Hockey, Joshy!

When my oldest nephew, Tanner, was just a little guy, Josh constantly tried to convince Tanner that the sport he most wanted to play was hockey. Josh would coach Tanner to respond to the question, "What sport do you want to play?" with an emphatic, "HOCKEY!" Well, Tanner, wanting so desperately to oblige, would always cooperate; however he added his own take on the response. When Josh would ask, "What sport do you want to play?" Tanner would announce: "HOCKEY, JOSHY!" Needless to say, Josh is already trying to brainwash our 2.5 month old little boy into thinking that hockey is the cat's meow. In fact, just this weekend this is what I found when I entered the living/family room:

Yes, I overhead Josh telling Will all about the game. I guess you can't start too early. My boys. Does it get any cuter than this?

Aunty Em & Cousin Garret!

As soon as my parents left, my sista and her youngest son, Garret, came to visit. Oh, how I LOVED having my sister here: we went on walks, visited, read books and just relaxed. It made me realize how much I miss living by her and how much I miss having family close by, especially now that I have a little tike of my own. There is nothing like having a built in friend always ready to play. I can safely say she is my favorite sister (of course, she is my only sister, but she's still definitely my favorite). Thanks, Em and Garret for trekking cross country to visit. We miss you already!

Emily and Garret. Em still looks good even though it was one of those great lazy Saturdays where we went to breakfast and came home and lounged around, never bothering to shower! Will wasn't too interested in Garret, though Garret sure wanted to attack Will every time he saw him. We, of course, had to stop him from mauling little Will, especially since Garret had pink eye (though it didn't manifest until he got to NY. I think it must be a prerequisite to come to my house and get sick...Luckily, Will did not contract pink eye).
The darling outfit that my sister bought Will. He wore it to church today and won all the ladies' hearts. Thanks for the perfect Madsen plaid outfit.

Let's Bless This Mess....

William Grant Madsen's blessing day has come and gone and what a day it was. On Sunday, April 13, 2008, we blessed our red-headed baby boy whilst at the LDS church building located on Bradt Road in Glenville, NY. Willy cooperated, crying the moment up to the blessing and the moment after, but NOT during the blessing. The blessing was short and sweet. Shockingly, I didn't cry--I think I was too sleep-deprived to produce tears. He looked darling in a cable-knit sweater outfit found on sale at The GAP; it was perfect for the occasion. He also hammed it up for the camera and his guests, being smiley and happy until he was not; then he proceeded to take a three-hour nap in his crib, the last three-hour nap he has taken in his crib (he still is on a nap-strike. The only way I can get him to nap for extended periods is by driving him somewhere or walking him in the stroller). The day was shared with some of our favorite people, many who traveled great distances to be with us out in this far, far away state of NY. Below you will find the pictures that document this fine event. Will, though we blessed you Sunday last, we hope you know that you are the true blessing in our lives, even if you are, at times, a mess!

My parents came out for the occasion and SPOILED us. Here is Pompa with baby Will. Pompa insisted that he make the blog. And, of course, he did.

Grammy and Will.

Willy and his grandparents. They gave him lots o' lovin'. (Though my dad gladly handed him back as soon as he started to cry or he had a messy diaper. The joys of being a grandparent, he said).

This is my favorite picture of my folks. Party animals that they are, they took the train into NYC, went to the statue of Liberty, toured Central Park, won the Lottery tickets to see the play Wicked and THEN took the 11:55 p.m. train back to Albany, arriving home well-past 3 a.m. As you can see from the above photo, the next day they were tuckered out by their grand adventures. This picture was taken mid-conversation with Josh and me. Apparently, it wasn't a very stimulating conversation, seeing as how both my parents fell fast asleep, mouths agape!

Here is the only BEFORE photo of Baby Willy, since his mean father would not let us take any pictures before church because, according to him, we were "running late." (We still arrived 5 minutes early and then by the time we got any other photos, I was a wrinkled mess and Will had spit up on his outfit TWICE).

Posing for the camera!

