Merry Christmas!

It’s hard to believe this is already our third Christmas with our sweet not so baby boy anymore and he was into it more than ever this year.  He has been asking about Christmas and Santa Claus and anything else Christmas related since August.  He truly enjoys every aspect of this joyous season, and understands the reason for the season, Jesus’ Birthday.   From reading Christmas books every night to making rice krispie treat Christmas trains, decorating Christmas cookies, and making Christmas crafts at home and school, the kid has done it all and has truly enjoyed every minute of it.  It’s obvious that the presents are a nice perk of the season, but Will seems to understand that it’s much bigger and more important than that.  His pure joy and childhood innocence reminds us all what Christmas is truly about.

On Christmas Eve, we went to St. Joseph’s with Nonna, Poppa, Corey and Stacey, and The Hoover Family.  As always it was very special to be there with the entire family, especially since we got to all sit together in an actual pew.  No standing room only for us this year! 

After mass, we went to Nonna and Poppa’s for dinner and to open up one gift to appease the kids, then headed home to fulfill our little family’s Christmas traditions.   Will finished his advent calendar and put the last cotton ball on Santa’s beard.  We then made reindeer food, threw it out in the yard, and stared at the sky hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa’s sleigh.  Will then meticulously chose which of his iced Christmas cookies he wanted to put on Santa’s plate and requested that Santa had chocolate milk this year.  He also left some carrots for Santa to bring outside to the reindeer.  You name it we did it all!  The night concluded with us reading to him “The Night Before Christmas.” It then  took 2 hours for him to go to sleep as he decided to take a nice nap during church.

As expected Christmas morning came very quickly and Will anxiously walked out to all of his goodies Santa brought him.  He was so sweet as he had all kinds of toys from Santa, but the first thing he noticed was that Santa brought a dog bed for Lulu.  After exploring his toys inside for a while, he noticed Santa left him a note that told him to look outside for his surprise and he walked out to find Santa had brought him his very own two story fort/sandbox.  He loved it!  His favorite part of the fort was that he could “see everysing from up here!”  However, he followed that up with “where are the swings?”  So, looks like mommy and daddy have to complete what Santa didn’t finish in the next few weeks ;)   Throughout the day, he kept going outside and let his imagination run wild.  His favorite thing to play so far is pirates.

Around mid -afternoon, we headed over to Nonna and Poppa’s to open Christmas presents over there and eat Christmas dinner.  Will was ecstatic over all the goodies he got to unwrap over there.  I think his two favorite gifts were his spaceship tent and dream lite. 

Meanwhile, I forgot to mention that late Christmas Eve Ben started running fever and on Christmas day went to the walk in and was diagnosed with the flu.  So, in an attempt to prevent myself and Will from getting sick, we decided to spend Christmas night at Nonna and Poppa’s house.  

And, just like that Christmas had come and gone again.  It’s always so exciting in the weeks leading up to this blessed day of Jesus’ birth, then when it actually gets here it goes by too quickly.  Will is already asking “When it’s going to be Christmas again?”  It’s especially exciting to think about next year’s Christmas as we will be celebrating it as a family of four!  (Well 5 if you count Lulu ;)

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

That's Wunny!

Over the last few months as Will’s speech has developed, we have noticed some problems he has been having with certain letters.  While this may worry some parents, Ben and I find it quite amusing and are chalking it up to him simply repeating bad speech habits.  He can say the sounds independently, but when put with certain words they come out differently.  Enjoy the following quirky words and/or sayings from our little man.

He replaces all 'f' sounds at the beginning of words with 'w'  (i.e.  “That’s wunny  (funny) Mom and Dad!” and “I warted (farted).” “Wishing (Fishing) or Wishes (Fishes)” )

He relaces the 'd' sound at the beginning of the words with 'g' (i.e. “gog” (dog) and “guck” (duck) )

He replaces the 't' sound at the beginning of some words with 'c' or 'k' (i.e. “Kiger” (tiger) )

He also says “uhcause” (because).

We  do realize he needs to learn the correct way to say these letters, so we make a point to repeat the word correctly to him, but don’t try to push the issue as we don’t want him to become self conscious about his speech.  The funniest thing he says when we repeat a word correctly to him is “Don’t arg-uh-loo (argue) with me Mom and Dad!”

