William is 1!!!

All boy!

W is, among his many new talents, a fabulous player of catch. He thinks it's a hilarious concept, but also the most serious activity in the world. His little brow gets wrinkled and his eyes stay on that ball the whole time! Countless hours have been spent throwing things lately - just to see where they go. Sippy cups from highchair/stroller, every toy from the toybox - out and then in again, balls, blocks, snugglies from his crib, Cheerios are everywhere. He cracks me up. Love.

11 months :)

It's almost your 1st birthday, William dear! I can't believe it's right around the corner :) This time last year, I was feeling fabulous - huge, but not uncomfortable (yet haha) lounging about the house, nesting like crazy (because receiving blankets and washcloths can never be TOO clean!), eating everything in sight, staring into your crib trying to imagine what you would look like in it, reading dozens of parenting books, and trying to be the perfect Mom before you had even touched down :) Who knew you would arrive with the demeanor of a reincarnated 80-year-old man -- distinguished, all knowing, and lovely, but totally confused about what had just happened.

You seem to be adjusting well to starting over in this world, little man :) You now cruise all over the living room from couch to table to wall to TV and on - I can't wait to finally see you let go of your anchors and run free someday soon! You are also eating, well, everything - you reject nothing and are using your 3 and 1/2 teeth to finally chow down on table food. A whole new world! You are a super smart, super loving, and super adventurous and endlessly fascinating!

To mark the day, I've been organizing your very first birthday party - only 5 weeks away! I love a party to plan and yours is proving to be my all time favorite.

Your actual birthday falls on a Friday and I am SO looking forward to celebrating at Misty and Gavin's house with all your baby friends!!! June was a good month for our babies and we will celebrate all your Junebug friends that day - talk about a party!

The next day is family party day! Your fabulous Great Uncle has offered us his house to use for the party (so grateful - our apartment would NOT work!). Decorations have been purchased. Invites will be mailed this week. Cake will be ordered tomorrow. Food has been planned. The fam is abuzz with excitement over celebrating the very first year of your already awesome life - they love you so much!

And so
do
I.
More than you could ever know!

William meets his shadow

Took this video a month and a half ago and totally forgot about it until I was going through the Flip today!

What once was Danny's is now ours ;)

People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one, and we've just begun,
Think I'm gonna have a son.
He will be like she and me, as free as a dove, conceived in love,
Sun is gonna shine above.

Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
Everything will bring a chain of love.
In the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
Tell me everything is gonna be alright.

Pisces, Virgo rising is a very good sign, strong and kind,
And the little boy is mine.
Now I see a family where there once was none, now we've just begun,
Yeah, we're gonna fly to the sun.

Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
Everything will bring a chain of love.
In the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
Tell me everything is gonna be alright

Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup, come on and drink it up,
Love her and she'll bring you luck.
And if you find she helps your mind, better take her home,
Don't you live alone, try to earn what lovers own.

Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
Everything will bring a chain of love.
In the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
Tell me everything is gonna be alright

independence a la William

I do believe that we have a perfectly stubborn, wonderfully independent little man growing up under our roof :) William fears no depth - whether over the edge of a couch or down a step or 2 into the playground. He navigates flawlessly over/around/through any obstacle and is slowed down by nothing save that old pre-nap exhaustion.

An example - At the park a couple of weeks ago, W abandoned our normal post on the blanket with Stephanie and Connor and took off across the park on his own! He crawled away from us towards the trees, paused, sat, pondered, then continued on his way to the playground where he crawled down two concrete steps into the mulch. After a short path to the slide, he had had enough and turned around to head back to the blanket. I was in total shock! This adventurous outdoor extravaganza from the same lil guy who freaked out at 6 months when I sat him in the grass for the first time. The rate at which babies change is astounding.

Daddy dear

So, as if I'm not obvious enough about the love I have for the first man in my life :) I was reminded of it tenfold today. My Dad spent the morning having a (long overdue and much needed) double knee replacement. Yes that's right - 2. at. once. *faint* Mom spent the morning alternating between sitting in a crowded waiting room and walking the halls of Presby. I spent the morning requesting extra hugs from W and wishing M was home to get my mind off the fact that somebody was cutting into my Daddy. It's a very helpless feeling that I wouldn't wish on anyone!

After 3 hours of surgery and 5+ hours in recovery, Dad was moved to ICU as an 'in between' place/observation area before moving to a regular room (hopefully tomorrow!). We finally got to see him today at 4ish and he looked amazingly well! The pictures I had in my head were way scarier, but it's still very unnerving to see a parent in a hospital bed. The doctor and nurses assure us he is doing great, but I'm still a little edgy...bleh. I will likely call a million times to check on him tonight!

Any prayers/positive vibes/happy thoughts sent his way would be greatly appreciated by all of us :) We miss our play dates and normal routine, but the fam is on deck and on call for the next couple of weeks. Looking forward to Daddy coming home!