A new blog is born....

You probably noticed that the blog has a new and improved look (which took me 3 hours!). The past 20 months have been spent documenting Will's arrival into the world and his many milestones and adventures up to this point. One of my main purposes in documenting all of this into a blog was to keep track of everything Will has done developmentally and more so that I could create a first year book for him (since I didn't do a traditional baby book). Well I made the first year book so now I have a lot to live up to with baby Jack. Therefore, the blog has been updated to reflect our growing family and the start of a new chapter of many more exciting milestones not only for Will but now for Jack as well. I can already tell that we are going to have our hands full with two kids but the blog will continue, I am just going to have to be a little more creative in finding the time to update!

Welcome Baby Jack!!

Jack Edward Dugas
November 17, 2009
8 lbs 8 ozs

Happy and healthy...more to come soon!!

Bye

Will's new thing is saying goodbye and waving whenever someone leaves. He knows exactly when to say it and always says bye to Eric each morning when he leaves for work. In fact, Will likes saying it so much that he says bye all time...even when he goes from one room to the other.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year with Will. It was so much fun because it was his "first" real trick or treating experience. Last year he didn't know what was going on but this year he seemed to really enjoy it!

We started off the day by carving our pumpkin. At first Will wasn't too into it, he preferred eating his snack and watching Eric but once Eric opened the pumpkin, Will enjoyed pulling out the insides. Our pumpkin didn't last very long...we were victims of late night pumpkin smashing. Fortunately, Will wasn't too attached to the pumpkin so he didn't even notice it was gone the next day.














Later in the afternoon, we went to a pre-trick or treat party at a neighbors house down the street. I met the mom at a gym class that Will and I go to and we started talking only to find out we lived a few houses down from each other! Turns out there are several other families all close by with kids the same age so we got to celebrate Halloween with our new neighborhood friends which was really fun. Will looked adorable dressed as a lion and actually kept his costume on the entire time.









Before it got too late, we all headed out for a little trick or treating with the kids. Will caught on surprisingly quick when it came trick or treating. He would go up to the front door, put his bucket down, take a piece of candy, put it in his bucket, pick it up and walk away. We tried the thank you part but he isn't quite there yet.




Here is Will at the first house. It took him one house for us to show him you weren't supposed to go into the house but instead just stand at the front door and wait for the candy. After we showed him what to do, he caught on very quickly and was always the first one up to the door waiting patiently for his candy.

Eyes and Ears and Mouth and......Cooooookie

Here's a little clip of the Will man. His favorite word of the moment is cookie. He loves cookie monster and all of his snacks are "cookies".

The Big Move

It's official...Will is now fully transitioned into his big boy bed. After procrastinating over buying a mattress which delayed the move, Will finally got to sleep in his new bed this past weekend. I still can't believe my baby is out of his crib and is now sleeping and napping in his bed. We wanted to make sure we had moved him into his bed before the baby came so we could give him time to adjust. Well, he has adjusted better than I thought he would. There really wasn't even much of a transition period (knock on wood). He happily went right into the bed and hasn't looked back since.

The first night I was putting him to sleep I got butterflies in in my stomach because I couldn't believe that he was old enough to be sleeping in a bed. It seems like just yesterday we were putting him into his crib for the first time and here we are making room to put another baby in the crib!

Here's Will right before going to sleep. He looks so little in this big bed!




After reading a couple books, and kissing him goodnight...he was asleep in a matter of minutes. Success!!!!

Last night we caught him in a very interesting position. Thank goodness for bed rails!!

Fall Fun

It's hard to believe it is already the middle of October. And it is harder to believe that it actually snowed today and accumlated on the ground. What?! I'm not quite ready for the snow but it does get me excited for the holidays to arrive. Luckily we got the chance to take Will pumpkin picking last weekend before this cold weather set in. As parents, I think we were more excited to take Will for pumpkins than he actually was being there. We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch which Will enjoyed, grabbed a few pumpkins (and of course lots of pictures) and headed back to the farm for some lunch. Here are some pictures from the day.

Hayride out to the pumpkin patch




Will wasn't too impressed with the pumpkins but he did seem to find the gourds rather interesting.













I kept trying to get him to stand with the pumpkins but he wanted nothing to do with them. Last year was a lot easier to snap pictures because we could prop him next to the pumpkin and he couldn't move anywhere.



Now we can't wait to carve the pumpkins!

18 Months

I can't believe that Will is already 18 months....1 1/2 years old!! Gosh..where did the time go? It amazes me everyday how much he knows and understands. He is able to communicate to us in his own way even though he is still limited on his vocabulary. He takes Eric's or my hand and brings us to what it is that he wants. He can do so much now that it is hard to even track everything that he is learning because daily it is something new.

We are having so much fun with him now especially as his little personality is developing more and more each day. Here are a few things about Will that we love so much....

1. Will LOVES to give hugs. He hugs everyone he can, even complete strangers at times. It is the best when I pick him up at daycare and he comes running over to me with open arms and a huge smile and gives me the biggest hug. It melts my heart every time he does it. When it comes to other little kids though, he sometimes goes a little overboard with the hugs and doesn't know when to stop (i.e. he has no concept of personal space). At daycare he was hugging one of the little girls a few too many times and in an attempt to tell him to back off, she bit him on the shoulder. I believe that was the same day that his daily report card listed his mood as "huggy".

2. Will is Mr. Social Butterfly. He loves being around other people and always manages to make sure he is in the middle of what is going on. Last week at daycare, it was snack time for his class and all the kids were coming in from playing outside. By the time Will got into the room, the first table was already full so he would have had to sit at the second table which at that current moment was empty. Will decided he did not want to sit by himself so he walked over to the second table, grabbed a chair, dragged it over to the other table and squeezed his way in because he wanted to sit with everyone else. It made me laugh at the fact that he knew enough to drag the chair over himself so he wouldn't be alone.

3. He always wants to help out when he can whether it is helping me by putting his dirty diaper in the trash, or helping one of his friends put on his shoe when it falls off. Will is always aware of what is happening with others. We were at the playground and him and another little boy were playing with one of the toys. Both boys had their sippy cups and were chatting away with each other. The other little boy finished playing and went to the other side of the playground but left his sippy cup next to Will. Will noticed it and stopped playing immediatly because he wanted to bring the sippy cup to the little boy. He walked across the playground, handed it to the little boy, turned around, walked all the way back and continued playing.

4. Will is so caring of other people. His teacher told me that he will not go down for his nap until he has helped his teachers put all the other little kids to bed. He sits with them and sometimes rubs the other childs back in an attempt to help them go to sleep. Once everyone is asleep, then he will go and lay down on his own mat.

Here are a few pictures from the month.....


Giving hugs to Ali...

And more hugs for Jack

Getting himself in trouble in the woods trying to keep up with Jack.

Hanging out with his friend Avery.


Playing like a big boy

Trip to the Farm

Since we have moved back, we have been exploring the area finding fun things for us to do. We've gone to Mother Goose at the library, signed up for a gym class, gone to the playground, and took a trip to the Children's museum in the city (I missed Boston!!). Last week, Will and I visited a local farm near our house with some of our friends. It has been great re-connecting with friends who I haven't seen in a while since we have been in CT. We were planning on going to pick a pumpkin and have lunch but unfortunately, the pumpkin picking didn't start until the next day. However, we still had a lot of fun feeding the animals and playing on the playground. Here are some pictures from our day.




Will loved feeding the animals and had no fear going right up to them and having them eat out of his hand.



Walking with the big kids. Jack is almost 3 and Avery is 4 but Will tried his hardest to keep up with them. He was particularly fond of Avery and kept giving her hugs and holding her hand while we were walking around the farm.




Hey Bobby..check out those chickens in there!

Last Days of Summer

We headed off to the Cape this Labor day weekend to enjoy that last days of summer. The weather is already starting to feel a little like fall which makes me sad because I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer just yet. It went by way too fast especially since we have been so pre-occupied with the move that I feel like I didn't even get to enjoy the days as much as I should have. We had a great weekend though spending time with both of our families..mine in Falmouth and Eric's in Eastham. Here are some pictures from the weekend....

Eric's parents are building a new house so we spent the day there while Eric helped his dad work on the house. Will even joined in for a few minutes to help his Papi.

The beach is only a 5 minute walk from the house so we packed up the wagon and headed over for a late afternoon swim after the guys finished up on the house.


The great part about this beach is that the tide goes so far out which is perfect for little kids. Will was able to run around and the water wasn't much higher than his chest.




Mr. Social found himself a friend at the beach. He made a beeline for this little girl when he saw her then he continued to talk to her for a few minutes. He must have been saying something good because next thing we knew, she was leaning in for a kiss! When he was done talking, he gave the little girls mom a hug and went off on his way.

I think this is my favorite picture ever. Doesn't he look like he is like 3 years old..not 1 1/2! The boy has no fear when it comes to the ocean and he was practically diving head first into the water. He would trip and go under water and bounce right back up with a big smile on his face. In this picture, he was just sitting in the water up to his neck and having such a good time.



Here are a few pics of Eric rescuing Will from one of his under water adventures.

