William Joseph is Three!

Weight: 31.6 pounds

Height: 36" (right at 3 feet)

You wear a size 2T pants, 3T shirt, and a size 9 shoe

Sleeping Patterns: You do take a nap everyday, but it only lasts about an hour and a half or so...You are in your toddler bed (crib with the mattress lowered all the way and front rails off).  Ever since we went to the beach this summer and you had no choice, you now sleep with us every night.  Sometimes we can get you to sleep in your room, but you will inevitably end up in our bed before dawn.

Eating Habits: You could survive every day of your life with a Pop-Tart.  Brown Sugar and Cinnamon flavor, to be exact.  But when I force you to eat something different, your breakfast favorites are waffles and pancakes, too.  You love spaghetti, chicken nuggets, and applesauce.  You love strawberries and grapes, but you are not very big on any vegetables at all.  So we are working on that. 

New Discoveries & Accomplishments: You are fearless.  This summer you swam non-stop (while wearing a puddle jumper.)  Your brother and sister were both terrified of the water at this age.  You love all sports.  Whatever is being played, you want to participate as well.  You are getting pretty good at recognizing your colors, but not so much your letters.  You can tee-tee and poopy in the potty, but you'd rather not.  You still prefer your diaper.  So we're going to work on that very soon.  This spring the Pappy (pacifier) Fairy came and took your pappies away.  The babies needed them.  (S)he picked them up out of our mailbox.  You were very tickled to see that the fairy left some grass leaves behind in the box.

Places You Love: When we go to the Galleria, you must ride the carousel, but you can never remember the word.  You always say something to the effect of "Are we gonna ride the, um, what's-it-called?"  You got to go to the beach twice this year and the pool several times.  It's safe to say you are a water-baby at heart.  You love going to the ballpark, and you are always game to go on an evening walk with the family.

Special Friends: You idolize your brother and sister - much to their chagrin sometimes.  You also love your cousins Mason and Josie Kate.  You have recently been babysat by Grace, Hannah, and Erin.  You are crazy about "the girls" which is what you use interchangeably to describe Grace and Sadie as well as Erin and Emily.  Also, you have this cute way of saying Milesh.  You get really excited to see him.

Current Events: It's almost football season again.  We are gearing up for some Helena Husky football and some Bama football.  Nationally we are getting ready for the next Presidential election.  The GOP race is wide open, but it looks like Donald Trump is the most likely nominee.  The weather here in Birmingham has been hot, muggy, and rainy.  So basically, just another Southern August.

What We Did This Day: Today is Friday.  We saw your brother and sister off to school.  Then we had a little bit of mommy-and-Will time at home watching your beloved Paw-Patrol.  Later we went to the Galleria so you could take a birthday spin on the carousel, followed by an evening of football.  We are planning to watch the first-ever Mayor's Cup Game, a.k.a. Helena vs. Pelham High School

Your birthday party was last Sunday at Nona's house.  It was a dump-truck-theme.  Post coming soon.

Spring Break 2015

Spring Break 2015 has come and gone, but it ended up being a wonderful week of fun in the sun!  Mom, the kids and I headed down to Gulf Shores for a few days, while poor Bobby stayed behind to work.  (Someone had to do it.)  We stayed in Laguna Bella townhomes where -- interesting fact -- my mom and stepdad used to be owners.  Sadly they sold our place shortly before Rob was born.  It's such a nice, quaint little area way down on west beach.  In the image below, you can see a huge eyesore condominium tower to the right that was built after Hurricane Ivan cleared some land in 2004.  Nevertheless, this area still qualifies as "low density".  It's right across the street from the beach, and backs up to the lagoon, complete with a fishing pier.  Heaven!

image source

We arrived late Sunday afternoon and, ironically enough, the sky looked a lot like the picture above.  It was cloudy, windy, and cool, but that did not deter us from getting straight into our swimsuits and heading to the sand.

While Caroline and Will wasted no time playing in the sand, Rob started snorkeling.  I should mention here that the water temperature could not have been more thank 65 degrees.  It was frigid! But you'd never know it by the way Rob went right in and got to work!

The next day, Monday, we headed out bright and early to the beach.  We had a blast playing, sunbathing, and kite flying.  I set up a canopy/tent and lathered the kids down with SPF 50, but still they got a little too much sun.  Actually, I did, too.  Oops.

Rob and his new buddy also named William flew a kite for a long time.  Sadly they accidentally let go and the wind took it straight into the powerlines across the street.  Bye bye kite!

