Christmas Cards

There is so much going on this week, being the last week before Winter Break, but we MUST get our Christmas cards done! We need a Christmas picture taken so before we get started using Shutterfly we must have some pictures taken!

At school I am seeing all of the adorable holiday cards being posted on our family information board in the teacher workroom! It's my motivation to get our Christmas cards out before Christmas!

I have never ordered Christmas cards online before, I usually use a photographer and leave it up to them to put together the layout and design with the Christmas cards. This year I am excited to use my love of creativity and design and use Shutterfly's Christmas photo cards!
Being a busy working mom Shutterfly is such an easy website to navigate and they have such great designs to choose from, it doesn't take long at all!

I have already received a couple of friends Christmas cards in the mail and they were so adorable and looked great I immediately turned the card over to see where they were made. Shutterfly's logo was on the back! I was very impressed with how the photos turned out and the design of the cards.

I want to get my mom and dad a gift for Christmas with a picture of Teagan. Shutterfly has great photo gifts to pick from, I have already found the perfect photo gift for Gram and G-Daddy!

Click here to find out more about Shutterfly's Christmas Card Promotion they have going on right now!

Thankful

We are so blessed and so very thankful...

For our God who shows us every day that He is. We are thankful to Him for Teagan, the gift so precious and perfect we could have never imagined how blessed we would be.

For our family who is always there to listen, give advice, and stand by us no matter what. We are thankful for you.

Our friends & co-workers, new and old, we cherish each friendship and are thankful for you.

We are looking forward to having Thanksgiving at our house this year! Getting Trinity and Teagan together will be amazing and a start to a lifelong friendship that we are all excited to see! Spending time with Adam's mom, dad, Justin and Colleen (Adam's brother and his wife) who we don't see often enough. Jed (Adam's uncle & his family), Christy, Jackson and Tyler will be here and we are excited to spend the day with them! Christy's mom, dad, and sister are also joining us on Thanksgiving and we are so happy to see them! Ann(Adam's aunt) and the kids(cousins) are driving in from Albuquerque and we are thankful they are able to come spend time with everyone too!
We have our Turkey & Ham - thanks to Hamm's in downtown McKinney!


I will enjoy the 9 days off we have from school, although I LOVE my job and my class, I am looking forward to my time with Adam and Teagan!

I'll post Thanksgiving pics after Thursday!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

"If I prayerfully spin my bad thoughts into truly positive, uplifting, thankful thoughts, then I start to focus on the blessings..."

August!

It's been so long since I've posted it took me a couple of tries to log in to our blog! Can you believe it's already August?! Back to School time is here! I love my new school and classroom. It is very big and I have already unpacked and started decorating! My team is going to be amazing and I can already tell we are going to have lots of fun this year! Our numbers for 1st grade are very high so we will be getting another teacher to join our team, that'll make 4!! Can't wait to meet her :)

Adam started his new job with the company August 2. He is doing well and he enjoys it much more! I know God has a plan for him and this is a part of it. He will do great and has already had to take over with the partner going out of town his 1st week on the job. I think it's the best way to learn- just get thrown in and do your best! He might disagree with me on that one ;)

Teagan is saying and doing. She is always saying 'ide!' (Outside) I wish it wasn't quite so hot and there weren't so many wasps flying around our backyard- we would stay out there longer. I don't know what the deal is with all of these wasps but I am hearing other people talk about the same problem in their yards. Adam is always out there with Teagan's shovel and wasp spray. He comes in and announces "ADAM 3 WASPS ZERO!" He even stepped on one with his foot the other day when it landed a little too close to Teagan.

