First Swims of the Year

While many people in other parts of the country are still sitting in snow, Will had his first few swims of the year over the weekend. On Saturday, Will was invited across the street for a swim date with his new friend Ava, who is 19 months old. Of course, he was more interested in all of her cool toys than the pool, but he slid into the pool a few times. Ava and Will have become fast friends, hanging out in the afternoons, but sadly they are trying to sell their home and move into a bigger place, so we won't live as close anymore. At least we'll still be in the area so they can continue to play together. On Monday, Will had another swim date at our house, this time with Elena. The water was a little chilly, but somehow they managed to get over it and swim like fish. He especially enjoyed putting the slide from his swingset in the pool and sliding quickly into the water. We definitely have a swimming baby on our hands, which means that lessons will be right around the corner. Since our little guy loves the water so much, Ben and I (mainly I) have contemplated getting one of those big blue pools to put in the backyard. While I know they are not the most aesthetically pleasing things in the world, Will would definitely enjoy it (as would we) and they come with filters so the daily task of filling, dumping the grassy/dirty water, and refilling the blow up pool then waiting for it to warm up again would be over. We'll see what happens.

What a ham...

Toddler Bed!

Well, it is March and we have approached yet another bittersweet moment in Will's life. Yep, that's right...we have transformed his crib into a toddler bed. Will was such a good little helper in the process. Many friends have told me that this is a trying time as now Will can get up freely from his bed and walk into our room. However, as most of you know, he ended up in our bed at night anyway, so this won't be much of a change. The only difference is that now he can get up himself and walk to our room as opposed to us getting up to get him out of the crib.

And yes, I know many people don't agree with babies sleeping in the parents bed, and of course everyone has a right to their own opinions, but as for us, we feel that these times are so precious and pass quickly that if he wants to come sleep and snuggle in our bed, that's fine with us. There's nothing sweeter than waking up to that sweet smile next to us and hearing him sit up and say, "Get up Mommy, it's nuggle (snuggle) time." (Of course not said quite as clearly.)

So, I will leave you with a few pictures of the transformation from crib to toddler bed. He has not made it a whole night in there yet, but he'll get there when he is ready.

Will standing up in his crib for the last time before the transformation (and yes I cried) Pardon the messy room.

Helping Daddy out.

Tada...It may not be slept in much, but it sure looks good :)

The Treehouse!

This past weekend, we went up to Alexandria to celebrate Ayden's 2nd Birthday! As most of you know, we met the Byrd family while living in Alexandria, and Ayden was born 13 days before Will and they have been best friends ever since. We were definitely not going to miss this party.

Ayden had his birthday party at a place called The Treehouse, which is a children's museum of sorts with various stations and activities for little ones to do. I think the train area was definitely a favorite among the party goers, however the big boys (Ben, Lucas, Pierre, and Hunter) seemed to enjoy the magic floating ball and magnet area.

After all the playing, the kids enjoyed a Thomas the Train cake and enjoyed watching and playing as Ayden opened his presents.

We had a wonderful time at Ayden's birthday party and are so grateful for our friendship with the Byrd's. They will be making the journey down to Lafayette for Will's party in the next few weeks so we look forward to seeing them again soon.

Happy Birthday Ayden!

The Birthday Boy!

If only we could hear this conversation.

Snack time!

They both look so excited don't they?