Bumps & Bruises

I can't believe at the beginning of summer I actually thought that Will was pretty "bruise-free," compared to some pictures I found of Jack when he was about the same age. He had bruises and scrapes from all of his exploring... badges of his new-found independence, I guess.

Now check out exhibit A...

Will has apparently asserted his own, sometimes uncoordinated, independence. Aside from the bruises on both legs from constantly running into inanimate objects or tripping over the smallest cracks outside, Will's poor head now looks like he got into a scuffle with a neighborhood bully. Even before his newest addition last night, I was praying people know that this kid is just a tough, sometimes clumsy, sometimes just unfortunate, kid:

• like the bruise he had on the inside corner of his eye/nose and cheek from Jack accidentally hitting him with a broom last weekend,
• or the big bump and bruise he got on his forehead when he cried out in distress & nailed his head on the cart at Costco when we were separated at the checkout lane on Monday,
• or the look of a broken nose that happened when he & Jack were running around the living room and he tripped, ran into the couch and lost it last night.

Seriously, it's not like this kid has major accidents, he just looks awfully rough. Hopefully this is a phase that passes quickly!

On a side note, this is an example of Jack's new found independence:

I typically lay out an outfit for Jack & then he makes his own "changes." Some days I fight the fight & others, I just go with it. The only thing from the original outfit is the shorts. The blue & grey striped car socks were intended to be worn under his boots, which I reminded him we wear with jeans, so the brown loafers are second choice... After he got himself dressed and asked me, "Mom, Do I look super cute?" how can I answer anything other than, "Of course you do!"?!? And then we went to Target and the library.... bumps, bruises, dark socks, loafers and all.