Yardwork

Well, my back yard is a complete disaster right now.

For the last few weeks Paul and Bob have been working on building a retaining wall around the planters in the back. The problem is that they only get about 1 day of good weather when they are both off of work, and then it goes back to cold and rain/snow.

So, they've got about half of it done.

In the meantime I have been trying to keep 50 plus plants alive in my living room. I ordered a preplanned garden from an online nursery. The website said that they would ship the plants to us when it was best to plant in our area.

Obviously none of their staff has ever been to Utah! I got the box full of sprouts and bare root plants in mid March!

So, the crisper drawer in my fridge is full of roots wrapped in wet paper towels, and my front window looks like a green house. Hopefully the weather will hold this week so that Paul can at least get a spot cleared for these plants. I'm starting to get fed up with yard work already this year.

I tried to convince Paul that we should move to a townhouse that only had a small yard, but he isn't ready to move.

Oh well...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I can't believe that it's been a year already!! It seems like we were just in the hospital waiting for Will to get here.

In the past year we've all grown so much. Obviously Will has grown, but Paul and I have grown a lot, too.

I've seen my husband change into a father, and an awesome one at that. He's so cute when he plays with Will, and when he kisses Will's little head and hugs him it brings tears to my eyes. He's learned how to put a diaper on a squirming child, and he's taken to baths and feedings like a pro.

I've become a mom. I drive a minivan to shuttle Will back and forth from daycare, grandma's houses, and to get the groceries. I've learned the best way to get baby food stains out of my clothes (and his). And I only miss sleeping in and doing absolutely nothing a little bit.

I am so glad that we have a little family now. I can't imagine life without Will.

Birthday Party!

We had Will's birthday party today. Grandma Rhonda did a fireman theme. The cake had a firetruck, fireman's hat, and a dalmatian on it. She also got Will a fireman's party hat.
Here are some pictures.

This was the cake and presents.

Will had fun opening presents, but mostly he wanted to eat the paper.

Will's fireman hat.

Aunt Erin gave Will an inflatable ball pit. He loved it!

After the long day Will fell asleep during dinner.

Here's Will eating his birthday cake.

And playing in his present from Erin.

Messy Boy

Okay, I know that some of you think that the mess that Will makes when he eats is minimal based on the other pictures that I posted.
Well, he had pasta with sauce last night and was coated. Luckily the camera was handy.

"Hey Mom, let me see that camera for a second." :-)

"Ha Ha! I'm hilarious!"

We should have used this as face paint with his pumpkin costume.

I put him in the bathtub after this and there is still an orange ring in there, and when I took a shower today it made me hungry for Italian food!!

Reflecting

You know, I can hardly believe that Will is almost a year old.
I got to looking at all of the pictures and videos from the last 12 months and I thought that I would make a little collage.
Check this out!

Big Boy

I can't believe that Will is almost a year old. He's getting so big! He's started saying some simple words like Mama, Dada, and no (which is his favorite). Most of what comes out is still baby talk, but every now and then he will say something that you can understand as words.

He got really mad at me the other day when I took something away from him and he told me "No".

It's so weird to hear him make words!

He's also learning to eat more big people food. He had some pasta the other night and managed to get most of it in his hair. The next night he had some peas that he was picking up one at a time. It took a long time to empty out the bowl that way!

I couldn't help but take some pictures.

These were all from before he made a huge mess. By that time I was trying to keep things semi contained, and I couldn't get my camera.

We've all been fighting a nasty cold this week. Will and I are on antibiotics, and hopefully we will start feeling better soon.

Grandma Rhonda has offered to have the birthday celebration at her house and it looks like we will be having it the weekend before, on April 4th. I'll post some pictures once we have them.

Monkeys

It's funny... Will has a stuffed Monkey at almost every house that we visit.

At our house he has a girl sock monkey that my aunt made for me years ago. He likes to crew on her tail, which is discolored because I used to chew on it when I was little. (Don't worry, I washed it before I gave it to him!)

At Grandma Rhonda's he has the original sock monkey that Great Grandma Edna made (he chews on that one, too), a new store bought sock monkey that is red, and a multi colored little monkey toy that he carries around in his teeth!

At Grandma Nina's house he has a fuzzy stuffed monkey that Nina bought for him. He likes to fling that one around because it has long legs and arms and they flop around really well. He would probably chew on that one too, but it is fuzzy and I think it leaves lint on his tongue.

Maybe he knows something that we don't. Maybe monkeys taste better than they look...