Happy Birthday, Little Son.

I can't believe it. I really can't.

You are one, my dear boy. You are a whole year old, 365 days. Those days have been FULL. For both of us. For all three of us. You have cried every single day for a year. You have napped. You have eaten. You have snuggled. You have discovered and awakened to new elements. You have grown. You have rolled, wiggled, crawled, stood tall, and now you are just shy of a walk. I'm sure your swagger will make me proud (AKA make me cry.) You, with the rotund thighs and the pouty lips and the humor in your eyes and the crinkle in your nose. I could kiss you all over, and oh, I have. I HAVE. But still, it's never enough!

You have four healthy, happy, inclusive grandparents that adore you. You are so lucky for that, dear one! You have a zillion little cousins that think you're the cutest. You have two parents who swear you're the best child on Earth. Even when you pull mommy's hair and interrupt daddy's work calls and throw your food on the floor. We love you so much, we are buying you a whole house with a lawn where you can run and play to your heart's content. You have traveled the country and the world and you have lived to tell the tales of gelato. You love chicken, hate spinach, refuse bottles, welcome juice boxes and oatmeal and waffles, and you most certainly live out loud (literally - you are LOUD.) You love to be silly and you know that you are funny and I love that you are already confident. You are a little wary of people you don't know, and I admit, I kind of love that about you, too. You don't just take to others immediately. You are careful, cautious, and you really think about what's happening around you. There is no getting anything past you! Believe me, I've tried. You always manage to find my iPhone, my hair, my last bite. You are very good.

You have changed my paradigm. You came in like the great awakening, and now I am forever defined by you. It's crazy to think that after 27 years of my living one way, the only way I knew how, you came to me and spent the past year etching your expression into my life. You are forever to me. Me and your Dad. We are going to love you endlessly, until the end of our time. And even then, I will still love you. I'll bend the rules of eternity.

I'm so proud to know you, little son. You are a powerful person. You are strong and gentle all at once. You are so special, so sweet, so good, and you always will be. In the years to come, you will understand so much. But you will look back on your life and have questions about things. Just know this - my prayer for you as you enter your second year is that you may know how very, terribly loved you are. That you won't be able to deny your worth. That you will be overcome with excessive affirmation, endless encouragement and a parade of truth and kindness all around you. My love for you is fierce and overwhelming, but is is a mere shadow of the passion that our savior Christ has for you. Lean into Him, always, little son. Learn His language, the way He speaks, and listen closely. You will always have peace when you seek first His opinion. I can promise you that.

I can't promise that you will like the outfit I dress you in today.

While you're still little, I'm the boss. And the boss likes you in blue onesies.

I love love LOVE you.
Mom

When Dad Says He's Proud.

The other night Stevie and I were having dinner out on the back porch. We didn't turn on any lights, so the table was aglow only by the filtered light coming in the screen from the setting sun. And by "having dinner" I mean we were eating yet another Amy's frozen pizza. Because lately I'm having a lot of days where cooking just seems like an enormous task along with staying on top of my wannabe-toddler. He's into everything and honestly, I find myself worn out by his energy at 8am. 8am people!

Sometimes I just can't.

But we were finally at the end of this particular evening, the baby was in bed, and we were enjoying a bit of wine. Whew. It was nice. We were exhausted. This house hunting thing has been more of a process than we had prepared for. We are so excited, but this particular evening, we were so wiped out.

Then my dad came out on the porch. Because, you know, we live in his house.

He sat down and said the nicest thing.

"You know, I don't worry about you two."

We smiled and nodded. My dad is such a funny, poignant, external processor. He kept going though.

"I like that you two are making your own decisions, and don't need advice from me all the time. You know I'm always here for you, and I like when you ask for my advice, but I like it even more that you don't have to ask for it anymore. Because you're adults and you're making good choices."

This statement really struck me. "You're adults and you make good choices." When did we stop going to our parents for everything and start believing that our choices are good choices? Because Stevie and I are both a little bit closer-to-homers, in the sense that we tell our parents a lot. In the 8 years of our marriage, we've had so many phone calls with both sets of parents, no matter what stage or phase or state we lived in, and we were always running things by them. Asking for their advice. Telling them what we were thinking about doing. And it's not like we've really, consciously, stopped doing that.

But I guess, on some level, we have.

And my dad is good with it. He's proud. He thinks I make good choices.

Heart swell.

There is nothing like hearing your dad say those affirming kinds of things. Simply put, there is just nothing better.

