Lawyers playing softball

When Will and I were in law school, softball ruled.

Some of the UVa law school softball players.  Can you pick out the male model?

Or at least it did for one of us.  The other one of us (me!) was happy cheering from the sidelines.  In fact, on our third (I think?) date, Will asked me to come see him play in one of their final games and the stud hit a home run no less (accompanied by some pretty stellar fielding moves if I recall correctly).  His friends got a big kick out of chiding him for showing off for me and I assumed such playing was par for the course.

So, when Will’s law firm decided to revive an old summertime tradition of a firm-wide softball game, there was no way the kids and I were going to miss seeing Daddy in action.

Frances had everyone’s outfits picked out days in advance. 

George had a last minute costume change (swapping the Toy Story baseball hat for the Atlanta Braves batting helmet - well played, son), but otherwise everything was just as my little planner had envisioned.

Will did great—no home runs this time, but he did make it on base (three times, I think) and his team creamed the other side 18-3.  And how can you ignore those great UVa colors:

GO HOOS!!

The entire group.  No surprise, Will is still the tallest 

The game lasted only an hour (bless them, those lovely players, for being so quick) and then came the best part …

 …running (and running and running) the bases.  I have no idea how many times (and how many miles) those kids ran, but it lasted a good 45 minutes and left them happy and exhausted.

And that’s a WIN in my book.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Yes, Virginia, Richmond does have a zoo

Frances’s class took their second and final (at least for her) field trip this week:

To the zoo!

George and I were lucky to get to tag along again; although, I could have disappeared for two hours and George would never have noticed.  To say he fit in is an understatement (considering he’s also taller than about 75% of Frances’s schoolmates):

George and Carissa

And Michele (Carissa’s mom) if you’re reading this please know that George announced just this morning that he ‘loved’ Carissa and he and Frances have already planned their impending nuptials.  Frances was most excited to know that the wedding would mean that Carissa would be her sister.  As if they could be any closer:

George, Frances and Carissa

As one would expect, the zoo had every animal you could imagine (except an elephant, which predictably turned into the most requested animal as soon as the class realized it was not a viewing option):

The tigers

Am I the only parent whose heart races when their children are near a predatory animal??  I'm sorry, but that glass and my nerves are only but so strong.  They are incredibly beautiful though.

The chimpanzees

They looked so wise.  I'm convinced they know more about life than I do.

Lions, tortoises, rhinos, zebras, camels and bears (just to name a few)

The kids could feed the giraffes

The baby goats (by far, the most popular)

One smart little baby used the back of an unsuspecting donkey to secure his escape.

We lucked out again with the weather this field trip – rainy enough to discourage any other visitors (we practically had the entire zoo to ourselves), but not wet enough to keep us away.  And this excursion confirmed that George is indeed ready for preschool next year …

 … even if I’m not.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Lee!

Will’s maternal grandmother celebrated her 85^th birthday on Sunday.  What a milestone!

Grandma Lee has always been so kind to all of her great-grandchildren.  She has a wonderful way with kids—of course, after five children, ten grandchildren, and now countless (at least for me) great-grandchildren she’s had a lot of practice.  Our kids just flock to her:

It probably goes without saying that this party was custom-made for Frances and George—cake, presents and family.

George, Frances and Justin

Will and Will in 30 years.

Becca and Trey

Grandma and Justin

I tried to get our traditional Trey/Frances and now Trey/Frances/George picture, but after mixing mac n’ cheese, buttercream frosting, and a no-nap afternoon, it came out more like this:

As close as I could get:

This photo calls for a "caption me" request.

Happy 85^th Birthday to Grandma Lee!  And a happy Monday to all of you.

Oh, the places she'll go!

Frances graduated preschool this week.  *SOB*  She is killing me, this one.

Frances has been attending this wonderful school since she was ten weeks old and I will be forever indebted to the extraordinary teachers and directors that have been a part of our lives for these last 4 ½ years.

The school made these adorable collages for each child

She's always loved the water!

  

I am a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child (if you’re lucky enough to have one!) and Miss Diana and Miss Peggy, her infant to one-year-old teachers, were the mayors of our village for many years, even years after she graduated from their class.  When Will and I dropped her tiny, 2 ½ month old, squirmy, warm body into their arms that first day, we were weepy eyed and unsure—not just about leaving her there, but completely unsure of how to be a parent.  Her teachers gently and lovingly guided us through those tricky first months—first solids, first finger foods, first shoes, first words, first teeth, first fever, first steps and first birthday.  There are moments that I am so sad my insides ache that I missed most of those firsts; but I am equally happy that such incredible women were there in my place.  I know Frances loved them as though they were her own grandmothers.