Home Sweet Home

It is hard to believe that we have been back in MA for a little over a month now. For the most part we are settled into our new home and actually have unpacked all but 3 boxes. We have been on a few too many shopping sprees getting new furniture for the house but everything is finally starting to come together. We still have some painting to do and hanging pictures but overall it feels like home and we love it. Our neighborhood is amazing and we have met a few of the neighbors who have stopped by to introduce themselves. Will has settled right in too and loves all the space he has to run around and run away from mommy and daddy (his new favorite thing to do).

Here are some pictures of Will enjoying his big new backyard...his favorite place to be.

Baby Update

77 days and counting! We are excited to announce that baby Dugas will be arriving on November 19, 2009! I was able to schedule baby D's birthday at my last doctor appointment so now we know it is a boy and we know the exact day he is going to be arriving. Some would say that spoils all the surprise but I actually really enjoy knowing this information. I am so curious to know what the little guy is going to look like. I can't imagine him not looking like Will.

Time is going by so quickly. Every once in a while, Eric and I look at each other and say "Are we ready for this again?". Middle of the night feedings...spit-up all over the place...two kids under the age of two. Will's world is going to be turned upside down and he has no idea. But once we get through the initial worries, we are so excited for him to arrive. Part of me feels like the day can't get here soon enough and the other part of me wishes I had a little more time. The first 7 months flew by and I now the last 2 are going to go even faster. Here is a picture of me at 28 weeks. We took advantage of the background in our new back yard.

What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails! Well, I don't know about the puppy dog tails but I can tell you that Will has the frog part covered! We were in our backyard last week and Eric found a frog and brought it over to show Will who thought it was the greatest thing in the world. It was so funny because Will went right for the frog and had no fear in picking it up and walking around the yard holding it in the air. Thank goodness for Eric because I wouldn't go near it except to take a few pictures. Is this what I have to look forward to with boys??

Oh..this looks like it would be fun to play with.

What's all the yelling about mom? It is only a frog.


I can handle it from here dad.

Hey..stop trying to jump out of my hands!


I love frogs!

Bad Habits

Uh oh...are we teaching him bad habits already?



You caught me!!

The Babbler

It has been way to long since my last post. We have been busy getting settled into the new house. Definitely not as easy to get things done with a 17 month old running around trying to get in the middle of what you are doing. Thank goodness for grandparents close by. I just wanted to post a quick entry of Mr. Chatterbox. I'm not sure where the boy gets it from but he is a talker. It is only a matter to time before Will breaks out into full on sentences. He looks at us and has a conversation with arm gestures and everything as if we knew what he was saying.

His new daycare woman always tell me how talkative he is during the day with the other kids. The other day his report card said that he was in the corner with another little girl who is a little bit older. Will was babbling away at her and waving his arms. The little girl yelled to the teacher..."William is talking to me". The teacher asked what he was saying her to...she paused and said "I don't know!" He will talk to anyone who will listen!

While most of what he says, we don't understand, Will's vocabulary does consists of the following words:
Mama
Dada
Doggie
Ca-ca (Car)
Ba (Ball)
More
Whas dis? (What's this)

I've been trying to get Will talking on video forever but of course every time I turn on the video, he stops talking. I finally caught him the other night in a particularly chatty mood.

Goodbye Connecticut

It is hard to believe that two years has come and gone so quickly and within these two years so much has changed for us. While we are excited to start the next chapter in our lives, we are sad to leave Ridgefield and the wonderful friends we have made during our time here. It is our last night here in Connecticut and I still don't quite think it has hit me that we are leaving for good. When I think back to when we first decided to move to Connecticut, I never imagined how much our lives would be changed for the better.

We arrived in Ridgefield as a family of two eager to settle in and make new friends.....



....and we are leaving Connecticut as a family of three plus a second bundle of joy on the way, with many new friends and an experience we won't ever forget.




I had to borrow this quote from my friend Janelle's blog because it captured everything so perfectly and it made my cry......

"Before you walk into your home with your new baby, stop and mentally photograph this house so that you can keep it in your heart forever. In this mobile society of ours, there's a good chance that your child will not live in this place till she goes to college. You may move two or three more times during her childhood, especially if you find you like this mothering business and have more kids. But this will always be Bethlehem to you, the place where your family was born. You may not know it yet, but your most precious memories are about to be created here, it's where you brought your first child. Welcome home!"

Bouncing Baby......

BOY!! Yep...there was no denying that Baby Dugas #2 is a boy. We are so excited that Will is going to have a little brother who will be close in age (only 20 months apart!) and will have a friend to play with all the time.

Everything looked good on the ultrasound...two arms...two legs...fingers and toes! Here's a sneek peak at the little guy...I think he already looks like Will...hahaha.

Beach Bum

We spent 4th of July week at the Cape this year and despite not having the best weather, we were able to make it to the beach a few times. Will LOVES the beach especially the water. The boy has no fear. He will run straight into the water and if we didn't stop him, he would keep going. It is amazing how kids have no sense of temperature either when it comes to the water. It could be freezing but that doesn't stop him. Here are a few pics....

Enjoying some lunch on the beach before heading down to the water

Will loved playing and talking to all the other little kids on the beach. This poor unsuspecting boy was walking near Will with a popsicle. Will went right up to him and starting talking and waving his hands at him for a good 10 minutes. It was hilarious because he wouldn't stop. The other little boy was just looking at Will, eating his popsicle and Will was talking to him about something. Maybe he wanted a bite?

Big Brother

Will is going to be a big brother soon! We are expecting Baby Dugas #2 on November 28th! I am already 20 weeks..halfway through my pregnancy. Time has flown so quickly this time around especially since we are busy chasing a VERY active little guy all over the place.

We are very excited for the new addition to the family but it is still hard to believe that there is going to be another little person in the house. We always knew that we wanted the kids to be close but it feels like just yesterday that Will was born (and it really wasn't that long ago!). So far the pregnancy is progressing exactly the same as the first (another boy??) which is great.

We are going to be finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl very soon. I was able to convince Eric this time that we needed to know so we will see which way is better...to know or not to know? Stay tuned for the news...

My Friend Jack

We were able to see our friends Jamie, Jay and their son Jack and new baby Ali over the 4th of July weekend. It is so much fun now that Will is a little older and he is actually able to keep up with Jack. There is about a 1 1/2 age difference between them but that didn't stop them from playing together. They were having a great time playing in the water as Judu was spraying their feet.




There was something pretty interesting in this pot that they were playing with. Jack would pull out a leaf or stone and Will would get all excited.



Jack is a great sport too because Will likes to hang all over him (see pictures below) and Jack doesn't protest which a lot of little kids would normally do.

Our Little Golfer

It looks like we might have another golfer in the family. Here are some pictures of Will practicing his skills on the golf course. I'm actually impressed how well he does with a golf club...he has really good hand eye coordination and can hit the ball with the club. Maybe we have the next Tiger Woods in training?

(I'm not quite sure what I was doing wrong with my camera but the picture color came out kind of weird. I'm still figuring out how to use the darn thing.)

14 Months

It has been a busy few weeks for us while we continue the search for a new house (which is turning into the never ending search!). I'm anxious to get our housing situation under control so we can begin enjoying the summer. Meanwhile, Will is becoming more of a little boy every day. It is amazing...I was just looking at him today wondering when did he all of a sudden he turn into a little boy who can communicate with us by pointing at things, drink out of big boy cup, say his first word, and more! I have been slacking on my picture taking so my selection is a little limited. Here are some highlights from the month:

- Carries on a conversation for a few minutes, however, we have no clue what he is saying. He tends to like to have a conversation when we are taking things out of the refrigerator. He stands behind us talking up a blue storm and pointing at different things in the fridge.

- Loves to drink out of a cup or water bottle...especially when he sees Eric or I drinking out of one. If we try to give him his sippy cup, he pushes it away until we give him the big boy cup. He actually does really well drinking out of it with minimal spills.

- Said his third word....doggy!!! (mama and dada were the first two) Only problem is that everything is a doggy to him....Lucy our cat is a doggy...girls walking down the street are doggy. Now we just have to work on the use of the word doggy.

-Does not sleep past 6:00am..regardless of what time he goes to bed (what I wouldn't give to sleep until 7am one morning!). And I have somehow created a monster who will not fall asleep without being rocked. He will grow out of this..right?

- Loves other little kids..especially the ladies. He likes to give hugs from behind and rest his head on their backs. However, his hug turns into a tackle and both babies end up on the floor..usually with Will on top looking up at us with an innocent look on his face.

- Loves his Sesame Street sing along video. We put him in front of the video and he does not move once the entire show. We have to put a blocker in front of the tv stand otherwise, he will stand with his face about 10 inches from the screen.

So long.....but not goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy and it is going to be extra hard saying goodbye to our new friends here in CT. I was fortunate enough to meet Janelle, Mendy and Katherine through our Deloitte connection...our husbands! We met back when Janelle and I were both about 6 months pregnant and Mendy and Katherine's babies were about 3 months old. I remember leaving that evening thinking I really enjoyed hanging out with those girls..I hope we see them again! And here we are, over a year later and we have become good friends and the thought of us all leaving makes me so sad.

