Valentine's Party

Will was so excited for his first Valentine's Party.  Dave helped him put together his Valentine's mailbox and Will put the stickers on all by himself.  He was so happy, it was adorable to see how proud he was and the way he loved being able to help.

At the party we made love bug hats and cute little valentines dogs.  Will picked everything out and I just helped him with the stapler. 

The best part was decorating cookies.  I did not think Will would actually decorate a cookie, I thought he would just try to eat it.  But with some coaching he decorated his cookie (although more candy made it in his mouth than on his cookie ha ha) and had a good time doing it!  The kids ate heart shaped pizza, and us Moms just enjoyed some adult conversation.  All of these "firsts" are so much fun.  It is one of the things I just love about being a Mom.  Something about it is just so magical!

Adoption Winter Social

We had the wonderful opportunity to attend our adoption group's Winter Social.  We are so blessed to be a part of this group and this amazing community.  Being involved with other families who have adopted has really blessed our family, and I am so grateful Will has the opportunity to have friends who are also adopted.

It has been like 16-17 years since I went ice skating, so I was grateful I had a stroller to hang on to!  Thankfully after going around the rink a couple times I felt much more confident and really enjoyed spending the time with my little family.

Will was not loving being in the stroller and wanted to have skates like everyone else.  They don't make skates that small and we were not overly confident in his ability to balance, but he sure had fun sliding around in his shoes with Dad to help him out.  These two have a riot together, I can't get enough of watching them play!

Adventures with Grandma

We were very lucky to get to spend some time playing with Grandma this week.  Most of the time when we see Grandma J we are with other family so Will does not get much one on one time with her.  It was so nice to take some time together so they could make some memories.

Will was able to show Grandma how adventurous he is.  He does not hold back one bit!  He is also a trier.  When he wants to do something, he keeps at it until he figures it out.  I love that he does not give up, it is one of the many pieces of his personality that I love.

He loved being able to have Grandma's full attention all to himself.  There is something so special about the bond between a grandparent and their grandchild.  He just ran from one thing to the next and knew that Grandma would be right there beside him.

Will was also able to show Grandma how friendly he is.  He made a little friend while we were there and they just ran around laughing and holding hands, it was adorable.  I'm so grateful we had this chance to get together.  When it was time to go, Will wanted "more Grandma".  It was so sweet.  Family is so important to us!

Pool Time

We had so much fun taking Will swimming the other day.  The last few weeks he has been pulling his swimsuit out of the closet and asking us to put it on him.  We finally made his dreams come true and took him to the pool.  It was a really nice change of pace to go swimming in the dead of winter.

He had so much fun splashing around and going down the slide.  He also was very brave and liked to jump into the water and have Dave catch him.  We even got him to kick his legs and swim around a bit.  These family outings are what we live for!

Stories at the Library

I love taking Will to story time at the library.  Recently he has really started to participate more.

It is so cute to see him sitting with a bunch of other kids listening to the stories and then dancing around and doing the actions to the songs.  It is just so heart warming to watch.

Afterwards he loves coming home to color the picture that he got.  This is also a recent interest and it is so darling that he is beginning to sit down and color.  I love these little things we are able to do together.

Mega Playground

We had a really fun day playing with friends at the Mega Playground.  It was adorable to see Will being such a good little friend and trying to help Ollie up.

They had lots of adventures together and are just the cutest little friends.  It is also definitely a perk that I get to hang out with Ollie's Mom.  She is so much fun!  We sure do love playing with friends!

Family from Out of Town

We were so happy we were able to finish up our holidays with a visit from Dave's sister and her husband.  They live in Illinois where they are both finishing up their residencies, Christie as an OBGYN and Jake as an ER doc.  We are so excited for them and really looking forward to the day they move back to Utah.  Even more exciting is that they are expecting a baby in June!  Another cousin for Will is on the way and we could not be more thrilled for them!  We are so blessed to have such amazing family.  Will had so much fun with them, we love you Aunt Christie and Uncle Jake!