Watching the Wheels Turn

He's Growing Up

Sometimes I think God gave me another "baby" because He knew I couldn't handle watching my first baby turn into a big boy any other way. I remember watching him not long after we got him and realizing that he was already growing up. He never would even let us hold the bottle for him. According to American standards, he shouldn't have even still been using a bottle.

Now he's growing into his "big boy" face, still as cute as ever. He loves school. I swear that he grows an inch every couple of days. Those shirts that have been big on him forever finally need to be packed away. The pants that use to hang on his skinny little body finally stay up.

His mind is changing just as fast. He's still all boy with his favorite word being "bum" (as in the body part) and any kind of bodily excrement is just fascinating. He writes his own rhyming songs about body parts and the things they do. He's learning by leaps and bounds and still loves school.

Unfortunately I am no longer able to tell him what to like. I had to take back an adorable Halloween shirt because "Spiders are scary!" He really wants one of those tacky Pillow Pets. If a song he doesn't like comes on, he yells, "I want COUNTRY music!"

It's fascinating to watch his little wheels turn...especially when it comes to the new baby. Yesterday he told me, "You are going to be driving and the 'stretch marks' on your belly were going to crack open and you will look down and see a hand. And it will be a baby hand!" I couldn't decide whether to be scared or if that would be an easier way to deliver.

A couple weeks ago he told me we needed to take the baby to China and leave her. "Not for long, just for a little while. Then we will come back and get her." He's fully aware that he was in China as a baby and Mommy and Daddy went to get him. On a separate occasion we were driving down the road and he asked me, "Mommy, what took you so long to come get me in China?" He's also told me that we need to actually go to China to have the baby and that he wished this baby came from China. That had been after an emotional doctor visit and I wholeheartedly agreed with him.

I'm aware that some people will think that Will wanting to leave the baby in China is awful, but give him a break...he's still 3. He's just trying to figure it all out and wants the baby to be like him. (Who can blame him? He's pretty great!) Will is proud that he came from China and is happy to tell anyone who asks. Those who don't agree that he has a proud heritage obviously haven't learned much Chinese history.

Back to my emotions, they've been fairly normal until a month or so ago. Now I've cried in front of Will a few times, even though I try not too. The first time must have scared him to death as he loves to tell people that "Mommy cried at the doctor's." The last time he just looked at me from the back seat and said,"What's wrong Mommy?"

Will's so sensitive, and, we are learning more and more, quite shy. His teachers say he doesn't talk much at school. Although passionate about fire engines, he declined the opportunity to climb into one twice within a week because he was afraid it would take off with him in it. We're praying he will outgrow this stage as John and I were both shy as children (Can you picture John shy?!) and we don't want him to miss out on anything because of it.

This cute, sweet, sensitive boy is going to make an excellent big brother. He is very excited and carries around his new What to Expect When the Baby Comes Home book all the time. He constantly wonders what she will look like. (He's even told me he hopes she looks like Ella, a little girl in his class he has a crush on.)

And Then There are Morons
(I should title this part of the post a little nicer, but at 5:41 a.m. I'm feeling a little blunt.)

Just as Will's wheels are turning and putting everything together about China and babies, etc., so are the wheels of perfect strangers.

While walking through the mall and ogling baby clothes, a woman asked me if Will was adopted. (Yes, some see Will out with just John or myself and think perhaps the other parent is Asian.) She told me she was just asking because she, a Caucasian, just adopted an African American and she doesn't know how to handle the stupid comments people make. I agreed that it was difficult and it really depended on who was saying it and what I thought they could handle. She proceeded to tell me about stupid comments about how they had "darkened up" the baby, etc. I told her my greatest pet peeve, when people tell me they are happy we can have a baby "of our own," etc. Will is mine!!! So the other mother and I bonded with Will right there and I'm sure he was taking it all in. (Don't you remember eavesdropping on adult conversations as a child? I sure do!) I hope he caught a glimpse of how passionate we were about our children and how much he is loved.

