Taking a Stand

From the time he was born, Wally wanted to be upright. Loved to stand on my lap from when he was just a few weeks old. Of course, I held him and let him think he was standing, but he had strong legs then.

When he was 4 1/2 months old, we discovered he could stand on the couch by himself if he was leaning against the back. We took a picture of it and sent it to my parents but they didn't believe he was really doing it by himself. Dad showed his coworkers and they said they didn't think it was real either. Every body thought we had photoshopped it somehow. Here is the picture:

Why We Drove

We finally arrived in Crystal City, MO after driving all night. We left our house at 6:00 pm Saturday and arrived at about 5 am local. That means our 9 hour drive took just under 12 hours this time. When we got in the house, YaYa and Poppy met us in the living room. Wally climbed up on the couch with YaYa as she asked about our trip.
Wally told her "We DROVE all the way here because those guys wouldn't let us put the van on the wing of the airplane."

Handsome Daddy

While watching television this afternoon Wally told me, "Hey Mommy, that man looks like Daddy." I looked up at the TV and who did I see??

Chris Daughtry

Of course I completely agree with Wally as Chris is very handsome just like Daddy.

What The...?

As we wandered through a store this morning, Wally turned a corner in front of me. I heard his little voice say, "What the hell?"

I was shocked and not certain I had heard him correctly so I asked whim what he said. He repeated exactly what I suspected. I quickly informed him he was not allowed to say that. He replied "Oops, My bad!"

Back Seat Driver

While driving to a great dinner with family tonight, Wally told Rick, "Daddy, you didn't use your tick-tock (turn signal) when you turned left at that green light."

If he could reach the pedals, he would be a great driver. That terrifies me for so many reasons.

Making a Difference

While driving to a friend's house last night, Rick and I were having a conversation. I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation Wally was having on his own in the back seat. At one point, I was surprised at what I heard so I asked him to repeat it.

He said. "I need to do something on this earth, I need to make a difference on this earth."

We told him we thought that was a great idea. Rick and I returned to our conversation and a few minutes later heard something that made me laugh and smile.

"I give up! This earth isn't changing. This is too hard. I can't make it change."

We tried to explain that change takes time and that he has his whole life to work on it. Not sure if he understood, but I am looking forward to seeing him make a difference in the world the way he has made a difference in mine.

Louder Please

With the radio on in the van, Wally and I were chatting on our way to a play date. Soon, Lady Gaga began singing Bad Romance. Wally got very excited and shouted from the back of the van, "Louder Mommy!"

He was clapping his hands and dancing in his seat. He loves music!!

Wally tells YaYa a Story

Today's blog entry is the first of what I hope to be many "Guest Blogger" entries. Sometimes something this boy says or does is just to cute for me to write. Sometimes it needs to come from another observer. So this entry is from my mother, Cheri, or as Wally calls her, "YaYa."

After a busy Thanksgiving Day filled with food, visiting and countless Mario Cart Wii challenges, Wally and I settled in for the nightly read. I asked him if he would like to do the reading this time. With a quick “yes” answer, he decided to “read” from my Birds and Blooms magazine. While looking at the picture, he read me this story”



“Once upon a time there were 2 birds living in a tree. The tree had snow on it. The little bird said to the big bird, “ Can we play Wii?” The big bird said, “No. We can’t play Wii, because we don’t live in a house, we live in a tree.”

I just love that boy and I love his stories.

~YaYa (AKA Cheri Phillips)

Grant's Farm

While visiting Poppy and YaYa in July of this year, we headed in to St Louis to visit Grant's Farm. There is so much to do and see there. We all had a great time.

Wally got to feed some pygmy goats.


He rode the Carousel with YaYa.


He "patiently" watched a turtle trek 5 feet to get closer to us.


He talked to the birds.


Then he watched an elephant do some great tricks.


Then we headed back to the house and did one last buggy ride on Poppy's golf cart.


It was a GREAT day all around!!

Mesaba Holiday Party

Today we went to the Annual Mesaba Holiday Party. Santa flies in from the North Pole on one of Mesaba's airplanes and comes in to the hangar to greet the kids before he heads back to a special room where the kids can come visit him. There are lots of activities, bouncies and food for everyone.

Shortly after we arrived, we ran into one of Rick's coworkers. Jazzy asked Wally if he was staying out of trouble. Wally replied honestly by saying, "Well, not today, but usually."

Wally ran from one bouncy to another. There were a total of 4.


The boxing ring was full of big kids most of the day, but at the end of the day, Wally got his turn. The gloves are a little big, but he had fun.


Wally got his turn to see Santa. He was very excited and not even slightly shy. He sat right up on his lap. Santa asked what Wally wanted for Christmas, Wally said he wanted a big giant (train) layout like Grandma and Grandpa have, and a new Slinky because his is broken. As he got ready to leave, he shook hands with Santa while telling him "Thank You, Santa," accepted a gift from him and headed out the door.


We headed out to a table so Wally could open his gift from Santa. He was excited to find a Transformer. He'd never been given one before. He couldn't wait to get home to play with it.

Potato Heads

Wally and his daddy often act a bit silly. Here they are wearing the glasses from our Mr. Potato Head family set.

Wally, A Doctor?

On a beautiful October day this year, we headed off to Three Cedars Farm in Northville for donuts and apple cider, and a tractor hay ride to the pumpkin patch. There were also lots of fun things for kids to do. Before we were able to get on the tractor, Wally became cranky and said he was not feeling well. We headed back to the van for the ride home. On the way, he told us his foot hurt a lot. Once I was able to get his shoe and sock off, I could see that it was red, but from the front seat, it was hard to see why.

Once we were home, I could clearly see that he was covered in hives from his scalp to the bottoms of his feet. After a short time, the hives became large welts in many places. He also had a fever. Wally is allergic to benadryl and it was obvious to us that he needed some kind of intervention. So we headed off to the ER.

He was given a medication called atarax and we started to see some relief very quickly. Once he was cleared by the doctor, I put his coat on him and had him stay seated on the bed. Rick and I stepped to the other side of the room o put our coats on.

Wally shouted to us, "Hey guys! Don't forget me."

I assured him we wouldn't forget him then asked him, "Don't you want to stay here by yourself?"

He looked at me and firmly stated, "Mommy, I am NOT a doctor!"

Rock Star

From when he was a tiny baby, Wally has had a love for music. He listens to classical music at bed time and while he sleeps. He LOVES rock music. He often tells me to turn up the radio in the car. While visiting our Cousin Jenn last fall for Wally's 3 year pictures, he saw the guitars for Wii Guitar Hero. He immediately picked it up and pretended to play. We had so much fun watching him do it, we decided to us it for our pictures.


He eventually got to play Wii Guitar Hero for a few minutes and loved it. Last year, Santa found a cool guitar that was the right size for him. He is able to plug in an iPod and the music actually comes out of the speaker. It also has keys that make music. He likes to listen to music and play the songs on his guitar. One night, we decided to video him playing so I tried to think of a song he would enjoy. He had never heard this one before so his timing, expressions and interpretation of it amazed us. I tried so hard not to laugh out loud on the video.

Phonics

Wally has been learning phonics at daycare and the more he is there, the more we see how well he is doing there. Dinner time is a great time for us to have him tell us. He will pick a letter. Then we all take turns saying words that start with that letter. We are always shocked at how long he can keep going. He smiles all the way through. When he can't think of another word, he just makes one up and giggles.

Sidetrack

Tonight we went to our monthly family dinner. It was my birthday month so I chose Wally's favorite restaurant, Sidetack in Ypsilanti. Sidetrack in a great old bar and grill in the historic district of Depot Town. It sits on a corner where the train tracks run diagonally through the intersection. When the trains are coming, you can feel everything shaking. It gets pretty loud, too. They go through pretty often so naturally Wally loves it! He waited patiently for the only train that came by. He took this great picture of a sign in the restaurant.



He was sweet as can be. He was very loving, hugging me several times and telling me happy birthday. He wanted to have a picture taken of the two of us while I was wearing the tiara (a family birthday dinner tradition for the birthday girl to wear.) He is growing up to be such a gentleman.

Financial Planning

Shortly after Wally learned to talk, he surprised us in the car one day. We were in the van and headed out for the day. From the back seat, he shouted, "Mommy, Daddy, We need more money. Quick, Call YaYa."

The Shopping List

Wally was sitting next to me at my desk this morning. He asked for a pen and a piece of my paper. He wrote a few letters and scribbled some things. Then he told me he was done with his list and ready for shopping.

I asked what was on his list.
Chicken Nuggets
Apples
And then we need to go to the pet store and get a new puppy because we don't have one.

If this boy wants a puppy, he needs to talk to his YaYa. She can get one and keep it at her house. I would, however, be happy to get him chicken nuggets and apples.

My Best Friend

Tonight after reading our story, Wally asked if we could cuddle in my bed before he goes to sleep. So we headed in to my room, moved the pillows around and covered up. We talked about the book we read, The Elf on the Shelf. He named his elf Felsus. He asked several questions about Felsus, Santa and Christmas. We talked about the news, the recent visits from Poppy and YaYa as well as my friend Pete. Then he hugged me and said, "Mommy, You are my best friend."
I don't think I have ever heard anything so sweet.

Felsus

Several months ago, Wally and I were in the van headed off to who knows where. He said, "Hey Felsus?" I asked what he said and he told me he called me Felsus. I asked what Felsus meant. He told me it means Felsus. He said it is what he was going to call me. I asked if he meant Fellas, he said no, he meant Felsus. He called me Felsus a lot for the next several weeks and slowly used it less and less. Some days he calls me that out of the blue.
I will never know why he chose that name or where he got it, but it always makes me smile when he does.

