Kindergarten Graduate

Our almost six year old is DONE with kindergarten. We could not be more proud of Noelle and all that she has accomplished this year! Especially amidst all the changes and living in three different places (MD house, my parent's, TN house) during the school year, she more than rocked it!

She had a really fun last week of school, including a trip to Dairy Queen on Wednesday with the class so her teacher could treat all of them to some yummy ice cream. I drove all three of my kids and one of the other little girls over to Dairy Queen, and they all sat together getting the occasional reminder from their teacher to keep their voices down. Jonah even got treated to some ice cream, AND invited back to the classroom to have some juice afterwards. His little sugar loving heart enjoyed that!

Last Thursday was a half day of school for the kindergarten class so that they could get ready for graduation that night! We ate a quick dinner, got her dressed, and snapped a few pictures of her wearing her cap and gown. I love that they had a cap and gown to wear- it simultaneously made them seem grown up, but also captured how little and cute they all still are!

The little ceremony started with them walking down the aisle to 'Pomp and Circumstance', which almost had me crying, and then they did a whole bunch of their chants and songs with facts and Bible verses that they've learned all year! Each child had a speaking part they said by themselves, and then the whole class did the chants. I was again impressed with how much they've learned!

They all walked across the stage to get their diploma, and each kindergartner received a Bible with their name engraved on the front. It's such a precious present, and Noelle was SO excited for hers. She held on to it for the rest of the night, and was eager to find words she could read and underline verses she's learned this past year. The grand finale was the whole class dancing down the aisles to Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off'- adorable, hilarious, and so fun for them! They ended the evening with cake and finger foods!

Her last day of school was a half day on Friday, and it was full of fun with an awards ceremony, yearbook signing, and ice cream from Andy's frozen custard. I ran out to pick her up while Luke's parents stayed home with the other two, and after a hug for her teacher, we headed home and chatted about how much fun she had at school all year. As soon as we pulled in to our garage, she started crying and said she already missed school! She has a folder full of papers to work on over the summer, and has already pulled it out a couple of times.

first day

last day

Now it's summer break and we're enjoying the next few weeks with family, and then hopefully lots of trips to the zoo, the farm, the pool, and any other fun places we can find!

Clara Irene: 11 Months

e.l.e.v.e.n. MONTHS! What and how? May 24th marks ONE month till my baby is a year old, and my oldest graduates from Kindergarten today! How is this possible??

(also, I attempted twice to take her monthly pictures and she was NOT having it either time!)

We're at a weird stage where I LOVE how she interacts with us and hearing her giggles and the fact that she sleeps through the night (mostly!) But she also seems to need a nap early on in the day unless we're out doing things, and even then, sometimes she ends up being the one calling the shots because she's just fussy and I know she wants to nap, but just won't if she's not in her carseat or crib. Oh life with a baby.

Height and Weight: Sitting her on the scale at home, she is 16.6 pounds. And no idea on length, but this is my reminder that I should schedule her one year well-check!

Diapers and Clothing: She's steadily hanging out in size 2 diapers, though we may need to start going with a bigger size for night time. I did have to buy a box of size 2 diapers, which I think is the first box of diapers I've had to purchase for her since people were so generous and gave us so many diapers at her baby shower! Clara fits best in to 6-9 month clothes, but can also rock a 6 month onsie no problem. I need to go through her dresser and pull out all the size 6 month clothes that are for colder weather because those will not be used any longer. :(

Sleep: Overall her sleep at night is great! She woke up the other night and fussed for a bit until Luke went in and sat with her while she drank a bottle. I'm pretty sure she's teething and that's why, but after Jonah keeping us awake two nights before it feels rough when little people are disrupting your sleep. Naps are kind of all over, and with all our family coming in over the next few weeks, there's not much chance of getting into a summer routine yet. But hopefully eventually I can get her a somewhat consistent nap!

Eating: This girl loves food, and will easily down a pouch of veggies/fruit. She loves eating cheerios, sometimes raisins, crackers, blueberries, grapes, and she'll often eat bits of whatever I'm eating. She takes 4-5 bottles of 4-5 ounces of formula and it's so nice that she can hold it to feed herself now. I can finish getting ready in the morning, or tidy up while she's drinking. Or since we're on the go so much she'll drink a bottle in the car. She does get tummy troubles pretty easily, so I try to make sure she's getting a lot of fiber and liquids, and have been giving her a bottle with pear juice and water to help things.

