Singing Videos

We finally figured out how to get Will to sing for the camera: chocolate chips. Yes, that's good parenting--cold, hard bribery. But hey, if it produces these little gems of Will singing his favorite songs, then it was worth it. (Disregard that for one film he's actually eating a chocolate chip whilst singing. Also disregard what he is wearing. And do recall that he is learning to dress himself).

How to have a cheap, easy (and let's be honest--lazy) Halloween

Step 1: In a delirious moment, determine to craft your child a hand made Thomas the Train costume from scratch, using materials you currently have in your possession. (Cheap. Not easy. Definitely not lazy).

Step 2: Procrastinate making said costume. (Cheap, easy AND lazy).

Step 3: The night before Halloween utterly freak out since you have neither made a costume nor have you bothered to buy one. Fortunately, your kind neighbor saves the day, providing a darling dinosaur costume for your child to wear. (Cheap, easy and lazy. Perfect).

Step 4: Go to the ward Halloween party with dinosaur in tow (it turns out costume was actually a dragon, not a dinosaur, but try telling that to a determined two-year-old. Oh, how he loved that dinosaur costume. What joy it was for him to wear it). Attempt to take pictures before the party, but to no avail (Josh was absent), so give up and make do with this beauty--see below (cheap, easy and lazy. I'm sensing a pattern).

Step 5: Attend the neighborhood fire department party, complete with a parade, pumpkin painting, games, candy eating, etc., etc., etc., all while trying to carry your child during said parade, keeping all paint off borrowed costume, stopping your child from stealing everyone else's candy and helping that dinosaur onto every.single.fire.apparatus. (Cheap, not as easy, clearly not lazy).

Step 6: Don't take child trick-or-treating, since not only was Halloween on the Sabbath but also because said child was in bed at 6:00 due to lack of naps, too much excitement and an even greater amount of candy. Sit on the couch with your hubby, watching a movie, eating candy and turnyour lights off at 7, so that you can have some peace and quiet, for heaven's sake. (Lazy, lazy, lazy).

Step 7: Take pictures of your dinosaur-wearing child one entire week after Halloween, since it has taken you that long to recover (and for your child to recover) in hopes of getting some decent shots. Somehow, even with a helpful Josh, your child will still refuse to cooperate. Hence, the lackluster photos as well as one taken whilst dinosaur is upside-down. (Easier than doing it alone on Halloween night, but not as easy as one would think).

Step 8: Post about it on your blog almost a full month after the blasted Holiday because you are lazy, lazy, lazy.

Happy Belated Halloween all! Now bring on the turkey...

Fall Leaves 2010

Really, my posts are becoming redundant. Not just of the beauty of fall, but also year after year I find I'm taking the same photos, writing the same posts, making the same memories. (See here and here for the past posts of fall leaves). However, as redundant as it may seem to you, to me it is a treasure to have these pictures of Will, showing not only the changing of the seasons but also the steady marching on of time. Oh, how I wish it would slow down just a little.

I love this year's edition of our annual leaf collecting. It is just a perfect portrayal of Will at the age of 2.5: his bike helmet in place (he insists on wearing it all the time); his "dog boots" on foot (his rain boots that sit on the step of our garage door, the very boots that he can put on all by himself and that he demands on wearing for every outing); his clothes on backwards (just recently he's ventured into the world of dressing himself, much to my dismay. He gets dressed possibly twelve times a day and oh the outfits he chooses). Hopefully, you'll cherish the Fall Leaves 2010 in picture form as much as I do.

This year he actually helped a little with the raking of the leaves.
Here he told me he was "taking a nap in da weaves".
Look at his shirt--backwards AND inside out. Now that takes talent.


He adored jumping in the leaves.
And, of course, tossing the leaves.

And we had to get a video of Will running/rolling down the hill, though I am not sure why the video is so little??

The things he says

• Will and I have been "reading" the scriptures together at breakfast (basically just looking at the pictures in the Gospel Art Binder and then telling the stories and singing any songs that correlate with the story) and we had been learning about Abinadi. One morning I couldn't find the Gospel Art book with the pictures, so I asked, "Where's Abinadi? Have you seen Abinadi?" To which Will responded, "Um, Abinadi dead." Yes, Will, Abinadi is dead.
• Will wanted to have the lights off at dinner one night so I said, sure why not? (There was still some daylight out, so it wasn't completely dark). When he turned off the lights, I said, "Ooooh, Will isn't it romantic?" And of course Will said, "Yea, romantic." Josh questioned Will, asking him what the word romantic meant, and Will said, "Um, it means take a nap." At our house, apparently, romantic means taking a nap. Very nice.
• Will and Josh were doing somersaults one Sunday afternoon when they told me it was my turn. I was still wearing my Sunday skirt, so I said, "I don't know if I can. Ladies don't do somersaults in skirts." Will thought on this and quickly countered with, "You not a lady; you a mama." So, what was I to do? A somersault in my skirt, obviously.
• We were sitting at dinner and Will just looks at Josh and said, "Welcome to the Island of Sodor, Dada." Clearly, he has been watching far too much Thomas the Train since this is the opening phrase to every Thomas show.
• Will and I were coloring when he wanted me to draw dinosaurs. This is tricky for me, since my drawing repertoire is limited to flowers, rainbows, and houses. So, I decided to go to clipart to print off some dinosaurs that I could trace. Will was sitting on my lap while I was doing this and as I was editing the dinosaurs, Will looked at me and said, "Cool dinosaurs, babe."
• That same coloring day, after I had drawn my dinosaurs (again I'm not so handy with the pen), Will turned to me, looked at my dinosaur drawing and observed, "Your rainbow is better, Mama."
• I had a ba-zillion errands to run and so I was prepping Will for this by telling him we were going on an adventure. We got in the car and Will asked where we were going. Again, I told him we're going on an adventure. Will thinks about this and said, "No, Mama. We not going on a-venture. We going on the road." Right, silly me.

Big Boy Bed

I guess it was bound to happen, though I tried my best to put it off for as loooong as possible. There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (all from me), but the time had come. The cage we had created for Will (a.k.a. his crib) could no longer contain him, so we pulled out the big-boy bed. After a week of no naps and of Will constantly climbing out of his crib, I just went for it. The first week went smoothly: Will excited for the bed, taking naps every single day, staying in the bed all night long, playing quietly with his toys in the morning until I came to get him. I was disbelieving and euphoric. Week two, not so great. He refused to nap, instead choosing to destroy his room (even though I locked all his toys in his closet). I am lamenting the loss of his nap, but am grateful he just crashes around 6:30 every night and sleeps until 7-7:30 the next morning. At least there's that. As of yet, the bed is just on the floor next to the crib, waiting for Josh to build a frame for it. But we all know how that goes--remember how "overdue" the crib was (look here and here for reminders)? Maybe for Christmas. Here's to hoping. Now enjoy some pics of Will and Josh getting ready for a night in the big-boy bed.

Since the lamp is in another corner of the room, Josh got his headlamp out to read to Will at night (and look at what they're reading--The Book of Mormon--I think we're going to be translated we're so righteous). Of course, Will insisted he have a headlamp, too. So here he is, headlamp and all, readying himself for the long night ahead.

Will and his cheese smile!
The big-boy bed.