Will Power

I've mentioned that Will has mastered pulling himself up onto his knees. And while he's come close to straightening those legs out, he still hadn't quite gotten the hang of standing. But Will is a determined and strong-willed little fella. His name suits him well.

A few days ago, as I stood by our kitchen table helping Jacob with his homework, I glanced into the family room to check on Will. And what did I see? Will standing, of course. Just hanging out with one arm casually balancing himself on the hearth.
I scurried around, frantically looking for my camera, but he had plopped back down on his diaper butt before I could find it.

So naturally, we had to try and make it happen again.

We tried enticing him with a toy.

And what do you know? It worked.

We were very proud.

And I think one of us began singing, "Weeeee are the champions..."


Then yesterday evening, I glanced in the family room again to find my (not even 7 month old) baby standing. (I can still call a standing baby a baby, right?) This time, I managed to grab my camera.


He'd stand, look at the toys from his new vantage point, and then take a break to bend down and begin chewing on the protective padding around the hearth.



Stand, bend, chew...stand, bend, chew.



So what does this all mean? Well, it means Will is super strong.
Is probably trying to keep up with his big brothers.
Might be walking early.
And is growing up way faster than his Mommy would prefer.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Every bath I've given Will at home has been in the kitchen sink in an infant tub I've had since Jacob was a baby.

Except one.

Once, when he was covered in poop after a particularly bad poop explosion, I plopped him in the boys' bathtub for a good scrubbing. And he loved it. It was all I could do to keep him in one place as I tried to clean him. He crawled. He kicked. He lunged for the water. My back was aching after the experience.

On previous occasions, he has sat on my lap and watched his big brothers play in their tub. Keeping him from lunging forward into the tub was a Feat of Strength. He just had to get in there with them.

Last night was bathtime for the boys. Will is a pro at pulling himself up onto his knees, but hasn't yet mastered a standing position. But last night, so great was his excitement over the bathtub, that he came closer to that milestone than I've ever seen him come as he pulled up on it.

"I remember this tub. Boy, I sure do wish I could get in again."



"Please? Can I, please?"


"Oh my gosh, my diaper is off. Daddy stood me up in front of the tub to watch my brothers. Either I'm about to get frisked, or..."


"Does this mean...? Could it be...? Am I getting in?"


Rub-a-dub-dub, 3 boys in a tub. Big brothers were excited about their new bath buddy. As for Will? I think his expression speaks for itself.

Award

One week ago today, Aunt Tricia walked into my house to pick up Lainey. And she said, "I need to tell you something that's going to upset you."

Quite a preface.

She proceeded to tell me that she'd been at the elementary school for an awards ceremony because Daniel was presented with an award. I hadn't known about the ceremony because it seems that only parents of students winning an award were informed.

However.

Tricia then told me that Jacob won an award.

I felt surprised, happy, and proud. So proud. But then, I felt annoyed with the school because of their oversight. And very upset (I'd been warned!). Upset that I'd missed his first ever awards ceremony in school and his first ever award. Apparently his teacher realized her mistake, and approached Tricia following the ceremony, saying, "I think we may have forgotten to send a note home with Jacob." Tricia was quick to assure her that, yes, they absolutely had.

Instead of crying (I managed to hold off on that until I was alone), I began bombarding Tricia with questions. What kind of award? Was he excited? What did Daniel get an award in? Was he excited? Did everyone in the class get some kind of award? The answer to the last question is no. Only a select few in each Kindergarten classroom, which makes the award even more special.

Tricia told me Jacob had been happy and excited. Which made me simultaneously happy and sad. I could just picture the smile that would have been on his face if he'd been able to look out in the crowd and spot me and Jeff in the audience.

