Beautiful Fall Day!

We had a very pretty day today with just the right amount of leaves on the ground in our backyard for some pictures. William was way more interested in the leaves than looking handsome for me. The strong sun gave us some problems, but I still think we got some cute ones!

Then we moved further back into the trees

Peeka- BOO!

My newest favorite picture of William. Don't you wish you were this happy? About a blanket and someone yelling "Peek-a-boo" at you for the 565735435241324687th time today?

William has been playing this peek-a-boo game for quite some time. It has evolved from a simple kind of game into something, well still simple but more complex. It began with peeking at each other around the couch and William dissolving into giggles. It has changed into hiding his face against all type of objects (toys, carpet, blankets, hands, etc) and calling for one of using his special "Mama/Dada/cat/grandma/grandpa" all purpose word "Ehh!" Although this word doesn't look like much written down, it is very distinct from other sounds he makes. I can now tell when he is starting to get worried about where I am when he can't see me because he crawls around saying "Ehh!" Anyway, he calls for us and when we reply "William?!" he pops his head back up and we say "Peek-a-boo!" Giggles follow. Every single time. The old couch type of peek-a-boo is also still good for a laugh every single time. In this last week, the game has progressed to hiding other objects. He'll take a toy and hide in the fold of his blanket. Before you can finish saying "Where did it go?", William will be reaching into his blanket to pull the toy out. Giggling the whole time. Hours are spent daily playing different variations of this game.


We've been working to get this on video for at least a month without much success. Either he is being cuter than we ever thought possible or we are laughing until we about wet our pants. Enough enjoying the moment: must document.

Hiding: Where IS William? Can you find him?

Oh quit being lazy, just turn you head! Sometimes we need to stop and play with whatever we are hiding for a little while.

Hiding with some help from mama. I know this one is blown out, but I know you all can pretend like it isn't.


And the reveal: Peek-a-boo


Hiding again!

Trying to play while hidden. Very sneaky.

PS Regarding the pants situation: We are having a little bit of a squished banana problem over here. We are LOVING being able to put the bananas into our mouth by ourself, but one of the slippery suckers always ends up under him somehow. I guess I'm going to have to do laundry. Or buy more pants....

2 Pieces of Pizza, 6 Zucchini Breads, & Other People's Kids

I'm going to try and wrap this up quickly as I have a lovely glass of wine in my hand and I suspect my spelling, grammar and all other coherent thoughts will be leaving me shortly. Mmmmnn.... Oh yes, back to work. Tonight we made the biggest batch of zucchini bread ever: 6 large loafs. Or is it loaves? A certain someone should be spending some time clearing out some room in their freezer.

I can't believe I forgot to tell you that yesterday we went out to eat with the youth group I am assisting with for pizza. Being the wonderful mother I am, I packed enough food to feed an army of 9 month old children as well as a bib and washcloth (please don't report me, I did forget the sippy cup). Recently, William has been very observant about what is on our plate and going into our mouths...and politely requesting tastes of everything. This is how he has already tasted: sour cream and cheddar potato chips, gardetos garlic breadsticks, garlic mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and now pizza. Please note I am not proud of the health quality of many of these foods. Last night, I gave William the crust off of one of the pieces of pizza. Then, just for fun, I gave him a tiny piece off the end of my cheese pizza. He gobbled it up (all the while offering his soggy crust to every person who passed by his high chair and then pulling it back while giggling). In fact, he continued gobbling until he had consumed 2 (two) entire pieces of pizza by himself (please note: pieces were of smallish size and several chunks did end up on the floor). We were amazed...and all of a sudden a little worried. People keep telling us that with every subsequent child you become more and more laid back about the parenting standards. Our hypothetical next child might as well start with the cookies and chips as soon as they are born. Oh, and ice cream too. Note to self: must work on those vegetables harder. Dip in chocolate if necessary.

And now for the pictures of other people's kids:

Can you believe these babies are already 3 month old? I am loving those chubby cheeks!


Can you believe this kid is already 23? Mike got to celebrate his birthday with my parents and his godparents (Sheila and Bobby). I'm not saying anything about his cheeks.


I don't know whose baby this is. But, her name is Sampson.


My parents attended the commisioning of the Sampson last week. I guess there was a hurricane moving through Boston. Either that or my family is a little odd. Please note my uncle is wearing fishing waders.


One of William's handsome Uncle Mikes. Here he is hard at work selling merchandise. I think he works in the gift shop on board the ship also...or is it the casino?

PS Thanks mom for leaving that little bit of whine behind fro me to emjoy tonight. Tome for me to go to bed!

Still Busy

We are as busy as can be. All presents are wrapped for half of the family. Two more cheesecakes, more banana bread and other goodies have been made and frozen. Airport regulations have been researched. New carseat is installed. Worrying about clothing and packing has begun. It is that time of year.

William has brought his own particular brand of joy to everything. Cooking, wrapping and all the preparations require all kinds of forethought that sometimes make my head hurt with all the planning. I miss my spontaneous self...just a little bit. He is still crawling and cruising like crazy. While we were at the Y today, it is possible he took his first of many steps. He was reaching for me while standing up unassisted. With the reaching, he took two steps forward before falling into me. I feel like it was all kind of by accident and couldn't get him to do it again today. Does it count? I don't know - we'll see if he gets a little braver over the next couple of days. If he keeps it up, I'll count it. If not, I write it off as a fluke and keep on waiting!
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We are all saddened by the loss of one of William's favorite toys. This is one he looks for in the morning and each time we sit down on the floor to play. It is a foamy type car that has some sort of felt material around it. It fits just right into William's hand and doesn't have any sharp edges. For $0.25 at a garage sale, it has been worth every penny - even if it isn't pretty anymore. However, last night William bit a chunk out of one of the wheels. Luckily John was right there to pull it out of his mouth, but we are quite sad without it. I don't know even where to begin to replace it short of knocking on some strangers' door to find out where it was purchased. There isn't a brand name of numbers or letters on it anywhere. So, if you run across one like it - keep us in mind....

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I am a little disappointed in myself for letting this one slide by. I had planned on writing up something special about the date when William was 39 weeks 3 days old. That would be the date when he was Out more Than In. Alas, that date was October 30th and I was in a tizzy trying to figure out how to best make Halloween special. How could all that time be gone? It isn't possible for him to have been outside longer than inside without me realizing it. I figured I still had a couple of weeks yet to go and decided to just count it out tonight to see how much longer it would be. Too late, oh well...

Update

Just a quick update. We've had a busy weekend. We made 2 cheesecakes, 4 pans of carmelitas, 2 zucchini breads, and we're done shopping for one whole side of the family. John worked on our cabinet project, we watched a movie together, went to church and attended the church's "Stone Soup" supper this evening. Are you impressed? We are.


Oh yeah, and William has slept through the night every night for the last week. Only, I've found a new series of books that I just can't get enough of and I'm staying up until all hours of the night to read more and more...I won't even tell you what time I went to bed the last few nights. Even more incredible, William would have slept until 8:15am this morning if it wasn't for daylights savings time! Stupid "falling back"....


Goodnight,

The Heidts


PS Happy birthday Uncle Mike!

Halloween, Part 2

Last night I ran out of time and...well time I guess to finish uploading all the cute pictures. Here are the rest of them!

Happy Halloween! Part 1

Wow! Here is a blast from the past. Here is how I celebrated Halloween last year!

Start of the third trimester

Boy, I'm tired! I worked all day and then had parent/teacher conferences until late that night!

This year! William's frog costume

Very sweet "Baby's first Halloween" socks from Miss Amy next door

Our frog all dressed up and ready to go! He was such a trooper - he was in and out of that costume several times today!


William and Daddy out on the deck - the leaves are just perfect this year!

This one doesn't need a caption


What a difference from last year. I'm not in the bathroom all the time and I only have 1 chin again!



Hey! Doesn't that costume kind of look like that toy.....? Yep!

I lied

So I lied. Last week I said you haven't lived unless you have gotten ready for your day with your foot holding the toilet lid shut. Now I have discovered you haven't lived unless you have gone through your morning routine with one foot holding the toilet lid shut and the opposite knee holding the cabinet doors shut. Try it sometime. It is kinda fun....

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).