Adam introduced Teagan to turning on the sprinklers and running through them yesterday evening! They had a blast! Mommy stayed inside and worked on some things for a baby shower we are giving for my dear friend Abby on Saturday! I'll post pics when that takes place! We are so excited for Chris and Abby! Little Landry will be so loved :)

I am getting so very close to being finished with Curriculum Writing for MISD Science/Social Studies. I have 2-3 more lessons and I will go have some 'Mommy-juice' to celebrate when those are over! I have never wanted to get something off my plate so bad! I now understand why people run for the door when asked to do curriculum writing (in the summer!) Lesson learned :)

I know you were probably hoping for pictures or video but the video camera cord is MIA! I have an idea of who took it but where she placed it....I don't have a clue! It'll turn up soon I'm sure. I've been finding things in the freezer lately. She knows how to open that and the old coffee maker is on the floor in the pantry...found some things inside there also :)

We went to the Dr. and Teagan is exactly 25 lbs. She is using words which helps in knowing what she wants but when she doesn't know the words to what she wants screaming for it seems to be just fine for her :)

Words she says:
Mama
Daddy
Hiiiiii. (all the time) Walking in the grocery store- 'Hiiiii' to older women who walk by. No Hi's to men. If they don't hear her- "Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi" in different voice pitches.
Dog
Bella (ella)
Juice (uice)
Thank you
Bye-bye
Ball
Duck
Bee (bbbbbb)
On
Outside (ide)
Shoe (oo)
More (will say it or use sign language)
Bath

Teagan can:

Howl like Bella. Hillarious! Especially when we are at a restaurant :)
Cow (mmmmm)
Monkey (ee ee, does her arms)
Quack (duck,duck,duck)
Boat (brrr - makes lips vibrate)
Lizard (sticks tongue in and out)
Elephant (lifts her arm above her head like the elephant trunk)
Point to a picture of a frog, bee, monkey, duck.

She will follow simple directions like go get a book, let's sit in your highchair, sit down (I told her at Scotty P's (hamburger place) that we were going to go sit down while Daddy got our food- she sat down immediately in the line and looked up at me like- I'm ready!)
Let's change your diaper, take a bath (she now knows how to turn the bath water on- yikes!)She knows where to throw the diapers away, she closes all doors, cabinets, refridgerator door if left open...or not...if the door smacks you in the back- Teagan's trying to close it while you are getting something out.

She is a little sponge and likes to be on the go! I have loved every second spent with her this summer and I can't wait for her to have so much fun at her new daycare. Her teacher is so sweet and really likes Teagan ALOT! She made bunny ears the other day while she was there- they were very cute! I can't wait to see what this school year holds for us!

Our little cupcake is turning one!

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It feels like just yesterday we arrived home with Teagan. We are so excited for our family to come into town to celebrate her birthday with us! We have a busy week planned and Adam is off Wednesday and Thursday (her actual birthday)! I have curriculum writing for MISD on Wednesday and Thursday, so he will stay home with her during the day.

We have been so blessed this past year and our hearts have never been so full of love!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! We love you!

What a Mess!

I love sitting back and watching her think...
This video was captured a couple months ago but I thought you would enjoy watching her too.
She can't seem to figure out the spoon so she resorts to just using her fingers. At the end- good thing that bowl sticks, she would've had the bowl on her face licking the yogurt!
Lately she doesn't like to use her hands. Today I met a couple of friends at La Madeline for breakfast and they laughed and laughed as Teagan only picked up the strawberries with her mouth off the place mat and wouldn't use her hands. She also sets her pacifier on the floor and bends over, while standing, (no hands) to pick it up with her mouth! :)
She is too funny!

Practicing with fork

Excuse the crazy hair. We just got home from the pool!

When the weather turns HOT

Teagan LOVES the water- and the water was FREEZING!
Here she is playing in her new pool and loving it.

May Madness

I feel like joining in sometimes!With all joking aside.....this month is flying by!! The end of the school year always seems to pass quickly with my to-do list growing longer each day! But I LOVE when I can mark the items off my list as completed as well as place a huge X on my desk top calendar at school. OH and counting down the days with my class is even better!! Gets me excited for summer vacation!! Today we counted 26 days left!!

As most of you know I am going to be starting at a new school AGAIN in August! This change is a huge opportunity to "spread my wings" as my administrators would say! I am going to be helping open a new school and I am very grateful for this amazing opportunity! It most likely will be the last elementary school opening in this district and I will be a part of the team that helped open it! I will still be teaching first grade but will be taking on a new role as team leader of first grade!!!