She'd asked Jacob if he wanted her to take his certificate, or if he'd rather keep it and tell me about it himself after school. He chose to keep it because he wanted to surprise me with the news.
So when it was time for me to pick Jacob up from school later that afternoon, I was pretty excited. As I walked, I wondered if he would tell me right away, and imagined us stopping in the grass as he pulled the certificate out of his backpack. I even took my camera with me, envisioning the shot I'd capture of him beaming excitedly as he shared his news with me.

I kind of built it up quite a bit in my head. It actually went like this:
Me: "How was your day?"
Jacob: "Good."
Me: "What did you do today?"
Jacob: "Nothing."
Me: "Nothing? Did you go to Art?"
Jacob: "No. We didn't have our Specials today."
Me: "Oh? Why not?"
Daniel: "Because we won awards! I won two and Jacob won one!"
Me: "That's great, Daniel! Jacob, did you win an award?!"
Jacob: "Yep."
Me: "What kind of award?"
Jacob: "A rainbow award."
A rainbow award? And then I remembered the paper the award was printed on was very colorful.
Me: "Wow! Do you want to show it to me?"
Jacob: "I'll show it to you when we get home."

The whole conversation was a bit anticlimactic. My imagined photograph would clearly not be happening. I was a little disappointed by his lack of excitement, but then realized:
1) He's FIVE.
2) He's tired after a long week at school and wants to play with his cousins instead of being interrogated by his mother.
3) Clearly I understood the significance of the award better than he. And my absence at the awards ceremony was harder on me than him. Realizing that made me feel better about missing it.

Luckily, Tricia and her dad took pictures. And although I still would have rather been at the ceremony to see him accept his award in person, the pictures are definitely the next best thing and I'm so grateful for them.





"Hey, Tricia, look at this cool rainbow award."


Time for pictures of the boys with their impressive awards!

Jacob won Outstanding Achievement in Science. Daniel won Perfect Attendance and Outstanding Achievement in Citizenship. Way to go, guys!


I think it's pretty clear they're happy for each other.



And proud? Yea, I'd say so.


That evening, he got to choose whatever he wanted for dinner. I knew what he would choose before the words came out of his mouth.
"Wendy's! A cheeseburger, fries, and a Frosty!"

I love this kid. We are so proud of Jacob for his "rainbow award". And for his outstanding achievement in Science and Kindergarten!

Six months

On the 23rd of October, Will turned 6 months old! Which means, according to my calculations, that I'm just over 2 weeks late in writing this post! In my defense, I've had 3 little monkeys keeping me pretty busy. Especially one in particular...


At his 6 month check-up on the 27th, he was in the 95th percentile for height at 28 1/4 inches, and the 75th percentile for weight at 18 lbs, 9 oz. I knew going into the appointment that he should be eating more solids, but he just hadn't been that interested. But in the last week or so, he has become a lot more excited about his solid food. Perhaps it's because he's burning so many more calories with his crawling workout regimen. Or maybe he overheard that he was "only" in the 75th percentile and decided he needed to beef up. Whatever the reason, I'm glad for it. He's now happily eating solids 3 times a day. And of course, he is still a frequent patron of the Boobie Bar.

"Well, I'll be...this is delicious!"

"You look like you could use some help navigating that spoon. Allow me. While we're shoving spoons & food in my mouth, let's see how many fingers can fit in there too. It'll be fun and not at all messy!"

One of the subtle ways Will lets you know he's had enough of your food.


And I present to you, a 6 month old professional crawler. Not a belly crawl, scoot, or shimmy, but real crawling. And in the 2 weeks since he turned 6 months old, he's only gotten faster.

He can turn on a dime, go from his belly to all fours to sitting with perfect posture on his cute little behind. The world is his playground...or at least, our house is. And he is having the best time discovering all of the things he can touch and put in his mouth. Shoes are a popular choice. Who doesn't like to gnaw on a shoe from time to time? In between the moments I'm hiding shoes (which makes it fun when we actually need to wear them), he has managed to find more appropriate things to play with.
Like ball pits,



fake wood from a construction playset (and really, pretty much any item in the playroom- that room is like an amusement park for him.),

and plastic cups (but boy is it frustrating when you accidentally put them up on your head).

