"Oh No," and "Wow," it's Christmas

I cannot believe it is already Will's second Christmas. My how time flies. The Christmas festivities began on Christmas Eve when we went to Mass at St. Pius with my fam. Considering Will had not napped all day, Ben and I figured we would sit down for a few minutes before we would have to quickly leave and spend our Christmas Eve Mass out in the hall. However, quite the opposite happened. Will was a perfect angel in church, not making a sound other than the "Ho Ho Ho" towards the end that fellow church goers got a kick out of as determined by the snickers around us. For some reason when I pointed out baby Jesus to him on the altar, he thought it was Santa and starting "Ho Ho Ho" ing. It was super cute. He was so good, I had people complimenting us on how well he was doing. It was a beautiful service, truly reminding us what Christmas is all about.

After Mass, we headed over to the Pierce's to eat Christmas dinner, and it was yummy. Will also got to open a few gifts to get him prepped for the next day. He definitely enjoyed his new ride on his Harley Big Wheel, but I would say the favorite gift of the evening was his new lawn mower as he squealed with delight once he opened it. While there, we also got into an intense game of Bananagrams. (Ben and Ryan's favorite game.) I am saddened to have to admit this, but Carrie won...

Once we were stuffed and all games were played, we headed home to prep for Santa. Will picked out the cookies that he wanted Santa to have and even looked up the fireplace to see if he could catch of glimpse of Jolly Ol' St. Nick. Having not seen him, our sweet boy gave up and fell asleep. I wish we could've gone to sleep as well, but there was much work to be done... (until 2 am)

As Christmas morning rolled around,Will's fan club showed up so they could witness Will's expressions as he awoke Christmas morning. I had to wake the little booger up at 7:30 am or else he would've probably slept until 10:00. His reaction to the toy filled room was the reason I titled this blog as it is. When we first came out, he saw his basketball goal, pointed and just said, "Oh No." He then spotted his trampoline, pointed, and said "Oh No." After that he spotted his kitchen and again, "Oh No." This continued until he had seen everything new that Santa had brought him with the occasional "Wow" in there. It was so stinkin cute. He was so sweet and innocent. After his initial reactions, the family went on their way, which allowed us to continue to open gifts and enjoy our Christmas morning as a little family of four (Lulu). This was particularly special to us as we have not been in a home of our own the last two Christmases.

After we finished at our house, we went over the river and through the woods to Beebee's house to have Christmas with my family. As always, it was absolute mayhem and fun as ever with four grand kids jumping from present to present, and paper being thrown everywhere, as if they were in a race to see how many things they could play with at a time. Will's favorite gift was his power wheels 4 wheeler. It was hilarious as he and Elena both got one and they both kept running into the wall and all we kept hearing were their wheels spinning repeatedly. And as always the adults were all opening their presents, mostly complaining about them being the wrong size or wrong color, or "why would you get me that?" followed by hilarious laughing (for those of you who know us well, you know how it is... constant smart ellick jokes and not a serious word being spoken.)

Once the mayhem was over at the Hoover's, we headed over to a slightly calmer Christmas at the Pierce's to open gifts. Our morning there started with an "Amazing Race" like scavenger hunt for a present, which was exciting. I was hoping there would be a million dollars at the end, but that didn't happen;) By this point, it was around 11 am and Will had been opening since 7:30 am, but he was still forging through it as if he had just started. Sweet thing continued to open gifts through lunch time, and if he got distracted the least bit, one of us would just have to say, "Will, look another present," and he would drop whatever he had in his hands and immediately run over to open it. He was getting good at this gift opening thing. I'm sure his practice will come in handy in April for his birthday.

After finishing up at Grammy and Grandpa's, we were worn out and headed back to our house to play with some toys and to take a nap. He was so worn out, he slept for nearly 3 hours. Once awake, we hit the road again and headed back to my parent's house for a scrumptious Christmas dinner and some exciting games of indoor LadderBall and Just Dance 2. Let me just say Missy and I rocked the house, but Ben, Corey, and Philip had some sweet moves as well. Will just sat and watched us make idiots of ourselves...

