Joe had school on Saturday, so I decided to take the girls to a Pumpkin Festival at a local nursery.  We had an absolute blast!

 There were creepy, crawly, spiders to look at,

flowers to plant, 

 bounce houses to bounce in,

 trains to ride,

 pumpkins to decorate,

 

 balloons to play with,

 and memories to be made.

 Happy Fall.

READ MORE

As my two girlies were happily playing in the playroom yesterday, I said to Joe, "don't you feel so happy that we gave her [Mia] a sibling so close in age?"

Seriously, these two love each other so much.  Mia loves surrounding Naomi with toys and giving her lots of love.  Naomi totally eats it up and watches her sister's every move.  They are actually giggling, singing and dancing in the playroom right now...my heart is overflowing with joy.

Here is proof of the joy Mia brings Naomi, it is absolutely priceless!

READ MORE

I knew it would melt fast, so I bundled Mia up at 9am and let her play in the snow.  She absolutely loved it!  We have another cold and possibly snowy day tomorrow but 70s are back in the forecast on Monday...I love this state.

READ MORE

Mia started gymnastics yesterday.  I didn't have high expectations being that it was a class at our neighborhood rec center, but much to my surprise, the class was fantastic!!  It's a four session class and Mia has already been asking to go back.  I'm trying to get Mia involved in activities that involve interacting in groups/interacting with new adults since this seems to be intimidating for her.  Her anxiety was apparent when she had a mini meltdown at the beginning of the class, but after that she had so much fun and did a great job following directions.  The class was very structured and organized which made me very happy!  I didn't get the best pictures since the class was very hands on (and I had a baby strapped to me).

 Ever since class yesterday, Mia has been jumping around the playroom saying, "gymnastics!"  

 Mia refused to try the bars since the teacher was helping at this station.  Hopefully, she'll feel more comfortable in the coming weeks.  

The balance beam was very exciting!  It is so fun to watch your child discover something for the first time!

READ MORE

Naomi Kate

4 months

Weight: 15lbs 5oz (85%)

Height: 25 1/4 in (80%)

Clothing: 6 month/9 month (the outfit below is 9 months!)

Diaper: 2 but we will be moving up to size 3

Everything looked great at Naomi's 4 month appointment today.  The only milestone she has not met is laughing.  She'll smile all day long but apparently we're not funny enough to get a chuckle.  The Doctor mentioned that we could start solid food anytime between now and 6 months.  I think we'll wait until we get closer to 6 months, I'm in no hurry for this girl to grow up.

Naomi loves to cuddle and especially loves cuddling with Froggy,

she is seriously the sweetest baby (maybe I'm biased),

 she loves when her sister surrounds her with toys,

 and of course smiles at everyone who walks by.

READ MORE

Joe took these pictures of Mia a few weeks ago and I just had to share...  

 Mia loves hanging out with daddy in his office when he is doing homework.  

 I think he secretly loves it too.

Even though, I don't think he gets any work done.

  I mean who wouldn't love hanging out with this cutie?!?!

  Yesterday, we stayed in our pajamas until lunchtime and then had a picnic at the park.  It was one of those days I know I'm going to miss terribly in 20 years.  

I love looking in my formal living room and seeing this. 

 The girls relaxing, 

 playing toys,

 reading books,

 and being silly.

I think these two will be best friends.

 And, even though I don't want to wish away time,

I can't wait to watch their relationship grow. 

READ MORE

Before I decided to quit teaching and become  a stay at home mom, I spent a lot of time contemplating the decision. One conversation specifically stuck out to me in this time.  It was a conversation with my friend, Robyn, who is an ex-teacher and stay at home mom to four young kids.  I remember her telling me that even if I decided to quit teaching, I will always be a teacher and will find other ways to use my gifts. 

 At the time, staying home seemed almost daunting, like I would no life outside of my house.  I was so wrong and Robyn was so right.  I absolutely love being a stay at home mom because I get to be with my girls but also be involved in so many other things.

  Today I hosted our first official Moms Rock (a group for moms with young children) at my house.  My friend Hillary is in charge of the group but I am in charge of childcare.  Today my basement was a playroom for 15 kids four and under.  We had four, amazing women taking care of the kids so us moms could enjoy socializing, eating breakfast and listening to an encouraging word from our Pastor's wife, Mauri. 

  I just love having people over and had a lot of fun coordinating the childcare details. (Unfortunately, Miss Mia was a bit of a disaster and wouldn't stay in childcare and even had a major meltdown while we were listening to our speaker and I forgot to take pictures.)  Isn't parenting humbling?!

 I also starting my part-time mentoring job last Friday!  It went so well and I think it is going to be a very successful experience for me and the teacher.  Mia absolutely LOVES Becca, our babysitter and I loved spending the morning in a kindergarten classroom.  This week, I even get to model a lesson!

If you're actually still reading, thank you.  I just wanted to share some of the positive going on right now because I'm feeling good.  

READ MORE