No! I didn't forget! I've just been busy!

I've been in school for a Colorado teaching license and it has been kicking my butt. This semester I have spent every. single. weekend. at the computer reading, writing, analyzing, spewing out information.

Here's a picture of my relationship with Will during the Spring semester.


Dave has been picking up ALL of the slack and has taken Will to:

The Museum of Nature and Science.


The park. A lot.


Orange Julius where he (in three parts): enjoyed his Orange Julius,


accidentally stuck himself in the eye with the straw,


cried,


and was happy about two seconds later.


The Home and Garden Show.


The Lightrail, which is a train that goes downtown.


The Denver Museum of Art.


Where he had a lot of fun playing with an interactive exhibit (bubbles streamed by video across the floor that "pop" as you stomp on them).


Target. A lot.


Will and Daddy are tight.

We celebrated Christmas with Omi. Will got a ton of stuff including his very own laptop (which is nowhere near as fascinating as Mommy's laptop).


And a Trike from Grandma and Papa.


He's very excited about his tricycle and wears his helmet every time he rides.


Will also had a BIRTHDAY! He ate cake.


And cried when he couldn't touch the candle.


We took him to an indoor play place and he went in the bounce house for the first time. The look on his face as he was bouncing around was pure ecstasy, not even joy, just pure, religious ecstasy.


Will as a two year old is an amazing experience. Sometimes exhausting. And often fun and funny. We have a lot of fun, but BOY HOWDY is he opinionated, and he's a bit of a tyrant.

Will has been speaking a lot and he can now put together a couple of words. Such as: Rocky peepee potty outside! And: More airplane! Hi Omi! Hi Papa!

His favorite word is NO. When we ask him if he wants a bath, the answer is no. If he wants to use the potty, the answer is no. If he wants to eat an orange, or go to school or take a nap, it's always no. Although the answer is always yes if we ask him if he wants to watch Yo Gabba Gabba or eat a cookie.

He scolds the dogs (and any other dogs in the neighborhood who are barking), and is fixated on Cicero.

He now enjoys "cooking," which means that he can stir something or add something to a bowl. He's very good at stirring eggs. We're still working on knife skills.


Will and Dave have been to the Museum of Nature and Science innumerable times. There is a particular video of the formation of the earth that Will is absolutely fascinated with. He runs to the video screens and yells "BALL!" with an intensity that is both infectious and somewhat unnerving.


In February we went to visit Will's Papa, as he was having a birthday. The trip down to Phoenix was a new experience. We left late, past Will's bed time and Will was a little overstimulated. We let him play on the people-mover parked near our gate.


When we got to the hotel Will's little mind was so blown, the only thing he wanted to do was jump on the bed. We turned out the lights at 11, but none of us got much sleep that night.

The next day, Will, Dave, Papa and I went on a hike at Mount Morty where Papa and I discussed the various local flora and fauna.


And Will picked up rocks.


We were able to visit with Grandma and Papa and Uncle Sam and Aunt Alicia and Aunt Noelle and cousins Audrey and Danny.


Audrey is adorable!



Uncle Sam's cool rubbed off on William a bit.


Will and Danny got along famously. They shared goldfish crackers.


They played on Danny's Elmo bed.


School will start for me again next week. But the grind will be over in June. In the mean time, we'll try to keep everyone up to date.

William, Self-Reflector

I have a bunch of pictures from a trip to a pumpkin patch, a visit to Ikea and his first Halloween. But we are all swamped. Will has these giant projects due at his daycare (and his promotions to the Toddler III room are completely dependent on the quality and efficacy of these projects) and Dave and I have minimal projects that have to do with certification and endorsements, so, we are ridiculously, bad-work-life-balance busy.

In the meantime I made a movie of one of Will's favorite pastimes. Will is a 21st Century Guy. He loves to press as many different buttons on the computer as possible. And he loves this little app called iPhoto. We've used it all this summer and I compressed all of his self reflections into a short movie. It appears below.

Beautiful Days

For the last couple of weekends Will, Dave and I have been able to spend at least one whole day together. We've put away the stress and anxiety of the week and have been able to spend the days as a family. And it has been a BLAST.

Three weekends ago, Dave took Will to the Denver Mineral Show where they panned for gold.


