my sweet will

Oh, this boy! Just look at those smiling eyes. They say so much about the spirit that's in his perfect, little body and I am grateful every day that I am able to witness his life unfold. I haven't done an update on William in a while and he's been especially "big" lately so I think I need to do a post on my boy at three and a half (+ a month).

- he loves to sing and make up songs all day long. I love hearing his sweet little voice and listen to the words that he makes up.

- the things he tells me from the back seat make me so happy. I always dreamed about the day that I would have children to talk to in the car. Sounds weird to say that but I guess after years of observing little things like that with my sisters and their kids, I looked forward to it. He loves to make up stories and tell me about funny things he sees people doing in their cars and on the street.

- at least once a week, he asks to "go home to San Diego". The other night he had a rare bad dream and woke up crying out something that I couldn't understand. I went in to his dark room and he clung to me and said through deep sobs, "I want to go to my home in San Diego!" It truly broke my heart. I miss it so much too, little dude!

- on the flip side of that statement, he is in heaven being close to family. He gets to play with his cousins really often and he calls them "his friends". Most of his cousins are quite a bit older than him but they're such good sports and play with him for hours, read him stories and let him follow them around. He also really loves hanging out with my mom every day. She is super fun and I know that he sometimes prefers her over me (both my boys do, really). They're so blessed to be able to have this time with her under the same roof. I hope they understand that some day - like I did when I grew up and left home.

- he is gaining his confidence again. Moving here was a rough transition for him. I think all the changes really made him feel unsure about his future. We tried to make life as normal as possible for him but I think he's felt like we are on a long vacation since all our stuff is in storage. He seems to finally be snapping out of it though and will play with other kids more and talk to adults again. There was a while there that he was so incredibly shy, we were a little worried, but he seems to be back to his cheerful self again.

- when I get dressed up to go somewhere, he tells me, "Mommy, you look like a princess!" It makes my heart burst every time.

- he loves playing with cars, trains, airplanes, Legos, blocks and making things "work". I love watching the way his mind works.

- his favorite movie lately is Dumbo (so . . . that means I cry a lot because I cannot watch that movie - even on in the background - without weeping)!

I love this boy! He is smart, funny and cheerful and I'm so blessed to be his mom.