18 at 18

Eighteen at eighteen

Weighs 27 lbs (50%), is 33 1/3 in. tall (75%) and has a 48 cm. head circumference (50%). Obsessed with boats. Loves all animals, especially dogs, cats and bears (tries to hug them...except for bears). Loves books. Loves nursery. Is a brute (loves wrestling with, jumping on and climbing all over dada). Throws everything. Drags shoe baskets around the entire house, stuffing his treasures inside. Has 25 plus words in his vocabulary but still signs for milk and please (favorite words: "tat" (for cat); "show" (for a movie); "take oo" (for thank you) and "aaaaarhh" (for bear). Plays constantly in the car (vroom) and truck. Has a classic throw (moves his whole upper body side to side before throwing it). Wants a show every two seconds (esp. the boat show, the bear show and the truck show). Can't get enough of his best pal Luna. Simply cannot function without his nigh-nigh. Is a lover of the great outdoors and constantly begs to go "side". Can throw a tantrum like nobody's business. Gives hugs with pats. Allows you to kiss him but never returns the favor (when asked for a kiss, just leans his head toward you so that you can plant one on him). Loves the boat park. Is a great bike rider (in our bike trailer--he just leans back, relaxes and puts his feet up). Loves babies and whenever we ask him if we should have a baby, he nods his head yes. Is quite possibly the cutest thing ever and we simply cannot get enough of him.

Here he is coloring. Notice how much of the ink is on him.
Posing with his mama on his first day of nursery.

This is how he MUST watch his shows: with blankey, dog and bear right by his side (the lack of shirt is the way he MUST eat his breakfast since he insists on raspberry jam on his toast and refuses to keep a bib on. Thus, I take off his shirt so that his clothes remain stain-free).

Thank You, AAA Man

Dear Mr. AAA Man,
In accordance with my utmost and sincere gratitude, I would like to say a few words to express how deeply I appreciated your assistance last Tuesday morning. First and foremost, thank you for responding quickly to my call and arriving only a short 15-minutes later to Walmart, where your assistance was required. Secondly, and almost as importantly as the first, thank you for not being scary, smoking, beer-bellied, mechanic type but a decent, normal type with children who knew how to work a car seat. Thank you for not laughing at me when my "car" problem was that my steering wheel was locked and I really couldn't get it unlocked (lame problem, I know). Thank you even more for validating said problem by also being unable to start the car. Thank you for then not mocking me when determining that the real problem was that since I had tried too hard to get the key to turn in the ignition, I had then bent the key so badly that there was no way to start the car with that particular key. Thank you for then telling me that the problem could easily be remedied by using an alternate key. Thank you for waiting patiently for me to try to call my husband and beg him to come rescue me with his key, only to discover that my husband was, in fact, in meetings all day long. Thank you for, after offering to drop me off at my house, then offering to tow the entire car home to save my precious groceries. Thank you for spending over a half an hour trying to get my car onto your flatbed truck, my car being a bit of a stickler since the wheels were locked perpendicular to the car, making it impossible to steer straight (and making it impossible for other Walmart customers to leave their parking spaces due to one huge truck blocking their way. Dirty stares from fellow angry Walmart customers always makes my day). Thank you as well for strapping the car seat into the front seat of your huge truck, since I have little knowledge of this process (Josh always does this. I'm helpless, I know). Thank you for making my son's day by allowing him to ride in your monster truck. Thank you as well for smiling at my son's incessant screams of "truck" and the pointing out of every single truck we passed as well as pointing out the actual truck we were riding in. Thank you for not judging me that my son had on no shoes as he had long ago discarded them in the car back at Walmart while waiting for you to arrive. Thank you again for not judging me that I had NO spare key at home to start the car thus easing the transition of the car from flatbed truck to driveway. Thank you, then, for spending yet another half an hour depositing my car in our street. Thank you for not being present when you saw that, in fact, all this work could have been avoided had I had a spare key (my car quickly started with Josh's key later that day). Mostly, though, thank you for making my half hour trip to Walmart stretch out to more than two hours. I really can't think of a better way I would have liked to spend my morning. As the service you rendered was truly invaluable, you may rest assured that I am now a AAA customer for life.
Yours Truly,
A Valued (I'm sure) AAA Customer

In New York City

Last weekend we packed up all our gear in two backpacks, loaded the rug rat into the car and headed on down south for a quick trip to the Big Apple to visit with Jane and Josh's folks, who were in town. And let me tell you, did we have a good time. And here's why:

1. We had our very own personal (and quite talented, I might add) tour guide, shopper and event planner in one Jane Madsen.

2. We have the best parents/in-laws who spoiled us ROTTEN!

3. Will got all the attention he needed since he was the only grandchild present. Cause let's be honest, everyone needs a little one-on-one time with one's grandparents. They were pretty darn cute with Will. I wish I would have snapped a photo with Gus carrying Will all around town on his shoulders.

4. We got prime seats to a Mets game. Good times.

5. We ate our hearts out at the Shake Shack. A must, if you're in the city. And, if you're in the city, calories just fall off you due to all the walking/sweating you do.

6. Our hotel was mere steps away from 5th Avenue. And I got to go shopping. With Jane there to tell me what's cute and what's not (b/c clearly, I need the help). Without Will. For two whole hours. It was divine.

7. We all went and saw 9 to 5 while Will napped and played in Central Park with Jane's friend. The play was cute and fun (and a little racy--the perfect trio:)

Thanks for the city adventure Jane, Granny and Gus! Hope to do it again soon.

Granny, Jane and Will on the subway.

