4 Score and Seven Years Ago....or so it seems

My goal really was to at least update quarterly...but other than the sonogram pics and the blog title pic, there are ZERO pictures of our 1 year old daughter....guess this is going to be a yearly blog....not much of a reason to follow, huh....I seriously have good intentions of posting more regularly. (I can say that, and if I post an entry before July of 2012, I've met that goal....highly attainable I do believe.) My intentions with this blog are to simply share how our daughter teaches, inspires, humors, and humbles us along the way. Now to remember all those funny stories I wanted to blog about......

Wow!

**When I went back to edit this post, I noticed a post from June that I had typed but never posted? So I posted it today! So technically, it hasn't been since April, but only since June. Much better.... still not quite quarterly reporting at its best, but much better! :)

So my quarterly report has apparently turned into a yearly report! I can't believe I haven't posted anything since last April. Speaking of April.....that's when the next big life event is scheduled to occur. We are expected our fir st child due April 26th. We've had two ultrasounds, the first at 13 weeks when it was too early to determine the gender, and the latter at 19 weeks, when our little sweetpea wasn't cooperating. The tech says based on what she saw and "didn't see" it looks as though we're having a girl!! (It's a bit frustrating not knowing for sure, but then, as a parent-to-be, it absolutely changes nothing!)

Both of the labeled photos above are from our first ultrasound at 13 weeks. It was amazing to see all the tiny details taking shape in our sweet baby girl!

The above photo is from our 19 week ultrasound. We only got three pictures from this ultrasound, and they all looked exactly the same to me! Notice our sweet pea appears to have nothing below that round belly of hers (which she gets from her mom)! This could be why we aren't sure if we're having a girl!

The pregnancy has gone really smoothly so far...no problems or complications, and I've learned to stay calm when I feel as though there might be a problem. The first 12 weeks were by far the most nerve racking weeks of my life. I thought everything that I felt or didn't feel was a "bad sign!" Not posting any pics of me just yet, because I haven't "popped"! Advice for those overweight gals that get pregnant or are thinking about getting pregnant.....don't let the baby bump (or lack there of) keep you from enjoying and relishing in your pregnancy. That's been the hardest lesson for me to grasp. I don't have to look pregnant to know and feel the little miracle growing inside of me. I'm 26 weeks pregnant, and though I can tell my body has changed, not many others can. I'm still wearing all pre-pregnancy pants, though I've learned pony tail holders come in quite handy around buttons, and I'm hanging on to a net weight loss of about 4 pounds at this point.

I first felt our assumed baby girl on December 14th, which was my dad's birthday! I cooked dinner for my family for his birthday and as we were lounging around after supper I felt her first kick! It made me gasp (and cry) and it was absolutely the most amazing feeling in the world! It took a week or so for me to get used to her jabs and rolls, but now, every time I feel her I can't help but smile! Even her 3 a.m. boxing matches don't foul my mood! I look forward to feeling her around bedtime, she helps lull me to sleep!

For all wondering, we have given assumed baby girl a name: Anna Jeanne, after our moms.

For as long as I've thought of being a mom, I've had many girl names picked out, neither being what we've chosen. After my mom passed away, it became important for me to find a fitting way to memorialize her and continue her legacy. My mom went by Ann, but I prefer Anna. Clif's mom's middle name is Jean, but we preferred the spelling Jeanne. I really like the nickname AJ, but Clif says nicknames complicate things for kids later on in life (which I agree with), so she'll probably go by Anna.

What if it's a boy, you ask? Well.....we're stumped! We are still looking for a back-up name, but have yet to agree on one. We've come up with about 25 middle names, but no first name! We still have 3 months though!!

We've been working on the nursery.... we got the crib for Christmas and it is up, but we don't have the mattress or bedding in yet. Our nursery theme is called "Stars of America". I've always loved rustic country decor, and I found baby bedding composed of muted reds, blues, and yellow plaids, patched into stars. I love it, and can't wait for it to arrive! The walls are a buttery yellow color with rustic stars and signs hung on the walls. I'll post pictures once the crib is ready!

Clif and I on Christmas Eve '09

Summer has begun?

Okay.....

So notice the question mark in my blog title! Yes, I'm actually wondering if summer has begun. I mean, come on, the first day of summer is supposed to be one of the highlights of a teacher's year, but NOT when you've been roped into teaching summer school. Okay, okay..... so roped is a little dramatic, but it being my first year at FJH, I didn't feel like I could tell my admin I wasn't interested when they told me I would be teaching TAKS Academy. So.... it's really not that bad... It's only on Tues, Wed, and Thur for half a day, and it's some pretty good extra income (that will of course pay for our Vegas Vacation)! The big downfall to summer school is that I still have to get up early. I was really looking forward to sleeping in.... hasn't happened yet. Of course, today (Friday of the 1st week of summer) is the first day that my husband and I have off to sleep in and guess what......we are both up and wide awake by 6:15 a.m.