Social/Milestones: Her big thing this month has been pulling herself up. She's not consistent, but she's done it a few times, including the Target shopping cart twice. She also rolls around all the time, and scoots like a pro. She recently started waving to people, and still loves to clap when we say "yay!" She loves the water, and went in the pool for the first time. We have a little float she can sit in, and she LOVED it! Still only has her two bottom teeth, but I think her top ones must be coming soon! We left her in church nursery last week, and she survived and wasn't even crying when I picked her up, just needed to be held for the last little bit by a nursery helper. She says "mamamama", sometimes "ba", "ah", and probably a few other sounds when she's getting fussy.

Likes: She is definitely a water baby at this point! She goes from fussy to happy when we put her in the bath, and she wildly kicked her legs with delight the first time I put her in the float in the pool. Jonah and Noelle can usually make her laugh, and she thinks it's hysterical when she "chases" them around the house (aka Luke or I holding her and running over them.)

Dislikes: She doesn't like being tired or having teeth come in, but who would really?

Fun things: It was a fun month with lots of end of the school year happenings and mom events with our church. She came to the second part of Noelle's field trip for lunch at the playground, a little fair at the nearby assisted living place for their grand opening, a church picnic at a farm, playing in our baby pool and the neighborhood pool, library events, Friday morning Bible study, the Franklin Rodeo parade, her first mother's day outside of the womb, the zoo, and more!

Pictures from the month:

We love our Clara Irene!

Fun in the Sun!

Last week was a week full of fun! Jonah, Clara, and I went to a local play ground on Monday, but it was hot and we didn't last too long. There is an equine hospital just across the street and I could see a mama and baby horse in a round pen out front. Jonah couldn't see them too well, so we walked a little closer to take a peek.  The baby's neck was shaved down so I'm guessing the hospital visit was for him/her. He or she was running around though, so I think was on the mend. And so cute!

On Tuesday, I decided to take the two littlest ones to the zoo! Tennessee went from winter to summer, but I'll take the hot over the cold! We waited till rush hour traffic had died down and then headed up. I took the double stroller knowing Jonah wouldn't be willing to walk, but it did make it easier to get through faster, especially when Clara started to lose it. We got to see the new Andean bear, and Jonah's favorite part was crossing the rope bridge. I couldn't go across with the stroller, but a woman who was there with what looked like middle schoolers for a field trip offered to make sure he got across okay. I met him up on the other side, and he immediately wanted to do it again! I told him we'd have to come back soon with Daddy so Jonah could show it to him!

Clara was hot and tired, and we only lasted about an hour and a half before she got to her melting point. So we left quickly, and she napped on the car ride home. I'm hoping we can adventure a bunch this summer, but baby girl may dictate how long we last at various things!

On Wednesday, we met up at a splash pad in Franklin with one of my MOPS friends. It was a little overcast and breezy, but that did not stop Jonah. He got hurt twice, but was ready to jump right back in to going down the slides and getting splashed with water. I'm pretty sure he could have stayed there all day, but I didn't think to bring little toys for Clara to play with, and she had reached her limit after about two hours. It was a really cool splash pad, but we had to pay to get in. There is a free one in our town and it opens this coming weekend! YAY!

On Thursday, we headed to Noelle's school during her lunch to bring cupcakes to celebrate her summer birthday! She was really excited! I did not plan ahead and didn't pack a lunch for Jonah or myself, but we got to listen in on all the shenanigans her poor teacher deals with every day during lunch. And then we sang "Happy Birthday," fed them all copious amounts of sugar, and left them for the rest of the day. Poor kindergarten teacher!

Noelle was definitely excited to have Jonah and Clara there!

Our neighborhood pool officially opened on Thursday, which is amazing since temps have been in the low 90s. Noelle had field day on Friday, and I ended up picking her up a little early. We rushed home, changed into swim suits, and got to the pool before the public school kids got home from school. For about 30 minutes, we had the whole pool to ourselves!

