Will + Fall = Heaven

I took this series on our walk this afternoon. It is just way too pretty outside for me not to take some pictures. Look at those leaves! Ah, gorgeous!

We love Fall!

Ah, I thank God every day that we have been blessed with such a happy baby :)

We don't really love tummy time, but we are trying...Carla told me today that Will rolled over onto his belly today--and then cried because he landed on his arm and couldn't get it out!

On Saturday we met dear friend Lizzy Carroll (from Bread Loaf) at a pumpkin patch and corn maze in Riceville, TN. I was GIDDY with excitement. I remember going to Huber's as a little girl, and I couldn't wait to start this tradition with Will.

Will is not too sure about the corn maze (and after awhile we weren't either!)

Daddy and Will checking out the petting zoo

See those black pants? Yup, they are size 9 months! Will is 4.5 months!

He just keeps on growing!

Will did not like being placed among pumpkins.

In fact, Will wasn't sure about the whole thing...

This one cracks me up.

When we got back from the Farm, best friend Nina was here! One of my roommates and dearest friends from UVA, Nina sweetly flew in for the weekend to meet Will!

We love Nina!

And she brought Will a present...

At first he thought it tasted good...

...and then he literally drooled over how handsome it looked!

Will's first Jefferson Cup! Awesome.

Will couldn't get enough of Nina.

We had so much fun with Nina: going for long walks, buying food at the Chattanooga Market, hitting up Sweet Cece's, enjoying a yummy breakfast at Aretha Frankenstein's...

we miss her already!

Here are just a few more random pictures. Will LOVES to blow bubbles.

Sleeping Beauty

And here is one from awhile ago...me and my buddy!

Will is 4 months old!

On 10-10-10, Will turned 4 months old! We celebrated by attending the most lovely luncheon in honor of the baptism of Will's soon to be best buddy, Wylie. Wylie's grandparents just bought a charming home on Lookout Mountain--check out the awesome backyard in the pictures below.

Here was Will in church that morning. Will LOVES falling asleep on Daddy's chest.

Will is acting shy here, but I couldn't resist this darling picture of sweet Ellie, one of the many adorable kids who is our neighbor on campus. Her mom, Andrea, is feeding Will.

The porch=my dream home

Wylie's parents, Dodd and Ross

(Dodd is our pediatrician, too. We love her)

The backyard really is a wonderland.

Our sweet little man at 4 months!

Dearest Will,

Your Daddy and I couldn't imagine loving anything more. You have brought such joy and fulfillment into our lives with your ever-present smile, sweet disposition, and love for new experiences. We see the world with new eyes now that we are your parents--suddenly everything is more colorful, more meaningful, more rewarding. You are the happiest baby. You never cry unless you are hungry--but man, you have been hungry lately! You are eating 8-10 ounces every three hours, which isn't surprising considering you have been growing like crazy this month. You are in the 97th percentile for height and 80th percentile for weight (and firmly in 6 mos. clothing), and Dr. Dodd says you might be ready to start on rice cereal and then pureed foods before too long. I can't believe we are almost at that milestone; I love seeing you grow up healthy and strong, and your Dad and I are thrilled to love you and nurture you through all of the exciting days ahead.

You are cooing up a strong these days, making lots of fun noises when we talk to you as we make dinner, go for long walks, and read books. You LOVE bath time, and so do we--you are the cutest! You smile at us all the time, especially when we sing to you (you love "Do Re Mi") and ask you questions, and it is this sweet smile that I look forward to seeing every day at 3 p.m. when I come home and pick you up from Carla's. Carla seems to love her time with you, too--you two go on a campus walk together every day, visiting Ms. Gail and often running into your various McC friends along the way. She calls you "Mr. Bill"--it cracks us up. But we couldn't feel more blessed that you are being cared for by a loving, knowledgeable, trustworthy woman who cares for you with a devoted heart. It makes being away from you from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. not easy but easier.

You are sleeping soundly in your crib right now, and I am easily feeling like the luckiest woman on earth for having you in my life. Will, you are the greatest blessing. I love you with all that I am. I tell this to people all the time, but I really do feel like every day is Christmas now that you are in my life; you are a gift to us in every way, and we couldn't love anything more.

Happy 4 months, buddy. You are something special.

Love always,

Mama

Happy Birthday, Pat!!!!

