All Packed Up

So I guess I am officially a SAHM now. Not that wasn't already, but I've packed up my classroom now!


Kyle was gracious enough to come to school with me today to pack up some things from my room. I have been thinking about this day for a while now; trying to decide what to take and what to leave. My school district has given me this upcoming school year off as a year without pay, so I have the option to go back to work in 2011. The current plan, however, is for me to stay home for next several years. After that I am not sure if I will go back to being a full-time classroom teacher, so it was tough trying to decide what to take. We took 4 Rubbermaid containers, so I was limited to that much stuff.


There were some files I brought home. Mainly ones I might be able to use with Brennan at some point. I left a lot there though. A lot of work I have done over the past six years. (It's so hard to believe I have been teaching that long already!)


I had some more giraffes I needed to bring home! That was an easy decision.


I took a couple of my favorite teacher books/manuals and some of my favorites that I make copies from.


I brought home most of the stuff that used to be on top of my desk: pencils holders, little containers, notepads. Mainly things that have been gifts over the years.


Then I came to the books! I knew that was going to be the hardest part. Some of the books are from when I was a kid, so I definitely wanted those. Some are books that I really like. I tried to keep Brennan in mind and took all the Magic Tree House books, Marvin Redpost books, etc. I was thinking more along boy lines, so if we have a girl at some point, we'll have to get some girly books for her. I knew I couldn't bring all my books home because we don't have the storage room to keep that many. I ended up only filing up one Rubbermaid container with student books. Certainly plenty to keep Brennan busy once he starts reading!

And that was about it.

Crazy to think that I was able to leave so much behind. The same teacher that subbed during my maternity leave is going to be in there this next school year too. I left her note today saying she can keep/use what she wants and can toss the rest. Hopefully she'll find the things I left a little more useful/relevant than the stuff that was left behind by the retiring teacher I replaced!

So begins a new chapter in my life. One that involves only having to worry about one kid instead of 23!


I couldn't be more excited!

Cutie Pa-tootie

Have I mentioned lately that I think Brennan is adorable?!?!

On Wednesday I decided Brennan needed to sport a mohawk to Bible Study. He doesn't have much hair, but I made it work!

Friday's Fab Five

Have you had a fabulous week? Even if the whole week hasn't been grand, I hope you are still able to find some fabulous things that did happen throughout the week. Here's my list!

1. Sunday was Father's Day; Kyle's First Father's Day to be exact! He was in Kentucky for a wedding during the weekend, so B and I had to leave church early and go to the airport to get him. B was great in the car and our timing worked out perfectly because I was able to stop at a gas station right outside the airport to feed and change B before picking up Kyle and we were all good to go. On the way home, we stopped for lunch at Chipotle. (I think this at least the 3rd time Chipotle has made the Fab 5 list!) The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home.

2. We decided to start giving Brennan rice cereal this week. At his four-month appointment the doctor said it was up to us. She said he doesn't need it right now, but we can start when we feel he is ready. He hasn't been eating as much (at least not as long) lately (maybe he is just getting super efficient), so we decided to go ahead and try. He is doing really well with it. He has only been getting it once a day so far, but today is supposed to be in the first 2 a day, so we'll see how that goes. He did sleep really well last night. He went down a little later than normal since we were visiting with friends, but slept from 8:30-6:30. And even then he went back to sleep after his 6:30 feeding! Such a good boy! He likes his sleep just like his momma!

And as a side note, I LOVE going into his room in the mornings! When he wakes up the first time, he just makes little noises and always seems so happy to see me. It always makes me laugh because I lay him at one end of the crib and he is always at the opposite end in the morning. I think he would scoot for miles if the crib wasn't there to stop him. After he goes back down, I usually have to go in and wake him for Stroller Strides. I love to look at him while he is sleeping. It is so precious. Just this morning his little lips were moving like he was eating. I can't get enough of that little guy!

3. I hosted an online Thirty-One party. I am excited some people ordered and that I was able to get some good deals on a few things. It was also nice to help my sister, Lauren, get some more orders!

