Technical Difficulties

Hi gang!

I just wanted to apologize for any frustration you may have had trying to view the videos in my last post. I don't know exactly what the deal was, but I know there were a bunch of folks who kept getting the "This Video is Unavailable" message. (Including me!) But the good news is that I think I fixed it. I re-uploaded the first video and now they all seem to be working, so hopefully they will work for you too. The only weird thing is that the first video just has a black screen instead of a preview, but if you hit play it should go right to Sully eating cake batter. Let me know if you are still having problems and I will mess around with it and see if I can find a better solution.

I'm going to go download the pictures from my camera now, so I hope to get some new pictures up this weekend. In the meantime, here's a silly one of my boys celebrating the beginning of 2010. (Which was now a month and half ago....sheesh.)

Some Videos!

So the last time I posted (which was now over a month ago...oops!) my mother gave me a hard time that the only video I put up was of Mark and Jon-Mychel and not of Sully. So I thought I would give the public what it wants and put up some fairly recent Sully videos. There are 2 from around his birthday and 2 from Christmas. Happy viewing!



This was on Sully's actual birthday - he helped me measure ingredients and mix the batter to make his turtle cake, but obviously, eating the batter was more enjoyable than mixing it!

I like this video because you can see how focused Sully is when he is working on something. And when he is really focused, he always sticks his tongue out. What a silly boy!

One of Sully's favorite Christmas pastimes this year was listening to Christmas carols. He especially loves this version of "Jingle Bells" by the Barenaked Ladies.

Isn't his Christmas morning enthusiasm just over-the-top? See what I meant in the last post about orange juice obsessed?

Hope you enjoyed your Sully fix. I have a bunch of pictures and some updates, so I am going to try to do a full post sometime this week. (But don't hold me to it!)

Catch Up Post: November

Here are a few notable things that happened to the Willhites in November:

1) Megan's chicken pox finally crusted over and she was able to leave the house again. Hallelujah! (The pox have not disappeared completely yet, though, so that is a disappointment.)

2) The sweet, compliant boy who lived at our house magically and suddenly turned into an opinionated, obstinate, loud, and very frustrating 2 year old. His favorite phrases are, "No, Mommy, no!" and "Sully want that!" Lucky for him he's still pretty darned cute. See?

3) We had a very fun birthday party for said obstinate 2 year old at Grandma and Grandpa Willhite's house with superhero decorations, snacks, and games. Grandma and I also made the coolest cake ever. He was a pretty difficult cake to make, so lots of oohing and aahing now would be appropriate.

4) Sully had his 2 year check-up and we found out that he's growing well, but that he is anemic. So we've been spending the last month pushing iron-rich foods, trying to limit his milk intake (Vitamin D inhibits iron absorption), and loading up on the Vitamin C, which assists in iron absorption. Unfortunately, our child is now addicted to orange juice and hardly wants any milk. But I think he's been eating more lately and he has been eating meat and whole grains without too much fighting, so hopefully his iron has gone up enough that we won't have to do a supplement. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday to find out, so keep your fingers crossed for us!

5) We had our first solo Thanksgiving at this house - just the three of us and Drogo (Mark was on call). I cooked a turkey all by myself (albeit a frozen-in-a-bag-put-straight-in-the-oven-turkey breast, but it was a turkey nonetheless!) and even did all the side dishes. The obstinate 2 year old ate only cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, but he did put one piece of turkey in his mouth. (It promptly came back out.) Sully did however do a Thanksgiving craft with me, and we got to snuggle on the couch and watch the parade in our pajamas, so all in all it was a nice Thanksgiving.

6) We finally got our digital camera back! Canon fixed it for free and it works great now, so hopefully I will get my act in gear and start posting pictures again! And they won't be grainy or fuzzy because they were taken with a video camera or scanned into the computer! YEAH!

7) Sully named baby #2 for us, so our new child-to-be is currently referred to as Baby Bodo. All seems to be going well with Bodo so far - the heartbeat is strong and I have been feeling some movement in there. I have to get a Level 2 ultrasound because of the chicken pox, so they'll be able to look more closely and see if there were any pox related complications. The ultrasound is scheduled for Dec 23, so we'll let you know what they find out. (And I am leaning toward not finding out the gender, so it's good that Bodo can be a girl's name or a boy's name!)

8) Mark continued to grow his goatee, which according to my mother makes him look Amish. I disagree.

So there you go - a brief look at November....a busy month at our house! (That's why I haven't gotten around to updating until now. That and the fact that my first trimester was very draining - thank goodness for "the golden age of pregnancy" as the second trimester is called. It's way better so far!)

