Mountain Goat

**orignally posted on 12/8/13 but it didn't post**

Here is little Kinley and her latest feat... Climbing onto the end table.

I mean, we didn't stop her because we wanted to see if she would figure it out and she did! Getting down?! That was a different story.

Since this, we have not let her climb onto the table.

PaL

This post was originally started weeks ago but just now being finished.

I’m not naïve. I knew this day would come but hoped it never would. I’ve always known he was a funny, sweet guy but it was further confirmed when people that have known him for 2 days are ready to snag him up and take him home.

He’s my PaL. #1 blog reader and best grandpa a girl could ask for. He always had such funny, silly, crazy things to say. When I tell friends of his shenanigans, they say, “”Oh Pa!”

He loves my Nandy to no end. At 85, he would still move mountains for her. It really is precious. He calls his girlfriend and wants nothing for himself but all for her.

Lately, he loves talking about Kinley, the new house and baby boy. He loves to comment on how sweet Kinley is, how big she getting or how smart he thinks she is. Mainly, he just loves doting on her. It is sweet to see how his eyes light up at new pictures of her or seeing her on Skype. He is definitely “proud as a peacock” as he would say. Even though he never met Brother Bear, he loved asking about him. After asking how we were, and after hearing me say we felt good, he would always ask, “Are you lying to me?”

If he had the chance, he would chat to you about where you were from and where you were going. Don’t tell him something about yourself if you don’t want it repeated to at least 2 family members. I can’t tell you the entire scoop he gave me on his nurses in the last 6 weeks because every time I talked to him he knew something new about them. His silly sense of humor and quick wit had the nursing home staff like putty in his hands.

Today, Christmas day has a new feel to it. While it is a day to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus, I now can’t help but to be sad about losing my PaL. He definitely wouldn’t want us to be sad but it is a natural thing in life. Though I lost him here with me, I know he is still with me. He is so busy catching up with his kids and happy to be with them. He is happy to have a healthy heart, good working kidneys and no breathing treatments. Heck, he is probably running laps just because he can without getting tired or short of breath.

Though it has been trying, I feel so blessed to have been able to spend the last 6 weeks with him. Since moving him and Nandy closer, I have gotten to see them and take Kinley to see them almost every day. If Kinley were older, she would have a fat head because of all the sweet things he said to her. I hope I can convey to her how much he loved her. 

one of my favorite pictures
funny guy, even at 8 pounds, he was so timid to hold her but once he got her hands on her,
the humming and songs never stopped!

Before our house was actually complete, we had brought my grandparents to visit. Pa really wanted to check out the upstairs but decided he may not be able to make the stairs. Later, he said, "Next time, I am dragging my fat ass up those stairs to see the view off the balcony. I don't care if I have to roll back down." Needless to say because of weather, he was never able to visit again but now he has the ultimate view off of our balcony. 

My dear PaL,

You are loved by so many.... Family that is privileged to call you Pa,  friends that you met along the your 85 year journey of life, friends of family that heard great stories about you, and even the various people that cared for you and Nandy the last 6 weeks. You loved your girlfriend with all your heart and more. She knows you did everything for her. The love you showed Nandy was absolutely unconditional. I pray that everyone sees that kind of love in their relationship. You had a way with words.... sometimes so witty and funny, others so blunt and honest but always humorous.  Though your life wasn't the simplest walk, you enjoyed it. Your love to learn new things was endearing. After school, you would always ask, "Did you learn something new today?" If the answer was no, you'd ask, "Well, what the hell did you go for then?!?" I hope to learn, and teach, something new everyday to make it worth while, just like you. 

Take joy in being with your kids again! You will be greatly missed! Enjoy the view!

Love,

Your Pal

Snowflake Part 2

Once we knew we were pregnant (and sharing the news with others), we wanted to give this little baby a nickname.

Do we call it Snowflake? I mean, this was used for Kinley so it may not seem as special to the second baby.

A Snowbunny? This would be cute because newborn pictures could have a little bunny hat since Kinley had a hat with snowflakes on it but it sounds kind of girly, what if it's a boy?

A Snowball? This could also be cute but only fitting if it is a boy because, well you know, girls don't have balls.

Wednesday, October 9^th, we found out if this baby would be a boy or a girl. As our ultra dry sonogram lady is looking around and snapping her pictures she tells us that Baby’s legs are closed up, which isn’t too surprising because Kinley played hard to get too. She continues to take her measurements that the doctor needs when she stops, makes and circle and says, “Those would be testicles and that’s a penis. You’re having a boy.”

Woohoo! We're breaking the mold with our group of friends that tend to have two of the same baby. My only concern is that Hubby is used to saying things about his "girls" so that phrase I will have to change. He also commented about all the 'cool' things the new house has that will be a temptation to a little boy, such as stairs, a laundry chute, a deck. He asked if it was too late to cancel those. However, Miss Kinley can be quite the spit fire and may enjoy those things as much... If not more than.. A little boy.

I will say, as I took a peek at bedding options, I became discouraged. I don't want monkeys, jungle or sports and those are the main selection choices. :( Maybe I should quit my day job and design some more exciting baby boy nursery decor. There isn't anything really wrong with those designs but they aren't very colorful and I feel like I see that anytime there is a boy.

Next to come... growing baby pictures!

Party time!

Now that I am able to post pictures (cross your fingers that it keeps working) I can post some from Kinley's first birthday. It was a lovely day with family and friends celebrating our little Snowflake. We truly are blessed to have so many people that love our little girl.

Of course she had the driveway chalked for her birthday!

Mmmm! Cake!
She wasn't totally sure about it but by the time it was cake time, she was hungry, overly tired and nervous about all the people that were there to celebrate her.

Aunt Priscilla, Uncle Ryan, and Grandma and Grandpa Snow with the birthday girl

Aunt Suzan and Grandpa O with the birthday girl

Pa and Nandy even made the trip to celebrate!

This was just a little snippet of the busy day that was had by all. Presents were opened. Hotdogs, chips, and cupcakes were eaten by all. Other than the hundred degree weather, we couldn't have asked for a better day to celebrate.

It's hard to believe that our little girl is already one!

Our Lips Are Sealed

Sunday, July 21st, we found out there was going to be a little more snow in March 2014! However, 3 days later we knew we were keeping this a secret a little longer than usual. That day is when my Brother-in-law called to tell us they were expecting! We decided we were not going to rain on their parade or steal any of the excitement away from them. We would just wait until after they announced their good news to share ours. Zzziiiiiipp! Our lips are sealed!

Life went on with us though... Sickness had set in and I just didn't feel right so I got the magic little pregnancy stick out. It seemed like as fast as I peed on it, it changed to two pink 'pregnant' lines. Fortunately, my morning sickness contains mostly a nauseous feeling and not actually much throwing up. i had cases of the sleepies too. We had our first doctor's appointment on August 9 and that is when we were given a March 6th due date. Our next appointment was September 5th. As usual, it took longer to get to the appointment than we were actually with the doctor. 

Saturday, September 14th, we were traveling to Enid for a friend's baby shower and my birthday lunch with the family. Little did they know we had a surprise for them!

Kinley doesn't look thrilled but secretly I think she is

With the hoopla of taking a cake picture it was a little chaotic and crazy for the family to also read Kinley's shirt (that happened to be the same shirt Tobie wore for her big news reveal). After Pa realized what was going on, he said, "Preston, what the hell have you been doing to my granddaughter?" That witty old man!

I told my principal the following Tuesday. He didn't believe until I said, "Yes, I'm having a baby. In March." He informed me he was no longer going to hire young teachers because all we do is have babies. I told him it was less stress to work for 3/4 of the school year so that's why we all keep having babies. His main concern was whether or not I would be returning to work in the fall.

My teacher friends found out at girls night on Thursday (9/19) and facebook and the world got the news that night.

"They say no two Snowflakes are alike. We'll find out in March when our second little Snowflake comes along."

See?! She is happy!

It is heart warming to have so many people (in the real world and via facebook) be excited for your expanding family. More to come on this little bundle of joy!

Building a New Chapter

Starting on May 24, 2013, we officially decided to build a new chapter to our life. Snow'd Inn will be relocating! According to the contract, we should be in by the end of November. 

Even though our new place will be not be far from our current home, it is a little bittersweet to be moving out of our first home. I am one of those sentimental people that would stay here forever if I could. I mean, I grew up in the same house my entire life. 

For me, it seemed like a fast thing. One day, we are looking around at lots; the next thing I know, Hubby has already talked to one of the builders in the neighborhood. What that sneaky little guy does on his lunch break while he is so close to home will always be a little bit of a mystery to me... until it surfaces. With another blink of my eyes, we have signed on the dotted line to start building. While I did not do a whole lot of research into what type of floor plan, how big to make the pieces of wood for the frame, etc, Hubby did! Thanks to pinterest, I see all of these fun ideas (hidey holes under the stairs, drawers as stairs, lofts in tall rooms, slides to get downstairs, the list could go on!) so it is probably best that he did all the leg work in that area or we may still be looking at floor plans.