No matter who you are or what you're up to, whether you're close with your parents or haven't spoken to them in years, there is something inside all of us humans that wants to hear our dad say, "I'm proud of you." We all want it. And now, being a parent myself, I am more aware than ever of how much I want my son to know that I am so pleased and proud of him. I know I'm not a dad, so the impact is different, but still. I want to make sure to live in a way that my family knows I am proud of them, withholding no love. I want my kid to feel that same freedom I've felt, to be who I am transparently with my parents. To let them love me for me, not for some edited version of me that I only want my parents to see.

Because it feels really good to live fully, to parent my child and be as engaged as I know to be, and to have my own parent applaud me for it. It feels like I can fly. Actually, I think I am flying.

I just wanted to share this because a lot of you have parents that you want to relate to. A lot of you are already parents, and you're like me, figuring this gig out. And a lot of you are trying to find the balance between being a good son and daughter, and attempting to be an even better mother or father. I want to tell you that you are doing an AWESOME JOB. And if you are proud of your kid, probably the greatest thing you can do today is just to tell them. Because my dad told me and I am so grateful he took the five minutes to do that, and to tell me why he was proud. I've honestly been thinking of it all week.

Happy Friday to you, friends.

*The cover photo is a picture I took of a graffiti wall in NYC this past week. More about our trip up on the blog on Monday!

I Thought I Should Tell You.

Photo by Rachel Koontz.

I hope you had a Happy 4th of July weekend! I love this part of the summer, the absolute center of the season when bathing suits are appropriate apparel pretty much everywhere and a makeup free face is the only kind of face to have.

I thought I should give you a little update about what's been going on in our household lately. It's been wild. And I'm not exaggerating.

Some of you know that my husband's job has taken us to a few different locations over the past several years, and we are coming up on another year of opportunities. Oh, I'll just give it to you straight.

6 weeks ago, we were considering a move to Madrid. Remember that little trip we took?

4 weeks ago, after making the tough decision not to move to Madrid, we considered moving back to New York. We considered options in the city and in upstate.

2 weeks ago, after deciding not to return to New York, we decided to stay put right here and live in our suburban hometown.

I was probably the most surprised of all. Because I actually wanted it. And I've never wanted it.

1 week ago, we put in an offer to buy a house here. So did 2 other people. Our offer was rejected, and i cried over the loss. Someone else is picking out a couch to plop right in front of that John Wieland-designed fireplace. Drat.

Now I have to interrupt myself and say that, while it is a bummer to miss out on the house, I'm pretty sure that my tears weren't solely over brick and mortar. Or in this case, a celestial collaboration of stone, siding and heaven's own paint choices. The sheer emotional exhaustion of the potential scenarios truly had my panties in a twist. MOVING TO MADRID. LEARNING SPANISH. MY BABY LEARNING SPANISH. HOW TO I BUY GROCERIES IN SPANISH. JUST KIDDING. MOVING TO NEW YORK. MY BABY ON THE SUBWAY. SO MANY GERMS. SO SO MANY GERMS. JUST KIDDING. STAYING IN THIS HOMETOWN. WHAT. I NEED A CIGARETTE. OH WAIT. I DON'T SMOKE.

It's kind of been a lot.

Thankfully, I've learned to roll with the punches and detach from old dreams and get on board with new ones. Good or bad, that's the stance our little family has taken lately. We aren't going to ignore our bummed-out feelings. But we are going to get excited about the new potentials.

I'm not done yet though.

Yesterday we put another offer in on a house. This one is special. Idyllic location, charming farmhouse-esque features. Only problem, it's a short sale. That's a really misleading term for what it actually means. We've been advised that it could take the bank 3 months to respond to our offer. So. We wait. We keep house hunting. We do that dreaming thing. Oh, did I mention that the house is a borderline dump and needs a ton of work?

The house is a borderline dump. It needs a magnificent amount of work.

I'm not being cute. Like every room of the house needs major amounts of attention. In over our heads with a fixer upper? Yeah probably. But such is life, amiright? If anyone knows John Wieland's availability, that would be great. Or Jonathan Scott. He will do just fine. Actually, Stevie truly sweats about my crushing status on the Scott brothers. I NEED CABLE AGAIN.