Hope you all are enjoying this wintry December weather! We are off to see the Holiday Magic lights at the zoo tonight, so hopefully I can get some new pictures up soon!

Happy Halloween from the Wonder Willhites!

It has been a crazy week at the Willhite house! I found out on Tuesday that I have the chicken pox and have been quarantined since. Sully was vaccinated and Mark had it as a kid (although I did too, so I guess I am just in a weakened immune state because of the pregnancy?) so luckily for them, they were both able to enjoy Halloween to the fullest. Mark carved his pumpkin and I helped Sully paint his yesterday afternoon, but the highlight of the day was when the boys went trick-or-treating as the most adorable superheroes in Grayslake. While Danger Dad and Super Sully were out patrolling the neighborhood, I did answer the door for trick-or -treaters, but I did so dressed as a surgeon so I could wear the mask they sent me home from the doctor in. (Chicken pox is passed respiratorialy, and I didn't want to scare the children with my bumpy crusty chin!) I guess Mega Mommy will have to make her Halloween appearance next year. (But at least I didn't have to finish my costume - which meant I got Mark's done.....9 minutes before trick-or-treating started!) Sully had so much fun, and we were very amazed because he never tried to take off his costume! He loved trick-or-treating so much he wasn't content to do just the neighbors' houses - Mark had to take him all the way down the block. They were out for about an hour and a half and Sully still cried when Mark made him come in the house! We of course took lots of pictures - although Mark had to go out and buy a disposable camera because our digital one is busted, and we've been a little preoccupied and haven't replaced it yet. So I apologize that the pictures aren't of the highest quality, but when we developed them today they gave us a free photo cd, so at least I didn't have to scan them all. I also forgot to get the video camera out last night, so Mark and Sully put their costumes back on today and went outside to run around. Sully actually played in the yard in his entire costume for about an hour! It was the most adorable thing ever!

Despite the chicken pox, we had an enjoyable Halloween and Sully really seemed to enjoy the whole process. I think he'll be sad when we put the decorations away and he can't say "Hi pumpkin" or "See skeleton's bone" as we walks around the house. But as there is no reason he can't be Super Sully everyday, I am going to put him in that costume as much as possible while he still fits in it - he looks so cute! See?

Here are a few photos of our pumpkin decorating - but don't look too closely at the one of me and Sully....the pox are yucky!

And here are some of of Danger Dad and Super Sully being the cutest boys I have ever seen!

And finally, here are the Wonder Willhites in action! You may be able to see Danger Dad without his costume, so please don't reveal his true identity to anyone - it could put his family at risk! (Or his manhood - isn't he a good daddy to walk around the neighborhood in gold lame and shiny boots? At least I didn't make him wear tights!) Happy Halloween!

Wacky Willhite News

Yes, you heard correctly! There is another Wacky Willhite on the way! We had our first prenatal appointment and ultrasound yesterday and all is going well. The baby is healthy with a strong heartbeat and we were measuring right on schedule. I'm 9 and a half weeks now and due on May 22. Things are mostly going smoothly, but I am much sicker with this kid than I was with Sully. I've already thrown up 3 times today. Woo hoo!

Here's a picture of our little peanut (or perhaps it is a baby doll I accidentally swallowed):

So that's our news! We are all excited and Mark and I are incredibly relieved - it's been a rough 9 weeks wondering if everything was okay this time. I go back to the doctor in three weeks (right before our big boy turns 2 - YIKES!) so I should have more news to post then. But for now I need to go lay on the couch while Sully is in the crib. I'm realizing I need all the rest I can get now before it's too late!

Which kid is which?

I've always known Sully looks just like his daddy, but who could have guessed they were IDENTICAL toddlers?

We're Still Here!

So it has been an incredibly long time since our last post, and Sully has grown and changed so much that I am not even sure where to begin. He's talking up a storm and learns new words and concepts almost every day. To illustrate what I mean, here is a video of Sully's Uncle Rory teaching him a new trick.

It has been a lot of fun being able to communicate with Sully, and he is definitely willing to tell you what he wants or how he feels. Some of his favorite phrases include, "No way!," "Nope," and "Daddy/Mommy sit/play/read, etc." He's doing better on his manners, though, and usually remembers to say please when he is asking for more of something. We're working on thank you and he's doing pretty well.

Since it's been so long since my last post, I figured I'd just jump right into some pictures so you can see how much he's grown. I'll try to post again soon with some more details of Sully's brilliance!

Here's a few shots from our camping trip at Devil's Lake this weekend.

Even though I worked all summer, we did try to squeeze in some outdoor fun at the splash park, Illinois State Beach park and in the backyard.



And finally, here is my favorite Sully face:

The Cheesy Grin! Enjoy! Happy September!