11 Months

Dear Trey,

You are growing up so fast buddy!  You are such a sweet little boy.  I say "little boy" because you are looking more and more like a little boy and less like a baby every day.  We are so in love with you and everything you do.  Daddy and I are constantly in awe of your silliness and the things you love.

You are walking along ALL FURNITURE...and it has become essential to move all crafts, books, papers, etc. out of your reach.  You are getting so brave and will stand without holding onto anything for a few seconds.  Yesterday you set a new record...10 seconds!  Way to go bud!  Dad and I were so excited!  It's so fun to see you reach new milestones.  Every new stage becomes our new favorite.

Right now you have an obsession with empty water bottles, empty baby bottles, empty cups, and anything else plastic that you can get your hands on.  You'll literally entertain yourself for an hour by playing with your giant legos, a water bottle, and a cup on the bookshelf.  For some reason this is your favorite game.  You love to put things on this shelf.  A couple of days ago I lost my phone.  The battery was dead, so I couldn't even call it.  I searched all over the apartment...well, in all the usual places.  For some reason I didn't think to look on your little bookshelf.  But, there it was, stashed with your legos :).  You are becoming an excellent hider of things we need.  Last night Dad and I looked all over the place for a bottle for your milk.  This morning dad found them all in the bath tub :).  The bath tub is another place you love.  Not only taking baths, but knocking everything off the side of the tub into it...and apparently throwing new things in that don't belong as well :).

You will do anything for attention.  Not only do you look like your daddy, but you act more and more like him all the time :).  You have a cute "fake laugh".  If we are giggling at something you do, you laugh too...it's a sweet, very forced little giggle :).  I am in love with it.  You make me smile kiddo!

You love to eat.  You are such a good eater too...not picky at all (yet?).  Not too long ago we gave you your first taste of ice cream.  After the initial shock from the cold, you fell in love with it.  You ARE my child :).  You did this sweet little puppy begging act for us...sitting up on your knees with your little hands up like a puppy, begging for more.  As soon as you got another taste, you'd bounce up and down.  We've had to be careful of your sugar intake...you are already a busy little boy, but add a little sugar and you're borderline crazy :).

You've recently started giving us kisses...they are done with a full on open mouth :).  Trey kisses are my favorite!  And your favorite song is "If you're happy and you know it"...you LOVE to clap your hands!  I'm pretty sure you think the word "Yay" means "Clap your hands".  I'll take it :).

We have loved getting to see more and more of your sweet little personality as you grow up.  We sure love you!

Hugs and lots of kisses,
Mama

Diary of a Second Grade Teacher

The end of my 6th year of teaching will be here in no time.  It's hard to believe it's actually been 6 years since I started.  During that time I've taught well over a hundred kids, occupied 9 different classrooms (one of the joys of a year round school :), taught closely with 6 other ladies I absolutely love, and can still say with a smile that I love teaching!  I'm not gonna lie...it's definitely challenging...and some days I really don't love it...especially those times when the weather's bad and we've been cooped up with inside recess for a week...or when a kid gets sick in class...or when my baby is crying when it's time for me to leave for work :(...but as far as careers go...and being a working mama, I'd say my job is the cream of the crop.  I'm grateful for my sweet little class, the friendships I've made, and the chance to make a difference in these kids lives.  And of course I couldn't do what I do without my incredibly supportive hubby.  You may not know about Dale's hidden talent, but he's honestly (no joke) a better copier than some of the teachers at my school.  I am truly blessed!

I love my supportive boys! (who wouldn't love these mugs :)

It's been too long.

It's been too long.  Life has been crazy, as usual.  A quick update for us...Trey is now 10 1/2 months old.  He brings us so much joy!  He's also recently become the biggest mess maker you've ever seen.  Here's some proof of his mischief...

His favorite pastime is pulling all of the books off the shelf.  Is that a guilty look or what? :)

This mess happened on my watch...Trey got ahold of a Flipz pretzel.  Not sure how he managed that one, but the next thing I knew his face, hands, and our couch were all covered in chocolate.  He loved it :)

I left the room for only a few seconds, and Trey managed to attack the stack of papers I was grading.  Gotta watch that kid like a hawk!

Easter Shirt

This is Trey's cutie Easter shirt :)...that's the only thing the Easter Bunny brought him.  We're still trying to decide if we want to really introduce the Easter Bunny to our kids.  Guess we have another year to decide.

He wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get any really good pics...

This face makes me laugh! :)

Trey and his mama :)

Happy Easter!

First Time Parents

Dale and I are first time parents...which means everything our 1 kid does is pretty much the most exciting thing in the world.  That means when our kiddo is ready for his first haircut, I want to be there.  I want to collect some of his hair (even if it is too small to really collect).  Dale and I had talked about giving Trey a haircut for quite awhile.  It was growing over his ears, and getting pretty shaggy.  The kid does not lack in the hair department (though his leg hair, which was ridiculously thick when he was born, has gradually evened out).  But, we were busy, and life went on.  Trey's haircut was put on the back burner for awhile.  Then one day I came home from work and saw Trey's freshly cut hair.  Dale had given him his first haircut while I was at work.  I gotta admit, as cute as Trey looked, I was pretty disappointed/somewhat upset.  It was lucky for us Dale was teaching Piano lessons for 3 hours so I had time to get over it.  I know he was just being helpful.  I get that.  But I did have to explain that as a working mom I feel like I already miss out on so much, so I want to be there for those big things we can control...like my kid's first haircut.  As it turned out giving Trey a haircut was a 2 person job, and Dale wasn't actually able to finish it completely by himself.  So, I still got my pictures.  I still got a few scraps of hair.  And our hairy kid has now had 2 haircuts, and could technically use a third. 

 

No legacy is so rich as honesty.

This week I am extremely grateful for the honest people in this world.  One of our 2012 goals was to become rock awesome budgeters.  In order to do that, we had to actually budget and stick to it...what a concept :).  We've decided to do the envelope system since we deal with a lot of cash from Dale's piano lessons.  Basically the envelope system entails putting all of your money into separate "envelopes" for different things you need throughout the month.  I bought one of those expanding folders that has 12 compartments for all of our budgeting needs.  We absolutely love it.  This system has honestly revolutionized our entire financial future.  The only flaw is that at any given time you are carrying with you your entire month's worth of money in cash.  That can be a problem when you leave it in your shopping cart at Target.  Which I did.  On Saturday.  I even left it outside.  I was worried.  I could just see someone taking all of my cash.  In my mind I was formulating a plan on how we were going to get through the rest of the month with no money.  When I went back to get it, the shopping cart I left it in out in the parking lot was empty.  I rushed to the Customer Service section of the store and stood impatiently in line.  Finally, when the Target worker handed over my purse, I checked to see what was missing.  Nothing.  Everything was there.  My phone, my wallet, my money.  What a huge blessing.  Dale wasn't worried.  He said he had said a prayer.  Believe me, I was praying the entire time.  I am SO grateful our prayers were answered the way we were hoping :).  I have no idea who returned my purse, but I am so grateful for their honesty!

ALMOST 8 months

Yesterday Dale and I were talking about how fast Trey is growing up.  I said, "It's crazy he's 8 months old already!"  Then Dale so kindly insisted Trey is not 8 months yet...not for another 3 days.  So Trey is ALMOST 8 months old :).

Yesterday Marcie took more pics of our sweet little boy for us :).  I am so in love with every single one.  I can't even decide which one is my favorite.  They all are!  He's so grown up :).