1st Day of a NEW School

 That's right, Caden started a new school this year....but he's not the only one!

Caden is a 1st grader in the Optional Program at Grahamwood Elementary.  We are all very excited about this.  Grahamwood was near the top of our list of choices for schools, but we had decided not to pursue it because of distance.  It was just a bit too far for me to make the drive with a preschooler at a different school and Daddy's school times were just enough different too for it not to work.  

So, then how did it happen?

Brett got a new job at Grahamwood Elementary!!!

Meet Mr. Emerson, the new 5th grade Science teacher in the Optional Program.  At the time of writing this post, we are already several weeks into school and Brett is loving his job!  It is such a blessing to see him finding joy in teaching kids that want to learn as well as parents that want their children to succeed.  And just to brag a bit...others are noticing what a great teacher he is!  I'm not sure a week has gone by that he hasn't received a compliment from a parent or the principal. :)

 Ya know, it was a lot less emotional leaving my oldest child at a brand new school 

knowing his daddy was just upstairs.

 Happy New School School Year, Brett & Caden!!!

New Business

It's official.  I am a Business Owner.

My Kids & Us

Go ahead, look again...all three of my children are in this picture. ;)  So what are my kids doing these days?

Caden is 6.5 and in his last week of Kindergarten.  He is reading like a champ and is quick to tell you that he can read like a 2nd grader (although I'm pretty sure it's higher than that now) if you ask him about school.  He is full of energy and can easily find himself in trouble for not keeping his hands to himself.  He is discovering the power of words and learning what is appropriate in different situations.  He loves his brother and sister but also appreciates being by himself. 

Corban is 4.5 and just finished his year in a three year old preschool class at Sycamore View.  He is my cuddle boy and prefers to not have to sleep in a room by himself (though he announced to me yesterday that he knew how to sleep by himself now).  He can't stand to not be with Caden constantly.  He adores Eden and often pretends to be a baby with her.  He is displaying early reading skills and can already write his name by himself (CorBan, is how it's usually written).

Eden is 11 months.  She has grown up so fast.  We are preparing for a cupcake first birthday party next month.  She is quite a chatty girl and is exploring with new sounds daily.  Her most common word/sound is "ada".  She is crawling EVERYwhere, pulling up constantly, and cruising along the couch.  She discovered she can "walk" behind the laundry basket...until she hits the carpet or a bump in the floor.  She can stand on her own, but once she realizes what she is doing she starts laughing and collapses.  It's really quite funny to watch.  In the last month she has learned to go to sleep without nursing (naps and nighttime).  She usually wakes once early in the morning to nurse and then sleeps until between 6 and 6:30.  She continues to be noticed in public for her smiley/happy nature.

As far as Brett and I go...he is finishing up his 2nd and final year at Treadwell Middle.  He is currently looking for a new placement for the fall.  I'm blessed to still be at home with the littles and will be launching into a new in-home business very soon.  We are getting more involved at White Station Church of Christ and building relationships with others there.  I have made several Mommy circles through various connections and stay busy maintaining those relationships...but I'm so thankful to have them!  Brett's friendships continue to grow as well as he meets new people through various situations.  We have now lived in our house for a year and we still love it.  Life is good.  We are happy and thankful for what we have been blessed with.

A Day for Being Outside

 It was a beautiful day, so we joined Daddy outside.  He was mowing the grass, we were decorating the sidewalk.

 

Caden drew Phineas (from Phineas & Ferb) all on his own.  I think we have a budding artist.

 

 Eden joined in the fun and unintentionally decorated her booty.

Then I look over and Caden had finished Phineas' body...

And then he added Ferb! 

 All of that he drew from memory....no pictures beside him to copy from, just created it with his own creative thoughts.  I was impressed.

 The boys had been asking when it was going to be windy so they could fly their new kites that Nanna (my mom) had given them.  Well, today was the day and the boys loved it.  That is, until their kites got tangled and momma was tired of trying to untangle them with a baby on her hip.  

R.I.P. fun kites, you were well loved for 20 minutes.

cApiTaL LeTtErS

The Perfect Picture

I dressed the kids in shades of blue for a wedding this weekend and decided to take advantage of the fact that they were handsome and beautiful.  Also, our azaleas are bright and colorful, a perfect backdrop for a group picture...or so I thought.

To start things off, Caden was quite concerned there might be a bee in the bushes.

 Then I thought maybe Caden could hold Eden in order to have their faces close together.  Except he looks like he is about to drop her despite Corban's efforts to help.

 So, we had them sit.  In every picture, someone has a weird face.  In most of the shots, it was Corban...but in this one, it was Eden's turn.

 

Corban insisted he have a turn holding Eden.  You can see how well that went. ha!

 

Then I had the grand idea that maybe we could get some cute ones of just Eden.  Only one face to convince to smile...should be easy.  Except Eden was not a fan of the grass.  At first it was a cute curiosity...but quickly turned to a panic when she began to notice every little blade that was touching her.  Oh well.

 

This seemed to be the best shot of their faces, so I cropped Eden's dangling legs out in order to have our blog header.  If I was more talented in Photoshop, I'd just replace a face or two until I had the perfect picture...but then that wouldn't be a good representation of my kids. :)

9 Month Old Baby Girl

Eden has been crawling for about a month.  She is pulling up, squatting, cruising, and thinking about standing/walking.  She's a champ at eating baby food and doesn't turn her nose at anything unless it's too cold.  She drinks water from a sippy cup and even attempts a regular cup occasionally.  She is a huge Daddy's girl and will lunge for him when he comes near.  She also loves her big brothers and smiles easily for them. 

At 9.5 months, she had minor outpatient surgery for a blocked tear duct.  During the procedure, they tested the other tear duct (which seemed to have opened on its own around 3 months) and discovered it was blocked as well.  The ENT moved a bit of cartilage that was blocking each tear duct.  All in all, we were only at the hospital about 2 hours.  She did wonderful and I'm so happy to not be constantly wiping her eye of yucky stuff constantly. 

Preschool Photos

I love both of these pictures of Corban's school photos...too bad the prices are ridiculously high.

Read The Signs

Caden is learning the power of words. It all started when he created this door hanger at school (art? library? not sure which class)

And then he decided we needed more signs in our house...This last sign was his response to the question, "What do we need to do to help you remember to pick up after yourselves?"

We've got a creative boy on our hands. :)

Coloring & Writing

Corban had homework over Spring Break. The instructions said to color all the happy faces. I was blown away when he colored the first one all on his own and stayed in the lines. It was a beautifully colored smiley face circle. He went on to complete the page. Then what happened next blew me out of the water...he wrote his name.

He asked me a few times how to write certain letters (he's got the C and the O down pat) but he wrote them without me holding the crayon. 4 years and 3 months and this kid can write his name and color in the lines...wow, I can't wait to see what else he does in life.

Standing and Moving

I've come to a realization. I can think of a million things I should have done or written a post about or I can just stop thinking that way and focus on what I can do now. So, with that new perspective, I want to remember what Eden is doing NOW - at 9 months.Eden had no interest of crawling until about 8 months and then it seemed she took off. Within a month, we went from crawling to standing to pulling up to cruising a bit. This girl is on the move! She's keeping me more than busy, but I love the adventure and curiousness that she is showing. She is such a joy and we are loving every minute with her!

Love Story Contest

Hey there, Mr. E's students! The class that writes the best love story in honor of Valentine's Day will win a prize. Wanna know what it is? OK.The class that writes the best love story will get to spend Tuesday's class time with me and baby Eden, the two most important girls in Mr. E's life :) Want more? Well, I'll be bringing treats. Chocolate. Starburst. Maybe some Hot Fries, if you promise to be behave and follow the rules for my husband. He's the best teacher in the world, you know. You're lucky to have him! ;)

Our Growing Girl

2 months

Although these pictures don't show it, we are getting more and more smiles from Eden each day. The 2nd pic shows her new obsession....her feet! Seriously. She loves to stare at them and appears to be doing crunches as she tries to get closer to them. If she's propped up on the couch, she will double over until her nose is between her feet. She doesn't like this position, but doesn't have the strength to stop herself yet. It's cute and sad at the same time.

At 2 months and 4 days, Eden weighed 11 lbs. 7 oz. and was 23.75 inches long. These measurements put her in the 75th percentile for height and the 50th for weight.

Eden Goes To Church

Today was Eden's first day to get all dressed up for church. The dress she is wearing is one that I wore as baby. Nanna (my mom) enjoyed showing her off just as much as we did...ok, maybe more. ;)

Guess Who: Part 2

It's true, our babies all look alike. I'll prove it.

Picture A.

