Summer

Summer has been packed with fun for our family. We took a trip to Amelia Island in June and had a blast. Wylie is at such a fun (and sometimes tiring) stage right now. He is into absolutely everything. As you can see in the picture from the beach where he is asleep in his pack-n-play with tissues all around him. He pulled the tissue box off the counter that he could barely reach and pulled out every tissue. As soon as he goes outside, he's dirty within about 2 minutes, and when he walks in the house it's a wreck within about 3. It's great!...most of the time. He is learning so much everyday, so he has to play! Wylie's most recent characteristics, he runs all over the place even more than ever, points to pictures in books, says more words like hot, door, hat, nose, eyes, please, more, dog, book, no and some more that I can't think of right now. You never know what he's going to say these days. He still loves his thumb and his "lovey" elephant. He enjoys picking all of the blueberries off our bushes and eating them while I pick everything else from the garden. He is a very busy boy! What a personality and temper he has. It can be a challenge at times. He's gotten to spend more time with Grandma (Sheila) this summer since she's out of school. He loves to feed the cows with Papa (Chuck) and ride the gator. What a mess! It's hard to pick just a few pictures to share from the things we've been into this summer, so here are a few from the beach.

Lovin' to run around

I finally got a short clip of Wylie and Will playing chase. It is so funny. He just cracks up when we hide and then chase him.

So much fun

We have been having so much fun with Wylie lately. He is learning new things daily and we continue to watch his personality blossom. He says quite a few words now. Besides Mama and Dada, he says more, book, up, out, moo (when you ask him what a cow says), and eat. I'm sure he's saying much more, but we just can't understand it yet. He "talks" nonstop and has no volume button. Everything is loud or louder! He loves being able to go outside now that it's warm. He collects rocks, eats dirt, and generally likes just wandering around the yard. I've been trying to post some videos, but apparently the ones I have tried to upload are too large. The one above is one of his funny things he's doing now. Be sure to catch the very beginning. He does this really exaggerated clap that is hilarious. Once he caught on to walking, the running came very quickly. He loves to be chased. I tried to upload a video of this, but it's not working. He's a lot to keep up with these days, but the exhaustion is worth all the fun!

1st Birthday

Wylie's first birthday was great. We celebrated on the 18th with grandparents over for supper. Then on Saturday we had his blowout party. We were thankful for the beautiful day that it turned out to be! Wylie love his cake. I made him a lemon cake in a special size just for him. He ate A LOT of it. He kept looking around like, "Hey, isn't anybody going to stop me?" He also enjoyed opening presents. We did it gradually throughout the party. He loved the toys that made noises and of course he enjoyed getting more books.

Will and I agree that this has been the fastest year of our lives. Watching him grow has been such a joy.

And we're off!!!

It's been awhile since I updated everyone on what Wylie's been up to. That's because I've been busy chasing him! He is absolutely all over the place. He can get out of sight very quickly and into things just as fast. He still has a very big appetite and shows no signs of pickyness yet. He's started feeding himself with a spoon a little which he thinks is just hilarious. He loves making sounds with his mouth such as "smacking" his lips and clicking his tongue. Waving hasn't been a big thing for him. He can do it, but only when he really wants to. He says "Bye, bye", "Mama", "Dada" and "Baba"(for ball or bottle). Other than words, he "talks" all the time. He is actually pretty loud which is fine except for quiet places like church. He learned how to play catch in November and continues to improve his ball throwing skills! It's one of his favorite things to do. He continues to love reading books. He is definitely showing preference toward certain ones that we have to read every night. This past week he started giving kisses. He actually just opens his mouth and slobbers on whoever he is kissing, but we love it. Now, for the biggest life-changer...two weeks ago Wylie took his first steps. Up until this weekend he would just take a step here and there, but this weekend he really started getting brave. Now, wherever he has pulled up, he takes a few steps in the direction he is going next before going back to crawling. He's up to taking about 6 or 7 steps before he goes back down to the floor. I was not in a hurry for this to happen, but it is so cute to watch. He gets very excited and pleased with himself the further and further he goes. We are having so much fun with him each day. We can't belive he will be 1 this week.

