Amazed...

Dear Blog Readers,
Tonight I went through the mail and lost it when I saw we were invited to Clarian North's NICU reunion celebration. They were the people who provided the one positive experience we had from that whole week of our life. I will always be grateful for the way those nurses and doctors cared for us and truly gave a listening ear when I just needed to cry or ask questions about all of my worries/concerns. Along with the social workers, the NICU by far should receive credit for helping us through that incredibly difficult time in our life. Jeff and I loved those nurses and are grateful for everything they taught us. We are so sad that the reunion celebration is on the SAME day/time as Will's first birthday party! How ironic that our little big guy is turning one right when they're having their first reunion?! We both really hope to bring Will by the NICU earlier that day to see who we can visit with and say hello to. In case we don't see everyone, I put together and sent a tribute/collage that gives thanks to them and shows how a year & love can make a huge difference... =) It's a word file that includes pictures, so I am having trouble uploading it to blogger. Do any of you know how to go about uploading a word document that includes pictures? If I can't figure it out, I will put together a blog post tribute of pictures from how Will's changed in one year instead of posting my document thanking the NICU.
Love,
Aly

Back Up and Running

Just a week and a couple hundred dollars later, we have our laptop back in tip top shape! Now I can share a couple pictures of Will around our house which is in shambles as we're packing.

Here it looks like Will is saying, "What's that?! You mean I gotta learn a new address already?!"

Stuff

Our laptop has been sick and is currently away getting help, so I have not been able to upload and post pictures of Will lately. We are also super busy with packing and Will is of course keeping us on the go! He is all over, into everything, as boys will be boys right?!

Cute story...we have been working on clapping non stop for about three months. Will finally decided to do it (on his own sweet timing) when my mom and I were at Tuesday Morning busy discussing the details of the new house and trying to decide what rug would work. All of a sudden, we see Will (who was getting quite bored by this time) sitting in the cart with a toy in one hand and clapping it together with his other hand! Mom and I freaked out and clapped and praised him for finally doing this milestone! He loved it and kept clapping over and over and even started to lift his hands high above his head when we said "How big is Will? THIS BIG!" I swear that stinker just knew we weren't paying attention to him in that moment since we had our brains wrapped around rugs and decor, so he decided to spice up the moment by doing what he KNEW we wanted him to do! I mean, never under estimate what a little one understands or thinks! =)

Will went to the St. Chris church fish fry & fair with my parents and their friends on Friday so Jeff and I could spend the evening packing. Fun. We did knock out quite a bit but there's so much left. We took today off and are getting back at it tomorrow (in the midst of also playing with and caring for Will)...it should be interesting!

Today I started to dive into planning for Will's first birthday. I picked a theme: rubber duckies. I also picked the theme decor basics on my fave website, Etsy. Oh, how fun that site has become over the past few months with the new house and with Will's birthday planning! Here's a sneak peak at the personalized cupcake toppers (you can't quite see his name in this picture though). I'm thinking we'll buy the fondant ducky and bubbles to top Will's little egg free cake that I'm attempting to make b/c I'm not promising anything fancy (can't remember the last time I made a cake)!
We are doing a small family only party at the end of August. I figure I better start planning now b/c once we get in the new house, that's where my focus will be (along with enjoying my last two weeks of summer...ugh). Then once I go back to school, I'll want to spend all my spare time with Will and Jeff instead of planning b-day stuff. So I'm getting it going now!

would you consider voting?

I got sucked into an online add for Gerber and posted a picture of Will. Now that the voting is on, I am actually really hoping to go for it! Anything free, not to mention the grand prize scholarship, would be unbelievable. If you feel inclined, you can vote once a day at
http://www.gerber.com/photo/?entryid=2163&/#/detail/

Thank for voting and most of all...Thank you for not thinking I'm a crazy mom!
Love,
Alyson

Stuck

Sometimes when I crawl around, I get stuck in these weird spots. Mom said the office was fair game b/c the spindels don't need baby proofed (only my hands and feet are small enough to fit through them).

An Exciting Fourth!

We had a busy day today that was so enjoyable! To start, we went to see our friends Betsy & Tom who were in town for the weekend. Our friends Jody & Chris were also there, which meant we had a total boy fest! It was hilarious seeing them all together! I was so thankful I was finally able to meet Betsy's adorable baby boy. You can see how much Will enjoyed looking at the boys and yes, putting his hands on them! Haha!
















Then we were off to my mom & dad's for some swimming & cooking out!

10 Months LATE

Will is very much over the chair pictures here! But in my next post (which will be above), you'll see him totally turn on for the camera. All about if he wants to or not! =)

SO much has happened with our boy over the past 3 weeks. He can crawl (with a gimp leg), pull up, cruise all around, stand in his crib, and is starting to do a little bit better with eating very small bites of fruit (his first table food).

Will is loving his new achievements (especially crawling) and is enjoying all the exploration around our house. As Janea said, "He is into EVERYTHING." And I agree. Things one wouldn't even think of as a potential toy end up fun for Will (and scary for us b/c sometimes he chooses dangerous things like pulling on the fireplace door). =)