Our Buddy, Will, Is 8 Months Old

This last month, Will turned into a boy on the go. He started doing the army crawl at about 7 months and by about 7.5 months he pretty much had the real crawl mastered. He has an incredible amount of energy and has been labeled a very "active" baby in our household. Meaning that he is into anything and everything within his reach. And his reach is expanding quickly as he is now attempting to pull himself up onto furniture.

He still chats up a storm and his favorite thing to say is "da da da da". He loves to play with all kinds of toys, but two favorite things to do are to play with strings and straps (he will focus on the string/strap for several minutes at a time) and open and close doors and gates.

Will remains an incredibly happy baby most of the time, but he has 4 teeth already and whenever a new one is coming in it makes him a bit cranky. He has also developed quite an attachment to mommy lately. He is so excited to see me when I get home -- he crawls right over and if he can't beat the competition (i.e., the girls) he gets a bit upset.

Our lives have definitely been turned upside down a bit trying to keep up with Will and the girls, but now that he is here, it's impossible to imagine our lives without him. We would not have it any other way. Here are some recent pictures of Will, who in our household is often called "buddy".

Before the Big Storm

The weather is nice right now, but last week we had a big storm come through. Right before the rain was expected to hit, Dad and the girls made a quick trip to the School Yard to burn some energy before it started to pour. While there, the girls wanted to take turns pulling each other in the wagon. Here are some wonderful action shots of them entertaining themselves....we are loving this and hope the "play together" concept expands exponentially! Here is Natalie taking lead.









Here is Amanda taking a turn at the wheel!

Enjoying Saturday with the Family

It is unusually cold today, but we decided to venture out to enjoy the day. Here are Natalie and Amanda showing off their newly found "Monkey" skills. Also notice, both are smiling on the very first shot....a rare occurence! :-)



We also decided to try having a family lunch out at a local restaurant. Because it was a cold day, we had the entire outdoor patio all to ourselves! Look close, and you can see Will behind Mommy's ice tea glass.

Wanting to look their best, the girls were adamant about wearing their new purple hats and sunglasses. So stylish!

Easter 2010

We had a great Easter this year and we hope all of you did too! The girls had a blast searching the house for eggs and they mostly enjoyed their Easter candy. It's a BIG yes on the M&Ms but a definite no so far on the Peeps! The chocolate bunnies have not hopped out of their packages yet but I'm sure they will be devoured too. Here is a photo of some of the Easter loot....only some because not included is the special basket left on our doorstep by the secret Easter bunny. Thank you secret bunny!!





The Easter Bunny brought all 3 kids a little wind up caterpillar and they were a big hit. Amanda jumped when she first saw it move!

Will paid close attention to the entire process -- from the egg coloring to the candy eating so that he can be ready for the the action next year!

Here is a short video of the girls showing their delight and surprise (and the wonderful toddler phrase "mine") after discovering all of the goodies on Easter morning.

The Hunt

We went to our first East Egg Hunt today. While everyone had fun at moments it was also a little intimidating too. Natalie, in particular, was quite nervous meeting the Easter Bunny and the Chick-Fil-A Cow. She also didn't particularly care for the hunting part.....



But she had fun playing in the playground after the hunt! After about 50 attempts at a photo of all 3 kids, this is the best we could come up with -- 2/3 of the kids were looking at the camera!

Here is cutie pie Amanda showing off her beautiful smile and the injury she sustained just before the Easter Egg Hunt when she took a little spill in the kitchen right into the cupboard and the cupboard handle. Nothing a little trip to the doctor for a magic glue and seal can't fix!

Will had fun too. He just cannot wait until he is big enough to run all around and keep up with the big kids!!