August 26- Walk and Saturday Activities

Even after school started, I try to keep William active on the weekends. With Bret sleeping, we get out of the house for most of the morning. Today, we met up with Annie & Ledger (born in June) for a walk. William was mesmerized by Ledger's feet and tried to catch peeks of him throughout our walk. Ledger was not as excited about William and fell asleep. It was great to catch up with Annie as she's on maternity leave right now and returns in late September. Can't wait for these boys to grow up together!!

When we got home, we played downstairs. William has a pair of gloves that he refused to wear last winter, but have since become a toy. He likes to put them both on and pretend that it's cold. Or he makes me put one on and he puts one on and we high-five. Such a silly game, but he loves it!

Back The Blue 5K

William and I participated in the Back The Blue 5K today in Gardner. It was created to support the newest member of the Gardner Police Department, a K9 officer. there was a 5K, K9 demonstrations, and other fun activities. I fast-walked with the stroller the whole time. Of course, they chose to use a hilly course, not flat so I was dying by the end. William was carefree, riding right along. He had two packed snacks and a banana during the 5K. He was livin' the dream. I listened to music as I walked and "Don't Stop Believin'" came on as I rounded the corner to the finish line! Such inspiration!!

Back to School 2017-2018

First of all, shoutout to my mom on her BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday, Nana!!

William returned to daycare on Monday, after being home with me all summer. I was nervous about some separation anxiety & tears, but he was only upset I took his shoes off when we got to Miss Alisa's house (dramatic...). She said it was as if he never left, he was giggling, playing, and snuggly just like last year. We are so amazingly lucky to have Miss Alisa, she loves William like he's her own and keeps us informed of his day. She has a redhead little boy (not so little, he's in college!) of her own, so I think Will has a special place in her heart ;)

 

Facebook reminded me what what he looked like on his first day of daycare last year!

I had three days of inservice and meetings before my first day of students. I started my TENTH year of teaching this year. It's so hard to believe it's been that long, it has just flown by!! I have been in 3rd and at the same school for all of 10 years, but every year brings something new (not just new students) and I'm always trying to be a better teacher! Mallory (the redhead in the picture below) and I have taught together for going on 8 years now, so we have a good thing going between us. We have a new team member this year, Natalie. She was Mallory's long term sub at the beginning of last year and her three kids go to Moonlight. She taught before she had her kiddos and now she's back for more fun! She is a Mizzou fan, so I've got to stay on my toes ;) I am excited for what this year will bring and to work with these wonderful ladies! I have 20 students right now and I'm hoping we will create our own little classroom family together!!

Summer Outings: July 31- August 6

July 31- Boy, today was a full day!! This week, Sea Life Aquarium celebrated teachers with free admission. William is under 3, so he's free as well. That equals a fun morning for us! William loved looking at all the different kinds of fish and even touched a starfish.

Since we were at Crown Center, we went to see the Thomas the Train exhibit. William just starting to play with trains and he loves to say, "choo choo" whenever we see or hear a train. He had fun exploring the exhibit.

After all the fun in the morning and a long nap, our little family went to the JoCo Fair to see the tractors and animals. And those overalls!!

August 1- Our local library hosted a puppet show this morning. It was a 30 min show and we lasted about 15 minutes ;) In William's defense, it was music only and no talking in the show so William didn't know what to pay attention to. He did, however, want to touch all the puppets which was not allowed. After the puppet show, we went to vote. Will and I both got stickers for voting and assisting vote. Then, we went to see our favorite little baby: Ledger Essig He's seven weeks old now and William loved him. He touched his toes and showed Ledger his shoes. The boys are bound to be buddies! In the evening, we drove into Shawnee for a police event. Bret saw a couple of friends of his who work for Shawnee PD.

toy box becomes William box

dada voted, too!

August 2- We went on a walk this morning, where William wanted to touch all the plants we passed :) The rest of the morning was filled with playing at home and helping Bret in the garden. I had an afternoon hair appt so Will & Bret had some bro time at Home Depot, doing what men do.

August 3- ZOO DAY!! Today we went to the KC Zoo for the first time as a family. I hadn't been in a couple of years and Bret hadn't been since high school (just a few years ago...). Aunt Meg got us a day pass for Christmas and today was the day to use it. There was a chance of rain & it was cloudy, which must of scared off a lot of people, because when we got there, it was almost our personal zoo! William was able to run, run, run which is his favorite thing in the world to do! He loved looking at the animals & we practiced animal sounds as well. Because of the small crowd, we were able to cover almost the whole zoo in the morning. William was pretty amazing, he didn't get cranky until it was time to eat (and who doesn't get hangry at that point?!). He fell asleep pretty quickly once he was settled into his carseat. Mama may have had a snooze on the drive home as well...

little did he know the adventure that awaited him today!

mama and baby gorilla

waving at the people in the tram as they passed

belly buddies

As if a trip tot he zoo weren't enough for one day, we went to Lawrence that night! Sigma Kappa was having an event and we took the evening to hang out in our favorite city.

be still my heart!

entertaining himself on the drive

like father, like son

August 4- Today was the last weekday of summer. William, Bret, and I walked to get Bret coffee and play on their patio. When we got back home, Bret had some gardening to do, so William and I joined him outside. William played on his slide and with his bubbles (a new word he can say!).

August 6- Today is my birthday! Bret wasn't able to get the day off, so we had our normal Sunday routine of William & I getting ready for church, waiting for Bret to get off work and home. He was taking longer than normal and I was anxious we were going to be late for church. Then, Bret appeared, walking up to the kitchen with a cookie cake (my favorite!) complete with burning candles. He's the sweetest!

giving mama birthday snuggles!

Nana & Papa are back in Kansas!!