The Spaulding's

Happy 2nd Birthday, Will!

2012-02-04T13:08:00.001-08:00

Will's actually birthday was on Sunday this year, so we did his party on Saturday. Obviously we still had lots to celebrate on his actual day! :) He was so happy to wake up to his Cars balloons!

He played with Grandpa.

And ate some birthday donuts!

He opened his present from Nana and Grandpa- a Leap Pad! Uncle Joel gave him an app gift card, so Will could get some new games for his leap pad! He loves the leap pad. We had a great time with Grandpa, Nana, and Uncle Joel in town.

After nap time, Papa, GG, and Ray Ray came over to celebrate and play.

He opened presents!

Ray Ray got him all sorts of cool art supplies.

Opening a Gap gift card from GG and Papa. I love baby gap; this growing boy always needs new clothes!

And he loved his new man kitchen. Will makes a great cup of coffee and scrambled eggs!

Reading books with Ray Ray.

He loves painting!

Will's a baby genius and drew this for Papa! ha. Actually, I think it was Ray Ray, but I had to post!

Me and the birthday boy.

Our family.

One last birthday cupcake!

What a great weekend of fun and celebrations! I can't believe our little man is 2!

Will's Family Birthday Party

2012-01-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

After Will's birthday party at the pool, we had a family birthday party at our house. We had dinner, cake and ice cream, and opened some presents! Will decided he wanted Cars stickers all over his body and Aunt Ray Ray helped him; so cute.

Will's birthday cake. He's obsessed with M&M's, so this was the perfect cake for him!

He wanted an "emmy" as he calls them.

Family pic.

Playing with his tractors after all the birthday fun. He was exhausted!

We also watched the Texans playoff game.

And opened lots of presents.

Playing with Papa and his new Pumba stuffed animal.

Will's Birthday Party

2012-01-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

We had Will's 2nd birthday party at the Natatorium. Will loved it; he swam until the pool closed that evening. Will's favorite movie is Cars, so of course we went with a Cars theme.

It wouldn't be a party without balloons!

It took the whole family to get things set up. We had 15 minutes to get everything set up for 18 toddlers!

Cupcakes and ice cream sundaes- YUM!

the setup.

Hanging out with Papa while the setup went on.

and Nana too.

Grandpa served ice cream.

and Ray Ray too.

Dad helped the birthday boy with his ice cream sundae.

The chaos! :)

Blowing out candles while eating a cupcake.

Then it was time to swim! YAY!

Going down the slide.

Hutson's turn on the slide!

Ray Ray playing with Wheeler

Playing with Papa.

Sweet Alexander.

Dad took Will on the lazy river.

The adults played too!

Julie and her boys.

The Scullin family.

Ullana and Alyiah

Ray Ray and the birthday boy.

Kevin and Katie

Courtney and her family.

Will and Tucker playing together.

Will had a wonderful 2nd birthday party. Thank you to all our friends for coming to celebrate Will's birthday! Thank you to our family for helping set up and clean up everything!

Happy 2nd Birthday Will!

2012-01-09T18:59:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to our little man! I can't believe he's 2!

I have LOTS more pictures to post, but it will take me a little bit to get through 500 photos! I'm working on it! :) Thank you to all of our amazing family members and friends who helped us celebrate Will's birthday!

Playing in the Park

2012-01-04T20:19:00.001-08:00

Over the Christmas Break we spent a lot of time playing and one of Will's favorite parks is by GG and Papa's house. They have EVERY Little Tykes toy imaginable, and Will is always the only kid there. He only has to share with us; I guess we are all kids at heart! :)

Northpark Trains

2012-01-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

After Christmas, GG had a few days off work and Ray Ray was still in town, so we decided to take Will to the Northpark train exhibit. He loved it. He actually loved it so much he wanted to pick up all the trains and play with them! :)

After looking at the trains, we decided to walk around the mall. They had ducks and turtles in one of the ponds. :)

Spaulding Christmas

2012-01-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas the Spaulding's came in town and we were able to celebrate Christmas with them. We started the fun with the gift exchange.

The first present he opened from Nana and Grandpa was, and still is, a favorite. He got Mack truck from Cars. Mack has still not left our kitchen floor. Will wakes up every morning asking for Mack. Mack has specific spot he must be parked and do not move him or else! :)

Joel got some new Texas Tech gear from us. He looks so handsome in his new stuff.

Grandpa got a drill.

Chris got a Texans hat and Division Champions shirt. He loved it.

Chris and Joel got new golf clubs.

Will got Mickey Mouse cars too!

Nana and Will opened more presents.

Grandpa and Nana got Will a bounce house!

Grandpa and Will read his new books.

More books!

More playing in the bounce house.

We had a delicious dinner at PF Changs. We love PF Changs!

Uncle Joel got Will some new legos and he built the Texas Tech symbol.

We had a wonderful Christmas with the Spaulding's. We enjoyed our time with them and we all love our presents, especially Will who asks to jump all the time!

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

Papa helped Will ride his new bike.

Reading his new books.

Will's big present from Papa and GG.

Once Will saw what it was, he was screaming "Open, Open." He wanted in that truck!

They took the car outside to play.

Opening presents!

It was a great Christmas day. We had lots of great food, wonderful presents, and lots of fun, family time.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

We were so excited for Will to wake up on Christmas morning and see all of his gifts from Santa. I was anxious to see what toy he would like the most, and most importantly, I was excited to spend that special time with our little family of 3. Those are some of my best/favorite memories with my own family, waking up on Christmas morning and just laughing and playing with my mom, dad, and sister. My parents always did such an amazing job of making holidays so special. I know Chris' family was the same way. When I found out I was pregnant with Will, I was so excited about all the traditions that Chris and I wanted to carry on from our own childhood as well as the new traditions we would implement for our family. However, I am learning that the way we imagine things happening and what actually happens can be very different! :) I woke up with a monster migraine, which was extremely disappointing, especially after being sick for the entire 2 weeks of my Christmas vacation. Will was also one overwhelmed and over stimulated child. He didn't know what to think about all the stuff. He loved everything but it was almost sensory overload for the little dude. It was still a great morning, and I feel blessed to have my family. I'm already looking forward to next Christmas because I know Will is going to be even more aware and involved in Christmas.

Taking in all the goods.

Will got his first bike. He asked Santa specifically for 2 things: a bike and a dump truck. Thanks to the Tractor Supply store, he got plenty of trucks and tractors as well.

Chris got a new golf club and lots of Baylor gear.

Little Will was living the good life: Watching Toy Story, sitting in his new chair, and playing with his train table.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T14:50:00.001-08:00

We started our Christmas Eve celebration at the early church service at Prestonwood. My favorite part is always the candle lighting portion and seeing so many people raise their candles and sing Holy Night. It's magical. This year Chris helped Will hold his own candle.

After the Christmas Eve service, it was time for some food and fun!

Bow heads! Love those two.

Will got in his Christmas pjs and was ready to play!

We tried to get the little stinker to pose in front of the Christmas tree...not happening!

