Mush= Over

Lots of going on here over the past few days. Most of it is trying to contain the whirlwind that is William. I feel like I am not even breaking even with all the things that need to get done. The lists are swirling around in my head: baking for the holidays, holiday gifts, pictures, emails to write, phone calls to make, Christmas lists, sorting through outgrown clothes, and the towering piles of laundry. Yet, my little man is as fast as can be crawling through the house from one mess to another. Just from the last few days:

1. Empty the pantry closet in the kitchen. Split open a box of rice and crawl around in it.
2. Pull books off of the bookshelf. Cry when the higher shelf cannot be reached.
3. Empty the toy bucket in the hallway.
4. Attempt to explore electricty by pulling out the nightlight in the hallway.
5. Mama is doing laundry. Empty laundry baskets of both clean and dirty laundry. Mix together while giggling. Take the rolling clothes sorter and push it into the kitchen. Cry when it gets stuck between the refrigerator and the counter.
6. Mamas is working on lunch. Attempt to pull up on the garbage can and tip it over onto the cat's water dish. Try to crawl into the trash can while Mama yells "NONONONONONONONO!" and runs really fast. Tip over the paper recycling can. Spread newspapers and junk mail from the last week all over the kitchen floor. Eat paper. Drool. Leave black fingerprints all over the white kitchen furniture.
7. Empty the toy basket in the living room. Spread toys around. Push toys through the railing so they fall down the basement stairs. Giggle.
8. Attempt to reprogram the stereo.
9. Eject the tape from the VCR. Put it back in. Eject the tape from the VCR. Put it back in. Eject the tape from the VCR. Put it back in.
10. Empty the diaper bag on the ground by the front door. Spread contents around the front door. Wedge board book against the front door until it no longer opens.
11. Empty the book basket in the living room. Spread books around on the floor. Take a moment to read a book by babbling and turning the pages. How can anyone be so cute?
12. Find 2 peas under the high chair. Smash them onto either the sliding glass door or kitchen window. Giggle. Push the highchair around the kitchen until it reaches the carpet area into the living room trailing along bits of the peas. Cry because it won't move anymore.
13. Attempt to pull up on a TV tray. Cry when it tips over.
14. Empty the two bottom drawers of the dresser in the bedroom. Then, empty the bottom shelves of the changing table. Attempt to eat diaper cream, Q-tips and hand sanitizer. Repeat while Mama tries to catch up.
15. Empty the lower shelves in the office while Mama tried to check e mail. Pull up on the computer chair and stand on tiptoes to type crazy stuff into an outgoing e mail. Pull papers down from the desk top. Attempt to eat bills. Rip important papers. Play with the door while mama tries to sort everything out. Open wide. Shut a little. Open to bang on the wall. Sh..OWOWOWOWOW! FINGERS!!! SHUT!!! IN DOOR!!!! Cry. Wail. Tears.


Our house is a disaster. But, it is beautiful. I'm enjoying most minutes when tears aren't involved. Although, nap time is certainly something I look forward to very much! I'll leave you with some pictures from today....time for me to go to bed!

Caught! Guilty! Although I am totally using this picture when we apply to MIT for him in about 5 years to prove his early interest in technology. John also took some video to prove it wasn't posed. Here he is pushing the power button.


Time to eject the tape.

Able to multitask: push the VCR buttons AND the TV buttons at the same time.

The tape comes out and he pushes it back in. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

One of the only ways to get a picture of him today. Hold him up on my knees in the air and shoot up with the camera.

Except he kept trying to grab the camera

Trouble maker

Off to make more messes

I love this picture of him on his tiptoes!

The new carseat arrived! Hurray! It is a convertible carseat that will last us up to 55 pounds. I hope that is a long time from now! I am excited about this carseat because it is a Britax Marathon (super nice, very safe carseat, super very expensive) that is made by the Fisher Price company instead. So, we saved some money and got a really great seat! Woohoo!


Trying out the new seat, adjusting the straps!


So much more room! Technically we still have about 2 more inches before the old carseat is outgrown. But, the straps are already at the biggest size they can get. With winter approaching and bringing winter clothing, I don't know that we can squeeze him into it for much longer.

