The Countdown begins...

We had a pretty low-key week which was nice. Christy took me out for a belated b-day and it was so great catching up with her after all her recent travels. Will missed John after spending so much time with him this past weekend. When he had to go back to work on Tuesday, Will roamed around the house saying "Dada? Dada?" throughout the day. It was so sweet and a little sad!
Dirk had his knee surgery and John went to visit him in the hospital yesterday, where he was in good spirits.
My grandparents just arrived from MN so we look forward to seeing lots of them this weekend.
All is well with baby in utero as far as we know. Baby is extremely active which is so fun for me-I love every movement, it's so awesome! I'm almost 37 weeks along which is very hard to believe. This pregnancy has absolutely flown by--partly because we're so busy with Will and partly because it's been pretty easy overall (thanks, baby). Since we're not sure on the gender, the nursery prep is pretty much on hold which is a little weird, but I did buy newborn diapers yesterday at Target--I forgot how small those things are.

At Heritage Park


Dancing to "Elmo's World"

Hansville

We just got back from a getaway to Hansville,WA where my parents have a little vacation house. Hansville is a peaceful town ~10 miles from Kingston, WA. It's always been nice to go there, but it's REALLY nice now that Will can enjoy the beach and we can all relax. We didn't expect to get such good weather, so the sunshine was much appreciated. Phil & Leah Painter joined us for one night, and then my Mom (who was home alone since my dad is on a fly fishing trip) came over on Saturday. Will of course had a blast with everyone. Hope to go again this summer after baby is born.

Here are a few pictures from our time:
Phil & Johnny canoeing off the dock

Olive enjoying herself

Fun at the beach




Lots of diaper time

On the ferry--love the facial expressions

Renton Friends

I'm so excited that we're finally starting to meet people in our neighborhood with kids around Will's age. I was beginning to wonder if there were any, but now with the weather warming up (sort-of), everyone is coming out of their caves. We had a fun time playing today at a neighbor's house. Here are a couple pics of our day (plus one of Johnny and Will running around the house last night):

Why can't I eat this banana?

Will & Aria

Aria & Michael

Tunneling

Johnny & Will running through the house

Ode to the green binky

I've been trying to organize our pictures of Will before the arrival of baby #2, and I was reminded of how attached Will is to his green binky when I saw just how many pictures there are with him sucking on it. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of binkies (or pacis, or nuks, or suckers as the Farleys call them :), this green pacifier is the one that many hospitals give out. It's meant for newborns, and many babies grow out of them in favor of their thumb, their finger, or a different binky that fits their mouth better. Not so with Will. The green binky and him have been pals since day one.

So, in honor of the green binky that has given Will so much joy, here is a short video:

Clauson Reunion

We had a great past week with lots of out-of-town relatives in town for a family wedding. Josh, Tiffany and their twin girls stayed with us and we had a wonderful time as usual. Will really misses having the girls around-he's been looking around for them all day! The wedding was very fun--30 of Romil's family members traveled from Bombay to attend and were very gracious. They made gifts for each of the female guests at the wedding, and even performed some beautiful Indian dances at the reception.
Another added bonus to the weekend was a surprise baby shower, thrown for me by my sister, sister-in-law and mom. It was so thoughtful of them and I had a fun time and was truly shocked and overwhelmed by everyone's kindness!

One of many family dinners this past week
The Axene crew
At Coulon Park enjoying the sun

Some of the cousins

More cousins

Romil and Caitlyn Sheth

Uncle John performing "In the Garden of Eden" with the band at the Palace Ballroom

A more polished performance by Romil's extended family

Seriously?

In what's being called a "real life Home Alone," a toddler was left by his family at the Vancouver airport earlier today. His parents boarded the flight, took off and didn't even realize he was gone. He was eventually found by airport staff wandering around alone between the security checkpoint and gates. No one had reported a missing child, so it took a while to locate his parents.
Okay, I understand that having a toddler can lead to lapses in common sense (I once forgot to put a diaper on Will and took him out to lunch, only to realize at the restaurant that my pee-soaked baby had no diaper on).
Traveling with kids is very chaotic, so I might understand this happening if you have, say, seven or eight kids, but in this case there was only ONE child and FOUR adults traveling with him. And, to make matters worse, the toddler's parents didn't even realize he was gone until contacted by flight staff. Unbelievable!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004413104_webairportlost14.html

Mom's Day

We had a fun weekend: double date with the Painter family Saturday night and lots of Mom's day activities today. We look forward to a host of extended family coming into town this week for a wedding next Saturday. Josh, Tiff and their twin girls (who just turned one) are staying with us which should make for a lot of fun chaos! I'm so happy to hear that the weather is supposed to perk up for their visit. More pictures to come...

Here are some pictures from our weekend:
Sweet Will eating sweet peas

Bowling pin Bud Light

Bowling ball in my stomach

Will playing in Grandpa and Grandma's yard

What's in the mail?

I couldn't resist posting a couple pictures that my brother took this past weekend of Will and Evey playing with a mailbox at our parent's house. You can tell by Will's face in the last picture that he thinks his cousin is pretty cool.

Will's Noggin

I took Will in for his 15 month well baby check this morning which went well. He's healthy as a horse and growing a lot (33+" and 27 lb). The pediatrician gave me some pointers on acclimating Will to the new baby which was helpful.
One thing I always get a kick out of at these appointments are the measurements, specifically the measurement of Will's head. The nurse always checks his weight and height without much problem (maybe some squirming and a little crying by Will, but no big event) but the head always takes a while to measure. Without fail, they measure 2 or 3 times, write down the number, then say "I don't think that's right" and then measure 2 or 3 more times just to realize that the first number was right. Then they go to the growth chart and show me that his head his way off the charts compared to other kids his age. I think it means he's going to be an absolute genius with all that space for brain development :-)

Bottom line: Will has a BIG HEAD!!

Our Weekend

We had a fun, family/friend filled weekend. Saturday we had a Myers family bday celebration in Issaquah. I got to see Ms. Evey walk for the first time and she seems so much more grown up (tear). Afterwards, we headed to the Smith household for a mini SPU-roomate reunion (Kate, Brie, Jen, Becky and I). We missed the girls who couldn't be with us but it was great to catch up and also to meet Becky and Landon's 2 month-old baby boy (Hale) for the first time. The crew is growing! p.s. I didn't get a good shot of the whole group at the SPU reunion, so can someone send one my way?
Today after church we got lots done around the house and yard (cars washed, lawn mowed, etc) and then had a relaxing bbq with the Simon side, including Grandma Mary, who had never been to our new place. We got to try out our new patio furniture (thanks Mom and Dad) for the first time and enjoy the sun.

Here are some photos from the past few days:
Exploring all the wonderful parks around our neighborhood

Will & Evey-both walking and interacting with each other more than ever

Tia (Aunt Gretchen) and Will

Birthday girls (thanks for the delicious cake, Uncle B & Aunt B!)

Johnny with Owen St. Hilaire and Will

Will helping Dad but getting distracted because he hears an airplane

Enjoying the sun

Great Grandma and Clara