Sunday Shots

The circus (thus, being "off schedule" yesterday) must have worn Will completely out! He slept this morning until almost 9:15! We still made it to Sunday School and had a chance to take some pics of Will in our yard after we got home.

Even though the circus was lots of fun, we are STILL feeling the effects of it! Will is refused to nap today, so I am thankful that Ms. Jan will have him back on track tomorrow. :) He's already so tired and now fussy, that he's made an early night of it and is already in bed. Let's see how long that lasts!

Fantastic Funundrum!

The Ringling Bros. delivered! We had a great time at the circus today!

**Be prepared, Will is looking at the camera in basically ZERO pictures. There was so much going on, that he was NOT interested in appeasing me for photos.

**Also, the most precious and darling circus shirt EVER was made by a friend of mine who is more talented than I could ever hope to be. Isn't it adorable??

The boys and I arrived a little early to the show so that we could check out the pre-show activities.

The arena floor was full of different characters in the circus who were taking pictures with guests and doing short shows. It was neat to be so close to the circus folks, but of course, Will was uneasy around all of them! He couldn't take his eyes off of them, but when we'd get close to take a picture, he'd run to Bill or start to fuss. It's the same deal that we had with Santa. How come he was all about Curious George at McWane a couple of weeks ago? Hum...maybe it's the human element? Who knows...guess we'll find out when we go back to Disney in March.

One thing Will didn't mind - Hanging out on the motorcycle!

He even fussed at the guy's on the stilts who didn't even attempt to talk to him!

David & Trisha arrived right before the show began. Aunt Trisha had never been to the circus! Once the show got started, Will couldn't take his eyes off of the action. We had FABULOUS seats (basically 50 yd. line about 15 rows up)!

It was all so exciting that Will finally did collapse at the very end. Seriously, the finale was about to begin and the boy conked out (but woke up as soon as we walked outside to go home)!

Like I said the other day, I love giving Will new experiences! I know he enjoyed it, even though there aren't a lot of smiles in the pictures. Bad timing on the photographer's part! :)

The Greatest Show on Earth

The Circus - I sure hope it lives up to his name as "The Greatest Show on Earth". Especially because we're planning to attend during Will's naptime. Enough said. Wish us luck for tomorrow!

I hope I can post about how great it turned out to be!

Anyone willing to build a playset?

Will loves slides. I am serious. The boy loves to slide. Big slides, little slides, curved slides, straight slides, bumpy slides, fast slides, slow slides. It doesn't matter what kind of slide it is, the boy loves it.

Each trip down the slide begins with him slowly making his way to the top of a slide, all the while keeping his eye on his first destination - the top of the slide. Once he reaches the platform for the slide, he plops himself down about a foot or two away from the top of the slide. With a smile on his face, he begins to scoot himself closer to the top of the slide. Next, his eyes shift to me. I know that he's waiting on me to give him the go ahead for take-off. One (spoken by me), two (spoken by Will), THREE (spoken together)! Down he goes!! I have no idea if he's going to go straight down the slide or if he's going to end up sideway or completely backwards. I don't think he knows either, which adds to the excitement of the experience. I hear a THUD. He's shot off of the slide and on to the ground. Oh my gosh-he's about to cry. Wait, no he isn't. Instead, he's laughing! WHAT?? My sensitive little guy who cries about so much is laughing at being whirled around and thrown off of the slide. Yes, yes he is. Then, he picks himself up, brushes off his hands, and begins to make his way tot he steps again.

That, my friend, is now I know my favorite little guy LOVES slides.

So, we could really use a slide park in our backyard. Anyone willing to build it for us?

Things I love...