Picture B

Picture C

Picture D

Picture E
Picture F

A: Caden 3 weeks
B: Caden 1 month
C: Corban 3 weeks
D: Corban 3 weeks
E. Eden 3 weeks
F: Eden 1 month

Don't worry, I couldn't tell just by looking either, and I'm their mother. ;)

Eden Meets Mattie

Eden at 3 weeks

Introducing Miss Eden Essowe

Eden Essowe Emerson
June 5, 20011
2:07 AM
7lbs. 4oz.
20in.

I Still Miss It

It's been over 10 months since we moved back from Togo. I watched this video someone posted about Africa on facebook this morning and it brought me to tears. The truth is, I miss Togo. Granted, I don't miss all the dust, struggles with eczema, endless cleaning, heat, worry about my family's health or being so far from family. But I think I will always miss being able to walk down the street and experience the joy in my neighbors faces. You just can't find that here in America. I miss my Togolese friends that would stop by just to greet me. I miss my two market ladies where I bought my fruits and veggies. I think I miss these things the most because I have no way to access them unless I make a trip some day back to Togo. Nearly all my friends expressed an interest in visiting (or possibly living) in America...what they will never understand is the richness they experience every day in life just where they are. I never knew how to explain that to them and still don't today. But I miss that richness. Why does it seem easier to see the good in something when you don't have it anymore?

20 Week Ultrasound

Today was our scheduled 20-week ultrasound. What a fun day! Brett had the day off on account of snow but by mid morning, the roads were mostly clear. We decided to make a day of the experience. We took Corban to my parents' house for him to eat lunch and take a nap. He's our wild man and we didn't want to wrestle him in the doctor's office. Caden went with Brett and myself for a special date. We ate lunch at Genghis Grill and then spent some time in Barnes and Noble. Caden continues to impress us with his self-taught reading skills. We arrived at my doctor's office a few minutes early and the anticipation was killing us. I told Brett that before today I would have said I was 80% sure this baby was a boy but today I feel like it's a 50-50% chance. I've told everyone, "I'm expecting it to be a boy but a girl would be a nice surprise."

Finally, the ultrasound technician called me back but asked Brett and Caden to wait. She took lots of measurements and looked for any abnormalities. She couldn't find anything to be concerned about. She was even able to count 10 fingers and 10 toes! The baby measured 20 weeks and one day and weighed 12 oz. (a can of coke). After gathering all her medical info, she invited Brett and Caden to join us. She spent a few minutes showing them all the things I had already seen: brain, head, face, eyes, legs, finger, toes, heart, and stomach (we even saw hiccups). Each time she was reassuring us that everything looked perfect. Then she paused and said, "Well, I know what you're having...it's a girl." (insert shocked look here and tears with quick glances to Brett who had the same reaction) I touched her arm and said, "Are you serious?!! Are you sure?!" "Oh yes, I'm sure." "How sure are you?" (Remember we received two different opinions with Corban, so I'm not very trusting when it comes to ultrasounds.) She replied "I've very sure and I haven't been wrong in the 27 years I've been doing this." "Well," I said, "I guess that makes it official." She then showed us on the ultrasound what she was looking for to declare it was a girl. Three little lines. Yep, they were there. Wow.

Now Caden had a slightly different reaction. He had made it clear before this special day that he really wanted our baby to be a boy. Can you blame him? It's all he's known. So when she announced it was a girl I heard a slight "hmphh" come out of my first born's mouth. He sat with his Daddy very patiently listening and watching the ultrasound technician describe everything to us. One minute later, he reached up to whisper in his Brett's ear, "Daddy, I changed my mind." "Changed your mind about what?" asked Brett. "I want a baby sister first and then a baby brother." So sweet! He's going to be a huge help and quite the protective big brother. And what did Corban think? He just mirrored our reactions. Needless to say, we've got some practicing to do with him of how to be gentle with a baby...especially a baby girl.

A GIRL. I still can't believe it. I keep replaying that scene in my head of her telling us it was a girl. I'm not sure it will sink in 100% until she is born. SHE, ha! I never thought I'd say that. You see, I had convinced myself I would only be a mother of boys the rest of my life. I was totally OK with that and actually quite excited about it. I'm definitely excited about adding a little girl to our mix, but it's going to take some time to adjust my "future family picture" for our life.

Enjoy this sweet video of the boys and their reactions once we were all in the car headed home.