Happy Trails

Over Christmas we visited Carl's family in Arizona.  We had a fun time, and Will was able to meet many relatives he had not met before.  One day we went out on a family trail walk and let Will explore a bit on his own walking on the way back.  This is pretty pic heavy...I couldn't decide which ones to put up.  :)

The lighting is poor, but I love the picture of these two.

Daddy and Will trekking together.

Will loves to give high-fives when he accomplishes something.

This boy LOVES the outdoors!

This was quite a feat...climbing this hill on his own.

Will made it up that hill!  : )

Will didn't fight being put back in the carrier after his time of exploring...he fell asleep shortly after AND took a long nap when we got home.  All that exploring was hard work!

Daddy carrying his precious cargo back to the car.

Pops and Deedee's Visit

Over Thanksgiving Carl's parents visited.  It was wonderful to have them visit, though unfortunately for them they were sick over the actual Thanksgiving holiday.  Fortunately for us, we never became sick.  Despite the illness, we were still able to have a nice family visit and Will enjoyed seeing his Pops and Deedee.  Here are a few pictures from the visit.  :)

Deedee and Will playing.

While they were here we celebrated Christmas as well.  Here's Will on the rocking horse Pops made for him by hand.  Pretty great craftsmanship, isn't it? 

On his way to becoming a real cowboy. ; )

At MIT in front of Carl's building.

Pops and Will hanging out in Daddy's study office.

A Day in the Life of Will

Will is a very active boy, always doing or into something.  :)  He is so much fun, I just wanted to share a few videos of when I was actually able to "catch" him doing something.  So here's some activities in the day of the life of Will...

Sometimes he dances...

Recently he has discovered this toe-tapping type dance and circle spinning.  Definitely takes some coordination and concentration.  :)

Sometimes he tells very ANIMATED stories...(sorry about video quality...I was trying to keep Will from seeing the camera)

And sometimes he just sits in his chair to play quietly...(please excuse the loud background noise--the window was open and they were leaf blowing outside)

No matter what he does, a day in the life of Will is always an adventure!  :)

Playing Outside

Will LOVES to play outside, no matter the weather!  This past week it grew especially cold here, so we had to bundle up.  Is it just me or are children impervious to the cold?  Here are a few pics of Will playing in the cold.  :)

All bundled up and ready to play!

Will LOVES little plastic houses like this one.  He will play and play and play in them.  Here Daddy is playing peek-a-boo through the window. 

Canada

I was just looking through our posts for some pictures and realized I never posted any from our trip to Canada.  In August we went visited Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with my grandparents, who were already in Canada.  I have always wanted to visit Nova Scotia and since we live so close we thought we'd go now, since we can drive, as it is likely we'll never go again.  We camped and had a wonderful visit with Will's great-grandparents on his first trip out of the country. :)  FYI, this is picture heavy.  :)

Will thought he could climb up the tent.  This was before he could walk.

Carl and Grandpa chatting at the campsite, which was still in the processes of being set up.

Will thought it necessary to ensure that rocks in Canada taste the same as rocks in the U.S.

Nova Scotia has some of the highest tides in the world, and you can watch them come in.  Here's Grandma in front of where we watched the tide come in...you see behind her there's almost no water.

The tide is starting to come in behind us.

The tide is in.

Ferry to Prince Edward Island.

Campground on Prince Edward Island.

Prince Edward Island.

We were amazed that they could farm all the way up to the salt water on Prince Edward Island.

Playtime

I've been unsuccessfully trying to get video of Will chattering.  It's very hard to get video of him w/out him noticing the camera.  He's pretty observant.  I'll continue to try, but in the meantime here are some recent pictures and videos of Will playing.  :)

Obviously not Will's best picture, but it's the clearest.  He decided that he needed to pull one of the storage tubs off his toy rack (on the left side of the pic) and sit in it.  That spoon is one of his favorite "toys".

He started anticipating the flash... :)

Still getting ready for that flash...