My Daddy can do anything

**Warning: This post is mushy. If you are having an emotional day, you might want to come back later. It really is better suited for a special, mushy occasion like Valentine's Day or Father's Day. However, the chances of me remembering this specific story by Valentine's Day or Father's Day is pretty slim - so here it is.**










Last week we turned off our ceiling fans for the first time since April. Not joking, they have been running almost non stop since April to try and cool off this hot house. It would make sense to me while spinning or turning, there would be little opportunity for the ceiling fan to get dirty. However, last week I found this to be very untrue. I turned the fan off and glanced up. What I saw was horrifying. There was a thick layer of dust and dirt COVERING the blades and hanging down off of each one. How did I not notice that when it when spinning overhead? I did what any good homemaker would do in my position and ignored it for five days, hoping it would go away. But, it didn't. So I was forced to pull out the trusty bar stool and balance myself precariously to get everything cleaned. Up close, the situation was even worse. Not only were the blades very dirty, but the glass on the light fixture was also grimy with drywall dust. As long as I was hanging out on my wobbly barstool with my arms over my head, I went ahead and took down the glass pieces to wash. As dusk fell that evening, I turned the overhead light on. With the clean fixture (and blands) the lights twinkled and the glass sparkled. It was a beautiful sight. Everytime I walked by, I had to stop and admire how pretty our living room was with a clean light fixture.

**Warning: Mush ahead**

John eventually noticed the admiring glances I was giving to the ceiling instead of to him and looked up to investigate. He also admired the twinkly, sparkly new light in our lives. William was in John's arms and after a few minutes, he too looked up at the light. I'm sure he had twinkly, sparkly thoughts to match my own. So, there all three of us stood in the living room under the ceiling fan, looking up when all of a sudden, William lifted his arms up over his head. John lifted William over his head, towards the beautiful light over our heads. William giggled and looked down at the two of us before looking back up and reaching his hands higher. John stood on his tiptoes to push William a little closer - but the fan was still pretty far away. William looked down with a tiny frown on his face and then reached his arms up again.

**Last warning: Major Mush ahead***

That is when it hit me. I have to admit I got a little teary and still do every time I think about it. William couldn't understand why John couldn't reach him all the way up to the light. William thinks his Daddy can do anything. He believes that his Daddy is capable of helping him do anything and fixing everything. I know this is a normal idea for kids to have - I just thought it took years to develop, not months. I also know how strong the feeling is for me about my dad - and I am so excited for John to experience this type of relationship with our son. It makes me happy because I know with out a doubt this is a role he was meant to play. He is an amazing problem solver and fixer upper of all things. John was meant to be a daddy.



PS In my case, the idea dies hard. My dad is still the first one I call when I have trouble with the car, washer, plumbing, electrical systems, etc. I am always surprised when he doesn't have an immediate solution that fixes everything easily. Sometimes he even laughs at me. Yet, I call every time.

What we did this weekend

We all participated in the craftiness this weekend. Grandma and I made William a sleep sack and Grandpa and John put tape on the drywall. On top of that, we learned how to play dominoes. Everyone is exhausted.

The Grandma/Kelly craftiness: A sleep sack, hat and mittens. No, they are not supposed to be worn together. Just the hat and the mittens - they match his winter coat. The sleep sack is to keep him warm at night. He really isn't old enough to be covered by blankets and I worry a lot when I use a blanket at night. Then, he rolls over and the blanket falls off. Sleep sack=blanket that can't fall off.


I love this color blue!


Big Smiles - mommy looks tired!


Grandma, Grandpa and William with the fall color

Hmmm....I guess I don't have any pictures of the basement progress. I kind of looks the same, now with white splotches everywhere. Maybe John will take pictures to post tomorrow (hint, hint).

9 Months old! + a few days

Even though I am a day late on this, I have been thinking a lot about how things have changed in the last month. William is a super crawler with top speeds that send our cats running in all directions when they hear the ka-thunk ka-thunk of William approaching. He is also cruising along our furniture with great speed and "flying" between pieces of furniture without hanging on to anything. In the last several days he has become more and more confident and we are seeing him stand alone for longer periods of time more frequently (longest time is close to a minute).

Within the last week, William must have started paying attention to what we are doing and mimicing it. Earlier this week, he attempted to clap his hands as John sang to him at dinner. He is attempting to copy words when we say them and sometimes copies our actions. Over the weekend, we are fifty percent certain he learned how to wave "bye bye". Today, he also added a "buh-buh" to his wave, which about made me fall over. He repeated it three or four times until he was overcome with the giggles at our reaction to him.