Mendy and Casey (and husband Kirk!) were sweet enough to give us all a going away gift that we would remember forever. We all got together for a farwell photoshoot (with photographer extraordinaire...Casey) at a park in Ridgefield. It was so much fun chasing the kids around trying to get them all to stay in one place for pictures. Of course that didn't happen for long but Casey was able to get some great shots of everyone.

Girls..you have no idea how much I am going to miss you! It has been so much fun getting to know you, your husbands and babies. I hope we stay friends for a long time and keep in touch often!

Here is a slideshow of all our pictures. The Youtube video doesn't do the pictures justice though. Enjoy!!

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Or here is a link to the album itself.

Goodbye from Casey

Playgroup Photo Shoot

As a going away gift, Casey took photos of our playgroup so we had one final group shot of everyone. Since both Will and I and Rylee and Janelle are moving away, each baby got their own special photo shoot theme. Rylee's theme was a tea party and everyone had to dress in their summer dresses or for Will and Pike, in their button down shirts. Will's theme was country club..aka polo shirts with "popped" collars. Of course trying to take pictures of 13 babies is challenging especially after trying to get them to pose for over an hour. But in the end the pictures came out adorable and we have some great memories to take with us back to MA. Thanks Casey for taking these great pictures!!

Will's First "Official" Haircut

We took Will to get his first official haircut this weekend (no more mommy haircuts). I thought he was going to squirm all over the place but he did suprisingly well. He sat on Eric's lap and really didn't move the entire time while she was cutting his hair. He got a certificate at the end along with a few pieces of his hair (which I never quite understood the point of). Will looks like such a little boy now..no more baby curls! Here are a few pictures.



Uh...what is going on here???




The finished product!

And here are a couple of Will with his new haircut playing with his new tricyle.

Road Trip 2009

We took our first family road trip to Myrtle Beach a couple weeks ago. We went with our friends Jim and Katherine and their son Justin. The guys were the ones to actually plan the trip from start to finish. Katherine and I didn't have to do a single thing except pack and get in the car and drive down there.

Yes...we actually drove the 12 hours to Myrtle Beach with Will. He was surprisingly good in the car. We split the drive over 2 days and did 6 hours each day. For the most part it was smooth sailing except for the hellish traffic we hit in Washington, DC. Dear lord..I don't know how those people deal with that on a daily basis. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player and a few Seasame Street sing-a-long DVDs which helped keep Will occupied for a number of hours in the car.

We rented a 3 bedroom condo on the beach. The guys got to golf 4 days during the week and Katherine and I spent time with Will and Justin on the beach. The beach with two little boys is a bit challenging at times...or maybe I should say at all times. The first (and biggest) challenge was the sand. As you know..once you get any part of your body wet and then touch the sand..it's all over. Will and Justin were basically covered from head to toe with sand at all times. And trying to keep it out of their mouths, eyes, ears and any other body part was near impossible. The two of them probably ate a pound of sand each during the week.

The next biggest challenge was trying to keep them in one place..and just trying to get them to that one place to start with. At times, we felt like we were trying to corral cattle...Katherine on one side..me on the other trying to keep them in line and focused on staying in one area. Despite this, we had a great time at the beach and actually got a little sun time in as well which was a bonus.

Overall we had an awesome vacation and hope that this is the start of a great tradition. Here are some pictures from our trip!


Will loved the water. Especially when the tide went out and he got to play in the little pools in the sandbar. He also loved sitting in the water and getting hit by the waves. If we had let him, he probably would have dove right into the waves.






It was great for Will to have a playmate on vacation with him. He loved following Justin around the entire week. Everytime Justin turned around..there was Will right behind him.



I know I'm his mother..but how cute is he?







Hey Justin..want to go buy a t-shirt? My parents are paying.

Dinner at Joe's Crab Shack









Our last night....

Last Get Together

A few weekends ago, we had our last get together with our Deloitte friends we have become so close with over the past two years. Janelle, Ryan and Rylee are heading to Cincinnati, Katherine, Jim and Justin to Florida, Mendy, Kirk and Casey are staying here in CT for another year and Kerry, Jeff and Connor are also staying in CT. This was the last time we were able to get everyone (husbands, wives and babies) together before we all leave. It is so sad that we are all going to be so far away from each other but I know we will all keep in touch and hopefully see each other every so often.

Mendy and Janelle are both expecting so we also had a surprise mini baby shower for them. Mendy is due any day now and is having a little girl. Janelle is due in September and just found out she is having a little boy!



Mendy opening her gifts

Ryan, Janelle and Rylee

Poor Janelle...every time she is feeding Rylee..there is Will sitting right next to her waiting for Janelle to also feed him. He probably ends up eating half of Rylee's food.

Feeding the Ducks

We took a trip to Essex this weekend to visit my Auntie Carol and Uncle GT. The last time we visited, Will was only 7 or 8 months old so it had been a while since they last saw him. The first visit, Will was content to sit on the rug and play with his toys. This time he was all over the place..wanting to see and touch everything. His favorite was the washer/dryer because he could see his reflection in it. To keep him occupied, we took a walk down to the water to feed the ducks. Will actually walked all the way from the house to the water on his own. It was a long walk for a little guy but he was determined to make it all the way on his own. We gave him a few pieces of food to feed the ducks and he understood that he need to throw the food on the ground but didn't quite have the throwing part down. Instead, he would just drop it at his feet. Here are some pictures from our day.





This looks easy...I can feed the ducks!

Here ducky, ducky...

Uh oh..mommy?

Catching up on Will

Wow..I didn't realize it had been so long since my last blog! The past few weeks have been flying by and we have been so busy trying to finalize our move back to MA, find a house, vacation, etc. Will is going on 14 months this week and has had so many accomplishments the past two months. He is one active little boy! If he is not sleeping, he is constantly moving around the house. He is getting pretty quick on his feet and I think he is going to be running (dear lord help us) very soon. He now has 10 teeth and eats just about everything.

His new thing to do is to either bring us a book or food and then turn himself around and back himself up and plop down in your lap. It is too funny. He understands when we tell him to sit down and when we ask if he wants milk. He still doesn't have a large vocabulary but has started to say "this" a lot. Everything he points at is "this".

Oh..I finally finished Will's first year book. Will officially has his very own 180 page coffee table book. It was soooo worth all the time I put into it because it came out adorable. I'm so excited to have such a great record of his first year.

I don't have many random pictures from the past couple months but will be catching up my blog with some things we have been doing over the past few weeks.

Easter

We had a fun Easter weekend in MA. It started on Friday when we headed to Needham. We spent the day trying to find a new daycare for Will for when we move back. That evening we hung out with our friends Jamie, Jay and Jack (cute pictures to come). Saturday my parents threw a Jack & Jill shower for family friends and then Sunday we spent Easter at Eric's parents house along with cousins, brothers and my parents.

Last year, Will was only 10 days old so we had a very low key Easter. This year was craziness because the boy does NOT stop. Now that he is walking, he is everywhere so we can't take our eyes off him for a second. Seriously, I have no idea how he has so much energy to keep going and going. But I'm not complaining, Will was so good even with so many people around. He was more than happy to go off and play with his cousins not even paying attention to where we were. Here are some pictures from Easter and of Will in his cute Easter outfit.





Will was helping Papi stock the cooler. He is in the stage where if he sees you doing something, he wants to do the same thing. It definitely slows the process down a little but it is so cute to watch him really get into it and try to help. Here you go Papi!




We had a mini Easter egg hunt for Will and Jakob. I really thought he would have enjoyed walking around and picking up the eggs. Instead, I think I picked up all the eggs and he was distracted by everything else except the eggs.


They did enjoy playing with the eggs once they were in the basket though.






Family photo session!!

Two Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

New Tricks

It's been pretty quiet in the Dugas household so I've been a little slow in my blogs entries. I'm working on putting together Will's first year blog book which has been taking up a lot of my time. I have been working on it for a month now and it is almost ready to be printed. Yeah! However, ever since Will turned 1, he has been on the fast track to toddlerhood. He has learned so much in the past couple of weeks it is amazing. It seems like almost everyday he is doing something new. I took him to his 12 month appointment last week and he is 29 1/2 inches tall and weighs 23 lbs 6.5 ounces. Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks:

- Will finally started to clap! Yes..most babies have already mastered this but Will was holding out on us. Now he will clap if we clap with him and he gets so excited when he does it.


- Will is a walking everywhere. He rarely crawls and even if he falls, he gets himself back on his feet and continues on his way. His favorite thing to do is chase Lucy around the house even though he will never catch her. Every once in a while she will sit still for a minute and allow Will to pet her. He is suprisingly gentle with her and just rubs her hair. If he is standing, he will bend down and try to look Lucy in the eyes...it is too cute.


- Will's favorite new game is to climb the stairs. When we start following him up the stairs..he looks back at us and smiles and then puts it into high gear. It's too funny..he thinks we are chasing him. He is able to crawl down the stairs too. After a couple weeks of showing him how to turn around and go backwards, he finally started doing it on his own.

