My Buddy Jackson

My buddy Jackson came over last night for dinner. It was so much fun to play with him. He loves to play with all of my cars and I am getting really good at sharing with him. I would rather play basketball, anyway, so I don't mind him using my cars. We also hung out a lot outside. I took him outside to see my baby bunnies. There's a nest of bunnies in my yard under my playground and I though he would like to seem them. He did and he liked them! We went down the slide and played in the grass. I had to go see Betsy (the other basset hound on the block) and give her a hug. Jackson thought she was alright. We played and had a great time. I took Ella for a walk around the backyard. I am a really big boy because I can walk her. Mommy made Mahi Mahi for dinner and we had chocolate peppermint milkshakes for dinner. I really like milkshakes!





Today I went to Baby Storytime for the last time. I'm now going to Toddler Storytime because I'm such a big boy. We read longer stories and do a craft. Yesterday we read stories about dinosaurs and we glued the spikes on the back of a dinosaur. I picked the purple dinosaur.... I think purple might be my favorite color (my Daddy said that Papa John's favorite color is purple, too). I think I'll go outside and play after my nap today. It's a beautiful day!

Easter

We have been reading a couple Easter books to Will to prepare him for Easter. Will loves reading about all of the baby animals and he's learned a little about the meaning of Easter. It amazes me that he can point out Jesus in his books and Bibles, even though the pictures of Jesus are all different. We've talked about how Jesus died on the cross and everyone was so sad, but then he rose from the dead and everyone was so happy. He points to the cross and says "Jesus" which just melts my heart. Being a parent is such a huge responsibility and I worry about bringing Will up to know and follow God, but I pray that God will move his heart and give him a passion for loving Jesus.

We had a great time this Easter! On Saturday Joe ran his first sprint triathlon. Will and I showed up to watch him at the end of the cycling part and helped him transition to the 5K. He swam 1/2 mile, cycled 16 miles, and ran a 5 K and didn't stop! He did a great job in the 5K. He kept a great pace, Joe guesses about an 8 1/2 minute mile pace. We don't get the breakdown in times for a couple more days. We are so proud of him and I think he's going to do another one!

Will and I went straight from the triathlon (he started at 8:15) to an Easter Celebration at Immanuel Baptist church that started at 10:00. We stayed at the gym until Joe finished his triathlon and then drove to meet the Stewarts for the 10:00 celebration. It started out with singing and a puppet show. Will did not like the puppet show because the puppets scared him. Then there was a juggling act, which he loved because it included balls. The egg hunt was at 11:00 and Joe met us for that. Will picked up a few eggs, but he was more interested in looking at the playground equiptment. He really loves slides! We went back into the gym for some craft time (he water colored a paper mache cross), face painting (he got an egg on his cheek and a dinosaur on his hand), and some snacks. It was time to leave, but we had to make a short stop at the playground.
Easter morning we had a quiet morning at home. We went to church on Friday because Southland always has a ton of guests Easter weekend and we wanted to make room for all of those people Sunday morning. Will got into his Easter basket and then we went outside to wash and clean out Joe's car. Since Joe does a lot of driving for his job, his car gets pretty dirty! Will loves to play with the hose and we also played some basketball. After lunch and a nap, we headed over to Papa John and Diddy's house for some Easter dinner. Nonnie had some wonderful presents for Will. He loves to play with the little cars, pop-ons, bubbles, books, and so much more. She also got him a pair of Thomas shoes! Those are so special. Diddy and Papa John got Will a book about Spring and all the baby animals and Tina got Will some needed summer clothes. We had a yummy meal prepared by Tina and Diddy. Will got to find eggs that the Easter Bunny left at Papa John and Diddy's house, too! That was so much fun! We went home and went to bed. Will was very tired from his exciting day!

Oh, the last picture is of Will painting his own face with his new markers. Luckily the Easter Bunny brought him washable markers!

Great News!

Just a quick note of great news. Will went to the Doctor for his 21 month check up .... yes a 21 month check up. You see, when you are off the bottom of the chart in weight they have to see you back more often. Will was 19 lbs 11 oz at his 18 month check up and he is up 1 lb 4 oz to a whopping 20 lbs 15 oz. I'm rounding it up and telling everyone that my boy is 21 pounds. YEAH! The doctor was very happy that he had gained that much weight in spite of having croup, a stomach virus, and a cold all in the last month. He's just getting over his typical MOPS cold and he had no sign of ear infections - that's another huge milestone. He ALWAYS gets ear infections with every cold. Not only is our little boy GROWING up, but he's also becoming more social and outgoing. He even gave Dr. Ison a high five. That's a lot for my little silent observer.

