Last cruise for the season

Goodbye summer, hello wonderful fall!

Over the weekend we did a fall clean up at the lake and on that list was putting the boat away for winter. Of course we couldn't do that w/out one last cruise; the weather was too perfect!

Will had to play w/ the controls one more time,

Drive the boat one more time,

One more "best nap" nap of the season,

And one last stop by the beach to see lake friends.

Bring on the fall weather, everything is put away and we're ready for marshmellow roasting, fire place blazing, warm clothes and great movies and/or football!

Little Sponge

As most of you know, Michael and I have been remodeling the house we currently live in for the past few months. We moved in last March when Will was 7 months old and immediately started painting away (we moved into a pink walled house!!!). Keep in mind, he was 7 months old when we started and about 9 months old by the time we finished w/ the paint.

You don't realize or I didn't realize how much babies soak up by just watching. I know they are little sponges, but even things you think they are too young to see are in fact soaking into their little brains daily.

While down at the lake this past weekend, Will was on one of his many missions to clear out the drawers when he spotted a "paint" brush and "paint" pan, AKA, BBQ brush & Veggie scooper upper.

After experimenting with taste & some really loud banging noises on the tile, Will decided to mimic his dad, which blew us away because it's been a few months since Michael's done this; at least in his presence anyway.

He dips his paint brush in his pan.....

Then paints the wall.

I...along w/ everyone else watching, was stunned that he'd know what to do w/ his brush and pan. Words couldn't describe how adorable this was and to know he learned from watching his dad made my heart swell, but it also made me realize that every little thing we do everyday is being absorbed into that precious brain; no matter how small or big, he's watching and learning; so we'd better make it count! Man, I love this little boy!

1st Trip to the Fair

Will got to experience the fair for the 1st time yesterday. I can't wait for next year to ride the kiddy rides, this year we stuck to the animals; we'll save the rides for when Dad can come w/ us.

We rode a camel! Yeah, how cool is that? We actually rode a camel!!! Highlight by far for the year, I strongly suggest anyone w/ or w/out kids for that matter, go do that!!!!

Will loved petting the camel's hump and of course sucking his thumb. Fortunately he pet w/ the right hand and kept the left firmly in his mouth!

We went to a petting zoo....

We pet goats and Will got his picture w/ one.

And pet another camel...

And a little chick.

Then we watched this afro haired chicken. Pretty funny little bird.

And to top it all off, Will was officially broken in w/ ice cream and a corn dog. Can't get much better than that, well for a kid anyway, ice cold fair beer is beyond heaven, but only for Mom. Yup, the fair was awesome, glad we went and look forward to what he can do next year.

Life Is Good Today! (makes ya want to sing)

Another day, another wagon ride! A nice relaxing venture; thumb in mouth, book in hand, juice on the side and feet up; life's rough.

Will is in a book exchange with a group of kids so he's been recieving fun books in the mail, yesterday he got this picture book and he felt it needed to go on a drive around the neighborhood with him.

Pull Dad, Pull! There are many times, I get the idea to hop in the wagon with Will and have Dad pull us both, but then I think I'd better not. Would be nice though.

Oh, I actually got a picture w/ the thumb away from his mouth. Everyone thought that was "so cute" when he was first born, I'm one of them, but now that it's almost a permanent fixture in his mouth, it's not "so cute" anymore. Will has grown quite attached to it AND his race car blanket that Aunt Trac bought him. We actually had quite a meltdown this morning when I took the blanket away (yes, I gave it right back), so YAY, blanket and thumb, that's going to be fun to break!

But at the end of the day, his feet are up, dad pulling the wagon and mom safe by his side; Life's good today! Oh yeah, life is good today!

Yard Work

"Let's do This!!!"

"Oh Yeah, I'm all over this dad"

"Oh....wait, that's what we're digging up??? Okay, so no you handle it, I'll watch!"

Fall...what's not to love? This weather is awesome, no that doesn't even do it justice, minus the rain, it's perfect! Will is all over outdoor living, if he's not asleep, that's where he wants to be.

I L-O-V-E the Baby

"Well, hellooooo there! "

"What's that I see?????"

"Oh, it's meeeee!"