First day/Last day

And now, she’s on her way to Kindergarten (via a summer at home with George and me, thank goodness!).  I am so proud of her I could pop.  I’m proud that she always follows her teachers’ directions; I am proud that she’s shy, but (as I am told) is a natural leader in the class; I am proud that she’s a kind, sweet friend expressing genuine happiness when others succeed or bring a coveted toy to school (a trait her mother still struggles with); I am proud that just last month her teacher asked if we were going to have any more kids because she loved our children so much (after a morning playground meltdown, I really needed to hear that); but most of all, I’m proud that she’s fully embraced our crazy family regardless of its changes—from maternity leave when I thought I could never leave her, through my crazy work schedule when I had to physically push her away so I could finish preparing for a trial, through George’s birth, his tumultuous toddlerhood, and finally to my full-time mother status.  She has been the ideal companion and my best friend through it all.

Holding on for dear life

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

-          Dr. Seuss’s Oh the Places You’ll Go!

Happy Friday, everyone!

"I'm a model, you know what I mean"

Sometimes I wonder if the wrong one of us became the professional ballet dancer:

Will has been working very long hours, not exercising regularly, and eating whatever he can grab at his desk, which naturally (?!) means he’s lost a good 4 inches around his waist and at least a dozen pounds.  The Zoolander-like poses aren’t a part of his normal evening routine though; with his newfound figure Will desperately needs new clothes and wanted to test-drive a few that he ordered online.  He sent everything back after looking at these fuzzy Blackberry pictures.  Apparently when you’re a guy, it’s not cool to be skinny. 

And just so you know, the injustice of that dichotomy is killing me.  I’m hoping my obvious suffering will keep me in Will’s good graces when he sees I’ve posted these pictures.

Let’s just look at them again, shall we?

Seriously, how fair is that?  I think I’ll spend the afternoon drowning my sorrows in M&Ms.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

"B" is for butterfly

The weather the past few days has been beautiful—highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s and sunny (for the most part)—very un-June-like, but also very-un-pool-friendly. 

We tried to make a go of the fountains on Saturday:

But this was the only smile I could capture on my normally thick-skinned daughter.  Even she said the water was too cold to enjoy.  So, when Sunday rolled around with equally chilly weather, there was no denying it was an ideal botanical gardens day.

Little did we know what we were stumbling upon:

For those of you who live in the area, I highly recommend seeing this – it was incredible.  The exhibit is housed in the glass conservatory building and kept steamy and warm:

You’re instructed not to touch the butterflies (or as George kept repeating, “No touch bu-fly.  No touch bu-fly”) and to watch your step:

This poor little guy had already had one accident.  He was undeterred though and spent most of his time dodging in and out of our feet.

Besides that, you are free to roam, gawk and take endless pictures (or at least I assume you’re allowed to do all of that because that’s pretty much what I did the entire time):

Frances viewing the camera through the butterfly scope.  George tried his best, but kept putting the scope up to his closed eye.  Will and I were laughing too much to help the poor kid out.

Once we’d had ample butterfly viewing, we left the building (not without a volunteer sweeping us for strays – apparently some butterflies have been known to stowaway on the visitors) and headed down to the children’s garden:

My beautiful girl

My handsome boys

Same window, same children = one year later

The window frame (and George’s ‘do) looking a little worse for wear in a year’s time.  But otherwise, I think we’re all holding up pretty darn well.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Bits and pieces

Frances’s second annual dance concert is coming up in two weeks.

I can’t quite wrap my mind around that; wasn't it just last month that I was writing about her first dance concert?  This year her group will perform to “Pineapple Princess” by Annette Funicello (and yes, I had to look that one up on YouTube).  I am mentally preparing for the adorableness that will undoubtedly ensue when I see 5 or more girls wearing the above costume. 

As an aside, her dance teacher enclosed endless instructions about how to put together the complete ‘look’ (only about half of which is pictured on Frances and includes limitless accessories on every extremity).  In bold, underline, and italics the note said, “Please make sure you pin the tutu to your daughter's leotard or it WILL FALL OFF on stage.”  As you can probably see, I can almost guarantee to Miss Heather that Frances’s tutu is not going anywhere—pins or no pins.  Our own in-house Bam-Bam (George) couldn’t even budge it when he tried, as any good little brother would, to pull it down.

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I made homemade bread for the first time in ages.

This was the third or fourth time I’ve made something that I found through Pinterest.  I really, really wanted to love something that was advertised as “OH MY GOSH this is the best _______ you will ever eat!” but I found myself disappointed again. 

The bread was fine (in fact, Will and Frances said they liked it), but it was very crusty and didn’t get much more of a “eh” out of me.  Eh.

I’m still looking for the perfect (non-crusty) bread recipe if anyone has any recommendations.

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Marshall, our own little E.T.

Frances thought he could use a few more ‘friends’ than average before we left the house the other morning.  He does look pretty content.

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The mosquitoes are terrible this season.

Apparently sometime after the age of four is when these little welts start itching because neither child seems to mind them. 

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How am I possibly going to go back to regular peanut butter after consuming this incredible delicacy?

Pure evil in a jar.  And worth every bite.

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This is still my favorite part of the day.

Post-bath (for all three of them) and watching Curious George while waiting for Daddy to get home.  At this moment (that doesn’t happen every day, but I’ll take what I can get), I feel like I can finally exhale, sit down and mentally unwind.  My job(s) are done.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Happy Saturday, everyone!