- He carries everything up by his ear. I'm not sure why but whenever he picks up the remotes or bottle of shampoo, he always carries it on his shoulder by his ear. I wonder if he thinks it is like a phone?






- He will no longer eat if I try to feed him. He will turn his head as soon as I bring the spoon to his mouth. However, if I put the same food on his tray, he will gladly pick it up and feed himself. I guess he is starting to exert his independence. He also likes to hold onto his fork when he eats even trys to use it. He can't quite seem to get the food on the fork himself, but when I help him out he seems to know exactly what to do with the fork once there is food on it.

Spring has sprung...

Despite the brief snow shower we had this morning, we did get to enjoy a bit of spring weather this past week. Will and I took advantage of the nice weather and spent some time playing outside. Now that Will is walking around, he enjoyed exploring the yard and playing with the sticks. I can't wait for summer to start! Here are a few pictures:

Happy Birthday...Again?

Yes...Will had one final birthday celebration this weekend. This time we celebrated with our family and friends. It was such a beautiful day out..perfect for a 1st birthday party. We were even able to go outside for a little while and enjoy the weather.




Will wasn't too interested in opening the gifts himself...but he did enjoy playing with them afterwards. He got some great outdoor toys that are will be perfect in our our big new yard...a fun water sink..a tricycle..a big ride in car. His nana also made him a beautiful quilt.






Will was in awe when we brought him a cupcake with all the candles lit. At first he wasn't quite sure what to do and begin by sticking one finger at a time into the frosting. Once he realized that he liked it, there was no stopping him. In a matter of moments, he had the cupcake down to crumbs and he went into overdrive. Even though his nana tried to tell us that sugar was a depressant, for the next hour, Will was bouncing off the walls. It was actually quite entertaining.











Thanks to everyone for celebrating Will's first birthday with us! We are looking forward to next year!

Birthday Boy

Good morning birthday boy! We can’t believe you are 1 year old already. Where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday we were anxiously awaiting your arrival and here we are 1 year later and you are such an amazing little boy. We are so fortunate to have you in our lives and look forward to watching you grow up and celebrating many more milestones with you. We love you!!

Playgroup Birthday Party #2

On Friday we hosted playgroup at our house to celebrate Will's birthday. Eight of Will's friends came over to play. Of course we had cupcakes only this time Will was the only one eating. He is getting the hang of it though seeing that he is on his 4th cupcake this birthday season (only one more to go!). Here is the gang all sitting nicely.


Everyone enjoying the toy corner

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!






Here mommy..want to try some of my cupcake?


I hope you had a fun day today Will...get ready to start all over again tomorrow!

11 Months

In honor of my 11 month birthday, here are 11 things to know about me....

1. I LOVE peas. I can't get them in my mouth fast enough. If I had my choice, I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
2. I currently weigh 23 lbs 6 ounces. My mommy exaggerates and tells everyone I weigh 25 pounds.
3. I love bathtime and I especially love splashing. I just realized that I can move around in the tub and it is fun to lean over the side which mommy is not happy about.
4. My new favorite activity is sitting on the floor in the kitchen and going through the cabinets and pulling everything out.
5. My next favorite activity is playing with my basketball hoop and dunking the ball..can you say future Michael Jordan?
6. I hate to be left in a room by myself so I yell and cry until mommy or daddy comes back to get me.
7. I still only have 6 teeth but my molars are starting to break through and man is it causing me to drool. My mommy calls me a snail because I leave a path of wetness behind me.
8. I'm starting to get the hang of walking my own. I still prefer to crawl or cruise along all the furniture but I can take 6 steps before I fall.
9. I don't have a favorite book because I can't sit still long enough to let my mommy read one to me. I know my mom's favorite book is 'The Monster At the End of this Book' and she reads it all the time...so I think that will have to be my favorite book too.
10. I love typing on the computer and imitating my mommy and daddy. Sometimes I hit the keys a little too hard and then I am banned from using the computer.
11. I love to smile and am always happy (except when I'm hungry or tired).

Made with Love

I've been trying my hand at several different hobbies lately but wanted to find something that I could easily pick up and put down and didn't involve too much of a time commitment at any one time. So I thought I would try my hand at knitting. I've knitted a scarf in the past which wasn't too exciting so I figured I'd dive right in and try knitting a sweater for Will. There is a cute little knitting store in downtown Ridgefield and the ladies who worked there were super helpful. They pretty much gave me free knitting lessons because I went in just about every week to figure out what the next step was. I finally finished the sweater this week (just in time for Will to grow out of it!). I didn't intend for it to be all stripes but I kind of got carried away and then there was no turning back so I just had to make the entire sweater strips. Will was very excited about his new sweater. My next project is a cotton sweater for the summer.....

Playgroup Birthday Party

Who would have thought that almost one year later, our playgroup is still going strong and the friendships even stronger. Over the course of February and March, all of the babies turn one year old. So in typical playgroup fashion, we had a big party to celebrate all the babies birthdays thanks to some great party planners in the group. There was a sing along with Ana, pin the tail on the donkey, push toys, hand print craft, presents, cupcakes, one year yearbook, picture slideshow and lots of food! Will had a blast and was one tired little guy by the end (as were Eric and I). We are looking forward to celebrating Will's birthday a second time come March 14th!

Playing with the toys



Singing with Ana!

Pin the tail on the donkey...or Will?


Cupcake time..chocolate with buttercream frosting..yum!

Group baby picture or at least we tried

The whole gang..mommies, daddies and babies

Happy Valentine's Day

Will you be my Valentine?


XOXOXO Love Will

First Steps

Will took his first 4 steps today completely on his own!! I think this is the most exciting milestone yet! My prediction of Will walking at 11 months is definitely not going to be too far off. More to come as soon as I can get a video of him walking.

Nana and Papi's

We headed back to MA this weekend to start the househunting search. I can't believe that our 2 years in CT is already almost over. Time went by so quickly and a lot has happened while we have been here. While I am excited to move back to MA to be closer to family and friends, I am sad to leave CT since we have made so many new friends while here. But anyways..that's a story for another day. After our house hunting trip, we stopped at Nana and Papi's house for a quick visit. Everyone came over for a big Sunday night dinner and Will got to spend some time with his cousin Jakob.

Nana and the boys


Will and his new best friend Jenna.


Hey..can I have some of that food?

Jakob wasn't too into the camera. He just looked at me like what are you doing lady?




And here are just some cute pictures of Will that I took. I'm still experimenting with my new camera.

Happy Birthday Noa

We celebrated our first playgroup birthday party today. Noa is the first baby to turn 1 and the rest are not too far behind. We celebrated at Amy's house with lots of food and dessert. We decided to get the babies in their birthday suits to enjoy a little cake of their own. The girls weren't too into the cake...they took one look at it and then crawled away.



The boys on the other hand couldn't get enough of it. Yummy...chocolate! It looks like Will has already enjoyed a little too much cake...look at that belly!!


Will needed to be hosed down in the sink afterwards.

Happy Birthday Noa!! Glad we were able to celebrate it with you!

Super Bowl Babies

Will got to watch his first Super Bowl this year with all of his friends. Our friends Kerry and Jeff hosted the party and had a ton of yummy food. Since Will's Patriots didn't make it this year, he was less interested in the game and more interested in eating every single piece of food he could get his fingers on including all crumbs on the ground, table, and his clothes. He was a maniac and it didn't help that all the food was at perfect arms reach for him on the coffee table.

Here's Will eating one of many crackers. We couldn't get him to stop for a minute to look at the camera. He was too focused on that cracker.




I think this was the first time it was just the boys (Rylee we missed you!) Here are the boys all ready for bed. Somehow we were able to get them all to sit still for a few minutes before having to leave.





Will enjoyed his first Super Bowl and he is looking forward to next year!

Almost There

It seems like just the other day Will wasn't even crawling and now he is getting around the room with lightning speed and pretty soon I think he will be walking on his own. Will is now able to walk around only having to hold on to someone with one hand. He is still a little wobbly but he can make it across the room. Here are some pictures of Will walking.

Gymboree

Will and I signed up for Gymboree classes this past week. Now that Will is crawling I figured it was a perfect thing for him to do...lots of space to crawl around and play with other kids. Today, Eric got to come along with us to open gym which is just open play time for anyone that wants to go. It was a bit crazy because there were kids of all ages there but Will had fun. I think he did more sitting and staring at the other little kids that actually playing. He is mesmorized by older kids..little boys in particular. We had fun and Will got to see his friends Olivia and Sydney.

Daddy's Boy

Will loves his daddy so much. When Eric is home, Will is almost inseperable from him. He lights up the second he sees him walk through the door from work and if Eric doesn't immediatly come over and say hi, Will starts crying. It is too cute. It makes me so happy to see Will with his dad because you can tell that Will loves him so much (and same goes for Eric). Will is a lucky guy to have such a wonderful father who would do anything and everything for him.





Will is daddy's little helper. Eric was fixing a table today and Will was right there alongside watching everything he was doing. He even tried to help out with the screwdriver.