1st Christmas

Christmas was very special this year for all of us. Of course it was Wylie's first and we were able to pass on some traditions as well as begin some new ones. We went to many family gatherings and also spent time with friends during the holiday. Will and I did really well and didn't over buy for this guy, but somehow our living room is still full of toys! My sister, Alesha, bought him a Little People barn set. That was her favorite toy growing up and so far it looks like it might be his too. At this age, nothing holds his attention for very long, especially when he tries to follow us around the house (which happens a lot). Wylie is on the go these days. He's a fast crawler and easily pulls up on everything. He can let go and stand by himself for a couple of seconds too. He's trying his best to stay into trouble. It does no good to clean the floors because even when I do he finds the one speck of dirt the broom left behind. Wylie's best trick is that he can play catch. He's been doing it for a couple of months now. If you sit across from him and give him a ball he will throw it to you and you can throw it back and he will pick it up and throw it again. He has also started clapping which he does all the time and it is too cute. He mama and dada, but I still can't tell if it's on purpose, but he does day Bye, bye consistently when someone is leaving. He has several teeth now and eats everything we let him. He's not picky so far and has quite the large appetite. Even though he really didn't get Christmas and what it's all about, we had fun with him. For me, Christmas was more special than usual this year. Having an infant during Christmas and reflecting on what took place that first Christmas stayed with me throughout the season. Thinking about that babe in Bethlehem who was born to accomplish such a great cause while holding my little boy was truly magical.

Thanksgiving at the Beach

We went to the Jekyll Island for the week of Thanksgiving with Will's family. We stayed the entire week. It was a nice break. The weather was a little too chilly for sitting on the beach, but we took lots of walks. Wylie enjoyed his first Thanksgiving dinner there. He definitely feasted! He's still eating anything you put in front of him. He's been moving around on his own for awhile now and pulling up on things. He figured out how to go up the step to our kitchen awhile back too, but after we got home from our trip he mastered going down the step which looks hilarious. He's starting to do a little wave with his whole arm which is pretty funny too. He's definitely making us laugh.

Fun Little Duck

Will and I had way too much fun on Halloween afternoon taking Wylie around to "Trick or Treat". It was more like visiting since he's not into candy yet. His duck outfit was perfect. He's crawling all over the place now and the outfit had a little white tail on the backside. It was really funny to see it wiggle when he crawled.

The other cute boys in the picture with Wylie are our neighbors. They love him and they are precious as well.

Little Pumpkin

This weekend we visited the local pumpkin patch with our friends Brandy and Carlton. The cute wagon is Carlton's. He let us use to to make pictures of Wylie in it.

OH So Cheesy!

Here's a little update on what Wylie is doing these days:

Since my last post, Wylie has mastered sitting up. He can sit up for however long he wants to now. Most of the time this is until he sees a toy, or tag or water bottle that he wants to get to. Then he gets on his belly and rolls over to it or does a little commando crawl. His reflux is much better so he isn't so opposed to being on his stomach.

He likes some of his toys, mainly books, but more than that he likes the tags on anything. He prefers to play with tags, cups and water bottles more than actual toys.

He now has two bottom teeth that shine when he smiles. He has this new cheesy grin that makes me laugh.

He still loves to be outside so we take multiple walks in the yard each day.

He loves Cheerios and has starting picking them up on his own to feed himself. Sometimes he still misses his mouth! Entertaining.

He'll be 7 months old on Friday. Time is certainly flying by.

Wiggly Wylie

Ever since Wylie has been out of the "newborn-sleeping all the time" mode he has been constantly moving. While anyone holds him, when he's in his carseat, when he's on the floor, or even when he's about to go to sleep, he's moving. Several people have called him Wiggly Wylie and it definitely fits. He's coming more and more into his own personality which I describe now as happy most of the time, but when he's mad, he's mad! He has a very bad temper, so luckily we don't see it that often.

I knew that he "talked" a lot but I didn't really realize how much until going to church several days in a row during revival. Apparently he didn't get the baby memo that you're supposed to sleep during church and let people hold you. He went to sleep one time for maybe 30 minutes. Other than that he talk to whoever was holding him, sang with whoever was singing, and I think did a little preaching too. He makes noises non-stop! Although the noises are very cute, he's a little loud.

