A First For Me

Today marks the first day of school for the district that I have taught in for the past 6 years.  Today, for the first time in 6 years, I'm not stressing about if I have enough supplies for all 34 students, how my classroom looks, what school I will end up at, or if my students will feel welcome and like me.  I'm at home today with my two precious girls and will be for this school year.

I must say it has been really nice not stressing about work.  I didn't have to think about certain things that every teacher plans out during the summer and this summer I could really relax and enjoy the wonderful blessings in my life.

So now that the first day of school is here, and I'm not in the classroom, it is a little weird and bittersweet.  More sweet than bitter though.  I will definitely miss certain aspects of my career (and others I definitely don't), but overall I loved my job and I love being a teacher.  At least for this upcoming year I get to be a teacher to two great girls.  No smart board, no text books, no tests to give.  Teaching isn't easy, but being a mom isn't either.  Sure there will be challenges and some moments that I know I will want to pull my hair out.  I know there will be days where I know that teaching would be easier at that moment in time.  I know I will tire of hearing yet another tantrum, but I know that all the negatives will be outweighed with so many positives.  I am so blessed and so fortunate to have a husband who has a great job and I have the opportunity to be home with our girls.  I know that being a stay-at-home mom is not an option everyone has.  I also know these years when the girls are so small will pass by so quickly and I am so incredibly grateful to be able to be there every day to watch them grow and change.  So, for at least a year I will try and make every day count and try to be the best mom I can be to these girls. 

For now...we play :)

And Aubrey even had a little visitor this morning :). Our neighbor's cat Cracker. 

Lucy's 5th Month

This little girl can light up a room with her smile! This month Lucy had a lot of firsts and is chunking up a little more :)

 

At 5 months Lucy:

 

~ went on her first camping trip.  You can see all about the trip here.

~ can't keep her legs still!  Even when we are burping her she tries to climb up on you!

 

~ went through the night without a feeding on July 23, 2013 at 20 weeks old

 

~ is getting really good at rolling from her back to her tummy and back again.  She's enjoying being on her tummy more often.

 

 

 

 

~ puts everything in her mouth especially her fingers, toes, and dresses

 

 

 

~ loves to stare at her reflection and laughs and smiles a lot!

 

 

 

~ lays on your shoulder when you rock her.  We just love how she cuddles with us.  She won't fall asleep on us anymore, but her laying on our shoulders is the best :)

 

~ is a tummy sleeper.  She still is waking up a LOT at night, but hopefully this will get better soon.  Mommy and daddy are just pretty exhausted at this point.

 

~ Loves to stand up.  Those chunky little legs won't sit still for a minute!

 

 

~ sits well with a little support

 

 

~ blows lots of bubbles with her mouth

~ gets very distracted while she's eating
 

~ grabs at anything and wants to put it in her mouth. She is especially fond of mommy's hair right now. 

 

 

 

~ grew a little bit more hair.  Still nothing to brag about :)

 

~ is becoming one curious and alert little girl.  She stares and concentrates at different objects and people all the time.  She loves to watch her sister play.

 

 

 

~ overall is one happy and content little girl!!

 

 

~ started reflux medication that seems to be working some.  She actually slept for 4 hours in a row one night!!

 

~ As of last week she weighs 12 lbs. 8.5oz (8%) and a little over 24 inches long (25%)

 

 

Happy five months Lucy!!  We love you more and more each day :)

I Want To Ride My Tricyle

This week we celebrated a milestone for this little blonde...no more diapers!!!  We have been going about this process for some time now and we decided that this week we would go cold turkey, both day and night, without diapers.  That day was a success, followed by the day after, and the day after that!  We're going on a little over a week now and I think we can finally say this girl is potty trained! She's been really good about telling us when she needs to go and we were very surprised that she can already make it through the nights.  This girl was definitely ready and we are so proud of her! It just seems a little weird that our little girl isn't in diapers anymore.  We're not complaining but it's crazy how fast time really flies!

 

To celebrate this big milestone we got Aubrey her first tricycle.  She couldn't have been more excited about it.  We took it for a test run and she got the hang of it in about 1/2 an hour.  Her steering still needs a little work as she ended up in the grass a few times, but she's on the right track!

 

We're so proud of you Aubrey girl!!  Enjoy your new bike!!

 

Of course I just couldn't help taking pictures of all the cuteness :). 

 

 

Yeah, that is a butterfly in this picture.  It just happened to be flying around Aubrey :). 

 



 

Daddy got to teach Aubrey to ride her tricycle.  This was always something he has looked forward to doing even when Aubrey was a baby.  She's growing up!

 

 



 

Great job Aubrey!!  You're getting to be such a big girl :).