So on Tuesday morning, we skipped the beach for a few hours and headed to the Gulf Coast Zoo.

We love to go to a zoo, watch the animals play, explore their habitats, etc.  But this zoo is, well, it's a little on the small-side.  It's almost like the little-zoo-that-could.  The majority of the time we spent feeding deer, goats, and a donkey.  Yep, there's a donkey.

When we got back to the condo Will took a nap and the rest of us went to explore the Lagoon.  That quickly gave us the idea that we could play and splash around in its warm shallow waters much more comfortably than the freezing gulf.  (Well, I should say Caroline and I played.  Rob wanted no part of the lagoon...at first) That's when we discovered that the lagoon is home to 1000's of hermit crabs.  We even saw one hermit crab that appeared to have been someone's discarded souvenir pet crab! We ended up going back to the lagoon a couple more times this week.  We even got Rob in on the action.  He, too, was fascinated by all of the crabs and set up a crab race!

We ate out several times, and I have to brag on my children's behavior.  They were so wonderful -- not perfect, but well above expectations for over sunned, under rested young people.  In fact, they were so good, that the last evening they warranted some reward-style fun activities.  First up...go carts!

After we left "The Track" we thought we would try Lulu's for dinner, knowing there would be a lot of entertainment for the kids while we waited for a table.  Let me fast forward and say we never did eat at Lulu's because the wait was 2+ hours.  Anyway, while we attempted the wait, naively thinking it would not be quite as long as the quoted time, Rob got a wild hair and wanted to do this:

image source

It's this climbing obstacle course on which you are harnessed and attached to a guide track overhead. There are several different paths to take, all of which involve narrow balance beams, wooden ladders, tight ropes, and a plank at the very top -- three stories high.

Funny story:  Rob was harnessed in and climbed the staircase to the first level.  He crossed his first wooden bridge to a platform, looked around, and started heading back to the staircase.  From the ground mom and I called out to him "Where are you going now?"  He looked at us with a "duh" expression and said "I'm coming back down!"  I was partly heartbroken for him and partly relieved that he sensed his life was in danger (it wasn't, actually).  Somehow, though, he stood there for a moment and you could see this determination cross his mind.  He turned back, and ended up scaling all three levels.  He was on the course for well over an hour!  (There is no time limit).  I was so proud of him for conquering his fear!

That, friends, is my firstborn walking the plank!

We came home on Thursday.  It was a short trip, but just what we needed to finish this spring strong!  Next up is Easter and then summer!  We have no less than 2 more beach trips planned.  Can you believe it?  I'm so excited.  It's safe to say the beach is my "happy place" and I am so thankfully blessed to have the opportunity to instill this love into my kids.  

Until next time, here is what happy looks like:

Stay sunny, friends!

365: A Reflection on Will's First Year

My dear, sweet William Joseph, today is your birthday.  I cannot believe you are a year old.  I cannot believe we have had all your first holidays: Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter, Fourth of July, and now Birthday Month (appropriately named due to all of the August birthdays we celebrate--including yours). 

One year ago today, mommy was leaving for the hospital looking like this:

Whoa!  Suffice it to say you were out of room in there.  It was time for you to officially join our world.  So we left for the hospital long before the sun rose, before your Kindergarten-brother would climb the school bus for just the 2nd time in his life, before we would actually see your face for the first time -- although just how long until you and we met face-to-face came as a surprise for us all.

I have explained before that Will was born with some heart issues.  But be reminded that for the previous nine months, we had no clue anything was other than routine.  During the 11 hours I labored we never imagined how the day would end.  It wasn't until my silent little colorless, six pound 11 ounce bundle emerged that we began to worry.

Through all of the confusion, amid the anguish, Bobby and I took a united approach to getting through the minutes, hours, and days.  Somehow time passed.  With little notice, an entire year passed.  But let me not get ahead of myself.

Will spent the first week of his life in the NICU.  I left the hospital without him, writhing in agony.  I lay awake at night wondering if his tiny little hands were searching for mine.  Was his "Morris" nose searching for my scent?  Was he listening to all of the nurses' hushed voices trying to hear my familiar drawl?   However, I couldn't focus too heavily on that.  I had two older children who needed me to be strong for them.  Their childish innocence also yearned to know why their long-awaited-for baby brother couldn't come home. 

