Dylan's First Steps - 10/26/2009

Dylan waited to walk until the day before he turned 13 months. He was about 2 weeks behind Zach's first steps. I was a little concerned, but not too worried. I could tell he had it together he just wasn't "ready" to walk. The biggest difference between the two boys was their style of preparation. Zach would hold on to your hands and walk for a really long distance. He would want to do it for so long that you would literally have to lean him back to force him to sit down. Otherwise, he would just hold on and never let go. Dylan, on the other hand, rarely wanted to walk while you held his hands. He preferred to walk behind a push toy or step stool and scoot his way around. He also started just standing up in the middle of the room by himself and not need any support, but also not take any steps. I kept saying, Dylan is just going to stand up on his own and walk. Right before I did this video, Craig and I were trying to get him to take some steps between the two of us. He refused, buckled his knees and crawled. The minute we turned away and stopped paying attention to him, he started trying to stand and take steps. I ran and got the video camera because I could tell he was close. Sure enough, he just started walking. This video is literally 5 mins after his first steps. He went from 1 step to 5 steps in a matter of minutes. Zach took his first steps and then we didn't see him walk again for another week. Dylan wasn't ready to unveil his skill until he knew he was ready! :)
Another proud moment for the parents of Dylan Ward!

Stats from his last Dr's appt:
(will get measurements soon, but these are percentiles for now)
25th percentile for height (better than 5th)
25th percentile for weight
75th percentile for head circumference (my, I have big headed boys!)

Fun little notes about Dylan at 13 months:

• His favorite word is "ba" for ball. Halloween was challenging, every pumpkin was "ba. ba. ba." Our trip to Hobby Lobby down the pumpkin decoration aisle was hysterical. Ba. Dylan, that's a pumpkin. Ba. Ba. Leaning out of the cart trying to throw the ba's.

• He says Uh oh really cute. It's uh...pause. ooh....pause. Very clearly and very separate. Still trying to get it on tape. He uses it in the right context too.

• He loves wrestling with his big brother and Dad. Although, I get a lot of love in the form of pushing me over on the floor too.
  

• He gives great hugs and his learning to give kisses too. He hugs all of us and even his stuffed animals.

• Dylan loves being outside and cries every time we come in from the car and go through the garage without riding his little push toy bike.

• I hear he is really good with the other babies in his daycare class. They always tell me he is such a good and happy baby.
  

• He also loves animals. Our cat, Kitty or Buster (whichever you'd like to call him/her), Craig's parents dog, Sugar and any other dog we pass on the street...he even was calling to the squirrels in the backyard today.
  

Pumpkin Carving Party - 10/17/2009

We hosted the First Annual Ward Pumpkin Carving Party. I hope to make this an annual tradition. We had lots of families come join us to carve their pumpkins and enjoy some chili, hot dogs and cider. Some of the kids painted pumpkins but many went the traditional carving route. My brother was able to come up from Tulsa for the party and bring his kids (Jen had to work.) My mom came in town to help out. Thank goodness she did since I ended up getting a migraine about an hour into the party and spent the rest of the afternoon in our bedroom. (I was bummed to say the least.) But my mom and Chris kept the hostessing duties going and got everyone to take goody bags and all.
We had a great time and like I said, I hope to make this an annual event. Everyone is welcomed to travel and see us next year. I promise not to wait to take my migraine medicine next year! :)
I put a lot of my mom's pictures on Snapfish and put a link on a previous posting. Here are some of my pictures from before people arrived. I took some of the decorations and set up for the carving (maybe I'll remember next year, so I don't have to reinvent the wheel!).

Aren't the propane heaters nice?!?!
It was a little chilly and Brian let us borrow them from his bar, McCarthy's.

Easiest decoration ever, candy corn in glass votive - going to reuse with peppermints for Xmas

Goody bags, want better bags for next year, but these worked in a pinch

Our front porch with pumpkins and mums...I love fall!

Pumpkin Carving (101 photos), by Jill Ward

Here are pictures from the Pumpkin Carving party. I'll write a post later, but here are pics my mom took - 101 of them, so you will want to skim through! :)

Willkie 8 Reunion # 10 (?)

