The Best Keeps Getting Better!

I remember pulling out of the driveway of the beach house in July knowing that the next time we returned to Land's End would be with a BABY and things wouldn't be quite the same.  Although it was different, it was still a relaxing weekend, and so special for us to share for the first time with our little boy. 

Wills' routines continued away from home.  He stayed on his schedule and enjoyed his baths.

I love my husband!

Aunt Sissy and Gammy read to Wills.  My mom has had the beach house ready for children even before Wills arrived.  She has children's books, little chairs, buckets and shovels for the beach, mini fishing poles, and more! 

Although it was windy, we wanted Wills to see the water, so we bundled him up and took him for a walk.

We wanted to get him out of his carseat, but he fell asleep.  It was best to keep him cozy and let him rest. :)

We had a great time Saturday night cheering on the Razorbacks....Pig Sooie!  Yes, we are Georgia Fans in the Lowcountry, and a loss for Spurrier this weekend meant a lot to the Bulldawgs.  We fly our Georgia flag with pride, despite the abundance of Clemson and Carolina fans nearby.

A delicious spread of tailgating food was enjoyed throughout the night.  We had William's wings, crab dip, fried shrimp, pepper poppers, boiled shrimp, and homemade guacamole.

Papa enjoyed some sweet time with Wills in the sun room.

As usual, the pups loved the front porch.  Finn is the one out of line. :)

It's hard to anticipate how life will change with a baby.  The Lord has blessed me with an incredible husband, the best family, great friends, a home away from home, good health, and so much more.  But, I've found that when circumstances, places, traditions, and families, seem like they can't get any better and are perfect as is, just throw in a precious baby boy, and somehow all of it becomes even better!  It's hard to believe, yet it is so true! 

Those bridges, moss covered trees, and salt air get me every time.  They put things in perspective and "make you feel fine, make you feel fine."  Right, Jimmy?

Some call it the magic of the Lowcountry.

Happy Halloween!

William and I took Wills to the Wesley pumpkin patch.  We picked out two pumpkins for the front steps.

We had our annual Halloween get together with the Brighams plus our families.  The evening consisted of chili cooking and eating, cake decorating, trick-or-treating, handing out very little candy due to the small number of trick-or-treaters we had, the Wicked Witch of the West, visiting with friends and family, and showing off our little pumpkin.

Aunt Sissy and Owen decorated the cookie cake.

The night ended with an inventory of the candy.  :)

One of my favorite things about life is holiday traditions.  Whether it's getting to choose "your" cake flavor on your birthday, a family trip to pick out the perfect Christmas tree, reading The Polar Express and The Christmas Story on Christmas Eve wearing your new pj's, watching the parade on Thanksgiving morning, football on New Year's, romantic Anniversary trips, or chili, red wine, and a great fire on Halloween, I get excited!  Traditions make me happy; they make me thankful for family and friends.  Traditions, to me, are memories made each year that bring so much joy, they are continued year after year.  For all that these memories mean to me, I'm grateful.

One Month!

I cannot believe that it has been an entire month since we left University Hospital with our little boy.  What a whirlwind these past four and a half weeks have been.  William and I could not be any more blessed with Wills and the joy he has already brought to the two of us and our families.  We thank God every day for allowing us to be his parents. 

Wills has grown so much in a month!  He is a little piglet that LOVES to eat.  He is still eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Every now and then, during the night, he will stretch it to 4 hours.  I guess he is not ready to sleep any longer right now.  I'm not rushing him, or wishing away time, but I am looking forward to a few more consecutive hours of sleep in the coming months.

He is in size 1 diapers and 3 month clothes.  He still loves his swing, bouncy chair, car seat, and stroller.  We are trying to get in the habit of taking a walk everyday, but the hours seem to fly by and sometimes we miss our opportunity.  We still swaddle him every night.  We just started bathing him in the sink, and he loves the warm water and mirror.  What else??  He is getting so strong with his head.  He lifts it up off of our shoulder and can hold it up for a second or two.  He still loves to listen to us talk and sing to him.  He is very attentive and doing a great job tracking with his eyes.  He's done very well with the few bottles he's had, and we are working to incorporate a bottle a day in preparation for my return to work.  He probably thinks his name is Little Boy or Peanut because that seems to be what we all call him.  He doesn't seem too interested in his books, yet, but of course this book-loving English teacher still reads to him. :)

We love you, Wills!  Happy One Month Birthday!

Weekend Fun

It's not Land's End (we will be there soon!)...but, if you spread out some newspaper, top it with crabs that were swimming less than three days ago, break out the wine, cheese and crackers, and play a little Van Morrison in the background, you can pretend.  That's what William, Wills, Finn and I did last week. 

Gammy and Papa sent the crabs, William and I picked them, Wills supervised, and the night ended with delicious crab cakes!  It was the perfect quiet evening we needed leading up to a weekend full of wedding festivities. 

Dallas and Emily are married!  The entire weekend was beautiful!  William and I were so honored to be a part of the day.  We couldn't have done it with out the help of our family and our sweet, cooperative little boy.  He did great being away from us for so long. 

My favorites of the weekend: seeing my friend, Emily, so happy, dancing the night away with my husband (we love dancing at weddings, and it had been so long; I don't think we left the dance floor), Krystal burgers delivered at the reception at 10 pm, and kissing on my little boy's sweet, chubby cheeks when it was all over.
I had a great time Friday and Saturday night but really missed Wills and was ready to be home. :)

Celebrating with William's life-long friends and now some of my closest friends was so much fun for both of us!  I wish I had more pictures from the weekend. :(

We had a limo ride from the Partridge Inn Penthouse to First Baptist!  Thanks, Emily!

