A very Merry Christmas indeed!

Merry Christmas! We have survived the holidays and managed to greatly enjoy ourselves amid the hustle and bustle. We stayed home for Christmas once again and rather enjoyed waking up in our own house on Christmas morning! Aunt Jill came down on Tuesday and we spent the week eating, drinking, and being merry. Will's second Christmas was a great success. Last year we had to help him open gifts; this year he couldn't wait to open his and even help us open ours. He loved ripping the paper off and even donned a gold bow on his head! (great fashion sense...he already knows the importance of accessories!) Of course, he got WAY too many presents (spoiled child!) and actually became a little overwhelmed at one point. I think we should have rationed them and given him one gift a week for the new few months...but where's the fun in that? All in all, he did well and is thoroughly entertained with his new toys. Unfortunately for mom and dad, Will received a lot of musical gifts. Yikes! We already had to put some away to avoid the inevitable loud-toy-induced headache. After his new maracchas, keyboard with working microphone (thanks, Jill) and other assorted noisy toys, he ought to be the next Bach or something. We'll let you know how that progresses! We hope everyone had a great holiday with their family and friends. Visitors are always welcome for Christmas 2009!


Will composing his first masterpiece on his new keyboard. He kept yelling "hello" into the microphone!


Santa brought Will a new trike. He won't really be riding it until next year but he sure had fun scooting around the living room on it. He didn't get the whole concept of pedaling so we just pushed him instead.


Will and Aunt Jill on Christmas Eve. Thanks for coming to celebrate with us!


Will opening his stocking on Christmas morning. He wasn't really sure what he'd find in there...

California Dreamin'

We went, we saw, we cried when we left! We returned Monday from our trip to San Diego. It was glorious! The weather was perfect, the food was great, and we really enjoyed seeing our friends again. Of course, Will didn't adjust to the time change, we ran out of time to see everyone, and we really wanted to stay, but all in all, it was a good vacation. We went to SD so Keith could be a groomsman in his friend Todd's wedding. Todd and Jenn were married overlooking the ocean at 4pm on the 6th. The setting was beautiful, as was the bride. We got to spend a lot of time catching up with Keith's college buddies, which is always a trip! We also visited our friends' new baby, Wyatt, and caught up "Aunt" Sarah and the Ventimiglias, who just moved to San Diego from Virginia this month (lucky!) We were so grateful for Grandma Charma, who flew from Nebraska to San Diego so she could take care of Will while we did fun wedding stuff. They got to spend a lot of one-on-one time, which was great for them both. Thanks, Grams, for making the trip with us. We couldn't have done it without you! Now we're back home trying to adjust to the climate change and counting down the days until Christmas!


Grandma Charma and Will in front of the Christmas tree at the Hotel del Coronado. Their decorations are always amazing!

















Keith and Will watching the fish at Balboa Park in San Diego. Will knows the sign-language for fish so this was one of his favorite stops!


















The wedding party, minus Ryan the best man. From left, Todd (groom), Keith, Jay, Greg, Modesto.


















"Aunt" Sarah with Allyson and Will at the Hotel del Coronado. We miss you!

Where's William???

Will was having a rough day so we let him play in the leaves while we raked and bagged. He didn't really want to play so much as he just wanted to sit in the leaves. Whatever works! He was content to hang out in the pile for twenty minutes or so while we worked around him. Too bad I don't have a giant pile of leaves in the house when I need to get something done. Perhaps I'll invent that! We started with a few leaves...



And added a few more...



And topped it off. Snug as a...boy in some leaves?

On the road again...

We just got back from our annual trip to visit family in Nebraska. It was our usual hectic trip, trying to squeeze in as much as we could but still not feeling like we had enough time. We celebrated (Great) Grandpa Heyen's 80th birthday, and as you can see, Grandpa Willis and William not only look alike, they also dress alike! We got to visit all sides of the family and Will got to play with his little cousins. It was great! This was the first time that some of the little ones had met so the old people (ie: parents) had a blast watching them interact...and then breaking up the chaos. We wish we could have stayed longer but we'll make another trip soon enough.

Playing with cousin Tanner...they were obsessed with sticking the decorative stars to the balloons!

















Will and Aunt Rachel. Like any good aunt, she spoils Will rotten. I wonder why he loves her so much...

















We got to stay in Fremont with Great Aunt Jody and Great Grandma Vivian. They took Will to an indoor waterpark, which he loved. There's nothing like water shooting out of a turtle's mouth!
















Will and Great Grandpa Pat and Great Grandma Irma. We had a lot of fun playing at their house. They even let us borrow their van so we didn't have to rent. Thanks!

















Will spent a lot of time with cousins Connor and Andrew while we were in Nebraska. He couldn't get enough of his cousins...I think it was all the testosterone! Will loved following Connor around and imitating his every move. And he would continually sit in Andrew's lap, even when Andrew was busy with something else. It was clear how much he loves his cousins!

Kitchen Cabinets....finally!

It is amazing what a little paint can do. When we first moved in, our kitchen was so ugly that I didn't even want to cook in it. Horrible knotty pine cabinets, faux wood laminate countertop, fruit tile backsplash. I'm sure this was hip in the early 90s but not now. So we got new countertops, ripped down tile, and Keith set out painting our ugly but sturdy cabinets. It has been a LONG project, we're talking months here, mostly because Keith's schedule is so unpredictable that he rarely had a big chunk of time to work. But this past weekend he finally painted the last doors! The man is handy...who knew??? They look great and his months of hard work (hours of sanding alone!) have really paid off. Way to go, Handyman Keith. If the economy keeps going south, look for a handyman for hire at a hardware store near you!

A day in the life...

