Size 5

When Will graduated from Robeez just a few months ago, he wore a size 5.  This is his size 5 shoe collection.  Upon seeing this photo, Chad commented that Will has more shoes that he does.

These shoes all have a fun little memory for me.  The blue Keens are actually his second pair after he threw his first pair out of the stroller when we weren't looking.  The NB tennis shoes are his first pair of lace ups.  He wore the brown shoes on his first birthday, and the navy blue pair with white stitching have been worn down on the front right from where Will dragged his foot when he crawled.  The brown sandals are getting a lot of wear and they squeek which Will seems to enjoy.  The crocs are hand me downs from the Snyders and we have been wearing those on the deck and recently to the pool. 

I love these baby shoes.  I love how little they are, and I love the memories I have of him wearing them while learning to walk.

Happy Memorial Day

Will is walking so much these days, he looked like a little walking flag this morning at the park.  He had the cutest little smirk on his face when he was walking in his squeaky shoes. 

We really enjoyed the holiday today - it is really nice to get 3 full days in a row with Will and Chad!

Today's favorite "toys"

Will has 2 new favorite "toys" - an adult toothbrush and an empty yogurt container. He has been carrying the toothbrush around all weekend, and when he isn't brushing his teeth, he attempts to brush yours.

He also loves Chad's empty yogurt containers. Sadly, when he now sees Chad eating from one, he makes noises and faces letting us know that he wants that container...now. It has been the perfect "toy" to play with in the pool and he likes to drink from it as well.

Laughing after brushing his teeth

The face he makes when he wants something (yogurt cup, to go outside, etc)

Playing with the empty yogurt cup

Chillin in the pool...with the beloved yogurt cup

Close Up

This Memorial Day weekend we have spent lots of time outside.  I mean lots.  The bad news is it is hot.  I mean hot.  The good news is it is so fun to photograph Will outside.  I love the natural light, and he really enjoys his pool and water table so I was able to get some fun candid pictures of him playing.

And I was also able to take some close ups.  They are usually a result of Will coming over to me for something (water, snacks, to be picked up, etc.) or of him trying to get the camera.  I think he actually pushed the button and took one of these shots himself, but I am not positive.  To me, they all look like the equivalant of a self portrait.  They aren't of him smiling as he is usually wanting something other than for me to take his picture, but I love them for other reasons I guess.  I love that you can really see his skin, the color of his eyes and the perfect shape of his lips.

Afternoon at the Park

The park is so fun now that Will is walking.  He loves to walk around and pick up sticks.  He also really enjoys the ducks and trash.  He found other people's trash and took it to the trash can.  Trash is one of the few words Will says regularly.  He loves putting trash in the trash can.  Unfortunately, he also likes taking it back out.

The pool opens this weekend, so I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time at the spray pool area this summer which will be nice since Will loves being outside and I really think it is already too hot!

Trying to fit through the bars to get to the spray pool

Thinking about throwing his stick over...

Mad now that it is gone...

little blondie...

Pointing to the airplane

Getting tired...

walking home...

Will Walks!

Will turned the corner, and now he walks all the time...everywhere!  This video isn't great since it was so sunny, but you can see him walking and smiling...he is pretty proud of himself!

Almost Walking

I don't know when you say your kiddo is walking.  Is it when they take steps?  Is it when they no longer crawl?  We are somewhere in the middle.  He CAN walk, but he often chooses to crawl. 

If he doesn't crawl, he will often come to me and take my hand and walk me to where he wants to go - usually either the front door or back door as he loves to be outside.

At most, he has probably taken somewhere between 20-30 steps without holding my hand.  The time he walked the farthest was when he saw a pug walking by at the park.  He quickly got to his feet and took off to see the pug.  He smiles at other dogs and likes other dogs, but apparently he has a fondness for pugs.

Pool Time

Today we broke out the pool!  Will was definitely interested in it, but equally enjoyed the bucket, juice box and the back gate.  I am hoping this little pool will keep this guy cool this summer - it is already pretty hot!

chillin...

donating the juice to the pool

sharing with Maggie...

Maggie's Escape

With Will opening and closing the gates, we will have to watch Maggie a little more carefully.  She will easily be able to sneak out!

Doors

Will spends a lot of his awake time opening and closing our gates and doors. He can do it over and over and doesn't seem to tire of it. Once the door is shut, he quickly wants me to help him open the door again.

 

Morning Walk

I just love him in these sunglasses, although they usually stay on for about 15 seconds...

Daddy's home!

Last night we were in Will's room when Chad came home from work.  Will's room is over our garage, and every time we are in his room when Chad comes home and we hear the garage door open, I say "Daddy's home!"  We usually then wait to hear Chad's voice and then we make our way over to Will's balcony so Will can wave to Chad and Chad can talk to Will.

Last night, when the garage door started opening, Will said "dada" and then went over to his balcony to wait for Chad. 

I love watching him learn and grow.  At this age, you can see the changes almost daily.  These are the sweet little moments that make me smile.

Haircut #2

Will had his first haircut a few months ago (you may remember it from this post), and he was already due for a trim!  The back of his hair started to get curly, so my mom gave him another trim while they were in town. 

trying to keep Will busy with food during the trim

Aunt Leen helped entertain him as well

Will was sad to loose his curls!

Juice Box

For Will's birthday parties last month, I bought a box of juice boxes at Sams.  I think there are somewhere around 48 juice boxes in a Sams pack, and somehow I thought that was the right amount for a party with 15 kids??  Oh, and to top if off, I forgot to even put them out.  But anyway, I digress. 

Will and I were playing outside today, I decided to introduce him to the juice box so he could assist in depleting our supply. 

He loved it...for a minute.

and then he decided to squeeze the juice out on the deck...

and then he decided to squeeze the juice in the water table...

then he loved trying to drink it strawless...

He crawled around with this juice box for at least an hour.  I had no idea how fun a juice box could be!

Quote of the Day

I ran across this quote on another blog and I just loved how true it is...

"What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what gets you out of bed in the mornings, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."

- Pedro Arrupe

I am totally in love with these three...

Happy Mother's Day!

Munchito Burrito

After reading my friend Kara's blog post, I started thinking about Will's latest nickname...Munchito Burrito.  It is clearly more to say than his name, and it is what I call him most of the time right now.  It too came from calling him Munchkin, which then evolved into Munchie.  I assume Munchito came from our nanny calling him Willito...and well, Munchito rhymes with Burrito.  So there you have it.  He is the cutest Munchito Burrito around!

The Blankie Game seen from our video monitor

I finally got a video of Will playing the Blankie Game in his crib.  He plays this game with us all the time - he puts the blankie over his head, we ask frantically "Where's Will?", and then he pulls the blankie off of his head and laughs and laughs.  He plays this in his crib by himself as well, and tonight I took a video of the feed from our video monitor.  We love our Will TV!

Games

Peek-a-Boo has to be Will's favorite game along with "Where's Will?"  They are similar and usually start with Will "hiding".  Here is a picture of him hiding behind his water table...

He is always smiling when we find him...

He took 11 steps today.  This was probably step 3 or 4 on his quest to get my camera...