Lots of Sweet, No Bitter

We have been blessed by lots of time with family these past two weeks. As our school years come to a close and we begin to say goodbye to dear students and colleagues, we also revel in the extra time we are getting with my side of the family (now if only we can find a way to get to Texas...:-)).

It all began two weeks ago when my parents and Clay plotted behind my back to get my parents to Chattanooga...I was so surprised and SO happy!! And you know who else was happy? Mr. Will! So happy, in fact, that he stuck a straw in his mouth and did a little dance:

In the short but sweet 48 hours that Mom and Dad were here, we went to the lake, where Will LOVED the fountain in the baby pool.

Will is VERY serious about his lake time.

There's the smile!

Love the shots we got of Will and Poppy.

We also walked across the walking bridge and ate lunch at Rembrandt's

This is one of my new favorite pictures: love this one of my parents.

We're not all looking at the same camera, but hey, we tried :-)

Mom and Dad had to leave Saturday afternoon, but it was only hours later that AUNT B arrived! HOORAY! WE LOVE AUNT B!

Will just HAD to show Aunt B the fountain.

Two of my favorite faces in the whole world. Sweet sweet sweet.

Will said, "I'll take your glasses, Aunt B, thank you very much."

Will loves his neighbor and friend, Ellie

Brittany was SUCH a rockstar. She took care of Will during the day for an entire week while Clay and I finished up classes (woot! woot! We're done with classes! Now just one week of exams to go and we are DONE with this school year!). When I got home in the afternoon, she would shift to packer-extraordinaire mode, helping up pack and store our books, dishes, and frames. She also helped me sort and organize the items we are going to sell in the neighborhood yard sale next weekend. I am pumped for that post!

Will loved being with Brittany all week. I am sure it wasn't a glamorous job, especially for my amazing sister who is rocking business school and dedicating her efforts to helping people around the world, but it meant the world to this little Chattafamily.

This face cracks us up.

Then we went to Louisville for a family reunion! YAY!

Brittany and my parents went to a wedding on Saturday night, so Clay, Will, and I drove up with Brittany for the weekend. As always, we had a ball and were royally spoiled in the process.

Will met awesome Blair and Jurgen, two amazingly talented actors who also happen to be great friends and an adorable couple. They came down from Chicago for the weekend--how lucky were we to get to see them?

Ooh la la! Off to the wedding!

While they were at the wedding, Clay, Will, and I enjoyed a super fun dinner with Gege and Lynne. They both sweetly gave Will his first birthday presents! He amazed us when he read the card to us (oh, a parent can dream, right?)

He was pretty interested in the wrapping and ribbon...

...and he loved the precious outfit Gege gave him! He is "ready to rumble!"

Gege, Will, and Lynne

I love the mornings in Lousville, when we are all still in our pajamas and we hang out around the kitchen counter eating breakfast and reading the paper--but usually just talking and catching up. Here Will is playing with the awesome new blocks Lynne gave him!

Nonna invited us over for a yummy lunch today before Clay, Will, and I got on the road, so we got a few more pics.

"Ahh! I love Brittany!"

Great Grandmother and Great Grandchild. Can you believe it? I hope I look like Nonna at her age. Impressive. Such a sweet moment.

Now we are home and ready to go into our last week of work. I will be teaching the first half of a summer New Testament course (I know, right? Why am I teaching this??), so school will continue for me next week, but things are wrapping up, packing up, and looking up. Our year of adventure has already begun...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!!

You are SO LOVED.

joyful noise.

Today I can say that I experienced hate.

A member of our church rushed up to us after the service today and said the following:

I think you all are a delightful couple, but I want you to know that I condemn you bringing your noisy son to the service. I am speaking on behalf of six other members sitting around me who were fuming throughout the entire service that you didn't take your son outside when he started making noise. I love you all, but I hope you will never bring him to church again. You have been coming to this church for a couple years now; you should know better.

I love you all, but I hope you will never bring him to church again.

Clay and I were too stunned to say anything. One moment we were joyfully celebrating being at church as a family, the next moment I was rushing out of the church in tears, clutching on to my beautiful, beautiful son.

This is EXACTLY the reason why young families don't come to church.

Clay was working in the dorm until 1:30 this morning only to get up and teach Sunday School. We put Will in the nursery (where yes, I left him once again SOBBING and reaching out to me) so that I could also attend Sunday School, so I refuse to leave him in Sunday School for yet another hour and a half while we go to church. Clay and I both work long days five days a week. The weekends are time for us to be a FAMILY. I refuse to go to a church where my family isn't welcome. And isn't Church supposed to be a place of LOVE? I am devastated.

One thing I have been grateful for this year is the love and support of our friends and family who have excitedly welcomed Will into their worlds too. Our friends who invite us over and say they would be hurt if we didn't bring Will--those are the friends we thank God for. Friends who ask about Will, who help us care for and clothe and feed Will--those are lifelong friends. Sure, life can get a little messy with a baby, but love is messy sometimes. And I bet I speak for many parents when I say that loving my child is the best way you can love me.

