And the Winner Is...

Will:  1

Powdered Doughnut:  0

Two Weeks

Two weeks from today, he'll turn five.

And to say I'm having a hard time with it is an understatement.

It's killing me.

If I could forever keep him just like he is today, I would.

In an instant.

Stats

Crowded

When Daddy's out of town, this is how we do it.

The Party

Your Day

Sweet Will,

How we celebrated your big day...

Daddy walked with you to see the cows, which is one of your very favorite things to do.

I tried to bribe with you with balloons, another one of your favorite things, in hopes of getting a few pictures of you on your big day.

Your interest in the balloon was short-lived and you found the cows much more interesting.

We went to Chick-fil-a for dinner, your favorite place to eat.  Just like your big brothers, you are a Chick-fil-a man.  You devour the nuggets, chug the sweet tea and will swipe your big brother's ice cream cone while he's in the playroom.  Bec, Chris and Ila Cate ate with us.

Oh, and Popeye was there, too.

We came home to continue the celebration.  I made you a cake.  And what a cake it was (I'm considering starting a baking blog in my free time).

And just when I was feeling good about my baking skills, you gave my cake the stink eye.

You stared at the cake for the longest time.  I encouraged you to try it.  And finally, you stuck your sweet, little pointer finger in for a bite.

And you completely stomped on my baking dreams by giving me this look.

On a side note, your Daddy and brothers thought my cake was delicious.

We gave up on the cake and moved on to the presents your brothers got you.

You loved your new cow toy and steering wheel and you played happily with them.

You even stood up for yourself and screamed loudly when your brothers swiped them from you to try them out for themselves.  Soon you were done with the celebration and anxious to be held and cuddled as you fell asleep.

I hope your special day made you happy.

Because, sweet boy, you deserve it.

Because you make us so very,very happy.

One

Will.

One year old.

My sweet, precious boy.

Loves:  cows, bath time, music, milk, toilet paper, dancing, remote controls, telephones, balls, Chick-fil-a, outdoors, his Mama, being chased by his brothers, banging on things

Dislikes: naps, foods with strange textures, being away from his Mama,  getting dressed, not being allowed to go outside with the big boys, riding in shopping carts

New Tricks:  walking (when cheered on by his Mama or brothers and occasionally without encouragement.  Will could have been walking two months ago but continues to take his sweet time in transitioning into a full fledged walker.  He is quite comfortable being the world's fastest crawler.) climbing (to the top of the bunk bed ladder in five seconds flat), pointing, showing his "big muscles," "mooing" like a cow, initiating his own game of peek-a-boo

The Outside:  Will's fourth top tooth is finally making an appearance, but I must admit that I'll miss that lop sided grin of his. I still don't know what color his eyes are.  His hair is a little long but I'm not ready to cut it quite yet.  I'm too in love with those curls in the back that occasionally make an appearance.  He weighs nearly 25 pounds and is moving into 18-24 month clothes.  

The Inside:  Will is sweet and loving, shy and sensitive.  He can be loud and wild one minute and solemn and reserved the next.  He appears to be a risk taker which is not good for his Mama's nerves (he refuses to sit in shopping carts and loves sliding off Mama's bed backwards).   He is warm and cuddly and loves to hug and snuggle.  His smile lights up the room and he often laughs until he loses his breath.  He is happy and fun and so loving.

A year.

A year that passed entirely too fast.

A year full of blessings.

A year full of smiles.

A year full of kisses.

A year full of hugs.

A year full of love.

Will

On the eve of your first birthday...

Bad Boys

Cannon and Sam continue to stick close to each other's side.

They also continue to sneak into areas they should not be in.  Together, of course.

This afternoon I stepped outside to see this...

The two buds, eating a little grass on the opposite side of the fence.  

There they were, enjoying a little snack in our front yard.

They even managed to coax another calf over to the wild side.

I picked up the boys from preschool and we returned home to find the bad boys still hanging out on the wrong side of the fence.

