Little Leprechaun

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I realize I've been very lazy in updating our blog. Oops! I have an excuse though...Keith's been gone since the last post and Will and I didn't have much to report. (Lame excuse, I know!) But now Keith's back and life is finally resuming some normalcy. As you can see, Will made a fabulous hat for St. Patrick's Day at his school party. He looked just like a little leprechaun to me! Must be that good Irish blood in him. :) We had a special playgroup party to celebrate today so we are all St. Patty'd out. Maybe next year we'll try some green milk. (Beer for daddy!)

Although Keith was gone for most of the past month, we were lucky enough to have him fly home for a weekend. We found a cheap(ish) flight from Jacksonville back to Norfolk so Keith jumped on it and spent a very short 48 hours with us at home. (Time has never flown so quickly!) And he and Will made it an extra special weekend by having their first fishing outing! It was a bit cold for the fish to be biting but it was fun watching Will cast and reel it back in. I know they are both looking forward to warmer weather so they can do some real fishing and camping together. At least before July; then it will be all hands on deck to help with baby!

It's not qutie true that Will and I didn't do anything while Keith was gone. We did go to DC to see Aunt Jill in February. She was getting ready to leave for a trip to Syria and Jordan so we wanted to spend time with her before she left. Will got another thrill during that trip...he got to ride the train (metro)! It was not the first time he's ridden the metro but it was the first time he was really aware of it, thus very, very, very excited about it. There was a lot of choo chooing as we made our way into the city.

Will continues to do well at school. He'll move into the 3 year old classroom next year and will go to school 3 mornings a week! Such a big boy. He still makes Keith and I laugh with the funny things he says. Just tonight he looked at Keith and said "What's crackin', big guy?" Where does he learn this stuff?!

Knock Knock...It's Valentine's Day

It's amazing how much kids change in a year. Last year Will had no idea what Valentine's Day was. This year, we made homemade Valentines, Will had a big Valentine's Day party at school, and we made cupcakes to share with our neighbors (and kept a few for us). Will really loved decorating the cupcakes; he's very into helping. He was very into Vday as well; a week and a half after Valentine's Day, Will is still talking about it and asking to look at all of the Valentines he brought home from his classmates. Very cute. It has taken the emphasis off of Christmas though, which is good. He was constantly asking for Christmas stories and Christmas lights before we tuned him in to Vday! Now on to Easter; we've got more than a month to prepare!

Somewhere along the line, he has learned to tell knock knock jokes. I have no idea where he learned such a thing but it is hilarious! I wouldn't say the jokes are exactly accurate but they are humorous all the same. And being a good two year old, Will is the first to laugh at his own jokes. :) Tonight at dinner, he told me this one: Will "Knock knock." Allyson "Who's there?" Will "Firetruck." Allyson "Firetruck who?" Will "Go Dog Go!" hahaha...it doesn't exactly make sense but I laughed anyway. Go Dog Go is his favorite book right now so that's where he got that. And the firetruck remains his favorite fascination so I guess he was just combining some of hsi favorite things. I'm curious to see how his sense of humor progresses as he gets older.

We are headed to DC to see Aunt Jill this weekend so we'll try to take some pictures. We'll be out and about trying to keep ourselves busy while Keith is gone so I will do my best to photograph away!

Will to the Rescue!

Last Monday our playgroup took a very exciting outing. We headed to the local firestation! I knew Will would be excited but it was probably one of the most exciting days of his life. Will got to wear all of his "fireman" gear; his firetruck shirt and pants, fireman's coat and helmet. He definitely looked the part! When we got to the station, the firefighters introduced themselves and gave each kid their own helmet to wear (an authentic helmet!). Then showed us around the station; we saw the kitchen, sleeping quarters, exercise area, and of course the garage with all the trucks in it. Will was so excited to be up close and personal with the trucks; he was imitating all the siren sounds from the firetruck to the ambulance. Quite a ham!


Then the firefighters demonstrated all the gear they wear...and there is a lot of it. Some kids were afraid of the fully dressed firefighter but not Will! He ran right up to examine it all. Then we toured all the trucks and the kids even got to take turns holding the firehose and sitting in the big ladder truck. It was perfect. Will didn't really want to get out of the truck but actually did a better job of sharing than I thought he would. Before we left, they gave each kid a take home bag with a coloring book, pencil, and stickers in it. All in all, it was a great day for Will. A week later and he's still talking about it and asking when we'll go again! I wouldn't be surprised if we'll be having a firefighter themed birthday party this summer.


Future firefighter???

