Oh, Christmas Tree!

This weekend, we made our annual trip to Hart's Tree Farm in Rockford to cut down our Christmas tree. We were hoping for snow so we could pull Will in the sled but it was just really cold instead! Will did not particularly enjoy his snow suit but he did run around in the trees and really enjoyed the tractor/hayride on the way back. Then we stopped in downtown Rockford for lunch at the corner bar. We waited until dark to decorate the tree and then ate dinner in the living room to enjoy our efforts. So far, knock on wood, Will has ignored the tree and hasn't tried to touch or pull off any ornaments.


Looking for the perfect tree








































Hotdogs at the Corner Bar













Supervising














Yeah Christmas!



















Dining by the Christmas Tree

Happy Thanksgiving!

Katie, Aunt Erika, Oma, and Kristen














Dad and Uncle Norm

Grann and Aunt Maran's Visit

Grann and Aunt Maran came to visit for a night before Thanksgiving. We had a really fun time. Aunt Maran brought Will a Curious George stuffed animal which William fell in love with and started calling his "Baby." We went downtown to see the Diana exhibit at the art museum on Wednesday morning and then went to Gymboree in the afternoon.

For some reason, no matter what I do, this photo won't change to landscape...




















Playing with George


Who needs toys when there are puffs containers around?


More fun with George

A few photos

Watching the Michigan Game













Reading with Dad

Playing at the Mall - it's a lot more fun now than it was last January...

Tree Removal

Last Friday, we had the scary tree taken down in our backyard. It is really tall, scrawny, and leans in the direction of our house. Every time the wind would blow we would get nervous. A few years ago, we had someone out to cut down the dead branches and he told us it was just going to keep getting taller and taller. We decided we shouldn't risk another winter and had it taken down.

Will enjoyed watching it come down with Grandma and Grandpa. It had a lasting impression on him because he has talked about it every day since: "Tree up." "Down." "All gone."

Friday night we went downtown for dinner and to walk around for a bit since the weather was pretty pleasant. On Saturday, we went to the U of M game watch party at Eastbrook lanes. Will made a couple friends and a little girl tried to show him how to jump. He is really excited about the concept but hasn't mastered it yet. On Sunday, we went for a walk in the morning and then just stayed in to play.

The morning of the removal



















They didn't use any cranes or fancy machinery
































Will enjoyed the show













Almost gone

Happy 98th Birthday!

Happy 98th birthday to Oma!

Friday night we went up to Ramona's Table, as usual. We were able to see the EGR band performing by the fountain before we went to dinner. We had considered going to the football game for a bit but decided it was way too cold. So we came home and had a fire instead.

On Saturday, we took Will to the mall to run around for a bit. He had a good time playing with the wooden train sets at the educational toy store before we came home to watch the (pitiful) Michigan game. Saturday night, Grandma and Grandpa came over to babysit so Phil and I could take advantage of Restaurant Week in Grand Rapids. We went to Bistro Bella Vita with some friends and had a fantastic dinner.

On Sunday, we did a quick grocery shopping trip and then played outside for a few hours since it was actually quite pleasant out. Then we went to the Hofmeyer's to celebrate Oma's 98th birthday. We had a nice lunch and Will entertained everyone.

18 Months Old!

William turned 18 months old last Thursday. Unfortunately, he is so squirmy that it took us a while to get a somewhat decent photo of him with Porter. He loves to sit on it to read stories but take pictures - not so much. The best of the bunch are below.

We had Will's 18 month check-up two weeks ago. He was 32.75" tall (60th percentile) and 26.25 lbs (60th percentile). It was funny: at his 15 month check-up we thought he looked really chubby and he was only 40th percentile for weight. In the past 3 months, it looked like he had slimmed down but his weight percent was up. Will met all his 18 month milestones and has even mastered the majority of his 24 month list. We need to work on jumping, drawing circles, and referring to himself as met.

Will's vocabulary grows every day. Sometimes you need a William to English translator, but for the most part we know what he's saying. Here are his current words: up, down, mama, dada, hi, bye, on, off, eat, ite (light), atza (pretzel), acka (cracker), milk, yum, ow, gar (car), guck (truck), ark (dark), ah-pa (grandpa), ah-ma (Oma or Grandma), yeah, ivey (lovey), ower (lawn mower), alk (walk), bees (please), bees (peas), ayons (crayons), ack (snack), book, hot, heaby (heavy), duck, wawa (water), nana (banana), uh-oh, arm, eyes, knee, eans (jeans), hug, unnel (tunnel), dog, hap (help), hand, sock, bubbles, og (frog), egg, bowl, EV (tv), tree, eaves (leaves), indy (windy), ain (rain), and elmo. There are probably several I'm forgetting... Fortunately, he has not learned the word "No" yet!

He is very observant and will call out things when we are on a walk or in the car. He always points out dogs, trees, water, etc. and is so proud of himself when he knows what to say. I think he wants to carry out conversations because he'll say the same word over and over like its a sentence. He loves reading and will point out objects in the books. He also wants to do everything by himself. He will swat our hands away when he's going down stairs but will ask for help or hand if he's feeling unstable. He also wants to "brush" his teeth on his own. We got him a little step stool for the bathroom and now he constantly wants to wash his hands and brush his teeth - two things we don't want to discourage! So he chews on his brush a few times a day (see below).

He is still getting into mischief: he can climb into his high chair all by himself (up the side and over the railing) which wouldn't be a huge deal except that we're not convinced it won't tip over on him. He also climbs under his high chair (it's a tight squeeze!) like it is a tunnel. Yesterday, he opened the refrigerator for the first time which could be trouble!

Will loves to help out around the house. He is very good at picking up toys and putting them away. He still likes to dispose of his diapers. Lately, he's been opening the dishwasher and has been taking out the dishes (clean or dirty) and putting them in the sink. When we unload the dishwasher, he'll hand us things one at a time to put away. When we are putting away clean laundry, he'll grab our socks and will put them back in the hamper for us. He means well!

Happy Halloween!

We had a really fun Halloween. Will loves his costume and probably wore it for a total of 6 hours yesterday (including the hood). During the day, we ran around to visit Grandma and Grandpa, Oma, and the Hofmeyers. Will would carry his little bucket to the door. I don't think he realized that you can unwrap candy - he was pretty content to carry it around in the wrapper and move pieces from one bucket to another. We had dinner across the street and Will sat at the table with the 2 other boys and ate his pizza like a champ. He wasn't that interested in going door to door but he did visit a few of our neighbors. Then he was content to hang out in the living room and would run to the door when trick or treaters showed up. He even started handing out candy.






































































Souvenir from Dad's trip to Penn State