Spring Break

Well, Spring Break was a few weeks ago, but I'm finally getting around to posting about it. We had a great week! Sophia and I spent the first few days just hanging around the house and spending some quality time together. Jeff took Friday off and we headed up to Tulsa after he got off work Thursday afternoon. (First we did some fast-and-furious work in the den....more on that later.) We spent Thursday evening chilling in the hotel room and swimming in the indoor pool. Sophia LOVED swimming. We stayed up way past her bed time because we just couldn't make her get out of the pool to go to bed!

Staying in a hotel room with an infant was an adventure for us. We set the pack & play up next to my side of the bed and Sophia wasn't very happy about having to be in it while mommy & daddy were all still awake. We wound up having to turn the TV off & go to bed at 9:00 ourselves just so she would go to sleep. I didn't want to let her cry herself to sleep because I didn't want to bother the neighbors. We also had to decide if the toilet really needed to be flushed in the middle of the night. It was either wake the baby up or, well, ya know. Moving on...

We got up Friday morning, ate breakfast at the hotel (Sophia ate 2 powdered donuts & a waffle...hey, it's vacation!), got dressed, and headed to the zoo. It was supposed to be a chilly day but it wound up being gorgeous! Sophia loved all the animals. I think she enjoyed the people watching as much as she enjoyed the animals. She's definitely my girl! She was so good and just took it all in. I just love watching her little mind at work. After the zoo we headed to the hotel for a nap before dinner. We went to the Cheese.cake Fact.ory for dinner. YUM! I'm glad we don't have one around here....we'd be broke! Sophia ate quite a bit of Jeff's Jamaican Black Pepper Shrimp...she preferred it over her baby food. Smart girl ; ) After we got back to the hotel, we spent some more time at the pool. I think we will be spending a lot of time this summer swimming at her Gigi & Papa's house!

We slept in Saturday morning & got our stuff together & headed to the mall. It was freezing and windy. We wandered through the mall & headed home to work on the den. It was a nice little getaway and we enjoyed our first "vacation" as a family of 3!

Now, the good part....pictures!!

Not too sure about the goats...

she finally warmed up to them and tried to climb all over them!

that was one fat bunny!

ready to go to the pool!

our little fish!

I LOVE how their faces are the same in this pic!



she also loved to scream/yell and hear herself echo/amplified in the pool room. Thankfully we were the only ones in the pool

I just love this girl!


Family picture before dinner. I'm married to a lumberjack apparently. I don't miss that beard/big hair...at all

her face cracks me up! Already tired of the camera


My happy girl!

She knows the cheesecake is good! (No, she didn't get any...it had peanut butter ; )

9 months

Sophia Faith, you are 9 months old! Holy moly! Here's what you have been up to:

*You weigh 16 lbs 11 oz and are 28 inches tall. That's 50% for weight and 75% for height. I forget the measurements of your head, but it is 50% so it's not too big ; )

*You are STILL in a size 2 diaper. We have 2 jumbo boxes of size 3s waiting patiently in the closet. You have a teeny-tiny waist & booty

*You wear 6-9 month clothing. You still need 6 months for pants/skirts/etc.

*You have 1 full tooth and one currently cutting through. You have been a champ with the teething process. A few ice cubes in the mesh teether and some Tyl.enol and you are good to go!

*You FINALLY decided to crawl on your hands/knees. You army crawled for the longest time and then one day you finally went to your knees and have been crawling like a pro since!

*You are beginning to pull up on things and would rather be standing than sitting. You can't stand by yourself, but you want to stand while holding something/someone. We had to move your crib down because of this.

*You say "mama," "dada," "bababa," and a bunch of other jabberings.

*You can clap, wave, give kisses, make a "stink face," share "bites," and blow raspberries. You have recently started "dancing" by waving your arms around/bouncing around. You also "head-butt" mommy and think it's the funniest thing!

*You are officially done nursing. I quit pumping when you turned 8 months old, dropped the night feeding a week ago, and dropped the morning feeding yesterday. I'm proud of us and how far we made it with breastfeeding!

*You took to formula quite well. You are currently eating 20-24 oz a day. Sometimes you want 6 oz and sometimes you want 5.

*You eat breakfast and dinner. You are also beginning to eat more table foods. I'm a nervous wreck letting you try new things, but you love it and have done great so far!