Snowy Day

In this part of Virginia there is something that is quite rare. Rednecks? No. Confederate flags? No. Snow? YES! And this weekend we actually got snow...about 8" in total. Being a native Nebraskan, I tend to laugh in the face of 8" of snow. However, this area is not equipped for it and people do not know how to handle it. It has essentially shut the area down for the past 4 days. Most city offices reopened today (most started late though) but schools are still closed. It is kind of crazy. I'm not sure a snow plow actually exists in Chesapeake.

But for the younger set, the snow is a lot of fun. We tried to take full advantage of it. On Saturday afternoon, after the heavy snowfall had ended, our neighbors were nice enough to come over with their sled and pull Will and his bff Aria around in the yard. The two of them together must be 60 pounds and pulling them through heavy snow is no small feat! I was happy to watch Chris and Rachel exert the energy instead of joining in. Sunday turned out to be a much nicer day so we joined the neighborhood families and built a snow ramp. Then the kids were launched down the ramp and over the snowy/icy yard over and over again. They all loved it! And Will and Aria, being the youngest kids, were also the most fearless. Once the older kids saw them sled a few times, they were willing to give it a try. It was a lot of fun. Will and I ended our day in the house with hot chocolate (a first for Will...I think he's a fan!) and a movie. It was nice to snuggle up after a day in the snow.

Our playgroup visited the firestation on Monday so check back soon for more pictures!

The things a two year old says...

I find myself laughing out loud every day at something Will says. He's just at that age, I guess. It seems like he learns some new phrase every time he goes to school. They range from the good (We're working together!), to the bad (No way! No way!). I find it amazing how quickly he'll memorize a new line from a book or something I say (note to self: watch my mouth!). We talk about petting the cats and how we have to pet them gently or we'll hurt them and they'll run away. Well apparently Will thought petting looked nice (who doesn't...it's like a mini-massage!) so now when I lay him down for nap or bedtime, he says, "Pet me, Mommy." How can I say no to that??? Yesterday he lifted up the leg on my pajamas and felt my calf. Then he declared, "You prickly!" Sad but true. (hey, it's winter!) hahahahaha Now if Keith said that, we'd have problems. :)

I wish I could remember all the funny things he says; I could fill a journal! In fact, I should write them down so I can share them. I think this age is my favorite so far (I wouldn't have said that 6 months ago...discipline problems!). Will's personality is starting to shine and I'm watching him grow and change every day. It is a great adventure.

Great Expectations

For the most part, I'm sure everyone has heard that we're expecting by now. Baby is due July 13th. I just entered my second trimester and am 14 weeks along. I'm finally feeling better and gaining more energy. I'm even slowly returning to the gym, although I think 6 mile runs are out of the question for a while. We told Will that he's going to be a big brother and sometimes it seems as if it sank in, other times it doesn't. One day we were reading a book about emotions and were on the "loving" page. He told me that the loved the baby in my stomach. So that's a good sign....I was thrilled! However, the next day I asked him what was in my stomach and he said "poop." Hmmmmm, no. So I asked what was growing in my stomach and she said "flowers." Obviously we have a little work to do before July! Check back for more updates as our world, and my waistline, continue to expand!

Christmas 'Cation

We stepped out of our norm this year and decided to take a Christmas Vacation (or as Will says 'cation). We rented a condo at the Massanutten resort in the VA mountains. They don't usually get a lot of snow and end up producing their own for the ski slopes and snow tubing but this year we lucked out...or at least WE thought so. A huge storm came through the day before we were to leave and dumped 2 feet of snow on the resort. It was perfect for us...despite having to leave a day early in order to make the trip before the storm hit, we were able to sled, build snowmen, and just enjoy a white Christmas. My favorite part were the resort deer. They had no fear of humans, which is kind of sad. They came right down into the parking lot and up to our doorstep. There were tons; 15 on the hill by our place at one time. My chance to really be "at one" with nature. :)













Will had his first sledding experience; he really liked it until he took a face plant off the sled and scraped his face on the snow. Nothing major but it was enough to make him more cautions from then on. Massanutten also has a giant indoor waterpark and for us, that was the big draw. There were hot springs, a lazy river, a flowrider pool (similar to surfing indoors), and lots and lots of waterslides. I thought Will would be too small/scared to go down the waterslides (some went pretty fast!) but once he tried it, he loved it. As soon as he'd reach the bottom, he'd ask for "more! more!" It was great. No fears in that kid. Keith tried out the flowrider and did really well. Despite not having much experience surfing, Keith got up on his knees right away. He hadn't taken the flowrider class so they wouldn't let him graduate to standing on the board but I bet he could have done it. I was happy to just take pictures.

It was a great way to spend the holidays, although we always miss being with family and experiencing the big family gatherings. Thanks to Aunt Jill who always travels to spend Christmas with us (I would venture to say that is more because of Will but I'll take it). We appreciate it!