Rainbows

In the beginning of April, I completed two final tours of our home and my new career path of opening a home daycare, is in it's final stages for licensing.  By the end of 2016, I’ll have 8 littles in my care as my new daily life.

Then Tuesday April 5th, a senior had invited me to the NHS banquet as her teacher honoree.   This student I only taught for one class in 5th grade. But coached as a middle school volleyball player and the past 5 years on the golf course.  It was all these hours that formed our relationship and I miss coaching her and everyone so much this spring already.  Her speech to me was emotional and touching, and I almost got through that without tears.  Thank you Maggie!  I am excited for golf with you next summer in the cities... scoping out some courses and speed golf leagues this summer!

So driving from my old town of Hutch to HLWW the next morning... this April rainbow brought more tears to my eyes.  Rainbows through history have symbolized many things.  But I couldn't help but think about the new journey of creating my daycare, the promises I can build with new littles and provisions I can help provide to them and to my family.  I felt so excited and so sad all at once to begin saying goodbye to HLWW. 

I will miss the independence of my students, their ability to walk to lunch without me and my lunch break sitting with adults,

I’ll soon be done begging 5th graders not to go to the bathroom because they’re just bored and instead guiding and stopping toddlers from their work to try going to the bathroom.  

I’m ready for the sillies, the giggles, the cuddles, mealtimes, songs, walks, parks, art, books, pretend, play, play, play.

I’m ready for the dishes, messes, diapers, emotional honesty, being needed, paperwork, cooking and grocery shopping too. 

I know I'll be a new kind of tired, not from the commutes and 5 am wake ups, but I really am excited for the new life in store for my boys, my home, my new littles and me this summer..

Though this "real life rainbow" is a little hard to see, it wasn't for Declan in our nature park... His first "real life rainbow" as he repeated over and over and kept asking Andy if it was his "first real life rainbow"!

Dearest Evan, You're 9 months old!

**Written 4-8-16

(He really was laughing!)

My Dear Evan, You’re 9 months old already!

 I think this is my favorite “monthly” birthday as you have now truly doubled… 9 months in my belly and 9 months in this world.  And this world is all yours for the exploring!  I love watching you bang on a drum, get your arm tangled in a slinky or just focus on digging and dumping toys.   

You love watching Baby Signing Time and even since our two week hiatus of no cable/Netflix, Delcan has been watching his older ones and you hear the song and you come crawling to the living room.  You love to clap and wave your hands when you are happy.  You are 100% understanding tons we tell you… especially “no” and you already get so sad when you don’t get what you want.   We tell you to head to your highchair and you crawl there so fast!  

You have had your first airplane ride to California to visit cousin Logan, Jeremy and Jayne!  You saw the ocean, Disneyland and were voted the easiest, best behaved one there!  Even though our family photo is about the only time you cried and one of the only times poor heat-rashed/sun swollen Declan wasn't. 

We don’t have your wellness appointment until you are almost 10 months old so it can be your pre-op to your little surgery, but I am sure you are in some low percentiles.  You still wear many 6 and 6-9 months clothes and the way you throw your weight around climbing stairs and pulling up on everything you are strong.  Your first tooth has cut through too!  

You love love love food.  You eat more than Declan at most meals and really haven’t found anything you don’t like.  Avocado isn’t a favorite but other than that, you eat eat eat!  You also love water... baths from your brother and with your brother in the tub have you full of smiles and laughs the whole time!  

You gave me about 3.5 great months of sleeping thru the night … but I don’t remember what that feels like anymore… I’ve decided you definitely miss me lots during the day so you need me at night and I guess I’m over it…Just a 10 minute cuddle so not to bad, just wish I could fall back asleep that fast! Though I’m exhausted too but know I’ll be sad when you do sleep better again and are getting older!  

Your Auntie B is the most amazing Auntie.  She gives me daily snap chats of your safari hunts, belly giggles and falling asleep in your highchair!  I even walked in the other afternoon to you two playing fetch with a racquetball!  But I am so excited for the next two months to fly by (if only you didn’t grow) to start our daycare and be with you and lots of littles every day! 

I love you for all that you are and all that you're yet to be! 

Love, Mommy

6, 7 & 8 month photos!! 

Growing up before my eyes

Written March 20th... 

I know there will be many more moments where my boys will be older in an instance, and this last weekend was one of them!.

Declan played by himself... all the time
Declan asked to go to his friend's house across the street (he may have wanted the lawnmower at first, but then kept asking if his friend was awake from nap)
Declan is napping and sleeping thru the night in underwear!
Declan played with his brother and was so kind and courteous to him all weekend

And Evan... don't even get me started on my baby...
Evan claps at all music and laughter
He stands ALL.THE.TIME!  I don't like it and would like him to only crawl til he is 18 months!!

He is one happy baby and can focus on a toy or object for longer than his brother