4. I went to Stroller Strides 4 times this week! It has been hot here (although it's nothing compared to back home in KY!). I am proud of myself for sticking with it. A friend I made at Stroller Strides had Brennan and me over yesterday, so that was fun. She is a Mary Kay consultant, so now I am thinking about getting some Mary Kay makeup! Going to Stroller Strides not only gives me time to workout and meet new mommies, it also gives us a chance to see new places around town. Today we went to Esker Point Beach. We will definitely be going back there. It's a free public beach. The website said you have to pay to park, but that wasn't true today.

5. I am so thankful we made it home from Stroller Strides today in one piece! When we left the house this morning, I could tell there was a big mess already on the highway because a cop was directing traffic. Thankfully we didn't need to go that way to get to our destination. On our way to the beach, I noticed traffic was backed up in other places too, but it still didn't affect us. It would affect our trip home, so I was hoping it would get cleared up. Unfortunately, it was still backed up after class, so I decided to take an alternate route. Everything was backed up though! It was crazy. Our 5 mile drive home took a little over an hour! This is the 2nd time in less than two weeks that the highway has been shut down when we need to get home! We made it and Brennan was pretty content the whole time. He started getting fussy right before we got home. That guy is such a good trooper!

And a bonus #6. I am thankful for my fabulous friends Amanda and Val. Amanda, I am so sorry Brennan pooped all over your couch last night. (Although it does still make me laugh a little). Val, thanks for cleaning the couch while I cleaned my son! I'm sorry you had to witness that blow out! :) I am so excited that we will all be able to spend time together this summer! Holla!

Have a great weekend!

Boy Oh Boy!

Here is a picture of Kyle's Father's Day card from Brennan.


In case you can't read it, here's what it says.

Dear Da-da,
It's not (Payday), but it's Father's Day & since you're the best dad in the whole (Milky Way) I wanted to (Take 5) mins. to say you're worth a (100 grand). I love you to (Reese's Pieces). You (Skor) high points as a dad. Don't (Snicker), but I think you're better than a shopping (Spree) on (5th Avenue). I promise I won't be a (Crybaby) because my (Pop Rocks). I wish you (Mounds) of (Almond Joy) both (Now and Later). Lots of (Kisses).
Love,
Your (Sugar Babies)

Here is Brennan spending time with mommy. He is such a goober!


Finally, here's Brennan trying some rice cereal for the first time. He didn't eat much, but we'll keep trying a little each day.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Da-da! I think you're pretty cool.

Love,
Brennan



Happy Father's Day to my Daddy too. You're also pretty awesome! I can't wait for you to meet Brennan. It's just one month away now!

Love,
Rachel

Sleeping Angel

Brennan has been swaddled at night since he was born.

From pretty early on I discovered he liked to nap on his tummy, so he always napped that way. However, once he learned how to roll over from tummy to back, napping on his tummy no longer worked. We would rock him for awhile, he would seem almost asleep, but as soon as you laid him down, he would roll over and cry. So now he is getting swaddled during nap too and seems to be happy with that. Although he typically busts at least one arm out of the swaddle almost immediately.

I was also getting frustrated with having to rock him almost to sleep at nap time and trying to guess when it was "safe" to get up and swaddle him without him waking too much. I really wanted him to be able to put himself to sleep during naps. He does it every night, so I knew it was possible. So now we have a new naptime routine.

We go in and sit in the glider. He sits up in my lap and we read the book "My First 100 Words". I point to each picture and say the word. He is really into the book now that he is noticing things more. After the book, I play "2 minutes of bedtime music" from his new toy, Scout, and rock him for just 2 minutes. Then I swaddled him while he is still awake and lay him in his crib. We have done this 8 times (2 long naps a day) and it is working great.

He took a short nap (1 hour) yesterday morning, so I was hoping he'd get a really good nap in during the afternoon. He ended up sleeping for 3 hours! I guess he got worn out playing with Adah. I went in to check on him (when I woke up from my nap) and he was so precious. I couldn't resist taking a picture.



Isn't he adorable with his arm out?! Such a cutie!

Friday's Fab Five

It's been a really busy week around here. Busy, but fabulous none-the-less.

Last Friday Kyle got home from work early, so we headed up to Warwick, RI and ate at Chipotle. While up there, we also ran into Babies R Us and got Brennan some of his first toys. It was his 4 month birthday after all! We got him an O-Ball, a playmat with the alphabet, and Scout. He really loves both the O-Ball and Scout! (Mommy thinks Scout is pretty cool too!)

On Saturday, Kyle mowed the yard and then gave a guitar lesson to a girl from our church who lives around the corner. It's pretty cool that Kyle just started playing guitar at Christmas and now he is giving lessons! We enjoyed a lazy Saturday evening and ordered Dominos pizza. The commercials are true! If you have't tried their new pizza, you are missing out! We LOVE it. The crust is AMAZING!

On Monday, we had Brennan's 4-month checkup. Kyle surprised us by showing up at the NACC for the appointment. Brennan is doing super. He weighed 13lbs. 6oz. (30th percentile) and was 25.5in. (75th percentile). So, he is "long and lean" in the doctor's words. We are now contemplating on starting him on some rice cereal. The doctor said we can start now or we can wait until he hits 6 months. He hasn't been sleeping quite as well lately, so we are thinking we will probably start sooner rather than later. I did go and buy some cute bowls and spoons and even some sippy cups! He is getting to be such a big boy!

The dinner schedule at OCF got switched around some, so I was in charge of the main salad for dinner on Wednesday night. I made this salad that I posted about before and it was YUMMY! I just left out the almonds.

I have had a cold for about a week and today I am starting to finally feel better, so that is a praise. I went to the doctor today because my left wrist has been hurting me. Kyle diagnosed it as tendonitis and the doc confirmed that. I have a wrist brace she wants me to wear at night, so my wrist can rest. Hopefully it will get all better soon!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am looking forward to Sunday. We get to go pick Kyle up at the airport (he's home in KY for wedding this weekend) and we'll get to celebrate his first Father's Day!

Dear Brennan,

You are already 4 months old! I cannot believe it. This has been the month of the most changes so far! Here's a little about what's been going on.

We did pack away all your newborn clothes and some of your 0-3 months clothes. You are still skinny and long. I am anxious to see what the doctor says about your weight on Monday. I think your weight is probably about average for your age, but I'm surprised how little you are since you were born almost 9 pounds! I am also wondering if she'll want you to start some rice cereal soon. You are wearing 3-6 month size clothes for the most part and are still in size 1 diapers. However, once we finish this current pack, you are moving to size 2.

You continue to babble all the time and are really laughing now. It's really fun to be able to make you laugh. You reach out and grab things a lot and usually try to bring them towards your mouth. You have 2 teeth that are visible in your gums. They've been that way for about 3 weeks now. They look like your canine teeth, so I'm thinking you're going to be a vampire baby! You still are so good about just entertaining yourself on a blanket. However, I am having to watch you closely now because you can roll over! So far you've only done it from tummy to back, but I think you may go the other way soon. Now it's hard to give you tummy time because as soon as you're on your tummy, you roll over. That has made nap time more difficult because you use to nap on your tummy. Now when we lay you down, you roll over, and start to cry. Therefore, you've been getting swaddled at nap and at night now. You have also been using your Bumbo seat.

You took your first "vacation" to Washington, DC. Daddy got LASIK surgery done on his eyes and we went along to help. You were a great baby and only got mad when you got hungry because we were stuck in traffic. You got in a swimming pool for the first time while we were there and seemed to like it. We are still going to Stroller Strides a few days each week and you almost always fall asleep. We often end up over at Amanda's house afterwards and you tried the pool over there too. You used Adah's raft and fell to sleep! It was super cute! Sometimes you make noise now when we are at restaurants, so Mommy has to hold you. This past Sunday you started crying in church and Daddy had to take you out. However, most people claim they've still never heard you cry.

Once you hit 3 months, your sleeping patterns changed some. I don't know if it is because you're teething or growing or what. You started waking up a little earlier than normal. Thankfully I am able to feed you and then you go right back down. Most nights you are sleeping from about 7:30-5:30. You wake up to eat and then go back down until I wake you around 8:30 for Stroller Strides. Just last night you slept from 7:30pm-8:00am straight! I couldn't believe it! We continue to have the exact same bedtime routine. Mommy gives you a bath and then feeds you. You listen to your Bible story, get swaddled, Mommy sings "Jesus Loves You" to you, and then lays you down. I do wonder how long you are going to be swaddled at night. Maybe FOREVER! :) You typically bust your left arm out of your swaddle at night, so that might be a factor in you waking earlier too.

I guess that's a pretty good recap of what's been going on. You are a wonderful baby. We get compliments on you all the time. You are so cute and I think you are going to be one smart cookie. And probably one hyper cookie too because you move all the time! I love you to pieces!