And two weekends ago we all went to the Denver Zoo. I love living in a metropolitan city again, there is something to do every single weekend. Dave and I are total nerds and we love to look for all the animals in their habitats and read all the information on the signs. Will, however, is still in that phase of "everything is fascinating."


So while Dave and I were oohing and ahhing over the length of time it takes for a giraffe to pee,


or that Mongolian Wild Horses are the living ancestors of the modern horse, or Madagascan Ring Tailed Lemurs,


or that a Celebes Crested Macaque came over to the window to check *us* out, or the Pink Flamingos...


Will is wandering around becoming enchanted with bridges (different sound when he stomps his feet) or throwing his ball hither and yon, and fascinated with the activities of other children, and any exhibit that features a ball...



I think Dave and I might spring for a babysitter at some point and just check out the exhibits ourselves one day.


This most recent weekend we all went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Dave and I traded off toddler-chasing while the other one looked at minerals or North American mammal exhibits.

It was really fun, but there's a part of me that longs for the time when Will can read and talk and can spend a little time being fascinated with the deliberate exhibits, not just the general physics of life.


Will had a ton of fun playing with all the buttons and flaps of the interactive exhibits.




And when we went to the Discovery Zone (children's room) part of the museum we had Way Too Much Fun playing with the magnets and the flying scarves.

The Nature and Science Museum has a really decent cafe. We had tacos. Which means Will pitched a fit over being able to consume my entire bottle of grapefruit juice and mostly ignored the tacos we ordered.



Until we started eating it all. *Then* he was interested.

It's been great. Barring the ear infection that Will cultivated last week, and the ensuing baboon butt resulting from necessary antibiotics, we've all been having a really great time. Oh, and the weather's been fantastic too.

Next week, who knows? We may be on to a local harvest festival and corn maze, or just hanging out at home. Having a Will-toddler is so much fun.

Would You Like Some Cheese With That Whine?

Did someone say that the terrible Two's start at two? Well, Will has definitely hit that milestone a little early, (he's advanced, what can we say?).


After a day of super stimulating super fun time at the daycare, Will is ready to let loose all of his grief and tension from being so good (the daycare ladies absolutely love him. He's very well behaved). So when I go to pick him up the demands begin in earnest as soon as I strap him into his car seat.


Unfortunately Will has not mastered the subtleties of the English language (although he's fluent in Whine-ease), and his frustration at his inability to communicate his needs is expressed in volume.


He's learned a couple new tricks: he stamps his little feet and falls on the floor, rolling around as if the sky is falling. When we try to pick him up he goes all noodle limp and and screams, squeezes out a few tears and lies on the floor at our feet. If we try to put him somewhere he doesn't want to be, he kicks his legs in our arms.

It gets a little exhausting, but we do have the weekends where Will reverts back to his sweet, happy self again.


He still loves exploring new places and being in new situations. He loves to press all the buttons he can as well.

Opinionated

Another month of big changes in the Spero-Nickerson family!


I got a job, so William had to start daycare. He LOVES it. When we drop him off in the morning he runs to the toys without a look back. If he's a bit truculent one of the nice daycare workers distracts him with a book or a toy and he's good for the day. He naps on his mat without a bottle or a paci (something we could not convince him of at home) and eats all the food that they provide. He barely looks up when I go to pick him up. I wash the sand out of his hair from the play area every night.

Before he started daycare I took Will to the Children's Museum of Denver. He enjoyed the train room for a little bit.


And a nature room.

Will has learned to ride his zebra (thanks Auntie Alicia!).


And he's transferred that skill to riding Rocky.


When we do get home he expresses ALL SORTS OF OPINIONS. Wow. He's been changing daily since the day he was born, but this is new and insistent! He will screw up his face and cry if he is unhappy with something or frustrated and when he's angry he'll stomp his little feet until he achieves the desired result. For example, when we stop pushing the toy car for a second.


This weekend Papa Joel and Grandma Judy came to visit. Boy, Will was the Superstar-Center-of-Attention! He loved it.


Papa took him to the park and climbed on all the play structures with him.


He watched Will turn the wheel.

Over and over again.
And Papa read his favorite three books.


Over and over again.

It was a fantastic visit. Will and Dave and I had a wonderful time with Papa Joel and Grandma Judy. We hope to see them again very soon!