I am excited to see what is to come with this and I am confident it will be a great experience! So, I am busy packing up my room and am sort of enjoying it! I love fresh beginnings and having a chance to get more organized than the year before. Planning classroom layout, decorating, and getting everything situated and prepared for the arrival of a new bunch is what I love to do! The new school is going to be very nice! 2 story, K-2 on ground floor, with built in lockers in each classroom, new and current technology so I will still have my SmartBoard plus some other new media equipment for the students to use. A principal who I already have a strong connection with since she was the one who got me into this district in the first place; only having interviewed me once, and a strong team of teachers that I can't wait to learn and grow with!

On top of the taking down and packing up there are end of the year grades, assessments, spreadsheets, portfolios, cumulative folders, meetings and presentations for Action Team (I am the Academic Action team leader) and have such a great team working together to accomplish amazing Action Plans for this school I am currently at. I enjoy being a part of and helping implement ideas. It kind of reminds me of "Undercover Boss." The teachers- the ones in there everyday- were asked to come up with Action Plans to better/benefit the school and the environment of the school. It's great! Tedious, but great! :)

I am mixed with emotions from all of this change happening. I am excited, anxious, anticipating what's to come, sad to be leaving all of the friendships I've formed at this school, happy with accomplishments. Some bonds will be lasting friendships. They were all there supporting me when I was pregnant with Teagan! When I had her. When I returned to work and went through all of the emotional stages a working mother goes through. I wouldn't trade it for anything! The experience, the advice, the excitement when Teagan hit certain milestones! NOW celebrating her 1st birthday coming up!! I am so looking forward to each one of them being here to celebrate with us!

Teagan is busy busy! Walking everywhere! Loving her freedom to move and go where she wants. She is talking more and pointing to things and showing amazing signs of understanding. She will let us know now when she would like more of something with sign as well as when she's done eating she says "duh" and makes the motion for finished. The video is when she was pointing out ducks in the book. She has found that she really likes ducks! Maybe it has to do with the funny sounding quacking Adam and I do when she finds ducks! :)

Adam had a day off Tuesday and took Teagan to get her blood drawn for lab tests they do now to make sure she isn't anemic, hasn't ingested any lead, etc. SHE WAS PERFECT! No squirm, no cry, not even a peep! She held bear, sat in Adams lap and did great! I was so proud of her and proud of Adam for his calm nature. I know she sensed his calmness and therefore was calm herself! He amazes me with her and with his involvement. Such a great father and husband!

More to come later.....
Have a blessed week!!

Grams visits!

Here is a video of Teagan with her baby stroller (walker). Grams brought her camera that can record video! We've had a good time so far, shopping yesterday and a visit to the PGA store today :)

Happy 10 months!

Teagan turned 10 months old yesterday!
She is...
-taking 1-2 steps. Still trying to get her balance down.
-Saying "Daddy!" ALL the time.
- Her new word is "Hi!" She will put the 2 together and say "Hi, Daddy!"
-She LOVES to be outside.
-She is eating a variety of table food. We tried Ham yesterday and she really liked it. Cheese might be her new favorite next to pears and apples.
- She learned that the stairs make Mommy panic and she enjoys trying to climb up them. We had to go purchase a gate...
-She is showing increased interest in Bella's room as she crawls by. She likes to watch Bella eat her dog food.
-Still loves her baths. She now likes to watch the water fill up the tub. I have learned twice now to keep her diaper on as she watches. The sight of water=Teagan peeing.
-She likes to "throw" Bella's ball for her and then clap!
-She gives Bear kisses on his nose! It's so cute and my favorite when I see her being so sweet to her Bear.
-She understands "Can I have that" and she'll hand over the object.

Adam and I are amazed at how fast she's growing! We are enjoying every second spent with our little girl.

Visit to the Easter bunny

Well the day started out with a lazy morning, which I love! Teagan and Bella looking out the front window together...





We had breakfast, napped (well, Teagan napped). Got dressed in our new outfit from Grams and GDaddy, had lunch and took a few pictures outside since it was such a beautiful day today! 80's!









Then we set off to the mall to see the Easter bunny! Thankfully the line wasn't too long when we got there. We stood in line about 30 minutes.

Teagan did great! She was a little sleepy and did not crack a single smile at the girl with the puppet behind the camera!