Ironically, that same night, we went to Michael's Craft Night to make a little plaque for the baby's door. A soon-to-be grandmother and her daughter were there making something for their baby. She had a whole slew of silly questions...
1. Was Will making something for himself?
The theme of the class was gifts for the new baby.
2. Oh. We were having a baby. Would she be of the same relation?
My response, with a dazed and confused look on my face..."Relation?
What do you mean?" All I could think of was that she was going to be his
sister. What's so confusing about that? Then the lady asked where she would
be from. My answer, "From my belly." Now I have never been super skinny and
surely she could see the basketball attached to my waistline.
3. Was this planned? That was great that we could have
"one of our own."
My response..."Actually Will was planned. We really wanted him. This baby
was the surprise." Lucky for her my phone rang just then as I was getting
ready to go off, but you should have seen the look of utter confusion on her
face while she was trying to figure out why on earth anyone would plan on
adopting a baby instead of having "one of their own." I'm sick and tired of
people telling acting like this baby
is a bigger blessing than Will was. It's great we are "having" a baby, blah,
blah, blah. But it was just as great, if not greater, that we could adopt a
baby. Not everyone has a little Chinese angel, especially a boy, running
around their house. I wouldn't care if he was an alien. He'd be MY alien and
I love him with all my heart.

Someday, when I've had all I can take, someone is going to get an earful.
Hopefully it won't be you. You have no excuse...you've read the rantings of
my blog!

School Bells

I was right...Will loves school!

At open house he waved down and sat with the only friend he knows in his class. Once in the classroom, he saw the cars and road rug and it was all over. I was impressed with the no-nonsense approach his teachers seemed to have. They did things the way I liked to do them...no carrying your kids in, etc. I was also pleased that they must bring a healthy snack to eat, especially since I'd already had a request for cookies and cupcakes.

Afterward we went to Walmart for a backpack. Luckily we found the last Lightning McQueen backpack in the whole store. I don't know what we would have done if it hadn't been there! Will wore it all over the store.

The first morning of school we took Will to McDonalds to begin the annual First Day of School Breakfast tradition. He was so rotten there that I had no tears to cry when we left him. He was so excited that he almost went in without saying good-bye. (I put a stop to that!) I was already proud as he went right to the correct hook with his name on it and hung up his backpack and also located his name on the apples outside the door. Plus...no accident when we picked him up.

The only downside...Now that I'm at the "every 2 weeks doctor visit" mark, so much of my "free" time I was looking forward to is gone. :( Plus, preschool is only 2 mornings a week!

Little Lessons

Will in his Easter best

Lesson 1

Another month has come and gone without a post, mainly because I've had so much on my mind...aka worrying. I know I shouldn't and I usually don't too much, but life has seemed to remain pretty stressful this year...some good, some not so good.

So a few weeks ago while we were driving down the road, John and I were discussing our current predicament. Okay. Maybe I was doing a little more venting, and a little less discussing. So I made the comment, "Surely God is watching over us and has some kind of purpose for all this." I probably should end that with a question mark/ exclamation mark/tears. It was more of a "Come on God, prove me right!" kind of thing.

Then, from the back seat, I hear, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! You just said God is watching over us!" Will was really excited to hear me telling his Daddy about a concept we try to instill in him constantly, particularly at night when he's scared of the dark. But to me, this comment was kind of a slap in the face. Instead of living what I've been preaching, I was doubting it. Oh, ye of little faith.

Lesson 1--God is with us.

Lesson 2
As I mentioned, at night we often remind will that God is watching over him. He use to pray that angels would come and sit in his blue chair and protect him while he slept. Now he skips the angels and goes straight for the Big Guy, Jesus. Who am I to question? It reminds me of John Micheal Montgomery's "The Little Girl," when the little girl recognizes Jesus' picture at church because he hid with her behind the couch when her parents were fighting.

One particular night between 3 and 4a.m, on the third time Will had woken me up in an hour, I found Will curled up in his blue chair. When I suggested he get back in bed, he just curled in tighter, put on a silly grin, and said, "I'm with Jesus!" Again, I couldn't argue with that logic. He looked so peaceful and sweet! Of course that didn't save him 15 minutes later when he had peed in his pull-up...

Lesson 2--Peace.