We had a white elephant gift exchange. Mom opened the bottle of crown. I promptly stole it from her and gave it to Chris. Merry Christmas to Chris! :)

Will played (or rode) Holly while we did the white elephant gift exchange.

Uncle Scott was the lucky winner of Papa's cartoon drawing. ha; love it! There was also a gift card taped to the back so he lucked out! :)

Will read his Mickey Christmas book.

And Santa appeared!

Prettiest Santa I've ever seen!

Will was so excited that Santa read a book to him.

Santa had to leave but Will gave her lots of hugs and kisses.

After the visit, we set out Santa's cookies.

Will went to sleep and the rest of us got to work on getting the train table finished. Chris had put the table together previously, however, assembling all the parts was a group effort!

The finished product!

Will was a good boy this year and Santa left him lots of goodies!

Christmas Eve Eve

2011-12-28T14:00:00.001-08:00

On Christmas Eve Eve, Will and I baked cookies for Santa.

And what I really mean is Will ate and I baked! :)

And we played.

Holly played too.

We also made sure we had everything ready for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We checked and double checked that we had presents for everyone. Here's our tree.

And our stockings were hung and ready for Santa to come.

Christmas Celebration in Houston

2011-12-28T13:38:00.001-08:00

We recently made a trip to Houston so that Will could meet his great-grandparents, so we could spend time with Wanda and Bill who were home from Scotland, and to celebrate Christmas with the Houston family.

Will loved playing with Chris' cousins. He was playing cars with Jennifer.

Will with Nana and her sisters Wanda and Christy.

The weather was great in Houston and we were able to be outside. Will loved running around and throwing the toy in the pool for the dogs.

He loves the water A LOT, so he was in need of some extra supervision from Dad just in case he decided it was time to go for a swim.

Will spent time playing with Uncle Joel.

The boys grilled lots of yummy food.

More playing with cars!

We did a white elephant gift exchange. Chris was the lucky winner of a cupcake container and a candle. You can see he was trying to convince everyone to steal it from him.

Dave was the lucky winner of this hat!

Holly made herself comfortable during the exchange.

At the end of the night, we snapped our four generation pic.

We had a great time with family in Houston. It was a great start to the Christmas season. :) Thank you Christy for all the pictures.

4 Generations

2011-12-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we made the trip to Houston so that Will could meet his great grandparents on the Spaulding side. I forgot my camera because we left a little sooner than expected, so this is the only picture I have from Chris's phone (bad weekend to forget the camera!). But it's a cute one- 4 generations of Spaulding men!

Happy Birthday, Asher!

2011-12-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Asher! Our sweet friend turned 2 last weekend and had a party at The Little Gym. Asher's mom, Brandi, is one of my good friends from work. She and I coached together and we were pregnant at the same time, so we got to navigate this whole pregnancy thing together. Asher and Will were born just 3 weeks apart, so now we get to navigate the whole mommy thing together o!

Playing basketball with the birthday boy.

The party was sports themed, so of course, we had to wear our Baylor gear! Sic' em Bears! The party just so happened to be after the day RG3 was announced as the Heisman winner. We had lots of bragging rights!

Delaney helped Will walk on the balance beam. Delaney works at Little Gym, but she was actually in my 7th ELAR class and on my 8th volleyball team. I had her in class when I was pregant with Will and now she is in high school; time flies! It was fun to see her play with Will.

The party room. Brandi is so creative; she made everything herself!

Will's favorite part? Eating the icing off the cupcakes!

Cookie Decorating Party

2011-12-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

My team from school got together this past week to have a cookie decorating party for our kids. It's always fun to spend time with the girls away from school and with our little ones. Will wasn't really into the decoarting part of the party, he just wanted to eat all the icing!

Aliyah.

Daniel

Julie, our host and a super mom, and her twin boys Daniel and Marcus.

Ullana and Alyiah.

Judy.

Will thought it was pretty cool that Marcus and Daniel get to ride their bikes around the house. Will is obsessed with bikes, and Marcus and Daniel were kind enough to share!

He also loved their little 4 wheeler.

Will's School Christmas Party

2011-12-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Chris and I were able to attend Will's Christmas party at school. It is always fun to see him in his element with his teachers and friends. They started off the party with treats for the kids. Will and his friend Chase enjoyed their share of cheetos and other goodies.

Then Will made a Christmas tree magnet with his picture on it.

The arts and crafts only lasted for so long and then it was back to pushing trucks around the room. I think this is how Will would prefer to spend the majority of his day, playing with trucks and cars.

Then he waited to make a gingerbread house. I think he was mostly interested in the icing on the house.

Dad helped him with the house.

It's a great time to be a Baylor Bear!

2011-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

Chris reminds me every day what a great time it is to be a Baylor Bear fan and I'm starting to agree with him (not that it took much convincing..ha). I wanted to include it in the blog because it literally is Will's baby book. In 16years, when he's deciding on a college (yikes), I want him to remember how awesome Baylor is and, of course, choose Baylor. Robert Griffin III was just announced as 1 of 5 candidates for the Heisman trophy. Baylor football is 9-3 and headed to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Our women's basketball team is #1 in the country, and our men's basketball team is #6 in the country. WOW! The Spaulding's are a sports obsessed household and we are one happy family these days! As Chris says, "What a great time it is to be a Baylor fan!"

Thanksgiving Part 2

2011-12-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

I recently got hold of all my parents pictures from Thanksgiving and wanted to add them to the blog. Just want to make sure I get everything recorded in Will's baby book! The first night we were there we ate at a local steak house. We took up most of the dining room!

There are a multitude of pictures of Will on the mule and/or golf cart. He LOVES them.

I love these pictures of Uncle Jack and Aunt Sharon's family on Thanksgiving. We vacationed with them this summer and really enjoyed getting to spend time with them.

I love their screened in porch. I love their whole house actually. It looks like it came right out of the pages of Southern Living.

Will's deer picture.

My cousin, David, is a pilot and the day after Thanksgiving he took all the boys up in the plane.

The pilot.

I love our ice cream after Friday dinner tradition.

Hanging by the fire with Papa.

Thanksgiving Dinner fun!

Riding on the golf cart with Gram and Grandaddy.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I enjoyed a week off from school and, more importantly, a week with my little man. Chris had to work a couple of days, but he was able to spend lots of time with us too! We made our annual Thanksgiving trip to Jackson and it did not disappoint! We laughed, ate, played, ate some more, shopped, ate some more; you get the picture! It was great!

Chris spent most of his time deer hunting. I love how excited Chris gets to go to Mississippi. He was ready to get in the deer stand. :)

Will spent most of his time running around outside. Will loves the country because he can run and run the whole time. We were so lucky the weather was in the 60s-70s.

Dad and Chris had target practice. Silly Dad is using shells as ear plugs. We can't take him anywhere! :)

They lost a part on one of the guns and searched for it. Hilarious.

Will loved "driving" all of GDaddy's tractors. He also loves saying "Grandaddy." It's hilarious.

He's getting so big!

We went to visit the cows and the horses.

We enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Jayne and Uncle Jim's. Chris fried a turkey and it was a hit! Yum!

Eating dinner with Dad.

