4 Months!

William is 4 months old today!

It's near impossible to get a picture of this little guy without his fingers in his mouth...

Don't believe me? Here are some of the out-takes from this mornings 4-month-photo-shoot.

If I'm lucky enough to snap a picture when his mouth is not occupied by fingers, they usually turn out like this...

Depressed that I removed his fingers... 

shocked I removed his fingers.

Creeping his fingers back...

Staring at his fingers

And the classic- genuinely unimpressed with the situation pose.

 He probably is annoyed by the camera in his face so he decides to spit up on himself and the couch... hoping I will give up. I did.

SO like I said, William is 4 months old today... even though he is without a picture commemorating this milestone- looking straight at the camera and smiling.

At four months William despises:

Photo shoots.

Getting changed. He will scream murder until you finish.

At four months William can:

 Stand (supported)

Blow bubbles

Talk your ear off!

 I know he's way too young to formulate an actual word but I swear I have herd him say, 

"Yeah" "Hi" and "Hey" clear as day.

I had him in the shopping cart at the grocery store the other day when a man came by and looked in at him. The man said "Hello!" to which William stared up and replied, "Hi." The man stared at me frightened as though I had some fake talking baby doll. It may have been a fluke but I prefer to believe my son is a baby genius, obviously.

Drool when concentrating.

Spit up ALL THE TIME over EVERYTHING

Toot like a grown man

Splash and play during bath-time

Grab his feet

Sleep through the night

Roll over (stomach to back)

Pull Mom's hair

Squeal like a piglet when excited

Smile when you come to play with him or when Dad comes home.

 Matt's parents will talk about baby Matt walking to them with a blanket in his hand (asking to be put down for a nap) Apparently he would look up at you and smile in his crib so much that it was hard to leave him.  When William is tired he gets fussy so I take him into his room, wrap him up in a blanket and read him one more story. After the story is over I give him one last cuddle. He has started to "coo" back to me and smile as I tell him what a good boy he is. He continues "coo-ing" when I put him down. They were right, it is hard to leave! The funny thing is I can't stay and cuddle too long other wise he gets cranky and I have to quickly put him in his crib. I can't believe how much he loves his cribs. He will take it over my arms every time. Little bum. 

At four months William can't 

Get out of his crib, walk to the fridge, grab a bottle, heat it up, eat, and put him self back to sleep. 

But he can and does use his looks and charm to get everything he wants.

Grandpa Tovey

I consider myself to be a person of strong and rooted beliefs. I have a testimony of God, our eternal father, and his desire for us to be happy and ultimately return to live with him again. I also believe that families exist in heaven. That the bonds on this earth have the power to continue for eternities. I know I will see my Grandpa again, but it still aches. 

PAUL REDVER TOVEY 

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PAUL REDVER TOVEY (1914 - 2012) Born in Toronto after his parents emigrated from England to Canada. Predeceased by his first wife Marjorie (nee Lynch). His love and companionship will be sadly missed by his wife Roselyn. Guidance, encouragement and support will be cherished by his four children: Cynthia, Charles, Leslie (David), Victoria and step-son Randolph (Anna). Proud Grandpa to his eleven grandchildren and eight great- grandchildren. He will be remembered as a gentleman with a good sense of humour, wonderful disposition, intellect and a zest for travel. His presence touched those who met him. If riches could be measured in friends, then Paul was surely rich. In his young life he was an active oarsman in the Don Valley Rowing Club, an avid theatre goer with a great passion for music and dancing. In the RCAF, he served as a flight instructor. Employed by the Ontario Provincial Government in the Ministry of the Attorney General, he travelled the province extensively. In his retirement, the computer became a foremost connection with his family and friends. Cremation has taken place. A memorial service to celebrate Paul's life will be held in the near future at BUTLER FUNERAL HOME (33 Duke St., St. Catharines, 905-684-2334), day of service to be determined. If desired, memorial donations to the charity of your choice. Online condolences

The trampoline I am standing on was the source of HOURS of entertainment. Grandpa lived in apartment buildings, LARGE ones. I can remember standing next to a row of elevators, Lindsay and I would stand in front of the one we thought would arrive first. It was always a thrilling game. I think Lindsay used to win mostly... 