My favorite father-in-law celebrates his special day today!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

We might be delinquent in terms of getting our gift to Pat on time, but they were the first ones to send me a birthday gift this year--and I love what they picked out. They are such thoughtful gift givers, and this year was no exception: a beautiful Vera Wang purse and a gorgeous scarf. Considering that the highs this week will be in the 60s, I think the scarf will come in handy!

Thank you both so much.

You are, as always, such a huge reason why our lives are so happy and full.

30 Reasons I Loved Turning 30!

In no particular order....

1. These guys. They are actually reasons #1-30, and the gifts in my every day!
2. I got to celebrate in both Chattanooga and Louisville! Let the celebration continue for days and across states! Here is sweet Gege playing peek-a-boo with Will.
3. I get to share my birthday with the best Birthday Buddy in the world: Gege!! (P.S. Like Will's outfit? She gave it to him! Thank you, Gege! I can't believe he is already wearing 6M clothing!)
4. This face. I mean, come on. Will=LOVE.
5. My dear friend, Carol, gave me two tea towels from Stratford! She had been holding onto them for two years! I don't deserve her friendship. How fun are these??
6. Have I mentioned Will?
7. Lots of sweet cards from family, friends, and students (THANK YOU!!!)

8. I also had several dear, dear friends write emails (Blaires) and call (Neens and Ali, each twice!) and mention my b-day in their blog (Mary). Thank you ALL!! I promise to write/call back ASAP!

9. My own "30" glass to always remind me of this occasion forever. All this needs is a little margarita...
10. Seeing Will in this adorable outfit from Sally, Bill, Allison, and Shannon. It fits perfectly! Thank you!

11. Freedom. I have been wanting to read this book since it was released a couple weeks ago. I mentioned it once and he remembered. He is the best. I can't wait to read it.
12. I can't seem to rotate this picture, but you can hopefully see how cute these Dr. Seuss onesies are. One of my students (who shares my birthday!) gave them to Will. I was so, so touched.
13. She also gave me this insanely beautiful book. It's huge. Lots of fun reading ahead, my little man.
14. Will in his McCallie football outfit.
15. This is what I came home to on my birthday. Perfection.
16. Yahtzee!! I recently rediscovered this fun game when Clay and Will and I went out to eat a couple weeks ago. The restaurant (Sluggo's) had lots of games, and when I saw Yahtzee, my mind immediately went back to my childhood days when I would play this with my dad for hours. Of course I taught it to Clay and he won by a million points.
17. My wonderful, super thoughtful friend Ashley gave me this yummy looking cookbook. Now that I am no longer pregnant, I love to cook again (I took at 9 month hiatus; cooking did not appeal when I was pregnant) and can't wait to try these out.

18. My grandmother also gave me a cookbook: The Best of the Best of Kentucky. YUM!!! They have one for every state--check it out. This collection is comprehensive.
19. Ashley also gave me this fun dish towel. It's too cute to use! Love the tassels!
20. Will, Cam, and I walked out of our house on Tuesday to find our the three adorable children who live next door all playing outside. As soon as they see us, they stop playing and break into a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday." Their mom, also a Sara, then comes stumbling along holding this beauty. If you have seen the front of our house lately, you would agree that this is the prettiest element of our landscaping. Fixing up our front yard might need to be this weekend's project.
21. Birthday dinner and brownie cake with Dad, Mom, and Nonna
22. A caramel cupcake from the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen. That place knows how to make insane desserts.
22. Isn't this stunning? Gege needlepointed this for Will's nursery. I can't stop looking at it.

23. Gege also gave me a beautiful, engraved silver jewelry box. So thoughtful!

24. Mom and Dad renewed my People magazine subscription. I know it is a rather silly magazine, but it is perfect for working out!!

25. I don't know if you know, but I have a son named Will. :-)

26. Dinner at Boccacia's. YUM-O.

27. Date night with my husband!!! A sweet friend watched Will as we went on our first real date since Will's arrival. I didn't think we HAD to go on a one-on-one date, but then we did...and it was glorious. I love dates with my husband!!

28. And then he gave me this. WOW. He said it was from Will. I said Will has REALLY good taste, both in jewelry and in daddies.

29. All of the sweet Facebook posts that wished me a happy birthday. Facebook may have its negatives, but man, it makes you feel love on your birthday.

30. The thought and hope that the next 30 years will provide me with as much laughter, love, growth, and joy as my first 30 years.