Wylie's attribute that has always stood out has really changed...his hair! It is no longer the very dark brown that it was at birth. It's now very light and pretty much blonde. A good bit fell out on the top and sides of his head, but none in the front or back fell out. I couldn't stand the comb over any longer and I have trimmed it twice in the past month.

Wylie has no interest at all in being on his belly to play. He wants to be up where he can see everything. He is trying so hard to sit up and almost has it mastered. He can sit for a couple of minutes alone before toppling over on his face. Anytime he is laying down he is craning his neck to try to sit up. I've heard that they all do thing differently, so I guess this is his start to moving around on his own. Here are some pictures of him with his new trick. (I put the Boppy pillow around him when I take pictures so if he falls over he'll have a little cushion.)

A July of Firsts

July has been filled with many fun summer activities. Wylie's personality is developing daily. He is in a phase (hopefully it's a phase) where he wants me to hold him all the time. He is fine with other people holding him too, but when I'm at home with him most of the day I'm the default. It's completely an attention thing. I have trouble being idle and dispite my attempts to multitask while holding him, not much is accomplished. I look forward to days when I have errands to run or grocery shopping to do. He behaves so well in public right now and since I have to be right there with him when we're out, he's happy. He sits well in his carseat or stroller and we get done what we need to do. He is quite the flirt with whoever will talk to him.

His first very own float, first 4th of July, first boat ride with Papa Chuck, first time at the lake, first Atlanta Braves game.

Summer Fun and Prunes

In the past few weeks Wylie has been experiencing many new things. We bought a little plastic pool and we look oh so classy letting our baby swim naked in the front yard. It has been so much fun. I have been sitting his bath seat in the pool and letting him sit in it with his feet and bottom in the water. He loves to splash and to have water poured on him from a cup.

Last week he went to his first trade show in Greenville, SC. Will got him an Evergreen shirt made before he was born and he got to wear it for the first time.

This week Wylie had his four month check up. He weighs 15 pounds 6 ounces and is 25 inches long. The doctor wanted us to start him on one meal a day of oatmeal cereal, then add prunes, then we can introduce other veggies and move to two meals a day in addition to milk. He took the cereal very well. It was pretty uneventful. The prunes were a different story. SUPER MESSY! I think he likes them, but he wants to stick his hands in his mouth every time he takes a bite off the spoon. I quickly concluded that the best dining attire will be a diaper and bib.

Conversation

Wylie is jabbering a lot these days. He's especially talkative after he's eaten and when he wakes up in the morning. He's changing so quickly and it's hard to believe he's almost four months old. If you have about two minutes check out his little noises in this video. My "holding the camera and trying to get him to smile at the same time" skills need a little work. Sorry it's shaky.

3 months

Wylie is three months old today. It's hard to believe. He has doubled in size in that short time. When he was first born people said, "Oh, he's so little." He was not even seven pounds. Now people say, "Oh, he's a big one." Actually he's as average as he can get. At his two month doctor's appointment he was in the 50th percentile for his weight. His cheeks are getting fatter by the day and his smiles bigger by the minute.

We took a short trip to Savannah over the weekend. All these pictures were taken there. Last week he slept through the night every night, even on our trip! I'm ready to get him in his own room at night, but Will is not looking forward to it.

Wylie with cousin Jack in Savannah. They are pretty much the same size right now, but they feel so different to hold. Wylie is very wiggly and flexes every muscle he has when he's awake and picked up. He looks around and constantly kicks. Jack is much more relaxed. He's very calm most of the time and cuddles much more easily when he's awake. At this point they both seem to have their dad's personalities. Wylie, constantly moving, even a little hyper and Jack, relaxed and easy going. It's so fun to see their developing personalities.

On one of the squares in downtown Savannah. Wylie did great on his first road trip and hotel stay. We look forward to seeing him grow in the next three months.

Easter

Wylie had a visit from the Easter Bunny, but didn't really appreciate what he brought. More than that, he didn't appreciate what I did with the things he brought...