After dinner, Santa came to visit Will. Will was skeptical at first, but he was interested in what was in Santa's bag. Santa brought Will a coloring book and crayons. Will has decided he is asking Santa for a bike and a kitty cat. Will fell in love with my grandparents kitty cat named Barney. Unfortunately, Santa will not be bringing a kitty cat because Mrs. Claus (that's me) is highly allergic to cats.

Kisses for Santa.

He eventually warmed up and LOVED jumping on the trampoline with Santa. Thank you Uncle Jim for being the best uncle ever. Chris and I are so grateful that you would dress up as Santa just for our son. He was so happy, and we are so appreciative.

Will also fell in love with the trampoline. He was hysterical when it was time to go home. He wanted to stay and jump. We have since added some sort of bounce house/trampoline to his Christmas list.

Will is obsessed with all things Papa and he wanted Papa to jump. It didn't take to much convincing for Papa to get on and jump.

Ray Ray jumped too.

We love her. After we got home from Thanksgiving, Will would wake up and say "Ray Ray gone. Where Ray Ray's car?" See Ray Ray, just one more reason you should live near us (have I convinced you yet?).

Thanksgiving was a great day. On Black Friday, Ray and I went shopping. Chris and the guys went hunting and then they got to go flying with my cousin David. Chris even got to drive the plane. We had Friday night dinner at Penn's and ice cream at Brewster's. Here's our annual Brewster's photo. At least this year it wasn't 40 degrees and raining. Such a great tradition.

Will loves ice cream too.

The next day we enjoyed playing in the country.

It's so peaceful there.

Our last evening there, we had a birthday party for GG.

What a wonderful holiday. We enjoyed our time with the Jackson crew. Our little family has so much to be thankful for. Chris and I are so grateful for our little guy. He makes us laugh everyday. My heart swells with pride and joy each and every day. Chris and I are so lucky to be surrounded by family and friends that love our little guy just like we do. We are richly blessed.

Pictures

2011-12-03T22:35:00.000-08:00

My amazingly, talented friend Teddi recently took some pictures of Will. Will was being a bit of a stinker that day and he did not want to have his picture taken. I think he really just wanted to get back to playing with Ted's boys, Hutson and Wheeler. I can't blame him! However, Teddi managed to still get some great shots. I don't know how she does it! She's a superstar. I'm still debating on which ones to order; I love them all!

GG's Birthday!

2011-12-03T21:16:00.001-08:00

GG celebrated her birthday this past week and we met up with her at PF Changs for a delicious birthday dinner.

Will is currently perfecting the fake cry. Here's what it looks like. ha.

What a great fortune!

Happy Birthday, GG. Thank you for everything you mean to us, do for us, and are to us. We love you.

Funny

2011-12-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had a Baylor watching party at our house (It's a great time to be a Baylor Bear fan- 9 and 3 right now...wahoo!). We were excited to have lots of friends come over to play with Will too. I got out the exersaucer for our sweet friend Marley, who is 6 months old. Will kept trying to get in, and I told him that it was for Marley. I tried to explain that it was for babies. I walked away to do something and came back to find this.

I don't know how he managed to climb in the exersaucer, but I laughed hysterically. It's amazing how big he looks in it now. It doesn't seem like that long ago that he was playing in it.

I think he's thinking- What? I wanted to play in the exersaucer. No biggie. He really wanted me to just go away so he could play. ha.

Willow Bend Ice Palace

2011-11-21T12:21:00.001-08:00

Prior to our Thanksgiving trip, GG and I needed to finish our Christmas shopping for the Jackson crew. We met at Willowbend and took Will through the Ice Palace.

Will was comparing his hand to the size of a polar bear claw.

He thought it was funny.

Looking at the polar bear.

3 feet tall at 22 months!

Will enjoyed running around in the snow room.

Waiting to see Santa.

After we visited the Ice Palace and said hello to Santa, we finished up our Christmas shopping. We were able to check on the new H&M where we found this stylish hat for Will. We didn't buy it, but I was just impressed he actually kept it on his head!

However, he did not find the feather boa amusing. His Dad would be proud, I'm sure.

Dear Santa...

2011-11-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

GG, Will, and I headed over to Willow Bend Mall to finish up some Christmas shopping for our Jackson family and to check out the Ice Palace. We happened upon Santa and Mrs. Clause! Will did not want to actually sit with Santa, but Santa was wonderful and made the best of the situation. He had Will laughing hysterically and playing peekaboo.

22 Months

2011-11-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of Will wearing his 3D glasses. He loves his "gasses" as he calls them.

Where does the time go? Little Will is 22 months. I can't believe that in 2 months we will be celebrating his 2nd birthday; time flies! Here's what Will is up to at 22 months:

*He's growing like crazy! He wears 2T-3T clothes and a size 8 shoe.

*He's getting to be a better eater. We have expanded our meal options to mac and cheese, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, AND pizza. It may not seem like much, however, he was eating mac and cheese only. It's progress!

*He loves chocolate milk and would prefer to drink that over water or juice.

*He loves donut runs with Dad on the weekends. I mean who doesn't love donut holes and chocolate milk for breakfast?!?

*We have gotten into a pretty good sleep routine. He goes to bed between 7:30-8 and is usually up around 7. He takes a 2-3 hour nap right after lunch time. He has only gotten out of his crib 1 time. I'm a fan of keeping the crib as long as possible (not until he's 5 or anything, just until he's ready and we're ready-I've seen him try to sleep in a bed and it isn't pretty!).

*He has already been using the potty! We can't believe it. He uses the potty at school, but he doesn't want to go when he's at home. We try but aren't going to push him. I think it's good enough that he's going all the time at his school; thank goodness for an awesome school!

*His favorite show is Mickey Mouse. We recently introduced him to The Lion King and Cars 1&2 and he loves them too. It's so fun to get to watch all of my favorite Disney movies with him.

*He loves to read and be read to. Makes my teacher heart happy!

*He loves all things transportation: buses, cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, boats, tractors, etc. All the way to school I hear, "I see bus, I see big truck, Airplane! I see airplane!"

*We are always blown away by what he's learning at school. He knows so many things and his vocabulary is amazing. He is really getting good at putting together sentences. I love that he can tell me what he wants or doesn't want.

*He can throw a fit with the best of them! Some days his favorite words are "no" and "mine."

*He prefers to be outside playing. He wants to ride his bike, or ride around in one of the neighbors motorized cars, or go to the park. Anything outside is good with him!

*He's so sweet and so much fun.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! I love this holiday because it sets off the holiday season and I am so ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas already. All of the holidays are so much more fun with Will around. Will loved counting the pumpkins out front and he always wanted his picture taken with his pumpkin.

Playing out front with his sidewalk chalk.

Riding his bicycle-as he calls it. His feet don't quite reach the pedals, but he loves to sit on it and push it around. I think a bicycle that is his size is on his Christmas list.

More posing with his pumpkins.

Trick or Treating with our neighborhood friends. I tried to get Will in all types of costumes, however, he was not interested. We went with the skeleton pjs instead. I was kinda sad because I wanted him to be something super cute, but he was happy with his pjs and that's what matters! Will didn't really understand the concept of trick or treating at first. He just wanted to ride in the wagon and go to the park. He was happy with his 2 suckers!

We finally got him out of the wagon!

Running around in the front yard after trick or treating.

He preferred trick or treating at our house.

I love that messy mouth!

The Big Orange Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

We woke up Saturday morning and decided to head out to The Big Orange Pumpkin Patch. Several friends had recommended that we check it out and it did not disappoint. There was a huge petting zoo, a train ride which is always a hit with Will, and lots of pumpkins to choose from. I really like that they grow their own pumpkins and I thought it was very cool to see a working pumpkin farm! Will was all ready to go see the 'pupkins' as he calls them.

Feeding the animals was Will's favorite part.

The goats made him laugh hysterically because they were licking the food off of his hands.

Riding a tractor.

Will was so excited about riding the train.

We were trying to get the little busy body to pose for some pictures.

Will loved running back and forth through this little playhouse.

Such a great Saturday morning! It's so much fun to see him enjoy all the fun and excitement of Halloween.

Fall Festival

2011-10-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Will's school recently had their Fall Festival. There is a costume parade, petting zoo, hay ride, games, etc. Will is a skeleton, again, this year. He refuses to wear any costume, so skeleton PJ's it is! He's the cutest skeleton I know! :)

Walking in the parade with his assistant teacher.

Papa was able to make it to the parade and festival. Will just wanted to stand by the petting zoo the whole time.

Hay ride.

More time in the petting zoo.

State Fair

2011-10-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ray Ray recently came in town and we headed down to the State Fair of Texas. Our first stop was fried bubble gum. It was yuck, but it was the first of our many fried treats that day. I think our favorites were fried snickers, fried mashed potatoes, and fried cheesecake. Yum! Of course, the corn dog was awesome too.

They had a great children's area. Will got to be a farmer!

Ready to complete his farm assignments!

Riding a tractor.

His feet weren't quite long enough to make it go, so Papa and Dada helped him go.

Picking apples with GG.

Planting seeds with Ray Ray.

Will went on his first fair ride all by himself. He loved the swings.

I'm not going to lie, after he took his first solo ride I cried. Yes, I cried at the fair. I don't know what came over me. I think it was just the realization that he was big enough to ride alone. Time flies; wasn't it just the other day he was my little baby??

We rode the skyway. It was a great view of the fair.

Visiting Big Tex.

Will's favorite- the petting zoo! He loves animails.

Dada and Will went on a train ride.

I love her!

Being silly...so cute!

Waiting to get on the carousel.

I love this picture. He's waving to us! So excited!

The last ride- 4 wheelers! Will cried when the ride was over. He wanted to keep going!

I love the State Fair!

Trip to Houston

2011-10-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

We recently made a trip to Houston to visit Grandpa, Nana, and Uncle Joel. On Saturday we headed to the Farmer's Market at the Imperial Sugar Factory. It was great weather and there was lots of fun, pretty, and interesting stuff to look at. We even bought a bar of goat soap and Will has been using that to bathe with. It makes his skin feel so soft. I love finding new things like that!

Wearing Nana's sunglasses.

Checking out the fire truck with Dad.

Heading to the pumpkin patch. Baylor was playing that day, so of course we had to have our Baylor gear on!! Go Bears!

Will wanted to pick up all the pumpkins; just getting his work out in! :)

It's impossible to get a great picture of him where is he actually looking at the camera; such a busy boy!

Eating popcorn with Grandpa. Will found someone's red wagon and wanted to go for a ride!

We had a yummy lunch before heading home for nap time.

After nap time, Will got to go swimming! YAY! Will loves to swim and was thrilled to be in the water even though his teeth were chattering and his lips were turning blue! :)

Playing with Uncle Joel.

Chris getting Myra all wet! He's such a jokester.

Swimming with Dada.

Before we headed out for dinner, Will took a ride on his new bicycle (that's what he calls it...he's obsessed with bicycles, truck, trains, etc).

We went to P.F. Changs for dinner; Yum! Family picture-

Hanging out with Uncle Joel!

and Grandpa too!

Will was dancing to the music and running around with his glow necklace.

So cute! Love that boy!

I love this picture. We had a great time visiting!

Carson's First Birthday

2011-10-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sweet Carson turned 1 and celebrated with a circus party! Lisa, Carson's mom, is also a teacher and she put together the cutest party. The kids had fun running around and playing at all the different stations.

Will's favorite spot to sit. He loves "big boy" chairs (aka any chair that doesn't have a booster seat).

Katie, Tucker and Will; so cute (but impossible to get a picture with all of them looking!)

Oktoberfest

2011-10-16T19:43:00.001-07:00

Ray Ray came in town and we all went to Oktoberfest on the Square. It was beautiful weather and they had lots of fun things to see and do.

Meeting Chester the Cheetah

He didn't want him to get too close.

Yummy lunch at Spoons.

Papa and Ray Ray took Will on the train ride. Will is obsessed with all types of transportation: trains, buses, tractors, trucks, etc.

We had to try the chicken hat on Will...he wasn't thrilled! :)

Catch Up

2011-09-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Lots of new posts below:
http://chrisandshellyspaulding.blogspot.com/2011/09/happy-birthday-aliyah.html

http://chrisandshellyspaulding.blogspot.com/2011/09/lately.html

http://chrisandshellyspaulding.blogspot.com/2011/09/grandparents-day-at-wills-school.html

http://chrisandshellyspaulding.blogspot.com/2011/09/spaulding-visit.html

http://chrisandshellyspaulding.blogspot.com/2011/09/jamie-giraffe.html

http://chrisandshellyspaulding.blogspot.com/2011/09/work-in-progress.html

Happy Birthday Aliyah!

2011-09-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

Aliyah had her 3rd birthday party at Gymboree playcenter. We had never been to Gymboree, so this was fun experience for us. I am seriously thinking about having Will's 2nd birthday party here. It was so much fun and there's lots of stuff for all age kids to do.

The Leal twins!

I couldn't believe what a BIG BOY Will was at the party. He was one of the youngest there, but he sat at the table and ate his pizza (which is a first; I could never get him to eat it at home...stinker), drank out of his cup, and used his napkin. Who is this kid? And how did he get so big??

Lately...

2011-09-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Here's what Will has been up to lately:
We met GG and Papa up at the play center for fun times!

We ran into my oldest friend Emily and her family. We have literally known each other since birth; our parents were friends first. Will and Fallin were so cute together. I can't wait to meet little Parker too!

Will found what he's asking Santa Claus (or Grandparent Claus...ha) for. We went to Toys R Us to get a birthday gift for another child and I made the mistake of walking down this aisle. As soon as Will saw these motorized cars, he was hooked. Of course the sales person let him drive it around the store and that made him want it even more. The salesperson, and my Dad, were both like "just buy it." Thanks Dad! :) ha. This will be a hit for sure.

Will got a haircut. The lady at the hair salon asked me if I would like her to spike it up. I said sure, and this is what I got. Holy moly! What a Mohawk!