Will at the Shake Shack playing with the fountain, the birds, the dogs and the leaves.

The Mad Family at the Mets' game.

Jane and Will at the game (with Granny trying to sneak into the picture).

And a picture including Granny.

Will with his grandparents.

Will and Granny at FAO Schwartz on thee piano. Oh, I wish I could figure out how to get the video of Granny dancing on the piano with Will. You'll just have to imagine it--it was pure entertainment!

A side note. While on the train traveling to NYC, Will was OBSESSED with all the boats he saw out the window. All he wanted to do was stand by the window and point out all the "buhts" as he calls them. And now, he is obsessed with boats in general. He discovered that one of his books, The Big Red Barn, has a tiny little boat on one page of the story and he wants to read that book over and over, asking for the "buht" book. The other night after we read the book before bed, I tried to pry the book out of his hands as I put him in his crib, but he would not let go and he kept crying hysterically, "Buht, buht, buht, buht!!!". So, he went to bed with the boat book. When Josh and I went to check on him before we went to bed, I figured he would have long ago discarded the book and fallen asleep. But no, he was fast asleep clutching the boat book in his hands. I thought it fitting, then, to include a picture of Josh reading the boat book to Will.

And I am stoked I got the below picture on film. He loves this book (not just b/c of the boat) but also because of all the animals. And the cover page has a picture of a sheep on it and every time we turn to that page, he just makes the loudest "BAAAAAAAAAA" you ever did hear, with all his heart and soul in it. So in this picture he is mid-"BAAAAAAAAAAA" and it just makes me smile. Look at how into it he is. Oh, I just adore this little tike.

Willy

*Below story mimicked from Olivier Dunrea's Gossie book.

This is Willy. Willy is a toddler. A small, red-headed toddler who likes to wear bright red boots. Every day.

He wears them when he walks.
He wears them when he talks.
He wears them when he rides.

He wears them when he slides.What Willy really loves to do, though, is wear them when he swings. Every day. He swings high. He swings low. He swings long. He swings short. But what Willy never does is swing on days when it is 100% humidity, when the mere thought of going outside makes his mother break out in a sweat, even though sweet Willy stands by the door, boots in hand, begging for his mother to take him outside to swing. No, those days Willy and his mom stand indoors, in front of the central air vents, letting that unnaturally cool air blast spurts of arctic air on their overheated bodies.

This is Willy. Willy is a toddler. A small, red-headed toddler who likes to wear bright red boots. Almost every day.

Spokane Trip--a.k.a. Picture Overload

Ahh, we're back. And though it's almost been two weeks since we've returned, it feels as though I am now just finally getting back into my groove, if you will (and I think you will). We had a lovely, fun-filled trip to visit my family in Washington state. A little too much fun, I dare say. The first week we spent at our favorite lake, Lake Roosevelt, with my entire family doing some of our favorite things. And here's what we did:

A little of this: jet-skiing & boating,

a little of that: playing in the water & wiffle balling

even some of this: wake-boarding & tubing (do you think Will likes to tube? Check out his face)

Lots of this: cousin time and Grammy & Pompa time

Will loved Pompa. He even learned to say "Pompa" while on the trip. It's too cute. When I was downloading this picture, Will was on my lap and he saw Pompa and got a huge smile on his face, pointed at the screen and said, "Pompa!"

And, unfortunately, even some of this:

And, of course, we had to have some family photos taken:

And the second week of our trip, we sent Dada back home to work and then did a LOT of this: playing with the dogs.

Will was seriously OBSESSED with these dogs (Jon and Michelle's dogs). He would literally beg to see the dogs every second of the day. He was fearless with them (as you can see from the photos). He also loves to look at the pictures of the dogs on the computer (and the video I took). It almost makes me tempted to get a dog for this little guy. Almost.

It was so very good to be with family. I wish I could see them more often, but after the 12-hr. plane ride home alone with a toddler on my lap, on a full flight, flying through thunder and lightning storms (you could see the lightning RIGHT outside our window), I think that we may just never go home again. Who's up for a family reunion in upstate NY next year?

The Magical Kingdom in Picture Form

Behold: Cinderella's castle.

Behold: the obligatory Dumbo Ride. Looks like he's excited, no?

Behold: the adorable Beth with one huge male gorilla eating a tree in the background (at Animal Kingdom).

Behold: All the ladies on ladies' night at Hollywood Studios. Yes, I did the Rock'n'Rollercoaster three times. Three times, people. You should be proud (I'm a roller coaster pansy).

Behold: the rug rat (wearing one serious scowl), the hubby, and the Liberty steamboat.

Behold: Willy and his dada on Tom Sawyer's island in their matching shirts.

Behold: the Madsen family in their Mickey Mouse t-shirts.

Once again, I've managed to take far too few pictures. Oh, we had such fun at Disney World. I'm just now able to look at these pictures without crying tears of sadness for our ended vacation. We'll be back Disney World, oh we'll be back. Thanks, Madsens for a vacation of a lifetime!

Super Fan?

I'll give you one guess for which team Josh was cheering in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals:

Hint: If the red shirt (with the team's name emblazoned on the front), the red shorts and the red union suit doesn't give it away, maybe the homemade red-colored crepe will. I think we may just have a super fan on our hands. Too bad his team didn't win. Maybe it's because sometime during the third period Josh realized that wearing a union suit in the heat and humidity of summer wasn't such a good idea, so he shed that part of his fan attire. I guess we'll never know if the Red Wings would have won, if only Josh had been able to remain a true, all-red-wearing fan.