Lesson 3
Will's favorite books lately seem to be his Bible stories. He pours over several at a time and retells the stories. He is going to be quite the author some day. He also write songs, but that's another entry.

Not only does our boy write songs, but he also acts the stories out. For David and Goliath, we take turns pretending who is who. Goliath usually starts with, "What are you doing here, David?" in a big mean voice. Then David winds up his arm and then gently knocks Goliath in the head. Goliath does a slow motion death scene, ending up in pile on the floor.

After catching Will sitting on the sink washing his feet, I asked him what he was doing. His reply, "Washing my feet just like Jesus!" Once again, can't argue with a kid who wants to be like Jesus, so Will usually has the cleanest feet in town.

The Easter story is a little less fun. I refuse to participate in that one, as Will is usually the soldier ordering Jesus around with a "sword" in his hand. (Please tell me that's okay because he's only 3!) Luckily I've succeeded in getting Will to act that one out with much less frequency.

Lesson 3--The joy of The Word.

Will has definitely been my best Bible teacher lately, a constant reminder of God's love for us and a constant source of joy (except maybe at 3:30 in the morning when he first wakes me up). I meant to get an Easter post up, but this is what it's really all about. I'm so glad my little boy is learning to live the walk, even when I'm not!

Ho Hum

It seems like the holidays have been gone forever. When we took down the Christmas tree, Will kept saying, "It's over, Mommy? Christmas is over?" But in spite of the calendar, Will insists on looking for our chimney every time we pull out of the driveway (because Santa comes down the chimney!). Will also managed to stow away the chicken that dances to his own special rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas and The Chicken Dance. I've been trying to reassure him that the Christmas season will officially be upon us again in just 10 short months.

So here we sit at the end of January, a usually less than eventful, ho hum kind of month. But already lots of little things have happened and the year is 1/12 over! So here's to January and all the little events that made it pass quickly...

Happy belated birthday to my sweety, John, who turned 39 this month. Among other things in your time on earth, you've managed to snag a beautiful wife ;) and a brilliant son! Cheers to you! But seriously, there is no one on this earth who's character I admire more. I love you!

Will got to meet Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. He asked why they weren't talking. John told him they were shy because they are use to just hanging out with other vegetables.

We saw 2 snows. Will got to make snow angels and go sledding for the first time. He is begging to make a snowman, but unfortunately we are still waiting for snowman snow that will stick together.

Wohlford Photography participated in our first (hopefully of many) bridal fairs. We have already booked a few weddings for the upcoming year and look forward to more!

We have had our first 2 family movie nights, beginning with Disney's CARS. Will is now obsessed. At least 10 times a day we must retell the part of the movie in which Mater and Lightning go tractor tipping. Will is developing his own story telling skills as we put our foot down to telling the story for an 11th time and Will must tell it to us instead.

We decided on a preschool for Will. The sign-ups for the fall begin in January and fill up quickly. Kind of crazy! I never really thought I'd send my children to pre-school, especially not at 3 years old. But it's one of those things I just felt in my heart we needed to do. Will is smart and social and can use a little extra variety and stimulation. At such a young and impressionable age, we wanted him to attend a Christian school. We were also looking for a place that would challenge him when he's ready to move ahead. (Yes. You probably figured out we think he's smart! As a teacher, I'm going to try hard not to be his teachers' nightmares!) So after looking around, we decided that Will will be attending Porter Memorial. I'm sure my parents are secretly happy about the Baptist influence. I just can't wait to see him act out the Christmas story in December!

Growing up next to Fort Knox, I always managed to become best friends with the army brats (their term, not mine). So each year I had a new best friend because my old one had moved away! This month I said goodbye to another good friend of mine, who's daughter also happened to be a good friend of Will's. It brought back some sad memories for me. I tried to explain what was going on, but Will didn't seem to understand much until we left her going away party. As soon as we left, he kept begging to go back to her house and it broke my heart. Thank goodness that now, unlike when I was a child, we have Facebook, blogs, and cheap long distance to keep us connected! (We'll miss you a lot Nancy and Sophie (and Paulie and Dan)!