Will is not a fan of the Mohawk and neither is his daddy. Will cried until I washed the gel out of his hair.

We went to Cabelas to look at all the animals and ended up checking out their camping gear too.

And the boats!

Will spent the night with GG and Papa, so mom could go to girls night and Dad could watch the Baylor game. Will had a blast and didn't want to leave. He was busy planning GG and Papa's trip to Canada.

My cutie-pa-tootie!

Dad and some work friends won a golf tournament. Chris brought the trophy home and of course Will thought it was his. I mean it was his size!

TROUBLE! I was making dinner and I thought "It's awfully quiet." I turned around and found this. I had no idea he could even get on the chair let alone the table!

In the end, I was able to see how he masterminded this plan!

He loves playing Superman! RayRay-remember these fun times?!?!

Holly and Will our new best friends (it took long enough). Holly can always count on Will to feed her while he's eating!

Nothing can distract this kid from his beloved Mickey Mouse! I swear it's the ONLY time I see him sit still!

We were able to go over and play with the Clayton's. It was so fun. We love them!

Wheeler...such a cutie!

Serious game face!

Cheese!

Our little Baylor Football fan! I love this shirt from Barefoot Designs! I mean who doesn't love a monogrammed shirt...so cute!

Grandparent's Day at Will's School

2011-09-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Will's school recently hosted a Grandparents breakfast. GG was able to make it to breakfast with Will. They ate bagels and fruit, made arts and crafts, and played. GG got to be part of Will's classroom and meet his teachers. Will was excited to show off his GG and introduce her to his friends! I tried to get a couple of pictures in his cute outfit before we left for school. He's a bit of a busy body, so that was difficult to do.

So excited to see GG in the morning. He saw her car and started yelling for GG.

Making arts and crafts.

So excited to show GG all his tricks!

Spaulding Visit

2011-09-17T12:55:00.001-07:00

The Spaulding's made a quick trip to Dallas the weekend before school started. We had fun catching up and playing.

Spaulding men.

Chris and Joel's cousin, Rachel, came over. Love her! It was fun catching up with her.

Playing in the water table.

1...2...3...slide!

Holly's favorite place in the 100 plus degree heat!

Reading with Nana before they had to go home. Will loves all the books his Nana buys him. We read them everyday. She finds cool books that pop up, or make noise!

Jamie the Giraffe

2011-09-17T12:53:00.001-07:00

Wahoo! The baby giraffe at the Dallas Zoo will be name Jamie! Whew! What an honor and a great memorial for their baby boy! Makes me heart happy!

http://www.dallaszoo.com/

Work In Progress

2011-09-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

The blog is currently a work in progress. The other day, Chris sent me and email and it said "Do you know what happened August 9?" My reply was obviously, "No." His reply, "Your last blog post." I literally laughed out loud; it was hilarious! OK, OK, I've slacked on the blog. Not because I don't love to blog all about my precious baby or for lack of pictures. Honestly, after school started things got crazy busy (you know how that goes, right?), and my migraines were at an all time worst! I'm finally feeling better; thank goodness for the chiropractor. Who would have thought a chiropractor would have such a profound impact on my headaches?? I'm so glad he has though. I finally feel more like myself again.

With that said, I'm working on bringing the blog back to life. I can't let Will's baby book go! XOXO

Jamie the Giraffe

2011-08-09T20:40:00.001-07:00

If you haven't already, you have to read this family's blog:
http://jamescamdensikes.blogspot.com/

More info on the family from a newstation:
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/08/09/naming-campaign-pushes-to-honor-8-month-old-cancer-victim/#.TkH6RDv6zsY.facebook

And then you have to go to this website and print out the form:
http://www.dallaszoo.com/images/news/Baby%20Giraffe%20Contest%20Entry%20Form%20to%20PDF.pdf

And vote for that baby giraffe at the Dallas Zoo to be named "Jamie the Giraffe."

School has started for Will!

2011-08-09T08:59:00.001-07:00

Happy 19 Month Birthday, "Weal!"

2011-08-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

I can't believe you are 19 months! Time is flying. You are so hilarious and you keep us on our toes. You are a busy body and always on the go. You love to look at pictures and call out every one's name. You are a paci ninja and you know that the paci stays in the crib and is only for night time, however, you will find ways to maneuver and hide with the paci. This cracks me up, but I have to put on a serious face when I find him with it. The paci only in the crib makes you very easy to put to bed. You're always ready to go 'night night.' Your favorite words and/or phrases are: "I see elephants," "Dada's truck," "Papa's truck," "milk please," "KEYS!" and "mine." When you are asked your name, you say Will like "Weal." It's too funny. We love you.

The Greatest Show on Earth

2011-08-05T11:16:00.001-07:00

Will's first circus! Wahoo! We, OK I, was super excited about this adventure and was SURE that Will would LOVE the circus. I spent hours looking for tickets and trying to find the best price for the best seats. I was a little apprehensive that it would be a little too loud or maybe too much for him, but I thought he would love the animals. Ringling Brothers does NOT disappoint. They have entertainment from the minute the doors open until the time the show was over. It was awesome! Will loved every minute of it and was glued to the stage for the entire 2 hours. Every day since he says, "I see elephants."

We got there early so we could take part in all the preshow activities. You could meet the clowns, the dancers and performers, watch some of the acts, and even try on some of the costumes.

Watching the act.

Dance class with Ray Ray.

Sitting on the motorcycle-I can't believe they fit 7 of these in a cage during the show. WOW!

We had to try on costumes!

Best view in the house...Dada's shoulders.

Mesmerized.

Love the clowns.

And the show begins...

Tigers

7 bikes in this cage. Crazy.

Will's favorite- the elephants.

Definitely the greatest show on earth...so fun!

Indoor Safari Park

2011-08-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the Indoor Safari Park for a birthday party this summer. Lots of great stuff for kids to do including train and animal rides, a huge ball ball pit and slides, and train tables. Fun, Fun!

Will discovered a love for dinosaurs at Aiden's party.

And train tables. I have been searching craigslist for one of these! :) He loved this thing.

Wheeler and Will

2011-08-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

We met up with Teddi and Wheeler at Jump and Land this week. These 2 are hilarious together and bound to be best friends. It's like an arranged best friendship! :) ha.

18/19 Months

2011-07-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Will's a week away from being 19 months, so I decided I would do a 18/19 month post. I'll start with the pictures first.
Will is in to all things boy. We have spent many hours at the splash park this summer.

Will is learning to ride his scooter. He doesn't quite understand that he can make it go. He wants you to push him around on the scooter. He will stand on it and look at you and say "GO!" As in push me now! ha.

Will is in to all this that his Dada is doing. If Chris is doing his Insanity workout, so is Will. Too cute.

He also mows the lawn and does yardwork with Dada.

We made a trip to Braums for ice cream. I mean who doesn't love Braums??

Holly is a favorite new toy! He loves to jump over her, on her, and try to ride her like a horse. The funny thing is that she lets him.

He helps Momma bake and makes a mess too!

Looking so cute at his 18 month checkup.
Had to get a hair cut too.

