One!!

My Baby Boy and Me

Its 3 am they're all asleep
And no one's here to see
As we rock slowly back and forth
My Baby Boy and Me.
His little head is feather light
tucked up against my chin
I hold his tiny hand in mine
and stroke his baby skin.
The house about us creaks and groans
the clock hands creep around
He snuggles closer to me still
and makes his baby sounds.
I love these quiet hours so much
and cherish every one
store memories up inside my heart
for lonely nights to come.
All too soon he'll be grown up
his need for Mama gone
but until then I still have time
for kisses and for song.
Time for quiet hours like this
with him cuddled in my arms
where I wish he'd always stay
protected safe and warm.
And yet I know the day will come
when this tiny little hand
will be much bigger than my own
he'll grow to be a man.
But until then he's mine to love
with no one here to see
as we rock slowly back and forth
my Baby Boy and me.

By Jane Tripell

William , today at 9:45 pm you are 1years old. How quickly this magical year has gone!!
We love you very much. You are a curious, exuberant, bright, determined, handsome- our wonderful little guy. Hugs and Kisses Buddy.

Summer Days

Back stroke, side stroke, fancy diving too...not a great shot but you get the idea! William and Daddy at Swim Class

Motion is my thing!! Here I am in all my cuteness.

Our Yankee Doodle Boy clebrated the 4th of July with a quick visit from Nannie. We went to Occoquan for the day and also, of course did a lot of shopping. William also showed off all his moves for her @ the Little Gym. We are gearing for the first of Willam's two birthday soiree's. We can't believe a year has passed already!

Our other big news is that we have officially stopped nursing. Whew! It has been a little difficult for both of us. More so for the little guy at night. Nannie was here to help start this process putting him to sleep and now Bill has taken over my normal night time duties. William loves hanging out w/ Daddy at night! Also, William is sleeping nicely in his crib until the early am when he snuggles in with us. The sweetest days.....

Firsts

William loves Elmo!

William and Daddy on Father's Day

Last week was a big week for William. We had three big First's:

1. First ride on the baby swings.

This ocurred during our weekly playdate w/ our Mamistad group. We were at this cute little park in Vienna. William loved it as you can imagine. We have a beautiful brand new tot lot right in our back yard but there are no swings! Infact there are no swings on any of the tot lots in our development. Something about safety which I get. But, baby swings are pretty safe. Hmmm...

2.First visit to the Library.

William did not make a peep. Yes, it's true. Mommy the Librarian was very proud. He really liked walking around in the stacks and pulling books off the shelf. With the upcoming horrible heat down here I suspect that we will be spending lots of time there.

3.First Swim Class

This was William's favorite event of the week. Things got off to a soggy start as he wet his swim diaper before we got out of the car to go to class. Thankfully, I had extras and a change of clothes. The class is on Saturday's so Bill is doing it with him while I stay dry on the side. Although there are a few babies where both parents get in the water...so one of these weeks I'm going to get in there too. It is a nice thing for him to do w/ his Daddy. He splashed around and Bill had him on his back for a bit. They also sang songs. William especially liked when they did the hokey pokey. In the locker room after class we almost had a little accident. I wasn't quick enough with the diaper and well...it was a good thing there was no one too close to us!

I have pics of most of these events but our regular camera was not working so I have to wait on posting them.

Here are two recent videos one is from his class at The Little Gym.

Silly Baby

Here is another really cute video of our happy little Prince.
A couple reflections on the past month- William was very concerned when I was sick. when I had a fever he would curl up next to me like a baby bear and when I'd cough or sneeze he would put his head on my stomach. It was really difficult not being able to take care of him the way that I usually do...thankfully Bill works @ home some of the time now....having him around during the day and for doctor's appointments was a lifesaver!
In terms of growth,William is doing wonderfully- At his 9 month appointment we received the following stat's:
height-30"- 75-90%
weight 23lbs-75-90%
Finally, the height and weight are equal...yeah! That was a goal of mine...even though the doctor's think I'm nuts.

This video is an earlier one that was taken before William really started walking. I meant to post it before now. You will note that I am talking on the phone, not sure to who, probably my Mom. You will also see William playing with the "safety lock" on our cabinet. We have since replaced this one with a safer version!

Update

A lot has transpired since our last entry most notably William came down with his first and now second cold/fever etc. I was sick... and you can throw Mother's Day, William's 9 month Dr. appt & a Memorial weekend trip to Syr in there too. Some video to capture the moment.

STEPS

We are up visiting family in Syracuse. William is having a ball going to Grandma & Grandpa's house every day, playing with Nonnie and Uncle Joe, meeting some friends and family that he had not met before and seeing some familiar faces. During his whirlwind tour of the Cuse, he has attended Great Uncle Lu's memorial mass & luncheon, cousin Alexandra's baptism party, visited with cousins JP, Giuliana and Isabella, met cousin Elizabeth (and baby Alexandra,) met Great Great Aunt Annie, Great Great Aunt Gen and Great Great Uncle Frank, saw Jen & celebrated Sandi's birthday, did lunch in downtown Syracuse and the list go's on and on...William loves activity and we made sure he wasn't bored this week. In between all of his social engagements he found time to practice his walking and took several steps 3 or so... unassisted!! He was very proud of himself & we are proud too. He had taken a few steps last week while we were at his Bugs class at The Little Gym. He's putting a few more steps together this week. He's still wobbly like a drunken sailor but... it won't be long now before he's running around. Look out everyone!!
I hope I have some good pics of this.

Florida Pics

Aunt Julie and William by the Pool
(ugh...I'm having some trouble uploading the rest...more to come very soon>)

I have to share some pics from our trip to Florida back a few months ago. We had a wonderful time with Nonnie and the rest of the family in Delray Beach. William loved the pool and walking by the lake everyday. Can't wait to go back!!