As all parents know, a day in the life of a toddler is full of excitement! We run, we play, we throw things at people, we laugh, we cry, we throw full-fledged tantrums including screaming, flailing, and beating our heads on the floor. "We" may not be literal but I don't want to single anyone out. :) Will has had some exciting times lately. We are able to get out and play with our friends once a week. We also go to the indoor play place a few times a week. He loves to slide down the giant inflatable slides. Two hundreds slides is not excessive in the life of a 15 month old! Oh, and his favorite activity seems to be chasing the cats around the house, trying in vain to get that elusive handful of fur without being swatted and hissed at. The pursuit contines. We spent some time helping Daddy rake the leaves this weekend. Someone is a very good helper...


Aunt Jill came to visit this weekend. Will had to show her how scary he was as a monster on Halloween. Aunt Jill was appropriately scared.















Will loves music; he may be the next big rock star, sans all the drugs and issues that seem to come along with that! Here he is enjoying some tunes.

Happy Halloween!

We had a very scary Halloween this year. We awoke to find a three-eyed monster in the house! He started off kind of quiet but quickly ROARED to life. He kept searching for candy, even though he isn't really allowed to have any. Animal crackers were about as exotic as it got! How do you entertain a spotted, blue three-eyed monster? We took him trick or treating at a local nursing home and then we had a party with all of the monster's friends. There was an elephant, a clown, a flower fairy, a great pumpkin, a pea in a pod, Princess Jasmine, and Minnie Mouse. Peter Griffin even made an appearance! The monster has very diverse friends. We had a great time, despite our low blood sugar from lack of candy. There's always next year!


Monsters are very intelligent. This one quickly caught on to the whole trick or treat thing! (What do you mean I can't eat it???)





















Some people were less creative with their costumes. Meet "Dave". I think we know where Will gets his creativity!















Will the Monster with his friends Ironman and Bumblebee!

Picasso's Pumpkin

Will brought out his mad artistic skills today by painting his first pumpkin! We decided he isn't quite ready to use a sharp knife and saw to carve...so paint it was. He had a great time. I expected it to be a finger-painting session but he grabbed the brush and got right to painting. It was pretty messy but most of the paint was contained to Will, his clothes, the driveway, and Keith's jeans. I stayed clean. Keith also carved his own pumpkin, which turned out much less messy than Will's. But not as artistic, that's for sure. Two creative geniuses!


Messy boy!




The finished products.

Pumpkin Pickin'

Today we took Will to the pumpkin patch and let him pick out his very own pumpkin. He has a blast! He ran from pumpkin to pumpkin trying to pick each one up. He kept going for the giant pumpkins...maybe he has little man's syndrome and thinks he's bigger than he is!! He is looking forward to finger painting his pumpkin soon. Pictures to follow of that messiness.



Which one should we choose? There are so many!













We had a great time!













Will and Mommy posing in the pile of pumpkins!












Enjoying the hayrack at the pumpkin patch.











Will meeting his first horses. He liked them a lot and thought they were just big puppies!

Grandma and the Aunties came to town!

Will was very spoiled last week when Grandma Gigi and her entourage of Aunties visited our neck of the woods. Grandma Gigi, Aunt Donna, Aunt Fran, "Aunt" Margie, and "Aunt" Mandy showed us quite a good time. We spent a little time on the beach; however, due to some cold weather and rain, we ended up visiting almost every mall in the area during the week! I even got some new clothes out of the deal...not bad for me. Will really enjoyed all of the attention from Grandma and the Aunties. Thanks for coming to Virginia!

Will and Grandma Gigi riding a horse at the mall! A Grandma's love knows no end...


The Heyens on the beach.

We had a Ball!!!

We celebrated the annual Hawkeye Greyhound Ball this past weekend and we had a BLAST! It has been 4 years since our last ball so we were definitely ready to live it up. Luckily for us, Grandma Gigi happened to be in town so she stayed with Will so we could have our fun and then sleep it off at the Marriott in downtown Norfolk. We started the night with cocktails and catching up with friends, some of whom we hadn't seen in years. After dinner we went upstairs to enjoy (free) drinks and a live band. We even cut a rug or two, as you can see by some of the lively pictures. Cameras really should be banned at some point in the evening...I guess we won't be running for office anytime soon. :) We had a great time. Thanks Grandma Gigi for watching Will so we could enjoy our night away!



We were dancing fools as the night went on! This is the only time I can get Keith on the dance floor with me so I have to take advantage. Look for us on the next season of So You Think You Can Dance (which apparently we do when we have the beer goggles on!).




As you can see, Keith really likes headbanger music....maybe a little too much.



The weekend wasn't all adult fun though. On Friday, we took Will to the Hawkeye Greyhound picnic where he experienced his first taste of cotton candy. He wasn't sure what to think at first...



But he quickly realized that he liked it and wanted more. He would have licked the cardboard stick clean if we'd let him!



Luckily for us, the purple stain came off easily and the sugar high didn't last too long!

Splish Splash...I was drinking in my bath!

Will has discovered a new and somewhat disturbing game. He likes to drink his bathwater (brings to mind some Gwen Stefani song). Yes, he drinks it dirt and all. Not sure if I should be worried or not (maybe he has pica, that disease that makes pregnant women eat dirt and laundry detergent!) At least he's cute...



Then he figured out it tastes like soap. Delicious!

Visit from Grandma!

We were lucky enough to have Grandma Charma come stay with us for a few days this past weekend. Will really enjoyed it; he became a little used to all of the attention and was bored to go back to spending time with only me. We did lots of fun things while Grams was here. We went to the beach, went shopping (more fun for some than for others), went out to eat (without any major meltdowns!), and just played, played, played. Will got some cute Husker outfits too so he's looking forward to cooler weather so he can wear those. Mommy got some great coffee and new capris (thanks!) so I didn't feel left out. :) We had a great time. Thanks for visiting, Grams!