The Will Report

Haven't given a Will Report in awhile...or at least, not since the birth of his brother! Will has been very busy this year starting a new school and making new friends. For whatever reason his closest friends and work partners are all girls. Will has had many female friends in his lifetime but now in particular I'm quite amazed by how many he has. He completely understands 7-8 year old girl drama. He'll come home and say that his friend is mad at him and said they aren't friends anymore but in that same breath he shrugs and says, "Huh, she'll forget about it all tomorrow and we'll be friends again." I love this about him. I can promise you that I was heartsick when a friend was mad at me and my parents endlessly heard about my drama with friends.

What does seem to upset him though is when a group of girls will tell him that he has to play a certain role in their game "because he is a boy". For example, as a boy he often has to be a mean dog while the girls get to be nice cats. Or if they are playing house then he is relegated to a certain role because he's a boy. He says that he has cried about this before and then all his friends rally around him to help change the rules.

His favorite color has shifted from pink to turquoise.

He loves to bike with his dad and attend sports games at the stadium, concerts at the symphony or playdays at the science center. He also likes to make things. Currently he has a big and little brother (Curious George's) who have a full wardrobe (sports outfits, pajamas, etc.) and he is constantly making something for their little home. He brings the Georges with him everywhere inside of a tiny Graco carseat. He's proving to be a very good dad to these little monkeys.



He is absolutely in love with camping and asks me almost everyday when it is going to be summer so we can go to the mountains for camping. He has already started planning a trip with five girls at school. He wants to take them to Mt Rainier but I'm trying to help him find a warmer spot for a spring trip. He tells me that when he grows up he wants to be a Park Ranger.

He hasn't been involved with too many after school activities with baby in our lives. This fall he did a yoga series and this winter we've been doing swimming lessons. This spring he'll start up a pottery class (wheel throwing) and track practice. This summer he'll do Jr Architects camp, Circus Camp, swimming lessons, YMCA Camp Colman and Sailing/Kayaking camp on Lake Union.

He is just about the skinniest kid you'll ever meet. He eats like a bird-- doesn't even finish a whole cupcake in one sitting. And soon he'll practically be toothless. He lost his top front tooth a month ago but the other one is loose and just hanging there. His lower left incisor is also loose. His two lower middle teeth came out awhile ago and have been replaced by permanent teeth.

Oh, I don't want to forget the most funny thing I heard last week. Will bought with his allowance a bag of giant diamonds (plastic) at the craft store. Perhaps in an effort to flaunt our excessive wealth, he has been handing them out to all his friends at school and when someone comes over to play at the house he gives them a diamond when they leave.

While I'm Away

These are the types of activities that they do when mom is out of the house

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFAttXnDkiY

Hi!

Shared photo book from Jen

Click here to view this photo book larger

Ten Months Old

Dear little man, I can't believe you are already ten months old. In just two months you'll be graduated to an official toddler-- although "toddling" might happen sooner than that. We've been watching you carefully to catch your first independent steps. You've already started taking the first "steps" beyond cruising along furniture to walking behind your wagon, boxes, chairs, etc.. Just about anything can be turned into a walker!

Your favorite thing in the world right now is playing ball. You love anything that can be thrown or rolled or fetched. The other night your brother exclaimed it was the most fun he's had with you yet. We were in his room playing Legos. You were standing up, reaching into the lego box and screaming with delight as you grabbed fistfuls of Legos and chucked them across the room at us.

You're obsessed with opening and closing doors, looking inside cupboards, and taking lids off boxes. You empty drawers, pull things off shelves, tip out baskets, and stand on your tip toes to pull things down off tables. The fascination with the dishwasher seems unending. You have made your first attempts at climbing the basement stairs and you are learning to climb down off of things using feet first. Your first discernible word seems to be "Hi" which you bestow on the cat or any other animal that you see. We call you "Baba" because you make this sound a lot but we also call you "Pickle" and "Baby" and sometimes even "Will" (accidentally).

You're finally dropping the third nap and even occasionally taking one big long nap in the middle of the day like a "big kid". You eat like a big kid already too, eating just about everything we do. I was just about to accept that we'd be serving purees for a lifetime and then suddenly you ate some cheese, a muffin, peas (by the handful), waffle, cornbread, sprouted wheat toast, roasted kale, broccoli florets, homemade kashi bar, zucchini, seaweed snacks, eggs, kidney beans, veggie burger, chicken, pizza, french fries, burger, and quesadilla. You eat chili by the bowlful, along with oatmeal, any kind of fresh pureed vegetable, any kind of soup, and mild pureed fruits. The thing you're still not keen on is avocado, banana slices, cauliflower, and other cut up fruits. Generally though, no matter what you are served, you eat about twice as much as your brother :)

You boast four teeth. You seem to be getting some tufts of downy soft blonde hair. You pretty reliably use the potty and make a grunting sound when it is time to go. You drink independently from a tiny glass but also love to suck water from a straw.

You are starting to play shy peek a boo games with strangers. You seem to do this only to be coy because really you love all the attention. You generally go out of your way to get noticed by the grocery store checker, people in line, friends I'm talking to, etc. and then the minute they say something to you, you duck your head into my shoulder or behind the sling and peek out.

Which will come first: first words or first steps?

We Love Peas

For awhile there I was worried he would be eating purees forever but just recently he seems to have made the switch. He still loves his purees but will eat peas by the fistful along with muffins, eggs, meatloaf, etc.

Sunday Stroll

We strolled over to the park this afternoon to get out some energy during a playdate. Jasper was SO intently watching the two boys. A few times his little face almost looked offended by all their loud hooting but the minute they tossed a ball to him or included him in their fun he was laughing with excitement.