Can't help it...

Just can't help but post these pics of my darling little girl. Ok, so sometimes she's not so darling, but looking through all of the 3-year-old, big sister, drama queen, control freak behaviors, she is my sweetie. I love you, Lydie lew!

Snippets of Spring

With the advent of springtime the Willson crew has been spending more time outside (and obviously less time in front of the computer). We all feel invigorated by the warmer weather and sunshine. Although, Tobias doesn’t seem to understand that it’s not the best idea to play in the backyard in the inch of rain or swing in the windy chilly air. He runs around in his diaper begging, “Outside. Play outside. Swing. Up high.” I was vacuuming upstairs last Saturday morning and I assumed my children were playing quietly in Lydia’s bedroom where I had left them moments before. As I was emptying the canister I heard a muffled, “mommy!” cry. I searched the bedrooms, checked the basement steps, and then, I saw the source of the plee… Tobias Alexander standing on the bench of the deck splashing in the rain water that had collected on top of a plastic toy bin slightly distressed that his clothes were soaked. Yes, he has discovered the lever-handled door, the key to his favorite place to be… (Needless to say, we deadbolt it every time now ;)

Some of these days have kept us in our PJs finding fun inside…
Reading on mommy and daddy’s bed…

Dressing up…



Eating lollipops…



Putting stickers all over Papa’s face…


Photo shoot with the cousins…



(and vegging in front of Veggie Tales after nap)


Others have let us enjoy God’s great outdoors…
Walk with Grammy, Grandpapa, and Aunt M…


Playground with friends…


Visit to Nana’s alpaca farm…





Both kids have been snotty, salivay messes out of every oriface on their head. I think it’s a combo of a spring cold, allergies, and teething (for Toby – he cut 2 this past week – 2 to go!). Nothing bad enough to really keep them “down” but annoying enough to make them uncomfortable, whiny and miserable at times. Lovely.

We also celebrated my dear niece’s 1st Birthday!
Her absolutely amazing cake!

Look at this cutie…


We love you, Rachey girl. Happy 1st Birthday! :)

Even proof that I do, in fact, exist…

With my true love...

And now we wait with anticipation the celebration of our Lord's saving grace as He conquered death and rose again for us! We pray this reality will overcome our hearts and that our children will begin to grasp the depth of Jesus' love for us.

First time for everything

(Sorry the pics aren't centered - my default settings somehow were changed, I'll work on remedying this issue)

I was past-due for my bi-yearly dental check-up and I decided it was time for Lydia to accompany me. We prepared by reading books about the dentist and explaining what would happen when she was there. She watched mommy go first while simultaneously investigating the exam room. When it was her turn she jumped right up in the chair and opened her mouth wide. After her first opportunity to spit in the little sink she was pretty preoccupied with that fun little distraction, but overall she listened well and checked out great! In the midst of this busy day I neglected to bring my camera (shame on me!) but here’s a photo of her a couple days after her first dentist visit in Dr. Barra’s office getting a “ride” in the chair.

Her preschool class fieldtrip had the opportunity to learn about foods and drinks that are healthy and unhealthy for their teeth, hear a book about a child’s first visit to the dentist,

& learn to and practice brushing “Clyde”’s teeth.


A fun and educational time!


Mark and his friends simply love the mountains. So, a couple weekends ago, when the snow finally showed signs of dwindling to puddles, they decided to do a mega hike in Micheux.

Two 3-year-olds and three canines accompanied “the men” (as Lydia described them). Here she is exploring with her buddy, Luke


They were gone for the majority of the afternoon – during which time “nature called” for Lydia. Daddy had the great privilege of teaching his daughter the technique for peeing in the woods. A first time for everything…

A handful – a full hand

I realized I haven’t mentioned much about our 19-month jabbering Tobias lately so here goes…


Toby’s sentences are blowing us away. Today he said, “Milk please” After taking a taste he demanded, “Put chocolate in it.” After yawning he says, “I’m sleepy.” He often tells his daddy, “In a minute.” (Do you think he hears that often?) Last night, I carried him into his room and as a last ditch effort to avoid bedtime he pointed to the CD player and said, “I want a song!” Then as I was lowering him into his crib, he put his finger on his nose and declared, “I have boogers.” A frustrating part of his language development: when he doesn’t know the word for something he says, “Da – boe” So we hear, “I want da-boe!” UGH! Probably the most touching of his verbal expressions are when he spontaneously says, “I love you.” And points to stain glass windows or books and shouts, “JEEUS!” “I want Jesus!”