When he asked me what kind of house I wanted to build I said, "It doesn't matter. I would live anywhere with you." That is the truth too. I'll go anywhere with my little family.

So... with the lack of pictures lately, we get to jump right on ahead to an almost complete house!

standing at our future front door (6/29/2013)

(8/12/2013)

(10/4/2013)

Lots to document

So much to catch up on... So little space (like none) to post pictures. I think I may break down and buy space so I can properly document our life. Seems silly but also like something that I like to be able to look back on and see.

I have been told by my Pa, "that the blog isn't worth shit anymore."

I am on my way to fixing that! Like I started a new post and it let me add a picture! We'll see if I can post it with the picture too!!! I just might do a happy little dance!

I'm going to test it now... hopefully this sweet little face can tide us all over....

Cross your fingers and toes, people!

It's the little things...

...That can make you smile and feel appreciated.

According to this snazzy certificate I got in the mail, 2,132 ounces is the official donation count to the milk bank. That is almost 17 gallons of milk! I can't believe my body was able to make all that (plus what Kinley consumed) How fascinating and amazing!

(They must have read my blog about paying off my student loans and not receiving a certificate.) 

Someone Lost a Job...

... and their name would be Scrubbin' Bubbles! Sorry for the slight cardio I may have given all four of you faithful readers. I figure since I haven't posted lately, the title had to be dramatic.

Our bathtub generally didn’t get much use until Kinley came along. The occasional Tobie bath and rare uses by visitors (not that our visitors don’t shower, it’s just that we don’t have too many overnight visitors) warranted for a bi-yearly cleaning. Did we really only clean the tub twice a year? I don’t know but it sure isn’t something I stress about when cleaning for bunco or small gatherings.

Anywho, the tub was pretty gross from Kinley’s bath time. Hubby commented how we needed to give it a good scrubbing. So naturally, I retreated to pinterest to find the DIY bathtub cleaner recipe. I had seen it before but hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention to it since I didn’t feel the tub was that terrible. Many ‘pinners’ swore by it and it was simple to make. I actually had the ingredients at home.

½ cup dish soap (the recipe said blue Dawn but I used orange Ajax and it worked)

½ cup vinegar

T

he recipe said put it in a spray bottle, spray it on, let it set and then wipe it down. I didn’t use a spray bottle. Just a bowl and sponge. I also didn’t let it set; I just gave it a little scrub and rinsed it off.

As I said earlier, Scrubbin’ Bubbles lost a job at our house! Fair warning, it doesn’t smell good but it works well! So well, that I blogged about it! (1-because it really worked and 2-because who really wants to see a picture of my dirty bathtub? No one.)

On the Move

Last night while skyping with Nandy and Pa, Kinley gave us a good show! 

I think she liked having an audience who was cheering loudly for her! So glad they got to see her first little solo walking experience.

This isn't from when she actually did it but, of course, we made her do it again and again. She won't stand up and take off on her own but I'm okay with that! 

One step at a time! literally.

Really?!

Yes, we really had this mailed to us by someone in our neighborhood. Address typed with a typewriter on the envelope and nothing else.

I have a lot to say about this....

1- REALLY?!?!

2- if you are brave enough to write the letter, sign it. Wuss. Or you are afraid of how one might comment on the appearance of your yard?

3- how many letters did you write and use your typewriter to address it? Did you write a letter to the houses that desperately need repainted? Or the one with 4 cars in the driveway, 2 in the street (blocking the fire hydrant and my driveway) and none in their garage? Or the one with more weeds than grass? Or the one that has dead limbs hanging from the tree for a long time now? Or the folks that don't bother edging and let weeds grow into the street? Or the people that let their dog out in their front yard to use the bathroom? Or the people that let their cat out to torment my dog... In my own backyard!? Or the people that have overgrown bushes at their mailbox, which are flowing out into the street? Or the ones that park their truck in their yard?

Some day when you come home to "the ghetto" you can thank us (and my girlfriends for brainstorming the ideas) for putting our truck on cinder blocks, not mowing the yard (we should probably put the mower up on blocks too since we won't be using it), walking the hood with a dirty, naked baby on my hip, cigarettes stuffed in my bra straps and pockets hanging out of the bottom of my cutoff jean shorts along with my butt cheeks. And lady neighbors, don't worry my baby daddy will be with me to keep your men away. For your viewing pleasure, he will have on a wife beater, cutoff shorts (hanging half way down his butt), some chew in his lip, his gold and diamond grill, and of course, his mullet. I've also considered new decorations for my flowerbed... beer cans, milk jugs, and a sign!

 "Welcome to the ghetto... and the nicest yard in the neighborhood!"

