Weekend Fun

      I don't know how we did it, but we survived last week! Between it being my first week having all of my kindergartners each day and Rylee Love's first week of Pre-K, it was pure madness. Everyday I wondered how I was going to find the energy to do it all again the next day, but we made it! We celebrated by heading to a Jackson General's baseball game on Saturday.

   The girls had such an amazing time at the game. Payton LOVED taking in all the sights and sounds. She especially loved all the music and cheers. She clapped and clapped. Rylee Love had a blast on the inflatables. There were some big kids with no home training that were pushing and shoving, but she took it all in stride and had a blast. It definitely bothered me much more than it did her. By the end of the game she was tired and cranky and she wanted to leave. She got upset during the fireworks show because she just wanted to go home, but Payton really enjoyed it, and it was a really nice show.

     I love being a mommy more than anything, but it's difficult to say the least. I want my kids to be happy, but I also want them to be well-rounded and well-mannered. I feel like I'm not even sure what kind of parent I am or what kind I want to be. I want to be understanding and compassionate, but I don't want my kids to be spoiled or disrespectful. I want them to know how much I love them, but I don't want them to think the whole world should revolve around them. I want to help them, but I want them to be able to do things for themselves. And the main thing lately is I want Rylee to be able to express herself, but I don't want her to have to have a total meltdown every time she is unhappy. I'm not sure I'm doing anything right, but I'm doing the best I can.

       One thing I know for sure is that the good definitely outweighs the bad. For every tantrum and tear there is at least a hundred times as many smiles and laughs. For every "bad" moment, there are thousands more proud moments. For every anxious moment that being a parent brings, there are millions more moments of pure joy. And I know as Payton gets older, I will feel the exact same. For now, everything she does is cute and perfect, and I'm not quite ready for that stage to end. Discipline is the most difficult and the most important part of parenting. No one really tells you how hard it's going to be. I guess that's why there are so many children that have "no home training." It's much easier to let the child "win" all the time for now, but if you really want them to win in life, it's better to teach them how to lose and move on... I'm just in the process of trying to find balance.

Rylee's First Day of Pre-K

      Last night, I didn't sleep. I tossed and turned thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong today. Don't get me wrong, I knew she would be in wonderful hands. She has an amazing teacher, and I knew everything possible would be done to help her have a good experience, but even though she is A LOT better than she once was, Rylee Love can be difficult at times. She's very quirky, and if you don't know her quirks, it can be easy to set her off. I just could picture a total meltdown happening at school, my place of employment, her place of education, it was a waking nightmare. This morning I felt even worse as she cried and fought me over every step in getting ready. She kept saying, "I just want to stay with you. I don't want to go to my new school!" It broke my heart. I just knew it was going to be an absolutely awful day.

     But I grinned and kept up an excited face. I turned on "Let It Go" in the car, and we played it on repeat. Around the 4th time, she started to join in, and I knew things were turning around. By the time we got out of the car, she was thrilled to be at her new school. She came into my classroom and set Pinky down. She said Pinky can take a nap today, and she left him there. I couldn't believe it! Then she excitedly walked to her class, and she was so happy to spot her teacher. As I walked away she was grinning and walking with an assistant to wait for her school to start. (Pre-K begins about 30 minutes after the rest of the school and ends later as well to help with traffic congestion during drop off and pick up times.) I hoped her good mood would continue, but I worried throughout the morning. It was EXTREMELY hard knowing she was so close, but I couldn't go in and see her. At recess, I saw her walking out to the playground in her line, and I was so proud of her. She was doing awesome. She didn't even want to stop for a second and talk to me. She spotted Bailey and ran to go play!

      She ended up having a great day, and has been talking nonstop about her new school. She loves it. There's a few things she's going to have to get used to, especially concerning breakfast, lunch, and snack, but she didn't freak out about anything. She woke up from her nap time a little disoriented, and she wanted me to carry her back to my room. But I honestly didn't mind taking her up in my arms after such an anxious day. She and Bailey watched a movie while I met with some other kindergarten teachers about lesson planning, and then we were off to drop Bailey off and pick up Pay-Pay.

      When we got home, she couldn't wait to show her daddy "hips and lips." She said, "I'm good at school. I know how to be quiet. Teachers don't like when kids don't know how to be quiet." I couldn't help but laugh at that. When I asked what she learned, she said, "I learned about hips and lips. I also learned about singing and dancing. We sing Frozen at school in our special music classroom." I'd say her first day at "big girl" school was a success! I can't believe how grown she is. She has a lot to learn, but she is only 4. I feel silly that I put so much pressure on her and especially on myself as her mom for her to be perfect at school. She's doing great, and I am so proud to be her mommy!

Back to School

      It's that time of year again! The time of year where teachers work long hours, walk around like zombies, and fall asleep at insanely early hours in the evening. Children aren't used to getting up early anymore, so mornings are anything but pleasant. Students haven't yet learned the ropes, so they need to be told how to do absolutely everything for several days in a row. And everything is just insane for at least the first month. Yep! School is back in session, and things have been crazy since day 1 of teacher inservice.

      Last weekend was tax-free weekend, so we went to Memphis and got Rylee some new tennis shoes and a few other things to help fill in the missing pieces of her wardrobe. We had fun, but by the end of the day, I was TIRED! Then Sunday we went to church, I went grocery shopping, and then the house needed cleaning.

       We have all been really tired, trying to get back into routine. The good thing is I've gotten lots of good snuggles from my girls who are usually too busy to snuggle. But even though I've been tired, I've had fun meeting all my new students and spending the week trying to get to know them. I have a great group of kids in my homeroom this year, and I can't wait to see how far they come this year! We are implementing a new literacy program this year, and I am SO excited about being able to push my students farther than ever before, but it is hard trying to learn something new.

      Thursday, I found out they had some extra slots open in our school's Pre-K, so Rylee Love will be starting "big girl" school tomorrow. I am excited to have her close to me, and it doesn't hurt that she's going to be getting a high-quality Pre-K education for free, but I am a bit sad about this new chapter in our lives. I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by. Yesterday, we went out shopping to get her everything she needed for school. We do a dress code in our county, so she needed "school clothes," and I got her a couple more pairs of shoes because she mostly had sandals and flip-flops and those are not in dress code. We went to lunch at Chik-fil-A, and she just talked me the whole time. It was almost surreal sitting there having a conversation over lunch with my BABY girl. Why is she so grown already?! I had the best day with her. We had so much fun shopping and laughing. I haven't had a day with just me and her in forever, so it was the perfect way to spend the Saturday before she begins her new school. Today we are going to church, then I hope the rest of the day is completely restful, and I hope it passes slowly.

The End of Summer Break

      Today is the last day of Summer Break, and I think I may be just as sad as I was on my last day of maternity leave! The girls have grown so much this summer, and I have loved being here for every minute of it! The picture on the left was taken the first day of Summer Break and the picture on the right was taken on today. It's unreal how much Payton has grown, and I'm even more surprised that you can tell a difference in how Rylee has grown, too. Why do they insist on growing up on my so quickly?!

      We started our summer break with a family vacation in Florida. It does seem like a lifetime ago, so I know I had a good summer break, but it doesn't make it any easier for it to come to an end. We had so much fun on the beach, and it would have been nice to end summer break with another week down there. A girl can dream, right?!

     My favorite part of this summer break was watching the bond between these sisters grow. They have gotten so close. When I talk to Rylee about going back to school tomorrow, her main concern is, "Baby Payton will miss her sissy!" I'm pretty sure they will not like being separated at all. They have been together all day every day  for the last 2 months. They are so sweet playing together, but I know they will be fine tomorrow after the initial shock wears off. They both enjoy daycare and getting to see their friends.