So thank you to my readers. You all have not only loved me through the good and the bad--you have also celebrated the life of my son. He's not perfect, but none of us are, and the more we create communities of love and inclusion and support and understanding, where children aren't just ignored but cherished, the better this world will be.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT B!

my oh may.

What hasn't happened in May?

Let's start with my cute husband. He got glasses! Don't you love them?

He is also coaching a soccer team to a pretty fabulous record...State is at the end of the month.

Keep your fingers crossed.

This one is for Dad and Brittany :-).

This is Will on the day of the terrible storms that destroyed the Southeast. Will's expression captures it: oh my. Over 200 tornadoes ripped through the southern states, and while we and our friends were super lucky, our neighbors to the south and east of us weren't: lots of devastation right around our corner. Terrible. It was scary. Right before the fourth and fifth storms were about to hit, Will and I decided to join Clay over at the dorm (he was on duty). We hung out in our old apartment with our dear friends, including Lauren (below):

This was taken about 9:30 p.m. Can't you tell Will is thinking,

"What the heck is going on? I should be sleeping right now, people!"

Although most of us didn't have cable, internet, or power for several days, my walking friends and I forged ahead with our Royal Wedding Party at 5:30 a.m. Rose mimosas, cinnamon pastries, and English tea...yummy! Kate sure did look beautiful, huh? I am not ashamed to say it: I loved every minute of it. I will always love a good wedding.

The next week Will and I headed downtown to catch the local crew races. We ran into sweet Jane (above) and Erin (below).

Rhymes (below) has become my walking partner in the afternoons. She pushes Will's stroller while I walk Camden--oh what a help she is!

And then...DERBY WEEKEND IN LOUISVILLE!

MOTHER'S DAY IN LOUISVILLE!

My super wonderful friend (and Will's godmother) Kat came along with me for a fun girls' weekend. Bourbon slushies met us in Julep cups as soon as we walked in the door. Heaven.

Will knows to reach for the good stuff.

Yay for Poppy!

Saturday found us touring some Louisville hotspots, including Lynn's Paradise Cafe.

Love it when everyone is looking different directions in a picture :-).

We couldn't resist texting pictures of these to Clay. Go Blue!

Kat made us a delicious summer salad post-Derby.

And then it was...MOTHER'S DAY!

Will and I were so happy to be with my mother on this special day.

If only we could have been with Kay too!

Will thought breakfast in bed was a grand idea. He also thought the cards tasted delicious.

After Church, we went out for a yummy brunch as a family.

Check out Will's bib. He is wearing the same outfit in the bib that he is wearing here. That means either he is extremely coordinated or his mother dresses him in this outfit a lot.

I prefer to think the former.

Dad and his mom, dear Nonna!

On this day more than any other Mother's Day, I am so aware and humbled by my mother's selflessness, thoughtfulness, and devotion. She has more than taught me what is truly important: she has modeled it through her caring emails, willingness to help me with whatever I need, and graceful encouragement and understanding. She is my inspiration!

I love this picture. Will is thinking, "You two are crazy people."

The three mothers and our wonderful men!

I feel so lucky to be Will's mom. I'll say it again: every day feels like Christmas, like I won the jackpot. Will makes me so, so happy, and I feel constant gratitude that Clay and I have been blessed with a joyful, healthy, growing boy. On this Mother's Day, I feel honored to join the mom's club: a group of women around the world who know what it feels like to have their hearts walk around outside of their bodies. The depth of love and devotion I have for Will is indescribable--and I love that that depth is felt by moms everywhere.

Will is my constant gift. I cherish him!

I am so thankful for these and all the beautiful women in my life.

And now for today: Will's ELEVEN month birthday!

I love this series of shots: Camden staring wistfully at Will's chopped treats.

Camden staring Will DOWN.

Will realizing that Camden wants his food and laughing about it. Camden is not amused.

Here are a few notes about Will at 11 months:

* He isn't crawling or walking yet, but he LOVES to grab our fingers and pull himself up to standing.

* He loves Cheerios and grapes. He does not love mango (go figure).

* He is definitely in the midst of a separation anxiety phase. He can go from happy in Mama's arms to shrieking in another person's arms real quick.

* He is sleeping 12 hours a night. What a champ.

* He finds pillow fights extremely funny.

(Don't ask me how I found this out--I can't remember myself.)

* He is babbling a lot, but no consistent words yet.

*Dropping food and toys on the floor is SO fun :-).

And tomorrow is another special day...

easter.

Okay, so this isn't Easter. Yet. It's Palm Sunday. We're loving the palm.

And this isn't Easter either. It's our final dinner party before we move to NYC. We thought we would go out with a bang, so our recipe for the evening included dear friends

(Kat, Ashley, and Emily)...

Emily and Shelby...

Kat and Nate...

An ice cream cake...

(a really frozen ice cream cake)...

And one cute little boy :-). In monogrammed PJ's.

It was a great night.

Okay, now it's Easter! Hallelujah!

Sweet.

After church and brunch and naps and a walk and cooking, we decided there would be no better way to end Easter than to take a dip in the Lake--our first one of the season!

(thank you, Shannon, for the adorable personalized t-shirts!)

William says "Happy Easter!"