On the move...

William is on the move.

Thus far, only backwards and in circles, but he has been putting in quite the effort!

We have found him caught under beds and tables more than a few times.

He gets into a perfect pushup position and is so darn proud of himself.

this is hard work!

perfect plank

working on down dog

I did it!

Yum!

Guess who's eating!?!

We skipped right over rice cereal and went straight to the good stuff.

So far, we love it all......bananas were first...

...followed by sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peas, avocado, pears.

Such a good eater.  
And such a happy boy!

Lily-isms

cooking pancakes with Daddy

It's been awhile since we shared Lily-isms.  Here are a few entertaining stories...

~One afternoon, I walked into the kitchen to find Lily laying on the floor doing sit-ups.  Without a shirt on.  Because that's how Daddy does his exercises! 

~According to Lily, "Mommy and Daddy have BIG tootervilles, I have MEDIUM tootervilles, and William has ITTY BITTY tootervilles!"  She is confused though…Mommy is perfect and never has tootervilles.  :)

~At Lily's parent/teacher conference this year, her teacher said Lily is a great student, good listener, and very sweet.  However, she keeps everyone (including her teachers) in line, not in a malicious or snotty way, just wants everything to go the way it's suppose to.  Ha, we see the same thing at home.  She assures me Lily is thriving with her 'strong' personality and using it for good.  We worry about that a lot, so were relieved to get a good report.  Her teacher also mentioned that she is starting to play with a few girls and breaking away from her 'boy-only' clan of friends…however, Lily does not like the girlie or dramatic girls, but prefers the tomboys.  Love that!  

~A reminder from an exhausted, sobbing three year old after a long trip home after Christmas…Mommy:  Lily, stop arguing with me.  I am the boss and you need to listen.  Lily:  Noooo Mommy, you're not the boss.  God and Santa are the boss!

~When watching basketball with Daddy:  "Daddy, what are they doing now?"…Dad: "Well Lily, each team is allowed to have 5 players on the floor at a time, and…"  Lily (interrupting) "Daddy?"  Dad:  "Yes Lily?"  Lily:  "Do they take a shower after the game?"…Ah, girls

Look-a-likes

While we constantly hear how much Lily looks like me, 

and William looks like Ryan...

...here are the two at 5 months.

Not sure who they look like, but they are definitely siblings!

5 months

January 10, 2013

~We have officially decided you are high maintenance.  You insist on a warm bottle.  You want to be rocked to sleep.  You prefer to be held as much as possible, and really only want your mama.  
~Yet you have the sweetest smile and giggle, so we immediately forgive you for your demands. 
~When you actually allow me to put you down, you love to roll and roll.  I often find you far from where you started...including under chairs, tables, etc.  
~You also love your exersaucer, which is a huge relief for me...you will keep yourself entertained for quite a while, especially if big sister is nearby (she is pretty funny to watch!) 

~You grab at toys, our food, Lily's hair, etc.  You put absolutely everything in your mouth...we are pretty sure a few pearly whites will be popping up any day.
~You went to your first K-State football game.  Such a trooper after a long day of tailgating and a very late night!

~I should know better than to brag that you are sleeping through the night.  After the holidays, both you and your sister were sick, and we had a few rough nights giving you extra cuddles.  You took advantage and decided to return to waking up numerous times....therefore, we spent a week in 'cry it out' mode.  It appears we are heading in the right direction, but I'm nervous to say we are back to sleeping through the night!  :)
~You truly are a happy baby and every day with you is such a joy.  We love you, William Thomas!

Osterhaus family Christmas

What fun we had at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Playing with our cousins and meeting baby Elijah for the first time were this year's highlights!

Aynslee got a pink guitar for Christmas.

Lily was pretty excited for a dance party while Aynslee showed off her skills.

Lily loved the guitar so much, but especially loved playing with Grandpa.

William was thrilled to roll around with his buddy Elijah.