• getting a full (I mean MORE than 8 hours) night of sleep
• teaching kindergarteners
• going out to eat at nice restaurants with my favorite guy
• vacationing at the beach
• giving Will lots of experiences
• getting a massage
• getting pedicures
• listening to the Sunday sermon, singing in church, and going to Sunday School
• taking girlie trips with friends
• being a mom
• God
• sleeping in (never happens anymore)
• getting a tan
• laughing with 5 and 6 year olds all day
• teaching Will about Jesus
• when Will calls me "Mama"
• hand-sewing (not stressful like sewing machine sewing can be)
• red wine
• living so close to my parents
• God answering prayers (He is so good!)
• and this little guy! Even when he's making a major mess!

100 Days of School!

It was another early morning in the Harvey house, but I was geared up and ready to go because today was a big day! We were celebrating 100 days of school! Well, it really should have been yesterday, but after our NON-weather day that we had a couple of weeks ago, it moved the 100th day to today. Boo hiss on our weather day that was a total bust!

I was excited that Kelly spent the day in my classroom (as Brooke's sub) because Brooke stayed home with a sick AC. We had lots of fun with 100th day activities! Kelly is a great help and I love it when she comes to our classroom. The boys and girls love her too because she's such a softie, which is a nice break from "mean ol' Mrs. Harvey"!

Will and I rushed home this afternoon so that I could prepare dinner for a couple in my SS class who just had a baby. I worked on the meal last night and this afternoon, which is reminding me of why I do NOT like to cook dinner on a regular basis. It takes up too much time!! I am so serious. I would rather spend the time with my two favorite guys than slave away in the kitchen. At least I'm able to justify why I don't spend much time in the kitchen.

Now, dinner for the couple is in the oven. I'm blogging and Bill & Will are playing outside. Will & I usually go out to play every afternoon, but I needed to rush in to work on dinner (see, another reason why I don't like to cook. It interferes with my fun time!). While I'm gone to the couple's home, Bill is putting our dinner in the oven so that we can eat as a family when I return. I'm already looking forward to hearing Will sing "Johnny Appleseed" and declare 'Amen!' at the end of it.

I haven't uploaded any pics from the past few days, so enjoy these few from our trip to McWane Center two Sundays ago. Such a great time!

Pooped

...and it's only Monday! After a busy weekend, I felt anything but refreshed this morning. When the annoying buzzing of the alarm clock decided to sound at 5:30 this morning, I was still so tired that I asked Bill if it was a school day. Why, oh why, can't school begin at 9 a.m. each day? (of course, dismissal would still need to be by 3 p.m.)

Fortunately, I had this smiling face greet me while I was getting ready this morning! Both of my favorite boys make everything a-ok!

Busy weekend!

It's hard to believe that it's already Sunday afternoon! Weekends go by way too quickly in the Harvey house. It seems like the past few weekends have been packed full of activities and we have something going on EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND until the end of March!

This weekend started off with Will and the girls enjoying a yummy dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. The guys (Bill, Dad, and David) had gone to the "hunting shack" (appropriately named by Aunt Trisha) to spend the night. Friday night, I was secretly hoping Will would wake up during the night so that he could be my snuggle buddy, but he made it through most of the night in his crib.

Saturday morning, we had a playdate with a super sweet friend in our Sunday School class and her little boy. Will and his new friend are 4 weeks apart, so they will definitely grow up together in our church. It was great getting them together, but it took a little while for the boys to warm up to each other. They were quite funny! My friend and I both agreed that our boys need a sibling in the picture so they know that the world does not revolve around them! :)

After naptime on Saturday, Will and I headed to another playdate with a big group of Sunday School friends. Will was much more pleasant at this get together, thankfully! I had a great time socializing with my SS friends while Will was playing with all of his new friends. Having those get togethers yesterday reiterated to me how grateful I am that Bill and I have gotten involved in a SS class at church. We have felt so welcomed by everyone and love getting to know them more!

Speaking of getting to know everyone more, a group of 10 SS girls are getting together this afternoon at my home to sew together. Brooke and I are going to show everyone how to hand-applique shirts for our kids. We've deemed it a "Sip 'n Sew", but think we'll do more sewing than sipping. :) I love these opportunities to build deeper friendships!