Will has developed a fear of Goliath and other giants, as well as an increasing fear of the dark. When he's scared we remind him that God is watching over him. We've talked briefly about the fact that Jesus is coming back to get us some day. The other night while we were praying, Will asked if Jesus is going to come back and get us. I told him yes. Will continued by asking,"He got good toys?" I replied, "The best." But just to be sure, he asked, "Him got cars???"

I have loved every stage of Will's life so far (except the waiting for him!), but by the things coming out of his mouth lately, I'm really looking forward to this 3 year old stage coming in a few weeks!

Random Cuteness

Birthday Bike compliments of Grandma Apple (named for always giving Will apples),
Construction Bike Helmet and pads--too cute for words!

I always hoped that when I had children, they would be full of spunk and personality. That's exactly what we got. I just didn't expect it to start at such a young age.

Will loves his music. His newest trick is to yell, "Song!" when we are in the car and a commercial comes on. If he doesn't like the song that is playing, such as Taylor Swift, he will also yell, "Song!" He even knows when a song is getting ready to go off and will start yelling, "Song!" in anticipation. If I'm watching something on the DVR and skipping through the commercials, he'll hear the jingle and start yelling, "Song!" so we have to go back and watch the commercials. He yells "Song!" with all the strength his little body can muster and, when the song is finally over, the end is often met with tears. His love for music and dancing has even earned him a standing invitation when Big Boss Man, is favorite blues band, plays at Cielito Lindo, the local Mexican restaurant.

Will and Daddy have written a number one hit (in our household) which is actually being sung to me now and played on the ukulele. We call it The Family Song. It is basically a list of the names of everyone in our family, but no other song compares. Any time we ask Will what song he wants to hear, he breaks into The Family Song. We hear Will singing it to himself throughout the day.

Will also has to go hear the worship at church and screams, "Song!" as we carry him screaming past the sanctuary so that he can go to his class first. Luckily we go to a church where it is okay that Will dance on the chairs as he worships. It was confirmed this weekend that Will is either going to be a head banger, or he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Another thing that has amazed me lately is Will's uncanny sense of direction. Whenever we are in the general vicinity of Guitar Center, Will starts yelling for Daddy or Daddy's Car (another of his fascinations). We were driving by Joseph Beth the other day, coming from the opposite direction we usually approach from, and he started screaming, "Choo choo! Choo choo!" because that is where he goes to play with the trains.

When Will first came to us, we tried to comfort him by speaking a little Chinese. I am pretty sure that what we said didn't sound too Chinese. (I am reminded of trying to speak Spanish to a little Mexican girl in my class. She started repeating the Spanish back to me, just like she did when I taught her English. She was totally unaware that I was trying to speak Spanish to her!) As time has gone by with Will, we have slacked off on the Chinese. Recently I have made a more concentrated effort to tell Will, "Good night. Mommy loves you!" in Chinese before he goes to bed. According to our adoption guides, this sounds a lot like, "Wo o. Mommy eye knee." As I was saying this to Will the other night, he began laughing uncontrollably. I was not sure what was so funny until he started screaming, "Night night, knee!" over and over. Now it is a nightly ritual that we must tell not only our knees, but all of our body parts, especially our elbows, good night. I heard him telling his stuffed animals, "Wan an!" (good night) this morning.

Will has lots of Mommy time, so Daddy time is very special to him. If John is around and I try to push the cart Will is in, change his diaper, or give him a bath, I get Will's version of "talk to the hand." That would be the hand extended up in the stop position, with Will screaming, "NO!" at the top of his lungs while rapidly shaking his head. Who knew "talk to the hand" was an innate expression? I must admit that I like it when he tells me Daddy must change his diaper.

We went out to eat a few weeks ago and someone came up to our table to tell us hello. John immediately thought it was someone I had taught with over the years. I immediately thought it was someone had gone to church with. Will immediately said, "Doctor!" and he was right. I guess when you spend enough time screaming at someone, their memory gets seared into your brain.

Yesterday Will got his kicks by trying to pick my nose. Never a dull moment.

