Annnd life happens...

I've totally neglected updating here but it's just because life has been busy and fun lately. Between trips to see family and friends, as well as vacations we've been out of town a TON in the last few months. We've also kept very busy when we are in town. It's been exhausting but very fun.

I am ready for fall to really kick into gear now though. Fall always seems slower paced to me. We spend a lot more time as a family at home either watching football or crafting or just relaxing. Yay!

We just did the quintessential fall activity with Will - a trip to the pumpkin patch! We actually went to a local family farm that has a ton of activities for the kids and Will has so much fun!

He rode ponies, went to the petting zoo, played in the corn pit, rode the train and went on the hayride to pick out our pumpkin. He was so tired by the end of it, but it was so worth it :)

Will has his 18 month check-up soon and I am so excited to see how big he has gotten!

Fears and Repairs

So mostly everyone knows that our town was hit by a tornado in the middle of May. Our house was damaged but looked great compared to two blocks away. Honestly, I try not to think too much about that day but I know it will be cathartic to write about it.

It was a strange day for me to be at home but my parents were out of town and I took some vacation time to watch Will. We were having a pretty fun day and had run errands that morning but were just at home hanging out when a storm started moving in. I think the fact that I have lived in tornado alley for a good portion of my life has desensitized me to storms. The meteorologists had warned the city that tornadoes were a big possibility that day but I just brushed it off. By the time that our tornado sirens were going off, it was too late for me to get Will and I in the car and find shelter (plus our town doesn't have many shelters available). Still, the sirens go off a lot and nothing seems to happen so I still wasn't freaking out too much.

The news started showing coverage of a tornado on the ground and it was heading our direction but it changed paths a few times so I wasn't too sure if it was still coming our way. I started googling the addresses it was listed at and it was 6 miles, then 4 miles, then 2 miles from us. This was when I looked outside and saw light debris floating into our yard. I grabbed Will and headed into our laundry room which is our only interior space. The weatherman were saying that if you were above ground, you would not survive over and over again to the point that I finally screamed at the TV for them to stop saying that. I didn't know of anywhere underground to go.

We had a backpack packed in case anything ever happened so I brought that and my dog and my parents' dog into the tiny room with pillows and shut the door. I laid Will on the ground and covered him just as our lights went out. Penny, our dog, laid on top of me and I just started crying and telling Will that I was so sorry. He was surprisingly unafraid and mostly just wanted to get up off the floor. Just a few minutes after we lost power, the tornado passed through our neighborhood. It was very loud (I likened it to a vacuum noise) and I could hear large debris hit our house. It felt like an eternity but looking back it must have been less than half a minute or so.

And suddenly, it was over. I stayed in the room for a few more minutes and then ventured out quickly to check on things and make sure Will and the dogs were okay (I couldn't see anything in the dark room and was panicky and couldn't find my flashlight). Surprisingly, almost everything inside of our house was fine - just a broken window where a piece of wood flew through - I think it was part of a desk.

After I determined that the storm had passed, I tried to go outside. Something had hit our storm door and it was jammed so I went out back. There was debris everywhere. Wood was impaled in our lawn, metal and glass shards were all over our yard. My neighbor wandered out at the same time and you could tell that we were both in shock. I went around the house to the front and saw a few more neighbors. Everyone was okay on my immediate street.

As all of this was happening, I was trying to get messages to James and my parents but nothing would go out. I was receiving multiple voicemails and text messages from friends and family but I couldn't get anything to go through. I found out later that one of my cousins had called the police and said her husband lived at my address so she could find out if I was okay. The police told her that our neighborhood had been demolished but they didn't have any further information. A few hours later, one text message finally went through to James. All it said was "House hit. We are okay."

I was standing outside talking with a neighbor (plus being outside kept Will happy) when my aunt walked up. Her and my cousin had driven in and parked outside my neighborhood to come and find me. She burst into tears because she had just walked past ground zero of all the damage and feared the worst as she headed toward our house. She was on the phone with my dad who was also crying because they had been watching the coverage of the storm. She helped me pack a bag and get Will (who was being a champ through the whole thing) ready to leave.

We grabbed the suitcase, leashed the dogs, and headed back to her car. They had closed the road she was parked on so we ended up spending hours walking and riding in a few random cars (seriously, people were so nice!) to get back to it. We finally made it back to her house about 6 hours after the tornado hit. James met us there and I've never seen him look more relieved. We spent one night at my aunt's house and then drove up to my parents' house where we stayed for the next 5 weeks.

