Wednesday Will-isms

Oh boy, we've had some doozies this week. Let's get started with the most incriminating one first:

The other morning, I foolishly took both children to the grocery store by myself (yes, I know plenty of people do this all the time. I also know that if they didn't have to, they certainly wouldn't.) Anyway, while we're in the store, we see a tall, thin, black man walk in. Will sees the man and exclaims, "Look Mama! It's Tiger Woods!" Fortunately, he didn't use his typical scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs voice, so I don't think anyone else heard him. It seems we need to expose ourselves to a bit more diverse population.

***********************************
On Sunday morning (before we went to the grocery store), Will woke up very early, was still extremely cranky, but didn't want to go back to bed. Well, I was having none of it and made him lie in the bed for a little while (and I laid down with him). He was pitching a fit and complaining loudly the whole time...generally not pleased with the situation. While we're lying there, I try to explain to him that we need to be quiet and let Daddy sleep because it's Father's Day.
"Do you know what Father's Day is?"
"What?"
"Well, it's a day where we need to be really nice to daddies and grandfathers, like Bubs."

Will thinks about this, looks at me and scowls, and says, "But not to Mommies, like you."

***********************************
The other night we were out to dinner, and I ordered a beer. Will saw me drinking it and said, "Girls don't drink beer!"
"Well, sometimes grown-up girls drink beer."
"No, beer is not for girls, Mama."
"Oh really? What do girls drink?"
"Girls like to drink limeade. Limeade is good for girls."

May

Since it's almost the end of June, I thought it would be the perfect time to post about what we did in May. Because, boy, May was busy.

So, the first weekend in May, we took Will to the aquarium in Atlanta. But, I already told you about that. The rest of the weekend, we saw some friends, played in the car, and splashed in puddles. Pretty eventful.

The second weekend in May was Mother's Day, and Zach surprised me with a trip to Ross Bridge. Initially, he was just going to send me there for Saturday night to relax by myself, but then my mom offered to keep the kids, so he got to come too! I went out early and had a massage and a facial, then he met me once the kids were in bed. The next morning, my parents brought the kids out, we all had brunch together, and then Zach and I took Will to the super-cool pool. Sunday afternoon was rainy, rainy, so we just tried to keep the kids occupied. We capped the day off with a trip to Salsaritas for a Mother's Day dinner. Here is my favorite picture:

It was such a nice Mother's Day! After all of that celebrating, we still had more celebrating to do, because our seventh anniversary was on Monday. Nothing is open on Monday night, but we went to Hot and Hot on Tuesday for a nice dinner and some tomato salad. Even though it was our anniversary, Zach wouldn't share the tomato salad--I had to get my own. Some things never change, but of course, lots of things do. We had fun talking about how different our lives are now than when we got married at the ripe old age of 24! We wouldn't trade it for the world (at least most days).

The next weekend in May was so busy that we had to divide and conquer. The day after our lovely dinner, the boys deserted me! Zach and Will headed to Charlottesville on Wednesday and didn't come back until Sunday morning...4 nights without my men! Carol received a big award at UVA's valediction, so they went up for that. Zach did some work around Virginia on Thursday and Friday, and Will got to stay and play with his grandparents. It really worked out well for everyone. Meanwhile, back at home, Julia and I were celebrating my sister's graduation from Med school! We had lots of family in town for the big event--my grandparents even made the trek. And, there's really no better way to celebrate than to eat a lot, so that's what we did. We were all SO proud of Melanie and her accomplishments. I only wish that the two events had been on different weekends so that Zach and I could have been a part of both. Alas, you can't do it all.

After the boys returned, we were home for a few days. Then, since we hadn't been busy enough, Zach and I decided to go out of town for the fourth weekend. One of Zach's fraternity brothers got married in Linville, NC, so we drove up for the wedding. My parents graciously agreed to keep the children, which was particularly nice since it was terrible weather the whole time we were gone. This was the first time I had left Julia for more than a night, but we all did well. I have to admit that it was nice to have a break! I forgot how much I love sleeping.

Finally, May was almost over, and to cap off the month, we headed to the beach for a week! Of course, that's a whole other post for another time. Whew!

Wednesday Will-isms

On Saturday, Will and Julia were sitting on the floor playing, and Julia started fussing a bit. Will immediately attempted to comfort her:

"It's okay, baby Julia! Your Mama is here. Your Daddy is here. Your big brother Will is here. And we're not going bye-bye!! We're riiiiiight here. We will keep you safe."

My heart melted. Sweetest thing ever.

Nine Months!

