English Dept. Babies

Good morning!

Lily after breakfast! Today, we tried scrambled eggs.

While Lily is napping, I am going to post a quick update and then get my house clean. Yesterday, was the English Department playdate. We had so much fun! Baby Jacob is becoming such a big boy. He loved staring at the other baby in the mirror, and was a trooper for all of the posed pictures (unlike Lily who was over it and tried to crawl out of most of them).

That baby in the mirror is s handsome!

Averi is the veteran English Dept. baby, well, she isn't really a baby anymore, she is a big girl! Angela explained to her that there would be three babies for her to watch, so, as she left her house, she told her dad, "Bye daddy, I am going to take care of three babies!" She loves her sister, Kenzi, and it was adorable to watch her take care of her.

Sisters

Kenzi and Lily had a good time sitting next to one another. Kenzi is a crawler trapped in a body that isn't quite ready to crawl. That girl is itching to move!

The gang.

Of course, Angela, Sarah, and I had a lovely time catching up. It is always great to see my friends outside of school. We are hoping to make the playdates a weekly thing over the summer. It will be so much fun to watch the kids grow up together. Like I said yesterday, I am so thankful to have such wonderful mommy friends. How lucky I am to be able to share such an amazing time in my life with women who I really admire and respect.

Can you spot all of the babies?

Alright...off to today's chores...cleaning and grading...a typical "teacher" Sunday. Hopefully, I can get Lily's first birthday invitations finished (or, at the very least, printed). If you have a free moment today, you should hop on over to Grover's Corner, and check out Sarah's blog. I promise you some very cute pictures if you check it out!!

The aftermath.

Thankful for the other moms

Today my friends Angela and Sarah are coming over with their kiddos. Angela has two daughters- Averi (3) and Nakenzi (6 months)- and Sarah has a son, Jacob (2 months). I met Angela when I started teaching at OM, and a few years later, Sarah transferred to OM from Parkville. I am very, very, very lucky that my co-workers are some of my best friends. There are a lot of people who say you should keep your social life and work life separate, but as a teacher, I think this is nearly impossible. When you teach you need to have a group of friends, allies really, who can get you through such an emotionally (and mentally, and sometimes physically) draining job.

When Lily was born, I knew it would be really hard to leave this face...

Lily, 2 months

...and I was right. It was really hard. There are 3 things that made it easier, though:

1. My parents. They watched Lily for 3 weeks before she started daycare, which made the transition back to work easier.
2. Irene. My daycare provider is amazing. I can trust her completely. Knowing Lily is in her care makes me feel much more at ease.
3. My department.

I remember when I was getting ready to go back to school, I told Becky how I didn't want to leave Lily. I didn't want to miss anything. I didn't want miss her. Becky told me it would be hard, but it would get easier...and if I needed to cry I could go in her office. I definitely cried all the way to school. Once I got there Mary, Sarah, Angela and Becky were there and made sure I was ok. And I was. I missed Lily, but I was ok.

So, today, I am thankful for all of the other moms, particularly the ones I work with. Everyday, I am amazed at their strength. How they can balance being a mom, and a teacher, and friend, and a wife and do it all (usually) gracefully. I am grateful for the laughter, the stories, and the tears that we share. I am thankful for the comfort that they give.

Today, I will share time with two of my friends and our kids (our own kids, not our school kids...we usually share our time with them when we are together). Hopefully, by the end of the afternoon we will not be tied to the chairs as our kids run around the house. I am looking forward to the time we have together, and I am always grateful for the friendship that we share.

Kenzi (4 months), Averi (3 years), Lily (8 months)

I have no title for this post...

I have no title for this post. I have had about 20 things I want to rant and/or ramble about this week. I am not sure how appropriate it is to post about my political and religious views, so most of those rantings and ramblings are going to be reserved for other forums...or maybe a blog post when I get a little more gutsy.

This week has be s...l...o...w. There are 30 days remaining in the school year (not that I am counting), which is fabulous! I cannot wait to be home with Lily. She is growing by leaps and bounds, and I am looking forward to gobbling her up this summer. Somehow, a year has passed since she was born, and I am starting to get a little anxious about her birthday. I don't really know if anxious is the correct word, but I am heading toward this big milestone with very mixed feelings. I am so looking forward to the big girl things that she is starting to do- talking, becoming increasingly more mobile, showing her funny personality- but I am sad to leave behind the little baby things. I just keep thinking that I had that moment with her and it's time to embrace the next moments. That thinking is definitely helpful. I know once we actually get to the one year mark I will be emotional. She is my first baby. I also know that I will be so ridiculously excited. What a fun way to kick off summer!

In other news, our basement is almost complete. The walls are up and painted. The whole basement is clean. Now, we need to stain the banister and get the carpet installed. Then furniture shopping and we are ready to move back down there! I am really looking forward to putting Lily's toys down there...they are taking over the back room and they really need a new home. So far, everything down there looks great. I can't wait to see the final product!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a laugh...

10 Months!

At 10 months old Bean loves...

1. Crawling everywhere!

2. Feeding herself

3. Blueberries

4. Sleeping (very nice for mommy and daddy...sleeps from 7pm-6/6:30am, and takes a morning and afternoon nap)

5. Being outside

6. Trying to pull Fred's tail (or grab his snout...)

7. Playing in just a diaper

8. Splashing in the bath

9. Learning to climb the stairs (eeek!)

10. ...and of course Mama and Dada!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter (a day late!)! Lily had a fantastic first Easter. We went up to Jefferson on Saturday and had Easter fun with Tom's family. Lily got Easter baskets from Nee, Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Brad and Mandy. Lily also got to see baby goats!

Sunday the Easter Bunny visited our house! Then, we went to church with my parents. Lily did a great job-- probably because she fell asleep during the homily. After church, we went back to mom and dad's and just played and relaxed. She got more Easter fun from my mom and dad. So now Lily has a whole closet full of new clothes and a toy box of new toys and books!

This past week was a lot of fun! We enjoyed spring break...shopped with Sarah and Jacob, played with Becky, Emily, and Steven, played with Uncle Tim and Uncle Brad, saw grandparents, and had a fun time. I am a little sad to go back to work, but I know going back gets us closer to summer!! 43 days or something like that..not that I am counting!

Screaming in the Monitor

We have been lucky. Lily is an awesome sleeper. I mean was, was an awesome sleeper. Starting Saturday she did not want to sleep in her crib. Even a little. Even at all. So she slept with us (eye rolling and judging may be inserted here if desired). Sunday night was better, she woke up at 3am and joined us. Then last night...we let her cry. Normally, we don't need to let her cry it out because she just goes to sleep. Last night, however, she cried for an hour and finally wore herself out. She fell sleep sitting up, fell forward, and slept with her head between her legs. She was up at 11, 1, and 3. Tonight, she cried for 5 minutes and fell asleep the same way. I flipped her over and she stayed asleep. Hopefully, she will sleep the night through...

Loves her bath!