Whew. That's really all I wanted to say. I just wanted to fill you in! We are here, living on the southside of Atlanta, for at least another 12-18 months. And although it's been a whirlwind, whiplashing journey to arrive at this conclusion, I AM SO HAPPY. My baby gets to hang out with his cousins. My husband gets to jump into his dream role at work (did I mention? He's super amped about this new role. Side note.) We get to stay close to our family and make more memories with our hometown friends. And I get to dive into some new dreams. I'm brewing over some things now :)

Life is crazy and good. Crazy good, actually.

Thanks for all the love and support, friends!

PS - Oh, and I forgot to mention that I went blonde. And got a new car. When I said that things are happening, they are!

PPS - If you haven't already entered my Sonnet James dress giveaway, you should! This rad giveaway ends Tuesday at midnight!

Happy 4th of July!

Just sitting here on the front porch, drinking the coffee, listening to the rain pelt the earth and watching my babe pitter patter around in front of me. His little feet. Well, his little big feet. He shuffles around, stopping here and there, staring into the yard in wonder as everything is saturated, soggy flowers and limp bushes and a dark sky that doesn't look like it's ready to lighten up anytime soon. A few ants try to peck at his feet, but he's too quick for their nuisance. In this quiet moment, I am reminded of what a thousand previous 4th of July's have meant for me - lots of barefootness, a big juicy watermelon, a zillion cousins running around in sopping bathing suits, perhaps a thunderous Georgia rainstorm like today's, probably some good barbeque, and of course, the epic, magnificent fireworks. My hometown really knows how to put on a show. In fact, in all the years of living other places, even Boston, where patriotism runs deep, I've never experienced a fireworks show like my little suburban Georgia town puts on. Of course, with a baby this year, I won't be venturing out past 9pm to catch those bright lights. But I will probably be right here, lazing around, barefoot, sipping something good, and watching my child discover ants and eat watermelon and watch the sky fall in a melodious pattern. And that. Is lucky indeed.

Thank you to all the men and women who have yielded their comfort, time with their loved ones, and given up the "normal" way of life to fight for our country's freedom. Your service allows me to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, the sweet joy of a safe nation where my babe can play on the front porch in quiet peace. Your service is a gift to every man, woman and child and I am absolutely humbled as I consider what life could look like without our military's day in and day out efforts. Thank you thank you thank you. I wish I could give you a big hug. But my awkward musings will have to do for now.

Happy 4th of July, to every American today :) I hope you enjoy lots of barefootedness, ant-free watermelon (but let's be real, those little guys always manage to tackle it), and crazy chaotic family fun. Oh, and fireworks. Let freedom ring!

Welcome to the NEW Oy! Site!

The new Oy! site is here! I am so thrilled about this new space, and even more excited to finally share it with you! I started dreaming about this site almost a year ago, when I felt like I was beginning to outgrow the perimeters of my previous blog. Deciding to leave Blogger and move over the the Squarespace platform was daunting, but I've taken time to learn my way around this new space and it's confirmed to me that this was the right move. And I love it here! I hope you will, too.

So what's new? A cleaner, more gender-neutral aesthetic, a travel hub complete with adventurous tales and my hard-earned traveling tips, sections for the different types of recipes that I love to create, and pages devoted entirely to the crazy, transformative experience that is pregnancy and, of course, motherhood. I hope you will find your experience on this site easy, calming, and even more fun! I hope to continue to grow in new areas and expand the kind of content I create.

I really appreciate you for reading along. This blog has become integral to what I do on a daily, monthly and yearly basis, and it's purpose has become so much more than what it was in the beginning - just recording life's happenings. It's become a haven that has challenged me as a writer and a woman, and I hope I will continue to be up for that challenge. I want to create lively, relevant content that is true to who I am while being helpful and hopefully, a bit inspiring to you.

To be honest with you, I might get ten minutes a day that I am able to read someone else's blog. And when I do, I want to drink my cup of coffee and read to be uplifted, inspired, and feel better about myself and my family. I want to be challenged. I want to gather new ideas and become even more creative. I want to laugh. I want to feel camaraderie with women who are like me. I want to understand those who are unlike me. With all of that in mind, I hope that this site can serve you in the same way - leaving you feeling loved, connected to others, proud of who you are, and able to laugh at your circumstances.

Thank you for reading! I'd love for you to click around the new site and hear what you think it - please feel free to comment and let me know what you like about this new space and what you'd like to see more of. I READ EVERY COMMENT. So you've pretty much got me at hello.

Thanks for being here, friends. Your support means so much. Lots of love to you! XOX

PS - Don't forget to subscribe to this blog on bloglovin', so you don't miss a post!