Bye Bye Bottles

We have had a busy and exciting few weeks. The biggest news is that Will is no longer taking bottles! He did so well with the transition to drinking milk from his cup. He has some special sippie cups with straws that he uses for his milk and regular sippie cups that he uses for his water and juice. I started giving him his cup with milk at nap time last week. He didn't seem to care at all. On Wednesday night, I gave him a bottle (his last one, sniff, sniff!) before bedtime. He looked at it like he was sort of confused by it but took it. At that point, I realized that I probably should just make the switch all the way. So, last Thursday (July 10), Will had his first full day with no bottles! I am still amazed at how well he did with the transition. I really expected it to be more difficult.
Will is doing very well with eating table foods. He eats pretty much anything that we give him. He loves dried fruit, cheese (still!), hamburger, chicken, pancakes, fries (of course), bacon, crackers, breakfast bars, puffs and Cheerios. We are still working on trying to find vegetables that he likes. He will actually eat some baby food veggies, but doesn't like them steamed, fresh or from a can. I am hoping that it is an acquired taste and he will start enjoying them soon.
Will is quite the character. I laugh so much during the day when we are just hanging out and playing. He loves to play outside. Most afternoons, we go out to play for an hour or so after nap and snack and before dinner. He gets so dirty that we have to come straight in and have a bath! He loves to play in his sandbox and in his little pool. He really likes to play ball. He will carry around a basketball(full size) and look up at the basketball hoop like he is planning to shoot it! He will also roll or kick a ball around the yard. Most days, Will and I take a walk in the morning. He enjoys looking for dogs, cats, birds, and squirrels. He gets so excited when he sees or hears an animal.
Will is really starting to enjoy having us read to him. I read to him before his naps and bedtime. Several times during the day he will bring one of us a book to read to him. He is also starting to want us to read the same book over and over. Today Burt came home for lunch and Will had him read Go, Dog, Go about five times in a row! He really likes to look at the pictures in the books and will sometimes just sit and look at his books.
Will is still taking two naps some days and only one others. It all depends on what time he gets up in the morning and how busy we are. He is still doing really well sleeping through the night (YAY!). It is always fun to listen to him waking up from his nap or in the morning. He will sit in his crib and "talk." Every now and then we will recognize words. Sometimes we hear "Da-Da up." Most of the time he just jabbers. Yesterday morning he was clearing his throat! I am not sure how he learned that.
We are still trying to teach Will some signs for common words. He doesn't use many of them, but he will usually do the sign for finished if I ask him if he is finished (after a meal or snack). Last Wednesday (July 9) I was getting ready for church while Burt and Will finished dinner. All of a sudden, Burt came rushing into the bedroom and did a sign and asked me if that was the sign for more. I told him yes and I asked him why. He said that Will had just signed it to him because he wanted more raisins.
We are still working on teaching Will different body parts. Right now, he knows where his tongue, hair and hands are. He is still getting confused with ear, eyes and nose. He loves to stick out his tongue when we ask him where his tongue is.
Will is really starting to talk a lot. He is even putting two words together. It seems so weird to hear him talk. Here are some examples that I think are really cute!
*One day I had combed his hair. I had to use water to get it to lay down. Will reached up and touched his hair and said "hair." A few seconds later he said "wet."
*We were out to dinner one night and Burt handed will a Cheerio to eat. He took it and said "Thank you da-da."
*We were getting ready to go somewhere, so we had Will playing in his pack and play while Burt and I got ready. He was screaming (not crying, just screaming). Every time we would look at him he would say "What?"
* He was looking out the window and I asked him what was out there. He said "bird."
* After dinner last night I asked Will if he was finished. He said "Yes."
* While Burt and I were cleaning up after dinner last night, Will was playing in the kitchen and was looking out the window. He got all excited and said "Da-da cat."
* If we sing "La, La, La, La Tonight" Will will try to sing when we stop.
* Some of his other sayings "Oh boy!", "There it is", "Oh good."
Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Also, I have added new links on the left of the page. There is one to his birthday pictures and also one to June pictures. Enjoy!
Trying spaghetti for the first time. He didn't like it that much, but he enjoyed making a mess!

After eating a blueberry breakfast bar.

Cuddling with his stuffed puppy.

Playing ball outside

Turtle shell surfing...

Will showing off his new frog backpack.