Do Not Disturb

  Jeff and I always check on Austin before we go to sleep.  We crack open his door and use the light of our cell phones to peek in his crib.  Most nights, we stay for just a minute and he doesn't stir at all.  Every once in a while, though, he wakes up.  Tonight when we went into his room, he sat up in his crib, rubbing his eyes and whining a little.  I wish there had been a video camera there to capture the rest of the scene. When we realized he was awake, we clutched our phones to our stomachs to hide the light and dove to the floor.  We squatted there for a few minutes until we were sure he was back asleep.  While I was hiding on the floor, I started giggling thinking about how silly we must look. 

The things we do to preserve our kids' sleep. 

First Haircut

Austin's hair was starting to get really long, so we finally decided to cave and take him to get a haircut.  I had tried to cut it myself a few times, but it usually ended up looking a bit like a mullet.  I really didn't want to get rid of his curls in the back, but he definitely needed a trim.  I was really impressed with the lady who cut his hair.  He was moving his head the entire time, but she just kept cutting. . . and it came out looking even!!

                                                            I'm not sure about this, Mom!!

                                                       Oh, I get a sucker?  Let's do it!

Car Time

This is often how we pass time in the car . . . (Note: please ignore my voice :) )

Nursery Update

Since we are living with my parents until we move to SC, we have been going with them to church.  Austin  absolutely loves the nursery leader at Mt. Zion.  The first time he saw her, he shot her a big smile and a wave.  I went in the nursery with him planning to stay the entire time, but it was like I wasn't even there.  His cousin Kensi was there that Sunday and when he saw her he walked right in and started playing.  He stayed the entire time!!!  He did the same thing last week.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Nursery

In our Church, when children are 18 months old they can start going to Nursery for 2 hours.  I have been looking forward to this since we spend most of the last two hours of church in the hall with Austin.  He went by himself for the first time last week.  I dropped him off, he went straight to the play-doh table, and seemed really happy.  So I left.  About 10 minutes later, I heared a child SOBBING outside of the Sunday School door.  He was crying so hard, I didn't even recognize Austin's cry.  When the nursery teacher opened the door, I saw how sad he was.  Even after I held him he didn't stop crying.  So I spent the rest of Church in Nursery with him (which is still way better than chasing him through the halls!)  Oh well, we will try again next week!  But didn't he look so cute for his first day?

(This picture is of him laughing so hard at his dad that he can barely stand up.)

Austin will be 18 months old tomorrow. I seriously can't believe how quickly time is passing.  A few bits of info about Austin:

* He is in the 93rd percentile for weight and the 99th percentile for height - he's a big boy! 

*He loves Elmo (nana)

* His favorite thing to do is run around and kick or throw a ball

*He LOVES strawberries, grapes, and yogurt

*He is such a great sleeper (finally).  He takes a 2-3 hour nap everyday and sleeps for 12 hours at night.

*He panics if we are getting him out of his carseat and he doesn't have a ball to take with him.  You can just see the relief on his face when we give him a ball.

*His new favorite word is "no."  And he loves to shake his head "no."

*He loves to say "Dadadadadadada"

*His knee is always scraped.

*When we say prayers he folds his arms and sticks his tongue out - pretty sure he learned that from his dad.

*He eats all day - literally.

*When we say "Time to change your diaper" he always hides behind the chair in the living room.

*He loves reading books - by himself and with mom and dad.

*He now sleeps with frog, big elmo and little elmo.

We love him so much.  He has the funniest personality. He keeps us laughing and smiling all day.  We can't wait to see what he thinks of our life in the Carolinas!

Elmo

Several months ago my friend Bre posted a video of Elmo tap dancing that her kids really like.  Austin loved it!  It was the first time he showed any interest in cartoon characters, or cartoons in general.  I have to say , I'm so glad we saw Elmo that day.  Ever since then, Elmo has made our lives much easier.

Austin will eat pretty much anything (even broccoli) - IF he can use his Elmo fork or spoon.

Right before bed we clean up Austin's toys  and read a few books.  Austin usually does this happily, and I think part of the reason is because when he's done with those two things he gets to watch Elmo for 10-15 minutes.  He lays on the couch so calmly and gets nice and relaxed before bed. 

Most of the time, he's happy to get in his crib because he knows Elmo will be waiting to snuggle with him.  As soon as we put him in his crib, he dives towards Elmo and gives him a big hug.  When I'm closing his door, I can usually hear him giving Elmo a kiss. 

Thank you Elmo!!!

Next Chapter

I have 5 1/2 more days left of this school year and then I will be a stay at home mom.  I don't know how long I will be able to stay home and not work out of the home, but I plan to enjoy it while I can!

