Party Animal

Hi everybody!



Just thought I'd check in with a little update on life lately. Memorial Day week was a busy one for me. Nana and Pop came down so Mommy and Daddy could go out for their anniversary, so naturally I got a little extra attention (and lots of pancakes!)




Then, we all went to the Low Country Boil that our church hosts every year. I tried to dress appropiately for the occasion:

And, to get ready for the trip out to the farm, Mommy and Daddy had taught me some important things about how to communicate with different farm animals.

Right after we made this video, I learned another sound: the pig! I think it's my new favorite.

The next day, we went to Karen and Bryan's Memorial Day party (where I also got a little attention), then to Deb's BBQ in the evening. That's where I got to hang out in a big pool like the other kids! I loved it!
I know Nana and Papaw have a float like this for me up in VA, so I can't wait to show off for them in August!

Besides all this partying, I've mainly been trying to learn new words. I've even learned my first Spanish word:




I've learned where my eyes, ears, nose, mouth and tummy are, and I can point out just about any animal in my books, along with balloons, cake and hats (can you tell I love to party?) Some other things I've been saying lately are 'snack,' 'socks,' 'more,' 'full,' and 'bye-bye daddy.' I've been trying to say 'diaper,' but all I can manage is 'per'...I don't think anyone but mommy would understand that one!

Gotta run eat my 'nack' now, but I'll be back soon!


Love,
Will

Big Will

Hi everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted--I've been so busy doing big boy things! Now that there's a new little Will in town (Will Brannen was born Tuesday!), I think I might start calling myself Big Will. I'm so happy to have little Will here; for a whole year now I have been greatly outnumbered by little girls....not that I mind, really....

So here's what Big Will has been doing lately:

CRAWLING!

I know, I took my sweet time, but I finally decided there are some benefits to moving around. Like being able to tackle Mommy!

I've also been practicing standing up with lots of help and saying lots of fun words. My new favorite is 'bup'. It means 'cup', but it's so much cuter the way I say it. I even catch Mommy & Daddy saying it my way sometimes. Hee hee.

I'm really looking forward to all the fun I will have this summer. We're going to visit Nana and Pop next week, then Nana and Papaw are coming to visit in June for Uncle Scoupe's wedding! I really love Courtney, his fiancee, so I'm so happy for them!

Today, I think we're going to meet little Will and I'm going to have a picnic with Daddy on campus if it doesn't rain.

I'll try to post more often now that Mommy will be home all summer to type for me. I still have to get some birthday pictures from Aunt Jen, but then I'll put them here. For right now, check out my new profile picture!

Love you all!

~wmg

Photo Catch-up, Part I

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought it'd be easiest to catch everyone up with this photo series! This first set of pictures is all about my trip to Sea Island. Thanks, Heather & Jack for inviting me!

Here we are, going to the beach for the first time:

Mom let me borrow her sunglasses--don't I look like a super-star?!?

Here's me being silly at the beach. We stopped for this brief photo op before heading to a nice restaurant that night with Jeff & Rachel Norris, and their awesome kids Samuel & Ellie Kate.

At another restaurant, I showed off how I can drink from a real cup. Mom had this delicious cucumber-infused water--I couldn't get enough!


That same day, we all hung out at the pool for a while. I loved splashing in the water. Now I do the same thing in the bath tub at home!

Another big first for me: I touched a real live fish for the first time. I thought it looked a little weird, but mommy & daddy said it tasted good for dinner that night. Way to go with the fish fry, Jack!

Well, that's all for now. My next post will show some other fun stuff I've been doing lately.

Bye!

~wmg

Vacation!

So Mommy and Daddy keep talking about this thing called a beach that we're going to visit next week. They tell me I've been there before, but I don't remember it....Anyway it sounds really fun! I'll get to hang out with some other kids that I know from the nursery at church. We're already making plans for how to get into trouble.

I think my part in the trouble-making is going to be the most important: diversion and look-out. Since I'm not crawling yet, I'll just lay on the cuteness whenever the other kids want to be mischeivous. And we have a whole code worked out for how I'll warn them that an adult is coming: "Dog! Dog! Coo! Dat!"

I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm also really excited because Nana and Pop are coming to see me (and Mommy & Daddy) tomorrow! They won't believe how talkative I am and how many teeth I have (working on #4)!

Oh yeah, one more thing! Mommy is planning my first birthday party for next month--can you believe how old I'm getting? It'll be at Memorial Park here in Athens on April 12th, between 1 and 4pm, so mark your calendars! Mom's sending out invitations soon, but I thought I'd go ahead and mention it.

The park is a great place for kids, families & pets: it has a big lake with a paved path around it, lots of space to spread out blankets and run and play football, and even a little zoo! Last week I saw a bald eagle, brown bear, bobcat, owl and otter at the zoo!

Ok, gotta go, but don't worry--I'll post some pictures of all my Spring Break adventures as soon as I can!

~wmg

i love to talk!

Hi everybody,

Just thought I'd write a quick note to say how much I love this new thing I'm learning about called language!

