More on Keepin' Cool

In our continuing attempt to keep cool with these scorching temperatures, we spent a few minutes outside (we, of course, waited until the majority of the backyard was shaded) playing with the water-table. Here are a few pictures:

Splash, splash, splash!

Sorry about the snot....but this was after she dunked her whole head.

And, my favorite picture of the afternoon.

My mom used to say that when Chelsea and I were getting annoyed at each other, just taking a dip in the pool would fix everything and before long we would be laughing. That's somewhat how our day was...Shy was grumpy all day but getting wet at the water-table left her laughing and jumping and smiling.

Keepin' Cool & the Cutest Picture EVER!

Let's start with what may very well be the cutest picture ever:

Don't worry Mom and Chelsea and Grandma, I already ordered you a copy of it!

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The temperatures here have been well over 100 degrees for the past few weeks and we are doing whatever we can do keep busy but also cool.

Here's one thing we've been doing:

But in addition to that we have gone to the Splash Pad at a local park twice. Here are some pictures from the first outing.

Shyla's Bad Habit and New Obsession

Shyla has developed the bad habit of twirling her hair when she is tired. She only does it on the left side of her head and she only does it when she is tired and/or asleep.

It is SO cute!

It is also difficult, however, to untangle the literal knot that she puts in her beautiful hair.

This picture almost shows said knot.

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Shyla also has a new obsession:

Yep, she had become obsessed with the movie Monsters, Inc. She still likes to watch Elmo and Ernie but has added Monsters to her lineup.

However, she really only watches about the first 15 minutes and then she is off to something else while it plays in the background.

There are a few "dark" moments in the movie (including the intro) but my little daredevil, not surprisingly, just laughs at them.

This is her actual face as the monster is trying to scare the unsuspecting child in bed.

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day! We actually already celebrated because my dad and Stevie's dad are both out of town, but I wanted to share this post anyway. If you are one of the three regular readers of my blog, you have already seen these pictures.

Happy Father's Day to every daddy out there, but especially these three:

My dad.
Big Steve.

And my husband.

Harper's Baby Shower!

As I have mentioned before, I have wonderful friends! I am so very blessed! A few weekends ago some of my besties threw a baby shower for me and Harper Ann! As you can see from above, the theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

It was the perfect sized shower and I felt loved and supported just as I know Harper will immediately become part of our extended "family" as Shyla did.

I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I wanted to because I was visiting and enjoying. I'm hoping other guests took some to share! But here's what I have:

Abbie and Sadie.

My mom and Gavin.

Zac, Ayden, and Shyla (anxiously waiting for the go-ahead on the cupcakes!)

The Theme!

Opening gifts!

We were, of course, spoiled by the generosity of our friends and family with lots of clothes, books, blankets, a double-stroller, stuffed animals, an IPOD player, diapers, etc. Plus a Gadabout gift-card and purple lamp that were both delivered to my house!

And then there was the "show" part of the shower when Shyla decided to do this. For the record, I thought Stevie taught that to her, but he didn't. She learned it all on her own apparently.

Beth and Sadie toward the end of the party!

As I have said countless times, we have the best friends in the world.

I don't have any pictures but my good friend, Suzanne, also organized a collection through our work and we ended up with a very generous gift-card to Target! I had planned to use it on the double-stroller but since it ended up at the shower, we have used it on bottles instead.

We are filled with love.

What my Shyla May has been up to....

Since it is summer break Shyla only goes to daycare 1 day per week (the day of my OB and/or Diabetes appointment) which means we have lots of time to spend together.

We have been taking 2-3 short walks each day. It is supposed to be good for my blood sugars and I love that she is sitting in the stroller again!

Even though we are spending lots and lots of time together, I am seeing significant changes in her almost daily. It is wonderful to see the emotional and intellectual growth. But at the same time I hate it because part of me wants to keep her just as she is today.

Anyway, I was able to capture a few things she has been up to lately:

She is currently obsessed with the ABCs. A few weeks ago I decided to show her some ABC songs on You Tube and now she wants to watch them all the time. Seriously, ALL THE TIME! But, I have to admit she is learning and singing along which is a beautiful thing! In the picture above I think she looks so old (but then you catch a glimpse of Cookie Monster and can easily remember that she is, in fact, only two!).

She is also drinking (occasionally) out of a "big girl cup." I noticed that she drinks out of regular cups when she is a daycare so I have tried it at dinner time. Yep! That is milk and she is doing a great job! She still carries her sippy-cup for juice and water throughout the day and in the car, but I think it's good practice when sitting at the dinner table to use a regular cup for milk.

Ahhh yes, and then there is her favorite cup! My cup! I use these plastic tumblers for ice water all day because I think they make me drink more water. She is learning to use the straw (we still have to remind her not to tip the cup) but she really enjoys drinking from Mommy's Cup. I can say one thing for sure: my girl stays hydrated!

And of course she has not lost her love of dance! I'm sorry for the orientation on the video (I'm new at uploading videos) but she is still dancing up a storm. I especially like that she is rotating her feet behind her in this one!

She and Daddy are having lots of play-time in the evenings. She especially loves it when he rolls her up in the blanket as shown above.

Everyday is something new with a two year old! I should also mention that she is taking really good care of her baby, in preparation for Harper's arrival and making us laugh a lot!

Teacher Blog Challenge - Day 1

My friend Julie has started this blogging challenge and I am going to join (copy-cat) her! She got it from another Julie.

So here it goes:

Day 1 - How did you decide to become a teacher?

I honestly still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Perhaps I will stay a teacher for the rest of my life, perhaps I will choose to try something totally different.

When I was little, I would always play school with my friends and/or stuffed animals. I loved being in charge and teaching them everything I knew or was learning.

Plus, it was within my comfort zone, school was my occupation so it was what I knew. It was just about the only thing I knew.

When I started at the U of A, I was Pre-Ed. I thought I wanted to teach the little kids. I taught religious education at my parish: kindergarten one night per week was enough to tell me that was not my calling. Then I changed to 5th grade one night a week and was much more sane.

But I was not entirely convinced so I changed my major to Nutritional Studies.

Later I changed to Creative Writing and ended up with a degree in that, an emphasis on creative non-fiction, and a minor in religious studies.

So, where exactly does a BA in Creative Writing/Religious Studies lead? Well, a desk job in the real estate business of course!

After a few years of that, I realized that I wanted some sort of career and that was going no where quickly, so I went back to school for my master's in elementary education. Finished it and got my current job teaching 6th grade math and science.

Am I happy doing what I am doing? Yes.

Do I plan to do it for years to come? Yes.

Will I do it forever? Not sure.

What would I like to do instead? Hummm......domestic engineer, speech-language pathology, Starbucks barista, the possibilities are endless!

Finally Meeting My Newest Nieces!

My mom and I were lucky enough to get away for a few days to meet and visit with Kirsten, Jim, Sophia, Simone, and Bella!

We had a great time! The babies (and parents) are thriving and doing great.

The babies still have that "baby smell" that I cannot get enough of!

Here are some pics from our visit:

The happy family!

Insert me in lieu of Bella.

Me and Kirsten with the babies!

My mom and a baby (Simone, I think....) in an appropriate onesie!

And me with both babies (and their cousin in the belly!)

Thank you, Kirsten and Jim, for inviting us out and letting us hang for a few days! We had a great time visiting with you all! Next time we come out we will have Stevie, Shyla, and Harper (who Stevie likes to call Harpoon) and will be surrounded by wonderful chaos!

Chillin' at da Holiday Inn....

So my mom and I just got back from a 3-day visit with my sister-and-brother-in-law and their adorable 10 week old twin girls (post coming soon)!

I had arranged for our hotel accommodations.

A word of advice: never let a busy pregnant lady make hotel reservations....unless you want a sweet upgrade.

When we arrived at the hotel my mom went to check us in because I (shockingly) had to use the restroom. When I came out, she had a really funny look on her face. As it turns out, I had us booked (and paid for) 30 nights, as opposed to the 2 nights we were scheduled for:

The nice young man working the counter explained that he could refund the difference, that it usually won't even accept reservations for longer than 28 days, and that they had upgraded us to a 2-bedroom suite (2 separate rooms, 2 separate bathrooms, fridge, microwave, etc) thinking we were going to be staying with them for a month.

Yes, we got to keep the upgrade for our 2-night stay.

Stevie's response, "Holy crap. See you in July."

Stuck!!

The other day, I discovered this:

(This is our pantry)

Shyla had emptied enough room to crawl into it and then she started screaming!

Here was our conversation:

MOMMY: "Are you stuck?"

SHYLA: "Yeah......"

MOMMY: "Do you need help?"

SHYLA: "Yeah......"

MOMMY: "Can I take your picture first?"

SHYLA: "Yeah....."

Llama! Llama!

When I was a little girl, I loved my stuffed animals. I mean, really, truly loved them. I used to rotate them so they each got played with the same amount as to not hurt any feelings (with the exception of Peaches who got lovin' everyday).

Shyla, however, for the first 24 months of life seemed to not even noticed that her stuffed animals existed. Perhaps I surrounded her with so many that they weren't special, they were just part of the background?

Until now.

For her 2nd birthday, our really good friends Hillary and Eric gave Shyla a llama and the book, "Llama, Llama misses Mama" and both have become instant hits. We read the book every morning before school (so it's a good thing that I like it too!) And Shyla snuggles with the llama every night and morning.

I am thrilled that she has a stuffed animal that she loves!

The only bad thing is that the word, "llama" is difficult to say and thus difficult to understand. She gets a little frustrated if she is (clearly) asking for her llama and no one is able to figure out what she wants (this often leads to us offering her fruit snacks or cookies or juice, which just tends to make her more angry because she really wants the llama). But, I think I've got it figured out for the moment....if she is asking for something that I don't understand, I go get Llama and usually that makes everything right with the world.

PS - Stevie is trying to convince her to name her llama, Dolly (or Dalai).