More people came including our neighbors we play with almost daily. Once the six year old got in the pool, Jonah wanted to put on his puddle jumper and go right in. I couldn't figure out how to blow up the float for Clara, so he ended up going in by himself. It was semi-stressful keeping an eye on him, entertaining Clara, and making sure Noelle was good in the baby pool. But he did a great job! He was super confident, and paddled his way around in the pool. I'm hoping that Luke has some time this summer to work with Noelle and Jonah!

On Saturday we met up with my brother-in-law and his family to celebrate his birthday. We got lunch at a Salvadorian restaurant he had heard good things about. It was delicious, of course! And my kids ate peanut butter sandwiches, of course!

My brother-in-law and family were headed to the zoo, and since we were really close to the zoo and Noelle wanted to go, we tagged along with them! Noelle was so excited and lead the way to see all the animals. Jonah wanted uppie, and Clara thankfully stayed pretty content in the stroller. It was warm but all four kids did pretty well and lasted for about two hours!

My niece's favorites were the flamingos and Jonah and Noelle had fun pretending to be them!

Bookstagram

Confession: I am and always have been a book nerd. Like stayed up past my bedtime to sneak in reading more books. During the summer, I would read two whole Baby-Sitters Club books in ONE DAY! Long car ride ahead: read a book. Sitting at the beach: read a book (although not in this lifetime of small children.) Favorite place to go each week: the library. Absolute favorite activity to do with my kids: read to them! 

When we first came down to TN and I was friendless and stuck inside because of cold and snow, I decided to join the fun world of bookstagram. AKA Instgram with accounts completely dedicated to books and reading! Many of them are beautifully posed flatlays of books with themes and items that go along with books. Mine is just pictures of the books I'm reading on my white(ish) bedspread, or with my floor in the background. Nothing fancy, but tracking books I'm reading, which I've never done before! (I attempted Goodreads last year, but was not successful.)

My bookstagram account name is @naptimebooks, because really that, and before bed is when I get a chance to read.

As of now, I've read 20 books this year! Pretty sure that's more than I've read by this point in any other year, aside from when I was a kid. 

January Reads:

1. Sunset Lullaby- Robin Jones Gunn (with characters from books I read growing up!)

2. Confessions of a Shopaholic- Sophie Kinsella (a re-read for me, but Becky Bloomwood just makes me laugh!)

3. Little Women- Louisa May Alcott (my first time reading the full version, and I LOVED it!)

4. A Lasting Impression- Tamera Alexander (love her historic fiction books, especially since many of them are about TN.)

February Reads:

1. Still Life- Louise Penny (never heard of these books until bookstagram. They're mysteries, which is not my usual genre, but I'm enjoying them so far! And bonus- my grandma has read them!)

2. A Brush With Love- Rachel Hauck (a novella love story! I've read some of her other books and love them!)

3. Winter Garden- Kristin Hannah (my first book by her, but really good. Made me want to hug my kids a little tighter, and thankful that we're able to provide for them!)

4. My Lady Jane- Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows (another book that I kept seeing pop up on bookstagram, and decided to try it without reading the description. Oh my word- a hilarious retelling of history.)

5. Brothers of Baseball- Kristofor Hellmeister (the author reached out to me to read and review his book. The story takes place at Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville and flashes between the Civil War and the 1970s. A fun read, though probably more fun if you like baseball. :))

6. A Baxter Family Christmas- Karen Kingsbury (Another book based on characters from series I've read over the last 10 years or so. And it's about Christmas, so win-win!)

March Reads:

1. A Note Yet Unsung- Tamera Alexander (yes another historic fiction book based in Nashville!)

2. Love Story- Karen Kingsbury (same characters, another story!)

3. A Fatal Grace- Louise Penny (second one in the Inspector Gamache series!)

4. Anne of Green Gables- L. M. Montgomery (I decided to join in on the #annewithanereadalong2018 Bookstagram challenge. We'll read one Anne book each month, ending with the last one in October! This was at least the third time I've read this book!)

