35" tall packing 31 lbs 2 ozs

William's 2-year well-visit this afternoon confirmed he is one solid - and growing - little boy.  (benchmarks T hit when he was 3)  Dr. Paschall remains pleased with his growth, which keeps him in the 75th percentile for height and 85-90th percentile for weight.  It's a good thing our appointment wasn't for tomorrow as Dr. Paschall discovered an ear infection and said if we hadn't been in this afternoon we'd more than likely seen him the next.  Thompson joined William in getting the flumist vaccine.  And at this juncture, we can officially say, "farewell whole milk!"

Dear Santa...

T's letter to Santa is in the mail...and Elfred the Elf has started his daily visits to our home.

WY turns TWO!

Happy birthday to our little "big" turkey"!!!

it was a "nee-nah" kinda party!

Enjoy the picture story of William's 2nd birthday party!

the cake...courtesy of Aunt G

getting ready to sing "Happy Birthday"

blowing out the candles 

yummy cake

 our special guests

(and by far the highlight of the afternoon!)

WY with firemen McKinney, Moore and Mulcahey

"whose birthday is it?"..."me" 

"open dis" 

special birthday gift from the firemen

Fast approaching TWO!

I can hardly believe William turns 2 in four short days.  Where has the time gone?  Oh, I know...it's gone into raising him and growing him from a toddler into a young boy.  The past year has been a joy-ride and changes come daily.  I forgot how much fun this age is to watch a child discover the world around him and learn how to interact with it.  So, as I reflect on the past year and look at where William is today, he's come a wonderfully-long way!

He's got a great vocabulary accompanied by an endearing pronunciation.  Uses multi-word sentences to communicate.  Getting better at saying his name.  Has discovered possession...placing the word "my," "me" or "mine" at the end of sentences when he wants you to do something for him.  In the past week, he's learned what "same" means and enjoys matching pictures within books saying in a loud exhilarated voice "same!"  He loves school, especially "weezie and cat".  He can sing the ABCs and enjoys counting to 10.  He's still signing and I continue to introduce new signs.

He is definitely not lacking in the gross-motor skills department.  We are convinced he'll be our athlete.  Distinct run with accompanied arm motions.  He's been jumping for months now - both up and down (with both feel clearing the floor) and off of things.  He loves to leap to you, so you've got to be all eyes when he's around.  He's got a mean right kick.  Can ride his scooter incredibly well.  (we can't get over his balance as he often holds one leg way up in the air...now to teach him how to use the brakes!)

He still likes nee-nahs (aka fire trucks) and can hear them a mile away.  He also enjoys most forms of transportation...trains, garbage trucks, construction equipment, airplanes.  He loves to "read book"...and now we're working on having Thompson read to him as well.

Generally speaking he continues to have a good appetite and will eat a variety of foods, although his favorites seem to be oatmeal, mac and cheese, pizza, pasta, meatballs, muffins, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola bars, smoothies and fruit.  Oh, and he still loves his "mik", "ice seam" and "emmys" (aka milk, ice cream and M&M's).

A year later, he still gets out of the bath/shower, curls up on the floors with his towel over him, looking like a turtle and says "like Thompson".  His "bensit" (aka blanket) remains a prized posession and has that distinct William smell.  He cracks himself up.  He often gets out of his seat during mealtime to come over and give me or Bobby a kiss.  He loves to tell people "OP Taylor's" (it's a local toy store).  After eating something, will look at you and hold his hands out to the side as if to say "where did it go?"...his answer "tummy!"  Most recently, he's starting saying the phrase "ha-ha" (think pronounced like "ta-da").  And whenever he sees a Star Wars character, especially Darth Vader or Yoda, he says "daaa da da".  I think the past year we've heard "no" as the answer to every question asked, even when "no" meant "yes".  Well, those "no-yes"es have become "yeahs"  We often eat dinner at church on Wednesday nights, but every time we go to church he say "eat church".  Will say "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" whever he sees a picture of Mickey or Minnie.  Likes Special Agent Oso and Handy Manny.

When it comes to riding in the car, he likes to crawl through the drivers seat to get into his carseat in the back.  He still remembers Aunt Ally sat beside him in the back seat and pulls the middle seat-belt and says "aunt ally sit here me".  His favorite songs are the "touchdown song" (To My Father's House), "rainbow" (Signing Time's Colors of the Rainbow), "guitar" (Wassiye by Habib Koite) and "surprise" (Haydn's Surprise Symphony).