Her face was actually quite hilarious. Sort of a "what's the big deal" look. I am just glad she didn't get scared. She enjoys animals and things that are soft. (Notice her hand feeling the bunny's fur). "Her world has been very soft" someone has told me. I smile at this comment because it is so true! She prefers to rock and cuddle only when I have my soft, fluffy robe on. I try to get Adam to wear it but he refuses. :)

Tomorrow is her very first Easter and we are looking forward to spending time together to celebrate, remember and thank Jesus for dying for us and loving us!

Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God's children (1 John 3:1)

9 months

YAY! Spring time is here! Time to get out for more walks and getting familiar with the grass...

Teagan was very unsure about it...

But found it very interesting! There is always time for a teaching moment...


Teagan is 9 months old now and I can't believe we just celebrated 2 of her friends 1st birthday's! She's next!
Here is a picture I got of Brody the birthday boy last Saturday...


At 9 months Teagan can:
-pull herself up to standing position and likes to push her baby stroller


-crawls (all 3 ways!) Bear crawl is my favorite. When she reaches the tiled areas she will straighten her legs and lock them at her knees. It is hilarious! She knows the tile is cold on her legs if she crawls normally. She will still army crawl now and again too.
- recognizes and says, "Dada, Mama, Bella, ball, and baba (bottle)" Yesterday she started saying "no no" back to me...
-only eats table food. Refuses and slaps at or pushes your hand away if you try to spoon feed her baby food.
-Picks and chooses what she would like to eat on her tray. I will scatter a few options and she knows exactly what she wants. When she wants more she reaches for it with her hand and lets you know! : )
- can drink from a sippy cup!
-LOVES pears and bananas!
-likes to share her food with Bella
-has a sweet tooth or a strong preference for the cinnamon/brown sugar swirl bread.
-has 2 bottom teeth
-gives kisses. Most of the time she will just make the noise at you and hope you'll be satisfied. When she feels like it she'll give the real thing.
-likes to pat. Pat me and say 'mama' pat Bella, pat Mrs. Brooke's arm when sitting by her at a restaurant :)
-LOVES to play or hold a ball.

-wakes up talking in her sweet voice and waits patiently for someone to come get her.
-stands in her crib.
-still loves her naps and will show you she wants to go lay down by throwing her head back when holding her.
-is fascinated with wires or anything that looks like one: shoe laces, draw strings on clothes, etc.

-likes to touch my earrings and let me know she sees them, but she won't pull on them. Necklaces- that's another thing that looks like a wire!
-takes 2 naps a day
-loves to cuddle and sleep with Bear

-likes to listen to music
-can hold bottle by herself, but prefers someone else to
Teagan is such a sweet little girl and Adam and I feel very blessed to be able to experience something new with her each day!

Dallas Arboretum

Spring cleaning

I have all these great ideas of Spring cleaning that I want to get accomplished while I have this week off of work!
1. Clean out my closet. Move winter clothes to another closet upstairs. Bring down Spring clothes.
2. Organize my jewelry drawer! It's become a mess!
3. Deep clean the house- blinds, fans, places I normally don't get to clean on a regular basis.
4. Have carpet cleaning guys out to clean carpets and deep clean the tile!
So today I started. Not anything I listed above...
of course. I always some how end up getting into another project that I didn't have in mind!
Teagan was not using her bouncers, her bumbo, pack and play pieces and all of her out grown clothes so I just tossed them into a spare bed room upstairs to deal with later. Well, today was later and I don't think I wanted to face it. I am not ready to get rid of the baby things. She is growing up so fast. Everyone always said it when I was pregnant but you don't realize it until it actually starts happening.
People ask about milestones..When did she start sitting up on her own? When did she start crawling, standing, pulling up, eating table food pieces?! It all happens so fast it's hard to recall. I tried to do my best to record the month in which she started doing each one, but find myself wishing I would've written down the exact place and time. What we were doing. Who was there. What she was wearing. Taken a picture and possibly video so it is documented for the rest of her life. Adam and I couldn't believe this morning we were putting her baby stuff in the attic when it feels like we just got it all out of boxes and set it up for her.
Well, moving past the depressing morning... I have been in my pj's all day. Its 4:00 and I am about to get out of them to go to Home Depot with Adam and Teagan! It is so beautiful outside I hope I can talk him into going to walk around the outdoor shopping mall! "Walk," as in maybe pick up an item or two! Teagan loves riding in her umbrella stroller and smiling at all the people who walk by. It is one of my favorite things about her. Even if people don't stop to ooh and ahh or smile at her and they just walk towards us and pass by- she still has this huge grin on her face like she is about to make a new friend! Such a social butterfly. I am working on downloading video of her. It takes so long but it is worth it once it uploads. For now, here is a picture until the video posts!