The things I remember most from our visits were:

The lobby's carpet- It was nothing like the normal carpet found in our house. It had large designs that looked like hop scotch. I would bounce around pretending some shapes were lava and not to be stepped on.

The little Trampoline- as previously mentioned... I still feel the spinning sensation when I would stop bouncing and walked normally on the carpet.

Grandpa's chair- He had a lazy-boy complete with a massager. This was the coolest chair to me!

Grandpa's fridge- Grandpa had his own fridge because he had quite the sweet tooth. I loved his fridge.... but mostly the freezer which was always stocked with ice-cream. 

Grandpa's laugh- Grandpa was forever laughing, smiling or mid laugh while smiling.

Grandpa's teeth- Grandpa had dentures and would sometimes pop them out to give the grandkids a scare   

Grandpa's hair- As shown in this picture above Grandpa had a full head of hair. He used to let me style it. I can remember putting about a million tiny pony-tails in his hair hahaha. There is a picture of this in my parents home. I will have to find it!

Erica and I visiting Grandpa and Roselyn when they lived at Niagara-on-the-lake. Niagara is one of my favorite places!

As I grew older my memories of Grandpa were a little different.  Grandpa was smart. I loved talking to him. I can remember one time when he came to visit us in victoria and we talked about anything/everything for hours and then the next day we did the same.

When MSN became popular he was the only grandpa I knew who had an account. He seemed to keep up with 

technology easily... better then I will I'm sure. I'm already pretty technologically retarded at 25.

It was that same trip when I saw Grandpa eat an onion like an apple. Ew!

For as long as I can remember Grandpa had two homes. One in Ontario and one in Florida. This is what inspired my parents to do the same in their retirement. Grandpa would go dancing each week well into his 80's. He always seemed to live life to the fullest with a smile. You couldn't help but be happy when he was around.

When my parents purchased a place in Florida they flew Lindsay and I out for Christmas. Grandpa lived close by and we were able to have a Christmas together(something that hadn't happened in YEARS)

Christmas 2008

 Classy.

To my dancing/massage chair sitting/ice cream and onion eating/pig-tail wearing/smart/laughing/tech-savvy/loving Grandpa. I will miss you. I love you.

Sisterhood of the traveling purple velour?

There has never been a time in my life when I was not blessed with wonderful friends. Each one brings a different perspective and sense of humor to the table that I love! 

While I have many true and dear friends, this posting it a tribute to Sylvia on her birthday month.

Oh how I miss this girl!!

And my tan...

I think we can all remember some pretty crappy birthday presents through the years. The most comical are defiantly ones from ex-boyfriends...ha.

One year Sylvia received a "gem" of a present form an ex-boyfriend, who will remain anonymous.

A purple velour sweater..... just what every girl wants....

Remember when JLo made velour jumpsuits "cool"? Allow me to remind you of those dreadful days, circa 2001

My guess is she was watching signefeild when she got the idea,

poor judgement Jenny-from-the-block! 

These jumpsuits were unfortunate attire in the early 2000's but now, years later and out of high-school they are a much more serious crime. 

Men if you want to end a relationship, purchase velour.

So with this crappy thoughtful gift, what was she to do?

...obviously re-gift it to the one person who hated it even more then her self....me.

This heinous sweater has become a sick tradition of ours. We pass it back and forth after adding something equally disgusting to it. 

Broken scull with roses and the writing, "Love grows" First addition

Golden accent on the cuff, second addition 

black sequence bow, third addition and the jewelry ring zipper fourth addition

Oh yeah, and then we make the other go out to dinner while wearing it...

So Syl, get excited because the sweater is ready for you!! Bah ha 

Happy Birthday month! I miss you

Welcome to Idaho, William

Knowing what I know about my husband, there are two things I can't believe he knew about me and still decided to date me. 

1. My dis-like of Mexican food... I saw the tears forming when I told him this our second date.

 (I have since redeemed myself on this one and decided Canada has the worst mexican food ever!)

