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.

Just Like Dad

As Will is getting older, he is wanting more and more to participate in the tasks around the house. If it's sweeping up a mess, he's right in the middle of it with his broom. If it's feeding Lulu, he has to put her food in the bowl or else he'll throw a fit. But, when Ben is using tools, we've liked to keep him a little distance away from the action. This of course is due to the fact that we don't want him dropping a hammer on his little toes, but also because we aren't really very fond of the idea that with a drill in his hands, he might actually know what he's doing with it and promptly drill a nice hole in the wall 2 1/2 feet off the ground.

Since Ben has been hanging curtains, address numbers, and shelves lately, Will has gotten more and more interested in Ben's orange Black & Decker drill. We can't fault him for wanting to lend a hand. Since we needed an alternative to a real power tool, we found a nice option at Toys 'R' Us. It's an orange drill, just like his Dada's, and it spins and makes noise. The sounds get old pretty quick, but it has kept Will happy and involved with all of the chores around the house. Only if this attitude could remain through his teenage years.


Working on his dump truck. Notice his tongue?


Changing out the drill bit.


All fixed up and ready to play.