Now I Know My ABC's

We had playgroup today at Jodi, Olivia and Sydney's house. It is getting a bit crazy now that all of the babies are mobile. And now that everyone is eating solid food, we just take turns rotating the babies in and out of the highchairs for feeding time. Of course we got our group picture in before leaving..each baby got their first or last initial. Will was trying to decide between the D and the W...but apparently both tasted yummy to him.








Up to this point, Will had been able to stay virus free despite almost everyone in playgroup coming down with the dreaded stomach bug. Well..we weren't so lucky anymore. That night after playgroup, Eric, Will and I went out for dinner and discovered that Will had the bug. Yes..we were lucky enough to figure this out at the restuarant when Will proceeded to projectile vomit all over the place. It was on the highchair..the floor..me..Will...EVERYWHERE! We tried to make as quick an exit as possible. Eric burrito wrapped his jacket around Will and carried him out of the restuarant while I stayed behind to clean things up. Needless to say, I think we are going to take a little break from that restaurant for a little while. Fortunately, the bug lasted less than 24 hours and Will was able to make a quick recovery.

Holiday Party

After having to reschedule the first playgroup holiday party due to the dreaded stomach bug, we were finally able to get together and celebrate the holidays (even though a little late). It was so nice to see everyone and share some holiday cheer again.

Emma had crocheted hats for each of the babies in the group. It was such a sweet thing for her to do. She picked different colors for each baby and she picked our favorite colors for Will..navy blue and green! Of course we had to take advantage of the photo opp with the hats...however, trying to get 9 mobile babies to sit still long enough for a picture is near impossible. Especially when you try and throw hats in the mix.


Will modeling his hat.









I wish I could tell you what was going on here...but I have no idea.









Thanks to Casey for taking all these great pictures!

10 Months

Will turned 10 months old today! I feel like I say the same thing each month...it's hard to believe another month down...only 2 more to go until the big birthday...he's changed so much...so'll I'll stop here and just give you a run down of all the fun things that went on this month with Will.

1. He finally learned to crawl! Just a few days shy of turning 10 months he did it. Now that he realizes how easy it is to crawl, he is EVERYWHERE! Now someone remind me why I was eager for him to crawl?

2. Not only is he crawling everywhere but he is "cruising" everywhere too. Since he figured out how to pull himself up, he is constantly pulling himself up on the couch, coffee table, chairs...anything he can use to walk himself around the room.

3. He has 6 teeth....4 on top and 2 on the bottom.

4. He is so smart and picks things up very quickly. He has a sports toy with a basketball net. Eric showed him how to put the basketball through the hoop and after watching a few times, Will started doing it on his own. Now he crawls over to the toy and just sits there putting the ball through the hoop.

5. He knows who we are...especially his daddy. I put together a photo album for Will with pictures of all the people in his life. The other day I was doing something in the living room and Will was playing around with his toys. All of a sudden it got really quite and I looked over and he was laying on his back holding the photo album above his head looking at the pictures. He was looking at a picture of Eric and I and started saying "da-da". It is so cute.

6. He is starting to eat more and more "grown up" food. He loves cut up bananas, peaches, blueberries and pancakes. He also eats chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, ravioli and meatballs. He is like a bottomless pit..he keeps eating and eating and eating.

7. He talks like crazy. And he loves to laugh. It is so much fun getting him to giggle when we make a funny face, or sing a silly song. He is our best audience.

On the Move

After weeks of doing the worm, Will finally figured out how to crawl. We were sitting in the living room playing with his toys when all of a sudden, he got up on his knees and crawled across the room! He has been doing a mix of crawling/dragging since then but I'm sure within a week, he is going to be flying all over the place. Check Will out!

Christmas Day

We continued the christmas excitement by spending the day at nana and papi's house. It is always nice to get together with the entire family and relax, eat, drink and enjoy each others company. I was also excited to show Will nana and papi's christmas tree. When I tell you this is the largest Christmas tree I have ever seen, I am not exaggerating. I remember the first time I was going to spend Christmas with Eric's family and he was telling me about their Christmas tree and how big it was. I kind of brushed if off thinking...oh yeah, I'm sure it's not that big. When I saw the tree, my jaw dropped open. It was enormous! I think this year's tree was around 16 feet tall. Here is a picture which I'm not even sure does justice on how big the tree really is.



I think Will was in awe of the tree too. He just stood there and stared at it for a little while.



hmm..did Santa come here too??

What are you all staring at?

I'm ready to open some gifts!


Not only was it exciting to celebrate Will's first Christmas but we also got to celebrate Jakob's first Christmas.





At the end of the day, we were all pooped but sad that Christmas was over. But this was definitely one of the best Christmas' ever. We can't wait for next year!!

Santa was here!!

Santa was here!! We were definitely more excited than Will come Christmas morning. He really had no idea what was going on as we were throwing gift after gift at him to open. But he happily obliged and opened the gifts (with the assistance of me, Eric, grandma and Judu). After we opened each gift, he inspected and touched it to see what it was. We moved from gift to gift until he was completly overwhelmed sitting in the middle of a big pile of toys and wrapping paper.












As soon as all the gifts were open, Eric was immediately put on assembly duty. Once he put everything together he quickly turned to me and said this would be the last Christmas morning that toys would be put together AFTER they were opened. Luckily for us, Will didn't know enough of what was going on to realize that he now had to wait to play with his toys. Once he gets a little older, he would probably be bouncing off the ceiling if we made him wait until we set them up!



THANKS SANTA!!

Twas the Night before Christmas

First off...it is hard to believe that Christmas is already over. Every year, there is so much anticipation for the holidays and then they come and go so quickly. Our anticipation for Christmas this year was multiplied because it was Will's first Christmas. We were so excited to see what his reaction would be on Christmas morning opening all his gifts. There was also the excitement in the fact that this was only our first of many more Christmas' we will spend with Will each one getting more and more exciting for us all. I had to control myself from going crazy with the gifts but Will definitely managed to make out like a bandit anyways (thanks in large part to the grandparents!)






If it was possible, I think my parents were more excited about Will opening his gifts than we were. They were so excited that within 5 minutes of walking through the front door, they were already giving Will some gifts to open. So we did Will's gifts in stages...two to start...a few more before dinner..and then the big load in the morning.



Look Mommy..I got some tissue paper!

Oh wait..you mean there is something else in there?

hmm...a bear? Don't even think about taking a naked picture of me on this thing.

Oh..what's in here?

Yeah..I love the Red Sox...but where are the toys?

Maybe there is something good in this box.

Socks?!?

Okay..I'm batting 0-2 here. Maybe this box has a toy in it.

Come on mommy..help me out.

A HAT!

Forget it...I'm going to play with my old toys.


Once we got through the second round of gifts, we headed off to spend Christmas Eve with some extended family.






When we got home from dinner, we followed our tradition of opening our gifts before going to bed. Of course, Will didn't get to open his gifts until the morning once Santa came. He did get to watch us open gifts since he refused to go to bed (until 12am). With all the excitment that night, he didn't want to take a chance on missing anything.

You'll notice I have no pictures of us opening gifts. I was too focused on tearing open my gifts. I did get the new camera I had asked for! So stayed tuned for some new and improved (hopefully) pictures. If you thought I took a lot before..just wait. Now I just have to figure out how to use the darn thing. Thank goodness Eric got me photography lessons to go along with the camera.

Let it Snow..Let it Snow..Let it Snow..

Will got his first taste (and I mean that literally) of the snow this weekend. We bundled him up and brought him into the backyard for a little sledding. At first he seemed to really enjoy it, until he took a face plant into the snow. Then everything went downhill (no pun intended) from there.

Whoa..I don't know about this Dad.

Hmm...this is actually kind of fun!



Why don't you hop in with me and let's go for a ride?



Here we are after the face in the snow episode. We took a brief break inside to warm up his face...but he still wasn't a happy camper after that.



Okay..I'm a little better now. But don't do that to me again!!

We've Been Elfed

Happy Holidays!!

9 Months

Will turned 9 months old today. Only 3 more months before the big number 1! As always, lots went on this month. We went to the doctor's today and he is weighing in at 21.7 lbs, which is 75% percentile and is 29 1/2 inches long which is also 75% percentile. His head is coming in at a whopping 18 3/4 inches which is 95% percentile..I'm still going with the big head, big brain theory! The doctor said we can start giving Will pretty much anything that we eat. Yikes..I guess this means I now have to find the time to start cooking for him? I think I might stick to the jar foods for a little bit longer and take baby steps towards cooking actual meals. I did make pancakes the other day for him which he loved.

I know I say this every month..but 9 months is the best age!! He is so active and aware of everything that is going on. He still loves to day "da-da" but we also hear lots of "ba-ba" and "ma-ma" (yeah!!). I'm trying to teach him "kitty" and show him Lucy but so far no such luck with that.

His favorite toy is still his music table because he gets to stand and play. He is getting really good at walking. I feel like he is going to take off any day now. We are still working on the crawling but he does a pretty good job of getting himself around a room doing his drag and pull maneuver.

He is sleeping 10 hours a night (yeah for us!) and takes two 1.5 hours naps a day (again..yeah for us!).

Here's some pictures of Will during the month:

Check out my teeth...I have 5 now!




Is this one for me?

