Chowin' on the Lake

Well, it was another weekend spent in the great outdoors, but this time on a lake with our friends Beth and Landon and Leslie, Brett and Clara (who's a whole four days older than Walt).  Unfortunately, both Walt and Clara decided that the lake was scary and they were not interested in testing its watery depths.  Each attempt at putting them in the lake was met with shrieks of protest, so eventually, we stopped trying.  What the kiddos were interested in was eating everything on the boat, so that's mostly what we have pictures of them doing.

Mmmmm . . . goldfish.

Mmmmm . . .  Doritos.

Clara did also take the opportunity to  drive the boat . . .

. . . while Walt mostly sat around in a Dorito-induced stupor.

After a co-ed bath (Walt's second of the week -- he and Meredith bathed together during their mommies' book club on Wednesday) . . .

and a bedtime story read by Clara's mommy . . .

. . . the kiddos were off to their pak'n'plays and the grown-ups enjoyed dinner and a rousing game of dominos.  A good time was had by all!

Birthdays Are Fun

So, as you may have heard, it was my birtday this weekend.  (Sorry, Josh, I couldn't resist.)  And did I get a cool present.

(Please excuse all the pajamas in the above picture . . . it was only ten o'clock after all.)  Anyway,  the gift in question is a really cool new camera that takes much better pictures than the old one (this picture was not taken by the new camera).  I'm pretty sure that the grandparents only went in on the gift for selfish reasons, but no matter.  I'm happy and they'll be happy as long as they get regular pics of the kiddo.  So, as my thank you to them, here you go . . .

Walt digs the water fountain at the park.

At the quads' birthday party!

The remaining pictures were not taken with my fancy-shmancy new camera, but with mom's, which is pretty fancy-shmancy itself.  (Just so you know.)

I'll have to say that I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend.  A cool present and time spent with the people I love most, including this handsome fella . . . 

What a lucky girl I am.

Happy Birthday With an "H"

It's sad that Mommy had to write her own birthday post last year, so
this year, I (Daddy) took care of it.  I just copied her text from last year and
changed the photos . . . hah.

"Is it true, Mommy?  I just heard that you're turning 31


tomorrow!"

"Yes, it's true."

"I can't believe it -- you don't look a day over 25."

"Thank you, Walty.  You're a sweet boy."

"Yeah, Mommy.  I know."

He's still a sweet boy, and his mommy still doesn't look a day over 25.  We love her very much.

Many of you may wonder why I don't post very often.  Quite simply, we here at Walt's World have standards.  Even though I try, I very often do not meet them. 

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I wrote the sign, took multiple photos of the sign and almost posted said photos before I noticed that I was one "H" short of a "BIRTHDAY."

I'm not competent to post more than twice a year.  Mom, Dad, sorry about the private school tuition thing.

Action Shots

Walt likes to back up all the way to the front door and then run across the living room saying, "Go! Go! Go! Go!"

The video part of our camera is broken right now, so we can't actually show you his air guitar, but you'll have to take my word for it that this picture was taken mid-strum.  (It was a fairly mellow song, hence the laid-back posture.)

After chasing her around the coffee table all afternoon, Walt laid down for a break on Evie's bed, and she moved in for the lick.

Preparing for the big leap off of Evie's bed. 

18 Months!

Walt and I were playing in his room yesterday morning (after he finally got up at 9:30!!  what the heck?), and I happened to look up at him and practically did a double-take . . . my baby is no longer a baby, he's a full-fledged little boy!  I know this probably shouldn't come as such a shock to me since I do spend a good deal of time with him, but I was just suddenly struck by how utterly and completely different he is from when we brought him home from the hospital on January 16, 2005.

Then:

Now:

First things first, at the 18-month check-up this week, Walt weighed in at 25 lbs., 6 oz. and was approximately 31.5 inches tall, putting him close to the 50th percentile for both.  We thought we were going to get out of the office without any tears because there were no shots this time, but then he fell on the way out and bonked his head on the tile floor.  Oh well.  At least we had witnesses to the fact that our child really is that klutzy and all his bruises are not the result of us beating him.

