William Oscar

I have a ton of pictures from trips and outings that I want to get to, but I've had a few projects that needed to be completed first. I may or may not get to those pictures in the semi-near future, but I wanted to write a little bit about daily Deetz life now because the pictures will keep. My memory, however, will not.

Lately it seems that all my posts are about William's mischievous behavior. This really isn't surprising considering a) he's a boy, b) he's two, c) I'm home with him all day, and d) he's a boy. I'm sorry to have to delve into this topic again, but it is my world right now. I'm thinking that
William may have a calling as a safety products tester. Whatever children these so-called safety products were tested on must be some serious lightweights. Instead of deterring William from "protected" things, these safety products seem to be more like a beacon calling to him. They do not serve as deterrents but rather invitations to test his mental and/or physical capabilities. So far, he has exceeded all expectations.

This week, William has learned lots of fun new tricks. He now knows how to open the locked door to the basement and get downstairs into forbidden territory in record time. Another gem added to his repertoire is pressing the water dispenser on the refrigerator and giggling as the water runs down his arm and puddles on the floor. Fabulous. His favorite was stealthily breaking through the "safety" knob on the door leading to the laundry room, opening the locked door to the garage, pressing the button to open the garage door and running out, nearly making it to the street four different times. This number, of course, excludes multiple attempts that were thwarted by me early in the game. This week William also appears to be on the cutting edge of a new trend in the decorating world. His motto: say it with food. Namely, powdered sugar on the couch and peanut butter on the television. It really adds that je ne sais quoi to our hearth room. Thank you, my dear William. And it's only Wednesday.

But, there really is so much more to William than his ability to find new ways to elicit gasps from me. To paint a complete picture of William, you have to know that he is a cuddle bug. I live for the moments when William asks me to "nuggle, nuggle" with him. Luckily, I get this request almost daily. The increasing communication that occurs during the second year of life is both heavenly and hysterical. I really appreciate the ability to talk about the here and now, but what I really cherish the most (as evidenced by many former posts on Lily) is commentary from kids. Just to know what general thoughts are sprinting through their little minds is entertaining to no end. William has told us that he is scared of monsters, that Thomas is the best, and that climbing onto the counter is dangerous (said while standing on the counter, of course). He also has catch phrases that he will exclaim at any given time for no apparent reason. A few of the most popular are: "Ah, ha! I'm back!", "Rock and roll Lily!" (Lily need not be present), and "Why? Because I told you!" The last one I think he learned from Lily and cracks me up when he says, or rather yells, it. I will have to get this one on video.

William definitely knows what (and who) he wants. Maybe the cutest thing I've ever experienced is when William puts his hand over my mouth and says, "No. Stop. Listen. We go to Chuck E. Cheese." When that doesn't work, he just runs through the list: "We go to zoo - see animals.....We go to choo choo train.....We go to Mageric (Magic) House.....We go see Ingrid (or alternatively, Ingrid come over - we go Chuck E. Cheese)......We go to Grandma and Papa's - see Mary, Katie". Nearly every day we go through this, but I love it. It shows me that he has formed real attachments and is passionate about his favorite activities. Plus, it is just adorable when he says these things in such earnest. I can't help but laugh which prompts him to remind me to "Stop. Listen." And repeat. Love it.

The next item on the agenda with William is potty training. He has been showing signs that he is ready to potty train for well over a month now. And by showing signs, I mean taking off his diaper, getting the Elmo training seat from under the sink, putting it on the toilet and proceeding to go to the bathroom (both pee and poop). So "ready to train" may not be as accurate as, "Mom, could you just put me in underwear already?" I know, I'm ridiculous. But, I know the truth that while he does this a couple times per day, he has multiple dirty diapers per day, and accidents are going to happen. "Um...yeah", you say. I know, I know. But Lily was just so easy, and she really didn't have any accidents. Plus, having one child to potty train is far, far different than having three pulling you in different directions. Okay, even I recognize that these excuses are lame, and I just need to do it already. And I will....soon.

When I started this post, I intended to provide some updates on Lily and Emilia too, but it looks like that isn't going to happen tonight. Stay tuned...