It seems you have time on your hands so you can also watch to see that we do in fact know how to use a push broom... how do you think the small amount of clippings from edging get into the street, jackass? No Internet tutorial needed. 

How about you "help create a more favorable impression" to the folks that live in your ghetto and talk to a neighbor instead of sending a cowardly letter in the mail. 

Thanks for your input.

PS- I'll have you know that my baby daddy takes a lot of pride in keeping his yard mowed, edged, weed free, and alive to a very bright shade of green, unlike many others in the ghetto. So if you really find that our yard work doesn't seem to meet your standards, you obviously know where I live, so come do it yourself. 

(As I type this, said baby daddy is mowing a yard that we technically do not own, just because he wants to have a nice yard when we do move in.)

She had a good run!

1 day shy of 11 months, this cow was put to pasture. It was a bittersweet feeling to put that pump away. It was my BFF for 11 months. It went everywhere with me. {Heck, I should've named it but never thought about it until right now...maybe next time.}

I definitely think it was a very successful 11 months. Rewarding too. Not only did I nourish my baby, I was able to donate for other babies through the milk bank in North Texas. I was even blessed enough to help a baby I know.

I have said that I don't know that I've ever truly been called by God to do something. I mean, I still don't know, it's not like the phone rang and I answered to the big man upstairs. But the feeling to help was heavy on my heart. It was the first thing that came to mind when I heard about my friend's situation. It was the last thing on my mind before I fell asleep and the first thing there when I woke up.

It seemed like my supply had started to dwindle but I just kept going knowing that a little guy was going to benefit from it. When families in the NICU need breast milk that is where the donated milk and milk bank comes in... Did you know it can cost $7 an ounce?! And insurance isn't known to cover it. I dropped some milk off the night before he was born so he would be set to go. 

Due to my supply dropping, I wasn't able to donate to him as long as I would have liked but I still had my baby girl to feed. My heart was happy to help though,even it was for a short time.

Here's a little picture from when I visited Mr. C in the hospital.

Since my donating days, Oklahoma has now opened a milk bank in Oklahoma City. I hope that next time around I can send them some milk! 

STEM- challenge 3

Our last challenge of the year was the hardest…. for my kids and for my assistant. J To her credit, she had never been in my classroom when we were working on our other projects, she wasn't in the room when I explained it, and she didn't know what I expected of the kids.

The project? Paper rockets.

Materials?paper, tape, a ruler, and glue. 

Requirements of the rocket? 8 inches tall and stand up on its own

Of course, the first things that came out of their mouths…. “how do I do it?” “I can’t do it!” “I don’t know how!” But just like all of the other projects, they all slowly headed in the direction of a rocket that met Mrs. Snow’s requirements.

This story is about little J. He is almost too smart for his own good and doesn't like to do things the wrong way. He struggled a lot so Mrs. F sat down with him to work on it. He got frustrated that others at his table were taking up too much space so started to pull him over to the side to help him. Before they got settled in, I told her I wanted to see what he could figure out on his own. She struggled just as much letting him get frustrated as he did being frustrated.

She said, “Can’t I just…” and I said, “just watch him. He will figure it out.” You could tell she was just itching to go over and say, “Measure your paper, cut it, roll it up and tape it.” I will say, it is really hard watching them struggle and not just help them along. BUT, I am also learning to let them learn.

As he worked, he was getting it. Mrs. F was able to help him without giving his the answers. She helped him visualize what a rocket looked like and then he figured out how to make the body of his rocket. Then the tricky part was to make it stand up.

They both went to ‘itching’ again… him itching for the solution and her itching to give it to him. He kept saying, "It just leans this way." and then he would try to push it in the other direction. Mrs. F talked to him about why it was leaning, what it needed to it wouldn't lean. After their talk, he realized it needed "a kickstand". So he went to work making kickstands to go around the bottom. Before long, he had a rocket that met the requirements!

So that wraps up my experience with STEM for the school year. Now I just have to make it through a whole year doing it all over again!

12 months = 1 year

Time has really flown by! (excuse the lack of a 12 month sticker picture, I forgot to take one on the ipad.)

One year checkup was on Thursday, July 11.

You weighed in at 17 pounds, which put you in the third percentile. (You also got to weigh on the big kid scale since you can stand up.)

You measured at 28.5 inches tall, which they said puts you in the 99th percentile. I did a chart on the Internet that put you in the 25th percentile, which makes more sense to me since you were last in the 6th percentile.

Your head measured at 18 inches so your brain is still growing!

Clothing wise... You wear anything from six months to 12 months, size 2 shoe, and size 2 diapers. If we had known we would be in size two diapers this long, we would not have bought size 3 and 4 when we were stocking up before you were born! I guess you will eventually grow into them so we'll hang onto them.

Sleeping habits... You are still a good nighttime sleeper. You have started waking up in the middle of the night crying. I say it is because you miss us but your Dad isn't sold on that. By saying you have started, I mean you have done it a handful of times in the last two weeks. We have been practicing having an afternoon nap since you will have a nap time when you go to Jade's in the fall. Your nap ranges from one hour to two hours. Generally, you will take a short rest in the morning too.

Eating... What won't you eat? I don't know. We haven't found anything that you won't eat. You have started to share with Tobie and she loves it! You also like to tease her. You will dangle your hand over the edge and just let her sniff or lick your hand. Sometimes, you have food in that hand and Tobie tries her hardest to lick it out of there. She is always at your side when it is eating time!

Right after I took this picture, you looked at me and smiled like you were so proud of yourself for sharing with Tobie.

Talking... You have a lot to say, all the time. Your Dad even commented that "you already talk with attitude and I have no idea what you are saying." Mama and Dada are in your vocabulary when you choose to say them. Sometimes when you talk, it sounds like you are saying things, like 'what is that?', 'where is dad?', and even 'dang it!' You know four signs...  more, milk, please, and dog. Except you don't on know dog means dog. I taught you that is "come here, Tobie." So many times when you see here, you start patting your little leg.

Playing... Over the last month, we really started to notice you playing independently. You still like to for us to play on the floor with you but you don't freak out if no one is down there. You love to open and close things. You will use anything to pull up on. You will walk behind anything that moves. After getting stood up, you can stand for at least 15 seconds before you realize no one is holding your hand and plop yourself back down. You haven't gotten brave enough to try it on your own or to take a step without holding on. You have discovered that you can dump over your little baskets of toys so we pick those up a couple times a day. You also found Tobie's toy basket. It was like a whole new game to toss her animals out of the basket!

Tobie... You still love to torment her. You will follow her all over until she goes into hiding. You are still determined that her food is your food. When we tell you no, you keep trying to get her food or splash in her bowl. Strong-willed, you are. I wonder where you get that?! Be gentle is still a daily phrase.

We celebrated your birthday on July 13. Lots of family and friends came over for a hot dog cookout. It is so warming to know that you are so loved by the people in your life. The 'theme' was " One is Snow much Fun!" We decorated in pink and green. We stayed up late Friday night making strawberry cupcakes and frosting them with hot pink frosting. They were so pretty! You had a giant cupcake as your 'smash cake'. You didn't go too crazy with it but still managed to get hot pink frosting from your head to your legs.

You are very blessed to have so many friends and family come celebrate sweet little you! You got lots of books to add to the small collection you had, puzzles, toys, balls and a shopping cart that you love to empty. Putting your groceries back into the cart is a work in progress. In the days since your party, you love to 'read' your cards. You take them out of the bucket at least once, probably more like three or four, times a day.

Now I need to work on putting all the treasures I kept from your first year into your baby book before you turn two! I am a year behind so I don't need another one to creep up on me! Slow down your growing, baby girl!

One Year

Today my baby girl turns one.... She went to bed a baby and will wake up a one year old.

To my sweet little Snowflake,

Everyone says it so I might as well join the crowd... "I can't believe it has been one year" since we welcomed your sweet face into this world. Everyone also says, "It seems like yesterday!" and it truly does. For a year now, on the 17th of every month your Dad and I say, "we were doing __(insert any thing from the day)__ x months ago." Then on the 18th of every month, we make sure to recognize your "birthday". Looking back at each monthly picture brings back such sweet memories of you growing and changing. 

You are so blessed to have so many people in your life that truly love you. Your number one fan is your Daddy. He loves him some Tobie but you were able to squeeze your way into his heart (and right passed Tobie) the second he saw you. It really is precious the way he loves you. I pray that love only grows bigger and deeper as you grow up. When asked what he loves about being a dad, he said, "just hanging with Kinbin." I think he could hang with you forever and you with him. He's a pretty good first love for you.

It is so crazy to think that one year ago I hadn't seen your adorable face in person or held your precious little self and now every day I am blessed to kiss your sweet cheeks. You make being a mommy pure joy. Although I wish I could bottle you up and keep you so little,  I am eager to see the person you grow into, to see you blossom into yourself {but take your time}. 

Now that I've known you for a year, I have more hopes for you [not that I didn't have them before, I just didn't think to publish them]: I hope your life is full of love and kindness. I hope you learn good patience. I hope you learn to stand up for what you think is right and fair. I hope you learn to stand up for yourself even when it is hard. I hope you find happiness wherever you go. If you don't find happiness there, I hope you create it, for yourself and others. I hope you love yourself. I hope you always know how much I love you and know that every day I love you a little more.

You are all because two people fell in love.

I'll always be here,

Love,

Mom

STEM- challenge 2

In April, I attended an Engineering Made Easy workshop. At that workshop, we had to do some engineering projects with our table. Each challenge had guidelines to meet. For example, our race car was made out of straws, tape, and index cards. It had to roll down a ramp carrying a pencil top eraser as a driver. Another challenge was to construct the tallest freestanding tower out of one sheet of paper.

During this workshop, I discovered two things... well, I knew these things about myself, this day just helped confirm them.... 1- I would not like to be on Project Runway type shows where you are given a challenge and only a short amount of time to do them. I need more time to think about my projects than were given. 2-I am more of a visual person that needs to see it before I really know what I am doing.

Anywho, the STEM Academy (what my school will be in the fall) is going to force me to help my little kids to think outside of the box. After this workshop, I took our little projects and made them more kindergarten friendly. I decided we were going to build a car. I gave my kids tape, index cards and straws. I told them it had to have 4 wheels and stand off of the table [so it needed to sit up on its four wheels]. The kicker for this project was that they had to work with a partner! I partnered them up with the person who sat next to them, which generally is someone of the opposite personality... you know a loud kid and a quiet kid, a good reader and an emergent reader, a good counter and a counter... they tend to balance each other out. They were supposed to talk to their partner to decide how to make the car before they did anything. In the grown-up world, we might call this brainstorming or project planning. I didn't want them to just dive in and not have any direction.

It wouldn't be a learning project if we didn't start with, "I don't know what to do?" "how do I build a car?" or "I can't do it!"

For the most part, my groups worked very well together for a first time partner project. Some I had to keep reminding them to talk to their partner. I constantly reminded them I wanted it to have 4 wheels and stand off of the table. This was a trickier challenge than their house challenge but there were a lot of successful groups. Groups that worked well together, groups that had cars that met the requirements and groups that tried without giving up.

We had our struggles too. This partner challenge helped me to see leaders, followers, bossy pants, strong-willed, and those that were happy to let their partner do the work [all of which I probably could have identified before].

One table stood out to me… A and P were partners. They kept forgetting that this was a partner project, even though I kept reminding them and one of their other tablemates, K, kept reminding them too. They seemed to have taken only the materials they thought they needed and tried to do the project on their own. “But I don’t have a straw!” and I would say, “You do but A is holding it. Talk and find out how you two can work together to build your car.” Or “He won’t give me anymore paper.” to which I would say “Well, you two have to share it. Talk and work together to build your car.” It went on like this for the whole time…. Until K pipes in. Here are some of the things I overheard…

“A, if you say you can’t. You really can’t do it.”

“We’re AmeriCANS, not AmeriCAN’Ts” {sound familiar? Remember STEM project 1?}

After a couple more encouraging words from K, A had enough and said “STOP!” K quickly fired back, “I won’t stop. We have to stay as a team.”

I was probably not much help because I stood back and would chime in “Preach on sister” to K. It frustrated A but I did not see any harm in her peer encouraging her and trying to help her see that it was in fact a team project and she wasn’t pulling her weight. But girlfriend had a point so I encouraged her. I did end up going to talk to A under the table and explain how K was trying to encourage her and help her and P finish their project.

Slowly, as groups were finishing their cars, I could be heard saying, "I knew you two could figure it out!", "Look at that car you guys built as a team!" or "Who told me in the beginning they couldn't build a car? It must not have been you guys."

In the end, A and P did not have a team car. They did get a lesson in team work in which I saw it show a little in our third project…

We are still engineering!

STEM- challenge 1

What is STEM? Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Why does that matter? Because my school is going to be Liberty STEM Academy in the fall.

How will I do that? I am not totally sure and I don't know that many teachers at my building are.

In January, I visited a STEM school with my principal and two other teachers. After seeing their school, here is my take... what I am doing in kindergarten probably won't change a whole lot. Obviously, kids have to learn to read and write... and younger grades, like kindergarten and pre-k, is where that starts to take shape. I think older grades (3-5) may have a harder time transitioning to this since everything they seem the eat, breathe, and sleep is state testing. I digress... For my classroom, I see more hands on projects that relate to topics we already cover and more independent learning/exploring for the friends. This learning/exploring will be harder for them because many are used to a grown up swooping in and giving them the answer instead of letting them problem solve.

Anywho, on with a story about my little sweeties and our attempt at kindergarten engineering...

