18 months +

We've been settling into the our new family routine with Jack at school every day.  Mom's super-busy working at AU two days per week and teaching 9(!) yoga classes every week. 

But mom's not the only busy one around here.  I'm a busy guy myself, getting into all sorts of things like studying up on my anatomy, as you can see from the photo.  I'm happy to teach mom all about the bones of the foot and what happens to them in yoga poses.







I really do like reading books of all kinds, especially if there is a grown up like my Pap-pap reading them to me.  I'm especially fond of books about ducks.  Nana has kept me in a steady supply of Duck & Goose books and Gossie & Friends books.







 
Basically, that's all to say that I'm just a few months shy of 2 and mom is finally getting around to telling all about my 18-month milestone.  At my check-up, I weighed in at 25.5 pounds and measured 34.5 inches tall.  Here are a few photos that my mom took on September 10.  (Note the absence of a cake.  I hear only the full birthdays entitle you to such a delicious treat.  I am expecting such a thing come the big 2 on March 10!)

I think the baby is officially grown up into a toddler, right?  I'm still not doing much talking - "NO!" and "MINE!" are very clear - and sometimes I have to take folks by the hand and drag them along with me to show them what I want.  That said, I am a rock star when it comes to eating, dancing, running, kicking balls, going down stairs, AND walking backwards.  I just figure I have a big brother to keep up with, right?

Speaking of keeping up with a big brother, have you guys heard about this thing called trick-or-treating?  It was AWESOME!  The big kids were all a lot faster than I was but I did my best running after them between the houses.  I was nervous that if I put my candy in the bucket my mom brought for me, someone might take it so I insisted on carrying all my loot in my hands.  That made it extra challenging to run to keep up.











But the best thing about Halloween?  Lollipops.  Who knew!?  I had my first one on Halloween and now I can't get enough.  They are totally the best thing ever created.  Yum.  Okay, well I'm off to find some way to get up to the top shelf of the pantry where mom *thinks* she has secretly stashed those amazing treats...
 










Lots of love,
Will
aka Willie, Willie Will, and Willy Wonka (Bet you can guess who gave me that nickname!)

Do you miss us?

Things are always a little hectic here at Chez Lemerise but especially so now that we are getting ready to move.  By mid-June we'll be settled in our new house in Rockville (despite REM's recommendation.)  I am particularly excited about a fenced back yard where my brother and I can get into all kinds of new outdoor shenanigans.  Mom says you should watch for a post soon about our May trip to Cape Cod but in the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a cute picture of me since it has been so long since my last post.  See how good I am being, sitting here in this chair while mom is packing boxes?  (Well, actually this is about three seconds before I started unpacking the same boxes she was trying to pack.  I really was trying to be helpful but so much interesting stuff was going in that I just couldn't let it be...)

Who Says I'm Not Ready to Walk?!?

All I needed was a little Allman Brothers for motivation.

1, 1, 1!

Hooray! Who knew that turning 1 was going to be so great? There was a huge party with hats and balloons and singing and presents AND a cupcake just for me! First everyone sang to Jack and then they sang to me and I was so totally delighted. I was clapping and smiling along. The picture doesn't really do it justice.

Time is just flying by so quickly and I'm growing and getting into things in a big way. The latest developments include mastery over the stairs - going up and down, as you can see. I also spend a lot of time "cooking" in the little kitchen. I can say a few words like mama, dada, baba (that means Jack), clock, car, cup, and up when I want someone to pick me up.

I'm not really one to sit still, though I'm not walking yet. I'm still pulling up and making my way by holding onto things, though I'm not particularly interested in taking any unassisted steps yet. In fact, I'm kind of slacker about standing. I can stand alone but I'd just rather not. All the other kids at the babysitters house, even the two who are a few months younger than me, are already walking but I'm just biding my time. I don't see what the fuss is about. I am a ridiculously fast crawler and climber so I not in a huge rush to go all wobbly on two feet yet.

If I am sitting, I am working something out - a puzzle, a car, putting some mulch in a cup... I've got great fine motor skills and I've got to be poking or discovering something all the time, especially if it is small and intricate. This makes mom's job a bit difficult where the chocking hazards are concerned because not only do I love small things, but I also love to eat!

It's a good thing I have six teeth now and a few more on the way, because I really do eat EVERYTHING. Mom and dad have to ration my food because if they put too much on my highchair tray, I shove it all in my mouth at once. Hahaha! My favorite is fruit, especially berries, grapes, bananas.

The doctor is really pleased with my progress. She said she can tell I am a really happy, and good-natured guy. I'm 28 lbs and 30 inches, which puts in me in the 90th percentile. Mom looked back and I am as tall as my brother was at this same age but I totally outweigh him. That didn't surprise mom at all. I still have some really nice fat thighs and I have really big hands and feet. I can't even fit in the shoes that Jack was wearing in the summer after he turned one!

A Cape Cod Christmas

I got to hang out with some very awesome people and check out some excellent activities during our Christmas visit to Cape Cod. Aside from opening lots of great presents, as you can see I spent some quality time with my Tante Jenna and my now soon-to-be born cousin Peanut.






































I was too little for a trip to Edaville (too cold and too late past my bedtime) but I did get to join everyone for bowling. I'm not sure what all these numbers mean but I have a feeling they mean my mom is really bad at bowling. Don't worry. Aunt Annette helped me take lots of notes so I'll be sure to beat everyone next year when my feet are big enough to fit in these funny shoes.

First Christmas

Jack had been telling me for weeks about how great Christmas was going to be. He took me to see Santa (of course he did all the talking) and showed me how to look for our house elf, Tootie, every morning. But I still didn't realize how really great the wrapping paper and the bows and the new toys would be. The bows were especially exciting for me, all shiny and crinkly. As usual, Jack was totally right about how great Christmas was going to be!

9 months come and gone

Well mom is finally catching up on the blog posts. Hard to believe she just skipped right over the story of my 9 month check up. Sadly I was a sick, sick little guy when I went to the doctor's on December 20. Aside from my ear infections and wicked cold, I got a pretty good report. Four teeth, two on top and two on the bottom, plus I'm 23 lbs and 29 inches. That's 60th percentile, down a bit from my 90th percentile numbers a few months ago but not unexpected since I've been such a busy guy with all my crawling. Hey, I've got a big brother to keep up with! And of course as is typical for the second child, no pictures to go along with the post.

Thankgiving = Christmas decorating!

So I know my brother thinks that all the Thanksgiving food is the best part of the holiday but I think the best part is that the Christmas decorations come out. Who knew these things would be so cool? My first favorites were this Charlie Brown snow globe and this tree-shaped drawing toy. Then I discovered the Thomas train around the tree. Then I was on to pulling ornaments off the bottom of the tree. How could you leave those things alone? So tempting - shiny and dangling... By the time we took our tree down, there were no ornaments on the bottom third. My brother told me that the packages were even better than the ornaments and the decorations. Man was he right. Look for more posts about the rest of our holiday adventures soon.

Stand in the place where you are!

I guess it's not so surprising that mom hasn't had much time to update the blog. Between Halloween and Thansgiving, I was a total master of the army crawl and moving really fast. Plus I was working on pulling myself up to stand on whatever I could get to - chairs, the coffee table, the sofa, the stairs, bookcases... This means I was into everything, especially the stuff I'm not supposed to be in. And just when I figured out how to open my brother's art cabinet, mom put a lock on the door. She's no fun at all! To make it up to me, she got out some of Jack's old toys. The music table was an immediate favorite. And of course, leave it to Jack to give me a few rides in the wagon. I did end up mastering a proper crawl just after Thanksgiving but you'll have to wait for another post about that.