Music

Last year, Will enjoyed Gymboree. This summer, we took swim lessons, and this fall, with Will's friend's Jacob and Gabi, we're taking music class.

We had our first class this past Saturday, and these three are definitely the class clowns. Will loved playing the bongo drums, the music sticks and the shakers. At one point our very sweet, Irish teacher, Moira, sang to us that even if the children wanted to wander around the room, the parents should really be marching in the circle. So, imagine Will, Jacob and Gabi teaming up to steal snacks out of Gabi's diaper bag, while their parents were marching around in a circle in the middle of the room. Needless to say, we did a lot of laughing!

We're finishing up swim class, and this time we had to go straight from music to swim. Will can hang onto the edge of the pool and climb all the way out by himself now. He can jump in and go under water for bit. He's done so well in class, and we've had such a great time!

Needless to say, after all the fun in music and swim, this little man was exhausted!

Words

Will has been surprising us with a few new words. We always wave goodbye to our friends Elmo, Cookie and the gang at the end of Sesame Street, but Will has been saying "bye" to them lately too. He's been saying bah and buuh for ball and book, too.

And, then we got this report from school:

*Side note: One teacher at Will's school insists on calling him William. She calls him her "Prince Charming" and William is just so "princely."

Fun at the Park

Our Little Builder

Will loves his MegaBlocks. He loves them so much, we had to buy a second bag!

How To Get Your Toddler to Eat Healthy...

...is advice we don't need!

We're very blessed to have a little boy who not only loves food, but loves food that is good for him! Will loves veggies! And, every night for dinner, and on the weekends for three meals a day, Will has a giant-sized helping of delicious fresh fruits.

The Inaugural Team Rios Family Vacation

One of the many reasons we've been away from the blog for so long includes our very first Team Rios Family vacation. For the first time since Will was born, the three of us took off for a quick trip together. It was fantastic to be able to relax and spend time together, just the three of us, without worrying about work, chores, errands, etc.

We rented a cabin near Blue Ridge, GA, and spent time walking through town, browsing in the cute shops and swimming at Lake Blue Ridge. We grilled and relaxed. We can't wait to go back!

One of the highlights of the trip was the beautiful Lake Blue Ridge. It was cool, clean and quiet.

Will loved being at the lake.

Playing in the park with Daddy.

Hanging out on the porch.

Reading with Daddy.

Totally relaxed!

Walking through town.


View from the private porch off the master bedroom.

Hitting the Jackpot and Learning New Things

In the time since our last post, we hit the jackpot of minor childhood illnesses. For over a week, Will had a stomach virus, respiratory infection, and infections in both ears and both eyes, all simultaneously. Go big or go home, I guess. But, even with a fever up to 103, he was a trooper, and we're very thankful for these kind of minor illnesses in the grand scheme of things.


Today was the first day that Will was back to full speed, basically for the first time this month. It's always so great to see him laughing and playing so hard. Here he is in his new Batman outfit.



Will is learning new things all the time, and I think he's starting to show us some things he's secretly known for a while. On one of our sick days, Gus came home and put down his keys within Will's reach. Will immediately picked them up and walked to the front door.



For a few months, Will has been very interested in his MegaBlocks. But, mostly he just took apart things we built with them. Suddenly though, he's gotten the hang of actually building! Here's his first tower. Auburn University School of Engineering, here we come!