Dear William (35 months)

Dear William,

Today you are 35 months old!  This would have been your great-grandpa George's 98th birthday (Grandmaw Nan will have to correct me if I'm wrong about that).

 

We started out the month in San Francisco, where you visited the ocean:

 

Rode in a cable car:

 

Played at the beach:

 

And saw the Golden Gate Bridge:

 

The pictures make it look like a barrel of fun, but let me tell you, it was one rough trip.

When we came back to St. Louis, we were in for an Extreme Heat Wave.  I guess we'd better get used to it, what with that whole Global Climate Change thing going on and all.

 

Luckily, you didn't mind the heat too much.  You cooled off in the park with a Slip and Slides.  At first you approached the Slip and Slide exactly like I would.  That is to say, like an 80 year old woman would.  You really did not want to fall.  But after a few tries you got the hang of it and started having a blast.  (It was really tough to pull you away from it when we had to go home).

 

Your grandparents visited and they brought you a New Hat.

You ran the Macklind Mile.  Well, the kids' version of it.  A quarter mile dash.  You did it last year, too.  Remember?  This year I thought you were totally going to dominate the race.

I explained to you, when that man says Ready, Set, Go, you take off running.  You said you understood.

But there was a bit of confusion at the start.

You paused and you got trampled.  Someone bumped into you and it scared you, and then you sat down on the pavement and cried.

All the other kids passed you.  You cried and cried for two full minutes.  I picked you up and carried you.  I felt so sad, because you had been so excited for your big race, and now you weren't even running it.  It took a lot of coaxing, but finally you decided you wanted to run again.

So I set you down and you took off.

You passed all those kids who had trampled you.

You finished in 4:15, which was at least 2 minutes faster than your time last year.  I was so proud of you!!  I think next year you and I can do the mile run together.  We'll just bypass the kids' race altogether!  Someday, I just know you're going to pace me to a 3 hour marathon.  You are such a fantastic runner.  You are so amazing!

Your dad and Grandma Barb also ran the race.  It was Grandma Barb's very first race, and we were all excited for her.

 

Aside from traveling and racing, you have spent the last month playing with trains while wearing your underpants:

And being cute:

 

Looking forward to more fun with you.

 

 

Love,

Your mom :)