A Visit from Mimi and Poppie and Aunt Karissa and Uncle Matt

Will had lots of visitors from the Misner side at the end of March! First, Mimi and Poppie arrived from Virginia. We chose Mimi and Poppie as our grandparent nicknames because we heard that Cousin Alex was doing the same, but we recently learned that Will's great-great-grandfather Ladd went by Poppie, so we're delighted to be continuing the tradition!

Poppie is Will's namesake, so we enjoyed a stroll over to Willard Street - coincidentally located in our neighborhood - so grandfather and grandson could pose for a photo op. Will also had just gotten his Skwish toy, and math teacher Poppie was quick to point out that Will is already learning geometry! Mimi, a piano teacher, sang Will all sorts of new songs, including some from her Suzuki method piano repetoire - we all found the one about Myrtle the Turtle especially funny!

Will is imitating everyone lately, and Mimi and Poppie were no exception. Poppie insisted that Will was already saying, "hi," (and we almost thought he was right!) after lots of "hi's" from everyone in the room, and Will loved showing off how he could stick out his tongue to Mimi when she did the same.

We also visited Harley Farms in Pescadero and Filoli Gardens near Woodside. Our experience with the flowers at Filoli was outmatched only by the variety of fresh goat cheese at Harley Farms, which we learned varies in flavor depending on the hormonal levels of the goat (i.e. it's more or less tangy depending on whether the mama goat has had a kid lately).

At the end of Mimi and Poppie's visit, Aunt Karissa (Jason's sister) and Uncle Matt joined us from Tulsa. We're looking forward to welcoming Will's cousin to the world at the end of May! We all went up to Point Reyes in hopes of seeing some migrating whales off the coast; unfortunately, there were no whales in sight, but we enjoyed some beautiful scenery, along with two fawns. Pediatrician Matt deemed Will, um, "nutritionally sound." :)

All this action is making us think about naps! Will's favorite napping spot is the rocker recliner in our living room. Like many things that are discovered by accident, Will discovered this spot when Mom needed somewhere to set him down for a minute where he could be propped sitting up a bit, as he was still having a little trouble breathing after being sick. So much for his freshly prepared bottle - Will was fast asleep in the recliner in about 30 seconds!

Here are some photos from the past few weeks:



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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm 4 months old today!

Weeks 15-16

Our friends Chris and Keli and their baby, Logan, came to visit us. The boys had fun meeting each other and we all enjoyed catching up over brunch. Logan is one of five (including Will) babies that will be born within a year of each other to Jason's college buddies. We can't wait for them all to meet!

Once known as "Muffin," our newly nicknamed "Small Fry" turned 4 months old on St. Patrick's Day. The poor fella was in good spirits despite having his first cold, which turned into pneumonia. Yikes! He's been a real trooper and is thankfully on the mend.

Here are some photos from the past few weeks:



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Seriously, Uncle Kit, My Cheeks are Bigger than Yours

Weeks 13-14: Breckenridge!

The big highlight the past few weeks was our trip to Breckenridge, CO to attend a wedding. We enjoyed celebrating with the bride and groom while Will held down the fort at the hotel with his babysitter.

This was Will's first plane trip and he's already gearing up to be a travel pro. He slept almost the entire way on both plane rides, waking up just in time for Mom and Dad to bask in the "Oh, what a sweet baby - we didn't even know he was on the plane!" glory. (We hear that's a one-shot deal, however.) He also survived our "aircraft downsize" on the way home, which resulted in us and 57 other passengers being bumped. After that, future trips will be relatively smooth sailing!

We enjoyed checking out Breckenridge and look forward to actually hitting the slopes next time!

Here are some photos from the past few weeks:



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Weeks 11-12

Will celebrated his first Valentine's Day and we happen to think our Cupid is pretty cute! He's blowing bubbles and making all sorts of funny sounds these days, and loves to watch everything that is going on around him. His babysitter says that he's a "little man of action!"

We've also been having fun doing video calls with Cousin Alex. Recently, Aunt Karissa visited Aunt Katie and we got to see Cousin Alex and Cousin-to-Be Hannasch! Check it out in the slideshow.

We also included a photo of the top of Will's head. He has a lot of cowlicks, which photos don't really do justice (maybe a better way to say it is that they are much more interesting in person). His swirls look the those maps of hurricanes that you see on The Weather Channel!

Here are some photos from the past few weeks:



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Weeks 9-10

Will had his 2 month checkup (a week late) and weighed in at 14 pounds, 8 ounces! Translation: he's a big fella! He was very brave for his first round of shots. After a surprised yelp and some initial tears from Will, it was Mama who had to get herself together before heading back out into the waiting room. They don't tell you about this in the baby books.

We tried giving Will a bath in his mini-tub, but he wasn't so sure about it. From his perspective, there's no spray nozzle in the bathtub. From Mom and Dad's perspective, it's not so easy to bathe a squirming child while bent over the tub (even if we do have a nifty gel kneepad). So, it's back to the "spa treatment" in the kitchen sink for a few more weeks, while he still fits! We'll all enjoy it while it lasts!

After trying to beat some rainy days and new-parent exhaustion, we gave up on our planned hike in Marin and decided to try an urban hike in Golden Gate Park instead. Elizabeth found some extra energy along the way; Jason commented, "I don't think that you've walked this fast in a year!" We're always amazed at all the activities that take place in the Park - for example, you may recall our lawn bowling match back in July. On this hike, we passed the pétanque area (and yes, if you continue to read this blog, you will learn about many games you didn't know existed).

Will has also been discovering his feet - he loves to lift them up over his head!

Here are some photos from the past few weeks:



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Visiting "The Cabin"

Just as we were ready to break out the "BOB" SUV (um, Stroller Utility Vehicle...), our friends Michele and Derek invited us to spend the afternoon at their family's cabin in the redwoods near Santa Cruz. What perfect timing for the BOB's maiden voyage! Elizabeth first visited "The Cabin" with Michele's family in 7th grade, so it brought back lots of great memories to bring Will to this very special place.

Here are a few photos from our adventure:

Weeks 7-8

Aunt Linnie and Uncle Larry arrived on New Year's Day and stayed for nearly 2 weeks - what a way to celebrate the New Year! Although they had the option to enjoy quiet nights at Uncle Kit and Aunt Heidy's house, we knew they were real troopers when they decided to stay with us! Aunt Linnie even took Will under her wing for a few nights (yes, you read that right, she subjected herself to this more than once!) and gave Mom and Dad a few nights of uninterrupted sleep. Fortunately for Lin, one of their Christmas presents was coffee from Philz Coffee in San Francisco - Will even came along with Aunt Linnie for a tasting! He stuck to milk, however.

Will is learning to smile - every one just melts your heart. Elizabeth has staked a claim on witnessing his first "real" smile while everyone else was out mountain biking (now who's jealous?) :)

Here are some photos from the past few weeks:



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Weeks 5-6

We had lots of fun with Will over the holidays! Grammy Donna and Grandfather Sam came to visit, and we all headed up to see Will's Great-Great (!) Aunt Bobbie up in Santa Rosa.

We celebrated Elizabeth's birthday at Michele and Derek's house. Their 1-year-old daughter, Sadie, initially thought that Will, who was sleeping in his car seat, was a stuffed animal. Imagine her surprise when he moved!

Our little guy isn't so little anymore! He weighed 11 pounds 5 ounces at his last pediatrician visit at 5 weeks! You can practically watch him grow in real time.

Here are some photos from the past few weeks: