Back to School!!

Brent and I both had a great first week of school with our students! I love my school and the teachers I work with! I think I am going to have a good bunch of kids too : ) They got 9 compliments from other teachers this week! The days go by SO fast and before I know it, I am going to pick up Hattie at Alicia's!! Hattie has still been doing really well there. Alicia always tells us about her days and says that Hattie is a very good baby! Since she has been in daycare, she has been on more of a schedule and will now just lay down and get her self to sleep at night and naps! That is nice!! She usually sleeps about 4 to 5 hours at daycare and then is really awake and playful from 4 to 8, while we get to spend time with her! We love it! She is so much fun! She is rolling all over the place now. She won't just stay on a blanket, she goes all over our living room!
So this weekend we have been relaxing and spending time with Hattie. My sisters came over this morning and then Brent, Hattie and I went to a new Target by our house! I am so excited to have a Target so close! It said that it is actually the biggest Target store in the country! It might not be a good thing having that so close : ) Tomorrow we will probably do a little school work, but my goal for this year is to get all my work done at school and bring nothing home! I hope I can stick to that!
Alrighty....better get to sleep early since our baby no longer sleeps in!!

she giggles when Brent swing her in his arms

my silly niece and nephew!

so she tried green beans for the first time...and....she LIKED it! ( who is surprised?)

reading a book that mommy and daddy made back in college 5 years ago

playing outside with daddy

first day of school

on the second day of school Ms. Vandermeer set off the school smoke alarms by burning her chicken

we made it through the week ( this is the upstairs group)

Ms. Crisp and I already got presents!!

my class used tortilla chips to see who could make the best shape of Texas, since 4th grade Social Studies is Texas history....we then ate the chips with salsa

pretty good

We Can Do This....

So we made it through the week! I kept saying " we can do this", we will get use to work and daycare. Monday was a pretty hard day, but it did get easier the rest of the week! This is so crazy....so Monday morning we got up early, got Hattie ready, went to Alicia's, dropped Hattie off, did pretty good.....got in the car and lost it!! It wasn't all my fault, the darn radio station decided it was sappy day. Seriously I just got back into the car when it said this is a poem for all you parents dropping your child off for the first time ( lots of school started that day...this it was for the kindergarten parents) it is called" I Trust You Will Take Care of Her"....Seriously?? Then they played songs like "Butterfly Kisses" and had parents call in saying how hard it was! Wow....that was just so crazy. Then right when I got to school a few of my parents from last year where there preparing a breakfast. They both ran up and hugged me, saying it will get easier. Here I go again.....
But that was it! I did fine the rest of the day and week! Hattie did great at daycare. Alicia said she takes good naps and is really happy!! YEAH!! She has been going to sleep earlier ( before 8) so that she can get all 11 or 12 hours in! We did have to wake her up 3 mornings, which I dreaded, she looked so comfy on her stomach sleeping ( we decided we can't keep getting up to turn her over to her back) but she was happy. And it is so great picking her up at daycare. I was so excited to get there that first day, that I think I had a little road rage: ) Seriously got every red light and go stuck behind the slowest people: )
We really enoyed the nights and this weekend getting to spend all the time with her.
Well, this will be the first week with our students! I am really excited to meet them!

Here we are at Sara's house....all of us girl with the babies! There was one baby boy, Brody, who left before the picture! We kept joking that he would have his pick of girlfriend!

The Time Has Come.....

Well tomorrow is our last official day of summer! On Monday I will take Hattie to daycare for the first time and just thinking about it makes me cry! I am also envisioning myself walking into school and someone asks " How's Hattie?" and me bursting into tears. Oh Monday is going to be so hard. But all I can do now is be positive and thankful for all we have. Brent and I are so lucky to be teachers and be able to spend the summers home with Hattie. We have had the best summer watching our baby go from a newborn who would just sleep and eat all day to a happy four month old who can now interact and giggle at us! Having summers off is going to be so wondeful. Both my parents were in the school system while I was a kid...it is great to have summers to spend as families!
Also, we both love being teachers...I would hate it if we were leaving our baby to do something we dreaded. I love the beginning of the school year and look forward to meeting my new students. I know my days will go by so fast, like always, and I will get to leave knowing I will see my baby!
Finally, we are lucky that we are leaving Hattie in very good hands. We met with Alicia this week and I am not worried about how she will do with Hattie at all. She is so loving and caring with the children. Hattie will get to spend the days with her cousin Marina, another two year old girl, and a 5 month old baby girl! Being around other children will be a good thing.
I admit that I do think about friends and other mothers that get to stay at home with their children and how great that would be. I know there are going to be days where I am at school thinking about what my baby is doing, wishing I was with her. All I know is that I am going to cherish every minute I get to spend with Hattie and know that we are going to have so many great times together!!
Anways....we did have a great last week of summer vacation. Seems like we were busy doing last minute errands and getting things ready for school. On Monday we took Hattie in for her 4 month checkup! We weren't suprised to find out that she is still healthy and off the charts in her size!! She is over the 100th percentile in heigh ( 27 in) and in the 97 percentile for weight ( 17lbs). So lucky to have a healthy baby!!
We also went to Dallas to pick up my bridesmaid dress for Jodi's wedding and went along with Victoria to try on her wedding dress. Yes, 2010 is the year for weddings! Victoria and Davids in February, Sheila's on May 1st, and Jodi's May 8th! I am so excited already!
Well Hattie is sleeping and I am on my way over to Sara's while the guys have "guy night" at our house!
Thanks for reading!

loves her pink rug in her room

4 month picture

life isn't too bad for Benny and Lola....even with the baby

she loves her jumperoo

love this picture!

not letting go of her parents

her new favorite thing to eat....her toes!!

The Last Weeks of Summer!

Oh how can it already be the end of summer? This summer has gone so fast! A week from Monday, Brent and I will be back at school and Hattie will be going to Alicia's house for in home daycare. We have really enjoyed this summer being home with our baby girl. However, this many weeks home is going to make going back really hard. It seems like we have done so many fun things this summer with Hattie. Last week we had fun spending time with our neighbors on Saturday. Our neighbors are awesome! THey made 20lbs of crab and 20lbs of shrimp and everyone showed up with the lawn chairs and drinks! We have lots of little kids around the neighborhood. Four houses down from us is a baby girl, Sophie, who is only 3 days younger than Hattie! We need to get together with them and let the girls meet!
Hattie got to meet another new friend this week. Little Cooper is 6 weeks younger. He belongs to Kristin and Justin, Brent and Kristin are the spanish teachers at the middle school. WE had them over on Thursday for dinner. Cooper is a big baby like Hattie : )
Hattie goes in for her 4 month checkup on Monday. However, we did make a visit to the dr. this week and found out she already weighs 17lbs! Holy Moly! The dr. asked if anyone believe she is only 4 months...nope!
So I was worried something was wrong with Hattie because she had been fussy for the last few days. She normally isn't like that so I was concerned. My sisters made fun of me for what my idea of a fussy baby was. They came over and I told them Hattie was so fussy.....they said "that is fussy" and laughed! Okay I know her...something had to be wrong. But the dr. said she seemed fine. Said that she could be going through a growth spurt or teething already! She has been sleeping alot so maybe it is a growth spurt ( I feel like I say that everyday though) yesterday she slept 11 hours at night, woke up for an hour, back to sleep for 3.5 hrs, up for 2, then back for another 2.5 hr nap! And she went to bed at 8:30! I felt like I didn't even get to see her much. Brent and I were debating if we should let her sleep that long, and decided she must just be growing! This girl loves her sleep and her food! Last night she tried rice cereal for the 1st time. Big surprise.....she liked it!!
Have a great week!!



Hattie and Cooper

she will chew on anything she can grab

another fun toy to stand in!

what are these things?

yummy food!!

Playing Around!

Hattie will be 16 weeks tomorrow! She continues to grow and change everyday! Her biggest thing now is rolling over. She rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy. She rolls so much! I was watching her video monitor at night and she was on her stomach. Brent went and turned her around, but I guess she is just going to keep doing it! She is also staying awake more during the day. She goes about 2 or 3 hours before a nap. She likes her tummy mats, play yard, swing, and any toys she can bite!!
This week Daddy had a few days alone while I went to 2 days of teacher workshops! I have so many more ideas to add this year and it was great meeting the 4 new teachers! But I was so excited to get home and see my baby! That was a little glimpse of what it will be like in 2 weeks when school starts again. Oh I don't even want to think of that...but atleast I am going back to a job I absolutely love. New school years always get me excited!!
Today we took Hattie to Braedon's 5th birthday party at ChuckyECheese! I think she was pretty overwhelmed with all of the lights and new things to look at. She ended up falling asleep while I was holding her. Also a little update on my sister Kim's house....Monday we went over to see the house and Brent stayed and helped salvage everything they could. Kim and Greg are going to have it torn down and will rebuild. It will probably be done around January. They will be so busy but atleast they will be able to get everything the way the like!!
Hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are!!

her favorite new thing...rolling over

this is a pretty fun playmat....glad my mommy finds good deals on craigslist!

more bows....really?

at ChuckyE Cheese

birthday boy

Marina painting at our house

What a mess!!