I love this kid! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I always love the holiday season beginning with Thanksgiving and this year was particularly special as Ben’s parents took a road trip down here to spend this day of thanks with our little family.  They arrived mid-afternoon and walked into a living room full of pink balloons to reveal the gender of our upcoming arrival.  As predicted, they were extremely excited to hear they were getting their first granddaughter.  

After settling in, we headed over to my parents house to eat Thanksgiving Dinner with the family.   I managed to go 30 years without having to cook Thanksgiving Dinner and hope to go many more! Hehe…  Plus, nobody can top my Mom’s Thanksgiving meal as she did learn from the best, my Mee-moe!  Anyway, after giving much thanks and stuffing our bellies to the fullest it was time to go home.

The next few days with Grammy and Grandpup were action packed with constant playing of toys, reading of books, and opening of early Christmas presents.  He loved them all, but his favorite presents were the wreck it ralph hands and superhero costumes!  Grammy also got to spend special time with Will at Clayfish Bisque where he painted her a ceramic plate.  

Also during the visit, we went out to Lake Fausse Point State Park.  We had a little picnic and rented canoes to paddle the lake.  The weather was absolutely perfect and everyone had a great time.

Thanksgiving came and went, and as always Grammy and Grandpup’s visit went by too quickly.  It actually felt like a mini vacation for Ben and me as they kept our very high strung and active 3 year old very busy playing.  Hey, that’s what grandparents are for right?  :)  We definitely enjoyed their company very much and look forward to their next visit to Lafayette in the spring to meet their new granddaughter!

What's in a name?

We found out on Tuesday before Thanksgiving that we were having a little girl!!! Yes a princess/diva of our own. Can you imagine Krissy with a little girl? Watch out Broadway, watch out Hollywood, there's a new star in town. We're very excited about the news! Pink stuff everywhere, bows, boyfriends, teenage years, and a wedding... not so much. We're really excited, just a little stressed out too.

After finding out the news, we immediately began reviewing our names lists. Having a eight good boy names and a dozen girl names, it was nice to at least be able to be focused on one gender. It was also nice to remove one of Will's amazing suggestions. Having been given two options for names from Will for Little Bean 2.0, Bugaboo for a boy and Poopie for a girl, we added Poopie to the list.

We really though that with as many names as we had (including some beautiful family names), that deciding on one be tough. Not really. One random night during the week of Thanksgiving Krissy and I were going through our girl names and decided that we just needed to pick one out so we could actually refer to her by name instead of just calling her “her.”  So, we resorted to an old fashion cross-off. We both took turns scratching names off the list and when the dust finally cleared, we decided on…

Lillian (Lily) Joy Pierce

We absolutely love it and were impressed and astonished by our ability to choose it so quickly. It’s especially sweet to hear Will say it! We can’t wait to meet our little girl and especially for Will to meet his baby sister!

Turf Tykes Time!

Today Will started Turf Tykes soccer through LYSA.  It's a great program specifically designed for 3 year olds to teach them basic soccer skills.  They spend 45 minutes playing games to teach them skills from kicking to trapping the ball, then spend the last 10 minutes in a little pick up game.  Last night, we had a little dress rehearsal in which we decked Will out in his soccer attire from his jersey to his cleats.  He was so stinkin adorable.  With the uniform came his transformation into "coccer (soccer) man."  He was running around the house kicking his soccer ball and scoring goals, falling to the ground dramatically after every good kick.

We were hoping coccer man would show himself today on the field, but it was quite the contrary.  As we got to the field, sweet boy got nervous and shy and took a while to warm up to playing with his new turf tykes friends.  After much encouragement and much help from Eli (who ended up playing the entire time with him) Will finally started getting a little more comfortable with kicking the ball around and even cracked a smile once or twice.  It was quite hot too, so that may have played a factor in his lack of eager participation in the days events.  When all was said and done, he did score a few goals and left the game anxious to go back next weekend.  So, we shall see what the next session holds. 

Chef William

Whether it's making homemade salsa or baking a batch of cookies, I can always count on my sidekick to help me out. As soon as he hears me in the kitchen, he runs to grab a chair, pushes it over to the counter, climbs up, and says, "I'm helpin Mom!" So. Much. Fun.

First Day of School!

