Where have the years (ok year) gone?

Our baby is all grown up! Why is he so happy (besides sitting in his ultra cool Wilken-size chair picked out by his very own Grandpa)? He is a walker!

It all started over a year ago with a simple smile, followed by rolling over, his 2 teeth came in after that, then he started crawling all around the house. Now, our little pride and joy has made it into the fight of the real world; he's WALKING! Here he is walking across the room and making a dive for the kitty cat.

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video SharingSure he's been standing and taking little steps for about a month now, but it seemed to always end with a fall on about step 7 or 8. Throughout his 13th month, he continued to walk longer stretches, however, he also utilized his speedster crawling style most of the time. On Saturday (7.15.06) Wilken turned 14 months and we are now ready to say our boy is officially walking full-time. Who knows when or if he'll ever sacrifice his speedy little crawl, but he continually stands up and walks around the house without falling. He even has been walking in the grassy backyard, which is no easy feat (no pun intended)!

We can remember going to movies and having date nights, er, I mean when he was just born, now he's up walking around chasing our cats like a little Frankenstien. They say it goes quick, but Wilken is living (walking) proof!

What else is new? We have been working on Wilken's "gentle" skills, especially with his human and kitty pals. He has a tendency to get very excited and grab his buddies, and even try to hug them, which often causes them to fall over onto the ground. We believe his intentions are pure curiosity and a desire to develop his social skills. No malevolence at all! However, after taking in the next video, we'll let you all decide. Is his interaction with this benign pillow a hint of what he would really like to do with his best little buddies in the world?

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Wilken Seas World II and Summer Fun

Well, it was my second trek to Sea World. You would think that by my smile, it was an amazing exciting experience. When we first arrived, my parents took me to the play area. Who thought to put a play area on plastic mats with the sun shining through? Man it sure does hurt to crawl on plastic mats burning in direct sunlight! I hated it and cried when ever I hit a "hot spot." After burning the heck out of my hands and knees, we went to see the dolphins. I liked watching the show and seeing the water, although I didn't understand what those tiny little things jumping around in the water actually were. I kept resting my head on my mommy's shoulder like I wanted to take a nap, so my parents thought I was tired.
Normally, I would have loved to meet a real live dolphin. Right? My buddy Bryce's mom, who is a trainer at Sea World, let me meet one close up. My parents thought it was so cool, but I stuck my bottom lip out and tried not to cry every time it let out a loud squeak.
Crawling through these tubes was a highlight, although my parents noticed I wasn't quite the speedster they were used to. They really noticed something was wrong when I started shivering in the water in 85 degree heat. I usually love the water, no matter how cold.
Well not only was I exhausted by my trip to Sea World, I had a fever and was very sick for the whole next week. I really need to get back there when I am at my best. What a cool place!
Since our trip to Sea World I have been spending a lot of time outside playing with the hose on the lawn and in my pool these days. I love drinking out of the hose and swimming. I especially like it when my daddy sprays me with the hose. My mommy can't understand why I don't think it is cold. Come on mom. Weren't you a kid once?

4th of July and Fun at the Beach

For all of my boy buddies out there in blog world, I have been monopolizing my girlfriend Rory's time these days . We had a blast on 4th of July. Rory came over to my house and I did my best not to maul her. I am working on my "gentle" skills with both babies and cats alike, and only attempted a few swipes at her binky this trip.We parallel played for hours and even went swimming in my pool in the backyard. Rory was ready to konk out just before the fireworks, so she and her mommy and daddy experienced them on the ride home. I stayed up late and watched them from our balcony. I fell asleep in my mommy's lap 15 minutes into the show.

A few weeks ago, I went to the beach for the first time this summer. It was a blast! I loved the ocean. I was unusually quiet, I guess. My parents think that all of the people and the loud crashing waves was all the noise I needed to keep me interested. Rory and I played for a couple of hours in the sand until it got too windy and overcast and our cold mommies put an end to the trip. For those of you who follow Rory's blog, this may be a repeat of some old news. That's what you get from this procrastinating family!