Some may say Will's health challenges were small, even insignificant, compared to what other "sick" newborns face.  I'm not negating that claim; it's true that Will was okay.  But I believe that God allows everyone to face tribulation relevant to what that person can handle.  We all suffer in our own ways.  Fear and despair exists, faith is challenged in every heart just enough before it snaps or we hit our knees in worship and ask God's mercy.  So in that first week of Will's life we managed to check off our list of blessings: hearing...check; eyesight...check; no spina bifida...check; no physical malformations, heart deformations, signs of brain injury...check.  And then, he came home!

We were assigned to Dr. Robb Romp, the most fabulous pediatric cardiologist I have ever met (sure, he's the only one, but I feel confident the bar has been raised by him).  Dr. Romp never spoke to me in multi-syllabic medical jargon.  He would tell me exactly what I needed to know, yet also maintained the expertise to alleviate any concerns I may have. 

I can remember very early in Will's life the Dr. Romp said not to raise Will as if he were a baby with a heart condition, meaning, do not give him any special treatment.  Another blessing: we would be able to raise Will as a "normal" child.    In months the first three months, Will was truly an easy baby.  He easily accepted being put on an eating and sleeping routine.  By month six Will could sit up and by month seven he could pull himself into a standing position.  We dusted off our list of blessings: fine motor skills...check; muscle strength and coordination...check.

And that brings me to today.  Today, Will is a year old.  He completes this family in ways that I never realized were deficient.  I will always have concerns and worries.  There will always be times of fear and doubt and confusion.  I am a mother.  But I look back on my scared, post-partum self who wished the days would hurry along so I could bring William home and I want to remind myself that sped time never slows down.  I look back on my longing and yearning and realize that I was always so very blessed to have that experience.  It was truly a humbling lesson on both acceptance and trust in God's plan. 

William Joseph, you are 12 months old today.  You weigh TBA and you are TBA inches long.  You say "Bubba", "dah (dog)", "dada", "bye-bye (with a wave)", "da-du (thank you)" and an entire vocabulary of babble.  You hold your own bottle, you self-feed, you love to chase balls, you scream and squeal with delight, you have the most unique un-crawling style I have ever seen, you are extremely close to walking, and you are the best snuggler who ever existed.  You wear a size 12 month clothing and a size 4 diaper.  William Joseph, I wish I could slow down time.  But I am along for the ride and I thank God every day for everyone who makes up your family. 

Will's Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

I cannot believe that one year ago at this very minute, I was double triple checking my hospital bag, knowing that I would soon be heading to the hospital to meet my William Joseph.  I mean, look at this sweet face:

On Sunday the 18th we threw his birthday party with a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme.  The invitations were adorable, if I do say so myself:

 
I had a lot of fun decorating; so much so that I put out very little food.  It's okay though.  With a party time of 3:00 PM, I was hoping people didn't come too hungry. 

Food tents at the food.  We kinda-sorta ate our way through the story with a few exceptions and modifications.

 

 

 

One of the main centerpieces of any great birthday party is the cake...or cakes in this case.  I made chocolate and white cupcakes, and Will had his very own smash cake:

 

To drink, guests had a choice of sweet tea, soft drinks, or water especially bottled just for the occasion.  Okay, the last part is a stretch, but check these out:

Instead of goodie bags filled with dime-store treasures (who started that joyous tradition, anyway?) I sent guests home with caterpillar cookies that looked really similar to these:

(source)

...but I didn't get a good picture of mine.  Shame.  Here they are on display in the bottom left hand corner of the picture below:

 



I have to be honest, Will didn't truly love his cake the way I thought he would.  I wonder if it was all the attention of being watched.  He did like it, but he didn't make the huge, face-planting mess that some 1-year-olds do. 

 

Will received a little candle-blowing assistance from the sibs.

  

It was a great party.  Will had a fun time being passed around and crawling around.  Our simple home was filled with close friends and family who all came out to celebrate Will's first year of life.



The sweetest big brother who ever lived!

The Mitchell-Nolan crew were in attendance!  Hooter-Hoot!

The birthday-boy and his mama...me!

I just love this picture of Caroline and her Uncle Jason!

Will and his Aunt Kristy

Will and his cousin/Godmother

 

Party sources:
All printed products (invitations, cupcake toppers, banners, water bottle labels): Allie Logan Designs
Will's first birthday shirt: bought 2nd-hand in new condition from a "W" monograms group on FB
Will's cake and favor-cookies: Val's Handmade Creations by Valerie Cook, my neighbor