I hope I don't bore you with my little Will stories, but he continues to amaze us. I always knew I'd enjoy being a mother, but I never knew it would be this much fun. As John said earlier tonight, we are going to have to stop talking about how cute he is in front of him all the time because he is going to catch on pretty soon. Or do you think he already has???

So for here's my Mothers' Day verse, which is also my excuse for scrapbooking verse (National Scrapbooking Day--May 2, 2009):
Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Happy Mothers Day to all, but especially to those first time moms and those still waiting! And Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

"Wiggle" It!

One of the things that we had to write and/or verbally promise a few times when we adopted Will was that we would give him every opportunity that he could have as an American. Now that's a pretty big bill to fill! So when when we found out the Wiggles were coming to town, we knew that Will would love it. After all, our little musician sings into microphones; plays guitar, mandolin, and xylophone; and loves to dance. Unfortunately, however, my staying home with Will means that we must make some cutbacks, so one of the things we reluctantly decided to cut was Wiggles tickets.

I'm a firm believer that God blesses those who try to be obedient. A few hours before the concert, I read on Facebook that one of my friends had access to free tickets. The post had been made a couple hours earlier, but no one had claimed the tickets yet. We had just enough time to finish up our projects for the day, get the tickets, and head to the concert. We figured we'd have to at least pay for parking, but one of John's friends was working his parking lot downtown, so we even got a primo spot right across from Rupp for free! Will loved the concert. To be honest, John and I did too. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

We managed to get a few pictures before Will danced so hard that he smacked the camera right out of my had and broke it. Luckily it wasn't one of the SLRs. But Santa, now I know what I want for Christmas!


Will is inspecting one of the free sticker booklets that you can use to make your own Wiggles stage.

Will was completely fascinated.

Clingy

I am sitting in the floor of Will's room typing by night light. We've reached a new stage in our relationship in which Will doesn't like to let me out of his sight for even a second. In a crazy kind of way I guess that is proof of how close we've become and how much he loves me. I love that little guy tossing and turning in the bed beside me. I guess that I now know, however, what my mom meant when she said that sometimes you just want to go to the bathroom alone.

Will's First Football Game

For someone who doesn't understand a thing about football, I sure love the atmosphere of a good football game. In spite of that, we managed not to make it to any of my nephew's games until the last one. Sorry, Josh.

I love watching Josh play and figured Will would too--and I was right! Here he is cheering on his one and only cousin, Josh. Will clapped and screamed with the rest of the crowd (sometimes for the wrong team!). Will did manage to scream, "Go!" and give a high-five. At the end of the night, he also managed a few, "Yeah, Josh!" s. (Big deal since we have said very few multiple word phrases and never said Josh's name before.) And, with Will's encouragement, our team won the game.

9 Days Until Halloween!!!

But who's counting???

One of the absolute cutest things Will does is go into the TV room first thing in the morning, point at the Halloween decorations, and scream, "Yeah!" repeatedly and very loudly until we turn them on. When they're on he keeps screaming, "Yeah!" and claps his hands. He's going to love Christmas!

Museum Go Round

One of the things I love about living in Lexington is that very often there are fun and free events. Museum Go Round is an event that I've missed the last couple of years, but this year we finally made it. Will and I packed up the diaper bag and headed to the Explorium (formerly the Lexington Children's Museum). Outside on the street budding young artists had their crafts for sale. You could feel the creativity--just like I did as a child when I opened a new box of crayons. There's just so much potential there! Anything and everything is just waiting to be created. This is the kind of event that I, a child who slept with her Crayolas, absolutely would have loved growing up. Maybe one day I'll have an artsy child, but maybe not. We want them to persue I think Will is going to be our musical prodigy. (Note that the best pictures from the day were of him making music!)

There were all kinds of booths, from a tiny baby's finger paintings, to drawings, sculpture, and photography. But my favorite booth of all was owned by a couple of adopted Chinese girls that I had seen in the newspaper a couple of years ago. At the time, one of the girls was helping make soaps to raise the money to bring her sister home. Now they work together making soaps and bracelets to raise money for one of their best friends who cannot be adopted and is still in the orphanage. What great hearts these girls must have! We hope our children will learn to help others like that. We also want them to know that they are never too young to make a difference.