*You take a "real" bath now. No more inflatable duck tub. You LOVE the big bath...you crawl around, pull up on the side, splash, and have a grand 'ol time.

*You go to bed around 7-7:30 and wake up around 6:30.

*I'm sure I say this every time, but you seriously are the best and happiest baby I have ever met. You are constantly smiling, laughing, being goofy, or just taking in everything around you.


<~~Apparently you are part hamster ; )

<~~Uh, really, mom?!

<~~Your Aunt Debra loves spoiling you. With a face like that, can you blame her?!

<~~You love your mesh feeder! So far we've used it for ice, watermelon, cantaloupe, and banana (not doing that one again, impossible to clean!)

<~~You love love love to swing!

<~~Blurry i.Phone pic...I forgot to take some with the "real" camera. oops!

This week in third grade...

This week has been a rather interesting one to say the least! I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday....it can't get here soon enough! Here's a little recap of some of the goings-on in Room 44...

*I checked out the Netbooks so that my kiddos could use them to publish some of the poetry we have been working on. I figured it would be a nice break since I have been working them hard lately to get ready for the state assessments. Before letting them get to work, I projected my computer screen onto the SMARTboard and did one for them as an example of how to change fonts, add images, etc. So, we are at the part where I'm showing how to add clip art. My poem was about "Mom," so I typed in "mom" in the clip art section. I'm half paying attention/half teaching and I see a picture of a mom sitting in a chair reading to her child. Perfect for a literacy class, right? Well, it would have been perfect if that's what it really were. No, it was a picture of a mother breastfeeding her child! Oops! Several kids giggled while I scrambled to delete it without showing too much emotion. (you know, if you don't act like it's a bad thing, they usually don't either) No emails from upset parents the next day, so all is well!

*On a different day, we were working with the Netbooks again and I'm walking around the room helping the students with their work. It was very busy in the classroom as half the students were on the computers and half were in the "comfy" area reading. After several minutes, I notice that a particular student "Johnny" was missing. I made a mental note to make sure he was back in a few minutes. A few more minutes go by and still no Johnny, so I ask his group mates if they know where he went. Nobody knows. He has no pass on his desk letting me know where he went. Great. I left to check the bathroom and sure enough, there he is. I ask him to come out, and here he comes out of a stall with a library book in his hand. After some questioning and reading between the lines, I figure out that he had an accident. So, what does he do? He ties his hoodie around his waist, takes a book, and sneaks out of the room. His master plan? To read in the stall until his pants are dry. I send him to the nurse so that he can get a change of clothes and I notice a big, wet spot on his back. Yep, don't tie a hoodie around your waist when you have an accident. 'Cause then you have wet pants and a wet back. Poor guy.

*Little "Sally" comes up to me to inform me that her bottom hurt when she went to the potty and when she sat down. Being the hypochondriac overly concerned child that she is, I talked her through it and we decided that we'd let mom know about it or I'd send her to the nurse later if it still bothered her. Fast forward 30 minutes: she comes back from a bathroom break and tells me "My bottom doesn't hurt anymore! I guess I just had to finish my poop." I had to giggle.

I'm sure there's more, but miss thing is up crying now. I've gotta go give her some love and Motrin. Teething bites...(pun intended ; )

8 Months

Sophia, you are 8 months old! I am LOVING this age! I have loved each moment with you and I don't take a single second for granted, but you are really developing quite the personality and it makes my heart melt. Here is what you have been up to:

*You wear 6-9 month clothing. I have to roll most of your pants over a time or two at the waist because your waist and booty are non-existent. You can wear 3-6 in pants, but they are usually too short.

*You are still in a size 2 diaper. Again with the no waist/no booty.

*I'm not sure about your weight. My guess would be 18 pounds? I'll have to remember to get on the scale with you soon.

*You have a tooth! It started to erupt about 3 weeks ago and took about a week to completely cut through. You were a champ when it came to that tooth, nothing like what I'd heard it would be like. It messed with your sleep, gave you bad diapers, and you spit up for a couple of days, but there was nothing a little Motrin and ice cubes couldn't cure! I just pray the rest of the teeth are this easy! I can see that another tooth is about to erupt...

*You are army crawling like a fool. You go really fast and sometimes get too excited and lunge yourself across the room. You have gotten on all fours several times, but haven't gotten anywhere just yet.