My first grade teacher friend inspired me to introduce some simple engineering feats to my kindergartners. She was telling me how she had her firsties build a house out of paper that had to stand up. I thought, "why can't my friends do that?" To which I answered myself saying, "duh. You haven't pushed them to do it." So, we built a house out of paper.

I told the friends we were going to build a house out of paper, scissors, tape, and a pencil. Immediately, they said, "How do I do it?", "I don't know how!", or [my favorite] "I can't!". {to which I immediate respond with, "you are an AmeriCAN, not an ameriCANT. Stop saying you can't do something."}

One of my first friends that said she couldn't was one of the first to make her house stand. She drew a house on her paper, cut it out, and then folded it in half so it would prop itself up. I didn't say how it had to stand, just that it could stand. When we finished, there were 9 houses standing out of 18. Some houses were flat like mentioned before, others were round-ish and a couple were square with a flat roof on top. The next day when the kids came back, some of them were determined to see if they could get their house to stand.

We are on our way to engineering...

11 months

How is it that 11 months have gone by when July 18th, 2012, seems like yesterday?!

Pictures are harder to come by since Kinley has discovered that she can peel the sticker right off of her shirt. "Good thing we just have one more month of stickers," says Dad.

We have a mover deluxe on our hands. No actual crawling but she scoots herself wherever she thinks she needs to go. Kinley hasn't found a food she doesn't like. Not even one that is really spit out or makes her have a sad face. Some new things she has tried are pickles, frozen blueberries, corn, tortillas, taco meat, spaghetti and more! Literally, anything that we eat, she will eat. We have refrained from sharing our sweet stuff. She has mastered signing 'more'! She loves drinking water out of her cup too.

We will start a mommy and me swim class at the Sapulpa pool on June 24. A friend told me the instructor will drop her into the water and I have to count to three before I can grab her so I am definitely not looking forward to that. I do think she will enjoy splashing in the water though.

                                  

Kinley has a lot to say a lot of the time. She often gets the case of the giggles while walking with her walker. She is still always trying to run Tobie over so she spends a lot of time in hiding. After Kinley goes to bed, Tobie reappears for the evening. Speaking of bed, we still have a champion sleeper! Since it is summer and most days we don't have anywhere to be, we tend to stay up later. I doing that, she gets to spend more time with her dad but still gets the sleep she needs. She is a little better about having an afternoon nap. We are working on it in hopes it won't be a brand new thing in the fall.

For three weeks, we went to Jade's for a music a class once a week. Jade is a girl I went to OSU with and taught with for a few years before she decided to stay home with her two kids. So I know she will be in good hands when I return to school in the fall. 

Kinley also finds Tobie very funny. One day Tobie sneezed and Kinley thought it was the funniest thing so, of course, we made her sneeze again just to hear that sweet little laugh. 

Tobie is enjoying the summer weather. She is busy in the backyard trying to catch the gophers and moles so make sure you watch your step. 

Kinley still loves to try and play in the water dish. I say she must get her stubborn nature from her father because that girl will go back time and time again to try and play. :D

Since we are actually in your birth month {17 days away!} I suppose I should post this... As always, blessed to be your mommy!

Splish Splash....

... I was not taking a bath! I was swimming! Kinley got the cutest swimsuit and had to test it out! So... we filled her tub up and splashed away in the front yard while Hubby watered. She was hesitant at first but as you will be able to see in the second video most of her "pool" water has been splashed out.

Here's to hoping we will have more fun summer memories to post about!

9 and 10 months

How can 9 months already have gone by?!? People have always said that time goes by so fast and it does!

Your nine month check up was on April 26th. It was a Daddy/daughter date to the doctor and they both survived the shot too!
You weighed 14.75lbs and were 26.5 inches tall, which puts you in the .72 percentile for weight and 6.57 percentile for height. Little skinny Minnie must get her twiggy-ness from her Dad. The doctor said she is growing good!

We are still rocking the size 2 diapers and six month clothing.

You do not show much interest in learning to crawl. When put on your belly, you get mad and rollover to your back. Then you look to someone for help to sit up. You like to sit up! I feel like you could do it for days. You also love to stand up though! You haven't quite discovered pulling up on things other than our hands but I don't feel like that is too far behind. You have a little walker that we stand you at to practice that I feel like you are going to take off on soon too!

Well, since I have dropped the ball on posting the 9 month update... we will just move on to 10 months!

You love to be behind your walker! Now if we can just teach you how to turn it around when you get to the tile. You are a pro at standing yourself up at it. It is amazing how you know if you are too close to it and need to scoot it forward or too far away to reach the handle. You have really started enjoying the noises it makes too. You like to reach around to press the little sun as you walk behind it. You love, I mean l.o.v.e!, to open and close the barn door. "Let's play hide and seek." And before it can finish saying that you have already slammed it back shut.

