Will turned 1!!

Our baby boy turned 1 this past week.  What a year it has been!  He is such a beautiful, precious blessing and we are daily thankful for the love and joy he brings to our lives.  Since we were on vacation on his actual birthday, we celebrated there and then when we got home we opened waiting cards and gifts.  So, no big party, but small family celebrations.  As a warning...this is a little pic heavy.  : )

Daddy reading Great Grandpa and Grandma's card.  Apparently it was funny.  ; )

Love the look on his face in this shot...like "Good riddens!  Get rid of that silly paper that only blocks the present!"

Finally!  The present!

Good job, Great Gpa and Gma!  He loves his gifts!

Here's Mommy and Daddy's gift to Will on his very first bday.  We are thrilled to report that he loves it!

Reading all the sweet bday cards that were waiting when we got home.

Gma DeeDee and Pops got Will a winter jacket, hats, and mittens.  Here's one of the hats!  Love it!  :)

This picture and the next are his gifts from Gpa and Gma H.  They arrived early, and since we weren't home on his bday, they said it was OK to open them early, so we did!

Will loves puzzles!  He tries and tries to get those pieces back in the right spots.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent Will a gift and/or a card!  He loves all his gifts and cards, and we actually reread his cards over and over again, much to his delight!

Want to work from home, mom?

Hey mamas!  I found a great resource for those of you that may be looking for a way to make a few extra bucks while still being able to stay home with your kiddos.  About a month ago, I discovered the website: http://www.wahm.com/.  It is a great forum that lists a ton of resources for working out of the home.  You just have to join the forum (free), and peruse the opportunities, finding the one(s) that fit your strengths.  There are jobs listed from marketing, daycare, and party planning, to name just a few.  Personally I did some research under the "WAHMs who write" forum, applied to some online writing companies, and now have been making a decent little extra cash flow with my writing.  I chose writing because it has always been something I enjoy, have been okay at, and because I am not a people person.  There are many other opportunities that favor many different types of strengths.  I encourage you to check it out, even if you don't end up or want to do anything, it's still a great resource.  : ) 

Spaghetti!!

Will had spaghetti for the first time tonight.  He did enjoy it, and here are the pictures to prove it!  As a side note...that is not acne on his head, but rather mosquito bites, we just got back from vacation during which we camped (pictures of that will be up soon).

Will has started doing this adorable cheesy laugh and here I caught him in the middle of it.  Below is a video of him doing his cheesy laugh with his spaghetti face.

Searching for Baby Snacks

Our two biggest struggles with Will right now are keeping him out of the dog food bowl and from climbing the stairs.  It seems that he just loves dog food and desperately wants to eat some.  He also loves to splash in the dog food water, of course.  We keep the dog food in it's big bag on top of a bench, but the other morning it was practically empty, and a little boy pulled it down and decided to try to search out some of his favorite snacks. 

Here he decided it was time to come explore the camera instead.  I tried to fix his red-eye, but it just stayed reflective.  My photo program isn't that sophisticated.

Meriam's Corner

We went to another site and walked along the Minuteman trail this past weekend.  This time we went to Meriam's Corner. 

In short, here is what happened there: "Meriam's Corner - The British troops retreating from the Old North Bridge were here attacked in flank by the men of Concord and neighboring towns and driven under a hot fire to Charlestown."  This would begin a six hour, sixteen mile retreat back to Charlestown, punctuated by bursts of heavy fighting.

I thought it was interesting to know that this house, though built in the 1600's was occupied until 1980 (they added floorboard heater's, but left the rest of the original construction).  That is some quality construction!

Noticed the exposed beams and low ceilings.  They were even lower in other rooms...Carl had to hunch.  Apparently they built them low in order to help keep the rooms warm from the open fire in the winter.

Handsome husband in front of the beautiful wildflowers.

Keeping Watch

Will and Missy were watching out the storm door window the other day and it was so cute I just had to snap some pictures.

Looks almost like they're chatting about a watch plan.

New Food

I recently got some raisins from the store and decided to let Will try them out this morning.  He is  pretty good at chewing with his 8 front teeth.  He tried them and loves them!  Always exciting to add another food to his growing menu. 

Mmmmm...raisins...

Love this pic...just chewing.  You can really see his growing hair.

More chewing and a bit of shock...poor kid, just trying to eat his breakfast in peace.

Will Again :)

Will recently started to do a new "trick", and though I posted this video on facebook, I thought I would post it here as well, since everyone that checks our blog is not on facebook.  Sorry about my loud voice throughout.  Also, he looks like he is going to cry in the beginning, because I had just moved him to that spot for the camera angle and he thought I was going to quit playing w/him (and he was tired).  It's pretty cute to watch his quick change of emotions. 

Camera Shy...What's That?

So I tried to sneak a video of Will this morning (yes at 7:30 on a Sunday morning--we've been up since 5:30), but I tell you that kid has like a sixth sense for the camera.  He almost immediately saw it on my lap and as you will see quickly made his way over to investigate. 

There's a bit of a pause in the middle of this one, as Will looks off into the distance and seems to ponder something, but he continues his chatter shortly after.  : )