Walking!

I'm finally feeling much better. Today I was 100% William. And that makes Mommy & Daddy very happy! I had a great day. Mommy took me to playgroup at church this morning. Now that I'm crawling so well, I was really able to play and interact with the other children. Here are a few pictures from our time there.

Oh... and Mommy discovered Tooth #7 today. Apparently while I was sick and had sores all in my mouth, I also cut a new top tooth. Now that the sores are gone and my gums are no longer swollen, you can see the tooth. It's my second top-left tooth. Mommy hasn't gotten a good pictures of it yet, though.

And... as the headline says, I'm starting to walk. Assisted, but nonetheless, I'm taking steps! I've been pulling myself up to a standing position for several weeks. And in the past couple days, I've started "cruising," or walking along things like the sofa or ottoman. Yesterday, Grannie caught some video of me walking with my Baby Einstein toy. It's not meant for walking behind, but on the wood floors it slides, so it's a great start. Hopefully I'll master this soon and will be able to walk behind the dump truck toy Mommy and Daddy got me!

(Click on the videos to play!)

Under the Weather

Sorry Mommy hasn't had a chance to update my page lately. I've been pretty demanding of her time. Somewhere I managed to contract a virus, so I've been sick for about a week now.

It's a virus called the Coxsackie Virus, which causes a condition known as Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (known as HFMD). It's very common in infants and small children, but should not to be confused with Foot and Mouth Disease (found in horses). We have no idea where I picked it up, but since it's a virus it is transfered in the air and on surfaces.

This virus caused me to have small blister- and ulcer-like sores around the outside of my mouth, inside my mouth, and on my hands. I also had a fever from Thursday until yesterday. I seem to be on the recovery side of things now. I'm starting to eat a little more and play more. I've slept a lot and haven't eaten much food, though I've tried really hard to drink my milk from my bottles. I've slept a lot more than usual, but I've tried really hard to play and smile.

The first sign showed up Tuesday, but since I was cutting a tooth, Mommy thought that was why I was a little warm and had a bump on my mouth. But Thursday night my fever was higher, so Friday I went to see Dr. Reed - she confirmed Mommy's thought that it was HFMD. So all weekend Mommy and Daddy cuddled me and fed me lots of ice. Daddy found out that Sonic sell their ice in 5-lb bags - It's great!

Friday Paw-Paw and Grannie sent me some balloons! I think they're great! I was sleeping when they came, but when I woke up and Daddy showed them to me I got really excited and couldn't stop smiling! Daddy tied them all in different places around my room. When I go in there, I like to go around the room and hug each ballon. They're really fun! Then Saturday, Paw-Paw and Grannie came to stay with me for a while because Mommy and Daddy had some things they needed to take care of and didn't want to get me out of the house since I'm sick.

But, I'm feeling better now. I still have some of the sores, but they're starting to go away now. I'm still resting a lot and not eating too much more than my formula. But most importantly, I'm smiling a lot, playing, and giggling.

Hopefully the next several days will be better. Then Mommy can post something happier!