William is 10 Months Old!

William turned 10 months old today! He is such a sweet little boy and it seems like he learns to do something new every day. He has gotten really good at waving (still working on video) - he waves at family members, toys, and (his favorite) lights and ceiling fans. He doesn't always wave hello and goodbye but he's getting there. We converted his exersaucer to a play table and he loves to pull himself up to play. He has started to "cruise" along it, although, sometimes he'll just sit down and crawl to where he wants to go. We have noticed that he sometimes forgets to hold on while he's playing and will stand unassisted for a few seconds before falling down. We went to visit Oma on Saturday and he did this about 3 times in the period of 10 minutes. Later that night, he stood on his own for close to 10 seconds. The only downside to this is a lot of bumps and bruises! Will's other favorite activity is taking things out of boxes/drawers. He pulls out all his toys from his toy box, pulls all his books off his nightstand, and take all the tupperware ouf of the drawer in the kitchen.

We signed Will up for Gymboree on Wednesday afternoons. He loves playing with the other kids and likes crawling around their gym equipment - especially the tunnels and ramps. At the end of class we play with bubbles, which he thinks is pretty funny. We bought some and have added them into our bath routine.

We had some decent weather the end of last week and over the weekend (Not so much today - we probably have 6" of snow and it is supposed to keep falling into this evening) so we decided to bundle Will up and take him for a walk in the BOB. His snow suit is still too big (It may still fit him next fall/early winter) and he can't move very well in it. But it keeps him toasty warm!

This weekend, he also started playing with the blocks his Great Uncle Ken made him. And by play, I mean takes them out of the bin, chews on them (he has 5 teeth now by the way), and throws them on the ground. No castles just yet - lets give hima few weeks! :)
















































So sleepy!

More Dancing

Climbing and Dancing

Will really likes to climb and as you can see below, he isn't particular about what he climbs. There is also video of him "dancing" below.

9 Month Well Visit

William had his 9 month well visit yesterday. He was measured at 28.75" (50th percentile - up from our last visit!), 21.3 lbs (50th percentile), and 18" head circumference (50th percentile). The doctor was impressed with his fine motor skills -he is a pro at the pincher grasp and excels at putting things in his mouth. He is also ahead of schedule in regards to stair climbing, standing, and waving. In the next three months, we get to work on drinking from a sippy cup (he should be weaned from the bottle by 12 months), eating "big boy" foods (he should be off baby food and just eating table food), and learning a few words.

It is amazing how much he understands now - if you ask him if he wants his bottle, he'll crawl to the kitchen. He'll also crawl to his room or his sled if asked.

He has started playing a new game: he'll stand right next to a piece of furniture and bend down to hide his paci (he's started sucking on one lately - I think its a teething thing, he doesn't use it at night or for comfort). Then he'll crawl away and bend down to look for it. When he sees it he'll laugh and crawl over to retrieve it. Then the process is repeated. He also has started "dancing" to music. I'm hoping to have video posted of that soon. I haven't witnessed it yet, but my mom has seen him sit a few feet away from our house plants and say "uh-uh." So I think he understands that he isn't supposed to play with them anymore. He hasn't tried to climb on them lately! He's also been avoiding the CO detector - he'll just sit and look but won't touch. What a good boy!

Cruise

Well, we're back in cold weather! We had a wonderful time on our cruise. It was really nice to be able to relax, sleep in, and get some sun. It was hard being away from Will for so long, but he had a great time with his Grann, Grandma, and Grandpa (despite having a bad cold). We had a direct flight out of GR and had no trouble getting our luggage or rental car once we got to Orlando. We drove around Orlando for a bit before heading to our hotel for the night. We stumbled across "Big Tree State Park" and saw a 3500 year old Cypress tree. It was pretty impressive. On Sunday, we took a shuttle to Port Canaveral and boarded Freedom of the Seas. The ship was very impressive. It had: an ice skating rink, rock wall, miniature golf, surfing simulator, theater, shops, multiple swimming pools, a basketball court, etc. We didn't do any excursions. We had been to these ports on our honeymoon, so we decided to take advantage of the empty ship in the mornings. We did go on shore in the afternoons to walk around for a bit.

"The Senator" - the largest/oldest Cypress tree in the US




















































On the beach in Labadee














The view of Ocho Rios, Jamaica














Between two ships in Cozumel














Phil on the rock wall



















After one of the formal dinners

Happy 6 Year Anniversary!

It is our 6 year anniversary today and we are in Florida driving to Port Canaveral to hop on the cruise ship. We are looking forward to a week of sun but miss Mr. William!

Auntie Kate's Birthday Party

Although Katie's birthday isn't until next weekend, she came into town a week early to celebrate. We had a really nice time - Jimmy John's and Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake from Arnie's - two of my personal favorites! Will had a really good time playing the piano and chasing after two battery powered toys.

Happy Birthday!













Nuzzling with the birthday girl












There's a smile behind his hand!












Looking preppy in his sweater vest

A face to face meeting

Bunny or Puppy? Tough Call.

Playing the Piano