Mr. Cool

Will had just gotten in his jammies for the night when he insisted that he needed to wear his shades. Which he put on himself - can you tell? He actually climbed into bed with them on before he let me take them off.

Martinsville has a surprisingly cute and impressive little library. Recently I took Will to "Toddler Time" and it was nice. There were probably 8 or so other kids and they read some stories and then did a craft. The craft was to color a stocking and then stuff their stockings (glue on pictures of toys and things that had been cut out of magazines.) He had fun, but preferred to play with the gluestick and glue anything and everthing he could get his paws on. He was also very anxious for toddler time to wrap up so he could get back over to visit with the real bunny they keep there. We will definitely be going back.

You may be wondering why I took a picture of this nice collection of toys. The other day Will was playing with a ball and after a while I saw him take the ball, reach in that speaker and drop the ball on in. I told him NO, he was never supposed to put anything in speakers. A few days later I told Luke we probably needed to retrieve said ball out of speaker. The hole was too small for Luke or I to reach in, so we summoned Will for assistance. He reached his little arm all the way in, and boy were we in for a surprise! He pulled out toy after toy, including this plastic pig, a hay bale, and a puff ball off of one of my slippers.

Merry Christmas!

We had a really nice Christmas and it was especially fun this year with Will getting excited about Santa, presents, etc. As is tradition, my mom spent the night with us on Christmas Eve. She and I went to church which was really nice. We baked cookies and sprinkled reindeer food on our lawn so Santa and his reindeer all had snacks while they visited our home. Will woke up very excited to see if Santa had really come, but he was more excited to see if he was still at our house. Apparently he thought Santa stayed for the morning festivities. Santa did come (and leave), and he gave Will a very cool work bench.

Then we went to Luke's Dad's house for breakfast with the whole family which was also nice. Here is Will with his cousins Ricky, Landon and Payton, sitting on the couch that Luke is in the process of making for my mom.

It was a great Holiday and we have a lot to be thankful for. Our family, our health, and especially this little miracle due in April.

This morning I had just gotten out of the shower and Will was watching cartoons in the living room. He came to the door and proclaimed "I want a blueberry muffin." So I got him a muffin and he came into the bathroom and sat on the rug while I proceeded to get ready. I was rubbing lotion on my growing belly and Will got this big smile on his face and said "I like your butt!" I chuckled and said "Thanks! I like your butt too sweetie pie." He thought for a minute and said "wanna cheers em?" Then he got up and turned around and backed up to my knees. So I lowered down and we "cheers-ed" our butts.

Cookie starts with "C"

Every year one of our Christmas traditions is that my mom and I decorate our infamous (we like to think) Christmas cookies. Last night she pointed out that every year of her life she has been involved in this tradition, as have I, and as has Will! It's really a 2-3 night process, as the dough must be refrigerated overnight before they can be baked. Then the next night they are baked, and usually the following, decorated. I supposed you could bake and decorate in one night if you were super motivated. Well last night was the night, so we covered the table in wax paper and got out all of the goodies and went to town decorating. Will has always been a great sport about the process. The first year he bounced in his bouncy chair and spun around the whole time. (for at least an hour - bounce bounce bounce. What a team player!) Last year he played with toys while we decorated. And this year for the first time - he helped decorate! He got his own tools: two bowls of icing - one white and one yellow (careful to avoid the darker reds and greens which have a higher content of food coloring- so not to stain my mom's house - not knowing how things would go...), a knife to spread, some candies and my mom even gave him a shaker (too) full of sprinkles which he proceeded to empty. He loved it and lasted longer than I thought he would - with the help of red hots and the little candies that he devoured. By the end he was happy, wired, and ready for some milk. Great job, Will!

Fun Saturday!

Yesterday Will had quite a day! We went to Breakfast with Santa with Jill and Bailey and it was so cute. It was a benefit for Bailey's babysitter's daughter who has a rare cell disorder and there was a great turn-out. They had lots of Christmas-y things to do including breakfast, crafts, a raffle/silent auction of sorts, and of course visits with Santa. Considering that Will prefers to take a wide berth around Santa when we see him in the mall, you can imagine my surprise when he was so brave and hopped right up on Santa's lap! He was given "reindeer food" to sprinkle on our lawn on Christmas Eve to help Santa and the reindeer find our house. (a fun mix of oats and glitter) Will passed on the nice breakfast and opted to devour his big candy cane instead.