Willkie 8 Does Bell Buckle, TN
10th Annual Reunion

So here's a post about me for once, not about the kids!
Despite the fact that we have all lived all across the country, my girlfriends from college have been getting together for a reunion almost every year for 10 years. We refer to ourselves and now our husbands (aren't they lucky) as Willkie 8 or W8 for short. We all lived on the same floor in the Willkie dorm at Indiana University. Bet you can guess which floor - 8. Hence the name and yes, the dog came after the dorm. My dog Willkie was named in honor of my friends and our fabulous first year of college together.
The first couple of years of reunions were easier because, well, we had no children and it seemed somebody was getting married every year for awhile so that took care of 4 years. The last 3 years have been more difficult with the addition of 4 kids and everyone is married so no wedding to have as an excuse. I'm going to try and remember the years and locations of our reunions so we won't forget. Willkie girls, email me if I missed one or get the year wrong, I know I'll need help.
1998 - Graduated - some in May and others, ahem, me in December.
1999 - Okay, maybe we didn't physically see each other in 1999 - Liz may have come to Denver and visited Jamey and me.
2000 - Steph's Wedding in Washington, DC - Bethesda
2001 - Belton, TX (out on the town in Austin, TX) Steph was living there while her husband Chuck was stationed there with the Army.
2002 - Columbus, IN - My wedding
2003 - Liz's wedding in December at a beautiful inn in Illinois - Liz, remind me of the name - Lake something - cute little town
2004 - Did we miss this year? - I'm drawing a blank, although I remember Steph coming to Aspen and Jamey and I meeting her at the Ritz??? but Liz didn't make that one. ? Is that the right year?
2005 - Chicago, IL - stayed at the Kelsch's and then at Jamey and Mark's - Cubbies game
2006 - Jamey's wedding in Memphis, TN - Steph didn't make it due to hospital bedrest for the birth of her two beautiful little twin girls. She was missed and included in pictures regardless.
2007 - Chagrin Falls, OH - Location provided by my parents - their house. Everyone drove except Craig, Zach and me.
2008- Ocean City, MD - Stayed at Steph's cousin's beach house

That brings us to 2009 in Bell Buckle, TN - Our first girls only trip and we had a blast.

So here's my little posting about this year's trip. We all met in Nashville, TN. It seemed to be the cheapest flying option and Jamey could actually drive there. We rented a cute little cabin although they called it a Chalet. The Liberty Gap Chalet. It was very secluded but really quite pretty. Everyone brought something (except me so I became the photographer). Liz brought the Trader Joe's wine (courtesy of her husband, Vince's job at Trader Joe's). Jamey brought the beer (courtesy of her husband, Mark's job at Sweetwater Brewery) plus she made my favorite tortilla roll-ups, Chex Mix, did all the grocery shopping and had the place ready to go when we arrived! Steph made her now famous, 6 layer cookies and chocolate chip cookie bars and of course, her banana bread. Yummy! To sum up the weekend, we ate, drank, and talked our way through Friday and Saturday. It was a great time. I learned how to play Apples to Apples and even learned the rules of Ping Pong. It took me awhile but eventually I caught on! :) Saturday we toured downtown Bell Buckle and saw the little antique and gift shops. We could have eaten our weight in Moon Pies, but none of us were really fans. I almost forgot our "hike" around the Chalet's land. Liz was her usual trooper and braved the woods for the rest of us. The trail was pretty overgrown and I believe we saw the largest spider I ever need to see in my life. We declared it was time to turn around and say we got some exercise. We ate Saturday night at Miller's Grocery. It seemed to be "the" restaurant in town and served excellent Southern food. Yum! Fried Green Tomatoes and some yummy Snickers dessert. Everything was fried or creamed, I love the South! :)

The mural in downtown Bell Buckle

The rooster/chicken? running free with his friends around the houses near our Chalet.
Gotta love TN!

