Hard

Hard is the word I would use to describe parenting lately. It is so much fun and filled with hysterical moments, but there are also those days when it is just plain hard. I went through a really hard weekend a few weekends ago (aquarium weekend). The whole aquarium was fine-disappointing that Will didn't love it, but he's not even one and a half and so we just dealt with it. However, upon returning home it was as if Will was making us pay for making him ride in the car for most of the day. The few days after our day trip, there were some nightmarish moments...fits, screaming fits, screaming in the middle of the night for about 3 hours fits, not wanting to go down easy for nap fits, throwing toys all over the place fits....It was on Sunday afternoon after trying to get him down for a nap and deciding to just ignore the screams that my eyes welled up with tears, I looked at John, and said "This.Is.Hard." I had picked up books and toys scattered all over the floor several times only to look again and they were back all over the floor. In that moment, I just wanted to collapse.
Fast forward a few nights when Will had calmed back down and I felt like things were under control again (Never say this-just when you get used to one stage, they totally change on you and you are back to square one). Anyways, I have been reading Bringing up Boys by James Dobson this summer. I got it for John on CD so he could listen to it on his commute. It has been a good read and fun for us to discuss different things that we could totally relate to. It was like God intended for me to be at this one passage in the book when I needed it most...

"Your task as a mother, in conjunction with your husband, is to build a man out of the raw materials available in this delightful little boy, stone upon stone upon stone. Never assume for a moment that you can "do your own thing" without serious consequences for him and his sister. I believe this task must be your highest priority for a period of time. It will not always be required of you. Before you know it, that child at your feet will become a young man who will pack his bags and take his first halting steps into the adult world. Then it will be your turn. By all expectations, you should have decades of health and vigor left to invest in whatever God calls you to do. But for now there is a higher calling. I feel obligated to tell you this, whether my words are popular or not. Raising children who have been loaned to us for a brief moment outranks every other responsibility. Besides, living by that priority when kids are small will produce the greatest rewards at maturity."

These words hit me. This is my calling right now. To be Will's mama. Not just through the fun times. Through all of it. It is my calling to hold him when he just wants to cry and not sleep, to pick up his toys 1,001 times EVERY day, to discipline him, to listen to him babble, to take time to read to him. Though it may be extremely hard and exhausting, it is all worth it. Each second with him molds him into the little man he will become someday. Hard to think about that now, but so very true! It is not about me right now, at all. Just wanted to share this passage so that anyone else who knows what I mean might be encouraged. And if you are raising a boy, I highly recommend this book! He also has just written Bringing up Girls that just came out about a month ago.

Quick Trip to the Aquarium

Saturday of Father's Day weekend we were on the road at 7am headed to meet our friends, The Pughs, at the Georgia Aquarium. We literally woke Will up and put him in the car seat with milk and food and were on our way. John and I talked so much about how much we thought he would love the aquarium, since there would be SO much to see! And he did love it....

For about 20 minutes...

After that, it seemed as if he was saying..."Really....another fish....in the water.....woopty do!"

Touching the sting rays first might have been a mistake. Every other fish we saw he beat on the glass and started crying because he couldn't touch it. And then, after that 20 minutes, he was ready to leave. We had to bribe him to just sit in his stroller with food. The pretzels did seem to make him a bit more interested in the belugas!

When he was out of that stroller he was pitching a fit, running around, not wanting to be held AT ALL. Needless to say, we will not be going back there for a few more years!! We were glad we at least had fun company to share our misery with :) Cole was the perfect age and he really enjoyed it...at least somebody did!!

This was probably the happiest-when we made him pose next to their version of the Nemo fish, Deepo, and he saw the exit was right around the corner!

Oh well, expensive lesson learned. John and I were laughing about since he is our first and only child so far, we try to do all these fun things with him and sometimes he just isn't quite ready!

Summer Lovin'

I could break out into the lyrics from Grease right now :) Where did June go? I can hardly believe it is almost July. And I am choosing not to think about it because Will and I are having way too much fun while I am off from work. My absence from the blog world doesn't mean there aren't many "blog worthy" activities going on in our world...I have just not really had any motivation to get up here and blog. Are you ever like that? Anyways, I am back.

A sneak peek at what we have been up to lately...

