Ho Ho Ho!

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas this year! We had a wonderful time with Will. He was such a little trooper. Check out all of our photos in our link to our family photo album! Christmas Eve day, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer's house to see Jordan's side of the family. We had a lot of fun, and even saw Santa! There were a bunch of wild turkeys in the backyard that we were watching, and then all of a sudden, we saw Santa walking around in the backyard, too! My two nephews, Jake and Josh, were really excited about it! Too bad Jordan missed it!! ;)

We opened presents and Will received his ExerSaucer...more on that later. Will attempted to take a nap, but it didn't last more than 20 minutes with the excitement of opening presents. We had a fun time at the Schaefer's house. Later that night, we went to my Uncle's house to see my Mom's side of our family. We had a nice time playing games with my sisters and boyfriend Adam and one of my cousins. It was the first time that a lot of my family got to meet Will. They all commented on his chubby cheeks. Will was so tired from hardly napping that he went into meltdown after two hours of being there. I never heard him scream like that, even after getting shots. He held his breath for a while and was sweating, too. We quickly tried to leave, but were parked in. After 20 minutes of trying to escape, we finally were on our way home. We made it home okay, and Will slept in the car. He went quickly to bed that night. He slept in our bed with us so we could all wake up together on Christmas morning.
Jordan was so excited to open presents together on Christmas morning. He wanted to open them right away, but we bathed Will and then Will went down for a nap shortly after breakfast. I was so happy that we could shower before opening presents. I really like to get ready for the day right away in the morning, and then do whatever. Jordan loves to sit around in his jammies all day. He is also used to opening presents early in the morning growing up, but I am used to my parents making us clean the whole house and go to church before presents, so waiting is not a big deal to me. Luckily, I won out since Will fell asleep before we could open presents. While he slept, Jordan put together his new toy, and I made food for my Mom's house. When Will did wake up, we opened presents, and Will did so well. He makes the cutest face when he concentrates...almost like a little bird. His eyes look slightly crossed and he puckers his lips. He did this the whole time trying to unwrap the presents or when playing with his new toys.

In the afternoon, we went to my Mom and Dad's house. We had an awesome dinner, and then opened presents. Again, Will didn't make it too long before having to nap again. The highlights were that he got a wagon from my parents, an inflatable Santa with weighted bottom to knock around from Great Grandpa, a homemade fleece blanket from Auntie Laura, stuffed animals and books from Auntie Katie, Uncle Kevin, Auntie Mary, and cousin Lucy. He also received a bunch of new clothes. We had a lot of fun with Will.

The most annoying part of the night was when we had to find the pickle ornament on the tree. It is so dang tough for me to find it since it blends in so well, and the tree looks like it is on fire since my brother wrapped 1800 lights on the tree. Having light sensitive eyes, the tree is like my worst nightmare. My sisters, Jordan and I were on the search for a long time, and Jordan finally found it. Of course, he doesn't tell anyone that he did, he just slowly walks away and says he gives up. Laura noticed that he found it, and she also slowly left and said she gives up, too. That left me and Katie looking and fighting over good position for a while before we realized that we had been duped. What a guy. I can't believe my own husband allowed me to continue to look. We are supposed to be a team, but he clearly wanted to sleep on the couch that night.
Overall, we had a wonderful time with our families, and especially within our own little family unit. We are so blessed with such a sweet little boy above all of our many blessings, and are so thankful for his sweet spirit. We hope that you enjoyed your Christmas celebrations and remembered to incorporate our Savior, too!

Rubber Ducky, you're the one!

Will has found a new toy to stick into his mouth: his Rubber Ducky! He sticks the tail feather in his mouth and chews on it. The toy is fairly skinny so it is the perfect size! It looks so funny to see the ducky move up and down without Will even holding it!

MMM MMM Good

Will is starting to have an appetite for more than just milk: his toes! Anytime Will is on his back, especially when he does not have bottoms on, he loves to try to put his feet in his mouth. He does it while I change him, while he plays on the floor, or even when he sits in his Bumbo chair! It is really neat to watch him. He tends to roll from side to side, trying to keep his balance. He does this for a while, too, so I can actually let him play by himself for a while and do something on my own! Of course, if he notices that my full attention is not on him, he decides his feet aren't that interesting after all.

St. Nick

We had a lot of fun celebrating St. Nick this year. Jordan received a movie and some candy, I must have been naughty since I didn't receive anything :(, and Will received a bunch of teething toys. I think he thought his stocking was a teething toy, too! He also got two new pacifiers for 6+ months. They are actually quite a bit larger than the ones he uses now, and he seems to really like them! He was so cute-he held his toys in his hands, and tried to suck on them through the packages. You can see more pictures in the Family Photo Album link under William 4 Months. Stay tuned for a video, too! I can't wait for Christmas!!

Mommy's Little Helper

Will has really been into holding his legs up, especially once I begin to take off his diaper! We make a great team for diaper changes, but he does not like to put his legs back down when it is time for a new diaper.

Will's Doctor Appointment

Will had his four month Dr. appointment yesterday. He weighed in at 18 lbs, and 26.5 inches. Since his last appointment two months ago, he gained four pounds and two inches! We thought for sure that he would in the 20 pound range somewhere, and were shocked that he is only 18 pounds! He is in the 95 percentile for boys his age. He had to get four shots again, and did much better than the first round of shots two months ago. He did not hold his breath this time for what seemed to be forever. He just let it all out right away, as if to let us know we failed him by letting other people hurt him. It broke my heart. Today he is quite a bit more in pain than last time. He cries when I have to change his diaper, and he won't hold up his legs like Mommy's little helper. He does not like rolling over today, but still only wants to stand. I have to hold him most of the time because he is fussy. He fusses in the most interesting way: he keeps his mouth shut, almost in a smirk, and whines with his head pushed out like a little turtle. It kind of makes me want to laugh and say, "oh William...stop your fussing!!" He is currently napping, thank goodness! I hope he takes several naps today...more than usual! One can hope...

Rosey Cheeks

I just love that Will has his Daddy's rosey cheeks! Yesterday that seemed particularly rosey.

The Schaefer Squeeler

Will and Jordan were playing together the other night, and Will was going crazy laughing and squeeling! He is such a fun little boy! We really lucked out having him as our little treasure.

O Christmas Tree

The video is a little bit too dark, but we wanted to capture Will's first look at our Christmas Tree once all of the lights were on. He was tired and fussy, but stopped when he saw the tree all lit up! At the end, he is all smiles! This Christmas is going to be sooo much fun with our baby boy!

Will is (kind of) Sitting and Standing

We have been practicing with Will how to sit and stand. He loves being pulled from a laying down position to a sitting position, and from there to a standing position. He barely likes to just lay on his back anymore and prefers sitting up. He is getting so big and learning so much already! If you listen closely, you can hear him singing along to Clay Aiken's Christmas CD! Sorry it is sideways...I thought I would be able to turn it somehow, but can't figure it out!