To be honest, our house looked great compared to just north of us. So far, we have had our garage door replaced, the window was replaced, our fence replaced, our new shed is almost up, and we are waiting on our new roof and siding. We cleaned up the debris (although we are still finding small things in the yard) and will power wash the house once the repairs are complete. My parents also ordered a storm shelter for our house for everyone's peace of mind. The house will be as good as new. I'm still struggling with a lot of fear, especially during storms, and am having trouble sleeping. We are so blessed to have a strong group of friends and family who have helped us tremendously and are continuing to pray for peace over our home.

So that was just rambling, but I guess I needed to get it out :) 

My Little Man is Growing Up!

Well, it happened. Will turned 1 just over a week ago. I forgot to take pictures until cake time but it was a really fun, cute party and we had so much fun. We just had his 12 month appointment is his stats are below.

Height - 31.5" (95th percentile)
Weight - 23.9 lbs (82nd percentile)

He's a big kid! He also took his first long stretch of steps just after my last post at 10.5 months and was full-time walking by 11 months. Now he is running! He has such a fun personality and he is always a great source of entertainment :) We always hear great things from people that watch him in nursery and I love that he loves other people, especially kids. He's becoming a little more cuddly too, which is nice for mama :) He gives "hugs" which is pretty much just laying his head on something to people, some toys, but almost every dog gets a hug. He is obsessed!

He is saying a few distinguishable words - mostly dada, dee (for dog) and I think he calls me baba instead of mama. He is starting to sign "more" a lot at dinner which is helpful. I am trying to teach him "please" as well.

He is in love with the outdoors, so I'm so glad it's finally nice outside. He could play outside all day if we let him. It also helps him take better naps, yahoo!

Long Time, No Post

Well, life got busy, blahblahblah, and all that jazz... Will is growing like a weed. He was in the 90th percentile for height and 70th for weight at his last appointment. Tall boy! He also had a long lasting ear infection (almost 4 weeks) that wreaked havoc on his sleep schedule but it is finally ironed out now. He eats like a horse and will usually eat whatever we put in front of him. He has figured out that plain steamed veggies aren't the most flavorful things in the world but will eat anything if we sprinkle a little cumin or something like that on it. We avoid salt but don't mind if he wants a little seasoning on his food. He is cruising like a champ but hasn't taken true first steps yet. He has taken a few while moving from one piece of furniture to the next but it was mostly lunging and falling forward, not controlled steps. He is developing a strong-willed personality but he is just the cutest and sweetest little boy. We love him so!

I can't believe his birthday is only 7 weeks away! It has all went by in the blink of an eye, which sounds incredibly corny, but is true. I need to step up my game for party planning. 1st birthdays are a big deal (even if he won't remember it)!

Holidaze

The holidays flew by and I haven't updated in quite awhile - Will is crawling everywhere! And he is pulling up on all the furniture and trying to stand on his own. We had a blast with him over Christmas. He was so cute with all his new toys - he had to try them all out. Unfortunately, he also picked up strep throat and then a virus from all the family members. But we weathered it and are all healthy now - yay! He's still nursing and also eats purees like a champ. He also just started eating puffs and rice rusks. He can get them in his mouth but prefers to throw them (along with anything he can get his hands on) so that makes it a little difficult, but he does seem to like them when they actually make it in his mouth. I think he'll be walking before his birthday (which is only 3.5 months away - how can that be??) but I think I might shed a few tears when it happens - that is the last part of babyhood :( Here are his latest weekly photos!

We're on the move!

Will has hit a few big milestones in the last few weeks - he's crawling and his first tooth popped through! He is starting to get into everything but it's really fun seeing the world through his eyes. Everything is new and fascinating :)

I can't wait to celebrate Christmas with him. He obviously doesn't get it quite yet but it will still be fun. He loves the Christmas tree and the lights outside. We've already bought him a few gifts but his big gift is a big kid car seat (and one for grandma's car too). He's about to outgrow his infant carrier.

At his 6 month appointment, he was in the 75th percentile for height and weight. So he is a little shorter than his last appointment (he was in the 90th) and a little chubbier (he was in the 70th for weight). He sure feels hefty when I carry him around!

Here are 6 more weekly photos!

Finally Fall!

