August 20, 2012

Back To School

School is back and it's in full swing around here! It actually seems like we've been "back at it" for a while now.  It takes me some time to get my classroom back in order every summer. I'm blaming my blog slacking and well, all my slacking on my classroom. :)  This is what I walked into after returning from vacation.






And after a lot of hard work later...





Chester Raccoon from The Kissing Hand! :) We love him!



I just LOVE new school supplies!

Spencer and Briggs were excited to start the new year!  Spencer is in fifth grade this year!!!  This is the last year he will be at my school.  Middle school is right around the corner now!  He has sweet Mrs. Wilson for his teacher this year! 

Rico walked the boys to class the first day to snap photos.  I'm always so busy greeting my new kindergarteners. :(  At least I get to see the great photos!

Briggs is in second grade this year and he has Mrs. Johnson.  He brought home the cutest note from her when he went to Open House.  He couldn't wait to get into it!


"Lots of questions go through your mind,
All types of thoughts of every kind.

But sometimes we all get the jitters down deep
And that makes it hard to fall fast asleep.

So I've made this magic confetti for you.
Full of promises for the whole year through.

On Tuesday night when you lay down your head,
Just sprinkle some under your pillow in bed.

The confetti will help you sleep through the night
And wake up in the morning fresh and bright.

I'll sprinkle the confetti under my pillow, too
Because I am so super excited to see you!

Sweet Dreams Second Grader!
Love,
Mrs. Johnson"
All ready to put these under his pillow!  Isn't this the cutest idea?  I'm totally stealing borrowing this one!  He's definitely loving her class!


Welcome back to school everyone!

August 12, 2012

Nine Months :)

Guess who is nine months old now?  Well, about 9   1/2, I'm so behind in blogging.  Reid is doing great!  I thought he was going to need tubes because he's been keeping fluid in his ears. However, we just saw one of his ENTs and his ears seem to be getting better!  They were never infected, just fluid.  Now that the fluid is looking better I'm hopeful that we will make it a while longer without any tubes. :)  It seems that tubes are needed in most kiddos with achondroplasia.  They help to drain that excess fluid.  I had many, many ear infections as a child...fingers crossed he doesn't inheritt my bad ear history as well.  Reid is tinkering with the idea of sleeping through the night.  He will manage to sleep through a few nights each week.  We are trying to be very patient but would love more sleep soon!  Actually, Rico is so much more patient in the sleep department than myself.  Thanks babe!  Reid is gaining a lot more head control lately, which is really exciting for us!  It is a chore to get him to do tummy time.  I have to practically hold him in that position.  He will roll over as soon as I let go and walk off.  You've got to learn how to crawl somehow buddy!  He manages to get what he's after by scooting on his back and rolling. It is so wonderful seeing him experience new things!  Yesterday, he lit up while he played with one of Rico's birthday balloons in the highchair after supper and I swear I teared up when he ate a puff for the first time.  His "chewing" cracks me up!  He has six teeth, all in the front of course, and he works them like mad when solids are introduced.  I am so happy my guy is doing well!  What a blessing!

9 months

height- 25  1/4 inches
weight-  17.2  lbs
head circumference- 20  1/4 inches












August 10, 2012

Charleston

We go to the Charleston, SC area every summer for a family vacation.  My aunt and uncle have two condos on the Isle of Palms which allows us to enjoy some much needed beach time and great restaurants, shopping and practically anything else you can think of. :)  We really LOVE that area! We arrived on Sunday, July 15 and practically threw our suitcases into the condo and ran to the beach. 

This was Reid's first time ever on a beach! He seemed to enjoy watching the waves crashing onto the shore.  There used to be a time when Reid didn't care for wind at all.  In fact, he would lose his breath when we were at the ballpark last spring on windy days. Now, he seems to enjoy the wind through his hair.  He's changing so much everyday. :)
 Reid's first time on a beach! :)

Mom and I. :)
Nana Bug with Spencer and Briggs.

My sweet guys.

Of course they just HAD to get in that night! ;)


Tuesday
We were completely excited to meet Madison and her family while on our vacation.  We have been following Sarah's blog, The Condon Story, for quite some time and it was nice to finally meet up with them.  Madison was a bit shy (to be expected..she's 2 :)) at first but she did give me a little "sassy walk" presentation. :)  LOVE this little presh!  I've jokingly been saying that Reid has dibs on this beauty but truth is we loved hanging out with the whole family.  No pressure Reid...just kidding! Well, sort of! ;) I was completely drooling over all the girly cuteness!
Sarah is so talented! She made Reid the cutest little crab shirt and burp cloth with his name monogramed on them!  Thanks so much! 
Dessert!!!
Wednesday
The girls headed down to the market on Wednesday for a little shopping and lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Slightly North of Broad...S.N.O.B.! :)


Darlene, Me, and Connie
YUM!

Momma and I

That night we got the whole family together for a little spaghetti supper!
Lounge lizards!

Uncle Mark making our appetizers...oysters! Yum!

Thursday
Thursday morning was spent playing on the beach and hanging out around the condo.  Sometimes it's easier to just stay in instead of getting our crew "ready". :)
Let's go fly a kite! ;)

GrandDadE has become our "Master Kite Flyer"!  He didn't have as much success with this beautiful kite as he did with his cheaper dollar store kite.  Go figure!  We watched the kite from the beach and then tied it off and continued to watch it from the condo balcony after we went in.  It stayed up until the afternoon rain showers came through.

Last year we made a big sand octopus on the beach during our vacation.  Hmmmmm......what should we make this year?
The dude hangin' out!


 This year we made a boat!  We didn't spend as much time on it as last year and I wanted to get a picture of Reid in the boat as well.  However, the heat was really starting to crank up so he had gone in with Rico for a nap.  Next year buddy!
 More kite flying!  Can you see our kite?  It's way up there!  Itty bitty little speck! :)

Maybe these will help!



 Bring out the bubbles!!!









Bring on the rain!



Spencer and Briggs have really been into fishing this summer.  They have been fishing like crazy in our lake at home so a request for some salt water fishing was to be expected.  Here are my guys ready to go!


Friday
We always catch a movie while on this vacation and this year was no different.  I love the seating in this theater!  We went to see Brave with Aunt Connie on Friday. :)



As soon as the movie was over it was a mad dash back to the condo to snap some family photos on the beach.  I really had planned on just photos of my boys but my mom insisted that Rico and I jump in too.  :) 














The guys decided they needed to race back. :) Love them!













That evening we went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, SeeWee!  I love how rustic this place is and well, that's just my taste!  They have all of their desserts on a buffet displayed under old cake domes...Take your pick! ;)  I think this is my dad's favorite place to eat and since we were celebrating his and my aunt's birthday, it seemed like a nice ending to our trip. :)









Saturday
On our last morning we ran down to the beach for a few more photos.  You can never have too many, right? :)








































The boys LOVE to play chess!  So, they insisted we have a chess tournament while we were there for the week.  I lasted until the second round. Hahaha!  In the end, Spencer came in first and Briggs got second place. Way to go boys!  Next year I'll be ready! ;)


We really enjoy this trip every year.  I think Charleston is such a beautiful area.  Having the beach and the wonderful historic characteristics makes for a perfect vacation.  Thank you Aunt Connie and Uncle Jim for having us!