 

Walt is definitely talking a lot more this month, although he still uses his signs quite a bit too.  His favorite word is still "car", but the runner-up has got to be "hat".  He won't wear them for more than about 30 seconds, but all of his hats now make an appearance every day.  And when he pulled his winter hat out, he also discovered his mittens and wanted to put them on.  Hey, it's only 95 degrees outside . . . you wouldn't want him to get frostbite, right?

Walt still loves to be outside more than anything else, although he does get a bit whiny when it's too hot.  (Much like his father.)  On those days we typically hit the pool or the sprinkler park, where he is totally in his element.  Somehow he has gotten the idea that he knows how to swim because, when in the pool, he is constantly struggling to get away from us, or get up on the side so that he can jump in when we least expect it. 

 

But if he can't be splashing around in the water outside, listening to a rockin' band is almost as good.  This week was the 30th anniversary of the Cooper-Young Neighborhood Association (where we live), and to celebrate, they had a party for the whole neighborhood with free hamburgers and hot dogs . . .

 

. . .  and best of all, a band!!  Walt convinced our friend Jimmy to take him up a little closer so he could pick up some new techniques for his air guitaring, at which he has become quite proficient lately.  (He was in air guitar heaven this afternoon when I turned on the 80's XM radio station!) 

   

I guess that's about it for this month, but before I sign off, please indulge me as I get all sappy for a moment . . .

I don't know how many of you have read the children's book called Love You Forever, but it's about this mother and her son.  The mother goes into the little boy's room every night after he's asleep from the time he is a very tiny baby until he's adult living on his own, just to gather him up in her arms and sing a sweet song about how she'll love him forever and as long as she's living, her baby he'll be.  Frankly, the page that shows her with a ladder strapped onto the top of her car driving across town to sneak into her grown son's room gives me the heebie-jeebies just a bit.  But I digress.   

Every night before we go to bed, Josh and I always tiptoe into Walt's room just to look at him.  Lately, we haven't been able to help but notice how much room in his crib he takes up now.  While we're standing there in the dark, we often whisper things like, "Look how big he is!"  or "Remember how tiny he used to be?".  When I think of how he used to be just a little, swaddled bundle of a baby, and now he's this great big, sprawled-out boy, I must admit a lump comes to my throat.  But then I think of the mommy in the book and I know that no matter how big or old he gets, as long as I'm living, my baby he'll be.  (But I promise not to climb in his window to stare at him when he's 37.  Cross my heart.)

Hats!

One of Walt's favorite new words is "hat!", and this afternoon he decided to prove to us that he knows exactly what the word means.  While Daddy, Aunt Gigi and I watched the end of the World Cup final game between Italy and France, Walt went back and forth from his room, bringing us all six hats from his closet.  One at a time.  Oh, and he also found some sunglasses. 

(Yeah, Italy!  Josh won a whole $30 in the office pool!!)

Happy 4th!

Well, we survived yet another Memphis-to-Nashville-to-Murray-back-to-Memphis roadtrip!  (Barely -- Walt is no more enamored with being strapped into his carseat for long periods of time now than he was a year ago.)  Here are some of the highlights of the trip . . .

Before we even hit the road, Walt suffered his first skinned knee while helping Mommy water her herbs in the backyard.  Didn't seem to throw him too much, although he wasn't quite sure what to make of the band-aid.

At Nana and Putty's on Saturday morning, Walt helped Putty fill the change jar.  Word has it that when it's filled, Walt and Putty get to go shopping for new shirts.  (Like either of them need more.)

Although if Walt keeps eating chips and ranch dressing like he did at Pagliai's in Murray on Monday, he's going to need some new shirts, 'cause he'll be busting out of his old ones.

Back at Gram and Grandaddy's house, Walt had a very fun 4th of July playing in the sprinkler with Gram . . .

. . . trying on Gram's shoes . . .

. . . playing in the sprinkler with Grandaddy (whose was powerless to resist Walt's demands, even though he'd already had a bath after the first sprinkler outing) . . .

. . . and chasing bubbles.

After all that hard playing, a kid needs a cool drink,

and a place to kick back.

Hope everyone had a happy 4th!