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Wilbur is ONE! Hoorah!

We have a video to commemorate the celebration this weekend. As you can see, it was a simple affair involving just the parents and Grandma and Grandpa E. There was cake, and an exciting new toy.


Not shown in the video is Will's new favorite mealtime behavior, picking up food from his highchair tray and flinging it across the room with gusto. He obviously knows this is bad because he picks up the food, makes eye contact with this hint-of-smile "I'm about to do something naughty to see your reaction" kind of a way, and only after that does he fling the food. We say "No," try to not give it any special attention, and then after a few rounds of No we take his tray away. Since he is still getting bottles and spoon feedings, he's not going to be malnourished as a result, it's just challenging to deal with the first signs of toddler-dom! Let me just say that there was some cream cheese frosting plastered to the wall at the end of the day yesterday.

On Will's actual birthday, Thursday, we got to Skype with Gran and Grandpa G. Will got a handsome new sweater (which he has already worn) and a train toy with lots of sound buttons. He had fun seeing his grandparents on the monitor - I think he is starting to "get" that there are people there.
Cliched as it sounds, it is amazing to think back on the past year: where we started and where we are today. The physical changes alone are awesome. Often when I sit with Will on my lap, I look at him against my stomach and think how he would SO not fit in there anymore! He is not a big baby, but even so he has grown a ton, turning from a tiny and (no offense to newborns) blob-like newborn into a fully articulated little person. He has learned to eat, smile, grab, crawl, walk, and make all sorts of different sounds. When Mr. YP says "William, hug" with his arms out, Willerpillar zips over and gives Dad a hug and a cuddle. Will loves to have us loudly "guess" where he is and then bound out from behind his "hiding" place flapping his arms with the joy of the surprise. And, he is definitely learning how to be naughty, and starting to test our limits. When I turned 30, I knew I wanted to have a kid with Mr. YP, but I had no idea what it would actually be like! It is the best, though, and we are so incredibly fortunate to have William as a son.

And here is a picture to commemorate life before Billy the Kid. I spun this BFL from Spincerely while I was pregnant, and was it a good spin. Oh, the free time I had back then... :) I love the knotty texture of this plying style.




A couple more pictures to round out the post...

Here is a picture with Grandma E and the new xylophone. This was *the* cool toy for the rest of the day. If you look closely you will see that his feet are crossed - something new that he does while sitting that is very cute.


Here is a picture of Will with his new train. I love this picture of him!!! He has been looking more like his Mom lately, but in this pic I can see a lot of Dad (when he was a little boy) - especially those cheeks and sweet smile! I have not gotten a good picture showing his top tooth yet, but trust me it is there. Another similarity to Mr. YP is the "Future Astronaut" shirt he is sporting... Dad loves anything having to do with outerspace.


The train toy has also been a big hit. There is a string attached to the front that you can roll the train behind you while you walk. I demonstrated this to Billy G a couple of times and he caught right on - kind of. He plucked up the end of the string in his hand, but then instead of of just pulling it to roll the train, he jutted his hand straight up in the air so that the train was suspended off the ground, and walked around with it like that for the rest of the evening. That is a good example of where Will's head is right now, he is really starting to catch on to things but can't always execute. But it is all so cute that it matters not. :)