. I hated that I couldn't get the jacket off, but he was peaceful so we weren't moving him. Best naps in the world are boat naps!

Then after a good nap, we had snacks before we headed home! A nice peaceful weekend that didn't end until 7:00 this morning; we love Sunday night sleep overs at the lake!

On another note, Will's ears are clear and he passed his hearing test. So, clearly he's been ignoring me; it's not that he can't hear ; he's just already learned how to tune me out! All this fear that his ears have been infected and all it is is a case of being boy! Oh whatever...

Mom, I don't need your help...

Will has learned to feed himself!

Of course he likes to bypass the healthy stuff and go for the (in this case) pizza, so I do have to intervene a little!

Look, Look, he's feeding himself a green bean. Shhhh, I don't think he realizes he's eating healthy, I'm afraid if we tell him he'll stop!