And the tent that has been pitched in our family room since Alex received it for his birthday in August? He loves it. He crawls in and out of it, and sometimes just hangs out for a spell.




Did I mention that as of a few days ago, he can now pull himself up onto his knees? Yep. Pretty amazing. He is quite pleased with this new feat.

And as you can imagine, it makes him capable of having even more fun.




I can't believe I am already getting to see my 3 little boys playing together.





Now that he can maneuver around independently, he enjoys playing on the floor.



Usually I play with him. But occasionally, I like to watch from a short distance away while in hiding. Similar to a National Geographic photographer, the other day I crouched down behind our family room tent and just watched him.


Uh-oh...I've been spotted.

And now he's making his move.




He got me!

And one of his favorite chew toys...my camera strap.


When he doesn't spot me hiding across the room, he comes looking for me. Usually in the kitchen.


You never know who or what you might encounter along the way. Perhaps an interesting toy that may postpone The Hunt for Mom. Like dirty shoes, a brother who wants to play, or maybe a dog looking for attention. Or perhaps a hairy dog bed so Mommy can spend time wiping and cleaning your hands and unraveling hair from around those cute little fingers.




Even though he now enjoys independent play, he still loves for me to hold him. And thank goodness for that.


He absolutely loves and adores his mommy, daddy, and brothers (they can always, always make him smile even when they aren't trying to).
He loves nursing, 1 on 1 interaction, putting anything & everything in his mouth, Matchbox cars, and playing with whatever his brothers are playing with.

His other loves?

Spitting. It's highly entertaining. Especially when Mommy's feeding you and you get to spray bananas, pears, or applesauce everywhere. We both need a good hosing down after a feeding session.


Hailey. He is fascinated. He watches in wide-eyed wonder when she sprints in figure 8's around the house, flinches when she whizzes by him, and then grins. He even smiles at her ear piercing barks.
"Want to come out and play with me?"


Water. More specifically, running water in the sink, bathtub, and interestingly, the dispenser on the refrigerator. Hold on tight because he will literally try to lunge out of your arms in frantic attempts to dive into the sink or tub. But the water dispenser on the fridge makes him smile and coo.

Hugs & kisses. The giving and receiving of them. He wraps his little arms tight around my neck, pulls my face to his (he is strong), and attacks- I mean, kisses. It's a sweet, open-mouthed, slobbery kiss on the cheek. And while his mouth is pressed to you, he says, "Oooohhhhhh" and pulls your hair. I'll be honest- it hurts like heck sometimes, but I love it.


What he doesn't love so much? Well, strangers or people he doesn't see often make him a little uncomfortable. Also, booger snatchers (aka nasal aspirators) are no fun. And he also seems to dislike sleeping through the night, although I have a feeling if he tried it, he would really, really enjoy it (and so would I). Who doesn't love to do that?
Currently, all of his naps are in his crib.

And he begins the night in his crib. But after he wakes up, I move him straight from the crib into the bed in his room, where we sleep together the rest of the night. And I somewhat sheepishly and guiltily admit to nursing him back to sleep several times during the night. I am Lauren, the Human Pacifier.

But he is only 6 months old. I am not ready to "train" him to sleep without me and my heart isn't ready to endure all of the crying that would entail. Plus, he's my last little baby, so I am going to enjoy my snuggle time with him. There will be time for sleep training later.
Not to mention, he's the CEO and what he says, goes. (I find this bib hilarious.)


At 6 months old, Will has a happy, pleasant disposition. His smile lights up his face and is contagious. In short, he is a handsome, strawberry blonde, blue-eyed sweetheart who I couldn't be more in love with.
And truly, the interrupted sleep is a small price to pay. Yes, Will, you often make me very sleepy. But you always make me happier than you'll ever know.