Let the Apples to Apples game begin.
It was a fight for the bedrooms. Winner takes the suite.
Jill and Liz
Jill and Jamey - The Original Roommates

Liz and Steph - proof we used the ping pong table

The Ladies posing in downtown Bell Buckle
The donkey and pony? literally outside our back door.
They spent most of the weekend just like this.

I always love seeing these ladies. We can talk openly about everything and don't have to fill each other in on our history because we know it all. We just have to catch up on the year that has just past. I know we will continue to make our get-togethers a priority. Eventually, I see us taking just our husbands and doing a cruise or something more exotic. For right now, we are having fun making due with crazy schedules and limited budgets!
Here's to Willkie 8! Cheers!

Dylan is 1!!!

Look who turned 1 today!

My baby turned one today! He had a great birthday despite the fact that he woke up last night with a fever of 102. No other symptoms, but I'll probably call the doc tomorrow if it doesn't resolve itself overnight. I'm sure I'll be up every 6 hours to dose him up on some baby Motrin. So his birthday video, he's a little sluggish and not quite his smiley self, but he had fun nonetheless.

We did just a low key party for his 1st birthday, much like we did with Zach. We just had the local relatives over and did a quick cake and ice cream. I figure there will be plenty of time for the huge festivities with multiple children in the future. Dylan got a couple of cute PSU Gorillas t-shirts, a new swing for our swingset we got for Christmas and a fun little push truck that also teaches you things and sings songs. Now if he can just keep his big brother away from it, I'm sure he'll enjoy it. Our present to Dylan is coming on Monday because I can't even get my own kids gifts here on time. Blah! Amazon, I will not pay your ridiculous shipping prices! He is getting a neat little car track set and some matching egg game from us too.

You would have never guessed he was running a fever. Bring on the cake!

The cake was from Sweet Designs Cakery and I just loved it.
She does such great work and it tastes good too!

I just asked her to do a whale since we did some whales in Dylan's room.

Here's his "smash cake".

You can see why they call it that.

The new swing and playing with cousin Lilli

What is Dylan like these days?
(For Dylan to read when he is Zach's age and wants to know, "did I do that when I was a baby?")

Let's see. He's not walking yet. I thought he'd be early, but he seems just fine crawling everywhere and is quite fast too. He stands really solid and then slow and controlled he lowers himself to the floor. Today he started saying, "Uh, oh" and I think it's adorable. He also says "ba" every time we go into a room where there is a ball or any other round object that might be considered ball like. Even at the top of the basement stairs because he knows the two big exercise balls are down there. When you say, "ta-da" he throws his arms in the air and smiles really big. He just got a new carseat and is thrilled he can see out. Even though he's rear facing still (and probably will be until preschool at this rate) he loves the new seat and actually was making himself laugh on the way home. Dylan can climb stairs like it's no one's business and absolutely loves bath time. He's the first one in the water and can not get enough of splashing his brother even though we've said "stop" a hundred times. He has 8 teeth and is working on his one year molars. He's really a great teether just like Zach was. A little grumpy at times, but never miserable with the teeth. He loves to be outside and ride the Little Tikes car or his little push toy/ride on car he has. The swing will be a great addition to the backyard since I can now have my hands free with him contained within the seat! YEAH! Dylan is really into his big brother and doing anything he can to be near him and doing what he's doing. It's great to see and I hope they keep it up! I can't believe I almost forgot Dylan's dancing skills. He is a mover and a shaker. One morning I looked over at the high chair and we had the song Pokerface playing by Lady Gaga and Dylan's hands were literally in the air and he was bouncing in his seat to the beat like it was Disco night at Club 616! HA! I've never laughed so hard. Anytime there's music on, he's bopping. We went to Grand Lake with Craig's parents and ate at a little outdoor restaurant. They were playing that Mambo #5 by Lou Vega and Dylan immediately starting dancing in his high chair. He had the whole deck watching him and laughing. Later we were told that they had a little camera on in the kitchen and they were all laughing too! He's just a riot with the dancing.
What a great 1st year it has been with our little guy! Craig, Zach and I just love watching him learn new things and become his own person. A year ago I would have said you were just being nice or optimistic if you would have described life a year later like it is today. Here we are with a "perfect" child as if nothing ever happened. Something I prayed for continuously has come to fruition. Wow, God is good and miracles can happen!

