Fast forward to 20 months...

It's incredible how fast the months have flown by since Will arrived. Still shocking to me that he is now 20 months old. Since I haven't blogged in a very long time, this is my chance to brag about all the awesome things Will is already doing. I'm just going to put this out there... My child is a genius. But, I'm sure every proud parent thinks the way that I do:) 

Little man knows most of the letters of the alphabet and almost all the letter songs. His vocabulary has increased dramatically in the past few weeks. He is verbally labeling and naming everything right now. He has a memory that still surprises me (he must get that from me:). He knows all of his colors... Still gets a couple mixed up here and there, but overall, he has got it down (thanks to M&Ms). He helps mommy and daddy count to ten and he is able to count showing 1-2-1 correspondence to three. 

He started running a few weeks ago. Cracks me up to see his little feet working that hard. Will goes to Gym class on Wednesdays. He is starting to show more courage when it comes to climbing up and down things. Will is a very methodical child. He typically thinks through things before he does it. He is not the child that goes full speed and then realizes that it was a bad idea. He has been working on jumping on the trampoline. Will isn't getting any air under his feet yet, but he sure is trying... It won't be long. 

Will's love for music has continued. I started taking him to a Gymboree music class this summer. In class he gets to dance, play instruments and sing songs. He is the most enthusiastic child in the class. At the end of every song he claps like it was the greatest thing he has ever heard.  Matt had the opportunity to take Will to class today. I was excited to hear that they had a great experience and that Will happily showed daddy the ropes at class.

Whenever we are out in public, Will strives to be the most social child in the room. He is extremely friendly to those around us. He loves to say "hi" to anyone that will listen. Will always scans the room to see what girls are in attendance and then quickly points them out to us "girl!". He then follows it up with "girl.. Hug". Will is very affectionate and LOVES hugging girls. 

Now that I completed all of that, I just realized the teacher side in me will never go away. I just typed up a summary of my child's strengths as if I was getting ready for an IEP meeting:). 

We are awfully proud of our little guy and continue to enjoy watching him learn and grow! 

Will's first trip to see Santa

Waiting in line to see Santa! 

Finally got to see the jolly big man. Will didn't cry. He reached up and touched his beard and he also held his hand. Matt and I were very proud that he was so brave! 

One year in a flash - Will's First Birthday

Will's first Halloween

Our little monkey! 

Boo at the Zoo! 

Yikes...

I haven't blogged about Will since he was 9 months. Our little man is now 20 months. I have some catching up to do.....! Thanks to Ashlee Hamilton, I have been inspired to pick up blogging again.

So, my first post is done. Hopefully my next post will be more informative and actually catch everyone up on our fabulous life!

Spirit project

Over the weekend I started a Mizzou wreath for the front door. Today, I finished the project. For not really knowing what I was doing, I would say that I did a pretty good job. Trying to put my crafty teacher skills to good use while I am a stay at home mommy. I have already had people ask for directions to this project. I will create another post later with directions... or I will just have to make a few more for other people!:) 

The greatness of 8 months

Yes, our little man is 8 months old and it seems he has accomplished so much already. Will, Here is a run down of your current stats:

Sleeps:
You go to bed at night between 7:00 and 7:30. We put you down after your bath. You like to snuggle with your penguin before bed (and throughout the day). Daddy and I zip you into your sleep sack and then mommy carries you into your nursery. You like to smile at daddy while he says goodnight and closes your door. Mommy sings (sorry about that) You Are My Sunshine while I hold you. You like to have your head up by my neck while we rock side to side. You pull on your ears and yawn when you are tired. I shhh,shhh,shhh softly 10 times and then I put you down. Mommy puts you down on your back. You are awake when I lay you down. You sometimes roll onto your tummy to sleep. You fall asleep on your own within 5 minutes. You are a great nighttime sleeper.

You wake up at 6:00 a.m. However, you are going through a phase where you some times wake up in the 5 o'clock hour.

You only take two naps a day now. You take your first nap in the morning from 8:00-9:30 and your second nap is in the afternoon from 12:00-2:00.

Activity:

You are crawling, sitting up on your own, waving hello and clapping. You really enjoy crawling after mommies phone....that always gets you moving. You like to stand up with someone holding onto you. Not quite pulling yourself up, but you are trying.

You started to crawl on July 23, 2012. Mommy caught it on video!!! 

You've been holding your own sippy cup for awhile (started at 5 months). You love to drink water!! 

This was the first time you sat up on your own. You were crawling and then you plopped your bottom down. You were so proud of yourself!!! 

Teeth:

You have two teeth on the bottom since about 4 months. You just cut two teeth on the top. However, they are not the front two teeth....they are your two canines:)

Eats:

You are on a four hour schedule (and have been since 5 months), which means you eat every four hours during the day. You drink a bottle at 6:30, 10:30, 2:30, and 6:00. You drink anywhere from 20-30 ounces a day. You are drinking all formula now. We stopped nursing at 6 months.

You have been eating solid foods since you were 4 months. You eat solids after your bottle... 3 times a day. Mommy and daddy try to give you as much whole foods as possible. We want you to try lots of different foods. You really like to feed yourself and prefer that over mommy trying to spoon feed baby food to you. Here is a list of the whole foods you have tried: avocados, apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, cucumbers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, egg yolks, cottage cheese, yogurt, toast, tofu, chicken, pizza crust, red peppers, hummus.

You make a mess but mommy and daddy don't mind. We are happy that you are enjoying your meals:)

Here are some picture of your eating dinner. Strawberries, Sweet potato wedges and breaded tofu fingers. 

Life truly is better with you in it. Mommy and daddy couldn't imagine a world without you now. Thank you for filling our hearts with so much joy for 8 months. Sweet boy, we love you so much!!!!