2013 Visit with Santa

And just for comparison...2012 Santa pic below...

He was rather stoic last year. This year he was down right terrified. A cookie made it all worth it after the trauma.

HWP Photo Session

We had a photo session with the oh so talented Holland Williams a couple of days before William turned 18 months old. It took some convincing for Grant to cave in and fork over the money, but we'll enjoy seeing these sweet pictures around our house and printing them for family Christmas presents.

Thanksgiving 2013

We spent Thanksgiving at Granny's house in Texas this year. We had THE best time. It's always bound to be wild and full of excitement when there are 5 adults and four children ages 4 and under all sleeping in one house!! It's so fun to see William interacting and forming special relationships with his cousins, Payton (4 y/o), Finley (2 y/o), and Tyler (9 months). He's continued to ask about them since we've been home. Payton is extremely sweet and helpful with William. She still calls him "baby William" even though he isn't the baby of the family anymore. Finley and William are hilarious together!! She's 7 months older but MUCH smaller than our big boy. I can only describe their relationship as a love/hate one. One minute they'd be hugging and the next hitting each other while fighting over a toy. This cycle would repeat over and over. And then there's angel baby Tyler...he's such an easy-going, happy little guy. He rarely cries and just goes with the flow. I guess he doesn't have much choice with two older sisters.

Thanksgiving Day, Granny hosted the entire Davis family at her house for an amazing feast! I'm so glad she did because we were able to see a TON of family that we rarely get to see. The kids enjoyed swinging on their new swings from Granny!

Static really does a number on William's hair :) He also had the remnants of his Thanksgiving dinner dried up and smeared all over his face! I didn't take any pics of all of the guests because I was too busy chasing William around...the boy never stops moving. 

 We took a pic of the cousins together at the very end of the day before baths. I'm shocked the 3 oldest are smiling. They were worn out from a fun filled day!

Sweet baby Tyler was teething and battling an ear infection and still rarely fussed! Friday morning, Finley woke up with an ear infection and was feeling puny. Dana decided to take them to the doctor, so Granny, Grant, Greg, Payton, William and I loaded up and headed to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags for the day. Growing up, William's granddaddy Davis loved taking Greg and Grant so this was a special way to remember him. William rode on pretty much EVERY ride with Payton and had the best time. Truth be told, he only slept in the car for 10 minutes on the way there so he had PLENTY of meltdowns from pure exhaustion in between rides. In true Payton style, she was so sweet and patient with William's moodiness and toddler antics. 

 Unlike William, Papes loves posing for the camera :)

 William went on his first carousel ride!

Payton was all about getting her picture taken! I think she enjoyed her special day with her Daddy without her two younger sibs. 

 Sweetest big cousin

 This was probably William's favorite ride despite the terrified look on his face. He didn't want to get off. 

 They also loved the airplanes!

 William's preferred style of transportation.

 He was getting out of control by this point. 

 William and his wonderful Granny! Thank you for a fun-filled, action packed memorable Thanksgiving! The fabulous trip ended with watching the best Iron Bowl game (AU vs. AL) of all time in Waco at Greg and Dana's house. 

19 Months Old

William is 19 months old today! He's looking and acting more and more like a little boy! Over the past month, he's really started talking more. He tries to mimic everything we say. His favorite word is "NO" said in a sassy, dramatic way like "Nooo-ahhhh"!!! We hear a LOT of that. At times it can be absolutely hilarious and other times downright frustrating...depending on what we're asking him to do :) MY favorite words of his are "pease" (please) and "tank-do" (thank you).

He's still our little social butterfly and LOVES being around people. His all time favorite person is Mary Walker, "Mae Mae", our four year-old neighbor. He squeals with delight when he sees her outside and you better not get in between him and Mae Mae. He adores her and she's quite the little momma to him. She loves to treat him like her "baby" which is really funny considering he's almost as big as she is...haha!

He likes to take Mae Mae's bike for a spin while she's at school sometimes. 

 What more could a boy want? Being outside with a basketball in hand, wearing a hat, and swinging! 

We had our first major boo boo this month. It scared us to death!! William and Grant were wrestling on the bed, and William did a running dive off the bed and landed right on his head. I cried, Grant panicked, and William was on the move again 30 seconds later. Thankfully, he didn't vomit or lose consciousness. I know this is the first of many accidents but I think I aged 10 years after this one!

We love hanging out with our buddy Liam and his awesome mommy, Rebecca. These two are only a couple of months apart, and it's so much fun watching them play together. 

He also got to hang out with his buddy Jack and baby Quinn a couple of weekends ago. 

Juju and "Stee" kept William for 2 nights after Grant and I were in Dothan for Virginia and Matt's engagement party, so we could have two nights baby-free. William got to experience the National Peanut Festival (THE fair) for the first time. He rode a horse, went on several rides with Juju, and Uncle "Duh" won him a snake. Needless to say, he was in heaven. 

One of his all time favorite activities is "swiffering." He comes by it honestly ;)

He's starting to recognize colors, and will randomly say "red" or "green" when we're riding down the road and he sees a red/green sign. When we walk down stairs, he says "two" for every stair. Maybe he's trying to grasp the concept of numbers and counting?!

 Wagon ridin' is another favorite activity, even when it's absolutely freezing outside!!

My mom came in town for one day this past week to do a little Christmas shopping. She's been wanting to see the new Children's Hospital, and I knew William would enjoy looking at all the Christmas decorations. He was enthralled with the billion Christmas trees and Santa's everywhere! 

 Dada can always get the best giggles!

He sleeping is pretty much like clockwork. He goes down every night at 7pm and is always up between 6 and 6:15. As soon as his feet hit the ground he runs to his high chair saying "oat-meh" (oatmeal) or "bah" (nutri-grain bar). While Grant and I chug coffee to wake up in the morning, he will sometimes watch Diego (his favorite show). At school, he takes one nap from 12-2. At home, he will sometimes still take 2 naps (morning and afternoon) depending on what we have planned for the day.

Tonight I caught him "pretending" to use the potty...he certainly keeps us laughing!!!