Invasion of the Catalpas!

Our house is a renovated old farmhouse that Luke's grandparents lived in. We have 3 Catalpa trees on the property that Luke and I both love. Luke has said that his Grandpa planted the Catalpa trees because they attract the Catalpa Caterpillar (worm/sphinx). He enjoyed fishing and these worms/caterpillars make a great bait to fish with. Well, we've never actually seen these creatures, but enjoyed the story nonetheless.

This morning I went out onto the back porch to replace a security light bulb that had burned out. Oh My Gosh there were caterpillars EVERYWHERE! All over the back porch, on the side of the house, everywhere! I ran to get Will and have him come to look at them all. There were so many! I had no idea what they were. Then I wondered if they could be... So I ran inside and googled Catalpa Worm and sure enough - found pictures of these little guys.

Here was what our back porch looked like:

Then I went over to the trees to look at them and sure enough, there were more on the leaves!

Then I noticed the leaves on the trees. Or lack there of. They have eaten them all!! It looks like they've only invaded the tree in our back yard. Here is what the leaves on that tree look like. They're all gone!

And here is the Catalpa tree on the side of our house. I couldn't believe the difference!!

Come to think of it, when they were on the back porch they were all crawling in the same direction. In the direction of this tree above. I wonder if they finished with the back yard tree and were moving on to the fresh trees on the side of the house. Because now, there are none of these sneaky guys to be seen on the back porch. Only on the leaves in the trees. Maybe this is why we've never seen them before. They're quick! They attack with a vengeance! It's fun to live in a place with some history.

The Yellow Birthday Balloon Part II...

Those pilots at Ryan International are pretty darn talented! While Aunt Terri was busy flying the plane and retrieving Will's runaway birthday balloon, another pilot apparently was able to capture it in a picture! Terri sent this picture to Will and if you look closely you can actually see Aunt Terri grabbing the balloon! Way to go Terri!!!!!

The Yellow Birthday Balloon

At Will's birthday party I had tied a bunch of balloons on the fence around the pool. As Luke was taking them down, one of them escaped. Will looked on as his his yellow balloon floated higher and higher up in the sky and eventually, out of sight. Sweet Aunt Terri told him that on her next flight she would find the balloon, roll down the window on the plane and get it for him. Over a week later, the next time we saw her, the first thing he asked her was "did you get my balloon?" Ok, who would have thought a 3 year old would remember about the darn balloon!? Fortunately Aunt Terri is quick on her feet and informed him that Yes! She had gotten the balloon! But unfortunately she had put it in Uncle Mike's car and he was at work. She promised him that next time she saw him she would bring him back the balloon. That night she and Mike stopped by, and lo and behold, returned the balloon to Will! He was so excited! That Aunt Terri is pretty talented to be able to fly planes and retrieve balloons all at the same time!

Thanks Aunt Terri!

Will has especially cute little legs. He was at my Dad's house one day a few months ago and he asked Will where he got his cute legs. Will replied "Aunt Terri" Since then, whenever we ask him where he got those cute little legs he always replies Aunt Terri! So thanks Aunt Terri - they're awfully cute. :)

I am very excited that we are having another boy for a number of reasons...

• It's not possible for me to love Will any more than I already do. He has been such a blessing and a joy and although I was a little nervous at the idea of having a boy at first, now it is so natural and second nature that it makes me think: What's better than a precious, adorable, loving, irresistible little boy? TWO precious, adorable, loving, irresistible little boys!
• We already have everything we need, in the correct color! When Will was a baby and it seemed like every month I was packing away clothes he had outgrown and barely worn, I thought my gosh, what a waste! Now...we get to use them all over again! I can't wait to get them all out and wash them and put this next little guy into some of the old favorites.
• I can't wait to see Will interact with his little brother. And I can't wait to see this next little guy grow up with Will as a big brother to take after and follow his example (which both excites me and scares me to death)
• I'm sorry, but can you think of anything cuter than my two little boys running and playing on the beach in Michigan?? Or playing together on all the land where we live?

The only downfall (which Luke would consider a very good thing) is that I haven't shopped for much. Part of the fun preparation of having a baby is doing the shopping, finding the bargains, getting the new things for the new baby. We don't really need anything. I have picked up a few things here and there that I couldn't resist, but not much. So anyway, if you're still with me...

I was SO excited to go to Buy Buy Baby with my 20% off coupon and get a new double stroller this weekend with Luke and Will. After, I bet, at least an hour and a half of frustrating shopping we left with nothing. I was shocked to realize that a double stroller is going to set us back just about as much as the whole darn travel system that we got for Will! (hundreds of dollars) Is Will even going to want to ride in a stroller that much when he's 3? I decided no on a side-by-side because Will could barely even squeeze his shoulders into them with his winter coat on as it is. Plus they don't look that comfy for a baby. Which leaves us with the "mall cruisers" - the big front/back strollers with the cup holders and storage underneath. They look nice, but are monstrous and I would have to put Will in front (insert image of him kicking newborn in front of him if he were in back) and the front seat was so short that it didn't look comfy for Will at all. (plus the fact that he screamed bloody murder when we tried it out and was attempting to slink out of it the whole time kind of turned me off too). We still don't know what to do - they have these "boards" that you can attach to your current stroller that your older child can stand on and ride. But I'm not sure I want to commit to Will never riding (sitting) in a stroller again if we go with that option.

