Our little explorer

Now that Will can crawl, he's been busy exploring this week...

His favorite thing is to head straight for the dog's water dish...

His other favorite thing to do is to look at his reflection...

(thankfully our landlords had already baby-proofed the fireplace)

He has discovered that shoes make GREAT toys...

And dogs make great friends...

He sure is having fun!

Crawling!

Will went to his 9 month dr. appointment this week and we were surprised to find out that he didn't need shots this time! He weighs 20 lbs 5 oz, which is the 52nd percentile for his age.

Two big developments with him this week: his two top teeth have broken through, and he crawled for the first time tonight! I don't think I am ready for this!

Here are a few pictures of him yesterday and a video I took of him crawling tonight!

9 months

Will is 9 months old today!

My sweet little boy:

• I noticed today that your top teeth are coming in!
• You will be crawling any day now. You can push yourself around a lot already.
• You love going for walks and playing in your exersaucer, but you are also very content to just sit on the floor and "play" with anything put in front of you!
• You drink 4 8oz bottles a day and eat 1-2 servings of fruits/veggies a day
• You take a 1-2 hour morning nap and another 1.5-2.5 hour afternoon nap
• You are an absolute joy and I LOVE this stage of life with you!

My sweet little man!

I've been playing around with my camera this week and thought I'd share a few pictures I took this morning...

And yes, he usually has on clothes but I'd just changed him and he was playing on the bed in his nursery:)

Will's new toy

I know I've been MIA this week. Unfortunately, it wasn't because I've had really cool fun stuff going on (like I was asked earlier today!). Just the opposite, in fact. It's been a rather uneventful, routine week. Naps, gym, cleaning the kitchen, play group, meeting Matt for lunch, taking Will on walks, Bible study, watching 24, blah, blah, blah. Interesting stuff right?

Will's week was more fun though because his Grandaddy Dart and She-she sent him an excersaucer for Easter! He loves it! And with him becoming more and more mobile (he isn't crawling yet, but he can roll and scoot like you wouldn't believe) it provides a safe place for him when mommy needs a break!

It has been the strangest week, weather-wise. We've had days of sunny, 70 degree weather and other days of strong storms in the 30's with even a little bit of snow and hail! Today was one of the nice ones though, and we took full advantage of it and took Will to the park.

Showing off his fierce, I've-got-teeth-now growl

Miss Elle-Belle, with Coco behind her

My happy little man!

Happy Easter!

"If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain...and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins...but in fact Christ HAS been raised from the dead...therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15

Easter is my favorite holiday. I love everything about it - spring colors, flowers blooming, easter candy, etc. And having a child makes it even more fun. I've been a little giddy all day - I think I've sung "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" so many times that Matt is about to go crazy. But the thing I love most about Easter is what it means to my faith.

Our pastor gave one of the best sermons I've ever heard him give this morning. It was based off of 1 Corinthians 15 and was titled "The Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything". Those of us that are Christians would say we believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. But if we REALLY believed it, it would change how we spend our time, how we spend our money, how we take risks, etc. And it doesn't.

Anyway, I'll stop preaching, but go read 1 Corinthians 15!

And now for the obligatory pictures...here are a few of Will from yesterday in his first Easter outfit that his aunt Jessica gave him...

Thankfully the weather was really nice here this weekend so we could take pictures of him outside this morning before church...

After church we went to an Easter brunch hosted by Kellogg Christian Fellowship and Catholics at Kellogg. When we got home Will opened Easter gifts from his grandmothers!

Father and son in seersucker

The loot

He knew which candy was the best!

Like father like son...

Man I love these guys!

An old friend in town

Yesterday we got to see our friend Chris from high school! He was here giving a talk on philosophy at Northwestern and we got to hang out with him afterwards. It was the first time he'd seen Will...

And I think they liked each other ok...

Matt made such a good dinner for us...black beans and rice with mango salsa, along with swiss chard and sweet potatoes....it was SO good!

Chris and his wife Jenny are moving to New Zealand next month for Chris' job, so it was so good to see him before they leave!

Today the weather was warm so we took Will to the park. He really liked swinging!

Since Easter is only a few days away (which I can't believe, by the way...it has completely snuck up on me) I thought I would share this recipe that my friend Jenny sent me. I think they would be fun to do with kids!

Easter Resurrection Rolls

• 1 package crescent rolls
• melted butter
• large marshmallows
• cinnamon
• sugar

Preheat the oven to 350.

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. This represents the cloth Jesus was wrapped in.

Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus and His purity.

Have each child dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.

Dip the marshmallows in cinnamon and sugar. This represents the spices used to anoint the body of Jesus.

Wrap the marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll. This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after His death.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. The oven represents the tomb.

When the rolls have cooled slightly, the children can open their rolls and discover that Jesus is no longer there! He is risen!