Fall Walk

But first, a picture of Will. Because he is the most handsomest, bestest, squishiest, most lovable baby in the entire universe and I just can't get enough of those squishy wonderful cheeks these days!

 Also, Will is into everything these days. He may still only worm/army crawl(Sterling calls it zombie crawling because he just uses one arm and drags everything else basically to scoot around) but he can open cupboards, pull out tupperware, etc, etc. He also, poor guy, fell down the stairs last week. Hence the rug burn on his nose. I must have forgotten to shut the gate and I can't figure out why because I'm usually really careful about it. 

 Aren't sleeping babies just the picture of perfection? Look at that little round fist! Look at those little rolls! Look at those angelic eyelashes, and perfect lips! And those cheeks. His cheeks are just the most perfect thing for squishing and kissing. He gets annoyed sometimes, but we continue to kiss them anyway. I get so sad looking at these pictures, he doesn't even look like a little baby anymore! He's almost twenty pounds and wearing size 12 month clothes even though he's still only 8 months. Where did my baby go?

 Ah yes, this post was about our fall walk.

Will slept almost the entire time, sweet boy. 

 We're so glad that daddy is home! Since we have an acceptance to DMU, we've since cut out anything lower on our list which meant he didn't fly out this weekend to interview in Missouri, and I for one am very glad. He had a TON of homework to catch up on (basically he's been focusing on interviews for the last month and a half, which means he's about a month behind in the semester. The curse of online courses, but they are also a blessing because otherwise flying out would have been much more difficult.) and so he has still been somewhat scarce, but we actually have SEEN the man. And it has been heavenly. Every morning Ruth wakes up and says "Daddy? Home? Daddy home?" and I can say "YES!!!!!!" He has even come home in the middle of the day for lunch and that is amazing. Glad that the stress of getting into med school is over (even if the decision making is not), glad that he's almost back on track in school, and SO glad that we have been able to sneak in so much time with him this week.

 While on this walk Sterling and I both brought up the fact that it ALMOST smelled like our childhood memories of KY and ND (respectively) because of how many leaves were on the ground. Almost. But I remember walking in PILES of leaves in North Dakota, and you just don't get that same amount in Utah. It's a good smell.

Watching a train go by.

Oh my life. This week has been so perfect.

On another note, Ruthie and potty training are finally starting to really take off. Most days we have either no accidents, or only one. I can deal with that. Ruth is even to the point where she will go all by herself and just yell for me to come pull up her pants afterwards. I am loving it. She is getting so big! She also understands exactly what she wants and feels like she communicates it perfectly to you, and if you don't understand---it's very frustrating. Last night Sterling put both kids to bed while I was out and he was singing her songs and couldn't figure out what song she wanted. This morning, she came up to me and said "Oh, 'ee" which is Oh the Lord Is Good to Me. So I started singing it. But instead of listening she ran into the kitchen and said "Dad! Oh, 'ee!!! Mommy!" and pointed at me and said the name over and over. As if to say, hey dad, this is the song I wanted you to sing and you didn't know! HAHA! She is so funny. Her other favorites are Twinkle, Good Night, and Ike (I Like Your Eyes). She sings pretty much nonstop. In the car. At home. In church. At the store. In the stroller. Yesterday she was singing and dancing in front of the oven so she could watch herself in the oven's reflection. So cute. Will, like I said, is into everything. He also gets a huge kick out of Ruth. He likes to come up to her and stick his head right into her belly and then he'll look up and laugh and laugh. They talk and laugh a lot in the van these days since I moved Ruth's new carseat beside his and they can see each other. He also loves to eat but mostly because he likes to feed himself. He is all over the puff snacks and would eat only them if he could. He still wheezes now and then and I use the nebulizer probably 2-3 times a week. Mostly though, minus Ruth's tantrums and Will's clinginess (that I really adore) they are the best kids and I just love the fun stages they are at right now.