2. My dis-like of Idaho.

Before you boo and hiss at me let me explain. It was 2006, I was on a road trip to Utah and driving through Idaho on our way home. I guess I hadn't quite figured out the whole kilometers vs miles per hour thing. Now obviously I knew there was a difference but in Canada you can go 10 over the speed limit and not get a ticket. In America you cannot. So... one thing lead to another and soon my record breaking time lead me to a speeding ticket (my only one in history!) BUT it wasn't just a ticket.. it was a "reckless driving" charge.  The cop- with a gun on his waist- told me I had two choices. I could show up in court or spend a night in jail. Now, orange is not a color that really looks good on me... I'm more a of yellow fan but not like canary yellow, more of a mustard yellow. Lets face it, the thought of me spending a night in jail is some what comical. Anyway, I asked what would happen if I couldn't be in the court house because I lived in another country. This cop was the rudest person I have ever met!!! but he told me that I would have to hire an attorney to represent me.  My simple speeding ticket turned into a very large expense and I swore that I would never again drive in Idaho and that I hated the whole state. Especially elmer county. 

Fast forward to 2009 and I met Matt. Somehow the topic of the ideal place to live came up and I blurt out, "I HATE Idaho! It smells like cows and wet potatoes and people are jerks there." (insert foot to mouth) His whole family is from there.....ooops! 

I continue to stand my ground and never want to call Idaho home but I have since agreed that not all Idaho residents are jerks (In fact I know many wonderful and non-jerk people who are from there).

 I have now visited Idaho more then I ever thought I would in my entire life. My parents have laughed out loud a few times when I told them where I was going, "Make sure Matt drives... does he know your wanted."

Because we were unable to see family over the holidays and Matt's cousin Clint also had a baby boy (Owen- possibly the cutest baby ever.... besides William of course) We decided to combine baby blessings in Emmett Idaho. I have come to terms with loving Emmett.... but it's mostly for the lovely people there. 

So now I need to pack my entire apartment to accommodate a baby on the road. Believe me when I say I was a stressed out crazy person-I was! BUT I am proud to say that the only thing that I forgot was Williams baby towel. Turns out the large adult ones work just fine for a few nights so it was no big deal. I think I should call Honda and tell them a great commercial idea... " The Honda Civic- even first time moms can hold everything they need for a weekend away with baby." It was tight but we made it.

William is still young enough to comfortably sleep in the car for his naps. He is also old enough to not flip out when he's riding in the car awake (a new feature of his persona) 

Life was good on the road, however a little cramped at times.

We stopped for lunch and sat in the booths to let William lie down next to us and play with his toys. He seemed to enjoy looking at any/every ceiling fan and did not fuss.

He even helped out with the driving.

Always being mindful of his blind-spot... 

I'll have you know that his reckless driving mother taught him that. If you see a baby/man driving responsibly that's my son.

 We arrived at Matthew's parents home in Kennewick Washington friday night to break up the drive. William got to meet his uncle Chad for the first time. While I have no photo evidence of this, it did happen. Chad also took care of Will's nighty bottle feeding. Thanks Chad.

Together we drove the rest of the road to Idaho. It was then we discovered that William doesn't really enjoy having two days stuck in the car.  He still did great but fussed for a few minutes. I don't know why... If you ask me a babies car seat looks pretty lavish. I wish they made cars with reclined seats and head cushions for me. Better yet, tote me around in a detachable one.

After arriving in Emmett we stayed with Grandpa Vickery and Emily, who always graciously let us spend the night.

I laughed so hard when I saw the face William is pulling in this picture. What is that haha he looks "special"...

It was so wonderful seeing everyone and switching up our day-to-day. William slept in his pack-n-play great and didn't seem to miss his crib too badly, I was SO thankful for that! I worked really hard trying to keep his little schedule as close as we could and he seemed to adjust well. I just wish he could happily stay awake longer then 45 minutes. After 15 minutes of nursing and another 10 of spitting up, it doesn't leave much time to cuddle with everyone who wanted to see him.

The blessing went well. I was so worried that William would cry the whole time (it was his nap time) but thankfully he stayed swaddled in his blanket and slept!

and woke right after the blessing.

Matt's mission companion, Travis was even able to make the trip.

His wife and daughter were out of town but we were so happy to have him there.

A classic four generations photo.

Baby Owen and William with their families... minus a few.

Believe it or not this is a VERY SMALL amount of Matthew's family and from the looks of it there was a red tie memo that I was unaware of.

We had a great time seeing everyone! Thanks to all who could make it. William was grateful for the support. He told me as he drove us home.