Laugin' it up!
The three of us (though we would have looked better BEFORE church).
The Madsen clan. Amy, Nate, Beth, Jessy, Will, Josh and Jane.
The Spear clan. (You already know the key players).
And I HAD to put this picture in. Beth INSISTED she get another photo of her and Will, though it doesn't appear as though EITHER of them like one another.

Well, there you have it, my friends, Will's blessing day in a nut shell. Thanks Madsens and Spears for sacrificing to be with us on Will's special day; your presence made it all the more specialer (yes, a word). Fun was had by all. We sure do miss all our visitors and hope to see you all again soon.....

It's a BIRTHDAY Miracle!

Yes, yesterday was the celebration of my 29 years of life and I'll bet all you new moms know what I wanted for my b-day: SLEEP, more sleep and then some more sleep. And boy, did Will deliver. On my b-day night, he went down with only a little fuss and then proceeded to sleep 8 WHOLE HOURS in a ROW. If only I had slept that long. He went down at 8 and slept until 4. I, however, didn't go down until 9:30 and then slept only until 3:30 when I woke in pain from missing a feeding (OW!) and also in fear, wondering if my baby was still breathing. But let me tell you, people, that was the best 6 hours of sleep I've gotten in a long time (well, the only consolidated 6 hours of sleep I've gotten in the last 11 weeks). It was a grand b-day celebration and, I daresay, a Birthday Miracle that, hopefully, will be continued for nights to come!

Here are some cute pictures of the little PEANUT!

He is getting so good at keeping his head up. And I loved this picture because it has his serious/scowl look that he so loves to have.

He also LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to smile at his mama. And, finally, we got a true smile on camera.
For my b-day dinner I wanted grilled burgers with all the fixin's and a picnic where everyone was happy. And I got it. Will played in his bouncy seat (he LOVES his bouncy seat) in the shade while Josh and I ate some yummy, yummy burgers. Then, when I wanted a picture to document the event, Will started to cry. He had had enough! But I'll post the picture anyway because he is still stinkin' cute.

Bubbles!

Will loves to sit in his bouncy chair, kick and kick and kick AND blow bubbles with his saliva. I LOVE all his bubbles and had to capture it on film. Enjoy....

Time Flies!

Two months! Yikes, how time flies when you're having fun...that is if you call sleep deprivation, head colds and diarrhea fun! But in between the messy diapers and the stuffy noses, there have been some serious smiles and lots of cooing and, of course, some snuggling. Here are some of my favorite pics of month two of Will's life.

Oh, how he loves to stand!

Chillin' with Dad whilst "watching" conference.
He was so enraptured with conference he fell asleep (and he never just "falls asleep". He must have been really stimulated).Showing off his neck muscles.
Playing on the playmat--he loves his playmat. Thanks to Auntie Em who gave this to him. It's a hit!
More playmat--hitting all the wild animals.
Even though this picture is so fuzzy, I love it because this is how we like to take walks in the freezing NY weather. It's like Will is a floating head and feet!
Staring down Dada...and why wouldn't you when he's making a face like that?

We went to the doctor today and he got his shots (ouch! However, it was not as bad as I anticipated. I made Josh come with me and after it was done, Josh said that Will didn't cry any more than he does when he has to get his clothes changed....).

Here's his stats:

10 lb. 5 oz (25%)

23 inches long (50%)

He's not a great napper, which is making his mom crazy because she keeps TRYING to get him to take at least two naps a day (he usually gets at least one) but he IS a good night sleeper (usually), going to bed around 6-7 and sleeping until 8-9 the next morning (getting up twice to nurse, of course).

We seriously LOVE this little guy and I cry a little every day, knowing that he is getting bigger every second. Though exhausted and emotional, I am trying to soak in all the cuteness that goes with this stage.

(Any advice on how to get this cute kid to take naps? He goes to sleep and then wakes up 5-10 minutes later, then I get him to sleep again only to have him wake up 5-10 minutes after that and so on and so on. I've read all the books and tried all the tricks I can think of...I am seriously considering letting him cry it out, but is he too little????? I would love any tips from all you professional moms out there!)