And so, as the night came to a close, Christmas had come and gone so quickly, and as we lay in bed, I thought back on the day and Will's reaction as he first saw what Santa had brought him. Just raw, pure amazement, wonder, and innocence in those big brown eyes of his made my heart melt and I will never forget that very moment for as long as I live.

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

This is how we found him in the carseat when we got home on Christmas Eve. Thank goodness that's not a real gas tank. Hehe.

It's Woody! Probably his favorite gift of all. He LOVES Toy Story.

"This unwrapping thing is pretty cool!"

Unwrapping with daddy.

It's basketball time with Poppa! (Yay for this picture. I never seem to get one with Will actually looking at the camera with poppa :)

Checking out his sweet new ride with Nonna.

Did not want to put down his Nerf balls. The kid is definitely going to be an athlete.

Enjoying playing on Christmas morning with Eli.

Turns out the 4 wheeler is great for carrying food. (Notice the biscuit in the cup holder :)

The old switcheroo. Of course they never want to play on their own toys.

Opening gifts with Aunt Carrie and soon to be Uncle Ryan.

Will with Grammy. Yes, another ball. The kid loves his sports!

Chillaxin in the wagon as Grandpa watches the opening of presents. (Notice Woody)

It's Buzz Lightyear!

Sweet baby was worn out after a marathon day of opening presents...He slept for 3 hours.

Living in a Box

You always hear come Christmas time or around birthdays that you might as well just give your kids a box and a red ball and they'll be a lot happier. Well I guess we can return all of the "cool" gifts we got Will for Christmas, because I think he'd prefer a diaper box.

This evening while we were playing in Will's room, he decided to grab an empty diaper box and proceeded to entertain himself for quite some time. Our little man enjoyed drumming on the box, acting like it was boat, and then crawling through it. By the time his imagination was running out, he made one last attempt to call it his "night night" and then laid down for a long 3 second nap on his very comfy new bed.

Before we know it, he'll call the box his home and ask to live out on the driveway. We hope not.


"This is way more fun than anything you're getting me for Christmas."


"This box has lots of room!"


Looks comfy!

Helping out a Friend

I have posted this story on facebook, but know some of you don't check that as often as this, so I wanted to get the word out to you all as well.

About a month ago, Ben and I discovered an old friend of ours we met in Asheville, found out her 8 month old son, Liam, has been diagnosed with cancer. He is currently undergoing chemo at this time, which as you can imagine has worn the sweet little guy out and of course taking a toll on the family.

This sweet family is going through something that nobody should ever have to go through in this life, and the only thing I can think of to do for them is to continue to spread the word about this to friends and family in hopes of getting as many prayers and donations their way as I possibly can.

Please become followers of their blog to follow Liam's progress, and please please please pass this on to anyone and everyone you know so we can get the word out. There is a donation link on the right side of their page, so if you would like to or know of anyone who is looking for a great cause to donate to this season, this would be a great one to choose.

http://briananddawnfudge.blogspot.com/ (Feel free to post comments to their blog as well just to let them know you are thinking of them. Dawn has been overwhelmed by the amount of people she doesn't even know who have posted on her blog and facebook that they are praying for her.)

Thanks so much to everyone and God Bless you all!

Best Friends

One of the major perks of moving back to Lafayette has been watching Will bond with our families including Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. The cutest relationship to watch develop has been between Will and Elena. If Nonna needs to go to the shop during the week on a busy day, she drops Elena at our house and Will and her play for hours. It has been fun watching them play, hug, kiss, and of course fight. The pictures pretty much explain it all. What a blessing it is to have them so close in age. They will be a force to be reckoned with when they go to school together.


Just coloring and snacking.

Loving on each other at Sesame Street Live

Sweet babies!

Big D Visit

We recently took the long and overdue road trip up to Dallas to visit Aunt Carrie. Carrie has a serious boyfriend, Ryan, who she just moved in with, so we thought it would be a good time to meet him just in case some important question is looming.

After nearly 8.5 hours, we made it up to Dallas in the late afternoon. You forget how long evertything takes with a 19 month old. Constant stops are needed for Will to stretch his legs, and honestly after extended periods of driving, Dad's butt kept going numb. Carrie and Ryan's new home is very nice. It's locate din Frisco in a great neighborhood with a park, and is far enough from town to be away from much of the hustle and bustle (just our speed). Carrie was super excited to see Will, and to our surprise, Will was equally as excited to see Carrie and meet Ryan. The men instantly bonded over a love for soccer and video games.