Scared of Santa

To get in the holiday spirit, we brought Will for his first visit to see Santa. I was so excited to take pictures of him and really thought that he wouldn't mind being passed over to sit on Santa's lap....I was wrong.

The second we put Will in Santa's lap he started crying. From Will's perspective, he probably saw a large hulking figure covered in red fur with a head of white hair and a barely visible face. It didn't help that Santa wasn't very jolly. I think he was mad because we were cutting into his lunch time.

Oh well...I think it is a rite of passage for every parent (and child) to experience the screaming and crying. I'm sure this won't be the first time. Here are a few pictures I was able to get before having to rescue Will from Santa's lap.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks for everything we have. I am most thankful that we have a happy, healthy and beautiful baby in our lives this year. I couldn't ask for anything more and am so thankful that Will is here with us.

On top of that, I have an amazing husband, wonderful families and friends, a good job (yes I am thankful for that at the current moment) so I'm feeling pretty lucky!! Overall it was a great Thanksgiving spent with our families. It's very different having a baby around for the holidays..one because you don't get to relax like you used to be able to :-) and two because it definitely adds extra special meaning to the holiday and brings such a happy feeling.

Will and Judu Thanksgiving morning

Will got to meet his cousin Olivia for the first time. She moved to the Caymen Islands (lucky duck) and she was able to sneak away from work and come home to visit.

Will also got to see cousin Julie again


Hmm...this looks nice and breakable..perfect for me to play with.

Grandma..you better start baby proofing your house!

Always smiling...



The day after Thanksgiving we moved onto Eric's parents house and got to spend time with all the family. Will got to see his cousin Jakob again and was SUPER excited to see him. Jakob was not so impressed.


Will and Uncle Jeff

Will was enjoying being the center of attention and was taking full advantage of it!

First Steps

So Will may not have the crawling thing down but he did officially take his first steps on his own!! Maybe he will just skip crawling all together?? Yeah Will!!

8 Months

Seeing that my mommy apparently has been slacking on my blog, I've decided to take things into my own hand and write my own 8 month blog. I've got to keep my fans happy. Yes..it's true..I, William James, have turned 8 months old. I know, I find it hard to believe that I've been around for 8 months already too! Time goes by when you are having fun! It was a pretty big month for me if I do say so myself. While I still haven't quite learned how to crawl, I have been practicing really, really hard. It's tough when you weigh 21 pounds..but hey, I don't mess around when it comes to food.

Speaking of eating, I did learn how to use a sippy cup. Here's a picture of me with my cup.

I can even drink one handed!


I just started eating three meals a day. Now that I'm 8 months old..I had to cut back on the bottles. Those are for babies.

I also got two teeth and a third one coming in! Some of my friends in my playgroup who already had teeth were saying what a terrible experience it was so I was a little worried. However, it really wasn't as bad as everyone said. Now the molars..that's going to be another story.


My mommy calls me a "squirmy wormy" because I won't sit still. Can you blame me..I've been sitting still for 8 months now. I'm ready to get this party started and start moving. I LOVE to play with my music table. It is so much fun standing..much better than being stuck sitting on the floor. Sometimes when I get tired of holding myself up with my hands..I just rest my belly on the table.



And drum roll please...I'm getting the hang of standing on my own!


So that's it from me for now. I'm going to go practice my crawling..maybe Elmo can show me how. Hope you enjoyed my blog!

Will's First Tooth!

After months of drooling and chewing on everything he can get his little hands on, Will finally got his first tooth! Yay! It was a very exciting discovery and just one more sign that our little guy is growing so quickly!

You would never have known a little tooth was pushing its way through because it didn't seem to bother Will at all. Aside from some very rosy cheeks and increased drooling (which I didn't think was possible), he was his same old happy self. I hope they are all this easy! We can also see his second tooth about to pop through any day.

I tried my hardest to get a picture of his new tooth but every time the camera came out, the tooth went into hiding. I was able to snap one picture which he wasn't very happy about. You can somewhat see the little white tooth coming out.

Now the question is...do I have to start brushing his tooth?

Trick or Treat

Smell my feet...give me something good to eat! Happy 1st Halloween Will!! Will had a fun filled first halloween and we definitely enjoyed celebrating it with him. Our cute little dinosaur got to wear his costume 3 times and go to 2 halloween parties. He didn't seem to mind the costume despite not being able to see most of the time because the teeth were covering his eyes. haha. Here are some pictures from our activites.





No..Will is not crawling yet but he is well on his way. Here he is doing his best dinosaur impression.



On Halloween night, we celebrated with our friends and headed downtown for a little trick or treating. We didn't actually go door to door, but walked around and enjoyed seeing all the kids costumes.

Here are the happy (?) trick or treaters. Rylee and Will didn't get the memo that the Monkey was the costume of choice this year.

Ready to go trick or treating!

Rylee and Will always posing so nicely together

Dad and dinosaur

The moms


The day after Halloween, we had our playgroup party (thanks for hosting Jodi!). It was the first time that all 14 moms, dads, and babies were able to get together since meeting 7 months ago. It was a great time and of course we got some cute group pictures. Will didn't even mind having to wear his costume one more time.

The Babies

The Moms

The Dads

The Meltdowns

Sippy cups are not for Chardonnay

I'm a little late with this posting but I didn't want to leave this out. Two weeks ago, mommies and babies went to Mclaughlin Vineyards to go wine tasting. Yes..we do have the best playgroups ever! The weather was perfect and the vineyard was adorable. It was about 20 minutes from our house and before today, I didn't even realize that CT had anything like this.

After enjoying some wine, we went to a corn maze. What is a corn maze you ask? Well, it is an actual maze cut into a corn field. You start at one end and have to make it all the way through to the other side. I wasn't expecting it to be difficult but we were stuck in that maze for an hour..and we didn't even make it all the way through. We had to bail out at the emergency exit at checkpoint 9..there were 29! Oh well..it was a fun fall thing to do. However, trying to push the strollers over the fallen corn husks was a bit tricky. The people who work there were probably laughing at us after we ventured into the maze.

Cheerios

Since Will seems to have the eating thing down, I thought I'd see how he did with Cheerios. It is a big change in texture for him since all he is used to his pureed food. From the second the Cheerios got into his mouth, he hated it and couldn't get it out fast enough. However, the cheerios would just get mushy and stick to his tongue. I have to say, it was quite amusing to watch him try to eat them. Apparently, we are not ready for Cheerios quite yet. We'll have to give it another try in a few weeks.

Hmm..what are these small round things.

oooh..these taste and feel kind of funny in my mouth.

oooh...not good, not good.

OH MY GOD...I AM CHOKING!

Where can I spit this thing?

Phewwt!

What are you laughing at? Do I have something on my face?

Don't make me eat that again Mommy.

Pumpkin Festival

We went to a fall pumpkin festival in Stamford today. It is amazing how many festivals, fairs, etc. there are in the state of CT..and more specifically in Fairfield county. We met up with some friends and spent a couple hours walking around and enjoying the beautiful day.

Rub a Dub Dub....

Will's moved onto the tub! Will has graduated to his big boy bathtub. The infant tub just wasn't cutting it anymore seeing that when I put Will in it, most of the water exited over the side. So we had to say goodbye and move on to bigger and better things. We found this nifty blow-up bath tub that is perfect for him right now and he loves the fact that he can sit up and play with his toys. Now I have an excuse to go out and buy him some more bath toys...not that I really needed an excuse.






Hey mom..how's my singing?


And just to reminisce..here is a picture from his very first bath. Oh how quickly he has grown..sniff, sniff.

Give me the coffee and no one gets hurt

7 Months...

Our little guy is 7 months old...crazy! So much has changed in 7 months but it is all soooo worth it.

7 months ago...our house was somewhat in order...going to the mall meant shopping for me....Lucy got all the attention...laundry was done maybe once a week, sometimes once every two weeks if we could push it....working late was not an issue...Friday night meant a nice relaxing dinner out...weekends away required little thought...5am was considered the middle of the night...

7 months later...our house has become a smaller version of Babies r' Us...going to the mall means shopping for Will...Lucy who?....laundry is done almost every other day...working a minute past 5pm is a big issue...Friday night is bathnight and going to bed early...weekends away require two days advance planning....5am is my favorite time of day...playing peak-a-boo and hearing Will laugh is the best...I love Will more than words can explain.

And I wouldn't change it for the world!!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

I love the fall. It is my favorite season. The weather is beautiful...the trees are all changing color...it gets cool at night and you can snuggle under your blankets. It's the best!

This weekend we did some fall activities...apple and pumpkin picking. We went with our friends Jim and Katherine and their son Justin. The weather was beautiful...almost a little too hot. We went to an orchard not too far from our house. Everyone else in the Danbury area must have had the same idea because the place was packed!! There were hundreds of people there.

Will wasn't too impressed with the apple picking overall but he did enjoy licking the apples. hmm...maybe I should have wiped the apple off first?




He did seem to enjoy the pumpkins. To him, they probably just looked like bigger versions of his basketball. He kept hitting it with his hand, the way he does with his basketball.