I can't believe I am actually posting this blog, but yes it's time for Will to start school.  Well, Pre K 3 that is.  And yes, the waterworks have been flying (from mom) for the past few weeks!  He is going to be attending Asbury Day School, and will go Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to noon.  I know most of you are thinking whoopie, 6 hours a week, but that's a long time for this stay at home momma to be away from her 'baby.'  I don't know what I'm going to do with my time!

The First Day:

I must admit, one of the hardest parts about the first day of school was actually trying to get Will to bed at a decent hour in preparation for the dreaded alarm clock at 7:15 in the morning.  Mind you we have now had 3 years of going to bed when we felt like it and waking up the same way!  I'm talking 9 or sometimes even 10 am wake ups.  I know I was spoiled.  So, before we knew it the alarm clock started ringing and the waterworks immediately started for me before I could even wipe the sleep out of my eyes.  Just staring at our 'baby' sleeping peacefully made me weep just thinking about not having him home for those 3 long hours ;)  Thank goodness he woke up in better shape than I did and seemed to enjoy getting ready for his first day of 'cool' (school).  He eagerly got dressed, ate breakfast, and posed for the obligatory first day of school photo in the front yard.  While it brought tears to both mine and Ben's eyes, our little guy seemed as happy as could be so we were optimistic that he would go into class with a smile and never look back.

Well, that hope quickly faded away.  Unfortunately Ben had a meeting that morning, so I was left to take Will by myself, but we all know that wasn't going to happen so Mom and I went together as she was dropping off Elena as well.  (They are a few classrooms away from each other.)  So we walk into the school, the nervous energy everywhere and Will was still fine until...we get to the classroom and I hug him goodbye and the light bulb goes off in his head that I am actually going to leave him there by himself without me!  The tears started flowing, both from him and me, and I knew I had to hug and kiss quickly and just leave.  Seeing that pitiful face and hands reaching out for me as I took one last glimpse of him from around the door frame was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  I know I am sounding a little dramatic, but I'm telling you it was pitiful!

Anyway, after we left and my tears stopped flowing about an hour later ;) Mom and I went to the shop to pass the time, and yes we practically counted down the minutes before we could get both he and Elena a few short hours later.  Before we knew it the time had come.  When we pulled up I don't think we have ever gotten out of a car that fast!  I snuck up to the door of his classroom and to my relief he wasn't bawling like a baby, but sitting on the carpet on the letter W listening to a book being read by Ms. Yvonne, the assistant teacher.  And when he looked up he caught my eye and his face just lit up, which of course made me feel like the luckiest person in the world!  He gladly got up and gave me the biggest hug and kiss he could muster.

So, there you have it.  That's our story about Will's first day of school.  I know it's the first of many and quite honestly I don't think it will ever get easier as the years go by, but we are so proud of the sweet little boy our son has become and can't wait to see what the future holds!

Little Bean 2.0!

That's right, we're having a second child!!! While I was away in Salt Lake City, UT for a conference, Krissy discovered that she was pregnant with our send little angel. This news came as quite a surprise, as we weren't really trying, and because we were working out what were thought were some complications with getting pregnant. Well, I guess everything is working better than we could have hoped for!

You always hear about these great reveal stories, how one spouse tells their partner that their pregnant. How about this... I'm 2,000 miles away busy in the middle of a crazy conference, and because I'm not answering my phone, Krissy texts me a picture of the pee stick. Romantic... not so much. The reality of this amazingly shocking news in today's hyper-busy, tech world... just as you'd suspect someone would share the news. To say that I was ready to get back home and blow of the rest of conference would have been an understatement.

This news really is awesome!!! After trying and not trying, and worrying and not worrying for almost exactly two years, we finally got the right news we had been wanting for a while. Now our attention turns to keeping Little Bean 2.0 healthy and getting the news to sink in to Will. He gets to be a BIG brother, but what will he think about sharing the spotlight?

Batman Birthday Bash

I cannot believe that I am saying this, but our little boy is now 3 years old!!!  I know everybody says it, but my goodness, where in the world does the time go?  Seems like only yesterday we were calling everybody on April Fool's Day to tell them I was in labor.  And now he's 3 years old!!!  Yes, I know I already said that, but it's so unbelievable that I have to keep saying it over and over again until I believe it ;)

Anyway, now to the party.  Of course there was no other choice for the theme of his 3rd birthday than Batman.  What can I say, the boy is obsessed!  The nice thing about his birthday this year was that it actually fell on the day we threw the party.  It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  We had a chili dog buffet with all the fixins, frito pie, and of course a batman cookie cake ;)  Little man also enjoyed his Batman fun jump and especially loved all of his cool presents he got to open.