For our only full day in town, Carrie and Ryan took us to the Dallas Aquarium. It was a perfect choice for a little boy who loves everything animals. Will's eyes were wide open the entire time as he pointed and identified birds, alligators, leopards, and of course lots and lots of fish. The Dallas Aquarium is a very nice complex and reminded us a lot of a larger version of the Amazon exhibit at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans.

After the Aquarium, we walked a little around town, had some really good pizza, and went to Pioneer Plaza, which is a park in downtown with huge sculptures of cattle and cowboys. Again, Will just loved it! It was already getting late in the afternoon, so we just drove by the spot where JFK was shot and then headed back to Frisco while Carrie gave us the nickel tour of her previous apartment complexes and favorite spots.

Before we knew it, our stay was over. It wasn't long, but we made the most of our time, got to know Ryan (and approved of him), and enjoyed being guided around the city seeing where Carrie has called home for the past 4+ years. We're already thinking about a return trip this spring to head to Six Flags, and who knows if another trip for a more important occasion is in store.


Snuggling during Toy Story 3.


Family photo at the Aquarium.


Proud Aunt Carrie with her men.

Hanging out playing the Playstation Move.

So sweet!

Did you see those boots?

Ride 'em cowboy!

Sad to leave.

Tommy Bahama

Everything looks cute on Will... even ugly blue Hawaiian shirts with orange flowers on them. Sorry to whoever bought this shirt or handed it down to us. It's not my style, but my kid sure knows how to make it look hot, even in November.


"South Beach here I come, crooked glasses and all!"

Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones...

"They're a modern stoneage family."

In the morning we usually let Will watch a PBS cartoon program called "Dinosaur Train." He really seems to enjoy learning about dinosaurs (just like his Dad did), so this year for Halloween we decided that he should dress like a dinosaur. We found a really nice costume at Toys 'R Us and fell in love with him in it. Watching him walk around wagging his tail and growling was just too cute!

Being the involved and dorky parents that we are, we decided that we had to compliment Will's costume, so we decided to accompany him as the Flintstones. I guess Will was our Dino even though he didn't look exactly like him.

Trick or Treating this year was a lot more fun than last year. First because we have our own house and neighborhood, but second because Will is now so much more into the fun of holidays. This year we had the whole family over, including my parents, Krissy's parents, the Hoovers, and Corey, Stacy and Noah.

Our little Dino took to Trick or Treating like a pro! Once he got over being shy at the first house or two he learned very quickly that by being a sweet little boy he could really collect some candy! It didn't hurt that Fred and Wilma are big fans of chocolate bars and pushed, I mean encouraged him to visit as many homes as possible. I think even more than the candy, Will just liked being in the middle of all of the fun. Having the family constantly telling him how cute he was and having people smiling at him at every house put him in a good mood. Such a good mood that our little dinosaur was still running around the neighborhood well past the point that we thought he could make it.

Following the Trick or Treating, everyone stayed over at our house to grill hamburgers and watch the Saints game. It was a little packed in our tiny house, but I think everyone had a good time. We can't wait for next Halloween as I'm sure Will is going to be even more excited and involved in all the fun!


Nonna, Wilma, and Dino.


Taking a break from walking.

Snacking on candy between houses.

On your mark... Get set... Go!!!

One day I came home from lunch, and low and behold, Will and Elena were racing around the house. They weren't just running around randomly, they were actually racing!

Krissy told me that when she was watching them, they just started racing. They both would walk over to our refrigerator, lean their backs against it, and then Elena would make two grunting noises ("on your mark" and "get set") before shouting "Go!" Before I knew it, they were both running side by side across the kitchen, around our column, through the living room, and then back to the refrigerator. Once they were both back together, they would again lean against the fridge, look at each other as to say, "You wanna race?," and then Elena would start the race countdown over again.

One of the funniest things was watching Will get a jump start on Elena's "Go!" If Elena would delay just a second from saying go, Will would anticipate her call, and start running without her. Most times he would be a half room in front of her before she was ready to race.