Cleaning the Mess

One November morning, Wally asked me to reach the Lincoln Logs from the top shelf in his toy room. I got them down and we spread them all over the floor, building little houses and forts. He continued to play with them for a while as I worked on other things. When he decided he was done and needed to be put away, he again came to me. Here is what happened:

Wally: You need to clean this mess up! (With an attitude and waving his finger over the mess.)
Me: I'm sorry, what did you say?
Wally: (Again with the attitude and waving finger) I said, you need to clean up this mess.
Me: Wally, this is not my mess. You made this mess. These are your Lincoln Logs. You need to clean them up.
Wally: You got them down, so you need to clean them up.
Me: Wally, I got them down, because you can't reach them.

Wally gave me his best little devilish grin and we cleaned up the mess together.

A Budding Artist

Wally's YaYa is an artist and recently has taken an interest in sketching. Wally was excited about helping her and wanted to draw in her sketch book, too. He wanted to draw a face. He looked at YaYa with the pencil in his hand and made a circle in the air with his pencil while he said, "Hmm, let me see. Your face is round." Then he drew YaYa's face while they talked about her smile and eyes. When he finished, we were all surprised at how well he did drawing his first person. He then wrote YaYa's name on the page.


Then he wanted to draw me so he brought the sketch pad and pencils closer to me. He held the pencil in his had again, made a circle in the air and said, "Hmm, let me see. Your face is round and you have feet." It didn't take him long to draw me and add my name to the page. His second portrait was even better.


The next day he decided to draw an airplane. The only thing YaYa helped him with was the handle on the door. I am impressed with how well he did this one. You can tell he loves airplanes.

Eating a Cupcake

After dinner on September 15, 2009, Wally asked if he coul eat the cupcake he has been so patiently waiting all day to eat. As he was eating it, Rick and I worked on cleaning up the kitchen and getting some other things done. He came out of the kitchen after an extended period of time and said, "Mommy and Daddy, it takes me soooooooo looooong to eat a cupcake."

Pushing Buttons

This morning Wally was making an irritating sound over and over and over even though I asked him not to. I told him, "Wally, you are pushing my buttons." He looked at me with his sweetest smile and said, "Push, push, push." Suddenly the irritating sound was funny.

A Dog Named Foo

While driving in our van September 27, 2009, we stopped at a red light. Wally noticed a dog in the car next to us and asked me to find out the dogs name. I rolled down my window and asked the man the dog's name. He replied, "Foo." Wally asked me to tell the man that Foo was a good name. I did and the light turned green. As I rolled up the window and pulled away, Wally said, with and attidude, "He should have named him Patch!"

Band Ham

After putting his pajamas on November 9, Wally was crawling around on the floor, barking and licking into the air. He crawled up to me and said, "I am a bulldog. My name is Band Ham."
I leaned over to pet him on the head, telling him it was nice to meet him.
He replied, "I'm a cute little fella."

Step 3

On November 21, Wally and I were making lunch together.

Wally - Don’t forget step 3.
Me - What is step 3?
Wally - I can’t tell you.
Me - Why not?
Wally - It’s a surprise.

What is Mommy Eating?

After picking up dinner from one of my favorite restaurants on September 15, we sat down to dinner. Wally kept looking at my plate with a thoughtful expression. He finally couldn't take it anymore. He looked up at me and said, "Mommy, are you eating poop?"

I quickly told him they were grape leaves and offered him a bite. He politely declined.

Hitting people

While I was getting ready for work on the morning of September 15, Wally gave me some great advice.

"Mommy, don't you hit anybody at work today." I thanked him for reminding me.

Before you jump to conclusions, Wally had been in trouble on the two previous days for hitting friends at school. For the record, I have always been able to resist the urge to hit somebody at work.

An Early Lesson in Love

On August 31, 2009 I was watching the movie Hitch, with Will Smith while Wally was taking a nap. By the time he woke up, I was near the end of the movie. Will's character, "Hitch", was chasing Sara's car down the street while she was driving away. Hitch dives on the front of Sara's car to stop her. Here is the conversation we had about it.

Wally - Mommy, why did that man jump on that car.
Me - He likes that girl.
Wally - Does she like him?
Me - Yes, Wally, she does.
Wally - Then why is she driving away?
Me - Well, Wally sometimes adults don't make good decisions.

Frustration

After a morning of frustrating me with the little things and me scolding him for the same three things over and over, Wally and I were making lunch together. I smiled at him and said, "Wally, I'm sorry you are frustrating me so much this morning." (Yes, I know that isn't a real apology, but it was the best I could do at the moment.)

He looked up at me with that sweet little smile and said, "It's ok, Mommy. You don't have to apologize for that."

The Beginning

Today I begin this blog on behalf of my son Wally. Seeing the world through his eyes as he grows and learns is truly the most amazing experience I have ever had. Like all children, he is a little sponge. Every day leads to so many new things for him.

There have been so many times I have heard or seen him do something and thought it was so cute or so smart. I've also thought "I'll never forget that one." Most of them are now lost somewhere in my brain. Some, I have written in various places. I want to have one place to put them all. Some days there may be many entries, other days there may be none at all. Sometimes they will be things that happened that day. Sometimes they will be things that happened in the past. Some have made us laugh, some have made us proud, some have made us scratch our heads in wonder. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have.