      Last week, we spent a lot of time in the sun and I think that was the perfect way to warp up our break. Rylee also got to spend a lot of time with Austin, which she enjoyed thoroughly. We won't get any more time with them until the new baby, Callie, arrives this fall, so we took advantage of everyday of their visit last week. I'm also glad to have gotten a little bit of a tan to go back to school with because I feel like everyone looks better with a little tan!

     Friday I got my class list and worked on my classroom some. It's not finished yet, but it's not too far from done, and it will definitely be ready by registration this Friday. I am super excited about this school year. We are implementing a new extended literacy program and grouping students differently than we did in the past. I am excited about the groups I got, and I know they are going to learn A LOT this year! I can't wait!!

       But no matter how excited I am about this coming school year, it is still hard to leave these sweet faces behind each day. I am thankful that I have a career that I love, and also thankful that that career allows me to have breaks and stay home and just be a mom from time to time. It's hard work being a teacher and hard work being "just a mom," but both jobs are rewarding and make me very happy! This summer has had it's ups and downs, but I'm thankful for every minute, especially those that I got to spend with my sweet babies. I have kissed Payton's chubby cheeks at least a million times, and snuggled Rylee endlessly. I love these 2 little girls more than words could ever express. I am looking forward to meeting my new "babies" that I will love and teach this year, and I'm looking forward to seeing how my girls adjust to going back to school and picking up with their friends and maybe making some new friends, too. This week is going to be crazy, but it will get better and once things settle down, everything will be fine!

10 Months!

      I cannot believe my baby is 10 months old! Time seriously needs to slow down! She is around 20 lbs (75th percentile) and 28 in. long (75th percentile). She wears size 12 M clothes and size 18 M sleepers, but lately I've been letting her sleep in a 12 M onesie since it's summer. She wears size 4 diapers. She is almost into size 3 shoes, but her tiny feet can still fit in a size 2 (3-6 month) shoe! Anytime I put shoes on her, she immediately pulls them off, so it's pretty pointless. She goes to bed around 7-7:30 pm and wakes up and feeds around 6 am, then goes back to bed until around 8. This will be the last week of that though because school starts back next week! :( She takes 2 naps per day usually around 10 and 2. She typically naps about 1 hour at each nap time. She likes to nap with one paci in her mouth and one in her hand. It cracks me up. She has also become super attached to her silky. I hope she does okay without it at school next week. She is such a little chatter bug and has become mimicking what we say. The cutest one lately is "uh-oh!"

  She now has 3 teeth. 2 bottom in the middle and one on top over to the right. She has finally mastered crawling, and she is into EVERYTHING. Her favorite place to try to explore is the bathroom. We are in the process of trying to get Rylee to keep the door closed, but if she forgets, Payton makes a mad dash. Luckily, so far she is more interested in the bathtub (and trying to get to the bath toys) than the toilet, but I don't want her to discover the toilet just yet! She has been exploring nonstop since she mastered crawling, and I never know what she is going to be into next! We also had to lower her crib because she has mastered pulling herself up on the side, and when it was up higher, she was nearly able to tumble out. I decided we should lower it before that happened!

     Her sippy cup transition didn't go as planned because she hated the hard spout cups, so we have switched her to a larger soft spout cup. She likes it a lot. She drinks a full one of water each day. I decided to leave her on bottles for now to make her transition back to daycare easier. I will take them away at 1. She eats mostly table food now. For breakfast she usually eats either a piece of whole wheat toast or a waffle, and maybe some fruit or cheerios if she's still acting hungry. For lunch she likes grilled cheese, yogurt, or some of whatever I'm having. And for dinner she eats what we're eating. On nights when I don't cook, I have some baby food as back up, but I usually end up cooking because she prefers table food. I breastfeed her first thing in the morning,  in between meals for her "snacks," and once before bed. Once school starts back, she is going to have formula at daycare, and I'll continue to breastfeed at home. I decided it wasn't worth it to pump at work anymore at this point, since she gets most of her nutrition from food these days and she's getting closer to 1.