April Reads:

1. A Light on the Hill- Connilyn Cossette (This is a Biblical fiction book that I won in a giveaway on bookstagram. Also, I've read very few Biblical fiction books but I want to read more. Especially as we're reading through the Bible for Bible study so it's fun recognizing some of the cities and such that are mentioned in the story!)

2. The Cruelest Month- Louise Penny (the third Inspector Gamache, and I definitely suspected every character at some point!)

3. Daring to Hope- Katie Davis Majors (This is the first non-fiction book I've read in awhile, and read about one chapter a night, along with other fiction books. I read her previous book, Kisses from Katie, and knew I wanted to read this one. Such an encouragement in hoping in the Lord, even through some of the darkest things in life.)

4. Before Green Gables- Budge Wilson (A possible story-line of Anne's life before she came to Green Gables. I really enjoyed it!)

5. Anne of Avonlea- L. M. Montgomery (I think my second time reading this, but love the new secondary characters that are introduced- Davy and Mr. Harrison!)

I'll do the books I've read in May later, but I'm loving my time reading. I'm on social media less and I'm enjoying the "new" books I'm finding through bookstagram!

Mother's Day Weekend 2018

We had a sunny, fun-filled weekend!! It seems like summer has arrived, and with only two weeks left of school, family coming SO soon, and summer birthdays over the next few months, summer is going to FLY by! (And the fact that Noelle goes back to school on August 9th!!)

On Saturday we made plans to meet up with friends in Franklin to watch the Franklin Rodeo parade. It ended up being the perfect weather- sunny, but breezy in the shade. And thankfully we found a spot under a giant tree to watch right at the town square. Downtown Franklin is so cute, and I'm excited for exploring it more. Lots of fun places to eat, coffee shops, a bookstore, little specialty shops.

We packed food for the kids, which they munched on while waiting for things to start. The parade itself was the perfect length- not too long, and Noelle and Jonah's favorite was of course getting candy. There were horses, motorcycles, firetrucks, and more.

Afterwards we headed to The Factory to get Jenni's ice cream. It was our first time getting it, and it was SO good!

Mother's Day started with a run on the treadmill for me while Clara drank her bottle and played on the floor. There was also a bouquet of roses with a note from Luke waiting on the kitchen table for me. Luke says it was Jonah's idea to get the flowers when they had run out to Target the evening before. :)

By the time I was done with my run, the big kids were up and ready for breakfast. Luke had left at 6:40 to help set up at church, but thankfully since I got up at 6:00 when he did (plus Clara decided 6:00 was a good time to be up), I had plenty of time to get us ready. Since Clara was getting fussy, I wanted to get her out of the house to keep her distracted so we headed to Starbucks for coffee and cake pops.

Two different gentleman wished me a Happy Mother's Day, and my kids were mostly behaved for the time we were there. (win-win!) And then of course Clara fell asleep on the drive to church so I carried her in in her carseat, which I haven't picked up in ages! SO HEAVY! She was fussy for most of the end of the sermon and the brief meeting afterwards so I hustled the kids out at the end, and did our grocery shopping pick-up at Walmart. (This was our second time ever ordering our groceries online and then picking them up, and it is SO convenient!)

Once Luke got home from helping tear down at church, he basically demanded that I go to Panera to have a nice quiet lunch to myself. I ate my food peacefully without interruption, and finished reading a book. It was kind of amazing. I mean, I love eating with my family most of all, but it's nice to eat at my own pace rather than rushing to make sure I can get the baby when she's done eating, and not being asked for water, more ketchup, and a million other things. :)

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to keep Clara happy. She and I eventually headed off to Target to wander around in the air-conditioning and spend my birthday giftcard money (thanks, Becks!) She stayed happy for the most part, and then it was dinner and keeping her awake till a decent bedtime hour when we got home. (Also, I put her in the back of the shopping cart while I was checking out, and she pulled herself up to standing for the FIRST TIME!)

Overall, it was a very good Mother's Day weekend! Time with friends, delicious ice cream, hanging with my kids, talks with my hubby. I am SO thankful for this life and my roles as a mom and wife. I was also definitely thinking of the women I know who are praying and hoping for a (or another) baby. I know my heart ached in years past on Mother's Day when it felt like someone was missing. Thankful for a God who wants us to want Him more than anything!

not from Mother's Day, but I love this picture!

