My First Baby Turns 10!

Can you believe I am the mother of a 10 year old? Me neither. Way before there was Mark or Finn or Philadelphia or New Jersey. Way back when, there was just me . . . and Lily. Lily was born on Sept. 17, 2001 . . . one week after 9/11. I was working down in St. Simons, selling advertising, living in a hotel and feeling pretty lonely. So naturally, I got a dog. Found an ad in the paper, showed up at the lady's house and picked out the runt of the litter. I named her Lily because she was as white as a sack of flour. And so began our journey together. There were ups and downs for both of us (eating my cashmere sweater was not her finest hour), but I cannot imagine life without my Lily.

Lily made every move I made: from our humble beginnings in St. Simons, back to Bremen, and finally to Charleston, where our lives really started to take shape. In Charleston, we both came back to life. We both found the beach (ironically, Sullivan's Island was the place to go with dogs!), a great job, friends, and of course, a husband. Then came Philly and New Jersey and then Finn. Sometimes it feels like life didn't begin until Finn came along. Or maybe, that I can't remember what life was like when we used to sleep in and go out on Saturday nights? Lily was a trouper . . . she took her place in the back seat and never once resented Finn or took out any frustrations on him. I like to think she loves him, even though I catch her rolling her eyes at him quite often. She has been the best dog I've ever had. She is so patient and loving and loyal, everything you could possibly want in a dog. She is wonderful with all kids, but especially Finn, who has been known to dress her up, ride her, crawl over/under her, step on her, throw food at her, drink her water and eat her food, usually with a smile on her face. All she asks for in return, is a belly run and maybe a game of fetch with a tennis ball.

Lily finally has her yard. It took her 10 years to get it, but it's a great yard and a great porch and she is queen of her yard. She is slowing down some, but has MANY more golden years ahead of her. At the vet this week, the doc had the audacity to call her senior! I had to cover her ears. She limps and struggles to stand sometimes, but I think it's just an act . . . take her to the beach and she's a puppy all over again.

I love you my Lily and I'm looking forward to our next 10 years together.

Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of her "puppy" years. Or I do, but not digital ones, but you can only imagine how cute and fluffy she was. Here are just a few of her first 10 years . . .

Sullivan's Island

I took the camera along one evening at the beach and snapped a few photos. I was scrolling back through a few old blog entries and realized that we haven't been anywhere or done anything in a while, at least anything worth blogging about. Well, here's why . . .

Beach Bummin' Around

I'm getting so far behind in my blogging that I'm afraid I will never catch up. We have settled into sort of a routine since school started. I take Finn to school (usually on the bicycle) and then try to go for a run (try being the operative word) before running a couple of errands and then picking Finn up from school. During his nap, I paint. PAINT, PAINT and more PAINT. This is the reason I am so far behind on my blogging. I always have a paint brush in hand. The house is coming along and I promise I will share pictures soon.

Finn loves school. There are seven kids in his class, three of which live on our street! He has spanish, cooking, gardening, music, jump n jive and yoga class throughout the week. Yes, yoga. Cue eye roll now. He loves it though and his class took a walking field trip to the Sullivan's Island Fire Department last week. I was standing on the porch when they walked by. So cute, holding on to their little ropes and singing songs. Finn was so proud that he got to shoot the water hose. He is really happy and I am enjoying those couple hours of free time.

The rest of the time we spend bumming around the house or at the beach. For the past 2.5 years we spent every single day on the move. Because we didn't have much space at home, we had to go out. Now we have all that space and more and we have really enjoyed just being at home. Did I mention the beach? Running, swimming, jumping, splashing, rolling--this boy is all action and loves the wide open spaces. He does love playing on the slip-n-slide and dragging his toys out on the porch too. The weather is still nice here and now that all of the vacationers have gone home, we are getting to know some of the other "locals."

weekend mornings on the beach--Lily can play until 10

Moon Over Sullivan's Island

My dad has been visiting for the past month, helping us with house renovations and repairs. One of our big projects was replacing our 2nd story deck that was falling apart. I took Finn up one night to check it out and we were taking in the view and I decided to run go get my camera because it was such a beautiful night. See exhibit A. I took a couple of shots and went to get Mark so he could see and this is what I saw upon returning . . . see exhibit B.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B: TWO full moons

First Day of School

Finn will be going to The Children's Garden School right here on the island. When we first moved back I was all worried about finding Finn a spot in a good preschool because I knew we had missed the registration period. I knew how much we both enjoyed his school last year and didn't want to miss out on it this year. So, I called friends and favors and made the rounds of all of the preschools. I met teachers, went on tours, sat through chapel, and so on and so forth. We were put on at least three waiting lists. Then I gave up. Once we had decided to live on Sullivan's, I decided to keep it simple and send him to the closest and easiest school possible, which happened to be the Garden School, and also happened to be 2 blocks from our house. We applied and were accepted within about a week and all over the phone. After all of my trouble and stressing out, he would be going to a school that I had never seen and had never met a single teacher or student. Oddly enough, I was totally okay with it. Probably because along the way I realized that it is just preschool and most likely Finn will enjoy it no matter what his room looks like or what the school's Harvard acceptance rate happens to be :)

We attended a little welcome pool party and Finn had a blast so I knew we had made the right call. Finn was so excited about starting school and getting to play with kids his own age. After a summer spent with mainly adults, I'm so glad he will have the chance to make his own friends. Both Mark and I walked him to his room the first day and he barely even said goodbye to us. I was so proud of his confidence and independence, even though I had to shed a couple of tears over the fact that he is growing up and doesn't need me as much anymore.

Finn will be in school M-F from 9-12:30. I was a little nervous about putting him in five days a week, but he loves it and I have to admit, having a few hours to myself each day is great. We are looking forward to a great school year.

Oh the joys of trying to photograph a three year old

Finally, a semi-decent 1st day of school picture

So proud of our big boy