Here are some things I've already learned to say:
Cocoa
Dog
Uh-oh

Here are some things I say all the time but haven't quite narrowed down their exact meaning yet:
Dada
Mama
Baba

And here are things I can copy other people saying, but Mommy's wondering if I really understand them or not. I almost always say them at the right time, but a lot of times it's right after someone else:
Thank you (ok, it's more like "nkyu" when I say it)
Cheerios (Chee!)
Juice (Chu!)

I also have about 16 different ways to laugh, which is a whole language in itself! Mommy's favorite is when I just crack up and laugh out loud uncontrollaby. Usually I do that when she's being silly or tickling me....I mean, not that I'm ticklish or anything....

Um, gotta go!
~wmg

I'm getting so big!

Hi everyone!

Since I'm a whopping TEN months old now, I thought I'd write a little update on all the grown-up things I've been doing lately:

1) Feeding myself! I bet you all knew that wouldn't take long to learn! I love to feed myself cheese, toast, Cheerios, little veggie puffs, teething biscuits, and even cookies when I can get my hands on them. I still eat anything Mommy & Daddy put in front of me, and I am really quick with the finger foods!

2) To help with all that eating, I decided it was finally time to grow some teeth! My very first one started coming in last month, and now I'm working on number 3! Mommy and Daddy have been trying to get some pictures of them, but I've been a little bashful about it--that's my way of keeping everybody wanting to see more! You can see the bottom two here if you look closely.

3) I've finally made my peace with tummy time. I haven't quite learned to crawl yet, but I can get almost anywhere eventually by scooting, rolling & stretching really hard! Sometimes I even scoot backwards a little. Turns out, tummy time isn't so bad after all when I'm surrounded by my favorite toys.

4) I'm still saying "Cocoa" sometimes, and now I can say "Uh-oh," too. To make sure I get plenty of practice with that one, I play my new favorite game: the dropping game! Sometimes I even hide my Cheerios in my highchair say "uh-oh" about that. I'm also starting to imitate Mommy and Daddy, even when I don't know what they're saying. It's all grown-up to me!

5) Drinking from a cup! Mommy has started trying to get me to drink my milk out of a cup, which I'm not all that pumped about, even though I'm good with the cup itself. In my opinion, cups are for water & 'juice' (Mommy waters down my juice a lot and thinks I don't notice). Milk still belongs in a bottle!!!

6) Dancing! Anytime I hear music, I start bopping up and down, even if it's just a commercial on TV or Mommy or Daddy singing silly songs to me. In fact, sometimes I sing to myself, and I dance then, too!

7) Clapping! I LOVE to clap. Last week, I was also learning to wave Hi and Bye, but I've decided clapping really covers all those bases. So whenever Mommy or Daddy come in the room, they get a big round of applause from me! Of course, I clap when they leave, too...so I can get back to my sneaky ways...

Speaking of getting back to my sneaky ways...I think I'd better do that right now! I'll check in again soon!

~wmg

My First Christmas, etc...

It's hard to believe everything that's happened since my last post! I'll try to keep this to a short update, but I might add some more detailed stuff later on.

Well, let's see...I had my first Christmas just a few weeks ago, and it was great! I'm pretty awesome at sitting up now, so I was just the right age to tear open my presents & play with the ribbons and wrapping paper. And the toys, too!

I got some pretty great stuff, too, and mommy and daddy were happy no one went crazy buying me too much stuff. They managed (using mom's and Papaw's military packing skills) to fit everything into the car on the trip home from Virginia & South Carolina. Apparently there was some fiasco about missing jackets and car keys as we were leaving Nana and Papaw's, but I fell asleep, so I don't really know what happened. Guess you'll have to ask mom or dad about it sometime.

Probably the best part of Christmas, though, was getting to hang out with all the family that I love but don't get to see often enough. (I miss you guys!) I even got to see my Aunt Jen and Uncle Zack and their whole family for New Year's. Mommy says it's our 'tradition' to celebrate New Year's with them, but I don't know what that means yet. Gotta look it up whenever I learn to use a dictionary. Anyway, it was a blast, and I met another little girl, Corinne, while we were there. We flirted a little because she's pretty cute....

Anyway, since I got back from my big trip, I have had one surprise after another for mommy & daddy. First of all, last week, I said my first word!!! You'll never guess what it was, though...

COCOA!

Yep. That's the cute little dog at Grandma Deb's house, where I stay while mom's at work. I'm not sure how to say Feral Cat, yet, so I call her Cocoa, too. Mom & Dad must think it's pretty cute, because they ask me "Who's that?" anytime Feral walks in the room! I always put on a little show, even though I know deep down that's not her real name....For now, that's my name for any small furry animal, even a couple of my toys :)

And guess what else? I'm FINALLY getting my first tooth! It hurts a little, especially since I also have my first ear infection right now, but it'll be here in no time. It's actually already broken through my gums...So, watch out Cheerios! Here I come!!!

Well, I guess that's the basics of what's going on in my world. Through all the traveling, teething, and little bit of sickness, I have been quite the little trooper for mom & dad. I know they appreciate it, and, what can I say? I'm a sweet little boy!

Gotta run for now. There's all kinds of stuff to do, like eat my lunch, play with my new toys, pet 'Cocoa' the Cat, and keep practicing all the new sounds I'm learning to say! And don't worry, I'll post some pictures next time!

~wmg