cows, pip, a milestone and a monkey...oh my!

but does anyone have time to actually post to it????

i know it seems like i've neglected my blog lately, and, i suppose as a point of fact, i have. but not on purpose. it's hard to write anything intelligent when a little boy starts to cry and pull at your leg every time you sit down at the computer. so, lately, my time has been limited to paying bills and checking email. thank goodness for the iPhone. it's allowed me to check email from the rocking chair in his room but blogging from a phone just isn't going to happen. i think about the blog all the time, take photos to go with the posts i write in my head and become a little blue when they never materialize. but all that has gotta change...starting now. thankfully wil loves books - even when i am not reading them to him - so i have him set up near by with a stack of books and he is "reading"...for now.*

two and a half weeks ago we made the journey to PA so that i could get my hair did. we decided ahead of time to stay for the weekend to watch the big ohio state/penn state football game. tia graciously made the trip to NJ on thursday to pick wil and i up so that we wouldn't have two cars in PA. we had lunch, shopped at wegmans and headed back to PA. i got my hair done on friday, we cooked the top secret chili for the party on saturday and enjoyed relaxing together. we had a wonderful "tailgate" party on saturday night and got to see so many good PA friends. penn state rolled over ohio state with ease (we are...penn state!) taking one more step in the quest for a national championship. (thank you texas tech for continuing to pave the highway toward miami!) sunday ryan spent the day four-wheeling with the guys and tia and i toured the PA countryside, had lunch at the blue bird inn and met some new friends along the way. it was the perfect way to spend a lazy sunday...driving, talking, eating and trying to pet a cow. (if you know me at all you know that this was THE highlight of my day. i really missed my calling to be a vet.) enjoy our photos from the weekend! (note: all photos of the crew watching the game in the basement were taken by ry. he was attempting to get some candid shots but they are all horrible - no one is looking at him and most people look annoyed although no one was! i kept them in for laughs.)

i love this picture of tia and wil. tia called wil "nixy" while we were there. nixy is a PA dutch term that means: mischievous, ornery, sly. i think she hit the nail on the head; however, i think she is the one who looks NIXY here.

when we got home from PA i learned that my mom, pip, was going to be in DC for a conference the following week. DC is a quick three hour drive from shrewsbury and it was a no-brainer that i make the trip to see her. i miss my mom and i wanted to see her. i know she wanted to see me, too, but let's be real...seeing wil was a HUGE bonus. we had a wonderful time visiting, shopping and watching wil do all his new tricks. we had dinner at clyde's in georgetown and ate some yummy cupcakes from hello cupcake for dessert. mom was at the conference with her co-worker (and friend!) kristi miller. if you don't know kristi she is a fun, easy-going, sweet woman with a huge heart. we so appreciate her letting us bring total chaos to the hotel room she shared with mom. i was delighted to get to know her better and was so glad she shared the time with us. i walked away noting how much she cares for my mother and that made me feel great. i think traveling to DC on the spur of the moment might've completed #3 on my list. no, it wasn't a vacation per se, but anyone that has a wiggly 11 month old boy knows that the extra set(s) of hands made it a vacation for me. thanks mom and kristi...it was absolutely worth the drive. i'd do it again tomorrow! we didn't get many good pictures in DC but i tried.

true love

the day we left for DC wil turned 11 months old. it's hard to believe that 11 months has passed. as tough as it is for me to accept, he is going to turn 1 and 2 and 20...someday. he is still the sweet boy he's been since the beginning although he is starting to show a real mischievous streak and, on occasion, has thrown a fit or two. yikes. luckily ryan and i are n*sync with how to handle him during these moments and we seem to get him through them quickly and no worse for wear. he is starting to be more selective about what he eats although the idea of portion control hasn't occurred to him. he still sucks down three 9 0z bottles per day and will, on most days, also eat three meals. he has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh. that is a beautiful thing and something we embrace. he hasn't taken his first steps yet but he seems like he wants to and we expect it any day. he loves music, has yet to grow tired of the animals (only more fond) and absolutely adores reading. he both "reads" to himself and brings me books to read to him. among those he never tires of hearing/looking at: knuffle bunny, my little animal book, doggies and where is baby's belly button? ryan faithfully reads if i built a car and i never tire of the pigeon books by mo willems. it fills me with pride that he's taken to books. if he didn't care for books i would've loved him anyway but it would've been a lot harder. (kidding. sort of. no really.) everyday brings more curly BLONDE hair, more teeth, more "words", more curiosity, more independence, more laughter and more love than i ever thought possible. he is our wonder and we are delighted by him. happy 11 months!

flying high: 11 months old

the day we headed back from DC was halloween. we decided wil should be a monkey this year before the days of dressing up as something cute pass us by for the days of dressing up as something cool. man oh man...was he cute?!?! even if i do say so myself he was adorable in that monkey suit. he didn't trick o' treat (save for his visit to miss heather's house - thanks for the pumpkin book, heath!) but he sat on the porch with us and handed out candy to all the kiddos that came by. initially annoyed with the costume he seemed to embrace it in the end and, as a treat, we let him have one twizzler which he gobbled up with glee. it was a great way to spend the spookiest of the holidays and we can't wait to trot him around next year.

monkey business

needless to say, it's a busy life. in so many ways i am happier than i have ever been before. i know i have a good life (charlotte!) and i am so grateful for all the gifts i have been given. with any luckwil will give me the gift of 30 minutes a day to add to this blog. if he'll grant me that (and if i can lose 10 lbs.) i'll be complete.

*i was stopped 4 times during the writing of this post and it took 7 hours to write. now THAT is dedication.

flowers & friends in bloom

last friday wil and i were invited to take a day trip to the new york botanical garden with heather, lily and heather's parents, rob & diane. it was members day (thanks rob & diane!) and the opening of the 2008 kiku exhibit. kiku is the japanese art of chyrsanthemum cultivation. it was fantastic! i have never seen anything like this and cannot believe the time and care and PATIENCE that obviously goes into creating these beautiful flowers. if i wouldn't have been arrested i would picked the flower below - i thought it was the most beautiful and unusual thing!

the gardens were beautiful, the exhibit was amazing and it was a trip i would love to make again. we spent a wonderful day outside in perfect fall weather enjoying nature, lunch and friends. thank you heather for inviting us and thank you rob & diane for sharing your membership with us. we had a wonderful time!

road trip

this past weekend ryan, wil & i took a trip to hillsborough, nc to help my second cousin ed celebrate his 60th birthday and to see my great-aunt faye, who flew up from lamesa.

faye is one of the neatest people i know and i couldn't wait to introduce her to wil. i was fortunate enough to grow up with three grandmothers; edie, grandmama...and faye. unfortunately, edie and grandmama will never meet wil so making the trip to see faye was a must for me. wil & his goo-goo bonded and will be buddies for life.

here are some highlights of our trip which included wil's first boat ride and a live concert!