All the details I'll want to remember about Will at this age:

*He is 35 inches and 28 lbs-tall and skinny.

*He wears 2T clothes and a 7 wide shoe.

*He goes to sleep between 7:30-8 and wakes up around 7. He takes a 2 hour nap during the day. He is a really great sleeper as long as he is in his crib. For whatever reason, he is not good on a pallet or in a bed. I think we'll be staying in the crib as long as possible! :) We all need our sleep!

*He has all his teeth except for the 2 year molars.

*Favorite food- mac and cheese. This is pretty much the only "meal" he likes to eat. He has recently started showing interest in chicken nuggets, but only if they are smothered in ketchup. He will also eat sweet potatoes. He's more of a snacker. He loves crackers, goldfish, cheese, chocolate milk, M&M's, nutra grain bars, honey nut cheerios, and pretty much any carb. He won't eat anything hot or cold or any fruit or veggies- he's a stubborn little eater. He will just say "no" and not eat. He's really not that interested in food. I think it's hilarious that he can name all the fruits and vegetables, but won't eat any of them. I think "nana" or banana was his first fruit to call by name but he wants nothing to do with them. Crazy! I'm holding out hope that he'll come around! :)

*He's on the go all the time; such a busy body! He runs everywhere. When he shops with me, he would rather run beside the cart than be in the cart. He loves to play games like hide and seek (especially in the curtains) and chase.

*I'm always impressed with his vocabulary, but my favorite things he says: "Ready, Set, Go." "WOW!" "Please" "Poop" "Pool" "On"

*He counts to 15. I mean how did this happen?? I am always amazed at what he remembers.

*I love all his animal noises. I think our favorites are sheep, elephant, and donkey.

*I love that he still uses his signs even though he knows most of the words too. He will usually do them together.

*He is still in love with Mickey Mouse and that's about the only thing that will get him to sit still for more that 2 minutes.

*He loves to read books and sing songs.

*He loves to be outside which has been a very difficult thing to deal with since we have had 26 days of 100 plus degree heat. We are usually out in the early morning because that's the only time it's bearable.

*He loves to swim. We have spent many hours at the pool, the splash park, and even in the back yard baby pool.

*He's taken a recent interest in photographs. He likes to take the pictures off of the fridge and carry them around and name everyone in the pictures. So sweet. He roll calls his family all the time.

*He is in to all things boy: balls, trucks, airplanes, tractors, blocks, cars, etc.

*He understands so much and that blows my mind. I will ask him a full question and he'll reply yes or no or something else. It's amazing how much he comprehends right now.

*He has developed some separation anxiety when Chris or I leave him. He has also developed some anxiety towards people he doesn't know or remember. I'm sure this will get better, and it's so hard watching them get so upset! :(

I am sure there are a million things I am missing. It's so hard to capture all the things that we love and adore about him. Will Spaulding- you have been the best addition to our little family. You are the sunshine in your dada and I's life. Thank you for making each day a great day. We are loving every minute of watching you grow and change and become a little boy.

Vacation Day 1

2011-07-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

We had the awesome opportunity to take a family vacation with Papa, GG, and Ray Ray to Perdido Key, Florida. We were so excited to take Will on his first vacation AND his first trip to the beach. After much planning and packing (I mean you need LOTS of stuff to take an 18 month old anywhere, but especially to the beach), we set out on our journey to Florida. The first day we drove to Mississippi and spent time with our extended family. It was a nice break in the drive. On the morning we left, we showed up at Papa and GG's and they were ready to celebrate Will's 18 month birthday. That was so special because I got busy with planning and packing of a trip, and they remembered to celebrate that our baby was a year and a half! Wowzier...time flies!

If you know Will Spaulding, you know he loves a nutra grain bar and fire!

The drive to Mississippi was easy and quick. Will did great and we were excited to get there. We rode around on the mules and Will went right over to Gram's table and said "apple" and started doing the horse noise. He wanted to feed the horses; so smart.

Then it was off to family dinner at Penn's where everything is fried and delicious. My favorite is the fried pickles and Chris's favorite is the fried catfish. Will actually ate some of the fried chicken and he loved the hush puppies and french fries. After dinner, he played with Aunt Jayne and had to get one of her famous back rubs. She has the magic touch!

After you eat at Penn's, you must go to Bruester's for ice cream. It's tradition you have too. We are usually eating ice cream in the freezing cold because this has become our Thanksgiving tradition too. I think I prefer eating ice cream in the cold than the 100 degree heat.

Aunt Jayne and Uncle Jim gave Will this truck which has become a favorite in our household.

What a great start to vacation getting to see family. Little Will was such a ham and showed off all his new tricks! Love it! I am publishing this vacation's pictures in days because I was too overwhelmed trying to get it all in in 1 post. This way when I print my blog book, I have it all in order!

Vacation Day 2

2011-07-27T09:58:00.001-07:00

After a fun night with family, we woke up early and Will was ready to play. We wanted him to run around a bit before we got back in the car and headed to Florida. He had fun riding Grandaddy's tractors.

Here's the gang before we set off to Florida.

It was a long, grueling drive. The I-10 bridge in Mobile, AL was awful and literally extended what was supposed to be a 4.5 hour drive in to 7 hours...ugh! But once we arrived and saw this, it was time to relax and enjoy VACATION!

GG got Will this great Beach Bums shirt. Perfect for our vacation! He's also obsessed with all things Ray Ray and needed to try on her sunglasses. Too funny! This is the picture that I'm going to use when he's 18 years old and has his baseball banquet or something like that.

Vacation Day 3

2011-07-27T09:28:00.001-07:00

Day 3 of vacation was our first full day in Florida. We were excited and ready to hit the beach and see how Will liked it. We were all hoping he would LOVE it. We had an awesome set up. The shade is a must have! There is always a breeze there, so as long as you are in the shade it feels really great outside.

Here's our condo. Our balcony is the one with the Texas flag.

Introducing Will to the sand...

and the ocean.

Ray and I are in heaven. The beach is our favorite place!

Flying a kite.

Playing in the sand with Ray Ray.

Sweet Dad.

Dad being silly, but on a serious note, it did take an awful lot of junk for us to get comfortable and cozy on the beach. It was so worth it though! We had an awesome set up thanks to GG and Papa's camping skills; they had everything!

Vacation Day 4

2011-07-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Here's Will resting and relaxing on the balcony. Silly boy.

Kisses for Will!

We went down to the marina to check out the deep sea fishing prospects for the guys. This was the catch of the day- HUGE red snapper.

We stopped to feed the fish.

Meet BOB, the stroller. We do not have a BOB, but after this vacation we might need to get one. Will loved BOB and called it by name. He loved just sitting in it, but especially going for rides in BOB. Thank goodness GG had the insight to rent a BOB (and a crib) for the week. These 2 things made our vacation great! Will literally cried when they took BOB away on the last day of vacation.

Resting and relaxing.

Checking out the sand.

Playing in the water with Dad.

Jack and Sharon celebrated their anniversary while we were there. It was fun to be part of the celebration!