Explanation: Will has grown very interested in pictures of himself. He stares at them for minutes...yes minutes, babies don't have that long of an attention span! The above picture is of the "Wall O Will"; pictures of Will w/ friends and family. I couldn't get the entire board in the picture; stupid camera (in a loving "I love my camera kind of way) wouldn't zoom out enough, but this is my brag board and one of Will's favorite hang outs. (above pictures, he's sitting in the hall staring at the board, just so we're clear!) We point to pictures, ask who that is, then he gets excited and tries to grab & destroy.

On another note, our dear friend and favorite photographer Greygill Fish suggested this picture ledge for yet another location for me to show off my favorite little boy. These are Bears 3, 6, 8, 9 & 12 month pictures. Yes, we got a lot of pictures of Will, that's why we have the "Wall O Will" Otherwise all our walls would be covered w/ his face. Not a bad thing but we will have another child someday, might want to save room for him or her. No, that's not hint, no babies yet! Great thing about the picture ledge or as Greygill Fish (Becky) calls it, "Blog Wall", there is room above for another ledge for our next child, the pictures are easily interchangeable and it's fun to show off his different stages, so thanks Becky for the suggestion!

Little Cruiser

I finally got some video of Will walking. It's pretty funny to watch him; sometimes he looks like a drunk sailor then others he's got it down. Click Here to see the little man go.

Busy Week

We've had one busy week in our world. Well, weekend and this week have been super busy. Over the weekend, Michael and I took on the backyard; it's time to seed, so we took the opportunity to get rid of some ugly flower beds and a completely useless rock garden. Will spent most his weekend with Grammy so we could tackle that. Saturday he spent the day up at Aunt Traci's new house helping Uncle Jason do Handy Manny type stuff. He even took his hammer to help.

Sunday we spent the afternoon over at Nana & Grandpa Mikes and played w/ Grace. If you click on her blog in "my friends section" you can see Will's mad walking skills. Speaking of mad walking skills, Will is becoming a pro! I'd say he's 80% walking now. Again, I'll post video very soon. But back to a busy week! Grammy and Grandpa left this morning for Napa Valley to celebrate their 30th Wedding Anniversary. They were supposed to go in August for the actual Anniversary, but Grammy's job postponed it. So their off today! I've been spending the week getting prepared for them to go as well as letting Will spend time w/ them before they left. They don't do well if they go too long w/out seeing him!

Sorry this is the only picture I have for this post, Will was raiding Grammy's purse Saturday night and found her AMEX card. Smart kid!!! Hope everyone is having a great week, if Grammy and Grandpa see this, we hope you have an amazing time in Napa!

I'm doing it, I'm doing it!!!!!

Will is learning to walk. Yup, you heard me, our little man is step step steppin!

Practice makes perfect and what better place to practice balance than a beach????
This all started last week over at Nana & Grandpa Mike's when he let go of Dad's leg and wobbled over to me unassisted. Of course all the cheer and excitement sent him into crazy baby rolling on the floor. Since then, he's getting better and better, going further and further until here shortly crawling will be a thing of the past.

Another step.....

It's a bit of a chore to walk when your feet keep sinking, but he went a ways before....

He had enough.....

And decided to play in the sand!

I'll post some walking video soon! (have to capture it first!!!)

Spaghetti Face Will

Will was entered in a Rao's Spaghetti Face Contest. If you Click Here you can cast your vote for Will to win a teddy bear, a wagon and some yummy sauce for his mommy to make him spaghetti and meatballs. (his favorite) Just click on the stars below his name to cast your vote.

Closet Renovation Complete

New Closet....Check!

We finally got the house put back together this weekend after a complete rebuild of our master closet. New carpet, shelves, rods...the whole kit and kaboddle!

It's amazing what happens when you re-allocate space.....you have more space!

Shoooooeeeeesssss! All this space for my/our shoes!

Best of all; Will got his favorite hang out back! He even helped dust and put it back together. Well, actually he took shoes off the shelf as I put them on, but he was a big help.

It took us about 3 weeks from start to finish to complete this project, so we lived in a mess for a while, but to watch Will roll around on the carpet made it all worth it.

And though we aren't done w/ house renovations and Michael said if I watch HGTV again he might shoot me; seeing Will react to the difference in the old versus new floor puts a smile on both our faces!