Keeping us on our toes...

Two happy guys!

Its been an eventful week in the Fessler house. Will is now pulling up and standing anywhere he can. In the bathtub, on the kitchen chairs, on the chest of drawers in his room, its like he can't help himself. He has this new trick and he has to practice it all the time. So Mike and I are constantly watching him and running quickly when we see him about to fall or bump himself. You can tell he loves this new amount of freedom. He will smile at you and laugh and sometimes even dance. He is starting to learn how to sit as well. Every once in awhile, he will just plop himself down. It almost startles him at first, but then he is proud of himself.
Standing by the dishwasher.
Standing under the kitchen table.

This past weekend was Jake's 1st birthday in Chattanooga. (Jake is my 2nd cousin) Anyways, this was the first birthday party Will has been invited to. I think he had fun! In fact, he dove into Jake's cake. Jake was finished with the cake and we had permission. I promise we aren't that rude! Will seemed to love it. I hope he has that much fun in August!
Will going for the cake.
Hopefully we will be invited back to Jake's 2nd birthday party!
Playing at the birthday party
Will and my cousin Ryan

Happy Mother's Day!

Today was my first official mother's day. It was relaxed and low-key, perfect if you ask me. We had a family picnic at our favorite little park in Hiram.
I was thinking about my new life as a mother today. I have learned so much in the past eight months. Obviously, I have learned the basics of being a care-giver to a baby, but I have also learned a lot about myself. Here are a few of the things I have learned:
1. Baby boys will pee as soon as their diaper is off. You better be ready!
2. Babies will always seem tired, until you are ready to put them to bed. Then they are wide awake.
3. There is nothing better than the sound of your child's laugh.
4. A close second, is having your child fall asleep on your chest.
5. I can have a bad day at school, but as soon as I see Will, all of that goes away.
6. Reading grown-up books is a luxury. I am slowly but surely getting the time to have this little pleasure again.
7. A clean house is overrated. I am more concerned with spending time with Will than with housework.
8. I never knew how much I could love another person, until I had Will. Wow, he is perfect in my eyes and the love I have for him is unexplainable.

Thanks to all the mothers in my life, mom, mother-in-law, grandmother, friends, family. Thank you for the examples that you have set and the love and support you have given to this new mom! I have learned so much from you all. Happy Mother's Day!

Quirkiness

Over the last few weeks, we have watched Will develop some new little quirks. They are funny to us and we have enjoyed each one. Here are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head:
1. He likes to wrinkle his nose up, sometimes its when he laughs, sometimes its random
2. He likes to stand up at his play table, but screams when he gets tired because he can't figure out how to sit
3. He loves to sit under the kitchen table, its like its his new hide out
4. He is fascinated with Gracie's food and water bowls, especially the water, he loves to spill it all over the floor
5. The vacuum cleaner makes him smile-why I don't know-but he loves it!
6. It seems like he has a permasmile-the kid is always smiling
7. He is starting to cry when I leave his line of vision, he doesn't do it always, just when we have been together for awhile
8. He loves Noggin channel, we don't watch it a lot, but he does pay attention when we turn it on
9. He is learning to "dance" to music
10. He likes to be clapped for, and is trying to learn to clap himself
11. It sounds like he can say da-da and yeah, I'm still waiting for ma-ma!

High-fiving daddy! Mike taught him this at dinner tonight.

We're Crawling!