William and I were proud and excited to see this in the program.  William changed his name to Senior when Junior was born.  :)

I forgot to mention that at Wills' two week doctor's appointment he weighed 9 lbs and was 22 inches long.  He is in the 75th percentile for his weight and the 90th percentile for his height.  Big surprise, right?  This boy is LONG!

I can't believe he will be a month old tomorrow!  Time, please slow down a little. 

He's making a list...

Don't get me wrong...October is a great month.  It's actually my second favorite, if there is such a thing.  I love the crisp air, pumpkin spice lattes, college football, Halloween chili with the Brighams, red wine on the back deck with my hubby, fresh shrimp from Land's End, scarves and boots, and the memories of this time of year in Athens.  (On a side note, there will be a pumpkin carving re-match this year.  Forget about last year.  You're going down, William.)  October is a close second...but, I have to admit, it is second. 

For me, there is nothing like the time of year where the air is full of joy; parties are festive; carols are playing in every store; cookies are baking; Home Alone is on tv; trees are lit; families are together; people all around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus.  I love December!  And yes, it is early and thanks to my dad's wisdom I'm "not wishing away time", but yesterday I realized that Christmas is not too far away. 

Thankfully, yesterday morning I was able to get out of the house for an hour or so and get my hair cut.  Dede came to take care of Wills.  Thank you, Dede!

After having my hair shampooed, I looked around, waiting for Sarah, and could not believe my eyes! 

It was SANTA!  He is about to get super busy at the North Pole and knew he needed to freshen up before the holidays.  He flew all the way from the North Pole to DJ & Company to have his hair cut and beard trimmed.  Mrs. Claus was having a massage upstairs; the elves, he explained, were at a last minute toy conference, and the reindeer were in a flight refresher course.  This was his last chance to sneak away for a day and relax in the salon. 

I was so excited to see him that I knew I must get a picture.  At first, I tried to be discrete.

Check out the red socks.

Then I gave in and just asked him.  Of course he agreed to a picture.  I introduced myself and told him about Wills.  He said he couldn't wait to meet him and visit our home for years to come.  :)

Before leaving, he called out, "Merry Christmas, Eve...Don't worry, you're on the nice list."  :)

"Merry Christmas, Santa," I said. 

I'm 27 years old, and yesterday, I was giddy to see Santa.  Thank you, Mom and Dad, for teaching us to "believe."   You made Christmas special for two little girls for so many years.  Those memories and traditions never go away.  I'm thankful for that and excited to share them with my little boy. 

Missing Pictures

The computer is home!!!  Yay!!!

Here are the missing pictures from the last post.

Sissy's Birthday Party



The Rosebud for Wills.  Thanks, Uncle Tone!

Happy Birthday Dede!

Wills' first bottle

Highlights

It has been a long week waiting on our computer to return home.  William took it to the shop to be scanned and cleaned.  Unfortunately, he had to take it back today.  Sorry for the wait.

A lot has happened in the past week.  Wills is three weeks old!!!  I want to highlight the big moments and, hopefully, return to regular blogging asap.  I will add more pictures as soon as I can.

Wills attended his first birthday party!  Aunt Sissy turned 25!  Tony planned a festive event, and Wills and I hosted.  We didn't do much, at all, so we can't take any credit. 

I enjoyed my first sangria.  Delicious!

Sunday, October 9th, was a special day for us.  Wills' Godfather, Uncle Tone, arranged for a rosebud to be on the altar at church in celebration of Wills' birth.  It was really sweet and emotional and meant so much to me and William.  Wills' is beyond lucky to have Tony in his life.  Again, I will post the picture of the rosebud and church bulletin when the computer comes home. :(

Wills also attended Dede's birthday party this week.  It, too, was held at our house.  We grilled burgers and enjoyed being with William's mom and brother, JD.  We are trying to stick with the pediatrician's advice and not take Wills in public for one month.  Thus, the get-togethers and family birthdays have been at the Mooney residence. 

William gave Wills his first bottle.  It went really well but took forever!  I am sure Wills will get used to it and next time will be even better.  I have a really sweet picture of this, too. 

Here are two from my phone to bide the time.

Saturday, October 15th, was the first date night for me and William.  Aunt Sissy and Uncle Tone came and kept Wills.  Saying I was excited is a huge understatement.  Of course, I was nervous about leaving him for the first time, but I knew he was in great hands, so I was determined to enjoy myself.  William and I had dinner at Carrabas.  The conversation was better than ever (right, William ;) ), the meal was delicious, the glass of wine was perfect, and I had on a new outfit.  :) We left dinner and went to Dallas and Emily's.  It was a beautiful night on their back deck; the Dawgs were playing...and winning; it was so good to see all of our friends and spend some time with them.  We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and are looking forward to being a part of their wedding this coming weekend.  Thank you, Aunt Sissy and Uncle Tone!  And thank you, Wills, for being so sweet and such a good baby boy.  We are so blessed!

On a side note, I have something REALLY exciting to share as soon as the computer is back. Some may disagree as to the level of excitement this actually is, but if you know me, you'll understand.  Here's a hint...Christmas is coming and someone important is preparing!  Woo hoo!