Us lately

Spending cold days at Playnation. Squint and you'll see Will
at the top of the slide. The nice staff worker took him up there
and slid down with him. He loved it. He ain't scared.

Last weekend, Ryan went upstairs to get Will after his nap.
It took longer than I expected, so I looked at the monitor,
and lo and behold, the two of them.

At one point, Will decided to take a seat.

But not for long. "I want to go out, Daddy, take me out."
I can't get enough of these pictures.

Soooo, this picture might be the first of its kind. Don't judge.
Will does not sit still. Ever. Not even when he's tired. Books?
They are objects for chewing or throwing. Up until this point, we've
either had to read books to him with him in his crib and us
in the chair next to it, or with him strapped in his high chair.
Yes, we have to strap him down to read to him! But, recently, he has
started sitting in our laps before bed and letting us read to him.
We feel like we've won the lottery!

True to the stereotype, Will is fascinated by motor vehicles:
cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes. When we walk, we have to
stop and watch the tractor do its thing near our house. That's only
after he points out every "ca" we pass along the way. (Another stereotypical
thing he enjoys: Throwing his toys down the stairs and watching them
 crash at the bottom. Thrills his soul. All boy, I tell ya. All boy.)

Sweeeeeet cheeks!

 

Did I say all boy?

How about now?

 

We spend every possible minute outside. What I love
about this picture is that, again, if you squint, you can
see him running down the driveway. He is truly happiest
in places where he is smallest. Praise God for the wide
open space of the new property! 



 

I mentioned before that sticks are now his favorite toy (spatulas have moved to
second place). Rarely is there a moment when he's outside without a stick
in his hand.

 

 

Other things that have happened lately, but that I don't have pictures of include Will getting his hand bitten into like it was a chicken leg by some kid at the mall playground. Mama Bear of course rushed to the rescue. Praise God for keeping me Christian (outwardly, anyway). (P.S. His hand is fine.)

Nursery drop-offs have become quite the spectacle lately. I thought he was so mature earlier on when he'd jump out of my arms into the nursery while the other kids screamed for their moms. Turns out, immaturity was probably more to blame. He was late, but he's finally wised up to the fact that the nursery means mama leaves him for a little while. He's never been so cuddly as when I'm about to drop him off. Way to make my job even harder, kid! Sometimes I just want to tell the nursery worker to hold on a minute or two. We don't get cuddles like this at home, and I want to enjoy it.

I have winter to thank for finally pushing me to do what Will has probably been ready to do for six months now. I signed him up for preschool. It seems weird to say that after talking about his separation anxiety in the church nursery, but that's precisely why he needs it. That, and the fact that he's bouncing off the walls at home. He needs more new things to explore than I alone can provide, especially when winter weather keeps us inside. So I did it. He starts in June. (And I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about that as June approaches. Eeeek! Am I really ready for this?)

Jan is visiting us this week, and we are anxiously awaiting our trip to Mexico in April, when we'll put Will's passport to use for the first time.

I'm thankful to say that's pretty much us lately. (Praise God for wonderful uneventfulness!)