I remember getting pumpkins when I was little and then carving them with my dad. I'm looking forward to when Will gets a little older and Eric and I can do the same thing with him.








Hey mom and dad...I found two pumkins over here!

Enjoying a Fall Day

Happy Birthday Casey!

I got to go to my first birthday party and man was it fun. My friend Casey turned 1 years old and his mommy and daddy threw him a big party. Here are some pictures from the day.

Sitting with the birthday boy


They had lots of fun toys for us to play with. My favorite was the dancing and singing duck.


Here I am with all of my friends...Casey, Rylee, Connor and Justin!

Rylee and I posing nicely for the camera

okay..I've had enough of this picture taking. Out of my way Rylee.

oops..I guess I shouldn't mess with Rylee!


I can't wait for my 1st birthday party!

And in this corner...

...weighing in at 19 lbs 7.5 ozs and a towering 27 1/2 inches...Will "the thrill" Dugas.

Will had his 6 month doctor's visit yesterday. Our little guy is still in the 75%-90% percantile for weight. What can I say, he enjoys eating! Today he polished off a bowl of rice cereal, a large (3.5 oz) container of sweet potato and corn, half a container of applesauce and then chased it all down with some pears. I wonder if this is any indication of what he is going to be like as a teenager? We are going to have to have our refridgerator stocked to keep up with this boy!

90% or not...he's perfect to me!

Will's Friends

Look! The babies are actually starting to play with each other. We've come a long way from when they used to just lay on their backs on the floor. However, we are also getting to the stage where if one baby sees the other playing with a toy that they think looks interesting, they just take it! It is too funny.

The babies are getting very mobile now too and everyone is at a different stage. Some are crawling, others rolling, some can stand on all fours and rock. Will doesn't move around too much. I put him on the floor in a sitting position and that is pretty much where he stays the entire time. The other babies are moving all around...and there is Will...just sitting there watching. hahaha.

Will playing with his girlfriend Rylee







Will, Sophia and Sydney hanging out.

Oops..where did Sydney go?

Jet-Setter

The Will-man got to go on his first airplane ride this past weekend. And to where of all places...Disney World! Eric had to travel to Orlando for the week to attend a training. We figured what better excuse than that to build in a vacation for us. So Will and I planned to fly down to Orlando on Friday afternoon to meet Eric and spend the weekend. I will admit, a part of me was very nervous about flying just the two of us, while the other part was thinking it would be a piece of cake.

After packing up all Will's stuff (and I say all Will's stuff because I think his clothes, toys, food, bottles, blankets, stroller, carseat, diaper bag and diapers made up about 90% of our luggage), Will and I drove to the airport, hopped on the shuttle and started our journey to Orlando. Figures that of all day's to travel, we have the worst weather. I was driving through a major rain storm and was thinking the entire time..please God, let our flight leave on time.

We got to the airport and made our way through security. I had gotten a helpful travel tip from a friend to bring my baby Bjorn (front carrier) so that I could be hands free while going through security. It was a HUGE help. I put Will in it and he was smiling and talking to anyone that would look at him.

When I got to the gate, the plane was delayed for 40 minutes. Okay...not bad..I can handle that. Then we found out it was going to be delayed for another hour. Uh oh...I looked at Will and was thinking...when is the meltdown going to begin...but...it never did! He was perfect the entire time. He did a little sleeping, entertained some of the people around us, and just hung out.

I had asked the woman at the gate if there were any open seats so I could bring Will's carseat on with me. There were so she re-issued my ticket. When I got on the plane, I realized that she had hooked us up. We were in the first row (right after business class) which is the bulk head and Will got his own seat. It made for a WONDERFUL flight. I got to do a little reading..took a little nap. Will was entertaining the women next to us and even let them hold him.

Here are some pictures of Will on his first plane ride.




Okay, so enough about the airplane ride. We had a pretty neat little Villa with a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. It worked out perfectly for us with Will.





On Saturday, we started off our day by going to downtown disney for lunch. We did a little shopping while we were down there since I was dying to buy Will something (and I think Eric was too). We got Will his first Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. Well actually we showed it to him in the store and then he wouldn't let go. So we figured he liked it and bought it for him. Look at the smile on his face!




We also had Will try on every hat possible in the store...seriously...how cute is he.




That afternoon, we got to see Ray and Ryan who are Eric's very close family friends. We had never met Ryan's son Kolby so it was really great to see them. We spent the day at the pool and then went out to dinner with them.



We got Will this nifty little float. I wish I had one of these!



I forgot to bring a bib to dinner so I had to made due with a lobster bib. Needless to say, it was a little big for Will but it did the job.


On Sunday, we went to Epcot. As usual, Will was perfect the entire day. We strolled him around the entire park from 11am to 4pm and he was happy as a clam...and it was hot out! The best part of the entire day was when we got to see the Disney characters and take pictures with them. I have no idea what was going through Will's mind when he saw them but he seemed to love it. At one point, he had Mickey's nose in his mouth! I'm not sure we actually got any pictures of Will looking at the camera, he was too interested in looking at the characters. Then, of course my camera decided to die during our time with the characters so we didn't get all the pictures. :-( Oh well, we got a few cute ones.

In line waiting...

Meeting Mickey for the first time

Hey, what's that thing on your face?

Wait..come back here with that. I'm not done playing with it!



More hats!


Pooped by the end of the day....


We had a great first trip to Disney World with Will. I know it was probably more fun for us to take him than it was for him since he didn't understand what was going on. He was so happy the entire time and we couldn't have asked for anything more. We can't wait to bring him when he is older and can really enjoy it.

Happy 6th Month Birthday!

We can't believe Will is 6 months old already! I seriously think this is the best age right now (however, I know I'll be saying that every month!). We enjoy every minute we get to spend with him.

At 6 months, Will is...

- sitting up all by himself for a several minutes at a time.
- Mr. Chatterbox especially when he is getting his diaper changed. Da-da seems to be his sound/word of choice. I'm hoping ma-ma comes soon!
- grabbing at EVERYTHING and ANYTHING he can get his little hands on.
- enjoying eating solid food. So far bananas and applesauce seem to be his favorite.
- smiling, giggling and laughing all the time. He is such a happy baby.
- taking 3 naps a day and sleeping on average 9 hours a night!
- so interested in everything that is going on around him. If I try to feed him when we are around other people..forget about it! He just wants to watch what is going as if he is going to miss out on something.
- able to recognize us when we pick him up at daycare. When he sees Eric or I, he gives us a huge smile and starts waving his arms around until we pick him up. If we don't pick him up and give him a hug right away, he will pout.
- starting to understand object permanence (is that right?). Example, Eric was away this week and I put him on speaker phone to say hi to Will. When Will heard his voice, he started to crane his neck to look beyond the phone to find Eric. It was so cute.

Here are some pics of Will at 6 months.

Oh..what to do on a rainy day?

Gymboree!! It was a rainy Tuesday today and Will and I didn't have much to do. Keri from playgroup suggested going to a demo class at Gymboree (gotta love the free classes!) Will seemed to love the class as he was all smiles the entire time. He got to play with bubbles, crawl up a big foam ramp, sit under a parachute, and play baby soccer.




Don't they look like they are having so much fun together?

Hey mom..here I come!


Riley was cheering everyone on as they climbed to the top.

Bubbles!

Toys

Will has so many toys. Every time I see something that looks fun...I buy it for him. I have a mat set up for him to sit on and play with all his toys. What of all things does he decide is his favorite? A plastic bag filled with tupperware...figures!

Look Who's Talking...

Will has been Mr. Chatterbox the past few days. His babbling is starting to sound more and more like actual syllables. We have been hearing lots of "da-da" and occassionally we'll hear a "ma". Of course Eric is loving the fact that he's starting to get the hang of "da-da". Here's a clip of our chatterbox!

Will "the thrill"

It's Dad checking in. I bought Will his first basketball this week. As you can see he's already got great form on his jump shot. (He just needs to get his legs underneath him a little.) I can't wait for the day when I can teach him how to really shoot baskets but for now just seeing him grab the ball gives me a thrill. Will really is growing so fast and everyday he becomes a little more of a little boy. Its really neat now when I get home and he looks up at me with a big smile and reaches his arms out or when he giggles at me. Pretty soon I think he'll be crawling all over the place and I have a feeling that keeping up with Will "the thrill" won't be easy. It's difficult enough sometimes just holding on to him.


Look at that form..he's a pistol.

Coming at you Dad...

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! We had a nice, relaxing, long weekend. Will was spoiled...he had us for 6 days straight. Eric stayed home with him on Thursday because daycare was closed, I was home with Will on Friday, then the weekend, Labor day and I was home with him again on Tuesday! It was a nice treat to spend lots of family time together. We hung out with friends, went to a parade, practiced Will's eating some more (we moved on to oatmeal!) and did some shopping (Will got two new pairs of shoes!). Here are some pictures from our weekend.

BBQ at our friends house.

Will hanging with his friends

The moms




Will also got to see his very first parade! We met up with some friends and babies to enjoy the parade. I found out that it is the only labor day parade in the state of Connecticut. It was huge! Eric and I couldn't believe how many people were at this parade. And it was long..we didn't even stay to the end.


