Family Resemblance

I finally see a really strong resemblance between Susie and Emmett. I've seen little things, but after Tina took pictures of S in her blessing dress, I compared it to pictures of E at the same age in his blessing outfit. They look so much alike! What do you think?

We survived the first week!

We all survived the first week back to school.

Cam came up on Open House night to help install my pencil sharpener. My co-workers loved the kids - Penny wouldn't give Susie up!

Emmett thought he was cool sitting in the big desk. Still won't smile for the camera!

I found time to make my annual school supply run... twenty of each color of notebooks and folders!

 I bought Emmett some big boy underwear... which he immediately put on his head. Gotta love two year old boys!

Maw Maw and Cam came to support me at the Teacher of the Year brunch. I was so glad they came!

Back to School

Today was my first official day back at work. It was hard to leave the kids, but I know they're in great hands with their Gigi! Here's our annual back to school picture (of course E wouldn't smile!)

Here are the pictures from the last two years: Back to School

Summer Fun

Here are a bunch of random pictures from the summer... They're all from my phone, so forgive the quality. This summer was so much fun. I will miss having those little moments that made it such a happy time.

Fishing with Daddy

I love when they fall asleep in strange positions!

E discovered he can climb the crib and get to Susie... yikes!

Reading one of his favorite books

We went to Maw Maw's house and she put him to work!

Enjoying a cupcake

Snuggling with Susie during bedtime song

So sweet!

Someone became a monkey over the summer. He climbs everything

He always wears his sunglasses slightly off so he can still see.

First time helping with a bottle - he was so proud!

Family outing to Costco!

First skinned knees - sad day!

Susie looks like a giant compared to her new friends!

Baby Blessing

Yesterday we had Susie's baby blessing at church. My dad was able to bless her, which was really special for all of us. We had lots of friends and family to celebrate her big day! Click here to see pictures from the brunch!

Wedding

My cousin got married and here are some pictures from that day. It was cold and rainy (in August? really?). And I also realized that I got no pictures with me and Cam. Oops.

Papa and E having a snack before the ceremony.

Papa and Susie

Susie all snuggled up with Grammy.

E found a water drip, and thought he was pretty sneaky running over to play in it.

Motorcycle

Ah-soo-soo. That's how E says motorcycle. It took us forever to figure out that he was saying motorcycle. He's said it that way for months. Needless to say, he was obsessed with it while Papa was here. Here he is on it. He was way more into it, but he has gotten into the habit of refusing to smile/perform for the camera. (Boo!)

Grammy and Papa

Grammy and Papa came out to visit, and we had a great time hanging out. E especially loved helping Papa with projects!

He LOVED Papa's motorcycle.

Helping Papa with projects.

Grammy and Susie.

Grammy and Susie again.

Helping Papa some more!

Matching colors! He really loved hanging out with Papa.

Two Months

Susie is two months old. Time is flying by! She is the sweetest little baby and her smiles brighten our days.

Movie

We decided to go see "Planes" and see how E does in a movie. He did really well, but it's a good thing the movie wasn't any longer. He was getting squirmy. He liked the "big teebee" (TV)! Big thanks to Aunts J & J for the shirt! It reminds me of this moment forever ago, when he was 3 months old... we had gotten free tickets to Cars 2. He slept through the whole thing! (Notice that Aunts J&J dressed him for that movie too!)

Science Center

I met up with some friends from school at the Science Center. We had a blast! E loved following the older kids around.

Guilt

It's that time again - back to school. Ever since I had Emmett, I've experienced guilt and some dread at this time of year. This year, it's been really bad. Susie is younger than Emmett when I started back to work. I feel like I need more time. Add on top of that the fact that my great third grade partner won't be coming back, and I have no clue who I'm working with. And Susie wouldn't take a bottle. And I want to potty train Emmett but I need time to do that. My method of dealing with these feelings has been to avoid all thoughts of school and just cram as much fun into each day as we can handle.

Last night, my principal called. He started the conversation with "I'm surprised you haven't called me about the third grade situation." Oops. Honesty is the best policy, right? So I told him that I was moping and trying not to think about it. We laughed, but I really wasn't kidding. Now I have to face reality that I'm going back to work. (I need to say that Gigi is the most amazing person. I have no worries at all about leaving my kids with her. She keeps me sane!)

So I've been getting ready. I worked with a few people to get Susie to take a bottle. It was horrible and emotional, but we finally found a bottle she'd take (Thanks Cam and Gigi). I've started a pile of things to take to Gigi's house. I've started thinking about my back to school bulletin board. I've given myself a pep talk that my new partner will be great and it's going to be a great year.

Change isn't easy, and we're about to be hit with a big dose of it.

Family Night - Hiking

We decided to go on a family hike to Hanging Rock State Park. We haven't been in a long time, and it was so nice to get back up there and enjoy being outside. We went to the Lower Cascades Trail so that E could play in the water for a while. There really wasn't anyone on the trail, which was nice. We've been up there when it's packed! E did really well walking, and I carried S for the first time in the carrier. We had a great time!

Here we are by the waterfall:

E and Daddy getting ready to eat dinner:

S is just chillin', sticking her tongue out as usual:

Checking out the waterfall:

Splashing in the cold water:

On the way back to the car, E had to use daddy's hiking stick: