Good-bye 2007, Hello 2008!

Phew, time to take a deep breath! If you've been following us through our blog, or by emails, phone calls and visits, then you know that this year has been a whirlwind. We announced we were pregnant last Christmas Day. Megan was working on her master's degree in Massachusetts while Josh was in California. We had plans to finally be together in April, but the military had other ideas and Josh was deployed for the 2nd time in 12 months in April. Megan stayed in Massachusetts, finished her master's. Josh got promoted to Corporal in July while serving in Iraq. Through the summer heat our wonderful family and friends offered support as Will grew and grew (and kicked and kicked), Josh finished his tour in Iraq, Megan got ready for parenthood and Fenway adjusted to a new home in Connecticut thanks to the Trainors.

Finally, Will was born in August. We were so lucky to have so many friends and family to help out and share his birth. We met such amazing people and had such unexpected gifts and support from old and new friends. As Josh made his way back to California, Joe, Millie, and Donna pitched in to help care for Will and Megan in Massachusetts. Josh and Will met in September and the whole family made their way back to California in October.

Since then, the Sox won the World Series, we've had both sets of Grandparents visit as well as Aunts and Uncles, and the Pats are undefeated. We've had birthdays and anniversaries, many milestones, a lot of diapers, and a lot of new memories this year. We would like to thank everyone for standing by us through all the good and the bad, the tears and the laughter. We couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks for sharing our journey as a growing family. See you all in 2008!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today was Josh's birthday! Although we are told "26" is not old, he claims he feels like he's standing on the top of the downhill. Nevertheless, we celebrated with an ice cream cake, presents, cards, his choice of meal for dinner, and a nationally broadcast Pats game! Will liked the candles on the cake and seemed to enjoy helping his Dad celebrate his first birthday as a father.

Picnic at the Park

Josh had the day off today and we had to take our car in to get serviced, so, we decided to make a family day of it and pack up a picnic lunch and take the new stroller for a test drive at Mission Bay Park. Yes, that's right...a picnic in December!

Merry Christmas!

Santa came for Will! He must have been a VERY good boy this year (all 4 months of it) because he sure got a lot of toys and clothes. Santa can be pretty creative in his arrangements of presents and Will was pretty surprised to see such a change in the living room at 5am this morning when he woke up. Thanks to everyone who sent such thoughtful gifts and Merry Christmas to all!

In anticipation of Santa's arrival, we made Will two new toy boxes. Josh painted the fire truck and Megan made the dump truck. We used magnetic primer on the top and front so it doubles as a magnet board. Oooooo......Aaaahhhhh. Right? Such amazing parents!

Vonichka

The Platenik Family has a long standing tradition of making this special Czech Christmas bread each year. Josh has waited a very long time to make it with his own family, so, we spent the weekend baking up a storm! Of course, since it was our first time, we relied on Grammie and Grandpa for some tips via speaker-phone as they made it at the same time in Massachusetts. Will was very helpful kneading the bread when it was his turn, but, mostly he seemed pretty fascinated by the sounds his Dad could make with the dough and also by the voices coming from the phone on the table. Here is our video of the making of our first Vonichka bread. It was very tasty! Thanks Grammie and Grandpa!

Holiday of Lights

Tonight we went to Del Mar's holiday of lights to try to get into the spirit of Christmas. They decorate all around the horse racetrack and all in the middle, and people can drive through and see the cool lights. They have something similar in Western MA that we've been to, and this doesn't come close to how cool that one is, in the forest with the trees and snow but, still, it was nice to go out at night and also to see the displays. (You'll notice there was a Grandpa Platenik made of lights! Golf club in hand!)

Monkey See Monkey Do...or is it a camel?

Will has been experimenting with making new sounds. For example, his new thing is to sing himself to sleep. Recently, he began copying any sounds we make like making raspberry sounds. However, a teething 4 month old ends up spitting like a camel while making these sounds. Since we are new parents and we don't get out much, we found this to be endlessly entertaining. We hope you do too but don't tease us if you are not as amused as we were!






PS: It translates to "Merry Christmas!"

4 Month Check-Up

Will had his four month check-up today. He's weighing in at 16 lbs. 9 ounces and he's 25.25 inches tall. The doctor said he's a healthy boy and he's in the 90th percentile for his weight! What a big boy! He had to get four shots which he took like a champ and got a Superman band-aid for his troubles. He would also like to say Happy Birthday to his godmother, Ashley. Happy Birthday Ash!

A Balancing Act!

Will's been practicing sitting with Mom and he took some time on Sunday to show Dad his skills. (Dad was busy eating a dozen pancakes). Our next lesson will be about proper posture, but for now, practice makes perfect...as long as he has Mom for backup!

Oh, and here's how he feels about the Jets. Sorry Uncle Keith...we couldn't get him to wear it, genetically, he's a Pats fan through and through.

Stroller Strides Santa

Will and Megan spend 3 mornings a week at a new exercise class called Stroller Strides (http://www.strollerstrides.com/). It's a pretty intense exercise class designed for Moms and kids in strollers and the Moms get their workouts pushing the kids and doing various stations. It's a really good workout that involves the kids and keeps moms all together. They have cool activities and playgroups for the kids after class at the park and today was Santa day. Kind of strange to be wearing shorts while visiting Santa, but, fun anyway. Will was one of the only kids not afraid of Santa. I'm sure next year will be different. Here are some pictures of Santa at the park.

Jump and Go

Megan's friend Polly gave Will this Jump and Go when he was born. He's finally old enough to use it, so Josh hung it up and the boys gave it a whirl while Megan was making dinner. Turns out Will is pretty good at twisting, bouncing, and using his hands. Thanks for the cool toy, Polly!

That's a Wrap!

The weekend ended with some finishing touches on Christmas shopping and decorating. Will had an extreme attachment and fascination with everything Josh did this weekend...maybe he was keeping an eye on him in hopes that he'll bring home another amazing Christmas tree. (we should have registered for one of those!) So...when Josh got out the wrapping paper, Will was right there, wanting to help his Dad! Needless to say, when Grammie, Grandpa, Gram and Gramps get their packages...there might be extra crinkles and/or drool. It's full of love though, we promise!

Woah, A Christmas Tree!

We laid Will down on the floor while we ate dinner and he got so excited to see the Christmas tree all lit up. We couldn't resist filming his happiness.

Oh, Christmas Tree!

FedEx donated more than 500 Christmas trees for military families, so Josh went what he thought was pretty early only to be given number 350 in line! Not to fear, Marines are pretty competitive no matter what the goal! When the word was given to go get a tree, Josh sure found a pretty impressive one. He was very proud to show Will his first Christmas tree when he got home.

And then we set it up...

And tonight, we decorated it!