Photo tag

Photo tag

This picture is Jon with a two-month old Will watching a football game. Will is wearing a Bob Marley shirt (on loan from his cousin, Jake). Jon and his brother Eric are Bob fans, so they generously loaned the onesie to Wil once Jake had grown out of it. Notice that Will is staring at the TV with the same intensity as his Daddy. Will loved watching football from day one. After I took this picture, I remember thinking that Jon would never watch football alone again. :) Will is definitely a Daddy's boy!

Now I tag Amanda A., Naomi, Becky, and Amanda (seester)

Trip #2 to the ER

Yesterday (Monday) I took William to a MOPS playgroup at an indoor playpark. He was so excited to be around other kids and different toys, and he was completely wild! He was running around, playing in ball pits, jumping in the moon bounce, and then the bubbles began. Anyone who knows Will knows that he is a nut for bubbles. He started running around trying to pop the bubbles and bouncing off of other kids. I pulled him aside several times trying to calm him down. Once the bubbles stopped, he was still running around like a wild animal and he collided with another boy his age. I knew the second it happened that this was no ordinary booboo. His cry was unlike anything I'd ever heard him do, and he was absolutely inconsolable. He immediately wanted to get home, so we packed up and left. I told him I wanted to take him to the doctor, but he screamed that he wanted to go home and take a nap. I decided that maybe he was just completely exhausted, and I would evaluate how he felt after his nap. I talked to Jon about it, and we decided he was probably overly tired. He woke up a couple hours later in a sweat and shaking. He was still completely hysterical. That was it...I took him to the ER (for the second time since moving here). The ER was packed with Covington's finest, so I kept my little ducklings next to the door. I put Will in his stroller and carried Brighton in her carseat/carrier. Thankfully, she slept. Jon arrived just in time for xrays, and he went back with Will while I was ushered to a private room to nurse Brighton. When all the pictures were taken, the doctor came in with a sling and told us that Will had a fractured clavicle. It is a very small crack in his collarbone. She assured me that it was going to be ok, and we will be following up with an orthopedist as soon as possible. It's so hard to think of him going through that much pain. He's so little, and I hate thinking about one of his little bones with a crack in it. Keep him in your prayers as he heals. It's hard for him to understand that he can't do all of the fun little boy things he typically does. He had just started really enjoying his tractor (as you can see from the pics and video), and we are scheduled to meet with a new playgroup next week. We had a wonderful weekend together enjoying the warm weather. I was able to leave both kids for an hour to get a haircut. It took my mind off of missing Amanda and Victoria's baby showers. I wish I could've been there! Enjoy the pictures--we love you all and are looking forward to seeing you soon. (We are excited about our upcoming visitors and we'll update the blog after each visit!)

Brave William this morning (post-injury)

Will (pre-injury)

Daddy is head of YPR (Yard Poop Removal)

Will on his tractor

Brighton is two months old!

All things Baby B

Brighton had her two month appointment today. She weighs 13.10 pounds and is 23 inches long. She is eating very well and sleeping a little better. She gets fussy in the evenings when Jon gets home. I think the combination of being tired and having a wound-up big brother is too much stimulation for her. But I know that this too shall pass, and I love waking up in mommy paradise every morning!

Will dances till his pants drop!

Christmas in the Bayou

This year, we weren't able to travel to see family for Christmas. Jon really didn't have the vacation time, and Brighton is still too young (and constantly hungry) to make a long car trip. We had a relaxing Christmas at home in Louisiana. We have now really started settling into life with a new baby. Will is now sleeping in his big boy bed once again (YES!), and there seems to be some semblance of a daily routine taking shape. Getting Will into his bed took much planning. I gave Will a 10-day countdown for getting out of his "crib," and we promised him he could open one of his big Christmas presents early if he successfully stayed in his bed all night. We even showed him the present each day to remind him of what he was "working" for. Mom and Dad had brought his train table down when they visited, and they even managed to wrap it. It served as the perfect motivation for little Will, and he sleeps beautifully. He is really enjoying the train table too. Unfortunately for Jon, it took 3+ hours to set the whole thing up once Will tore the paper off. (Not exactly just snapping the legs on, Dad!) Both Ed and Dad got a laugh out of Jon's pre-Christmas toy construction this year. Will received a Powerwheels John Deere tractor from Grandma and Granddad (Ed and Caren). He is still a little hesitant about riding it. He has really enjoyed his new Cars, especially since he has so many now. We thought this year we wouldn't have many presents under the tree, but we should've known that the Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles wouldn't let that happen! Thanks to everyone that went to the trouble of mailing gifts down here--Will had a ball tearing into his gifts. Brighton did a great deal of sleeping on Christmas day, which was fine with us. In fact, I got the BEST gift of all--two children taking a nap at the exact same time for over three hours, oh, it was phenomenal! We did get out a little over the holiday. On Christmas Eve, our neighbor, Kathy invited us to her sister's home for their annual family gathering. Her sister has seven children and 18 grandchildren, mostly under the age of five. Kathy only has one daughter and no grandchildren, so she has kind of adopted Will and Brighton as her grandchildren. We had a wonderful time. Will got to play with kids his age and we met several couples our age. Just being able to socialize with other moms was great. We actually met a Hokie there too! The house was an old, enormous Southern home and their were fireworks and lots of yummy food. We really appreciated being included, especially since we couldn't be around our own families this year.
I am looking forward to New Year's day, if for no other reason, than to be able to take down Christmas decorations. For some reason this year, I am chomping at the bit to get going on a new year. I think that I am craving more organization in my life, and I'm ready to establish more of a routine for this little operation I'm running. I've begun planning Will's preschool lesson plans, and I'm anxious to see whether we will be able to function as teacher and student. I think we'll be ok as long as I keep a sense of humor. :) I'm actually looking forward to trying this arrangement because I've been looking for an outlet for my need to teach. I would welcome any advice from homeschool/preschool moms on how to keep things running smoothly. For now, I will keep in mind that I may be overly ambitious, and Will is a smart boy who is already proving to be a quick learner. He is also very very sweet with his new baby sister, and I couldn't ask for better children. They are absolutely the most beautiful things to wake up to each morning, and I'm so thankful for my family (including my very hard-working husband) :)

William the Engineer

The gift of sleep (much appreciated by mommy)

Presents aplenty (Thanks to the Grandparents!)

Our little Christmas Present

Attempting a Christmas card photo

Looking down our street

Will in the Snow

Daddy's Girl