He also started singing words – of songs that we understand. He has the first couple lines of “Twinkle Twinkle” (in a 19 month old way) and sings his bedtime song, “Good night, Toby.”

Tobias spends time with Pop-pop aka Gpa aka my dad on Thursday mornings (while I have a blissful hour of “me” time at the Y). Pop pop is teaching him how to spell. He knows “D” “O” of dog and if you say, “D.O.G., what does that spell?” He’ll shout, “DOG!” He has learned a few letters: “A” “T” “O” and “Y” by sight and counts to 3.

Toby loves doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING his sister is doing. Here they are "helping" me prepare "Green Eggs and Ham" in celebration of Dr. Suess' birthday.

And he's such a character - he's quite enthusiastic vividly shown by his facial expressions and volume.
Playing "Peek-A-Boo" in daddy's closet.

"OH NO!"



You'll notice there aren't a tremendous amount of photos of Tobias. Yes, it's because he never stops moving! Tobes continues to be a climbing machine and in fact, we’ve started putting our kitchen chairs up on the table (grade-school style) to thwart his ventures. Toby can definitely shake a groove thang – in fact, last week I had to interrupt a VeggieTales dance party for naptime.

Some of Toby’s favorite toys are his “choo choo”s.


He used to just say, “choo choo” but now he says “Thomas choo choo.” He’s also discovered the ball-popper: Endless hours of entertainment. He’s found other objects besides balls actually fit inside of it which is great fun, until he realizes that then the balls don’t come out. Then we have a sad Toby and frustrated mama… The worst so far was plastic straws. Daddy had to break out the screw driver and dismantle it to recover them. Thankfully, it promptly returned to working order. Whew!

Tobias often wakes up from his naps very very sad. Now, I know this is NOT normal for his age. We often find him screaming and writhing around followed by tooting. Poor kid has belly pain! He’s also obviously not ready to wake up as he’s doing eye-rubbing, thumb-sucking, and putting his head down (not to mention he’s very grumpy). I’m going to adjust his diet a little and see if it has any effect. A napping child makes the whole family happier. And we sure do like a happy family. ☺

As I was explaining to my dear friend Jen the other day, Tobias brings the greatest joys yet the greatest challenges in my life right now. He certainly is “precious in His sight” and ours. He's a handful, but we view our lives as having a full hand knowing our gracious God has ordained His life and blessed it...

Color color everywhere...

On Mark's day off (from working the weekend) we took a trek to Easton, PA to the Crayola Museum
We started out with a neat demonstration of how crayons and markers were made. Afterward we put our tokens in the fun machines to get some of our own.


They had a "dino" theme throughout the museum.


Dipping warm wax onto our special shapes. Lydia had an "Easter egg" I got an "ice cream cone"


Lydie spent her time in the "sidewalk chalk" area erasing everyones' creations. Thankfully there was only one other family around so her damage was minimal.
We then cashed in 2 of our tokens for Model Magic and spent time coloring it and flattening it (not so much actual modeling going on - we were instructed to try to make a dinosaur ;)




With lots of assistance they used sponge stamps to make a little book cover which they ran through the "drying machine". A nice man then made a dino "book" for them with blank pages to continue their creations. Of course, their favorite part of this area was washing hands - they could have done it all morning. Who could resist? The sink was just their size!

This thing was awesome - music for dancing, and a shadow of your image on the BIG screen. Lydia is the one in front (surprise, surprise), their shadows are red.

Probably the only time in their lives that it was "ok" to color on the walls


After a packed lunch at the indoor picnic tables we headed up to the canal museum on the 3rd and 4th floors. The activities were a little challenging for the kids but they still had a blast.
The water table was a definite favorite. Daddy made an awesome chute for the boats to speed down. We had boat races and splashed a little.




Lydia learning how pulleys work.

Wavin' from the train

My little drama queen :)

And how a rudder works

What a fun day! Mommy and daddy wanted to explore the cool downtown of Easton, but the kids crashed (and slept the majority of the 2 1/2 hour ride home). The color of this day surely fueled our energy and provided hope for brighter days, full of life ahead.
"Thank you, Lord for the beauty of your creation and the wonder of creativity, infinite possibility, and endless variety."