vandalia

every Memorial Day weekend for the last 38 years, Vandalia has taken over WV's capital. Vandalia is a gathering to celebrate WV's appalachian heritage....amazing musicians, pickers, and dancers gather to play...whether it is on a big stage or under a tree on the capital lawn.  there is good food, amazing music, and even more amazing people.

brian took me to vandalia when we were dating, and it has sort of become a tradition for us. we took Will today with nana and pawpaw. Will loved it. we absolutely love it.  however, it always puts me in a bit of a pickle.

i grew up clogging....mountain dancing...from grade school into high school. i went to clogging workshops with my friend sarah. i wore a crinoline (for real). i really loved it and was pretty good at it...but i get SO embarrassed to do this in front of people these days. this is a problem, because my husband thinks it's awesome (really).  you know how some people can blow milk out of their nose and that is their cool party trick? i am brian's party trick. he'll pull up "rocky top" on his phone and prod me to get my feet shufflin...as my face turns blood red. i can't ever get too mad at him...he really thinks it is cool. so every year at vandalia, as the old folks in their overalls and clogging shoes gather on the dance floor, he is dying for me to get out there.

this year i caved to the pressure...sort of. brian got out there with me and we did some square dancing/clogging. but we had no idea what we were doing. so i danced with fred, and brian danced with maxine. they knew what they were doing and didn't want us screwing everything up. unfortunately, there is video evidence. that's ok. Positive evidence that my husband has danced with three women that were not me  ;-)

 

and maybe i'm missing my calling. because afterward, a world champion clogger (easily 75?) gave me his card and asked if i would join his dance troop.

46-52!!! ONE YEAR!!!

i know this is always what people say, but i can't believe we have had this little boy for a year.  i started off this photo project at week three...seemed like a good idea at the time. i have a decent camera...don't have photoshop, but i'm a pro at powerpoint (yes, i used powerpoint for this, don't judge me). it was really hard to do though. in the beginning, i was religious about taking pictures every monday...and then i went back to work and all hell broke loose. you know, 2am feedings, 8am office hours, bottles to wash, pump parts to clean (oh my gosh...pump parts to clean!!! AH!)   most of the time, i was just trying to get the picture done some time during the week. and, to be completely honest, sometimes i didn't get a picture done and used a picture from a previous week. woops. but let's forget the details...this kid is ONE...and it is SO fun to see how he changed in the last 52 weeks!

i'm working on a blurb book highlighting the last year and have put all of these pictures in it. i would love to come up with a way to display them in my house...still thinking on that one.

these later pictures were much more difficult, being that Will has ants in his pants. we had to use props, ridiculous noises, and my legs make an appearance just trying to hold him still. i think it adds character, right? (that's at least what we tell ourselves about all the things that don't work in our old house...character)

First Birthday Party!

in the midst of strawberry festival madness, we celebrated Will's first birthday! we had a small party with just family and lots of good food. Will had the best time. he smacked his lips at the food, devoured cake, investigated every card and gift, and played like a champ. 

i was sticking (loosely) to a mickey mouse clubhouse theme, so my mom and cousin beth were convinced that Will needed his own clubhouse (out of a cardboard box...what kids really want to play with anyways).  it was perfect...and Will LOVED it!...lots of clapping and "a-da's" (which means he loved it).

i printed Will's weekly pictures so that everyone could see them...so cool to see my baby grow up his first year.   

Will had no idea what to do with the cake, and unfortunately i don't have video evidence (i must not have hit record...i am sick over it). but after we gave him his own piece, he started to get into it and was eventually shoveling handfuls of cake into his mouth. oy vey!

what IS this delicious concoction that is squishing between my fingers?

Will got an easy chair, a carolina chair, a swing, a tricycle, an airplaine and tugboat, a dumptruck and car, a leapfrog dog, books, clothes, and a red rider wagon...i believe he made out like a fat rat! oh, and a hot rodding magazine from pawpaw ;-)

 

 

after we had eaten ourselves into a coma, we walked up to the grand feature parade and had some amazing (i.e., the best i've ever had) strawberry shortcake with homemade ice cream! Will loved it and saved some strawberry on his chin for the rest of the afternoon.

and in the aftermath of the party, he is still enamored with his clubhouse...first birthday success!

Will turns ONE!

Will's birthday was this past tuesday...May 13!  brian had the day off of school, so we decided to take a little trip...first to charleston for mother's day and a visit with my college friends...our group has grown just a bit since our college days...

then to charlottesville to eat some good food and see some of our favorite people!

bodo's bagels, our favorite charlottesville breakfast, for the birthday boy...

little john's for lunch with some of my former labmates, and dinner with robin and jeff, who Will also agrees are some of the coolest!...

robin is a talented photographer and grabbed my camera to get a few first birthday shots for us...such a sweet gift to celebrate our boy's first year...thanks robin!!

AND we got some ice cream, which Will was a little unsure about (but willing to keep shoveling it in)....the cake will come this weekend!

who could resist those cheeks? poor guy.  Happy Birthday, sweet boy! We love you so much!