Some things from our week

Some things from our week:

1. Target after school usually happens at least once a week. There's always something we need, or more produce to be purchased. We also always make sure to cash in on the free cookies whenever we go!

And does anyone else hate these carts? They are so big and hard for me to maneuver! Especially if I end up holding Clara, which happens 50% of the time!

2. We've had incredible weather this week! Upper 70s and low 80s with abundant sunshine which means lots of outdoor time! And we needed to pick up a kiddie pool for the backyard. It might be slightly larger than baby pools we've had in the past, but there are three kids that need to fit, plus however many neighborhood kids who come over to play (3 on the first day we had it out!)

It was so big it wouldn't fit in a cart, and a gentleman saw me trying to get it into the store to purchase while holding Clara, so he jumped out of his car and helped me carry it in, waited while I paid, and then put it in the trunk of my van for me. #southernhospitality

Also, Culver's was having a $1 scoop day, and since I've been wanting to try their ice cream, we stopped by after picking up Noelle. The $1 scoop amount applied to chocolate, vanilla, or flavor of the day- which was a chocolate Oreo. I kept trying to talk up the flavor of the day to the kids because I just wanted a bite or two, but Noelle chose vanilla, so of course Jonah chose vanilla. And I wound up buying my own chocolate Oreo scoop, but I was nice and brought home some to Luke. :)

3. Friday wound up being a pretty busy day, but lots of fun things! Friday morning, Noelle's school had their memory breakfast where each grade displayed some of the things they've been working on memorizing throughout the year (per the Classical teaching style.) Kindergarten did some number chants, a special sounds chant (grammar), a few catechism questions, some Bible verses, and some just for fun ones! Other grades chanted through history, TN facts, presidents, and more. It really is incredible what kids can memorize! I can list all the states only because of a song I learned in 5th grade, and the books of the Bible because of a song I heard on a CD growing up. After the memory portion, we had a little breakfast with foods that all the parents brought in to share! I still feel like I need to get to know some parents, but at least this was an opportunity to be there and meet some people!

After the breakfast, Jonah and I headed to Bible study, where we celebrated another little friend turning 4. Since it was the first Bible study we've had since Jonah's birthday, our friend put his name on the Happy Birthday sign out front! It was so sweet, and she even had a little gift for him. Jonah is one loved little boy!

4. Clara was so ready for a nap, so we took her home and I put her down. Just in the last week or so, she's started flipping to sleep on her side. I sneaked some quick pictures, which I never used to do because her sleeping minutes were few and I never wanted to risk waking her up. But she's becoming a much better napper! And seeing her nap like that makes me want her to stay this tiny forever! (Or have more babies, but not really!)

5. After we picked up Noelle from school, we headed down to what is quickly becoming one of my favorite little towns to head to the library. They have afternoon activities, and since it was Star Wars day yesterday, the craft was making a Chewbacca puppet. Noelle was so excited once we got there (though fighting and complaining happened aplenty on the 30 minute drive down!) We signed up for the summer reading program, so hopefully that will encourage us to get down to the library (not nearly as convenient as going to the library in our town) and to read! It's been harder to read to Noelle and Jonah since Clara was born because she wants to be given attention when she's awake, and when she's asleep, I"m usually trying to get other things done. BUT I love reading to my kids, so priorities!

Last night, our church had a special women's get together, and it was good. Sharing of hearts and talking about shame and guilt. I am so thankful for a church that wants to gather women together to talk about topics that are challenging, and provides a safe place to be who you are, sin and all.

6. Today it's been raining since early, so we've snuggled up at home. Luke was awesome and let me sleep in and then hop on the treadmill. The big kids are still in pajamas at 3:30, we got delicious Delta Bound for lunch (an avocado, lettuce, tomato taco for me in honor of Cinco de Mayo!) We've got our NBC sports login info so we can watch the Kentucky Derby later, and Clara is doing her best to make the house a mess since she won't go down for another nap!

I LOVE my little sidekick! But naps are important too, Clara Irene!

She can open cabinet doors and pull everything out. YAY! :)