So how is Walker doing, you might be wondering!! Just great. He's hyper as all get out (oh my, that sounds so country when you actually type it out and read it back to yourself...)! In case I never mentioned it, he sleeps inside at night, and spends his days in the backyard while we are at work. He loves being indoors, and truly treats the place like it's his own, which is not always a good thing! He has a crate that he has been sleeping in for the last several months, but just a few weeks ago we got him one of those large doggy floor pillow beds, and he has taken to it immediately! He's so funny. Every night when he gets ready to crawl into bed, he does what we call his "Indian Rain Dance". He claws at his bed, turning in circles, throws his head in the air repeatedly, trying to smooth it down in all the right places, and make it perfectly comfy for his night of rest. I have tried a billion times to get a recording of his "dance".... Needlessly to say, it hasn't happened yet! He get's too distracted, and forgets what he's supposed to be doing, silly doggy! His other funny quip lately, has been that he is scared of the vacuum cleaner! He avoids it at all costs, trying to find a way around it or trying to scare it away with barking. He keeps us young or young at heart, at least! That's it for now!

Quarterly Report

So, I guess that my blog is going to be like a quarterly report of my life, at least until summer! I seem to have no time to do anything other than work, cook, clean, look after puppy, sleep, repeat! I can't even begin to imagine what having a child is going to be like! Having Walker has brought a lot more youth to our lives. We spend a lot more time playing outside together, which I am thrilled about, but right now all I can manage to focus on is school! My big TAKS test is on Tuesday, and I'm not sure I'll make it through the results! It's just so hard to tell how some of these kiddos are going to perform. Some of them are so inconsistent in class that it's scary! My dad's advice... "Just know that you've done your best, and if it's not good enough for your admin, they can try to find somebody better if they want!" Wow, let's hope it's good enough!

Now, on to the funny stuff.....let me see if I can find a few humorous things to update you on. Let's just go with a few local headlines from the Fairfield newspapers over the last few weeks:

"Achieve Big Fuel Savings.....Watch your Tractor RPM"

"Use for Chicken Manure Waste"

"Student Trapped in Gate"

Okay, so all but the last truly speak for the small town I live in! Come on, Tractor RPM, you've gotta be kidding me! However, the student getting trapped in the gate really was quite an adventure. He was one of my 5th graders that was coming back into the gym from P.E. Instead of walking through the open gate, he and many of his classmates ran through the automatic gate that was closing. Apparently, he didn't run fast enough, and the gate sensor was broken, because the gate pinned him and picked him up off the ground, bruising his rib cage. He's just fine now, but all of his classmates came in crying because they just knew that he was going to die! Talk about excitement! Goes to show you that kids don't always listen and use good judgment! They have been told a million times not to ever walk through the automatic gate. Now, talk about liability. Doesn't really matter how many times you tell a kid not to do something, you probably shouldn't operate a piece of machinery that has the possibility of squishing someone to death. I guess it's time to watch the lawsuits fly!

Okay, so a blog is really not a blog without pictures, so let me see if I can find some updated pics of Walker to post. He'll be six months at the end of April! My, how time flies!

So, here's a recent picture of Walker sunbathing in the middle of the afternoon. We had to snap a picture because his front legs were stuck straight out stiff as a board, but he was snoozing soundly! It was quite cute, if you ask his momma!

What a well mannered pooch, that is if it's not dinner time or play time, and if you're bribing him with a treat, as I was doing when I snapped this pic!

Okay, so even dogs want their moment in the spotlight. Appartently, Walker thought I needed to take a close up! Or, he was trying to eat the camera like he does EVERYTHING else! Yep, definitely attacking the camera!

More next quarter!

Sweet Puppy Dreams

So, I'm sitting here on my last day of Christmas vacation wishing for another week, at least. My husband is playing his PS3, and my puppy is obviously dreaming. He's just wimpering away. Should I go up to the school and prepare something for tomorrow? Should I take a nap? Ummm, tough call, but I think I'll go with the latter. Haven't posted in a while... not that it matters to all of the two of you that read my blog, but I thought I'd at least put up some new photos of my pupster! I nicknamed him Walkie Talkie.

Here's Walker doing what he does best....warding off evil monkey grass, I guess he gets his awesome self defense moves from his namesake :)

Okay, so this HAS to be my absolute favorite picture of him. Know why?? Oh you may not have noticed it, but he has a little piece of grass sticking out of his mouth. He's such a country dog, chewing on a blade of grass like that! Click on the pic and you'll see it way more clearly! Hehe!

OMG, he's so dang cute!

Walker's favorite way to sleep... in a hoodie or your armpit, whichever is more readily available.

So... now that you're updated on puppy life, I think I'll head off to have some dreams of my own, hopefully not about school though......