After a great morning of getting into the Christmas spirit and visiting with Jill and Bailey, we came back home to run some errands. At the post office stop I noticed loud music and some activity coming from the square. I looked closer and saw some animals - so Luke and I took Will over to see what was going on. There was a camel, a couple of rams, sheep, and a few others that Luke and I both failed to identify ("look Will! it's a ... furry... bull... type thing") Just as Will was happily giving the animals some hay and as I was feeling sorry for them, we heard the jingle bells of a carriage/sleigh ride! We looked over to see carriage and pony rides! I asked Will if he wanted to take a pony ride and he said YES! Again, I was sure he would chicken out when the time came but he hopped right up on that horse and took off with that stranger leading them down the road and never looked back. I was so proud of his day of accomplishments I felt like running along beside them and cheering him on, but I didn't want to embarrass my son, my husband, or myself, so I just beamed at him, took pictures and tried to control myself. Now, you may be thinking that I have no faith in my child. I really do, he just surprised me a couple of times in the same day. I guess I should never underestimate him again!

Will's vocabulary amazes me practically every day. He says just about everything. This morning I said "sorry about that!" because I scared him with a loud noise. After I said it, I heard him practicing the phrase in his room over and over. He uses pronouns so well - me, I and us and we appropriately. It's absolutely incredible! His little brain is like a sponge. He is also proving to be a clever little one. By clever, I mean, well, I'll give an example.

He was playing with some maracas - which we call La Cucarachas. He was putting the handle of one of them in his mouth and running around. I told him not to run with his la cucaracha in his mouth. He did it again. I told him if he did it one more time I was going to take his la cucaracha away. He looked at me for a minute and then said: "I have another one."

He'll be in Luke's and my bedroom and I'll tell him to come out and into the living room. He'll say: "In a minute! I'm lookin for somepin" when we both know there's nothing he needs to be looking for in our room.

He's so smart and hearing those kinds of comments coming out of that little body, well, it makes me laugh and warms my heart and amazes me all at the same time. It also makes me a little bit worried for what we have in store for us down the road.

I'm not sure why, but this Christmas season I've had no motivation whatsoever to decorate for Christmas. If it weren't for my sweet little boy who loves the lights, I'm embarrassed to say I probably wouldn't do much of anything. Alas, I decided today was the day. So I turned on some Christmas tunes, ate some chocolate motivation, and did it. By "it" I don't mean the whole schebang, just the necessities. I put up our three miniature artificial trees - the most we can squeeze into our small living room, I put lighted garland in our transims, put out my Santa collection, a mini tree in Will's room, a new Christmas centerpiece on the kitchen table, a wreath on the front door and a few other little nicknacks. I'm so glad it's done, and seeing the look on Will's face when the lights come on made it all worth overcoming my lack of motivation.

I think the reason I've had no motivation to decorate is because I can't WAIT for next Christmas!!! I'm already planning all the things I'm going to do. First on my list is picking out a live 8-ft. tree, Clark Griswald style. I've already warned Luke about my plans. And speaking of plans, I picked up our first round of house plans on Tuesday. We are SO excited to get this process started! Luke is taking the plans to a roofing business on Friday to get an estimate for trusses. After that, we finalize the plans and then start getting bids from builders! For those of you who don't already know, we are esentially "buying" Luke's dad's house. He wants our house and his is much bigger and it will give us the opportunity to turn it into a house we will be able to live in for a long long time. It needs a lot of work, so we will be replacing the roof, doors, windows, and all flooring. We will also be bumping out the kitchen 8 feet, completely re-doing that room and adding a bath and a half. We are also turning the existing garage into a living room and adding on another garage. And finally, reconfiguring a master suite. So we have a lot of work ahead of us and with a baby due in April, next year is going to be quite busy. We are so excited though, and can't wait to get the process started!

If you are wondering why Kramer might choose to relax in the sink??

Poor kitty isn't safe anywhere!

When my mom was getting ready to leave Michigan she had her cat carrier out and almost left with a surprise!

Will climbed in his "trailer" and asked Momma to take him for a ride. (**Disclaimer: I had not showered yet this day AND I am 19 weeks pregnant!)

Here is Will lounging on the steps. Either that or practicing for his modeling career.