Love,
Mommy

Brennan at 3 months


Brennan today at 4 months


A super cute close-up

Friday's Fab Five

I have a little cold, so I'm feeling sort of crummy.

Here are 5 reasons I hope I feel all better soon.

1. So I can kiss Brennan without fear of getting him sick. He is so expressive now and will smile and laugh when you go in for kisses. I love that kid.

2. So I can kiss my husband without fear of getting him sick. Or without the fear that I might sneeze all over him! I love that guy.

3. So I can breathe through both nostrils at the same time. This is true for many reasons. I hate not being able to breathe through my nose. It drives me crazy because the stopped up side runs constantly, but you can't blow anything out. It makes sleeping more difficult too.

4. So I can sing with the praise team on Sunday morning without a box of tissues beside me or fear of hacking up a lung.

5. So I just feel better and back to my fabulous self! Ha! :)

I hope you are healthy and that you have a wonderful weekend!

Baby Love

We've had a very nice weekend. On Saturday, we went to the outlets in Westbrook with Josh and Amanda. Then we all went to get ice cream at Cows and Cones and then to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Yes, we had ice cream before our dinner! Today we had a nice service at church. Brennan slept the during the majority of the service while Mackenzie, the pastor's daughter, held him. When he woke up he was a little cranky, so Kyle took him out of the sanctuary. After church we ate a quick lunch at Panera and Kyle ran into Dicks Sporting Goods to get some ammunition because he is going shooting with a friend later today.

Here is Brennan with Daddy yesterday. Everyone says he looks like his Daddy and I think this picture shows it. You can also see Kyle's eyes are still healing from his LASIK surgery.


Here is Brennan with Momma after church. I LOVE the outfit he is wearing today. It's from the Polo outlet store and it's size 6 months, but fits him great. Probably my new favorite outfit of his!

Friday's Fab Five

It's Friday! That means is time to share some fabulous things that have been going on over at Calton Corner!

1. I can barely walk! But it's fabulous because it means I am getting good workouts in during Stroller Strides. It probably also has to do with the fact that we missed 1.5 weeks of class while we were in DC. My legs are hurting today. It's a good kind of pain though!We actually didn't go to Stroller Strides this morning, so hopefully they will recover a little. Brennan has been great during the workouts and falls asleep during each class!

2. Our pool date with Adah on Wednesday was so much fun! I know I already talked about it here, but Brennan was just so stinkin' cute. I can't wait to go back. Hopefully we'll get a few more pool dates in before school is out for the summer. I'm sure the pool will packed then! (Side note - when you read or hear someone say a line from a song, even though they aren't talking about the song, does it make you start singing the song in your head?? That happens to me all the time at church! And now I'm singing, "School's out for the summer!")

3. At OCF on Wednesday we have a rotating dinner schedule. During the summer, the main course is usually some kind of salad. I don't have dinner until August, but I am already thinking about what kind of salad I want to fix. As of now I am thinking I might go with this one. It looks yummy to me! I'm not a big almond person though, so I might leave those out.

4. Last night Kyle gave me a massage! It was wonderful! He rubbed my back and spent a lot of time on my legs since they are so sore. Thanks, babe!

5. I am proud of myself for being right on track with reading the Bible in a Year. I am so happy I've been able to stick with it. I got all stressed because after church on Sunday I couldn't find my Bible. I've been using Kyle's, but it's not as cute as my polka-dot Bible. Yesterday, a friend and neighbor brought my Bible over. She had been at church Wednesday night and saw it. So now I have it back! Hip-hip-horray!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Splish Splash!

Last night, I decided to take some pictures of Brennan in the tub. I hadn't done it since his very first submerged bath. He still loves bath time!



When he gets out of the tub, I wrap him up in a hooded towel. I always say to him, "Wrap up your head, wrap up your arms, wrap up your legs, and what do we have? The world's cutest baby-burrito!"


He was so happy after his bath and during his last feeding that I had to snap a few more pictures.


Today we went to Stroller Strides and then had a play date over at Amanda's.



Christie came over too and we all went swimming. Brennan really seemed to like it. He loved being in Adah's float.




But I guess it wore him out. How cute is he?!? He took a little nap right there in the pool!