The only bright point in the entire experience came from Luke. We had taken our Chicco infant seat with us because apparently they are only compatible with a couple of other strollers, so we thought we would take it along to actually try it out. After we shopped for at least an hour, and had determined this was not going to be an easy task, Luke took the infant seat and approached a side by side stroller. I looked on with horror as he tried to jimmy it into the stroller, rocking it back and forth trying to 'get it to stay'. I was imagining our newborn baby in there, suffering from shaken baby syndrome. After he had gotten it wedged in, with the seat sitting almost vertical, he turned to me and with all seriousness said "We could probably bungee it in and..." I burst out laughing. That is SO my husband. Willing and able to fix anything. Gotta love him. :)

Snow day!!

Do you see what's about to happen here?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cooking dessert with Momma - and having a taste. mmmm

Fashion Plate

Will is beginning to have opinions about what he wears these days, which is something new. He always has the same request: "I wear my John Deere shirt Momma!" He has three: hand-me-downs from his cousins Landon and Payton. This stems from his fascination with his Papaw and the farm. He gets to ride in tractors and help pick corn and beans - the real deal. (Luke's dad doesn't farm anymore, but he owns the land and the family who farms it are good friends so Sonny often helps them)

On this day, Will had paired his favorite John Deere shirt with one of my headbands-turned-belt and my velcro hair roller. And the best part is that he put the roller in his own hair, exactly in the place where I put one. When I told Luke he nearly raced home from Ohio to do some "manly" things with his son.

Normally Will goes to his baby sitter's house 2 days a week while I work. This week I had to do some work with him at home. I moved his little table and chair into the living room for a project area and he did really well. He played with his playdoh for well over an hour! He also spent a lot of time coloring. We just introduced markers to his collection of crayons. At one point he said "Momma! I got some on my hand!!" with a look of distress on his face. I smiled and told him don't worry, we'll wash it off, with a smile. Thank goodness for the invention of washable markers, right. Well that must have sparked an idea in that little scheming brain of his. Next thing I know he says "Uh Oh Momma!" and raises his hands at me... What an interesting accident, Will. :)
I love the attention to detail on his fingernails.

Tuesdays

Ever since Will was just a few months old he and I have gone down to Bloomington every Tuesday evening to visit with my mom. At first it was a mid-week "My husband is out of town all week long please someone else just hold him so I can have a two-minute break!" visit. Two years later, since I now usually have to beg and bribe Will to let me snuggle up with him, it's turned into a special weekly visit that we all love and look forward to. A couple of weeks ago I called Will's pediatrician's office to find out about flu shots. They were having a flu shot clinic on Tuesday Oct. 6 at 5:30 - perfect! Come to find out that my mom was going to be in Michigan that week spending time in Pentwater and at a conference at Michigan State. So, Will and I made the best of the day and spent the morning at the Wonderlab and then went to Nana's house to eat lunch and lay Will down for a nap.

My mom currently has 3 cats in her house. Her two cats that she's had forever, and one "foster cat" that she is taking care of for someone else. For any of you who are familiar with cats, they can be funny little creatures. Pretty much, three lonely cats makes for three bored and spiteful cats. After Will got up from his nap he was running through the house playing. I was in the kitchen and Will walked in and said "ROCKS!" and shoved his little fist toward me. Huh? Rocks? Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was dried cat poop! I found the rest of the mess on the front door rug. Apparently one of the sweet little kitties left a coming home present for my mom. :)

A Few Sweet Things

Will is so sweet and thoughtful. He is very good about sharing. The other day he was having a snack of cheerios and was playing with Elmo. It wasn't long before he was sharing his snack.

The other day I put some pants on him for the first time and the waist was a little big so I told him we needed to go get his belt. So we went into his room and he said "I need my seat belt." I didn't correct him so now he loves wearing his Seat Belt.

Top Chef (s)

I have a major love of cookie dough. It all began when I was pregnant and the addiction is still in full force. Throughout my pregnancy my sweet husband would make a batch on the weekends before he left for the week, without eggs of course. Occasionally he still indulges me. Now he has an apprentice. :)

First Football Game

Terri's step-son, Wills, is a freshman in high school and is quarterback on the football team. They had one of their first football games last week so I took Will to his very first game. He loved every second of it. He acclimated quickly, with his shades and popcorn. He loved hanging out with Aunt Terri and spent a large part of the time keeping tabs on, and staring at Jenn, Mike's younger daughter who was also there.

Little Fish

I told Will that were going to go swimming at Aunt Terri's and Uncle Mike's. He was so excited that he ran to his room, grabbed his inner tube and didn't take it off until it was time to head over.Here is will with his cousins:
Payton, Ricky and Landon. He LOVES his cousins so much!

What a good dog!

Will dressed up Rosco for Mardi Gras!