Thank you everyone!!!!!

Today I will...

...not eat after dinner.

It's silly that I do so (I am not hungry) and it affects my run in the mornings, so I am going to try to stay disciplined about this.

Ok, two "Today I will"'s down. Walk, check. No post-dinner snack, check.

Faith

My day dramatically improved after writing that last post. Simply being with Will makes me laugh and smile and marvel at the beauty of life.

Will, Cam, and I piled in the car and drove to Greenlife, where we parked the car and walked across the Walking Bridge and through downtown to St. Paul's. Clay had a vestry meeting tonight, so we decided to surprise him outside church when they wrapped up. Seeing his face light up and then melt when he sees Will was more than enough to remind me that life is sweet.

We are also both in bed before 10 p.m. It's a miracle.

But as I lie here, I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of today. I was frustrated by a student who wanted to earn the perfect score--close to perfect just wasn't good enough. Meanwhile, I am sprinting through my days trying to do everything as perfectly as possible--and feeling disappointed when it doesn't happen. I teach girls all day long that achieving perfection is impossible, that perfection isn't the end goal. The goal is to grow as a writer a little bit every day, to become a little better every day, to become a little more thoughtful every day.

I am excited for my "Today I will..." goals.

Honest

It's pretty easy to read blogs and think that people lead romantic lives full of Kodak moments, important revelations, and constant personal growth. I read blogs to be inspired to be a better person, to see how my friends are pursuing lives of meaning. But there have also been a few blogs I respect primarily because they are open and honest about what challenges them.

So while my life is SO full and SO good, I thought I would take a minute to be honest--with you, yes, but also with myself. Because half of the reason I keep up with this blog is because it enables me to write about my life in a way that provides me with clarity and reflection.

Today was a no good, very bad day. Will didn't sleep a wink last night, and Clay was taking the GRE today, so he needed his rest. Thus, Will and I had our first all-night date. It was an anomaly for sure (for the most part, Will is sleeping from 9-3 and then from 3:30-6 a.m.), but it came on the heels of 18 hours of grading this weekend and our first real small group gathering, which was at our house. Mondays are also my long teaching days--I teach all 5 classes--so the all-nighter put me in a bit of a daze all day long.

Ok, no big deal. I've pulled all-nighters before.

But today was progress report day at school, which meant that everyone was hyper aware of grades. And our opening address at chapel was all about how our girls should have confidence in themselves and believe they can be the best and stand up for themselves when they feel something hasn't gone right. A great message, for sure, but on grades day, that means lots of girls questioning their grades and arguing that they deserve higher scores. Great day to pass back papers, too, huh? So I have a student who literally gets in my face over a 48.5/50 ("Why didn't I get a perfect score?? You didn't say anything negative about my paper. I deserve a 50/50!!") and refuses to back down despite my efforts to justify the grade.

I skipped my workout this morning and lunch to grade and conference with students--all after spending 9 hours a day this weekend grading papers and STILL not being done with my grading. I check my email, and of course I get some emails that make me feel like a bad colleague, a bad friend, a bad mother ("Read all about your child at 3 months, 3 weeks"...what? my child is 3 months, 3 weeks?), and suddenly I am so aware that I SO do not have things under control.

All of this comes on top of feeling disappointed in myself for not initiating some efforts to make myself a better person--initiatives that I keep thinking about but not doing because I just haven't committed myself to the tasks.

Some days just stink. And I know it, and I am not asking for sympathy, because I know in the grand scheme of things, I am SO blessed, but I want to be honest about the fact that some days really do feel like a struggle.

So I am instituting a new blog feature, one that I can do quickly even when I don't have time to write anything else: "Today I Will..."

I read and watched No Impact Man this weekend, and among other things, felt inspired to think about what I can do to live a more intentional life. I am tired of to-do lists and daily schedules...I need something deeper to help guide my thoughts and actions. But I need to be realistic that I can't totally change and improve all at once; hence the daily focus that enables me to fully experience one intentional decision each day.

So...Today I Will take Cam and Will on a good walk.

I know I usually do this, but lately I have been pushing it back when I get home--and then sometimes not getting around to it at all. But Cam deserves a good walk--and Will loves being outside. And I need to walk, not eat, as soon as I get home. That means I need to walk right now.

It's been a bad day. But it's not over yet.