Happy New Year!

Grandma and Grandpa Guida watched Nick and Andi overnight on New Year's eve so we took
Will up to play with his cousins while Terry and I had dinner out together. (Will's had several new teeth erupt this week, and quite frankly, we needed a break from his misery!) We knew some time with his favorite cousins would cheer him up for a while.

We had a very nice dinner, some lovely New Year's and past year's toasts, and time to talk (something we miss) at Iggy's in Ogden. It's one of our favorites. Then we headed back to find Will still up and plucking ornaments off his grandparents tree. It was almost 10:30 already, and he was quite punchy and adorable. He gave us a big smile and went right for us for hugs. It was a very healthy break for all of us, thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

He fell asleep on the ride home, of course, and we got him in bed and went downstairs to watch the ball drop a short while later. When we finally did go to bed, Terry and I laid there talking a laughing for almost another hour. And though we didn't get to see any of our friends, or got to any parties, it was one of my best New Year's eves. Not bad for people who've spent nine years together!

New Year's day we woke up to snow, and decided to pack up our sledding gear for dinner at Grandma and Grandpas. We made our favorite chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and Dominick made prime rib and creamed spinach. Will and I made a couple trips down a small hill with Nick and Andi before dinner, and even Clyde got to romp in the snow!

After our delicious dinner Chris, Shelly, and the kids headed home to beat the impending weather, and we watched "Julie & Julia" with G & G while Will had a late nap. It was better than we thought it would be, and made us hungry despite the gourmet dinner we'd just eaten!

When Will woke up he cuddled with Grandpa and had fun listening to Grandma on the phone even though she was sitting right next to him! He's discovered listening to the phone (not talking, mind you), and he loves to put it up to his (or your) ear. He even carried around the remote control for about five minutes the other night, listening to a very important imaginary conversation. Maybe he plans on working in intelligence some day...

Silly Willy

Mom finally got the nerve to allow Will to feed himself, despite the horrible mess that she knew would ensue, as well as the terrible fits that would occur when he wasn't allowed to do it every time thereafter.

Despite those concerns, it's been going very well, and every day it gets a little less messy.

One of Will's favorite things to do lately is stop and smell the flowers. I take him to the flowers at the grocery store, and now he's spotting them everywhere! He even smells the fake ones at Grandma's house!

Christmas #2!!

We had a special treat this year for Christmas, we got to see my brother's family several times in one week! They came over to watch movies and made us fondue one night, we made chicken enchiladas on another movie night, and everyone joined us again on Christmas night.

Unfortunately Will was running a high fever most of the week, but he was still in good spirits most of the time. We opened our presents (what was left of the ones I could actually wait to give him) on Christmas Eve, which has become our tradition. We took some cute home movies of the five of us on the floor in the living room playing with Hot Wheels, race tracks, and silly socks! Eventually we fell asleep before the big day.

Will woke up very sad on Christmas day, he had a very pitiful cry and just wanted to cuddle for about an hour. I was more than happy to oblige, and we watched cartoon specials before getting ready to go to Chris and Shelly's.

He starting feeling better after a nap on the drive, and after a delicious breakfast prepared by Shelly, we had a great time opening tons of presents. His favorites were a guitar from Grandma so that he could play with Uncle Chris, a farm puzzle from Aunt Shelly, a whole collection of Hot Wheels from Nana, and of course, a Swiffer from Mommy!

He had so much excitement that he fell asleep on the ride back home, so we missed the Moore family gathering at Nony's, and he slept about 5 hours! He slept right through our spiral ham and clam chowder dinner, all the talking and laughing, and finally woke up just in time to have a Skype video chat with Nana and Aunt Carolyn before everyone headed home.

Uncle Harry hung out for a while, and we watched Finding Nemo before bed. It was another great Christmas with our favorite people!

Getting ready for Christmas

I know this is way overdue, but I'm trying to catch up with this busy time of year!

Jill, my cousin and one of my best childhood friends came back to Utah for her baby shower just before Christmas. She and her husband Cam will be welcoming little Camille this January. (I know, nice name combine, huh!)

We had a great time with my Dad's side of the family, since we didn't get to see them last Christmas, and won't be having the annual party this year while Aunt Joan recuperates from her surgery.

Will got some much needed play time with people closer to his own age, and I got to get out and have some girl time.

Later we came home and decorated the house for the holidays. Will was more than happy to help me empty the big box of decorations since he has recently discovered the pleasure of filling and emptying various containers. His favorite was the garland, and he soon began plucking the glass balls off the tree like ripened fruit!

Daddy tied a pretty ribbon around him, and we unwrapped him later only to find a very smelly present...

So busy....

Sorry for the lack of blog updates...
It's been crazy busy for us (mom especially). There's only two weeks left of school (finally!), Terry and I had really great birthdays, and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma C and Grandpa D.

Not only has Will mastered walking, he's now working on running, climbing, and playing musical instruments!

One day Dad caught him climbing up from his little table onto the entertainment center to have a front row seat!

He quickly learned to build with his Megablocks, and learned to tear them down even faster. He plays keep-away with his ball, and has learned to say "no, no, no, no, no" albeit very politely.

We celebrated Dad's birthday by going out to Garcia's for Mexican food (our tradition). And watching Dad's favorite shows on TV while we played with blocks.

We celebrated my birthday at the grandparent's house, and were joined by Uncle Chris. While Will slept Chris, Terry, and I went up shooting in Avon, and had the whole place to ourselves. There was a beautiful light snowfall, and we had a blast target shooting at old pumpkins and champagne bottles. Then we headed back for dinner and some very special live music from Chris on his guitar. He played my request, Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", and I got quite sentimental. It was one of my favorite gifts.

Chris joined Shelly and the kids in Carmel, CA for Thanksgiving, so it was just us and Grandma and Grandpa. Of course we still cooked enough to feed a small army, and enjoyed every bit of it! Will even worked on a turkey leg, and sucked the bone for probably 10 minutes! He got to partake a lot more this year than last, and I think he gets his taste from me. His favorites were the turkey, yams and pumpkin pie, just like me!

We cleaned up and headed home without him while he spent the night there. And we had some fun Mom-and-Dad-time despite a lack of knowing what to do with ourselves. We wandered around Wal-mart since our movie wasn't in theaters yet, then came home to play video games. It was pretty uneventful, although it's something we never get to do anymore. =)

We Have Lift-Off!0

On Oct. 12 Will decided to start walking! And within two weeks, he practically an expert! He took his first unassisted steps at grandma's house, when he decided that he wanted to go check out a chair across the room. Now he pulls fancy maneuvers like u-turns and stopping to pick up toys along the way! I've never seen anything so exciting, or felt so proud! I couldn't wait to see a little man in footie jammies wobbling around my house, and it's cuter than I ever could have imagined.

Last weekend we walked through the Red Butte Garden after dark, and had a great but very cold time. Then we had pizza at the Gateway and some of the best cookies I've ever eaten! We found new boots and a hat just in time for the first snowfall, but his cough kept us in where it is warm.

Next week hopefully we'll have some great trick-or-treating photos with Nick and Andi!