Vacation Day 5

2011-07-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Since we had our own personal alarm clock (aka Will Spaulding), we were up early every morning. This worked out well because we had more time to watch the dolphins swim. Ray and I were mesmerized by them and were like little kids on Christmas watching them play. Here we are watching the dolphins.

The boys decided to do some early morning fishing. It's so quiet and peaceful then. Not too many people out then.

The whole gang.

Papa caught a fish!

We went to Lulu's for lunch. Lulu is Jimmy Buffet's sister and she knows how to cook and entertain. It's a restaurant on the water, but also has lots of entertainment and shopping.

Chris, Drew, and Spencer decided to try the ropes course.

When we got home, it was time for a swim.

Vacation Day 6

2011-07-27T07:47:00.001-07:00

Chris said day 6 was his favorite day because they went deep sea fishing. They caught snapper and we had a delicious dinner that night. Yum- fresh seafood!

Poor Spencer got sick. :/

While the boys were away, the girls and Will played!

Rachel made me preggo when she buried me, however, I am NOT preggo!

When the boys returned, Will was glued to them. This is what happens when Papa tries to go to the restroom. He does NOT go in peace! Will is calling his name and trying to get in! Will definitely loves, and is obsessed, with his Papa.

Vacation Day 7

2011-07-27T07:23:00.001-07:00

Beach time!

Will loves to drink out of everyone else's drinks. He did NOT get any gatorade, but he sure liked trying. I don't think 18 month olds need that! :)

Friendly game of washers between Chris and Mom.

Night time fishing. Dad caught a shark.

And he asked me to hold his pole while he got something to get the shark off and let it go. I did not want any part of that! :)

Vacation Day 8

2011-07-27T07:06:00.001-07:00

Day 8 was our last beach day; we knew we had to make the most of it! Will was really brave this day and ventured out into the sand all by himself and even headed towards the ocean!

Papa caught more fish.

Rachel tried out the paddleboard and made it look so easy!

Will loved the bubbles Papa and GG brought along.

Will decided he wanted to go for a swim.

More fishing for the boys.

We watched the sunset from the beach.

Chris cooked us Royal Reds and boiled shrimp for dinner; such a treat! It was a wonderful last day on the beach. I think we agreed that it was one of our favorite days there.

Vacation Day 9

2011-07-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

After 7 wonderful nights in Florida, it was time to start the journey home. We traveled from Florida to Mississippi on day 9. We spent the afternoon with Gram, Grandaddy and the rest of the family out in the country. Jack and Sharon have beautiful sunflowers growing on their property, so we drove down to see them and take some pictures.

Happy Anniversary GG and Papa! It was fun to get to spend their anniversary with them.

Vacation Day 10

2011-07-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

There are no pictures from Day 10 of vacation because we all woke up early and were ready to get home. We booked it on home. It was an awesome vacation full of laughter, fun, and lots of special memories. I would say Will's first vacation was a huge success. He was leery of the beach in the beginning, I think mostly because the sand can be hard to walk on and he really doesn't like to be dirty. When he got wet and sandy, that was when he was mad. He always loved pool time at the end of the day. By the middle of the week he was running and playing and trying to get in the ocean all by himself. He did great. Thank you GG, Papa, and Ray Ray for making this trip so amazing. It takes a village and we're so lucky to have ya'll! Thanks for helping us chase after Will, helping us bath him, swim with him, play with him, and keeping him napping, sleeping, and eating (the essentials). Thank you GG for thinking of the crib and the BOB. We would not have made it without the crib and the BOB. The little dude just does not sleep well when he is not in a crib. The BOB was his new favorite thing. What an awesome trip. Will falls asleep every night and goes through the roll call: Momma, Dada, GG, Papa, Ray Ray, Holly, Yack (Jack), Sha Sha. So sweet. Makes my heart happy.

Beach Family Pictures

2011-07-27T05:15:00.000-07:00

You can't go to the beach on vacation and not get your family pictures done! This was fun and hilarious to do. It's difficult to corral this many people and especially an 18 month old!! We got some super cute pictures; definitely pictures I'll treasure forever. First up is our group picture. This is everyone that went on the trip with us.

Schieber/Spaulding family picture.

Cousin picture in age order. Yes, yes, I'm the oldest!

Uncle Yack (Jacks) and Aunt Sha Sha as Will calls them.

Sisters!

4th of July/Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-07-07T12:58:00.001-07:00

I love ALL holidays. I am lucky that I grew up in a household where we celebrate all holidays in a BIG way. I love that! And I love being able to carry on that tradition in my own family. I also particularly love the 4th because it's also my birthday! I am the big 29 this year. It's bittersweet. I'm at a great point in my life. I have an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. husband and the sweetest baby boy ever. We are surrounded by great family and friends. I count my blessings every day. However, the fact that I'm almost 30 blows my mind. I look around and think- where did the time go? I don't know. It flies. I'm learning the true meaning of making each moment count! All of that said, I had an awesome birthday weekend. The fam made it so special for me.

The hubs made me a delicious birthday breakfast including my favorite cinnamon rolls. We had lunch at Grimaldi's (yum-0)! We went swimming in Aunt Neta's pool, and finally we had a delicious dinner and dessert at our house. It was a perfect day.

I will post more pictures from the weekend after I get them from M&D.

St. Lucia

2011-06-28T20:03:00.001-07:00

Chris and I had the awesome opportunity to go to St. Lucia with some good friends. It was beautiful, relaxing, and so much fun. We missed the little guy so much, but we knew the little guy was in great hands! First day on the island!

GORGEOUS!

Water tricycle.

We all went parasailing. It's the best view of St.Lucia!

Chris took sailing lessons, and then took us for a ride!

We went on a day tour and 1 of the stops was the waterfall.

We also stopped to go snorkeling.

They took us on a fun boat ride. We got to see the house Oprah is building on the island. AMAZING!

Lots of snorkeling.

and SNUBA too!

It was an awesome trip. Chris and I had a wonderful time, however, we did decide that it was WAY too long to be away from our little dude. I think it's safe to say we will be taking family trips from this point forward. We don't want to miss a moment with our little man. We're learning that time flies and he grows and changes so fast. Even after a week away, he was a different kid, doing so many new things. He's the best. Thank you GG, Papa, and Ray Ray for taking such awesome care of our little man. The little dude never even missed us; I swear! He was on his own vacation, getting spoiled every minute. Everytime I would start to freak out about being away, I would talk to them and hear him squealing and running around. Made my heart happy. :)

Swim Lessons

2011-06-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

The first week of June we took Will to swim lessons. He loved splashing around, practicing to kick, kick, kick, and his new favorite thing is to jump off the side of the pool.

We took Will to swim lessons last summer as well when he was only 6 months old. I went back to look at the pictures and was shocked at what a difference a year makes. I can't wait until next summer to see what he looks like then.