He is learning manners and has "scooz me" (excuse me) down-pat.  He knows it is what is said after a burp or the passing of gas.  I think one of his funniest remarks is when he toots as says "scooz me gas" or when he poops and we ask him if he's pooped and he says "no. gas."  Absolutely hysterical!

He comes by his Type A personality honestly.  He knows shoes go in the laundry room and dirty clothes go in a hamper.  He is a child who responds very well to routine.  He's also flexing his independent skills and discovering there are consequences when he does not "listen and obey".  Without sufficient warning, transitions can be tough...he's got one heck of a tantrum whereby he'll throw himself on the ground, scream and roll over.

And, he's still got those adorable dimples and all his locks are still in place.  I just love the curls...especially since T wasn't blessed with them and think they are too darn cute.  No doubt about it, we can't wait for the next year!

Mouse

We set-up our old Gateway desktop computer in the playroom for the kids.  However, given the age of the computer (9+ years) it is super slow moving and as a result, rarely gets used.  So slow, we are considering donating it to someone in need.  In attempting to give the computer one last whirl this afternoon, I realized the mouse was missing.  William, hearing me verbalize my observation, disappeared and returned with the mouse from our main computer downstairs.  Really!?  The kid's just too smart for his britches!

Adventure at the Wilderness

We returned this afternoon from a quick overnight at the Wilderness in the Smokies resort and waterpark with the Freemans...and my what adventures we had! To begin, just as we exited the freeway and were 20 miles from the resort, William's stomach went on strike. Poor guy threw up all over himself. (Believe it or not, this was the first time he's been sick like this!) After stopping at a convenience store to change his clothes and attempt a cleaning, we pressed on. All things considered, William did well and remained composed given that his tummy decided to empty the remainder of its contents twice en route. After settling into our room and beginning laundry in the bathroom tub, Bobby, Thompson and the Freemans had dinner and hit the waterpark while William and I snuggled up in the hotel room. William slept on and off until the boys returned around 10 pm. We got in to bed and so began our next adventure...

William started his broken record "mom sip water". We ignored him in an effort to get him to go to sleep, which he eventually did. Simultaneously, Thompson, who has had a cough for a couple days, began coughing. After listening to him cough for about an hour in his sleep, I got up and drove to the 24-hour Walgreens to get cough suppressant. The good news...after giving T the medicine,he coughed only one more time.

Our morning began at 7:30 with William waking up say "mom sip water". Over the course of an hour, he successfully downed a bottle of Gatorade and several saltine crackers. We decided the "bug" was gone and hit the waterpark. We enjoyed several hours of fun - water slides, wave pool, wave surfing and the interactive water playground. We changed clothes, had lunch then headed home.

Upon pulling in the garage, we figured our adventures were over, but we were wrong. As I opened the trunk of the car to begin unloading bags, Bobby and I heard Thompson say "open the door" and on the second "open the door" we realized what had happened...he had closed the car door on his hand. Fortunately, he only got the tip of his right index finger, but he got it good! It'll be interesting to see what it looks like tomorrow and how it heals in the coming days.

As the night draws to a close, Bobby and I chuckle...we couldn't have written the adventures of the past 24 hours if we tried. Our blessings...William's "bug" was short-lived, we had a great time at the waterpark, we're home, T's finger is already healing, we have a washer and dryer that has cleaned all our clothes (especially William's), and tonight daylight savings time ends so we get an extra hour of sleep! Good night!

"Do Everything"

love this new song by Steven Curtis Chapman and wanted to share the lyrics

You're picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you, I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long as you

Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you, to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
and tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Maybe you're that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day

Little stuff big stuff in-between stuff
God sees it all the same
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long as you do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every thing you do

Maybe you're sitting in math class
Maybe on a mission in the Congo
Maybe you're working at the office
Singing along with the radio
Maybe you're dining at a 5-star
Or feeding orphans in Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere that you are
Whatever you do it all matters
So do what you do and don't ever forget
to do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause He made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace as you do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

In every little thing you do

a turtle and skeleton...and Raggedy Ann, oh my!

It was another spectacular evening on trick-or-treating on the "loop".  We were reminded once again how blessed we are to live in such a safe, family-friendly neighborhood.  The glow-in-the-dark skeleton made his inaugural appearance, and after a year hiatus, the turtle "came out of its shell" for its 4th Halloween.  Sadly, very few children recognized Raggedy Ann (which I can't believe is still holding its own after Mamere made it nearly 20 years ago...although the elastic is shot!)  And dad, whose not one for dressing up, claimed he was the Jolly Green Giant in his long-sleeved green t-shirt. (T had never heard of the JGG either!)  Haint and his witch flew in on their broomstick and stayed over for the night again this year.