And snuggle with mom.  He's quite the mama's boy!

Aynslee was loving on the babies...

All five cousins...

...not an easy feat to get them sitting down facing the camera!

Liam (4), Elijah (9mths), Aynslee (7), William (4.5mths), Lily (3)

Grandma and Grandpa

The 2012 additions to the Osterhaus family.

We are very thankful for these two boys!

Thank you to all our family for a very Merry Christmas!

Saylor Family Christmas

William was so excited to finally see this small town his family keeps telling him about!  

And Nanny was pretty excited to show him the ropes.

Casey and Auntie M were thrilled to introduce us to Kona Bear.

William wasn't sure what to think of this massive puppy, but she turned out to be awesome with kids!

Hi Papa Kurt and Nanny!

Thanks for letting us crash at your house for nine days!

We were of course joined by all the Trusdale clan.

(Cooper, Uncle Tom, Ryan)

Darby snuggled William most of the weekend.

She's going to be one good mama someday!

Uncle Matt, Aunt Kristin, Sam and Maggie - such a cute little family.

Look, a photo of me!  

(Thanks Aunt Soni for being aware that moms tend to forget to take pics of themselves!)

Ever tried coffee flavored Patron?

I highly recommend, especially with my three favorite ladies.

Three generations - Auntie M, Mema, and Nanny

This was the first year Lily understood Santa.

When she first woke up, she whispered "do you think Santa came last night?"

He did!  And she had a blast opening both her and William's stocking.
But she was a little concerned Santa forgot to eat his cookies...oops!
We had to explain that he must have been very full by the time he delivered her presents.

Present opening was pretty great as well.

However, she got overwhelmed half way through, and just handed out gifts instead of opening hers.

Then finally decided she was over it....we found her hiding in the dining room playing by herself.

When she did participate, she spent a lot of time snuggling with Darby.

But mostly, she followed Reece around, helped him with all his presents, and begged for his attention.

He, as always, was one awesome kid and very patient and kind to her. 

William spent most of the morning snuggling and taking in all the craziness that is Saylor Christmas.

As always, we are so lucky our entire extended family continues the tradition of Christmas all together. 

It's my favorite day of the year, only because I am able to spend it with all our favorite people!

William's big day

Before kicking off Christmas celebrations in Kansas, we first had a very important matter to knock out.

William's baptism!  And two very special people who agreed to be his godparents.

Ryan's cousin Ben and his wife Kim.

We could not ask for a better example for Will.

Kind, honest, generous, faithful, loyal are all qualities we see in this lovely couple.

And which we hope William will exhibit in the future. 

Thank you to all our family for making it a special morning!

Lily with her godparents

Happy New Year...a recap

It was a year to remember...

January: announcing our belated Christmas gift.  A much desired baby to be arriving in August.  

February: the first sign of a baby bump and a proud big sister-to-be

March: like father-like-daughter,  our first Easter Egg Hunt and it's a boy!

April: Lily and I took a trip to Kansas to visit some of our favorite people

May:  We celebrated Lily's third birthday with a visit from Nanny

June: Six weeks until baby boy arrives.  Lily calls him George.

July: Impatiently awaiting 'George's' arrival and Lily cracks us up!

August: William Thomas Osterhaus joins the world and we couldn't be more thrilled.


September: Grandma comes to visit and we adjust to life with a newborn again. 

October:  Proud to be a Wildcat and a very Happy Halloween.

November: Celebrating Thanksgiving with Nanny and Papa Kurt. 

December: A memorable trip to the Polar Express and the Grand Canyon to kick off the Christmas celebrations.  

Happy New Year: We spent the new year cuddling two sick kids and were all in bed before the NYC ball dropped.  However, William didn't like the idea of skipping his first New Year's Eve, so decided to celebrate with every single time zone from New York to Hawaii.  Crazy party animal!  :)

Our celebrations have changed over the years and we wouldn't have it any other way.  Cheers to a Happy New Year!