Week with The Spaulding's in iPhone pictures

2011-06-15T12:40:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Chris's 29th birthday recently. That's an entire post on it's own, however, I stuck a few pictures in from the celebration. We got to go to Top Golf and dinner with friends on Saturday, and Will had some fun of his own too; eating ice cream and playing at the park! Then on Sunday we had a family party with some of Chris's favorite foods. During the week, while Dad was at work, Will and I got to play with several of our friends, we went to the library for story time, we made some fathers day presents, we spent a lot of time outside, playing and swimming (sometimes naked- I had to out that cute booty pic in). We also made several trips to the doctors office. Since the start of summer Will has had a stomach bug, 2 rounds of pink eye, and an ear infection. Yikes! Hopefully all is well now. He had to travel with me to several appointments too. One to get the results for my recent brain MRI. Good news, nothing on the MRI. Praise Jesus! My neurologist now believes my migraines are hormonal. Hopefully with new treatment they'll be less frequent. I don't want to miss a second with my little man, so I hope they go away or at least decrease. On my second trip to the doc, they told me I had bronchitis. Yikes! One steroid shot and some antibiotics for me, and I'm feeling good. Let's see, what else did we do? Will had his first bagel with cream cheese (yum), we rode the carousel at the mall (which Will wanted to do and then we got on and he just wanted to sit on the bench and watch the horses. Hilarious!), we went to swim lessons, went to a baby shower to celebrate sweet baby Asher, celebrated Tucker turning 2, and took several trips to the park. Whew! Im tired. :) We did get a BIG OW at Tuckers 2nd birthday party. He tripped and hit the table. There was a huge goose egg immediately. He cried, I wanted to cry, but didn't want to embarrass myself in front of our friends. Oh the life of a toddler boy mom!!

Im looking forward to a summer full of great memories. :)

Happy Birthday, Chris!

2011-06-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Happy 29th Birthday Chris! The night before Chris's birthday we got to go to Top Golf and dinner with friends (see previous posts). On his actual birthday, Chris played golf in the morning and then we celebrated Chris's birthday with a family BBQ. Chris smoked some delicious chicken, we had some fresh corn, GG made her famous mac and cheese, and banana pudding for dessert. Yum!

I jazzed the celebration up with some balloons. Will LOVED them!

Holly got in on the birthday action too!

We played Wii bowling. Will thought this was awesome and wanted to participate too.

Ray and Dad played tennis.

Birthday Boy!

Will helped Dad open presents.

It was a fun night of celebrating Chris!

Playdate with The Clayton's

2011-06-10T12:14:00.001-07:00

Will and I got to go hang out with Huston, Wheeler, and their momma, Teddi. I'm not sure who gets more excited Will or me! :) I always love getting together with The Clayton's. Teddi and I were best friends in high school, and I think it's so fun to see her now as a momma! I love having a friend that I can talk to about anything and everything, we can sit in quiet (or semi-quiet with 3 kids running around), we can vent about life, we can brag on our boys, and we can just be. We don't have to get dressed up (I literally wore my pj's to her house), I can always be myself without fear of being judged, and I just enjoy her company. I feel really lucky to have met her when we were in 9th grade, to know her now as a wife and mom, and I'm looking forward to a future full of memories. With Wheeler and Will being just 5 months apart, I think there are good times in our future! :) Her boys are precious and so much fun! Teddi also happens to be an amazing photographer. She took all the photos below, and I am just amazed at how beautiful they are! She's so talented. Check out more of her cool photographs here: http://teddiandjerryclayton.blogspot.com/

Here are my photographs. They're not even close to Teddi's!!! I'm so glad she took pictures. I will cherish her photos forever. Will wasn't being really quiet and wanted to sit in my lap and not play. I thought that was odd. I found out the next day that he had an ear infection and pink eye. :/ Poor little guy. Hopefully next time he'll be more playful!

Thank you Clayton family for a fun morning!

Moments With Will

2011-06-04T21:35:00.001-07:00

Some of my favorite moments with Will are in the early mornings when he's playing outside. He is definitely a morning person; he wakes up happy (I seriously don't know where he got that)! :) I just love to watch him play. I often wonder what he's thinking and really trying to say. I'm trying to capture it on film because these are the moments I always want to remember. He's such a busy body right now, and I just enjoy watching him.

Saying "two." Two and five our the numbers that currently exist in Will's world.

He just looks so big to me. I'm realizing just how fast time is going.

Soggy little booty trying to climb back up the slide. Previously, he tried to climb into the water table instead of just splashing, so his diaper is hanging low. I guess he wanted to go for a little swim.

Addie Turns 2!

2011-06-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Our sweet neighbor and friend turned 2 this week. They had her party at an indoor bounce house. What a great invention! Will started the day about driving the cars in the game room.

Headed to the party room to play!

The birthday girl and Will. These 2 were jumping in one of the bounce houses, just the 2 of them. I thought it was hilarious that there were so many kids running around and they just wanted to play with each other. So cute. I was hoping to have Addie has my daughter-in-law, one day, however, I think they're going to have the brother/sister relationship. Who knows! :) One can dream...

The slide! Whoa! When I first walked in, I thought there is no way Will is going to like that. He didn't at first, but by the end he was going alone.

First time down the slide. Not too sure about this! :)

OK, this is getting better!

Now I'm going all by myself!

Uh-Oh!

Whoa! That was awesome!

Dad and Will sliding together! I conveniently forgot my socks and got to be the official photographer. I know Chris was tired at the end. Will didn't stop sliding the entire hour and a half we were in there! Thanks hubs!

The birthday girl and her dad.

Face first! What??? You bet I was hollering at Chris for that one! :)

He figured out that going down on his stomach was faster!

The birthday princess and her throne.

Happy Birthday sweet Addie. I can't believe you're 2.

Memorial Weekend

2011-05-31T18:12:00.001-07:00

Ahh...Memorial Day, the official start to summer. I love this holiday because it means schools almost over! Wahoo! We spent the weekend relaxing with friends and family. We played in the backyard and made our own little water park for the kids, made a trip to the actual pool, and had a bbq. We did end the holiday weekend with a trip to the doctor. We had our first experience with pink eye. Poor Will; it's always something with a toddler boy. :)

We set up our kiddie pool and Will and Addie decided to test it out. The water was COLD, but they played forever.

First trip to the pool. I'm looking forward to spending many days at the pool. I love that they have a kiddie pool that's shaded; perfect for the little water lovers!

Go Mavs!

2011-05-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

Bubbles

2011-05-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

A Boy and His Dog

2011-05-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Will has developed a new love for Holly. I wish I could say that Holly feels the same, but honestly I think she feels Will has stolen her thunder as the "baby" in the family! Holly is great with Will, but I'd say she really just tolerates him. :) Anyways, Will loves to get in the kennel with Holly. I don't know what the fascination is, but it's hilarious. I often find this:

Then I try to open the kennel door and he shuts it back.

Giving Holly a little love.

OW!

2011-05-31T09:32:00.000-07:00

Poor Will took a big fall a week or two ago at school and has the rug burn to prove it! He got his foot caught in between two of their play mats, and his face took most of the fall. He has a large rug burn in between his eyes. It started out like the pictures above, and then became a scab (like you can see in many of my previous posts). I think it must look worse than it felt because it didn't seem to phase him at all. I was just glad we had his pictures taken the weekend before! :)