Happy 1st Birthday, Dylan! Here's to many more birthdays ahead of you!

More Birthday Pics:

Lilli checking out our slide

Dylan just chillin' in his new swing!

The family

First, First Day of School

Monday was the big day for Zach. He had his first day of preschool. He is a Little Gorilla at PSU. After playing with Grant in the afternoon on Saturday, he was all ready to see his new friend and go to his new class. (unfortunately, Grant doesn't go on Mondays...oops, forgot to tell him that) Another oops, I had a massive migraine (the worst I've ever had) to the point I was getting sick every 10 mins. I managed to stumble downstairs to find his backpack, the camera, a change of clothes to throw in the backpack and his clothes for his first day. I tried to ask Craig nicely to take a pic of him outside with his backpack on. I'm not sure if it came across nicely or just pathetically. I think he did a great job capturing the moment that I missed. Maybe it was a good thing, since I couldn't get emotional, I had other things to worry about.

I don't know why, but I think the backpack makes him look so old!

He loved his new school and three days later he's still liking it a lot. He has made new friends and has already made a beaded necklace for his Mom. I'm so relieved that the transition has gone so smoothly.

Paint the Town Red Week

Last week was a busy week in Pittsburg. We had Paint the Town Red week. Now, to be honest, I don't remember much about Paint the Town Red week last year. I was a little too focused on having getting my house ready to have a baby and getting my contractions to start kicking in. So this year was like the first year for me!
The Ward house did not get into the act until Friday (although there were many other things going on in town prior to Friday). Zach, Dylan and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Ron's in the Cafe with our friends who all wore red and I didn't have one PSU t-shirt to wear. So sad. I wore a worn out old t-shirt that looked more pink than red, but oh well. After lunch, we decided to stop over at the stadium and watch the 3rd graders from all the schools have a balloon release. It was pretty neat to watch and Zach and Dylan liked watching the Jungletron (get it, Jungle, Gorillas, Jumbotron). My little dancing baby started bopping up and down and I didn't even notice the music playing - it was Bon Jovi. He's not particular about what he dances to. It still cracks me up.

Friday night we went to see the movie, Up on the Jungletron with some of our friends. Before the movie, we were able to have pizza and ice cream at our friend Leah's house. It was nice to get to meet up and then carpool over to the movie. We got to sit our blankets out on the field and watch the movie while it turned dark. A great perk to living in a college town. Zach and I were the only ones to go. Craig stayed home with Dylan since he would have been a handful to walk around the stadium with. Also, Craig had his fantasy football draft to pay attention to on Friday. :)

Zach with his new friend, Braeden.

The crowd before the movie - it filled up a lot more.Leah and her little one, Logan

The movie on the Jungletron

I was excited to see the end of Up since we had to leave early from the theater when I took Zach. He got too scared at the end chase scenes. It is such a sweet movie. I believe I will have to own it when it comes out on DVD. I love the talking dogs! I'm easily amused. :)

Saturday we went to the game. It was the first home football game for the Gorillas. We played Central Oklahoma and the Gorillas won. The Ward family went to Jock's Nitch on Saturday morning to get a new t-shirt for Zach and a new t-shirt for me. It was a zoo. Gorillaspirit was in the air!
The whole family went to tailgate. Zach ran around like a crazy man playing football with his friends for about 2 hours before the game. Craig and Zach went in the game and lasted almost to half time. I'd say that's pretty good for a 3 1/2 year old. Dylan and I hung out around the food and tent and people watched. He did really well considering he was tired and I never let him crawl further than about 15 feet. One of the neat tradition that they do here is have the team walk through the tailgating area on their way to the stadium. The kids and adults line up on the path and get high fives from the players as they pass through. Zach thought that was pretty cool and again Dylan started clapping when everyone started to cheer. I didn't get any pictures, but maybe next time I'll be better prepared with my camera.
All in all, it was a fun weekend to be a Gorilla (although we all know I'm still a Hoosier at heart!). :)