Our big boy!

Will is really starting to look less like a baby, and more like a little boy. Exciting, but also a little sad! And his hair is soooooooo light! I love his smile right now... he has four teeth on top with only show when he's laughing, and 3 teeth on the bottom, which give him a bit of a Jack-o-Lantern type of look...a bit off center. Super cute. He gets terrible red-eye in every photo indoors--it's those DARK eyes, and the red-eye fix makes him look a little strange, but here are some cute recent photos.

Our little blondie, waiting for dinner. He NEVER refuses food!

A more serious Will.

Standing up!

Justin was talking on the phone, so Will was on the phone too! His phone is actually a remote, but he's got the general idea!

He crawls!

So, after a lot of coaching from cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and great grandparents, Will finally started to crawl. He built the necessary muscles due to the training he had in Michigan, then as soon as we got back to VT, he put it all together and crawled! Woo hoo! He's was a late crawler at 12 months, 2 weeks old, but he's doing it now.

Other Will updates since my last post (I know, I know, BAD momma--over a month without a new post!!!!)...he went to the pediatrician two weeks ago and weighed in at 22 lbs, 14 oz, and I am willing to bet he's 23 lbs+ by now. He is 30" tall, as of his last check-up. He's also become quite giggly and animated. I will try to catch it on video. It's pretty hilarious.

Here's a video of Will crawling...a little bit. He slips on our wood floors, but if he really wants to get somewhere, he can do it!!!! He's pulling up on things too, so I don't think it'll be too long before he's a real terror! :-)

Will's first 1st birthday party!

We celebrated Will's first birthday on July 26th...two days early...at my mom's house in TC. It was a fun party with lots of relatives, and I have HUNDREDS of photos! I will post a few, but there are many more on Facebook. Another reason for those Facebook hold-outs to join Facebook. :-) And I promise to post more of our summer fun soon, since it's been REALLY great!

I know there are more b-day celebrations for Will to come, but here are a few photos from B-day Party #1.

And Jodi, if you're out there looking at this, I don't have a phone # for you and I haven't had luck getting in touch with you via email...call me! 802-318-6932. I know this seems weird to post here, but I wanna get in touch! :-)

The long drive...

There are newer photos after this series...I forgot to post these last week!

It was a LONG drive from Burlington to Michigan, and I did a poor job of documenting it! But, I do have a few photos of those first few days. Will was a pretty good traveler overall. Justin and I took turns sitting in the backseat with him when we needed to eat or just have company. It was actually kind of fun back there!

This is at the border station in Canada. We weren't searched, thankfully. I think we just ooze innocence! We could never be a threat to national security, right!?!?

We found this little diamond in the rough at a "Service Centre" off the 401 in Canada. We were right next to a gas station, rest area, and a McDonald's, but this park was a little piece of heaven. It was huge and surprisingly quiet! Justin entertained us with his hackey-sack skills, and Peso even got a chance to get some fresh air (from the comfort of his carrier, of course!)

The car-top carrier was essential for this trip. We've always traveled with the cat, but the addition of Will added quite a bit more gear! (And yes, Will is crying here...he was a tired boy after our fun in the Service Centre park!)

No, this was not part of our transportation to Michigan, but going on a boat was one of the first things we did when we got here! Justin is a fantastic water skier! Wow!

Another blissful day!

We enjoyed another great beach day today, and it seems that Will might be a true beach baby! We brought our backpacking tent, and it provided shade and a perfect napping spot for Will. We were at the beach for over 4 hours, which is definitely a record amount of time for us to be at the beach with Will. Hooray! Don't worry--he was in the shade most of the time and wore lots of sunscreen! :-)

This is the path that goes down to one of our favorite beaches on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore--Peterson Road Beach.

Will was very comfy in the beach chair!

Our excellent set-up. Thanks Justin!

Naptime!

I carried Will. Justin carried everything else! What a good guy!

Happy baby!

The water was COLD!

Pure bliss--happily napping baby, beautiful beach, and a great book!

Bathtime at the cottage!

Grammy Mary gave Will his first bath at the cottage in Pentwater--in the nice, deep kitchen sink! He LOVED it, as you can clearly see in these pictures. Enjoy!

Sunset on Lake Michigan

I have not yet found a sunset that rivals the sunsets on Lake Michigan--and I'm pretty spoiled in the sunset department living in Burlington! I think the sunset over the Pacific Coast is pretty close...but Lake Michigan holds a special place for the Sorensons! Will saw his first Lake Michigan sunset last night. It was exquisite. And how many times can I write the word "sunset" in one post!? Sunset, sunset, sunset.... :-)

There are quite a few photos to follow...some are redundant, but I just couldn't choose!

More of the sunset on Lake Michigan

Justin and Will at sunset...

I love the light in these photos!

Cousins!

Will was able to spend a little bit of time with his cousin Elliott over the holiday weekend in Pentwater, Michigan. Elliott is 4 months older than Will, and she was teaching him the ways of the world...crawling, walking, and climbing! He is making progress...but he's not quite there yet. They loved being together outdoors!