Operation Lion Tamer - Mission Accomplished!!!

Will's Grandpa Hansen has been teasing me that I'm like the President and I declare the war (on sleep) over prematurely. I grudgingly admit that he's right - I've declared the war on sleep over many times throughout the last few months and each time Will has reverted back to his old ways and woke up screaming and seeking mom and dad at 2 a.m. Well, for the last 5 FIVE nights in a row, he's slept in his own bed and woken up in his own bed at a decent hour (after 5:59 a.m.). He's had a few nights where we've had to do some coaxing in the middle of the night but he's slowly figuring out this whole sleep thing. I'm delighted! I haven't slept well since the month before he was born so I've forgotten what a good night's sleep feels like. It's wonderful!
Here's a picture of our little sleeper eating breakfast. He's a happy kid!

Hope everyone has a very happy Memorial Day weekend. We're planting our veggie garden, blobbing it and on Monday I will be attempting to run (walk) the Bolder Boulder with Will and Glenn cheering me along. Hope you have a nice holiday!

Wedding Weekend

On Thursday, Will, Grandpa Hansen and I traveled to Washington D.C. for my cousin Laura Becker's wedding. We had a great time - it was a beautiful wedding and I really enjoyed getting to see relatives that I don't see nearly enough. Will was a good little traveler - no big tantrums on the plane or giant poop explosions which we all appreciated.



Here are a few quick pics:

Will feeding himself yogurt - hasn't quite mastered the whole hand/eye coordination thing.
It's a baby in a bucket! This worked as a good baby jail during the rehearsal dinner.

Will and the beautiful bride Laura at the reception. Will's tolerance for partying was quickly winding down at this point.Four generations of the Hansen family together on Mother's Day. Will, Lucy, (great) Grandma Hansen and Grandpa Hansen. Not forgetting Great-grandma Hansen's dog Chulo who was not a fan of anyone else sitting on his couch.

Germ Warfare

It's been a few weeks since we last blogged so I thought I'd better post a quick update. We've been a germ-filled house for the last week. Last week Will was diagnosed with tonsilitis - we weren't even aware that babies had tonsils. He had a bad sore throat for several days and then both Will and I came down with some stomach trouble. Glenn inherited the sore throat in time to have to travel to Washington State for a conference. It looks like we are all on the mend this week.


Will and I and Grandpa Hansen will be traveling to Washington D.C. later in the week to attend a family wedding. I'll be back next week to post pictures of Will partying at the wedding and sightseeing around D.C.

Walking Tall

Isn't that the title to a movie starring The Rock? I'll have to ask one of my friends who is a "The Rock" expert.

Anyway, this week has been all about walking. Will took a few steps at a time last week but this week, it's been all about long walks across the living room and forays into "authorized personnel only" areas at the dr's office (check-up for his ear tubes - everything's fine by the way). It's like his brain has figured out that walking is a quick way to get from point A to point B. We've been amazed at how much he's figured out in a week. Here are some quick pics:

We've also embarked on Operation Lion Tamer this week. The goal of Operation Lion Tamer is to get Will to sleep in his own bed all night. It hasn't been easy and this kid has an incredibly strong will. (Perhaps we should have named him Complacent?) However, after a few nights of better sleep for mom, dad and baby, we are cautiously optimistic that things are on an upward trend.

I was cleaning out my computer and found this. It's already hard to believe that my big bruiser of a toddler was ever this size:

Will's hair

First of all, we officially have a toddler. Will walked last weekend and since then has been taking several steps a night and getting braver by the minute. It probably won't be too long before he's running all over the place and I'll be even more exhausted than I am right now.

The big question is whether or not he's going to have curly hair. His hair is really starting to come in now and Glenn and I have a debate about who's hair he inherited. Here's a n example of his dad's hair - notice the relatively even part, straight hair, laying flat against his head: Here's an example of Mommy's hair: no part, pieces sticking straight up, and potentially a little bit of curl?

If you are bored, feel free to vote in our poll. Time will tell if he's blessed with Pauley hair or cursed with the Hansen 'fro.

Beach baby

So we just got back from a trip to Florida. We had a great time enjoying the sun while everyone back in Wyo was enduring yet another snow storm. A couple quick observations from the trip: Will has no fear of water. He loved the pool, he loved the ocean, he loved the bathtub but his favorite thing? Sand. I wished I could have taken a picture of it but he loves to eat sand. I caught him one time licking it off his hand like it was frosting. Here he is at the pool with Dad. Hi. We are from Wyoming. Who needs swim diapers? This was at DeLeon Springs. I thought the water was too chilly for a swim but what do I know.

His first dip in the Atlantic. Reading a magazine after a hearty swim and a light snack of sand.
Isn't he angelic?

Mommy and Will sharing a moment.

Toddlers

So a few days ago I was in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner and Will was busy playing on the floor. I turned around and discovered this: Instead of being the good parent and removing him from the dishwasher door, I decided to see what would happen. Which resulted in this: I'm not sure our dishwasher door was designed to support the weight of a 26+ pound toddler so I sadly ended the dishwasher adventure after this picture but he sure enjoyed it and has spent the rest of the week making a beeline for the dishwasher every time he sees that it's open.

Will loves hats. I give him his baseball hat to the play with when he's bored and I've forgotten to bring any actual toys. Last weekend, I turned around and found him sitting like this:
We are off to Florida next week for a visit with the Pauleys. Check back for pictures of Will at the Ocean, in the pool, chasing alligators and partying with the Spring Break-ers at Daytona.