Sorry Clay, Tyler, and Kelli - no pictures today! Maybe later this week! Love, Mrs. Stone

Easter.... already?

This weekend we did a lot of Easter celebrations with Will. Next weekend is already so busy with Easter activities, we decided to do many little home activities this weekend. On Saturday The Stewart Family came over and we had an Easter egg hunt. Unfortunatley, the weather was cold and wet, so we just had the hunt inside. They boys had a great time looking for eggs all around our house, and Will even found an egg while he was playing in his playroom last night! It was wonderful to see the excitement on their faces as they found yet another egg hidden in the middle of a room. We then decorated Easter cookies. This is one of Will's favorite activities because he likes to eat sprinkles and icing. He puts the icing on the cookie and then scrapes it off with his finger. Nathan, on the other hand, decided that he liked his cookies plain and he just wanted to put white sprinkles on them. Working with two toddlers is always fun! The boys played around the house and the adults talked until it was time for naps and Nathan had to go home. Will received his Easter present from Grandpa and Grandma that morning, so we set up the web camera and my parents got to watch him open it. He loves to read his two Easter books, play with his new little people (the dog got to go on a train ride this morning), and sleep with his Peeps yellow bunny (otherwise known as Yellow). Will took a very long nap before we headed off to church. A huge milesstone occurred at church last night - Will went to his Sunday School class without crying at all! He gave mommy and daddy a kiss goodbye and just played. His teacher said that he sat and did a lot of silent observing (very typical for Will), but he did not cry at all. His favorite thing to do at Sunday School is to eat snack. I guess he is a typical boy.



This morning we hard boiled some eggs and got out the PAAS Easter egg dying kit. Will had a great time watching the colors dissolving in the vinegar and he was very careful when placing the white egg into each color. Watching the eggs come out a different color was so amazing. He would tell us each color as it came out - and of course, he tried to do all of it himself.

We're looking forward to spending Easter with the Stone side of the family next weekend. Will is still a little scared of the Easter Bunny, but I think he'll still come to our house. I can't wait to see what he brings!

Cousin Bradley

My cousin Bradley is pretty cool. I love to look at his pictures and I can even say "baby Brad" - which is close enough to Baby Bradley. He is almost eight months old and he is very handsome. I can't wait until he gets bigger and we can play trains together. Here is a picture of my cousin Bradley when he was at the Denver Zoo with my grandpa and grandma. Grandpa and Grandma went out to visit my Uncle Paul for his 31st birthday and he and Aunt Kristy took everyone to the zoo. I love the zoo! Enjoy the picture of my little cousin!

It's Springrime (finally....)

I am so glad that it is finally warm. Will was growing out of his thick winter pajamas and he was ready to wear his new pajamas - his choo choo jammies. We now let him choose which pajamas he would like to wear to bed. Of course, the Thomas pajamas were his first choice. The next day he chose his ball pajamas. He likes to have little choices and it's neat to see him start to grow up.





It is finally warm outside. On Thursday Will and I played outside on our playground in the backyard. He is getting so big. He can swing in the big boy swing all by himself (well, I have to push him) and he can go up the ladder and down the slide all by himself. It was very nice to have him be so independent. I got a lot of yard work done. He played with the neighborhood kids, too. Nobody has fences around here, so all the kids just play together in one large yard. Mostly, it's in our yard, but that's no problem.

Joe has drill this weekend, so it's just a mommy and Will weekend. We went to ToysRUs to do a little Easter shopping and then to the grocery store to buy some more milk. Then Will and I decided to wash the car. Well, I decided to wash the car and Will decided to play with the hose. He really enjoyed playing with the water. I thought he wouldn't like it because the water is so cold, but he didn't seem to notice. I am glad he had his bathing suit on! He really had a great time. My van was very dirty and I am proud to say the van is very clean. We cleaned out the inside a couple of weeks ago, so now it all looks great. It still smells a little like throw up, but the smell is fading (slowly). I can't decide which pictures to post, so I'll just post them all!