Somersault

Brad has asked that I post this video of William and one of his recent accomplishments - the somersault. It has been posted on Facebook already but a proud father wants to share this amazing feat with more of the world. If you can hear excessive high-pitched laughter off in the distance Brad is probably watching the video. It is only 8 seconds long so even the shortest attention span can endure. Enjoy!

Birthday!

Yes, I am a bit behind but...here are some shots from William's birthday. We had a small party with the people who have so kindly poured into William over the years.


His first time eating a real dessert and what a great start with birthday cake. He really liked it but didn't even finish the whole piece.


I just love this shot of Grace giving William candy from the busted pinata. We learned a lot as parents that day...don't fill a pinata full of chocolate and then hang it in a tree for a few hours in the summer.


And water balloons are very labor intensive (not just filling them with water but also cleaning up afterwards).


Nothing ends an awesome day of birthday fun like hanging out with Poppie and the Duke.


This has nothing to do with the birthday. I just wanted to share how cute it is when Neifi and William sit and watch Sesame Street in the morning.

Really short bangs

So, a little while ago the boy got an impromptu haircut from a well-meaning family member. It was fair that his bangs were getting a little long and needed a trim. But when he arrived home there was quite a bit missing. So much, that I couldn't help but think of Spinal Tap. Maybe it is because his volume knob is permanently stuck at 11.

Rough Neighborhood

As I was walking to my car the other day I noticed this in the grass next to our driveway.













You can imagine my shock and anxiety at finding this outside of my own home. My gut reaction was worry that it could belong to one of our two cats. Then upon further inspection I knew that there is no way their paws could work that tiny trigger. But it is still disturbing to know that some small creature is packing heat in our yard. Could it be the chipmunks, squirrels, moles or rabbits? Could this be a sign of neighborhood gang activity? I occasionally find evidence of violent rodent activity but I have always blamed it on our cats not cleaning up after themselves. But upon finding this I realize that I may have been wrong. I don't know much about guns but it appears to be automatic or semiautomatic with the capacity to hold numerous rounds of ammunition. It is a good thing my friend Ian is knowledgeable regarding small arms. I will be sending this to Maryland for his analysis as soon as I receive his new address.

Some Afternoon Counting

This afternoon we spent some time hanging out with Ruby and swinging. William has loved counting for a while but continues to have a block with the number four. About a week ago we were finally able to get him to say the word but it has not made it into the counting rotation yet. For some reason (maybe because we are sleep-deprived parents) we find his stubbornness in refusing to include four really hilarious.

Wowwee - it has been a long time

Yes, I know it has been a really long time. Not for lack of attempts and good intentions. (Begin legitimate excuse copy.) Our house is now on the market which took an incredible amount of work as does keeping it clean. I have also pretty much maxed out our Picasa account in record time so until I do something to remedy that photos will be few and far between. With all that being said we are doing well and the boy seems to be leaping and bounding and doing silly and unique things every day. Since the last post he has...eaten corn ON the cob, learned more numbers, started learning colors, learned to jump on a mini trampoline, become infatuated with attempting head stands, been about 90% peeing on command (can you potty train a toddler and sell a house at the same time?), learned how to work ALL the doorknobs in our house so that nothing is off limits (that should have been added to the excuse copy), and will try just about anything to get people to laugh at him.

We did get some good modeling time in his favorite front yard tree. You know it is fashion when you are wearing pajama shorts.

Lookout JCPenney catalog, here we come!

More To Come

Yes, it has been a long time. And yes, I do have a huge pile of photos to share with you. Some of which will show our bathroom which was recently demolished (and has yet to rise like a phoenix from the ashes). So, while I am running around like a sleep-deprived-crazy the blog ranks low. But in the meantime I will try to get a photo up here and there just because I think I should.

Just a quick glimpse of the boy after an extended Easter egg hunt with the family. Yes he is wearing a tie. The hat was a gift that day and not part of his church attire. Though it is nice how it makes the tie a little less serious.

Even with a fresh bloody lip (from a misstep on the slide and not friendly fire) he is pretty excited to be outside with the other family wee ones. I think it is important context to show that all the kids were wearing these less-than-masculine hats. Fifteen cool points to Joseph for opting for the pink one.