Being a Special Education teacher has been a huge part of my life for the past 6 years.  It is extremely challenging and the most rewarding thing I had done until I became a mother.  As excited as I am to stay home with Austin, I am going to miss teaching so much.  I had my last IEP of the year (a meeting where we determine what kind of services that child will receive and the goals we will be working on for the year).  I assumed I would be elated after having this last meeting, but I was so sad.  This child made such amazing progress in one school year, I just want to know where she'll be in 1, 5, even 10 years from now.  The look on that parent's face when I reported her child's progress was unforgettable.  Those are the moments I will truly miss. Knowing that the work I do all day really does make a difference, no matter how small the progress may seem.  And that these children need someone to fight for them.  I loved that part of my job!  I have been so lucky to have a job that is so rewarding.  It is emotionally and physically draining, but so rewarding.

Because it is so draining, it's hard to come home and feel like I don't have the energy I need for my OWN child.  I look forward to spending more time with Austin and making more of a difference in his life and being the person that fights for what he needs, just like I did with my sweet students.  I miss him so much during the day. It will be hard to leave teaching, but I can't wait to spend more time with my buddy.

I look forward to always being an advocate for children with special needs, in any way that I can.  It's something I feel very strongly about. (Just ask Jeff - he gets to hear ALL about how I feel about my job).  I'm sure I will go back to working in the Special Education field in the future.  I can't wait to teach my own children about being accepting of EVERYONE.  I truly hope they will be understanding of the differences between them and their friends/peers.  It is heartbreaking to see a child not be accepted by their peers because they are "different."  Although I am quitting in a few days, I feel like I will always be a Special Educator.  I don't think I could truly quit, even if I wanted to. :)

In the past year (especially the past 7 months) I have been reminded that prayers are answered in the way that is best for us and/or  according to God's will.  The realization that a prayer has been answered is an overwhelming feeling, one that makes my heart feel so full.  This is a short post, but I just want to document how grateful I feel today for how my family's prayers have been answered.  

Easter and Stats

Since we have 9 a.m. church and we didn't wake up in time, the Easter Bunny visited after church. Austin was really interested to see what was in the strange basket in the living room. I think the first thing he pulled out was his new green bouncy ball. He loves to throw balls - footballs, soccer balls, bouncy balls, it doesn't matter to him. It's one of his favorite things to do - especially with his dad. He then pulled everything out 1 by 1 and inspected it. It was so fun to watch. I think his favorite thing was the bubbles that the Easter Bunny stuck in at the last minute! He is really growing fond of his tricycle. He actually likes to sit on the seat backwards and push himself with his feet. Whatever works! We were lucky to have Gran and Grandaddy in town. Austin has so much fun with them. One of his favorite things to do is take the trash out with Grandaddy. Austin is a mover and doesn't often sit down on your lap and give you sugar, but I think Gran and Grandaddy were lucky enough to get quite a few kisses and hugs while they were here.

I can't find the paper with Austin's 15 month stats, but he's a healthy boy! He was in the 90th percentile for height and weight. The pediatrician recommended we get rid of the bottle, so I worked on that this week while I was on Spring Break. He doesn't seem to be upset about not having a bottle. He just won't drink milk from anything else - except a normal cup. He is so fun right now. I enjoyed spending so much time with him this week. We had a few good park days, and the days it was raining we went to the play area at the mall. He LOVES for me to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and tickle him at the end of the song. And of course I love it because I get to cuddle with him. His dad was gone a lot this week for job interviews, and he said DaDa a LOT. He loves his daddy. When they are together, it's like having two little boys in the house. They run and jump and throw balls and jump on the bed. And I love it.

So much has happened since I last blogged. We spent Christmas in Washington (which I have pictures of but they are on the camera that I can't find the uploading device for). All of Jeff's siblings and their spouses were there, so it was so great to be able to spend time with everyone. Austin and I spent some time in NC and had a birthday party for him there. We have been so fortunate to be able to see family as often as we have (even though sometimes it was so they could come take care of us - thank you!). The rest of our time has been spent watching Austin grow and wondering how it is happening so fast.

Everytime I get everything looking nice for my blog post, I preview my blog post and all the pictures are mixed up. So here are the captions for the pictures - not necessarily in order! First haircut - although I only cut off the old man hairs growing over his ears. I just couldn't part with the curls in the back yet. Spaghetti night was awesome. It made me think we should have done a spaghetti cake for his birthday. This little boy loves balloons. Everytime he sees them he gets really excited, points at them, and tries so hard to say balloon. He LOVES watching Elmo on the computer, not so much on the TV. Most of his day is spent walking and running around the living room playing with balls and his golf club. All of daddy's training is paying off already! Life is crazy, but we are doing great. My shoulder is getting better everyday, Austin is healthy and happy, and Jeff graduates in two months!!