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

The Latest

A few recent happenings...
Celebrating Grandma NeeNee's birthday (this pic cracks me up, they're making the same expression, they must be related!)

Our niece, Clara turned 1 month old

The yard is starting to bloom



Will's latest word: "Hat" and he likes everyone to wear his hats



Baby is due in only 7 weeks!

Jazzercise & Toddler Playtime

We try to hit up the Issaquah Community Center on Fridays for toddler playtime. $2 has never been so well spent and Will has a blast running around and playing with the toys strewn across the massive court. We usually meet up with other moms/tots, but today Will and I were the only ones who showed from our usual group, so we were looking for some extra entertainment. The jazzercise class (sassy dance moves meet aerobics) next door provided just that. There is a 75+ year old guy who is there every week, getting his groove on. I hope to be that active when I'm his age! Will loves watching the class and dancing to their music almost as much as he loves playing with all the toys.

Will dancing to the jazzercise music:

Playing in the tunnels:

Will's weekend

A few happenings with Will this weekend (and it's only Saturday!)...

-He enjoyed watching the hailstorms today, and after one would subside he'd go outside and pick up all the little "balls."

-We spent an hour (gasp!) at SBUX today with Brie before Will got too antsy

-Will has started doing the sweetest thing. If I say, "where's baby?" he'll actually point to my stomach! He'll probably be very confused when he realizes that a baby is an actual person, not a large stomach, but it's very sweet for us to see.

-Another event for Will this weekend was getting his first shiner. One of his favorite activities is carrying a pillow around the house, setting it on the ground and then proceeding to run and throw himself on the pillow. It was only a matter of time before he missed the pillow and hit something else...yesterday he overshot the pillow and cut his eyelid on the corner of a trunk. I'm so thankful that he didn't cut his actual eye as when I saw that he was bleeding from that region that was my first fear. Here's a picture of Will's eye post-fall and then a video of Will "safely" throwing his body onto a pile of blankets.

Poor guy


Safe falling technique


Here are some more recent pictures:

Binkies

Laurel and Clara

Licking my latte foam

Grandma Melissa

Will and Dad

Will got to spend lots of time with his dad this weekend. John's doing a lot of traveling in the next several weeks, so it was nice to get in some QT.
Some of their favorite activities are dunking the basketball (especially since I'm not tall enough to lift Will up to do it), wrestling, playing chase around the house, and watching Dad do yardwork and trying to help. We had picnics at Tibbets Valley Park and Greenlake this past weekend and it was so nice to spend time outside together as a family. It makes me thankful that our baby will be arriving in the summer months, because keeping Will occupied in the house can pose a challenge at times.

Walking with Dad

Picnic

Peeking--and protecting the head, nice work!

Meeting a friend on the playground


On a side note, in light of the Dalai Lama's visit to Seattle, here's a link to an article that brings a different perspective than that of the mainstream media...

Click here for the article.
If you want to read more, there's also a lengthier article from Christianity Today posted at the top of the Crossroads Bible Church web-page (see link to the right)