As always, I would say the best thing about his birthday party was all of our amazing family and friends who took time out of their Sunday to spend this special day with our little man (including Grammy and Grampup who skyped with Will that evening from Michigan and Aunt Carrie who called from Dallas.)  It truly meant the world to us to have everyone there and reminded us how lucky we are to have them in our lives. Will is truly loved by so many. Even though we have been back in Lafayette for some time now, it's life events such as these that make us feel like this is exactly where we are supposed to be at this time in our lives.  We are so blessed to call Lafayette our home again and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays here.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Will.  Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know!

Cajun Palms RV Resort

A few weeks ago, Missy and the boys were out of school for spring break, but since Ben and I were going to Dallas at the end of that week  (post to come soon :), we didn't have time to take a family vacay to the beach.  Instead, Nonna and Poppa decided to take us out to the Cajun Palms RV Resort for a few days.  It was a perfect little getaway with fun water area for both the babies and the big kids.  We had a great time and look forward to going back for a couple days.

Zoo Obsession

It is no secret to those who know Will that he has always been extremely interested in and fascinated by animals, so it's quite understandable he would have an obsession with the zoo. Due to our frequent visits to our local zoo throughout the year, Nonna decided to purchase an annual pass for us. It has now been 6 weeks since the pass was bought, and we have been at least 4 or 5 times, so it was definitely worth the investment ;) I realized how much we have actually been there recently as the employee at the zoo entrance mentioned that she recognized us as we walked up to the window. She doesn't even need to look at our ticket anymore!

My favorite part about taking our little man to the zoo is that he acts like he's seeing it for the first time every time we go, stopping at each exhibit and saying the same things and asking the same questions about the same animals every week. He particularly enjoys the talking parrot, Rascal and loves the pony in the petting area. As most boys his age, he is also obsessed with the train and yes we must ride it every time we go.

Perhaps Will's favorite part about the zoo is that he gets to go with his best bud, Elena. Those two are so sweet together (most of the time), and it is so fun to watch them share this experience.


A required stop and photo-op on the zoo tour.


Kings of the Mountain!


The boy loves his Daddy.


Best buds at the petting zoo.


My loves...and yes Diva did the hip pose on her own.

Uncle Corey's a What?!?!

Something surprising started on Christmas morning last year and has been going on ever since. For some added background, Will started calling Corey "Uncle Biscuit" out of nowhere one day last year. Since that time we've all kind of referred to Corey as Uncle Biscuit from time to time. On Christmas morning, Corey received another nickname from Will.

For some reason, Will thought it would be funny to start calling Corey "Uncle Sock." Unfortunately for a two and a half year old, he didn't, and hasn't pronounced the word sock correctly. Let's just say that in Will's vocabulary for some reason sock starts with a "c." You can imagine that this has made for some awkward and hilarious visits with Corey.

Will shushing his Uncle (cough cough) Sock for saying a bad word!

Kumbaya

After wanting one for so many years, Nonna and Poppa finally bought a motorhome. To test it out, the family decided to head out to the KOA campground in Scott, LA all of 20 minutes away (if that) over the New Year's Weekend. On our way out there, Will was especially excited as he got to ride in what he likes to call "The party bus." He didn't say much on the trip, as I think he was stunned that he was actually riding in it.

While there, we took the kayak out and rented some paddle boats, which might I say were exhausting but fun. We also played a round of mini golf, fished, and watched the kids enjoy the playground. And of course, Ben got a game of frisbee going on in the field. And, what better way to spend our evenings but roasting marshmallows and making s'mores!

Although it wasn't very far away, just getting away from home was nice and we enjoyed our little 2 day vacay...and look forward to many more!


He loved "goff"


Eating s'mores...(BTW, Poppa obviously wasn't ready for the pic ;)

The Best Eber!

Within the last week, Will has been such a sweetheart calling me "The best mom eber (ever)!" and Ben "The best dad eber!" Does it eber get any better than this? Love it!

Pics soon!