Will didn't seem to into the parade but some day he is going to love them..especially the fire trucks!

Janelle, Ryan and Rylee

Casey, Ryan and Riley


And of course...we did more eating!

Bon Appetit!

Well...the time has come. Gone are the lazy days of drinking milk now replaced with a new and exciting adventure...solid food! Yes..after 5 1/2 months of living on a milk alone...our little guy got his first taste of real solid food. However, I don't quite know how we get away saying "solid" food...it is more like liquid mush (and not too tasty I must add). I've been eagerly awaiting for this day, excited to see how he would react to the taste of something other than milk going into his mouth. We started off with rice cereal and after a few spoonfuls, Will really seemed to like it! By the second day, he seemed to get the hang of eating and was opening his mouth after each spoonful, waiting for the next spoonful. Not only was he eating the serving I made for him but he wanted more! Of course we got plenty of pictures (and a video!) of Will's first meal.

Hey, what's going on here. I don't usuallly sit here when I am going to eat! Why aren't you holding me mommy?

Okay, I guess we are trying something new here. I'll go with it to amuse mommy and daddy.

What the heck was that?

Daddy, why are you just standing there watching while mommy is putting this mush in my mouth?

Hmm...I guess I'm on my own here. I'm not getting any help from you daddy.

That spoon is over rated. I'll just lick it off my bib here, it is much easier.

Hey..that stuff isn't too bad. Can I have some more?

That was fun mommy but I'm full...


Here are some pictures from our second try at solid foods...

Mommy...I got the hang of this eating thing now. I can do it myself.

See, I told you I could feed myself. No problem!

Maybe you should just pass over the bowl as well. I'll take care of it from here.

Hey..I'm not done yet! I want some more!


And here are a few more pictures that I thought were too cute not to post.

Happy Birthday Judu!

We had a big birthday celebration this weekend. It was Judu's 60th birthday (sorry dad...I know you don't like to admit it). We went to the cape for the weekend to celebrate. Friday night the 5 of us went to dinner and Saturday we had a party at the house with some of my parents friends.



We let Will join us at the table for a little and I think he was enjoying being a big boy for a few minutes.



On Saturday, Eric tested his skills at windsurfing. Will and I went down to the beach to watch him and we were both impressed at how well he did.

Up he goes!


Wow..he is making it look pretty easy out there!

Ooops, spoke too soon...down he goes.

But that's okay. Will was still routing him on. Go Daddy Go!!


Grandma and Judu have been accumulating toys at the cape house. One of the their finds was a bathtub chair which we tested out this weekend. Will did pretty well sitting in it on his own and he seemed to enjoy it to.



At first glance, you may think that is a shadow on the front of Will's shirt. But if you look a little closer you will notice that it is one big drool mark!! haha! I can't wait for this phase to be over but I know we have lots more drooling ahead of us. However, I do think we will see a tooth in the very near future. He has been doing lots of chewing on anything he can grab..toys..fingers..Lucy. But I can't complain about the drool because he is such a happy baby! I was singing "This Little Light of Mine" and he was loving it.





Before leaving on Sunday, Eric, Will and I took a walk on the beach in the morning. The weather was sooo beautiful and the beach was so quiet.

Mommies Night Out

Even the Mommies need a night out!

Casey, Amy and Janelle

Me, Ana, Keri and Leah

Uh oh...I had to pass on the car bombs..it was a work night!

Will's Friends

We started going to Mom's Group when Will was only 3 weeks old. I remember being so nervous to bring him that young but I am so glad we went. The Mom's group is where I met all the girls who are in our playgroup. Not only do we see everyone on Friday's, we also get together throughout the week.

Will and his ladies....


Cutie Maddie

Here's Riley...only 5 1/2 months and already crawling!

Uh oh...I think Will has picked a girlfriend. He is pulling Riley in for a kiss!


Leah showing off her new skills. Randie is going back to work next week...we will miss Leah and Randie!

Double duty...I still don't know how she does it with two!

Rockabye Baby!

I love these cds! Whoever came up with this idea is a a genius! Rockabye baby takes past and present rock songs and turns them into beautiful instrumental lullabies. We were first introduced to these cd's by our friends who bought Will one as a gift. The cd's work like magic. The second I put it on, Will immediatly stops crying and just listens to the music. I have one in my car..in his room..on my ipod. Not only does Will like to listen to the music...so do I! We now have lullaby renditions of U2, Rolling Stones and Coldplay.

If you ever need to get a gift for a new baby, I definitely recommend these cds!! Check out the website:

http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/web/page.asp

New shoes

This boy has more sneakers than we know what to do with! Judu is going sneaker crazy. Will has sneakers in all sizes, colors, and styles. I think that he is set through the age of three! Will's most recent addition to his collection is a pair of cool Elmo sneakers which I had him model...well at least I tried to get him to model, he was more interested in pulling the laces and trying to get the shoe into his mouth.





Not only does he have sneakers but he also has all the clothing to go along with the sneakers. Here is Will in his cute track suit. I think we have a future athlete on our hands. Dad thinks he is going to be a star pitcher. I think he is going to be the next Tiger Woods.

Picture People

We woke up on Sunday and I decided that I wanted to bring Will to get professional pictures taken. I called Picture People in the mall and was able to make an appointment for 3:00pm. When we arrived, it was super busy and filled with screaming kids. Eric and I looked at each other thinking maybe it wasn't the best idea to do this on the weekend but there was no turning back now.

While the girl was taking the pictures, I was very sceptical about how they were going to turn out since it didn't seem like she was doing anything special and Will certainly was not cooperating. When we got to view the photos though, I was pleasantly surprised. The pictures were adorable!

Then they came parading out with all the pictures in frames and collages. Great money making scheme because I wanted to buy them all! We settled on a few of the best pictures. I've posted a few of them below. Isn't Will cute!!

Family Weekend

This was a big family weekend for Will. He got to meet his great-nana for the first time AND he got to see his other great grandparents again AND he got to hang out with his cousin Jakob AND see Aunti Dee Dee, Uncle Eddie, Aly and Haley! We had a big BBQ on Friday night. I think all the partying wore Will out because he slept like a champ...2 hour naps during the day..and we had to wake him up both mornings. Why can't he do that when we are at home?!

On Saturday night, Eric and I went out on our first "date" since Will was born. We left him home with nana and papi while we enjoyed a nice dinner just the two of us. It was so great to get out and relax, drink wine, and just talk.

Me and my great-nana.

Me and great-meme, great-papa and Jakob

Nana...let me tell you something.

ooh...those brownies look good.

Hey..why can't I have a brownie nana!

What are these?

We were in the kitchen the other day and I looked down and Will was playing with is feet for the first time. Up until today, he hadn't noticed them before so this was a very exciting moment (who would have ever thought that some day playing with your feet would be a big event!).

Hmm...I wonder what these are?

They look tasty..maybe I can get one into my mouth.

Hey, where are you going. Come back here!

These things are fun to play with mom!

4 1/2 Months!!

4 1/2 months....crazy!! Will is no longer a baby, he is a little person now. He is starting to develop such a great personality too. He is very laid back and just goes with the flow (he does have his moments though!). When we are out, people are always asking us if he is always so content and fortunately, I can say yes! He is such a happy baby and is always laughing and smiling. When he gets angry though you can tell, he scrunches up his eyebrows and gives us an angry gurgle.

We went to the doctor today for Will's 4 month well-baby check-up. Again, Will got a shining report..happy and healthy! I did make Eric come with me this time because I didn't want to bear the trauma of Will's shots alone. He got 4 shots...3 in the leg and 1 in the arm. He was a little trooper though and once we got through the shots he was back to his happy self. Will's measurements are:

Weight - 16 lbs 3 ozs (70-90th percentile)
Height - 24 3/4 inches (50-75th percentile)
Head - 17 1/2 inches (95th percentile...big head = big brain..right?)

At 4 1/2 months, Will is able to:

- Play while laying on his stomach



- Roll over from back to front (but then gets stuck on his tummy because he hasn't figured how to roll himself back). He is soooo proud of himself when he does it. He has a huge smile on his face.

Okay..here I go!

Come on 95% percentile head...your not weighing me down this time.

Hey..where am I?

Whew...I made it.


- Sleep on his belly (and made mommy and daddy very worried parents the first night he did it!)


- Giggle and laugh out loud when tickled (and when mommy makes a funny face or noise)


- On his way to sitting up on his own.



- Starting to do "Razzberries"...the "plzzzzzz" sound you make when you stick out your tongue and blow (Eric didn't know what a razzberry was!) Spit ends up all over his face but he has fun with it.



- Started noticing Lucy and loves to pull her hair (sorry Lucy!)


- Drool like a maniac. There is not a fabric too thick that he can't completely soak.

Playgroup Update

Will and I are still going to our Friday playgroups. I'm so glad I have Friday's off so we are able to get together with the other mommies and Will's new friends. Playgroup is definitely still more for the mommies but the babies are getting much more active than when we first started. Here are some updated pictures of the group. It is amazing how much everyone has grown from the first picture that was taken on the couch way back in April.



Will is not the only boy in the group anymore!