If You'd Like to Make a Call...

In case you were wondering why "Elizabeth" hung up on you the other day:

Practicing Some First Steps

A Little Romping Around Before Bedtime

A Cupcake's Demise

While we enjoyed cupcakes on Will's 1st Birthday, he was more of a casual observer of the cupcake-eating than an active participant. A few days ago, his buddy Sadie gave him a scrumptious homemade cupcake. Making up for lost time, as you'll see, the cupcake didn't last long!





Initially unsure about this special treat, Will sniffs the cupcake.










The cupcake's demise...











Cupcake? What cupcake?

Beep! Beep! Coming Through!

One of Will's favorite trucks is his "Huggy Buggy," a super duper velour contraption with neoprene wheels. He likes it because, well, he likes just about anything that rolls. We like it because when it goes flying across the room, it lands with a soft bounce!

Here's Will showing off some of his crawling moves with (and without) his truck - it's tough to get a video of this kid on the move! When he's in rolling mode, he likes to break out a crab crawl with his right leg. We also get a kick out of his various "engine" sounds.

Sign Here, Sir!

Will was fortunate to receive a few checks as holiday and birthday presents. Several were made out to him directly, as opposed to Mom and Dad. As I have done with checks in the past, I figured that I could simply sign them over to us and deposit them in our account, as we don't have a separate account with Will's name on it. So, with carefully endorsed checks in hand, I headed to our bank. I brought Will and his birth certificate along for good measure.

Mom: Hi, I have a few checks here that were made out to my 1-year-old son, but he doesn't have an account in his name. I've written them over to myself to deposit in my account. This is him (Mom points to Will) and I have his birth certificate here. Is there any other identification that you need?

Associate: Okay, sure, just let me double-check with my manager.

Associate (talking to Manager): Yes, the customer has a 1-year-old and she's endorsed these checks over to herself on his behalf etc. etc. etc.

Manager: No, they have to be signed by the original payee.

Associate: But like I said, the payee is a 1-year-old, the mom has his birth certificate.

Manager: Wait, why can't the payee sign?

Associate: Um, because he's a baby (vigorously pointing to Will, who puts on his most innocent "Who, me?" face as Mom tries really hard not to burst out laughing)!

While I was unable to deposit the checks - and with the risk of ID theft, I certainly understand the bank's no exceptions policy on this - I have to give them credit for the comic relief!

Christmas 2009

We kicked off our Christmas celebrations with Uncle Kit and Aunt Heidy in San Francisco a few days early this year. One of Will's gifts from Uncle Kit was a tennis ball. Besides making Dad happy (after all, there's no such thing as starting too early when it comes to tennis!), Uncle Kit mentioned that this was one of his first gifts to Elizabeth when she was a wee one. The ball has been a hit, proving once again that things used in daily life - and in our house, a tennis ball may as well be considered an item "used in daily life" - are the best toys. Other current favorites include Tupperware, Great-Grandmother Wagner's stainless steel bowl set, mixing spoons and the associated banging and emptying and filling opportunities that go along with them.

We flew to Washington, DC for Christmas the day after two feet of snow fell on our nation's capital. Lucky for us, this meant that our flight actually arrived early, since flights were no longer affected; however, our luggage took two hours to make it from the plane to the conveyor belt as the luggage handlers maneuvered their way through mountains of lost luggage from the day before and the snow outside!














Undaunted, we took the opportunity to document the Mobile Lounge. Those of you familiar with Dulles airport will certainly have traveled in one of these Star Wars-esque buggies that shuttle you with relative ease a few hundred feet between your gate and baggage claim. However, they will soon be a thing of the past with the launch of a sleek and modern "AeroTrain." Since it will be next to impossible to explain to Will what a Mobile Lounge was, we've included a few shots here. (We never have understood the difference between the ones with flat tops vs. the ones with "chimneys" on top!)



























In addition to family (more on that coming up), we were excited to visit our DC-area friends, many of whom hadn't met Will before. First up was a visit with Jen and Allen H., who welcomed their own Baby Will (William) earlier this year! Next was Alexis G., who, along with one of her sons, Aiden, met us for lunch downtown in Union Station. Will was excited to explore Alexis' office after lunch, where we enjoyed a spectacular view of the Capitol building. We also visited another Carolina friend, Jenny B. and her new husband, Ty, whom we were excited to meet for the first time!



















Not to be outdone with all these Carolina girls, we visited Jason's UVA buddies Kevin and Jennie B. and their son, Jackson, and Chris and Keli C. and their son, Logan. Here's the "lineup" (a somewhat literal interpretation of the term):
















But what would Christmas be without family? Mimi and Poppie Misner hosted us at their home, along with Aunt Karissa and Uncle Matt and Cousin Lydia, Aunt Katie and Uncle Scott and Cousin Alex as well as Grammy Donna and Granddad Sam, who drove up from Florida! Plus, we even enjoyed a day with Great-Aunt Carol and Great-Uncle Max and Cousins Doug and Viola and their three children, Lukas, Jennifer and Catherine. It was a full house!

Funny how some things never change. Will, in 2009 and Elizabeth, in 1977:














Santa Claus stopped by Beton Court! Cousin Alex carefully checked out Santa's beard, while Poppie helped distribute the presents.

































Cousin Lydia definitely had the Christmas spirit, while the boys played together with their toys.

















Will enjoyed some playtime with Grammy Donna and Granddad Sam. He was especially pleased to show off his stack-and-demolish skills.

































How big is Will? SO big!

















The sun came out on one of the last days of our visit, and we enjoyed a snowy stroll around the neighborhood. Will's bear-style snowsuit from Aunt Linnie sure came in handy! Merry Christmas!

Peace On Earth 2009

Fun in the Forest

We headed to "the redwoods" (the Redwood Trail in the Botanical Gardens) for some more fun in the forest with our photographer friend, Amber. Here are a few of our favorite photos.

First Santa Sighting

P.S. Granddad Sam sent a note to us about this photo that we thought was so funny, we're adding it as a postscript to this posting: "Every time I look at this priceless photo of Will, I attribute to him a quote. Today's quote is, 'Does anybody else have something useful to say before we adjourn the meeting?'"