A friend the same age as William

Here's a really cute picture of William with his friend Mason.
















Mason is six days older than William. I met his mom, Beth, a few months ago, and we realized that we had sons almost the exact same age. Mason's daddy is still in Iraq, so Beth is shouldering the duty of being two parents by herself right now. (I can't even imagine how she does it, but she does.) Since we both live off base, we decided to get together and hang out.

Beth and I are enjoying trading first-time-mom stories and comparing notes on baby products and other stuff. This stroller, that baby food, this toy, that outfit, and so on. How the boys reacted to eating certain solid foods, where to get the best baby outfits, what kind of car seat to buy next, etc. etc. So we get together and let the boys "play together" while we talk. Sure, Mason and William are really too young to "play together" right now, but we like to put them next to each other and let them check out the other baby.

On Thursday, we went over to their house for lunch and playtime. I put William down on a quilt on the floor. Mason's already crawling (!), and he crawled over and began touching William's head and face. Not to be outdone, William grabbed ahold of Mason's head and shoulders a couple of times. They seemed very curious about each other. William hasn't been around any other babies his exact age, so it's fun to watch his eyes widen as he takes it all in.

I've been telling William to take notes, too, since Mason's already got the crawling thing mastered and is closing in fast on standing. But Beth says that it's keeping her on her toes, trying to keep up with Mason, so maybe it's better if William stays put for a little while longer. It's nice to be able to put William on the floor with his blocks and not have to chase after him. Plus, we haven't even started babyproofing the house yet. I need to get moving on that, though, because William is already squirming around some, and I know these days are numbered.