Will in action! Crawling at 8 months.
Last week Will got tired of rolling around to get places, so he decided to start crawling. It started last Tuesday, he actually did a form of the Worm-the 80's break dance move. I was vacuuming downstairs and Will was watching intently as I moved the vacuum all over the living room. When I was finished, Will was on one side of the room and I was on the other. As I started to wrap the cord to put the vacuum up, I looked up and Will was moving towards me and the vacuum. I called for Mike to come see and we just sat and cheered for Will. He seemed very pleased with him self-he now loves to be clapped for! As the week went on, he got more brave and bold and even began to crawl up on his knees. He didn't go to far before he would flop and his belly and "worm", but its a start. As if this wasn't enough, he now is trying to stand on his own by pulling up on something-he saw his cousin Jake do that this weekend. For now though, we will try and master crawling, a good 8 month milestone. We are so proud of him, but this has brought on a phase that we might not have been quite ready for. Gone are the days where we can sit Will down to play in one spot. We now are running after him to keep him out of or away from something!
We have found the Will loves the bookshelf in our bedroom. Now that he can crawl he thinks it is fun to go to the shelf and take off every book.
Will and his toy basket. He took the toys out and decided to play with the basket. I think he enjoyed going into the basket more than the toys that were in the basket!

Our day at the park

Whee!
Saturday turned out to be gorgeous so Mike and I decided to do something different. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to the park, with Will in tow of course. We went to the park in Hiram, that I love, and found a small playground towards the back of the park with a table. After we ate lunch we let Will play for a little while. This playground had a baby swing. We put Will in it and his face lit up. He loved it! He usually takes his naps in a swing, so I think he enjoyed the fact that this was a non-sleep swing. Anyways, I think we are going to need to get one of these swings. That or go to the park everyday. Maybe this summer...
Playing with my mom on the playground.
Going up to the slide with dad.

Will's Spring Break

Will and Mommy
Will and Daddy
Spring Break is over, so I'm back at work, but...only 27 days until summer break! Not that I'm counting or anything. :) Last week was wonderful! I so enjoyed being home with Will and it made me realize just how much I desire to be a stay-at-home mom. We didn't do much, just stayed around the house and enjoyed each other's company. I also tried to soak in little things that I miss most days, like getting Will out of his crib in the mornings or dressing him for the day. Getting to see Will smiling at me every morning from his crib just melted my heart. I loved it! Because of our teething fun last week, Will also became somewhat attached to me. He got to a point where only I could comfort him. So he spent a lot of time on my shoulder. It was sweet, just what I needed! FYI...we still don't have a tooth. How long does it take?
We did take Will to church on Good Friday, Saturday and Easter Sunday. We had our reasons for going to so many services, but it was great to be reminded that many times of our Saviour's love for us and to fully understand the Cross. Below are some pictures from the break. Hope you enjoy!
This was my unlce's wagon when he was a little boy. He cleaned it up so we could use it this weekend.
Will and Jake riding in the wagon. The boys loved it!
Rocking my Master's shirt. Easter Sunday was also Master's Sunday, so this became his Easter outfit.
Will and Jake

Do we have a tooth?

Will at his Uncle Andrew's game.
All signs are pointing to yes. We could very well be cutting our first tooth. Will came home on Friday with a temperature. It got as high as 102.3 on Friday night, but mostly stayed around 101 or 100.8. He has eaten fine all weekend and played well, but he also has had a snotty nose, several not-so-pleasant diapers and been fussy for no reason. I talked with my mom and my friend Aimee and they both seemed to think he is teething. So, I looked in his mouth, but saw nothing. Today I actually ran my fingers over his gums and felt a little bump on the top. I have never felt that before, so I am starting to think we are getting a tooth as well. I am excited to see Will with a little tooth. I think it will be adorable, however, I am still nursing. You know what I mean!?
Will and Uncle Andrew
Will and Daddy after Uncle Andrew's game at Paulding county, which happens to be Mike's alma mater.
Will eating his first homemade meal. I cooked a baked ziti type dish and we gave him a little of it. He loves feeding himself puffs and the biter biscuits. So we thought we would let him try some real food. He did ok, we just aren't sure how much he got. A majority of it was left in the high-chair or stuck to his bib!
Will in his clip-on high-chair at Zaxby's. We LOVE this thing! Will doesn't have to sit in the icky resturant chiars, and we can put it inside the booth with us. He is also chewing on a straw. He seems to like them, don't worry his Grandpa and Dad were on either side of him watching as he played with it.