We still don't have a crawler. You scoot your self around so much that Tobie is constantly relocating to avoid the loving tugs in her hair. After a few moves, she will forfeit and go to the 'lake house' and hide under the bed. Tobie has also not take our "watch out Tobie! She'll run you over." warnings before getting goosed with the walker.

Food wise, we are very adventurous. Well adventurous in what is in our menu. You have had mashed potatoes, pancake, various flavors of yogurt, bites of Hamburger Helper, cheese, bread, tortilla and queso at Ted's, chicken, broccoli, corn, banana, and more. If we eat you, you will try it. You are down to a bottle in the morning and one at night. You love to drink water out of your cup. You always sign milk when we get it, or a bottle, out. We are slowly learning 'more' too.

You are still a champion sleeper. Occasionally, you wake up at night and cry a minute but can find your pacifier and head back to dream land. May 24th, I woke up and looked at the monitor to find you sitting up in your crib. We lowered your crib all the way to the bottom that night. You had just started figuring out how to sit yourself up and I mentioned that we needed to lower it before you figured it out. You beat us to it though!

We are officially on summer break! We spend time every day pulling the little baskets of remotes off the end table, looking through the Hallmark Dreambook or Parents magazine, banging on the coffee table, walking the room and pulling up and standing at the coffee and end table. As soon as you notice I have put the remotes back, you scoot over there and pull it off again. Now that we are home all day, we tend practice, "no!" with Tobie's food dish.We also say "be gentle" A LOT. I can't imagine why your sister doesn't just love you grabbing a chuck of her fur and pulling.

One day, you stayed with a teacher friend while I went to the dentist. She said about 10 minutes after I left, you looked around and then said, "mama" before getting all weepy. I think you were easily distracted and you survived the whole ordeal, just as I survived the trip to the dentist on my own. May 26th was your first trip to the nursery during Sunday School. They said when you noticed we were gone you again said, 'mama'. And the got a little weepy. But, you lasted the whole time, you big girl. :) {I would like to note that you say mama a lot more than dada, even though Baby Ruth was working on the dada word.}

I think on a daily basis, we say, 'so, what do you want to do for Kinley's birthday?' but that is as far as we have gotten. I can't believe you are almost a one! It has been a very blessed year as your mama and I think God daily for that. You truly are the light of our lives and loved so very much!

It the little things that can make you :)

The birdbath gnome is growing some pretties. Well, one at least.

Silly kids!

While my own baby is super cute, adorable and changing nearly daily.... Her posts take me more time. I don't want to leave anything out and find that I can't just post about her on whim as easily as I can my kids at school. I also think that at the end of the year {have I mentioned there are only 10 days of school left?!?} I need a reminder, through all the busy, as to why I do like my job

I really do feel blessed about the group of kids that I have this year. I mean, they have really gone with the flow with me being gone the first fourth of the year. They are a bunch of tattlers, oh my do they tattle, but they are also very affectionate towards each other and me. One little guy tells me nearly daily as we enter the classroom that he thinks I look pretty or compliments me on my shirt. It is really sweet. Another friend tells me that she thinks I am the "best teacher ever. And I'm not just saying that!" Even another will sneak up behind me while I am sitting in the little kid chairs and just hug me.

Through all the sweet there are still some funnies!
I sent a friend to the bathroom. He was gone for quite some time so my assistant went to check on him. When she returned, she said, "he was definitely in there. (meaning he was in the stall not just using the urinal). When he came in, I asked why he was gone so long. He kind of tried to brush me off and keep walking so I grabbed his shirt, stopped him and asked again why he was gone so long {and she I say gone so long I am talking about 15 minutes}. His first answer was a mumble jumble of words so I told him to speak up. He said, "I was afraid from the toilet." Of course I question exactly what that means. Again, the answer was some what mumbled but I was able to make it out... "I thought there might be creatures in it." Ummmm, okay. The answer just really caught me and my assistant off guard. I then told him that "the next time you are afraid at the toilet to come tell me because I was worried.

The first picture of a picture was done while I was out one day for a training. My assistant documented and kept it for blogging purposes. You can thank her. :) The job was to sound out and draw a picture of a W word...

"Wolfing... You know, throwing up."

The next picture is in preparation for Truck Touch thank you cards. I asked my kids to draw a car and write "Thank you" on their picture. Sweet friend sounded out what she heard when saying it but every time I look at it I see something different...

"thank you"