Last week Julia turned nine months old! In the past couple of weeks, I feel like we have had an explosion of activity and new skills. Julia is on the cusp of so many changes; as my mom says, she's a very ambitious baby! She is DYING to learn how to crawl, but just can't get it together quite yet. She pulled up once by herself, but hasn't done it again since (thank goodness...I'm not ready for an early walker). She is really ready to MOVE! For now, she'll settle with bouncing in her exersaucer or jump-a-roo. She is also babbling a ton; unfortunately, she seems to be focusing on saying "dada".

She's a good eater--you can tell that by her adorable chubbiness! I've completely weaned her, but she's doing well on formula, and she's really picking up her baby food habit (but still no teeth!). When we were at the beach, it seemed like we couldn't feed her enough...it must have been a growth spurt. When we last went to the doctor, she was 19 pounds, 5 ounces (60%) and 29.5 inches tall (97%)! People always comment on what a tall baby she is.

Poor baby has been sick a lot. Fortunately, nothing bad, but just always a little something that keeps her under the weather. She's a trouper, though! While we were at the beach, we're pretty sure she had Fifth Disease (just a virus that causes a rash on the cheeks, cold-like symptoms, etc.), and then this past weekend she was very sick...fever in the 102-103 range for four days and then a bout of throwing up. As best we can tell, that was just a virus, too, and she seems to be MUCH better. But, she clearly didn't feel well and was Miss Pitiful. All she wanted to do was be held and cuddled (of course, I didn't mind!). We were spoiled with Will because he was never sick enough to be home from school--he only missed a day or two in his first two years. But, Julia has been sick a lot, which, aside from being no fun for her, is also very disruptive for Zach and me. And of course, I can't have one of these posts without commenting on sleep--fortunately, it's gotten much better. The sickness(es) and the beach were somewhat disruptive, but all in all, things are good and she's usually sleeping about 10.5 - 11 hours at a time. In the mornings, as long as we make it to a number that starts with 5, I'm okay. My how my standards have changed...

As I always say, I can't believe another month has gone by (a running joke in our house because I'm constantly commenting on it). I can't believe that Julia is much closer to being a toddler than she is to a newborn. This morning, we put all of the "baby" stuff in the attic...up went the swing, the play mat, the boppy, the breast pump. We've lowered Julia's crib to the lowest setting. Her new "big girl" car seat arrives on Wednesday. All signs point to a baby who's growing up. Good thing she's ready, because I'm not sure that I am!

Wednesday Will-isms

Apparently I need to wear skirts or dresses more often. The other day I was wearing a jean skirt, and Will looked at me and exclaimed, "Mama! I like your dress! You look like a ballerina!!"

***********************************
The other morning at Panera, Will was standing by me while I was sitting in the booth. He looked back at me and said, "Mama, put your arm around me. Keep me safe."

I don't know where he got that, but it was super sweet!

Aquarium

About a month ago, we took Will to the aquarium in Atlanta. He was so excited...he got to go on a trip with Mom and Dad, and baby Julia stayed home (with Hulie). We drove over to Atlanta on a Thursday morning, and Zach had lunch with some clients while Will and I wandered around the mall. We probably could have turned around and come home at that point, and he would have thought it was a great trip. But then, we went to our hotel! What a treat! When you're at the hotel, you get to do stuff like this:

The hotel also had a big glass elevator that was fun to ride, an ice machine where you could get unlimited ice, and carts that you and Daddy could use to push your luggage. Can you imagine the joy?

That afternoon we walked over to Olympic Park, which was right across the street from our hotel. They have a cool playground that Will really enjoyed playing on. But again, the biggest treat just seemed to be having us to himself. After we really wore him out on the playground (and he had skipped his nap due to the traveling), we headed to dinner with some friends. Luckily, he was great, but was completely tuckered out by the time we got back to the hotel. The tiredness was a good thing, however, because it meant he went right to sleep...in his big bed! It was the first time he slept in a big bed, and he did wonderfully. He slept all through the night, but he did wake us up quite early.

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the aquarium, which was also right across from our hotel. Even though it was a Friday morning, there were TONS of people there--lots of school groups. But, Will was very excited and impressed by everything! Just the surroundings were amazing to him (and don't even get me started on what he thought about lunch and the Sprite he got to have). Fortunately, he also loved seeing the actual exhibits, which was the whole point of the trip. He was fascinated (and a little bit scared) by the sharks and the sting rays, and he really liked the beluga whales. In fact, ever since then, every whale is a buh-looooga whale.

Look! A shark!

All in all, it was a great trip. Although, I think we could probably just take him to a hotel here in town, and he would be just as happy. This is how Will felt about everything: