Summer Crafts

I love summer time because I actually have the time to try out new crafts and do things that are fun and entertaining for me. The down side is that they usually cost money, but sometimes I can make do with what I already have. My friend Allie gave me the idea for these "Grow With Me" blocks. These were great because I already had all of the materials and just needed to purchase the wood. You can use these to place in your baby's/child's pictures to watch them grow. You can also use these if you are pregnant to document your belly bump progress week by week. I am excited to start taking Rylee's picture with hers each month to see her grow! I think these would make a fun addition to a baby shower gift as well. Let me know if you would like some and we can decide on a fair price. :)

Rylee's pacifier clip has seen better days. I wasn't too thrilled with the other patterns at the store so I made these! I already had the clips from attempting to make hair bows (I'm not too good at that). These are simple and cheaper to make than buy at the store.

2nd Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 2nd Wedding Anniversary. Our 2nd year will definitely be remembered as the year that we had our first child, Rylee! We started the day with a nice breakfast at Our Place in Mansfield. It is SO good. We then took Rylee and the dogs to the dog park for some nice family time. That evening my parents watched Rylee. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and went to see The Green Lantern. It was a nice relaxed Anniversary. During dinner we reminisced over the fun times we had this past year. We also set some goals for the upcoming year. Some of our goals include: 1) Growing spiritually and attempting to attend the temple at least once every 2 months. 2) Sticking to our budget and finding was to save money. 3)Take a family vacation each summer, either near or far. We talked about how we won't really remember the stuff we buy, but we will remember the memories we create on vacations. Therefore we planned to try and go out to California next summer! Our hope is that Jill, Evan's sister, and her family will be relocated to California by next summer and we will get to visit them. Overall, our marriage has definitely been strengthened this year. I think having a child definitely tests you and can bring you closer together when you work as a team. We look forward to many more years! :)

2 Months!

Rylee is now 2 months old! She had her 2 month checkup today. She is 12.4 lbs (80th percentile), 24 inches (95th percentile), and her head circumference was 15 3/4 (80th percentile). She is doing great developmentally. She can be soothed by holding her. She can almost roll over from her tummy to her back by herself. She can hold her head away from the ground or your shoulder. Her reflexes are great too! She has been overeating a little so we need to cut back an ounce at each feeding. (probably my fault because I wasn't sure how much she was getting from me) Things we have noticed in the past month. She is growing like a weed!!! When we looked at her chart at the doctors office, the curve was huge! We were so concerned that first month that she wasn't growing like she should. To give you a comparison, her head circumference was in the 10th percentile at her 1 month check up! That brain is GROWING! She still prefers to sleep on her side. She is having regular poopy diapers (which we were worried about). She is starting to like her swing more now that she can see the rotating birds above her. She has spent the night twice at Nana's house with grandpa watching her. She sleeps between 7-8 hours straight through the night with at least 2 long naps during the day. She is going on her first road trip this weekend to Stillwater and OKC to visit family for Baby Oliver's blessing. We just feel so blessed to have her in our lives!

Goodbye to Room 28

Before I had Rylee, before we bought our house, before I met and married Evan, I moved in to room 28 at Otis Brown Elementary. Room 28 has been my home away from home for 3 years now. Recently, our district re-drew the boundary lines for the elementary schools. Due to this, my school is loosing about 2 teachers per grade level. While on maternity leave, I got a call from my principal. He was almost crying and said he had some bad news. I had to leave. I am getting moved to another school. I took the news rather well. I feel VERY VERY blessed to still have a job when so many others do not. As I came back to work after my leave, I kept my optimism, until yesterday. Yesterday was my last day with my kids. Each year, I think, "oh I will see them again next year in the halls and stuff". No more of that. Each year I say goodbye to coworkers thinking, "we will keep in touch and I will see them again next year". No more of that either. I realize that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and I need to be faithful. As for now, I am assigned to another elementary school teaching 1st grade instead of 2nd. This school is an extra 20 minutes north of my house which means my commute, with traffic, will be over an hour now. That means over 2 hours of my day will be spent in the car away from Rylee. There was a bright glimmer of hope in the 3 counseling interviews I had within a week. But that glimmer burned out when all 3 called to say they had chosen someone else. Like I said, I know there is a plan for me, and I am trying my best to just forget about work and start my summer with my family. As I say goodbye to room 28, I reminisce over the fun and hard times I have had. Goodbye Brown Elementary and goodbye to room 28.