The weather is finally cooling down and Will gets to experience his first autumn season! It's so weird to think that he has never seen the leaves change or dressed up for Halloween or anything yet. Such a fun time! His sleeping has gotten better, then worse, then better. I really think we're on the upswing. I think I just needed a little humility after he slept so good the first few months :)

I can't wait to dress him up for Halloween. I know he won't be able to remember it, but it will still be a fun memory for me and I will definitely take pictures. He has two possible outfits... a lion costume and a Clark Kent outfit. I'm not sure which one he will rock or maybe he will wear one to a Fall Festival party on Sunday and one on the actual day.

In a week, he will be 6 months old! I can't believe it has flown by so fast, but it also seems like he has been with us forever. Pretty soon we will be celebrating his first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Years... and before I know it, his first birthday will be here. Okay, I need to stop before I start bawling. He's growing up too fast!

This Will Not Last Forever

So Will has decided to give up his good sleeping pattern. My new mantra is "this will not last forever" and it's so true. He will not always wake up every few hours and he will not always be this little, so I am trying to enjoy the extra hours spent cuddling him at night. I'll never get those back!

His new big thing is rolling, rolling, rolling! He uses it to get where he wants to be and therefore I foresee baby proofing in our future!!

Baby Boy Bedroom

Since I'm using this to remember what life was like "back in the day," I thought I would post about W's room. Once we knew we were having a boy, we ditched any gender neutral ideas we had. Daddy was a baseball player, so I threw out the idea of doing vintage baseball. He was totally on board :) We're still looking for a nice dark curtain to replace the oh so lovely blanket on his window...

I know some people love cutesy little character bedding and whatnot, but I am just not a fan. I wanted a room that would grow with him for a little while, so I decided to ditch the normal baby bedding and just make him a quilt. We went with "Americana" type colors... navy, tan, and brick reds. James helped me pick out the fabric and I loved it! I will say, I was a little bummed we couldn't do bright colors for a little girl, but everything turned out so great (in my opinion) that I got over it! I also recovered some cushions on a chair that my grandma gave us awhile back and made a few pillows.

We hung a peg board (FREE - left by the previous owners in our garage) that James painted a soft white. We put his dresser/changing table underneath it since we hung baskets on the peg board for diaper storage. My parents had a lot of vintage baseball decorations that we used. I think they achieved the vintage feel I was going for :)

We also scored some nice shelves on Black Friday at Home Depot (or maybe Lowes??) that we use for toys, books, baskets of socks and hats, and some other decorations. We, of course, have his K-State gear showcased as well! We may be in Sooner county, but we bleed purple!

All in all, I love his room and so does James! It's perfect for the little guy and I think it will grow with him. A lot of the things we got were free that we spruced up with some spray paint so it was pretty economical as well. Gotta love that!

Getting Bigger Every Day

Will has grown so much in the last few weeks! He's a strong little boy and loves to stand up and bounce around. Poor kiddo has a little infection right now (he yanked his ear and it split a little which is now infected) but he's still a pretty happy camper. There are typically lots and lots of smiles around this place - unless it's nap time... then there is screaming! At the doctor's appointment today, he weighed 16 pounds 6.6 ounces. He's a decently big guy. He's pretty tall so he looks older than he is. I definitely miss him during the day but he has a good time at my parents' place. They even took him for his first trip to the zoo this week. Here are four more of his weekly photos!

Mama's Little Man

I feel like I always say it, but I can't believe how big he's gotten! Will is such a joy in our lives and we love him so much! He finally had his 2 month appointment when he was almost 11 weeks (our doc was on vacation) and he is in the 90th percentile for height and almost 70th for weight. Pretty big kiddo :) He jumped from the 55th for weight up to the 70th because all he wants to do is eat!

He's developing his personality and it's so fun to watch him figure out things - like how to grab his toys and make different noises. He can also stand for quite awhile with us only providing balance.

He hit a rough patch with sleeping. I think it was a combination of a growth spurt and the fact that he is a wiggly sleeper. We would hear him fussing and find him against the edge of his crib. I finally watched him one night and he just shakes his head and shoulders while he is sleeping and slithers over to one side. His sleeping has been better the last few nights so I hope we're getting in a better rhythm.

I can't wait to see what the next few months hold for us but I hope he doesn't grow up too fast. I feel like I miss out on a lot of it being at work but such is life.

Here are his 9 through 12 week photos.