After the shopping, Will and I took advantage of the free admission to the Children's Museum. He loved it! But I did learn why so many people (not including us) don't want the number of children in a household to outnumber the parents. Just trying to keep up with one child in there is a bit scary when it is so crowded and, of course, I'm trying to take pictures while he's running off to the next greatest thing. To be perfectly honest, Will is not too far away from being able to outrun us! He may have a future in track or cross country.

After we left the museum, Will was ready to eat. Mommy was probably more ready to eat because I knew if we waited Will would fall asleep in the car and nap time would be ruined! So we got a little food and sat down to listen to Radio Disney and watch a dance contest. Will danced in his seat and learned the word "Cha Cha!" As a matter of fact, he's saying it right now.

Oh, A Camping We Will Go!!!

Most thought we were crazy (especially the family), but we did it anyway. The last time we went camping as a childless couple, we saw some people there with a baby. We decided if they could do it, so could we.

Will became an official camper this past Monday. Being the outdoors man that he is, he loved it. His favorite part was watching the boats that we could see on the lake from our campsite. (Yes, the danger of fire AND drowning!) But we all made it back in one piece.

Cat Calls

Ikea has become one of our new favorite places in the past year. After our shopping excursion there this past Sunday, I left John and Will outside on a bench while I ran back in to take care of some business. When I came out, John was sitting there with is head in his hands and an embarrassed look on his face. Apparently an attractive and scantily clad girl and her boyfriend had walked by at the exact time Will decided to make one of his favorite noises--a quiet and high pitched "WowWowWowWowWow." The girl and her boyfriend both looked over at John and gave him dirty looks. By then, Will was just sitting there innocently and once again quiet.

Every Good Trip Starts Out Bad

Since John doesn't get 2 days off in a row very often, it seems that we hardly ever get out of town anymore. I was lucky to get to attend a Photoshop seminar in Cincinnati on Monday, so John requested 2 days off so we could make it a mini-vacation. We finally got to visit the Vineyard in Cincinnati. The last time we had tried to go the whole town had a power outage. Then we visited our usual haunts--Ikea, Jungle Jim's, Trader Joe's, Noodles and Company, Cheesecake Factory. (Do you see a trend?)

But, as I mentioned in the title, every good trip has to start out with something bad. At least in our family. I was running around doing the typical last minute stuff to get ready, so I asked John to get Will's breakfast. John does get to eat breakfast with us sometimes, so I figured he knew the routine. He asked to be reminded, so after a little teasing from me, I figured he could handle it. Part of Will's routine since we got back from China is that he gets his vitamins and any medicine he might need in his Danimals drinkable yogurt. Even at the breakfast buffets in China, Will had drinkable yogurt every morning.

A little aside, I've gotten very into couponing. I figure if I'm not earning us much money, at least I can save us some. This week I had a great coupon for Activia yogurt, which was also on sale. I like yogurt, so that's a deal I couldn't pass up. For those of you who don't know about Activia, it's not called Activia for nothing. Let's just say that it is designed to keep your bowels active. Now back to the story...

Imagine my surprise when I came downstairs to find Will sitting at the table with a straw in an Activia yogurt! Activia is a traditional, spoon kind of yogurt, not drinkable. I did a double take in the fridge to make sure we had perfectly good, drinkable Danimals. There they were, right on the top shelf. Remember, Will's medicine was in the yogurt, so it was important to have it all. So, as any good parents would do, after a lot of laughter, we tried to make sure he ate all of his yogurt. Needless to say, there have been a few extra diapers these last couple of days.

The Sweetest Sound You'll Ever Hear

Will loves to repeat us often. It's interesting to hear which words he likes to repeat. Last night when John was reading our nightly Bible stories, will was silently sipping away at his milk, then took the cup out of his mouth and said, "Jesus!" It came out more like, "Jesu," but of course we didn't care. We clapped and kissed him. It was the sweetest sound to hear our baby say Jesus' name.

Similarly, at dinner earlier in the evening, without prompting, Will folded his hands to pray before eating. We have never really made him do this because he won't sit still, but he's seen us do it. Then he said, "God," which also came out without the final sound. I usually start my dinner prayers with "God."

