Payton's Shower and Nursery

     Last Sunday, Liz hosted a baby shower for little miss Payton at church. It was absolutely lovely. She is already one spoiled little girl! Some people think that showers should not be thrown for second (and third, fourth, so on..) children, but I look at it as a celebration of a life. At Rylee's shower, we celebrated Rylee. At Payton's shower, we celebrated Payton. Every life is unique and deserves to be celebrated in some way whether big or small. It's almost like their initial birth day party...

      Payton is blessed with lots of people who love her and who anxiously await her arrival. She is loved so much already. I cannot believe that in a month (or less, if she so decides), I will have her in my arms! This pregnancy has flown by!

     She got a lot of great gifts at the shower, and I had great help opening them. 1 big sister and 2 big cousins were very excited to see all the stuff for baby Payton. They are all so excited for her arrival. No one better ever mess with her, because she's definitely got 3 guardians watching her back! :)

    Today, I finally got the chance to organize all of her stuff from the shower. Waiting 6 days to put her stuff up is completely unlike me, but it was a busy, crazy, tiring week. However, I did wake up at 6 am and get started on it today. I guess the nesting period has hit! Last night, I ordered her travel system and pack-n-play, so as soon as those arrive, we will be completely ready for her to be here!

     I love Payton's nursery. It is my favorite room in the house. I can't wait until she's in that room, and all her things are going to good use. I just go in there and think about her, and it makes me happy. I already love her so much, I feel so blessed that God has entrusted me with 2 precious princesses.

    I've been going to the doctor every 2 weeks, now, and after my next appointment, I will start going weekly. Payton has been growing right on track at every check-up. On Monday, I will be 35 weeks pregnant, and so far in this pregnancy I have gained 18 lbs. That's much better than the 40 I gained while pregnant with Rylee... Lol! If Payton decides to come on her own, my doctor said he is not going to stop her, otherwise she will be born via repeat C-section on September 25. I can't believe how close it is getting! I am so ready to meet you, Payton Joy!

Family Time and Airshow 2013

     My parents came into town Friday afternoon, and we spent the evening together at Liz and Brandon's house. Brandon cooked a yummy meal for us all, and we had a blast just hanging out and playing with the kids.

      Yesterday, we went to the Wings Over Hall airshow. This was our 3rd time going, but every year we bring more people along to enjoy it with. It was fun to watch the kids' reactions tot the planes and their stunts.

    The kids watched some, and played some, but they all seemed to really enjoy it. We adults enjoyed it, too. It's a great show and a nice way to spend an afternoon.

After the airshow, we went over to Mary and Bailey's for dinner. The kids had a blast making a tornado of Mary's home and being silly. They are so full of life and laughter. I love these 3 kiddos so much!

Back to School

      Goodness gracious, I think absolutely every part of my body is sore and tired, but I made it through my first week as a Kindergarten teacher! And it was fabulous. I already adore my sweet kiddos so much! Kindergarten is an entirely different challenge than first grade, but I think I am already getting the hang of things. The first day, I was a little surprised by how much I was going to have to teach these babies, not academically, but in terms of how to hold a pencil, how to use their supplies, how to stand in line, how to raise their hand, how to stay in their seats for more than 1 minute... etc. After I realized what all they needed to know and started working on it, it seems like this week got better and better. But it did WEAR ME OUT! I am glad it's the weekend. Next week will be the real challenge having all 19 of my Kindergartners there all day all week long. We phased in this week, so the most I ever had at one time was 10 students. I can only imagine how exhausting going to be to work with all 19 of them at once. Ah! But if I am tired, which I am, it is in the best possible way. The- I've been busting my rear doing what I was absolutely meant to do- kind of way!

     This sweet girl has had a fabulous time in the 3-year-old preschool this week. Last week, she moved back and forth from the 2-year-old room to the 3-year-old room and that made her very uneasy and unhappy. This week has been entirely different. She loves her new "big girl" class and loves her new teacher, Ms. Cindy. She also loves spending all day with Bailey, but she did inform me on Monday afternoon that she is sad that Kade "quit school." (He didn't quit, he just stayed in the 2-year-old room, but she doesn't see him anymore, so she is sad that he isn't with her.) I have been missing her something fierce, though. I don't even have a minute to stop and miss her while I'm with my students, but every afternoon, I am so glad to get her in my arms again, and every morning it hurts my heart to let her go. This morning, she ran in and sat down as happy as could be, and I left with tears rolling down my cheeks. Blame it on the hormones, but this adjustment has definitely been harder on me than on her!