Here's Will playing w/his toy microwave.  He's not really chattering so much as just making noise.  :)

Here's Will sitting in his favorite chair.  He was "reading" his book, until he saw the camera.  You can tell by his faces that he again, seeing the camera, starts to anticipate the flash that never comes.  So funny.  Silly boy.

Last one.  Will playing peek-a-boo for a second.  He quits pretty quickly after seeing the camera.

Cloth Wipes

As most of you know by now, I use cloth diapers for Will.  Many mothers who use cloth diapers also use cloth wipes.  I never felt the need to jump on that bandwagon, as my reasons for cloth diapering are not strictly environmental.  I don't mind throwing away wipes.  Anyhow, after a while I started thinking more and more about using cloth wipes for number 1 diaper changes only.  I don't want to have to spray off my wipes in addition to my diapers with number 2 changes.  The reason I thought more and more about switching was for the same reason I use cloth diapers---COST!  We go through a LOT of wipes, though we only have a couple number 2's a day (TMI, I know), they are messy (more TMI), and I wipe Will when he goes number 1 as well, as you will have already surmised.  Anyhow, I finally got the time and motivation to make my cloth wipes!  I just used some $1/yard flannel I had gotten a few years ago from Wal-Mart.  I cut two squares, put two together and used my serger for the edges.  It was easy and fun!  My type of sewing!

3 of the wipes

This gives you and idea of their size...much similar to disposable wipes.  Blogger uploaded the pic sideways...sorry about that.

They fit into a conventional wipes box and pop out the same too, when you fold them together.  You keep them wet with a solution usually mixed with a little baby oil, soap, and water.  I have to find a solution to try.  Some people use just water too.  That blur in the upper right corner is Will.  ;)

He was curious about what Mommy was doing.

Swim Lessons

Recently we started swim lessons with Will.  They have them available on the base here for a reasonable price.  Will learning to swim is high on our priority list, as we know that his comfort level and ability in the water could very well save his life one day.  Especially moving all of the time and most likely by the water, it is likely that he will grow up swimming.  Anyhow, at his age it's really a lot of familiarization and getting comfortable in the water.  It's lots of fun, as Will loves it and is always very vocal about his enjoyment.  :)  This last time Carl was able to go, so he got in the water with Will while I took some pictures and video. Just prior to the swim lesson start Will and Daddy were playing outside of the pool on the concrete and poor Will fell and scraped his face, as you will see.

My boys preparing for their swim lesson. :)

Will waiting to "jump" off the side.  As you can tell, he is easily distracted.  :)

Here's the part during "Ring Around the Rosie" when all the kids fall "up" (not down).  As you can tell, this is one of Will's favorite parts.  He always lets out a joyous yell.

Playing in the water at the side.

And a quick video for all the grandparents (and anyone else who would like to see).  It's during the toss in the air.  You can distinctly hear Will's excited yell.  :)



Rear Window View

Recently a friend of ours made Will a beautiful wood stool.  We immediately put it to use.  Will LOVES looking out the window at the world and people as they go by.  He previously stood on his tiptoes to see out, but as you can see the stool raises him to just the right level.  He quickly realized this stool is his best tool as when he went away from the window he took it with him.  When he returned he scooted it up to the wall himself, climbed up, and gazed out his rear window. 

Cleaning Out The Cabinets

Will loves to get into the kitchen cabinets, as many toddlers do.  He has one cabinet in particular that is "his" cabinet.  It is the skinniest cabinet I have in which I put cookie sheets and cutting boards and such. Well the other day he had the whole cabinet cleared out and had climbed into it so far that I could have shut him in.  By the time I got the camera he was out a little, but still in enough to give you an idea of the situation.  :)

Not sure what those wet spots on his pants were...most likely drool or water.

Here's everything he "cleaned" out.  By this time he was getting excited about the camera, and was climbing out to see it.

This one cracks me up, because he's cracking up.