It's nice to know that with all the mistakes we will make over the years, Will is going to be picking up some good habits too. And these are the best kind.

TV Anyone???

We're lucky that TV's still a possibility at our house. I was gone to book club the other night and John called to ask if I knew where the remote was. I usually try to put it up where Will can't reach it, but sometimes he grabs it while it's down and I forget to put it back. We try not to let him watch much TV, but we were told that he likes it when we adopted him. So Will tries to turn on the TV when he can. Luckily, he hasn't figured out how to un-pause it yet.

Back to the story--I didn't know where the remote was when John called, so he just kept looking. He called me back a few minutes later to let me know that he had found it--in the dishwasher with the freshly washed dishes! Will LOVES the dishwasher. I try to keep him away from it, but he usually slips in. It makes a great place to park his cars. So I guess he also decided that it would be a good place to park the remote. Needless to say that when John picked the remote up out of the dishwasher, a bunch of water ran out of it. All it would do was turn the volume up. Luckily it dried out after a night on our air filter and we are now watching TV again--when Will's in bed.

Willisms--Things That Make Will Will

Since nothing out of the ordinary has happened lately (everything seems ordinary after traveling halfway around the globe to bring home your son), I thought I'd tell you some of the things we've discovered about Will that make him who he is--our precious little boy!

1. The Louder the Better--Will loves to be loud everywhere we go--restaurants, stores, you name it and it's a place to scream, actually shrill. Nothing you can say or do will quiet him. I guess that's getting me back for all the times I wondered, "Why don't they do something with that child?"

2. Anything with Wheels--Anything with wheels is absolutely awesome. Trucks, cars, trains, etc. etc. We recently learned that the word he is often screaming out when in public is the Chinese word for "car." One of his very first words.

3. Outside is Better than Inside--That makes it a shame that we hate the bugs. Lucky for us they are about to die. We hope to fit in a camping trip before fall is over. Managing Will at a campsite--now that should make for some interesting blog material!

4. Reading is Great!--At first Will wasn't too fond of reading. Books were just something to shut when Mom and Dad were reading them. But thanks to books that make noises and other novelties, we have come to love reading, which makes us very happy. The smartest people are readers! At least thats what we teachers say. We also say that you need to read for at least 15 minutes each day, which we are aiming for. I had the bright idea of logging it and keeping it in a journal. I also wanted to double that to make up for lost time with him, but that hasn't quite happened yet either. Maybe someday...

5. Yo! Yo! Yo!--That's what Will says when answering the imaginary phone. You may have read that Will called the front desk in China and loved the hotel phones. Nothing has changed. Since we only use our cell phones and it's easy to redial, Will has called John at work 3 times. Amazingly John answered every time!

My other favorite phone adventure was when Will raised his leg straight up (he's very flexible!) and put his foot to his ear saying, "Yo! Yo! Yo!" Before I could get done laughing, he had his other foot to his other ear. He was on both lines.

6. Into EVERYTHING!!!--I couldn't leave that out. I've heard that boys are harder as toddlers. I think it's true. After babysitting a friend's little girl for a few hours, I decided it would take about 10 little girls to equal 1 of Will. At least as far as how much I have to chase him around and say, "No!" goes. But I don't like dull moments, so that's good for me. It does make us think that if we are going to have any more boys, we might should have them first while we are a little younger and have alittle more energy!

There are lots of things that make Will wonderful, not to mention that we sit around and talk about how cute he is all of the time, but we are headed out for a nice fall walk before Will and I are off to Bible study. (Actually, we just go for dinner and then jet. There is no studying with Will around!) We are super excited about FALL!!!

We put part of his Halloween costume on for a minute today to try to get him use to it. He didn't care for it, but he couldn't get it off. I'll have to keep you in suspense for now. But you can bet there will be LOTS of pictures. We've also got 3 Halloween shirts ready to wear! 2 trips to different pumpkin patches are in the works, 1 children's Halloween party, and trick-or-treating. The decorations will be up soon. I'm just hoping he doesn't tear down our Halloween tree!

Bye for now,
Tara