Will Klaus

The hat started out as part of the great Christmas decorations at Joe and Lara's house, but Will soon appropriated it for his own use. Sadly enough, in the first year of Will Klaus, I got a piece of coal in my stocking.

Ward Christmas Party

Will, ever serious, decided not to crack a smile for the family photo at the Ward Christmas Party. Perhaps he knew what was coming...

that he'd be forced to sit in the lap of a curious man in a red suit. Will found this all too troubling. His first response was to express his discontent with a civilized gesture.

When his concerns were ignored, he had no choice but to pronounce a code red and escalate to hysterics. Will, once again was placed in harms way all in the name of a good picture. Remember the monkey incident? At least there were no rabies shots this time.

Cowboy Will

One of GiGi's presents (all of them great, but this one perhaps the greatest) was cowboy hats for all the boys at Christmas, Kevin, Jason, and Will. There was, initially, a sustained disagreement over whether it was Daddy's hat or Will's hat, and there is still some residual confusion on that issue. Mostly, however, Daddy is sad that no one buys him cool things like cowboy hats (or boots, or belt buckles, etc.).

Partners In Crime

Do not be drawn in by the innocent, angelic expressions. Though they are sweet and adorable, when these two get together, they are the masterminds for all sorts of trouble...

From composing impossible symphonic masterpieces that baffle even the most seasoned musicians.

To demonstrating their super-human athleticism by running, jumping and doing flips on an air mattress at top speeds, never once falling off. (Children, please do not try this at home.)


It is suspected that the enabler of this dynamic duo is the same party pictured here allowing them to sit and stand on the table and do basically anything they desire.

Big helper

Will has never been one to idly by and watch while others work. He always jumps at the chance to lend a hand.

Sure, he may have spilled that entire box of cereal out on the floor. But that doesn't stop him from jumping in and getting his hands dirty helping out. This boy is a real team player!

His skills also extend to that of a pastry chef. Here he is coaching GiaGia in the art of making perfectly moist, tender rolls.

Tractor love affair

Will is a HUGE fan of tractors, diggers, trucks, etc. Seems like this fascination, verging on obsession can be traced back to a visit to Texas where he experienced his first up close encounter with tractors.

He liked being in the cab of the big blue tractor until the engine started and things got a little dicey.


He also tested out the John Deer front loader tractor.



Hanging out with PaPou and his older cousins, Jacob and Joshua further enhanced this glorious experience.

After the dust cleared, Will had become a devoted tractor connoisseur. Here he is with his "orange-ish" tractor. A term Tom used to describe the color but Will has now adopted as the name of his most favorite tractor.

Halloween

This year for Halloween Will was a lion. He wasn't super keen on keeping the head part of the costume on but somehow in the excitement he forgot to take it off.



Pretty ferocious though and you should have heard him growl!!



We also had a party in our courtyard where all the kids dressed up.

Here's Will marching in the Courtyard's Halloween Parade.


And here he is playing peek-a-boo and scaring friends and passersby.



Trick or treating this year was more fun than last since Will got to actually enjoy some of the candy.

Pumpkin Patch

As part of this year's Halloween ritual, we drove out to Half Moon Bay in search of the perfect pumpkin.

We got a little bit distracted by the many cool attractions of this Autumn wonderland. First it was the train, which was ostensibly a riding lawnmower pulling several other carts through a haunted greenhouse. This place was definitely scary. Christopher Walken would have needed tons of googly eyes to feel safe here!


Next we headed over for a pony ride. Given how taken Will is with horses (he can neigh and snort just like a horse) we were sure this would be a big hit. Will was really fascinated by the strange, miniature horses until we got close enough for him to sit on one. Then he said very emphatically, "No! No!" Not interested.


After this traumatic run in with ponies, he was a little timid at first in the petting zoo...

But he soon warmed right up.


Will was instrumental in picking out the perfect pumpkin. Here he is with his spoils.



Tom carted both pumpkin and Will off. This was my favorite photo op.


Although honestly the best part of all of the pumpkin patch was a nice, big slice of pumpkin pie. Mmmmmm!



As evening fell Will and Daddy stopped for a quick picture to remember the day.


A moment of reflection from Will: "I came. I saw. I conquered."

Will Wants the Camera

Muir Woods

We had a great weekend trip up to Muir Woods (about 40 mins north of the Golden Gate Bridge). We haven't really been hiking here in California, which I know should embarrass me to admit, but I think it's really not that surprising if you know about the mountain lion problem. Anyway, Muir Woods is beautiful and, according to John Muir (objective third-party observer), is the "best tree-lovers monument" in the world.

Emily and Chad Pehrson actually came up with the idea, and we followed the indomitable Ruby as she chose the most difficult path up the mountain and back down.

For the most part Will rode nice-n-comfy in his sweet backpack (which is about as heavy as it looks).

We engaged in the usual activities on the hike. Chad and Ruby argued over the route:

Will got down as soon as possible and ran around like a mad man:

and also communed with nature:

I almost fell off the path, nearly taking Will with me (turns out there wasn't a merit badge on "balance," or at least not one that I was aware of):

And Will and Ruby blatantly ignored the warnings to stick to the paths and not trample the wildlife (in their defense, they are great climbers):

All-in-all it was a great time. Good exercise for the adults and a refreshing break from staring at a computer screen waiting for new email (not that that's how I spend my days) and for the kiddos lots of fun playing with trees and watching the birds.