Fun at the Neighbors

Every week we take Rose down to the neighbors house to play with their dog, Graham. Dave and Connie, Graham's parents and our sweet neighbors, have become like pseudo-grandparents to William and enjoy seeing him regularly. They have even done some babysitting for us which allowed us to go on our first date after William was born, and a few more times since. William loves them, especially playing peek-a-boo and marveling at Dave's beard! Thought I would share a few pics we got last week while the doggies played!

Rosebud and her best friend, Graham

William Turns One!



November 20th, 2011
Birthday morning, enjoying some banana!



I can't believe my little boy is already a year old. Could it really have gone by so fast? Wow! William was a lucky boy and had both sets of grandparents come to visit for his first birthday, even Uncle Whyatt came to celebrate! We had a great time, even though he came down with a little cold the day before his birthday, he still managed to enjoy himself. We had a small birthday party and William got to try cake for the first time!

William has continued to amaze us with how wonderful he is! Such a sweet boy that loves to cuddle and give kisses! He is so close to walking, has even done a few independent steps, but hasn't quite mastered the skill yet. However, he is a very proficient crawler, and really enjoys escaping from his mom and dad as quickly as he can while cracking up, especially when we are trying to change a diaper or put clothes on! He has four teeth on top (with one more on it's way) and four on the bottom. His favorite activities are reading books, listening to music (it gets him dancing every time, so adorable!), going for walks or hikes, playing with anything he is not supposed to (aka the remote, the TV, mommy or daddy's phone, etc!), swinging, and playing with kitchen utensils like the ladle or the wooden spoons. He also really loves rolling around in his baby walker. We pulled up most of the rugs and he just loves rolling around the house, 'chasing' after mom, dad and Rose! William talks to us all the time now, but the best we can make out on a regular basis is Dada, Momma, and Done...when we say "all done" with meals, books, bath time or whatever we might be finished with he promptly agrees "Done!"

The day after his birthday William had his 12 month check-up with Dr. El. His stats are as follows:

Weight: 21.4 pounds

Height: 29.5 inches

Adam and I just love the wonderful job of being parents. William has brought us more joy then we thought was possible. He is truly special and we are so thankful for every minute! We can't wait to see what the next year brings us with our beautiful son. Happy Birthday William, we love you!

William's First Birthday Cake

We had fun animal masks for the children, the big kids enjoyed them too! 
Grandpa Bill, William, Grandpa Rich, Daddy Adam and Uncle Whyatt

Yum!

One of the cool birthday gifts from Grandma and Grandpa G
Abby the rocking Giraffe!

Happy Halloween!



Our neighbors carved this monkey face pumpkin, it was too cute, we had to get a picture!

 For William's first Halloween he was a monkey, naturally, since he is our little monkey! Grandma Jo found the costume and we agreed it was perfect. My favorite is the stuffed belly! So adorable. William enjoyed visiting a few of our neighbors to "trick or treat", but he passed on the candy, like a good boy (not yet William!)

Hiking

When the weather was still semi-decent we started hiking some new trails with William in tow. He seemed to really enjoy the new scenery and his new view from the back-pack carrier. Of course Rose loves to go on hikes so the family enjoyed some fresh air, beautiful views and a little exercise! It is amazing how many beautiful areas there are to explore right in Portland's back yard. Each of these hikes are less than 45 minutes away, at the most. We are lucky to have the opportunity to have such beautiful surroundings.

Mirror Lake

Sandy River
Thousand Acres Park

11 Months at the Pumpkin Patch!

 We went to the Pumkin Patch and William had such a great time playing with the squash, checking out their farm animals, and doing a little farm-stand shopping! William just continues to be our happy little boy, diligently working on his "walking" skills and growing every day. He eats everything he can get his hands on, and has lengthy conversations with us (which I really wish I could understand!) He is so much fun to be with, Adam and I are truely blessed with a wonderful child!

The Pumpkin Patch
Savie Island, OR
Oct, 2011

Best Friends! Our visit to Chico.

Shower time!

September 2011

"This is how we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth...
this is how we brush our teeth before we go to bed!"

10 Months Old!

Sept. 20, 2011   10 months old today!

Wow, I am a little behind on this post but we have been busy! William turned 10 months in September and he is a busy boy! Adam and I are loving every minute of watching this boy grow, he is so much fun. He is such a happy and sweet child, we could not have asked for anything more. He is active as ever and loves practicing "walking" while hanging on to anything he can, especially mommy or daddy's hands. When we are hanging out at home he loves heading straight for the stairs and climbing up them over and over again. He still loves his Johnny Jump-up door-way swing, specifically spinning round and round in it, it almost makes us sick to watch it! Some other favorite activities is playing in the Tupperware drawer and bath time. He still doesn't sleep through the night, and napping is not his strong point, but we are working on both! Adam and I just feel blessed to have such a special and wonderful little boy. William, you are the best!

We recently had two visitors up our way; the first was Uncle Alex, or Uncle Al as we like to call him (to distinguish him from his fiance Alix!) William had a really good time hanging out with his uncle, and his daddy really enjoyed spending time with his brother. Al lives in Maine currently so we definitely do not get to see enough of him. We had some great weather while Al was here. Adam even got to teach him the 'ropes' of climbing trees. The two of them thought it was hilarious to make me a nervous wreck, and even "cheersed" on it while Al was still up in the tree. We had a really great time visiting with Uncle Al and hope he makes it out this way again soon.

Then Momma Jo came out to visit when Will turned 10 months. We had a great visit. William loves seeing his Grandma Jo!