One was still hungry and continued to graze.

The other made himself comfortable and waited for his bud to finish.

Sam and Jack tried to round all three calves up and push them back through the gate.  The calves chose to run in the opposite direction, stopping in the back corner of our yard.  We headed inside, peaking out the window often to see if the calves were still in our yard.  They lingered near the fence for a couple of hours, but refused to cross back through to the pasture.  I peaked out later to find only one black calf and the Hereford calf still in our yard.  And I watched as the black calf's mom walked over to the gate, mooing loudly as if to say, "Son, you better get your tail back over here.  And I mean now!"  The calf walked over to the gate and stood still, staring at his mom through the metal bars.  Soon she walked over to the wire fence and waited.  The calf walked over and crossed through the wires to his mom.  He immediately began nursing as she roughly cleaned his back and nudged him roughly, as if she were reprimanding him.  The Hereford calf followed and struggled to maneuver his much larger self through the wires.  An hour later, there was a knock at the door. A kid that lives nearby was walking through the pasture and wanted to let me know a calf was in our yard.  I thanked him but didn't even peak out to see who had escaped this time.  I have a feeling they'll be sneaking through the fence every chance they get.

Poppa's Hat

A Sunday afternoon.

Will & Poppa.

And Poppa's hat.

Who knew playing with a hat could be so much fun?

Small Gifts

The velvet-lined drawer in my dresser no longer holds my jewelry.

Instead, it is now full of little trinkets.

Random discoveries

Treasures.

A belt buckle their Daddy once wore.

A tin box decorated with a gold horse.  Given to me "to put my earrings in."

A red, felt valentine.  The only gift in my drawer from my middle sweetie.

A large rock that my oldest truly believes is a diamond. 

And the string he ties around it over and over, hoping that this time it will hold and I will manage to wear it around my neck for more than two minutes before it falls down my shirt or skids across the kitchen floor.

Another collection of rocks.

One large, four small.

And a small, suede pouch to carry the latter with.

A flat stone or piece of glass.  I'm unsure which.  A treasure discovered on a Saturday at the barn.

Three metal keys.  These keys are not for small, wooden boxes or glass jewelry cases.  These keys are much more important.  They unlock the three sets of handcuffs that my little policemen use to "under arrest" the "bad guys."

A blue, metal, flower-shaped trinket.  Again, I am unsure of it's use or origin.  Another barn discovery.

Plastic, pretend bullets.  Placed in the drawer by my oldest to insure that his youngest brother didn't find them and choke on them.

A white golf ball.  And a pink one.  Both found while hiking across the pasture.

My jewelry has been replaced.

By priceless, little gifts.

Little gifts that I treasure.

Little gifts that make me smile.

Little gifts that I find far more valuable than jewelry.

Out

Good to the last drop.

Just Try

Go ahead and try to resist the lip.  I dare you.

Sam and Cannon

In continuing with the idea of naming our livestock after family members, I introduce to you...

Sam and Cannon.

Jody named these two cuties after our real life sweeties for the following reasons:

1.  Their moms are sisters too.

2.  They were born two days apart (Sam and Cannon are only 18 days apart).

3.  They look alike, but very different too.

4.  They are always together.  Always.

5.  They cause a little mischief together.  They "sneak" away from their moms and venture off into the other pasture alone. 

6.  They like to play rough together.  They chase one another and give drop head butts on each other.

7.  They are ridiculously adorable.

8.  They love each other.  I looked out Sunday to find the two of them, alone in one corner of the pasture, nuzzled next to one another, sleeping.

9.  They are large, very healthy calves.

10.  They share their mothers.  These two actually "steal" milk from the other's mother.  Jody says he's never seen anything like it before.*

*I like to think that my children "share" a mom with Cade, Cannon and Landry, and vice versa.  Allyson and I treat each other's children as our own, you know, minus the "sharing" of milk.   

Heart Failure

He refuses to walk.

But he has no problem giving his Mama heart failure...

doing this.