Eating is also coming a long. The last two nights we have eaten out. William has eaten bits and pieces of our meals both nights happily. We are excited about this progress because early last week I thought I may have to ship him off to college in a few years with a case of Puffs and boxes of pureed baby food. What a difference a week makes.

The sleeping update isn't as positive. Let us just say that over the past week there were some excellent nights where I got about 4.5 hours of sleep. And I was excited about getting that much. Makes it hard to get things done during the day around the house or be excited when I'm playing with the baby. Last night he slept for almost 8 hours in a row. I find it amazing how much more I love my baby when he sleeps all night long. I am NOT saying that I don't love him when he doesn't sleep through the night. Just saying I love him so MUCH MORE when he does.

We had our 9 months pictures taken today and then attended a Halloween party with a pumpkin carving contest. I did manage to squeeze in a very short photo session of my own with William for his 9 Months+1 day pictures because I didn't remember to take them yesterday early in the day. We ordered a new car seat for William this weekend as I don't think we are going to be able to squeeze him into the old one for much longer. Especially with a thick sweater or a jacket (or both on). We will definitely be needing it before traveling for Thanksgiving.

Enjoy our pictures from today!

9 Months + 1 day Picture

Dressed for his 9 month pictures today

Big boy!

Pumpkins from our Pumpkin carving contest. The theme this year was celebrities. Our pumpkins were in the front row L-R: Johnny Depp, Dr Huff (a school administrator), and Joan Rivers. One of our 3 pumpkins won the grand prize...I'll let you guess which one.

Safe Halloween!

I'm so behind! We're busy with Grandma and Grandpa here visiting - and enjoying every minute! On Thursday, our school district hosted a Safe Halloween Party. Several of my coworkers attended and we went to say hi to everyone (and to do a trial run on our Halloween costume!).

William practices his crawling skills Thursday afternoon.


William the Frog got to play a life sized version of Candyland with some help from Mommy!

Our froggy boy!


Almost to the finish line!

When we got home, William got a call from Grandma on the road. This is the first time he has held the phone correctly to listen - I think he has been watching us! It was so cute to watch him hold the phone up and listen!

Then he gave Grandma kisses through the phone!

On Friday, William turned 9 months old. I kind of forgot to take his picture until late at night. This is 1 of 2 "official" 9 month pictures.

9 months old!

Playing this morning with Grandpa!

Pumpkin Patch

One day last week, we went to the pumpkin patch with our friends Jenn (mom) and Charlotte (daughter). We got lots of fun pictures and William loved playing with the pumpkins, eating the straw, pulling Charlotte's hair, and touching the flowers. Here are just a few! of the pictures we took at the pumpkin patch!

William is not sure he likes this (and the spot where he was sitting was wet! Opps!)

William with some mums...Nice smile!

William isn't afraid of the scarecrow!

My little pumpkin with a pumpkin!


Which one is William? He loved trying to push over that pumpkin next to him!

All the little pumpkins in a row!

Just so cute!

William and Charlotte! What is William's favorite thing about Charlotte? Pulling her hair. So, every picture has Jenn in it to make sure he doesn't pull her hair. He is SO quick, she needed to be right on top of him!

This pumpkin patch has really big tire swings!

Jenn and Charlotte


William and mommy

Charlotte and the girl scarecrow

PS Check back later - I'm going to try and get some more pictures up here later today!

William eating peas! Whole peas! How exciting!

Busy

We're busy. Some of us are running around and others are crawling and creating messes where ever we go. Note: you haven't lived unless you have washed your face and brushed your teeth with one foot on the toilet lid to keep the baby out. Including the rinsing and drying - requires a lot more balance that you would think. Try it sometime. You'd be surprised.

We went to the pumpkin patch, had a Parents as Teachers meeting, church youth group meeting, stained in our basement, renewed our license plates and shopped for Christmas presents. Oh, and cleaned because Grandma and Grandpa will be arriving tomorrow evening! And we will be going to Safe Halloween at North High to get some wear out of our Halloween costume. Pictures are coming. I promise.

A Real Stand up Kind of Guy

The big news of the weekend is William is starting to let go of what he is hanging on to in order to stand on his own two feet. At this point, it appears to only be happening by accident. He lets go with both hands to reach for something or examine an object more closely and TADA! he is standing up on his own. He did it for the first time on Friday night. I figured it was an accident and it wouldn't happen again. Then it happened 2-3 times Saturday and a few times again today. He is totally ready to do it physically. Mentally is another story. As soon as he realizes he is standing up he plunks himself down immediately. So far, the longest he has stood unassisted is about 30 seconds, but I think we'll be seeing more of over the next few weeks. Although I am excited to watch him learn, I'm a little sad. I was hoping to introduce my "baby" to some of our family over Thanksgiving. Now, it appears I may be introducing my big almost walking baby to everyone. Not exactly the mental picture I had in mind. Oh well - onward!

So many other things happening! The babbling is adorable and cute. I actually had to leave the pharmacy area of T@rget last week as I was afraid some unsuspecting customer picking up their blood pressure medicine would suffer a heart attack from the overwhelming cuteness of my baby. My baby HUMMING. Humming loudly and happily mixing in the Mamamamas and bababababas inbetween. I myself has to do some deep breathing to prevent myself from choking on my gum. It was that cute.

Eating! After our doctor appointment last week, I was feeling discouraged. The doctor advised us to quit using baby food and just feed finger food on his tray. Sounds great, only William was not interested. Everything we put in (or he put in) stayed in for about two seconds before being pushed right back out. However, this weekend we have made progress! Hurrah! Progress! Today alone we managed the following: soup crackers, 1 semi mashed banana, carrots from our soup, chicken from our soup, peas (PEAS! can you believe it?), bread, 2 elbow noodles and 1 tiny piece of cheese. Still isn't great, but at least SOME of it went where it was supposed to!

We had a quiet but productive weekend. I got out with the girls for some quilting and breakfast. John got some quality time in with his cabinet project in the basement. We taught confirmation on Sunday and did a little shopping. A very nice balance. We do keep meaning to hit up the pumpkin patch one of these days for some pictures. We keep putting it off - it will happen this week for sure! The other news is that we are preparing for the arrival of the Grandparents McGarry next weekend! Hurray!

We'll leave you with some pictures from this weekend!

9 Month Appointment

Just for comparison (and I'm a geek), here are William's stats from this year:

Birth: 8lbs 4oz, 21 inches long
1 Month: 10lbs 12oz, 22.25 inches long
2 Months: 15lbs 12oz, 26 inches long
4 Months: 18lbs 12oz, 27 inches long
6 Months:20lbs 12oz, 28.5 inches long
9 Months:22lbs 4oz, 30 inches long

So, he has grown quite a bit! Even with all his crawling and cruising and constant motion all the time. For height, William is still in the 95% or "topping off the charts" according to the doctor. However his weight has dropped from the 95% to the 75%. Probably from all the activity. The doctor was pleased with his progress and said she "has never seen such a happy boy!" Maybe she just says that to everyone. The best part of the appointment was we only had to get one shot (flu vaccine). We also confirmed William is completely healthy except for the cold. No ear infection, no viruses....so tonight is the night!

We talked about a lot of other stuff which seems foggy to me right now. We have permission to feed him all kinds of stuff now except strawberries and any kind of nuts. Okay, I can't think of anything else - time for bed. This is one tired momma.

Finally, it works!

Well, Blogger is finally letting me put pictures up! We have kind of laid low this week as William now has cold and is still not sleeping through the night. That would mean I am also not sleeping through the night. We have our 9 month doctor visit today and I am anxious to hear what the dr. has to say. I would like him to learn to put himself back to sleep without needing me in the night. But, I also would like to know that he isn't sick first. I would feel terrible if I had been letting him cry and it turns out he is sick! Today, we'll clear that up. I'm also looking forward to finding out how much he has grown in the last couple of months and ask some questions about his feedings and sleeping! I'll have a lot (I hope) to update later tonight. For now, I will just leave you with some pictures from this week!

John's cabinet project progress


Kelly's first Block of the Month project! It is so much fun to be back quilting.


William's walking project: still in progress


Yep, I am that weird. Here is my banged up knee. The top bruise is now bigger, but doesn't hurt as much.

My striped monster. The one who wakes me up in the middle of the night.



I know this is a little blurry, but I'm back to working on my photography...