One of Those Days

Today was a kind of tough one for our short friend. To borrow a euphemism from cousin Chloe, Win had 'yukkies in his belly' all day. Rather than give you all the gory details, I'll put it this way: Win went through four changes of crib sheets, four sets of baby clothes, had three baths, and completely annihilated every article of clothing I was wearing at one point. Have you ever seen that one scene in the movie 'Aliens' where the android gets impaled by the alien tentacle? That's a pretty good approximation of what it was like. Oddly enough, considering the violence with which he was expelling the contents of his gastro-intestinal tract from various orifices throughout the day, he was quite pleasant in between episodes. Cuddly even. It would have been downright enjoyable snuggling with him if we didn't have to deal with the gnawing fear that he might erupt like a geyser at any moment. Anyway, he's doing fine now, sleeping well so far tonight. Here's a shot of Win and his barf bowl (no, it never actually worked) for your viewing enjoyment.

Time in the Library

Winfield has two baskets in the living room, one for his toys, and one for his books. His books are his favorite thing to play with. Recently he has been removing 5 or 6 books from his basket and setting them on the floor next to it. He then climbs into the basket and sits on top of the remaining books. Reaching outside the basket and underneath him he finds books to read.
We call it time in the library.

Clean on the Inside

I was giving Win a bath and he became very interested in the bar of soap that I was using. He really wanted to play with it, so I let him. I figured that he would put it in his mouth. But I just figured that that would be a lesson that he could learn on his own. Sure enough the first thing that he did with the bar was give it a good lick. I thought that that would be the end of his relationship with the soap. I was wrong. After he licked it he stuck it in his mouth and took a pea sized bite out of it. Then he smiled and huge smile and stuck it back in his mouth and began chewing on it. Being a concerned mother I quickly dashed for the camera and caught this shot. If you look carefully you can see bite marks on the soap. After the picture I took it away from him.

Fun-guy

It is very easy to make Win laugh. Jared is throwing a football up and down. Win thinks that is about the funniest thing ever.

Some Assembly Required

As you may know from Win's birthday post he received a Radio Flyer wagon from his Grandpa Goose and Grandma Jan. Spring has finally arrived in Holland (we know because we can now easily see the tulips peeking through the dirt). Jared and I decided that it was time to assemble Win's wagon for him. He couldn't have been more excited. He had been eying the lawn and driveway toys of the neighbors. As we removed the wagon from the box and began to assemble it, it became very clear to both Jared and I that Win knew what was being built. He knew that it was a toy and that it was for him. He was giddy with excitement. It was hard for Jared and I to believe that he could understand what this thing was, but it was clear that he did.

Until yesterday Win thought that he had received a giant box to stand on from his grandparents. He was very excited to find out that there was something in it. He helped every step of the way. First we read the instructions.
Then we figured out what tools we were going to need.Win made sure that every part was assembled correctly. He even utilized his small stature to tighten a couple of bolts that were in hard-to-reach spots.
Once assembled he volunteered to be the first to test the integrity of the wagon.
It works great. We have taken it on several walks around the block and to the park already.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!

Beacuse parenting really IS a competition

When visiting cousin Luke, who is 2 months younger, Luke performed a trick that Win didn't know. Not to be outdone by Nathan and Janna we promptly taught Win.

A Funny Moment

Here's a picture from a week or two ago. Rachel was trying to get Win's pants on, and having an unusually difficult time. She pulled and pulled but couldn't seem to get them up over his diaper. Somehow, Win didn't even protest as she kept trying to cram both legs into one hole. So, obviously, before we set him free we had to take a picture.

Favorite Activity

Here's a random shot of one of Win's favorite activities: looking out the window. We have the box from his Radio Flyer set up by a window in our main room, and many times each day he climbs up and stares out. Any person who comes into view on the street is greeted by some window slapping and a few excited grunts.

Growing Up FAST!

As a mother I am constantly reminded by friends, acquaintances and strangers that kids grow fast. That became quite apparent this morning when Jared and I noticed that Win has started to grow facial hair. They DO grow fast!What do you think of his crustache?

Cousins, Cousins, Cousins

Last weekend Jared, Win and I spent 2 days in Detroit at Jared's parent's house visiting family. Win has a new cousin, Willow, that we had not meet yet. Winfield is one of 10 cousins, all 5 and under, on that side of the family. Seven of them were there this weekend. Here are a couple of pictures that Bruce caught of Win playing with his cousins.

As you could imagine with a family this size and age there is a constant tornado of energetic children whipping through the house. Win's goal for the weekend was to remain in the center of the storm at all times. He loves commotion and this is heaven for him.

Welcome to My Party

Win greeted most of his guests last weekend at his party by standing by this window, smiling, and waving. Here's a cute picture my dad got of Win waving at Matt and Johanna.

Those Poor Children

On Sunday night I heard a sermon about a woman who lives and ministers with underprivileged children.  She kept referring to them as children who "don't even have mittens".  Yesterday, as I was bundling Win up for a walk I realized that my kid was one of those kids.  His parents haven't bought him mittens.  I take an old pair of Jared's socks and put them on his arms when I think that he needs mittens.  Really they work great because he can't take them off very easily.  After our walk he played around the house for a while in his "mittens." Poor kid ;-)

Someone Takes After His Dad

Winfield loves to read books. He received several for his birthday that he loves to looks through. Several times a day we sit down and read through his entire collection. He loves it! After I finish reading to him he sits in the middle of his book and flips through them.

She's Famous

Some of you know that a few weeks ago I sent Rachel for a weekend to Seattle to attend a workshop put on by Me Ra Koh, a really great photographer that has inspired Rachel. Well, Rachel had a great time, and had the priveledge of striking up a bit of a personal relationship with Me Ra, who spent a good chunk of time alone with Rachel after the workshop had ended. Anyway, Me Ra put a couple of Rachel's pictures up on her blog today, and had a couple nice words to say about her. She's famous. Here is the permanent link that will take you right to the correct post.

Proof

Win's party is proof that you don't have to be tall, athletic, thin, kind, well-dressed (if dressed at all) or knowledgeable to be popular. You just have to wave and smile at everyone that you see. There were 37 attendees at Win's birthday celebration. It was noisy and wonderful.

Party Time!

Win had a blast at his first birthday party. Here are a couple shots of him trashing his cake. Thanks to everyone who came! Note the carrot in Win's hand in the first shot.

Regular Things

Everyday Win eats prunes. Some things are regular.

Jared Gave Win a Birthday Present

Jared's been fighting a cold for over a week now. Two days ago Win started having symptoms too. I'd just like to say, I wiped his nose about three minutes before I took this picture.