Will and reading

Am I the only one out there whose child hates being read to? It drives me crazy, because I am a librarian. Shouldn't I have the child who adores books and can't wait for story-time? I mean, I have been trained on how important it is to read to your child and to have a print-rich home. I have even written papers and a parent handbook on this same topic. So what am I doing wrong? I hear other friends who talk about sitting in their rocking chairs and reading stories every night. This so doesn't happen at the Fessler house. Will is too busy trying to slide out of the chair for fear that you will put him to sleep. So, all this to say I found it funny the other day when I saw Will "reading" his books in the living room. I should have known...he just wanted to read himself!

Tomorrow I am taking him to story-time at the library. Aunt Tammy and cousin Caleb are joining us. He enjoyed it when we went in early June. Maybe, I can get some good ideas for somethings to do at home with a "busy" little one!

Road Trip '09

We have been very brave this summer. We have taken 2 week long road trips with Will. I'm not talking a 2 hour trip here or there, one stretch was 7 hours. And Will was a trooper, he endured it and somehow he still allows us to put him back in his carseat.
Me and Will with friends Parker and Brandy at our friend Bethany's wedding. This was Will's first wedding, and he didn't even get to see it. When Bethany's mom was walking down the aisle, Will started making the motor boat sound. Mike and I decided that Will needed to go out. Maybe next time, my cousin Katie gets married in December. That gives me a little bit of time to train him in wedding etiquette.

The first trip was to Panama City, but I already blogged about that one.
This latest trip was to Charleston, Chattanooga and Nashville. We had a good time, we hung out with friends, spent time with family and went to a wedding, but for me the highlight was hanging out with my sister. She lives in Nashville and we don't get to see each other that often. We went to dinner, took a walk with the dogs and watched Twilight, you know low-key sistery stuff. But, it was perfect. We also talked and talked some more. Thanks, Linny, you don't know how much I enjoyed just hanging with you. I look forward to it again soon! :)
Will playing with my dad's truck from when he was a baby.
While we were gone, Will finally started cutting his bottom two teeth. We can feel them and see them, so we are just waiting for them to pop up. Today, on his 10 month b-day, Will finally figured out how to clap. He and I were sitting in the living room playing and he started putting his hands together. He usually has them balled up in fists, but not tonight. When I realized what he was doing, I clapped back and cheered. He has been doing it ever since! (Now we can participate in storytime at the library. The last time I took him he just sat there staring at the other babies.)
I'm all about a good family pic!

What a week!

This sums up our whole trip! We wore the little guy out, but had a blast doing it!



After a week of fun at the beach, we are finally back home. We are not unpacked, that could take awhile. Who knew how much stuff you had to pack when traveling with a baby--Geez!!
We had a great time and really got to focus on Will and each other. It's funny what you notice about your family when the daily tasks of cooking and cleaning are taken out of the equation. We got to rest, play and talk to each other. But we also got to watch Will do some things for the first time. This week he swam, went to the beach, started standing by himself w/out holding on, discovered that he loves goldfish(crackers), got a new nickname, and just this morning, he started pushing a small cooler around the kitchen and walking behind it. Wow! He did a lot last week!

His new nickname is Turtle. He has started making this funny face where he purses his lips together. For some reason Mike thought he looked like a turtle, and there you go, now we call him "Turtle".
Will and my Uncle Gordon. We like to refer to him as Uncle Goldfish since he owns the Pepperidge Farm route in Panama City and Destin. He gives us all the goldfish we could ever want!

Before we left we did get a quick photo shoot in on the beach. My Aunt Janice loves to take pictures, she took our engagement pictures, and was thrilled when we asked her to take some of us as a family. (These were taken on the beach across from Pier Park for those of you familiar with PCB.)

Playing on the lifeguard stand.

I love this picture of my two guys!


Thanks Gran for a wonderful week! We love you and had a great time with you!

Beach Bums

Hanging in a beach chair. All he needed was a good book!

We are on our first family vacation this week. We came to stay the week with my Gran in Panama City. So far we have had plenty of sun, fun, good food and time with family. We took Will to the beach on Monday. He loved it! We let him play in the sand for a little while with his sand pail. After he ate half the beach, we took him into the water. He loved it so much that he fussed when we took him out. So we went back in and jumped waves. He just laughed! That night he slept amazing so we took him to the pool on Tuesday. He loved that as well and slept amazing that night. Do I sense a pattern here? Maybe we should take Will to the beach or pool everyday!
Playing at the beach with Daddy.
At the pool. Will was ready to get out at this point. We had a baby float that he loved, but after a few minutes he wanted to play on the concrete around the pool. He would climb out of the pool to sit on the side.

Will and Nessa

Brooke, Will, me and Vanessa
So today, Gran and I went to Crestview, FL to visit my cousin Brooke and her little girl Vanessa, or Nessa as everybody calls her. She is 18 months of energy! She loved Will and called him "baby" every time she saw him. The crazy thing was that they favored each other. They have the same coloring, hair color and eye color. They could pass for siblings! When we got home Mike and I both noticed that Will was trying to stand without holding on to something. He has never done this before. He must have wanted to be like his cousin Nessa!
Don't these two look alike?!

Bumps, bruises and 9 months old

Will on a wagon ride.

Wow! It feels like forever since I have posted. I am now officially out of school and a full time mom. It feels good to be concerned with nap schedules instead of afternoon car duty. Anyways, since I have been gone from the blogging world, Will turned 9 months old. And with that came super mobility. He has been pretty mobile for awhile, but Will has gotten even better at getting around. I don't how this is possible, but Mike and I no longer sit down for long when Will is awake. He can now crawl pretty well and fast. He can climb the stairs and now he loves to stand and stand at all times. Last weekend he figured out how to stand in his crib. Let me tell how much fun that is at 2 am!

Will having fun playing with my pots and pans. One of his favorite things to do!

All of this mobility is where the bumps and bruises come in. We have baby-proofed our house to the best of our ability, but Will still manages to fall and hit something, usually his head, and it always leaves a mark. I guess it just comes with the territory. Yesterday Mike rearranged our guest bedroom. It is so much bigger now and wide open, a perfect playroom for Will. He also installed a locking gate at the top of the stairs. So now Will has the run of the upstairs hall and guest bedroom to play in. He loves it, and there seems to be less for him to get hurt on. I guess its a win-win all around.
In other news, Will went for his 9 month check-up on Friday. He is now 18 pounds and 30 inches long. He is still below average for his weight, but he is above average in height. The doctor seemed pleased, though, and said we should have a long, lean kid. Just like his daddy!
The Fessler boys

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