The great thing about all the racing for parents like me and Krissy is that Will enjoys racing with us just as much has he does with Elena. We've had a great time racing around the house laughing and screaming! Let's just hope no one gets a flat and runs into the wall.

Defiant Dude

Turns out our sweet, innocent 18 month old is not so sweet and innocent anymore.... He is going through what I like to call his "let's see how much I can get away with" phase. For example, the other day, Ben was eating lunch and had a bag of chips on the floor next to him. Our sweet little angel decided he wanted some and dumped the entire bag of chips on the floor to make them easier to retrieve. The dumping of the chip bag was followed by a look at both mom and dad then a smirk. To top it off, he slowly walked over to the chips on the floor and tried to secretly step on and smash them as if he thought we didn't know what he was doing. This event was followed by a "no no" from Ben and I to which he replied by mocking us and screaming "No no!" throughout the house as he ran around with the biggest grin on his face. It was quite hilarious.

The other new thing Will likes to do right now is swing his bat, broom, and rake at various things. Today as he and I were outside eating lunch, he got up and decided to swing his broom at the car. After I said no the first time, he swung his broom again, waiting for my reaction, followed by another no from me which still warranted no concerned reaction, but a smirk instead. Finally, the third no warranted him to stop and he ran over and gave me the biggest hug ever with many pats on the back. I knew what he was doing and it totally worked. Those sweet hugs and eyes get me every single time, and he knows it. I know it will probably come back to bite us in the butt, but how stern and serious can you really be with a cute, sweet, innocent 1 1/2 year old?

My Little Messy Man

This blog entry doesn't require a lot of description. I think the pictures nicely depict what it's like to have a very active "into everything" 18 month old boy around the house... and we wouldn't have it any other way :)


I stopped him before it actually got into his mouth. Although dog food is one of his main food groups.


"Cheetos off of the floor just taste better."


"Let me get these Cheerios for you Mom."


"I was just trying to help."


Vandalism at it's best.


"My bowls don't stay in the upright position for very long."

Big Shoes to Fill

Every morning while I'm getting ready for work Will usually decides to wake up. Because he tends to sleep in our bed in the morning, he gets a chance to watch me go through my daily routines. Part of this routine is of course putting on shoes (I don't know what they'd say at work if I came without any). Will loves to help me get my clothes out and has been smart enough to recognize that I wear my brown shoes quite a bit. Usually he just pulls the shoes out and sets them on the bathroom floor for me, but one morning while picking out my clothes, I turned and saw that he had decided to try my shoes on. It was quite a sight, and you could tell that he felt both proud and grown-up (I think this is one of the rights of passage for little kids, to try on their parent's clothes). I let Will where the shoes all over the house, because it was so funny to see him try to walk around with "clown shoes" on. Ultimately he ended up at the garage door with a rake in his hand and demanded that he was going to leave with me. What a goober!


Such a grown-up!


"I'm ready for work Dada."

A Night with Grammy and Grandpa

The other night we went over to Grammy and Grandpa's for dinner and play time. Some of Will's favorite toys are at their house, and they're always up for the nonstop action which is Will after dinner.

They played in his new sandbox, road his motorcycle (which he is finally tall enough to push by himself), and played tag in the front yard. We thought for a second there that Grandpa might pass out after all of the running and rolling on the ground, but he made it through like a champ!


Playing in the sand/water box.


"Vroom vroom!"


"You can't catch me Grandpa!"


"Grammy caught me!"


Lulu getting some lovin'.

Rise and Shine

Some mornings this kid is just like his Momma, a big ol' sleepy head.

There is something really cute about Will when he struggles to wake up in the morning. He has to find find a nice soft pillow to slowly wake up on, he points to have PBS Kids on the TV, and he likes his Momma to be in the kitchen making him a nice healthy breakfast. Ah, the life of a little boy.


Don't we all wish that we could start our mornings this way.

Remember when...

We used to drink from a garden hose? Some still do, and if you come across those that do, you'll see that they happen to enjoy the heck out of it. In fact, they like it so much that they tend to strip down to their "underpants" before they take a sip.


So refreshing!


Between drinks Will helped Dada water the grass.


Chasing Lulu around the yard with the hose is always a fun pastime.