Our sermon at church this morning was titled "Grace Anatomy". It was about Paul's letter to the Church of Corinth about the church being the body of Christ and how each member is equally as important. Not only that, but we ALL have a job to do and we should use our different talents that God has given us to serve Him. This week, I am going to focus my prayers on how I can use my talents to serve God. I have a feeling that I am going to end up out of my comfort zone in doing this, but my comfort zone is not what is important.--Serving My God is what is important! One quote that really stuck with me from this morning was "God did not call me to be a benchwarmer". Maybe it stuck because we're in the South and football isn't just a sport here; it's a way of life. But I can't be a 'sit in the stands or on the bench' kind of Christian - My life is about serving my God. Please pray for Bill and me that we use the talents God has given us to serve Him. Please pray that we teach Will how to serve God through our words and actions.

Enough Harassment!

Why oh why am I such a terrible blogger? I seriously do not have an answer. I wish that I was great at posting almost everyday. But you know, life just takes over and I have not made blogging a priority.

With that being said, maybe this is my turn around...maybe I'll start to blog more frequently. Who knows. I can't commit.

On with the updates...

-Will is now 19 months old! It is so hard to believe how quickly time goes by. I cherish each day with him and thank our awesome Father for giving him to Bill and me.

-What Will is up to now:

• He weighs about 25 1/2 pounds and is 32 1/2 inches. I'm excited about that because he's met his first height requirement for our upcoming trip to Disney World! Now, he can ride the Speedway cars at Magic Kingdom!
• He eats 3 meals a day along with a morning and afternoon snack. I definitely think breakfast is his favorite meal of the day (like mine!), unless he's eating anything dipped in ketchup (or any other sauce).
• He's taking 1 nap a day, which is usually from 12-3 p.m. Then, he's typically in bed by 7:30 p.m. Sleeping through the night has become hit-or-miss. Just depends on the week. This week, it's been a miss. I'm attributing the waking up to teething, but really not sure.
• Will knows most of his body parts and can point to them when you ask. I've started talking with him about his heart and how Jesus is in our heart. I love it when he puts his hand over his heart! He's also able to name a few of the body parts that he knows.
• He bows his head to say the blessing (well, he really just puts his hands against his mouth, but he has good intentions). Then he attempts to sing the blessing that they sing at daycare (Johnny Appleseed). The part he definitely has down is the "AMEN!" I love it!
• There are lots of things that Will can say, but it sometimes takes prompting and some words sound totally different than they should. The things I can think of off of the top of my head are: please, thank you, up, down, choo-choo, dada, mama, Pop Pop, car, bus, tree, banana, apple, juice, cup, Elmo, Handy Manny, Mickey, book, dog, fish, go, stop, flag, ...ok, the list goes on.
• He knows the sound for every animal we can think to teach him. So, if I haven't thought of the animal or a sound for an animal, then he probably doesn't know it.
• It's hilarious, but he'll tell us to "GO!" when the light turns green at a traffic light.
• Will LOVES LOVES LOVES books. He's always loved books, but I think his love is growing more each day. It melts my heart to watch him sit and pretend to read books that he knows well. You can hear him saying some of the words that he can remember from the book.
• He's always on the move! He runs everywhere and loves for someone to chase him.
• Will is a sensitive guy. If he falls, if someone takes something from him, or even if AC is getting in trouble, the little guy will cry. He has a sensitive heart. I pray that God has something big in store for this little guy with such a sensitive heart.
• We've been working on learning the ABC song and counting to 10. We also practice lots of Christian children's songs.
• Will's daycare situation has been such a blessing to our family. He absolutely LOVES going each day and he is learning so much. He is the youngest of four children at the daycare, so he has been able to learn so much from the older kids.

I'll leave you with a picture of Will at 19 months - Yes, his hair is gone. He's definitely a big boy now!