Making Music

Will has discovered how fun it is to bang on pots, pans, tupperware, and especially these metal tins that produce LOUD noise. He cringes as he drums, so maybe he realizes he has a little ways to go before becoming the next big rock star.

Yummy!

I needed a picture of "Baby Eating" for Will's baby book, so here he is enjoying his peaches... FYI--he is not actually using his fork as intended, but he likes to pretend he's a big boy.

Let Me Out!

Will not only is crawling all over the house, he is pulling up on everything... His newest feat is standing up in his crib. These pictures of our pitiful-looking son were taken today, right after he woke from his morning nap. I don't think he can figure out how to sit back down--a problem, I suppose...

Yesterday after Colin got home from work, we had a great time together. We drove the 25 minute trek up to Fall's Lake & had a blast playing in the warm (but slightly dirty) water. Will LOVED swimming, and he also enjoyed sitting on the beach and eating sand. I think we might suit up and head back there again next weekend.

Today while Colin is back over at the hospital, Will & I attempted church, but he was once again ejected from the nursery after several minutes. After I picked up my child--perfectly fine, of course, as soon as Mommy held him--we sat in the back row and munched on Cheerios for the rest of the service. This separation anxiety business is not fun.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

The Big 27

Yesterday (8/24) was my big day, so Colin & Will helped me celebrate in style! They greeted me (at 5:30 am, when the little dude decided to start his day) with festive birthday hats and a home adorned with orange streamers. Very festive! I'm like a 6 year old when it comes to my birthday, so I definitely appreciated it. Helga & Bill (aka Omi & Opi) came from Colonial Beach, VA to visit, and I was SO grateful for the chance to go shopping sans Will. Trying on jeans in a dressing room isn't quite as easy with a child crawling in and out of the room. They even stayed so Colin & I could go out to dinner at my fav steak joint, Texas Roadhouse. It's casual, it's loud--but I like it. It was a great day! (And lots of thanks to the Gallahans for coming down to hang out with us and take care of Will for awhile!) Today is what Colin thinks is my least favorite day of the year, as there are 364 days until my next birthday. That's OK--I can start planning for the big fiesta on Dec. 15...



Happy Birthday, Mommy!



Waiting patiently for Omi & Opi to arrive

Snot

Poor Willie is feeling rough right now. Starting Saturday night he came down with a nasty cold, and since then he has alternated between not being able to breathe (& that blue bulb thing is not easy to stick up an infant's teeny nostrils) and having snot constantly dripping down his face. He loves his paci, but it's kind of hard to breathe with that in, and also he sucks the stream of snot right into his mouth that way. It's not a pretty sight. He's also getting at least 1 other tooth in--I can see it pushing down on his top gum. Even the yummy cherry Tylenol isn't helping, and I think he's quite angry with me for trying to plug out his nose, take his temperature, and wipe the boogers off his face (& hair & everywhere else...I'm telling you--how can this much gunk come out of a little baby?). He also hasn't slept well these past few nights, so I've gotten reacquainted with the joy of waking up multiple times during my precious sleep. But he's so pitiful, and I wish there was something else I can do to make him better.

Other news...

We got DVR (like TIVO) over the weekend, and Colin claims it has already revolutionized his life. Now he says he'll watch a sporting event so much faster than ever before, but I think he might just watch more sporting events... I love that you can fast forward through live TV --I suggested to Colin while he was watching golf the other day that he could just fast forward through Tiger's swing to save time, but he declined. At least we get the Style Network now. And I programmed it to tape every episode of "What Not to Wear" and other TLC favs so I can watch them on nights Colin is on call.

We're staying put in Durham for awhile. This summer has been really busy, and I'm excited to be in our house for a few weeks straight. I'll give you more pictures soon, but I don't think Will is feeling very photogenic at the moment :)

Weekend Snapshots

While Colin continues to spend his days (& every 4th night) at the hospital, Will & I headed to Richmond for my high school friend's wedding & to see my college friend, Corinne. I forgot to bring my camera to the wedding, but there are plenty of pictures of the rest of our time up there...




BB had been a great dog for the past 14 years. Unfortunately, she was in such bad shape that we had to put her down this past Friday. Everyone in the Seward house was sad--even Cosmo the pug, her 3-legged brother.












Will & Ella Heiliger hung out for the 2nd time :)









They got along unless Ella tried to touch Will...He didn't like that so much! I guess he's just a mama's boy.


If these two end up getting married one day, we have some great pictures to show at the rehearsal dinner...




With my mom (she hasn't decided what she wants to go by with grandchild #1 though...She's determined to come up with some hip grandma-type name)




















Spending quality time in the neighborhood playground--the boy adores the swing!














Melissa (my cousin, only 2 days apart in age) & me with Anna & Will

Riding the lawn mower with Granddad

Thursday

Will & I got back a little while ago from Storytime--He got a kick out of it! I think there was only one actual story read, and then we sang songs for the rest of the half hour. Of course, any song requiring jumping was a favorite for my little kangaroo; in fact, he generally jumped no matter what the song demanded...After all, who needs to clap, stamp, or turn in a circle when you can hop?! I'm happy--we have a new, air-conditioned, & best of all--free--weekly adventure.

Another recent favorite is watching cars & trucks pass by our road. Maybe it's due to the decor of his nursery, but Will adores vehicles. We stroll to the end of our street just to sit & observe the procession of SUV's pass by (keep in mind, this is in a state that got no snow last year...though I can't judge--we have 2 sitting in our driveway). Boys are easy to please sometimes.

