Just Back from the Tailor

Tiny (hemmed) pants, all in a row.

Channeling His Inner Magnum P.I.

Apparently Will learned how to undo snaps last night - this is how we found him when he woke up this morning.

Happy Halloween!

Since Will loves to bounce, we decided to take him out for his Halloween debut as Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. You may recall the lyrics to Tigger's Song. The second verse is particularly entertaining and applicable to Will, our resident lap-leaper.



The wonderful thing about Tiggers,
Is Tiggers are wonderful things.
Their tops are made out of rubber,
Their bottoms are made out of springs!

They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is I'm the only one!


The wonderful thing about Tiggers,
Is Tiggers are wonderful chaps.
They're loaded with vim and with vigor,
They love to leap in your laps!
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers,
Is Iiiiiii'm the only one!

Lucky for us, we live around the corner from Belvedere Street, one of San Francisco's legendary streets when it comes to Halloween. Five or so blocks are closed off and the homeowners go all out trying to outdo each other with decorations and entertainment.





























So after visiting Will's buddy Ella the Lion for a neighborhood pre-party (props to the Pradhans for hosting!), we headed out with playmates Maddie the Puppy and TJ the Monkey to check out the scene.



























































Halloween for babies is of course really about tolerating their parents. Our hands-down favorite house featured Marty the Dancing Zebra from Madagascar and friends, who were gettin' down to some funk-techno in their windows, much to the delight of the entire crowd - think "Go Zebra, Go Zebra, Go Go, Go Zebra!"





























This all might sound a little corny, but we had a blast. As far as Will goes, while he was an enthusiastic and patient Tigger, all that bouncing made for a very hot baby in a furry costume! Our tired Tigger was happy to head home after his Halloween adventure.

Happy Halloween!

Things with Wings

One of Will's favorite books is called Things with Wings, by Kaaren Pixton. A fan of all things paper, we call this book Will's "magazine." In case it's not evident from the photo, Things with Wings has been chewed, dropped in the bathtub and crumpled into a ball, only to bounce back time and time again. That's because it's made of Tyvek. Yes, you read that right. As you stop and wonder, "Where have I seen that brand before?" you know the name because it's the stuff ("home wrap," in industry-speak) that keeps houses under construction nationwide safe from the elements. Given the dogged persistence of a paper-crazy baby, it is indeed the perfect construction material for infant books. Now marketed as part of the Indestructibles series, you can find Things with Wings, retitled as Flutter! Fly!, along with other books in the series, at your local bookstore or online.

But back to Will. Look out, Farrah! Break out your best leisure suits, we're heading back to the 70s! Will gives new meaning to "things with wings!" We hope that he'll be featured in the next edition.

Mini-Misner Meets Manhattan

We just got back from a visit to Manhattan. Will, fearless, navigated the mob of people in Times Square like he'd been doing it all his life. The next morning, he thought he'd peruse the paper. Nice argyles, kid. Next time we'll get you the Wall Street Journal. But is he Wall Street bound? Nah, thanks Mom and Dad, but I'd rather be crawling!

Forehead Kissing

Crossed Ankles

 

We think it's funny how Will likes to cross his ankles when he sits!

Party in Aunt Linnie's Room!

Who knew that Will would be partying in hotel rooms at such an early age? While visiting Philadelphia to attend Cousin Casey and her now-husband Will's wedding, our little Don Juan was workin' it with Aunt Linnie, Cousin Jennifer and Great-Aunt Debbie while Mom and Dad enjoyed an evening out!

Wet-Bottom (We Don't Mean Diapers)

We recently visited Elizabeth's Grandmother Hamill in Lancaster County, PA (aka "Amish Country"), where Will met his great-grandmother for the first time. On the visit, Granddad Sam reported, "While very good-natured by her very nature, Grace Hamill, 94, of Tel Hai Retirement Community is known for her composure. But even she brightly beamed with love and joy on Friday, October 9 when her children, grandchildren, great-grand child, son-in-law, and granddaughter-in-law gathered for lunch, conversation, hugs, kisses and what-have-you-been-up-to-latelies in the Friendship Café at this Mennonite-sponsored non-profit for the elderly nestled between two dairy farms owned by two Amish families, both with the name of Stolzfus."

Grandmom has Alzheimer's, so while she recalls that she has grandchildren, she doesn't recognize us anymore. That didn't stop her from displaying her trademark blend of polite wittiness. For example, after reintroducing Elizabeth, Aunt Tina introduced Will as "Elizabeth's baby." Surveying the room with a twinkle in her eye, Grandmom remarked, eyebrows raised expectantly, "Well, he's somebody else's baby, too!" We promptly reintroduced Jason.

After a feast of make-your-own sandwiches with just about the widest variety of fixin's we've ever seen courtesy of Aunt Tina and Uncle Bob, we all enjoyed pumpkin and Shoo-Fly Pie thanks to the "pie-man," Uncle Bob. Shoo-Fly Pie is worthy of its own post, but this is a blog about Will and not about pie. So we'll just say that should you ever find yourself in Lancaster County, do not leave without sampling a piece of Shoo-Fly Pie. We strongly prefer wet-bottom style.

Granddad Sam also noted that the visit culminated with a (surprisingly on key) version of Let the Lower Lights Be Burning, "the eponymous hymn of the Lower family (as in Grace Lower prior to the advent of Messrs. Heffner and then Hamill) [they always rhymed 'Lower' with 'flower,' like their last name]. And who else but the highly literate Betsy would wonder why they were dubbed the 'lower lights.'" I might add, what other family would know the answer without having to look it up?

Actually, while Mom digresses, the history of the song from the link above is worth posting in full here, especially when as a parent, it's sometimes hard to keep the lower lights (let alone the lighthouse!) burning:

This famous hymn was written by Philip Bliss over a century ago. He was inspired by a sermon he heard while living in Chicago. In that sermon, the preacher talked about a ship that was trying to find Cleveland harbor in the midst of a storm at night.

The captain could see the lighthouse. As he drew near, he shouted to the lighthouse keeper, "Is this Cleveland?" The lighthouse keeper shouted back, "Quite true, sir." The captain asked, "Where are the lower lights?" The lighthouse keeper said, "They have gone out. Can you make the harbor?" The captain replied, "We must, or we will perish!"

With that he sailed his ship into the harbor, passed the lighthouse, missed the channel, and was dashed against the rocks. It was a terrible tragedy. Many people were killed.

The preacher brought that story home with these words. He said, "Brothers and sisters, the Master will take care of the lighthouse. Let us keep the lower lights burning."

I was never sure what "lower lights" were. I thought many times about the phrase in the hymn, "Let the lower lights be burning." Well, the lower lights are the lights away from the lighthouse that illumine the water line. They're the various lights from our windows that enable vessels to come into the harbor at night, through a narrow channel of the harbor's mouth.

Do you shine a light for the world to see?

You Want Fries with That?

Will tried his first Bison Burger at Bullshead Restaurant in West Portal on Saturday night (and no, he didn't have the fries!)!