This is her "telling me" face

Valentines day

Even though it is now March I recently downloaded these Valentines day pictures from what my mom sent me from her camera. Just wanted to share...

Breakfast on Saturday

I am sitting here with Teagan watching her eat her cheerios all by herself while I try to get a few spoonfuls of Apples and Apricots (baby food) in her mouth. She is becoming so independent, so quickly. I cannot believe it has already been 8 months. Adam and I are really enjoying this stage with her and all of the fun things she can do. Her big personality keeps us laughing and looking at each other nervously for whats in store when she gets older! : )

I am looking forward to Spring Break - which is in 2 weeks! School has kept me VERY busy this year. It seems like every time a big event/project is over another one is right around the corner! I have been asked to speak to a group of principals from another district on Tuesday about how I am using a particular Mathematic program in my classroom. They are trying to decide if they will adopt the program and are curious how teachers are using it. There were only 4 teachers asked to speak. Adam has taken a break from his home improvement projects for now. I have a few in mind that I'd like to start but won't.

Project Man

Adam LOVES finding projects to complete around the house. I have to admit as time consuming and stress filled as they can sometimes be...I love that about him. He isn't afraid to take something on that he isn't sure about.
Here is the new project for the weekend of 1-23-10. Filling the cut out that the builders 4 years ago thought would be a good idea to put in the living room. The dimensions are so strange we cannot find any type of furniture to fit in there without being too skinny, too tall or too wide. The furniture we have had in there since we bought this house has always been too big. We had it turned and sort of sticking out...which actually worked for the layout of the living room. Old picture...but you can see how it sticks out at an angle...


Well for the past 3 weekends Adam has been MIA working on his birthday project. He got a projector and screen for the media room and moved the flat screen tv that was in there to above the fireplace in the living room. We sold the living room tv and now have moved the piece of furniture that held that tv to the hallway across from the dining room! I love it for extra storage!
Here are pics of his final Media room/Fireplace project...


So, now we need an open shelving/bookshelf type thing to hold the media equipment for the living room tv. If it is in the piece of furniture that was there, the doors always had to be open for the remote to work. Adam decided to go to Home Depot and try and attempt building something himself. On Saturday morning, pulling out of Home Depot, he hit a pot hole and most of the supplies he bought flew out of the back of his truck. He looped back around to pick them up out of the road and they were GONE! Discouraged, he came back home and said, "lets just go buy something." We spent all day Saturday looking for something to fit those strange dimensions...Nothing! So today (Sunday) he woke up and went back to Home Depot...re bought the missing supplies that took flight out of the back of his truck...came home and we got to work. YES thats right, WE. I helped. And took pictures!
Step 1: Adam measures and makes a plan

Step 2: Bring inside ALL supplies. Screws, drill gun, LOTS of boards, liquid nails, hammer, nails, crow bar, ax (haha) yes we used this to help push the shelf into the hole in the wall...ALL supplies..in living room

Step 3-10: Build it


Step 11 and I lost count: Stand it up, frame it out, push it into the inset in wall, run cords through back and plug them in, paint, frame it with crown molding and put in some decorations!







Teagan slept for 2 hours this morning and we were able to build the unit and shelves while she snoozed. When she woke up we stood it up and she played happily in her jumper while we pushed it into the hole in the wall.



It was perfect..Adam did an amazing job and we finished this project in ONE day! Now I have those book shelves I've been wanting! And I am very proud of Adam. He is such a handy man! :)