*You clap all.the.time. It is your newest "trick" and you are so proud of yourself. You clap when we say "Yay!," when someone walks into the room, when you hear clapping on TV, and, well, just about anytime you see fit.

*You are beginning to wave goodbye. It is so stinkin' cute!

*You say mama, mamamama, babababa, and have begun dadada. You jabber all the time. Looks like you are going to be a chatterbox like your momma!

*You are in love with Micke.y Mous.e You will break your neck trying to find the TV anytime you hear his voice. It's so cute watching you stare at him in a trance and smile/"dance" when you hear the music. (*disclaimer: We don't use the TV as a babysitter. A little MM Clubhouse in the mornings gives momma time to get ready for the day ; )

*You still love bath time and have begun throwing fits when it's time to scrub you down and wash your hair. You would rather splash and play than get clean and get out.

*Your hair cracks me up. It's like a toupee with a comb-over. I'm thankful you have hair, though!

*You are still seriously the best baby ever! You LOVE people watching and you are beginning to be a real ham. I love love love your little personality!

*You are beginning to want to go to bed around 6:30 and wake up at 5:00 am. I go in, feed you, and you go back to sleep while mommy gets ready for work. Then, I get you up at 7:00 to get you dressed and ready to go.

*You eat 3 bottles while at Ms. Cain's and nurse morning & night with me. We made it to 8 months with this and I am so proud of us both! We are now in the weaning process because I'm just not able to pump even half of what you need. You are taking to formula pretty well. I'm still nursing morning & night until that supply tanks, too.





When you first began trying to crawl, you went backwards the easiest and would often find yourself stuck under the furniture and in corners. silly girl!


<~~~Happy Valentine's Day!

<~~~Rockin' a ponytail (and her momma's big forehead. Sorry sweetheart ; )

<~~~Poppy got caught trying to share his sucker

<~~~Memaw brought presents!

<~~~You are getting SO big!

I am slowly going crazy..

..1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, switch! Crazy going slowly am I, 6,5,4,3,2,1 switch! Anyone remember that song? I'm pretty sure it was from The Elephant Show. haha

But, seriously, I'm going crazy. Tomorrow will be day 3 of snow days for the week. 6th for the year. Not cool. Not cool at all. I'm all for a snow day or two for the year, but 6??? We'll be in school until Father's Day at this rate! Guess I should start looking up some Father's Day activities for the kiddos.... Oh, and before you think "quit complaining, you have the rest of the summer!", that's not the (whole) point. That is over a week of instructional time. A week that I won't get back until AFTER the state assessment. As in, the big, standardized, important test that weighs so heavily on teacher's shoulders? Yeah, that one. That big 'ol test won't be moved back to accommodate the 6 snow days. Nope, that just means I have 6 less days to teach and prepare the kiddos for that ugly old test. SIX days is A LOT of days! Okay, breathe Jess...

Besides all of that, Sophie and I are going a bit stir crazy. I LOVE spending these days with her, but there is only so much we can do within these walls! It's too cold and icy to get out and about, so we are spending our days playing on the floor, practicing crawling, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, snuggling, being cranky because of cutting teeth, and laughing our heads off at the mere sight of the dogs. It's fun stuff. Really. But, I'm sure Sophie is getting tired of my ugly mug and would like to have some other interaction besides with me. We'll probably head to the mall or something tomorrow because the "real" roads aren't bad. Oh, to top it all off: Jeff has been working 10 hour shifts all week, plus Saturdays so we haven't seen much of him lately! Boo. hiss.

We also had a little photo shoot today to pass some time. Sophia has some really cute Valentine's clothes, but has had nowhere to wear them! So, we dressed up in a couple and took some pictures. She's ready for her close up! Well, she'll be more ready once that tooth finishes cutting through...she hasn't been very smiley since it began poking out. Oh, and I've been feeling crafty lately, so I've been sewing during her naps. The housework will get done later...I hope...

<~~~Excited to see daddy finally come home. This is an outfit I made. My first attempt at ruffle pants and they turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!

<~~~If you look closely, you can see the drool and pink cheeks; courtesy of teething. I made the ruffle butt onesie and the ba.by legs. Love!


<~~~The front of the onesie, I just used iron-on letters to put her name on the front of the ruffle butt onesie.