      She still loves the outdoors. She wants to get down and explore, though, and I'm just not ready to let her. But when she's in a swing or in the water, she is as happy as can be. we spend a lot of time out on the deck, and she can explore there, so she loves that. She is just so curious about everything and now that she can move, she's going to try to figure everything out!

     It's strange to me to see her with no more drainage coming from her eye, but it has been perfect since the day she had her probe done. I love her bright blue eyes, and now it seems they shine even brighter without that yucky gunk. She is such a happy baby - always smiling or laughing. She definitely is our little Joy!

Granny's 80th Surprise Party! {Video Included}

       Today is Granny's 80th birthday. We had a surprise party for her Saturday night, and it was such a precious moment when she walked in and was moved to tears that everyone had pulled off such a big surprise! Don't you just love Ryan's wonderful singing voice?! Haha!

      We had such a wonderful time celebrating such a wonderful lady. We love Granny so very much. She does so much for everyone without ever asking for anything in return. If I'm ever in a bind and need someone to help out with the girls, I know I can call her and she'll take amazing care of them while I'm doing whatever needs to be done. I appreciate her so very much, and to see how much she loves my girls just melts my heart.

     She loves all of her great-grands that way. But this is what happens when you try to get 4 toddlers to take a picture together. It's so funny, it's kind of cute. Haha! I love these crazy kiddos. They had a blast at Granny's party. They don't all get to get together and play very much, but they have a blast when they do.

     Ryan and Matt called out the BINGO numbers while I played with the kids and the adults played BINGO. The prizes included a SMTWTFS pill separator, Icyhot wraps, and other gag gifts that an elderly person might need. It's funny a lot of times it's easy to forget that Granny is old, she is so active and spunky. She cracks me up. Our gift got delayed in shipping (even though I paid extra to make sure it would be shipped in time-UGH!), so Ryan dropped it off yesterday. We made her a photo book of different moments of her with her great-grands so far. It turned out really cute, but I was sad it wasn't here in time for her to be able to open it at her party.

     I know 2 little girls who love their Granny very very much and enjoyed celebrating her birthday with her. Happy 80th, Granny! We love you to the moon!

Mary's Chapel VBS 2014

     Tonight we wrapped up our final night of VBS, and it has been a lot of fun. Our theme this year was Agency D3 (Discover, Decide, Defend - Pete 3:15). Rylee was so excited about being a "Secret Agent." All the kids seemed to enjoy the theme and the activities that went along with it.

     Rylee was technically supposed to go with the the Preschool ages 3-5 group, but I was a group leader for the 1st-2nd grade group, and she decided she wanted to stay with me on Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. She did go with her group on Monday night, though. Tuesday night we missed VBS because Payton was sick, and Ryan didn't feel up to taking care of her on his own because his knee was hurting badly. I didn't mind keeping Rylee in my group because she didn't cling to me or stay in my lap or anything, she just wanted to be in the same room as me. She did all the activities that the other children did, and for being 2-4 years younger than everyone else in the group, she fit in really well. I feel like she learned a lot this week. I know there are times she has to be away from me, but after trying to force her to go with her group and reducing her to tears over it, I thought if it's not bothering anyone and she's still learning about Jesus, why does it matter which group she goes with?! It's one thing to leave her crying at daycare when I have to go to work. There is no way to avoid that. She can't come with me to work. But if I don't have to leave her and she doesn't want me to, why force it?

   We ended up having a wonderful time at VBS and I was so proud of my group. We started out with 3 girls + Rylee on Sunday night, and ended up with 5 girls and 3 boys + Rylee on tonight. And they all were listening to the stories and answering questions like pros. It's a beautiful thing to see children learning about Jesus. Rylee made me so proud when she came home and told her daddy, "Did you know Jesus is better than a good man? He is God's son. You can read it in the Bible." She sure soaks everything in.