Our house is also officially baby-proofed. I got all sorts of stuff at Home Depot and installed most of it yesterday. Sadly, the toilet lock took me way too long to figure out. I'm leaving Colin all the cabinet latches to do this weekend while Will & I are in Richmond. What could be more fun than screwing in cabinet latches after working 32 hours straight?

Enjoy your weekend! More pictures to come after Ann Woods' wedding & seeing friends back up in VA over the next few days...

Back in Good Ole VA

We spent Saturday night through Sunday night in Richmond visiting my family & celebrating my brother William's graduation. Sunday we made it to church, and the brave Baptist nursery workers even kept our screaming child in there for the whole service. Will has managed to get expelled from our nursery nearly every week for the past few months, so it was refreshing to actually get to sit there for the full hour. He was quite pitiful-looking when we picked him up though--his eyes were so puffy from crying. Saturday night after dinner, Colin & I snuck out to see Talladega Nights, and I was surprised by how funny it was. Go see it! Sunday we visited with my "GG" (great grandmother), and of course we had to document the FIVE generations with a photo (see below!). Anyhow, Will & I are back up in Richmond next weekend for a wedding, and then we should stay put in Durham for awhile.

This week Will has very first Storytime at the library to look forward to--I'm sure he's counting the minutes. Apparently, Storytime around here is as exclusive as Ivy League schools...you have to call right when the library opens on the appointed day to get a spot, and even then it's iffy. Crazy moms actually wait outside the library in the morning to sign up in person. I'm amazed we're "in," and I'll let you know Thursday how it goes...

OH, Will is CRAWLING! He has been moving around on the floor for awhile now, but he can now officially do the crawling motion to get from place to place. When he did it "for real," it almost made me tear up! I guess I'm turning into a sentimental fool, but it's hard to believe how quickly they grow...though I suppose we still have a few years before he's off to college :) Whether he joins the Tribe or Wahoos remains to be decided...




Will, me, my mom, her mom (Grandma), & GG!
















Will & Uncle Will













Seward siblings













Our little family














Riding Cosmo the 3-legged dog

Teeing Off (a Colin-appropriate title, I thought)

So, I have several friends with blogs, and I love reading their updates and seeing pictures of their families. I've been telling Colin for awhile that we should join the world of bloggers, and he has consistently responded with: "What would you write about?" As generating words has never been a big problem for me, I think I'll manage to come up with something. The main goal of this little project is to keep you more or less informed on what's going on down here in the land of the Blue Devils, sex scandals, and fantastic barbeque. And of course, with our family--the three G's. We'll give you pictures of our little wild man too.

Here's what's going on...

G #1 (the original G)

• Most of you probably know this, but Colin matched at Wake Forest for his gastroenterology fellowship! Looks like we're headed to Winston-Salem next June! Though it unfortunately is a little farther from our families, we're excited...We hear it's a great town and houses are cheap. Feel free to start booking your colonoscopies now.
• Colin had a great schedule over the summer and hasn't been on call for a couple of months...but now it's back to the V.A. Hospital and back to spending the night there every 4th night. It could be worse (at least for me)--I'm remembering some months of Colin being "Q3" (on call every 3rd night) this Fall/Winter. That stunk.
• He would say the most exciting thing in his life right now is the prospect of football being right around the corner. (I--Libby--am not as thrilled.) He's been devouring his Fantasy Football magazines and plotting for his drafts--look out, opponents! He's also quite pleased because I found Will a new Redskins outfit at a kids' consignment sale... like father, like son?

G #2

• I spend my days reading the same board books over and over, playing with cars and trucks, scraping mushy cheerio bits from strange places around the house, and ensuring our little dude doesn't throw himself off the bed, changing table, or Kroger shopping cart. Lately it seems his primary goal is to hurl himself onto a hard floor from somewhere high, and he's stubborn. He's pseudo-crawling too...he moves all over but not in the typical crawling fashion (more like a headfirst plunge usually)...so we need to get moving with the baby-proofing.
• My main objective these days is to figure out something to do outside of the house, but indoors. It's blazing hot down here, and both Will and I get very stir crazy by the afternoon. We go to Kroger, Target, the mall, and wherever else we can think of with AC and room to stroll. I forgot to mention Will also attempts to jump from his stroller after 10 minutes. I can't handle the Baby Bjorn much longer though--he's just too big.
• I love Netflix! The past couple of nights I watched "Anne of Green Gables--the Sequel" (without my hubby, who was not as enthralled). For those of you who like to watch movies, Netflix is a beautiful thing. At least until Lost, America's Next Top Model, and American Idol are back on.

G #3 (aka: Wild Man Willie)

• Besides the aforementioned pursuits, our little 21.5 pounder enjoys standing up and jumping (with a little help from mommy), giving his mom hickies on her shoulder with his 2 teeth, and eating plants, dirt, and our mail. Yesterday he somehow chewed off a hunk of a foam block and was sucking on that for awhile. He also loves staring at the babies on our fridge--he seems to have a special crush on Ava Christophel, since he keeps trying to grab her picture and eat it. Watch out, Ava!
• After taking him back to the pediatrician's office a couple days ago, I am reassured that he does not have another ear infection and is "just teething." The old male doctor we saw didn't so much believe in medicating young teethers, but I continue to drop those cherry Tylenol drops into his mouth, if only to be amused by how much Will loves taking his drugs!
• Adjectives Will's parents would use to describe him so far: VERY active and energetic, high-strung, determined, goofy, easily bored, & curious. Hmm--wonder where some of those traits come from?!

OK, I'm stopping here for now. Future posts will not have as many words, but I thought I ought to give us a nice (verbose) starting point. Here are a few pictures of Will taken over the past week or so, plus one of Colin and me so you know we still exist too: