1. Will loves personal hygiene more than any kid I know. If Taylor and I even mention showers, baths, or brushing your teeth around him he will drop whatever he's doing and run straight for the bathroom in excitement. By the time we get in there after him he's already reaching on his tiptoes for his toothbrush or standing by the tub yelling, "Sha! Sha!" (Shower) and trying to climb in. It's great for when we actually want him to brush his teeth or take a bath, but not so great when we don't.
2. Will is obsessed with shoes. He brings me his shoes or my shoes several times a day and isn't satisfied until I put them on. He's smart though. He knows which shoes are mine, which shoes are Daddy's, and usually brings me a matching pair. He also knows that if I say, "Do you want to go for a walk?" that means we all need our shoes before we can go.
3. He almost always eats with a fork. I have had to revert back to cutting up his food into small pieces so he can pick up individual bites with his fork. This includes sandwiches, quesadillas, and other things that the rest of the world eats with their hands.
4. His current diet consists mostly of quesadillas, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, bananas, yogurt, Go-Go Squeeze applesauce pouches, and milk. Sometimes I can sneak in other foods, but usually he just hands them right back to me.
5. His favorite snack (this week) is Craisins. He eats them like candy.
6. He loves to jump--especially in his crib (holding on to the rail so he can get extra air), on the couch, and on our bed. He also loves to do butt pounds on the bed.
7. He sleeps with two JellyCat stuffed animals--a giraffe and a teddy bear, a green blanket, and a blue car blanket in his crib. Whenever we get him out of his crib he has to hand us each of these items before he lets us pick him up and take him out. He then picks one (usually his bear) and runs away to go play.
8. When Will reads books to himself he says, "Bwah, bwah, bwah, bwah.." I wonder if that's what he thinks I sound like when I read to him...
9. His favorite sounds are "sh" and "t". He often combines these sounds while he jabbers, adding him to the ranks of Hamilton grandchildren who accidentally swear all the time. (Along with cousins Jude and Layla.)
10. He loves all things with motors. Cars, trucks, airplanes, and helicopters. He points out all the trucks ("tuh" or "tuck") on the freeway and knows that the answer to "Where's the airplane?" is pointing out the window or up to the sky. His favorite book is "You Can Name 100 Trucks" and he usually makes car noises while he looks at it.
11. He is my little helper. He likes wiping off the table after he eats, cleaning windows and mirrors with me, going on "errands" around the apartment (like picking something up off the floor for his pregnant mom), putting his books in the bookshelf, and even knows how to throw his own diaper away. Granted, his help is often pretty useless or counterproductive (he'll pick up his toys just to take them all out again or throw his diaper away and grab something else out of the trash...gross), but it's pretty cute and it keeps him busy. Sometimes I'll just give him a paper towel and say, "Can you clean?" and he'll go find something to wipe down. He's also a pro at sweeping carpet.
12. Everything that slightly resembles a phone is a phone. Phones, remote controls, iPods, toys with lots of buttons, calculators, thermometer... he holds them all up to his ear and talks.
13. He suddenly started to wear hats and sunglasses. Until about a week ago, he refused to wear them for more than a few seconds. Then one day he and Taylor went for a walk and Will wouldn't leave until he got to wear a hat and sunglasses like Daddy. He didn't take them off the entire walk. He also likes to wear his sunglasses on his head instead of his eyes. (Like a headband)
14. He pretty much has his own language, but sometimes when we're really trying to understand or when he's trying to imitate us, it sounds like words. So far his most clear words have been mom ("mah" or "bom"), dad ("da" or "dan"), sock ("sah"), shoes ("shuss"), truck ("tuck"), and outside ("sie"). He's also getting really close to Jesus "zuss" but that's only been a couple times.
15. He does not give kisses or hugs. Instead, if you ask him to give you a kiss he'll bend his head down and allow you to kiss him on the forehead. He also likes to run towards us as if he's going to give us a hug but then turns around at the last second and allows us to give him a hug.
16. He used to be really good at animal sounds but lately I think he's gotten tired of performing for us. So he's gotten lazy and all of his animal sounds have gotten shorter and sound more and more alike.
16. He used to be really good at animal sounds but lately I think he's gotten tired of performing for us. So he's gotten lazy and all of his animal sounds have gotten shorter and sound more and more alike.
17. Will is a total Daddy's boy. He loves getting ready with Taylor in the morning, including putting on deodorant and styling his hair. If he's not napping when Taylor leaves for work, he gets SO sad and cries by the door for 5 minutes after he leaves. He also gets so excited when Taylor gets home. Sure, Will loves me too and we have lots of fun together but they just have a special relationship. I love watching the two of them together.
18. Will loves to throw. We've been trying to teach him to only throw balls (instead of food, toys, shoes, or the occasional fork) and he's been doing much better. When he throws balls he's actually pretty good at it. Now we just need to teach him how to catch.
And since in two days he'll actually be 19 months old... (I started this post a couple weeks ago)
19. For a while we would ask Will, "Where's the baby?" And he would point to himself. Then he got a little closer and would point to his stomach. Now he finally points to my stomach, not his. But he also tries to lift up my shirt every time I ask so I have to be careful not to ask him in public. I still don't think he really gets what's going on but I know he's going to be a very loving, playful, helpful big brother. Taylor and I love him more and more every single day.
