17 weeks!

wil is 17 weeks old today. he'll be 4 months on sunday and i can hardly believe it. since he's growing up, the wil's world section is growing too. from now on, it'll be a little bigger with a little more info on the main man in our lives. we head to the doctor today for a checkup so an update will follow.

he's currently standing in his exersaucer and being very, very still as he watches stone bathe herself. it's amazing to see him observe even the simplest things with such intent. maybe we'll see a vet in the family after all!

"let's just sit here..."

sounds easy...isn't really. today, after a particularly taxing day, ryan put his arm around me and said those words. he could've been shouting off the grand canyon walls because that phrase just kept hitting my ears again and again. it got me thinking about how hard it is to take time to be still. it's so important yet so difficult. i think i would've thought it an easy task for me. anyone that really knows me knows that i love to pass the time sitting, chatting, thinking; however, even as i sat there in the silence i found my mind racing over my "to do" list and plotting my next move. as spring approaches i hope i can find time to be still, just sit here, and enjoy the little things. they count for so much and really take so little time from all of those things we think are so important.

Top 5

Betsy's TOP 5 Travel Destination Wishlist:

1) Morocco
2) India
3) Portland
4) Greece
5) Savannah

I really enjoy traveling. I haven't done a lot of it in my 33 years but I've visited enough interesting places to know I'd like to keep going. I wish I had the $$ to finance some of these trips but, cest la vive! With any luck I'll get to these places...and many more....someday. I realize that these destinations aren't for everyone (thinking of Dad, aka Stevie, in India is enough to make me pee my pantalones!) but they are high on my list...in fact, they're my TOP 5.

Top 5

Ryan's TOP 5 beer list...

Ryan loves beer. REALLY loves beer. So getting him to narrow the list to 5 was a difficult task. Over the past 2 or 3 years (with a 10 month break for me!) we have tried over 100 different beers in our quest to collect as many different bottle caps as possible. We have a couple of great art projects in mind for those caps...mabye one day we'll stop collecting and start creating. Until then, CHEERS!

1) Pabst Blue Ribbon
2) Sam Adams
3) Yeungling Lager
4) Corona
5) Blue Moon

profession confession

i recently filled out a questionnaire which required me to choose a profession from several listed. i had some doozies to choose from: VP/Exec/CEO (uh, do a lot of people get to check this box), veterinarian (see previous comment), agriculture/mining...what? i anxiously looked for homemaker but it wasn't there. i think self-employed would've applied but that wasn't there either. in case your wondering, the survey was for a subscription to the washington post. i guess there are a lot of CEO veterinarians in west virginia mining towns who read the post. nevertheless it got me thinking about all the careers i've dreamed about over the years. for your amusement (and mine) below is a list of a dozen (of many) things i actually considered GOOD career possibilities. what did you want to be? maybe it's not too late!

I COULD'VE BEEN A CONTENDER...

1) VETERINARIAN (look out washington post...here i come!)
2) olympian (any sport - cycling looked good as i got older & i am still not ruling archery out.)
3) magazine and/or book editor
4) zoologist
5) criminal attorney
6) chef
7) surgeon
8) professor
9) broadway star (emphasis on STAR)
10) radio talk show host (talking is something i have down)
11) artist (specifically drawing/painting. my college art professor assured me this was a pipe dream.)
12) color commentator (actually had a 2 game gig as a color commentator in high school. jeff brown was the play-by-play guy.)

it's a good thing...

it's a treat to see lindsey so happy...what a nice pair!

who am i?

in addition to being wil's mom, ryan's wife, lucy's everything and the lady that keeps refilling (and refilling and refilling and refilling) stone & murphy's bowl....who am i? it's a question that keeps rearing it's head lately and, not surprisingly, leads me down a path of introspection.

there is not an answer currently. at least not the answer i am looking for. i am happy being the above mentioned but i am searching for a foothold. i think that is why i have thrown myself (okay, waded) into this blog. i need a creative outlet. i need to express. i am unsure where it will lead and what i'll find myself expressing exactly but maybe it'll be good enough to keep your attention. if not, that's okay...it's really for me anyway. :)

happy easter!

happy st. patrick's day!

st. patrick's day 2008 was a fun day for the higgins clan - we all wore green, ate corned beef & cabbage, drank a pint. as part of another less well-known irish tradition, i was asleep on the couch by 9p. erin go braugh!

talk about luck o' the irish....i am proud to annouce lindsey & kyle. yes, that's right, lindsey has a boyfriend. his name is kyle and, oh man, isn't he cute! way to go, lou!

you've come a long way, baby!

a throne fit for a king

after much debate with myself about what makes the "perfect" highchair i finally made a decision and went with one i saw one minute and bought the next. turns out it is the perfect chair because he loved it right from the start. even his first bowl of peas went down with a smile.

retirement day

This sock monkey onesie was the first thing that I bought for Wil. The first time he wore it was December 9, 2007 - he was 9 days old.

Last Friday, March 7, 2008, Wil was 98 days old. As you can see the shirt fits quite a bit differently now. As hard as it is, we have made a decision to retire the sock monkey. It will enjoy it's golden years framed on our bedroom wall. Thanks for the memories, sock monkey!

water baby

wil LOVES the water and is lucky enough that his grandpa ned has a pool. below are some highlights of his first swim.

gone bananas

at dr. murphy's suggestion we recently attempted to start eating rice cereal. apparently eating isn't the problem....rice cereal is just gross. so, we've moved on to bananas and are having a fine time of it. what doesn't make it in the mouth is later sucked off the bib or licked up by lucy. all-in-all, it's such a hoot that we're venturing into peas next. wish us luck! especially ryan...whose gag reflex is apparently quite sensitive.

blogged down...

i want to be a good blogger. really...i do! my friend denise is a blogaholic and hard work pays off...check out her hard work! i aspire to be just that good...we'll see.

anyway, welcome to the higgins family blog. we hope you'll enjoy peeping in on us from time to time for a glimpse into the lives of everyone with 2 & 4 legs living inside 126 park avenue! enjoy!