1. Multi-tasking

2. Lots of backyard pool time! 3. Baths in the big tub, complete with bubbles4. Quick trip to the Georgia Aquarium with our friends Cole and Owen
5. Discovering a new splash pad with our cousins that is way more awesome than the zoo splash pad...and it's FREE! 6. Meeting Mr. Potato Head at McWane Center**More detailed post to come on items 4-6** :)

Away

We've been away...visiting the happiest place on Earth! If you've been around this blog for a while you may remember that we had planned a 10 day cruise around the Greek isles. We got a little uneasy about leaving the little man for that long, so we cancelled it. I told John he could choose anywhere he wanted to go for his graduation trip (even though he graduated in December, summer is a better time for me to travel). He of course chose Disney...I knew he would and I was totally okay with it! We are not beach people. I mean I can lay on the beach and read a book ALL day, but John cannot so the beach is not a great choice for just us by ourselves. Disney was just as magical as the last time we were there and not much changed...

Disney World-March 2007

Disney World - June 2010
The day before, he actually ate a Mickey Ears (John is obsessed with them) and had on the same Auburn shirt that he is wearing in the '07 pic. I was so mad I didn't think to snap a picture the day before....some things never change.

We had a blast catching up with some of our old friends, and Will's friends alike...

While this picture is not flattering of me in the least bit, I had to post it because it was so funny. We were at Hollywood Studios and turned a corner and there stood Handy Manny. Will loves the show so I convinced John that we should get in line to have our picture made with him. We were walking up to him and Handy Manny just grabbed my hand and started dancing with me. I didn't know what else to do but just crack up!

We had some fun acting like goof balls....

Woody and Buzz were right outside of our hotel room... that is me on Buzz's shoe...they were enormous!

This was a kid free trip, which was so nice to just have some one on one time with each other. This is really how we act most of the time, like goof balls. But sometimes life can get so hectic and crazy that you forget how to be that way with each other.

Foggy and not a great shot, but pretty much the only one we have of the 2 of us...Am I the only one that wishes a ZAP person could follow me around on vacation so I wouldn't have to worry about taking the pictures, but also so I could be in them :)

I will leave you with what I feel is the funniest picture from the whole trip. We flew into Orlando on Sunday and had park hopper tickets for Monday-Wednesday. Monday morning we woke up at 6am (5am Bham time), got ready, and were on the bus at 7am headed to Animal Kingdom. It opened at 8am for guests who stayed on resort, so we wanted to take full advantage of the early open time. When we got there, there were maybe 10 other people waiting...we should have been so tired, but we were too excited!! This is the first picture we took-John just outside of Animal Kingdom acting like he is looking at a watch because it was so dang early :)

These Boots Were Made for Walking....

well maybe someday. For now they are about 4 sizes too big. Will's cousin gave us these super awesome cowboy boots. He loves "trying" to wear them, but always ends up in this position when he tries to walk...Doesn't seem to bother him one bit!

Splash Pad

On Friday we went over to the Birmingham Zoo with some friends. It is under some major construction, so there isn't really a whole lot to see right now. The heat has also brought several animals in for a while, so pretty much our zoo membership is getting us countless rides on the train, carousel, and our newest discovery, the splash pad! I have heard about these, but never been to one. The one at the zoo is definitely on a much smaller scale than some others around town, but it suits Will just fine. The kid has NO FEAR when it comes to water. I watched as most of the other kids slowly went toward one of the fountains spraying up and stuck their tiny finger out to almost touch it. Then there is my child, running with no abandon, right through the fountains, giggling, and turning around for more. The only thing that pried him away from the water was the carousel! Again, sorry for the picture overload. But we had to take lots of pics for Daddy since this was Will's first trip to the splash pad and poor John had to work...

The best shot we could get of all 4 kiddos...

Will is really into zebras these days...

Will and Hannah Grace

Summer Fun!

My first full day home with Will was Thursday. What do you do on the first day of summer? Pull out the sprinkler! I figured Will would enjoy this, but I never thought I would be so entertained as well. He could have run through that thing for hours!! Sorry to include so many pictures, but they were just all so darn cute, I couldn't just choose one or two! I have to say that the 3rd, 4th, and last picture are my favorites-what a boy!! After we played all morning in the sprinklers, Will took a nap and then we went to the grocery store. When we got home, John was home from work so we were unloading the groceries out of my car. Will was playing in the driveway with his lawn mower. That thing makes some noise so when I noticed it was very quiet outside, I peeked my head around to make sure Will was still in our driveway. The little stinker was playing in the sprinklers that had just turned on in our front yard! He was soaking wet...again! I am looking forward to lots of precious, WET memories with little man this summer!