School's out for SUMMER!

My first year of teaching came to an end last Friday.  I was talking to one of my teacher friends about how quickly the year flew by...and then I was reminded that I was gone for 10 weeks. (What in the world will I do next year?! Lol)

My mom was very wise (or realistic) when I told her I was pregnant and she suggested I wait a year to jump into teaching.  I continued my job search despite her advice...and shocked myself when I actually ended up getting a position at Camey.

As a result, this year was the hardest, but most rewarding year of my life--hands down.

I have never been so exhausted.  Half the time I could barely keep my eyes open when I was giving Emerson her bedtime bottle--at 8:00.  Lol

The exhaustion from waking up at 5:30, going to school, working all day, working out after school, driving to pick up Emerson, driving home, playing with Emerson, packing our bags/lunches for the next day, Emmy's bedtime routine, and then passing out--until the next morning when it all starts all over again was almost too much to handle at times.

Without the support of my friends at school, our parents, Lori, and Kendall, and of course, Nathan, I don't know that I would have survived!

I spent the last few weeks of school really missing Emerson during the day, and I am SO thankful that I get the summer with her.  I love being home in the mornings so I can see her smiley face when she wakes up! That has probably been my favorite part of this first week of summer, that annnnnd getting to take naps :)  Honestly, I think my body is still recovering from being so worn out.

Needless to say, I am very grateful for summer break.  I'm ready to cleanse my pallet and start anew next year, after all, isn't that what breaks are for?

I'll miss this bunch! 

Playing games on the last day :)

Starting our summer off right! Let nap time commence :)

I would just like to say thank you to those who prayed for me this year, you all are the reason I'm still standing.  God definitely tested me this year, but he brought me through it and I'm stronger because of it!

Emerson's eight month update

Emerson is EIGHT months old! That’s 2/3 of a year people. Holy moly!

In exactly 4 days I will get to spend everyday, all day with her and I could not be more excited.  It’s been hard this year only getting to see her for a few hours in the evenings, but we sure do love that time together. 

It’s hard to believe my first school year is almost over…but I’ll post about that later J

This month has been so fun! (I know that’s probably annoying to hear me say every month, but seriously, she learns new things everyday!) Just today she started PULLING UP! 

This month:

She did a lot of partying!  We got to celebrate Kendall at her wedding shower, Kevia and Ryan at their baby shower for baby Ella, and my friend Jackie’s baby, Liam, at his first birthday.  We had a great time, we love celebrating with our friends.

Happy Birthday, Liam!

We can't wait to meet Baby Ella!

She came up to my school for our family fitness night and the 4^th grade choir concert. The kiddos were so excited to see her!

We celebrated my first Mother’s Day together.  I’ve experienced a whole new kind of love getting to be her mom.

She has moved up to level 2 foods.  She has recently needed to eat 2 jars at night before bedtime.  She LOVES to eat all kinds of baby food, although we just discovered that peaches don’t love her back.

 

More sherbet please!

Excited about chow time!

Emerson has developed a love of all things that are not her toys. Her favorite things are tennis shoes (she is not picky about them being on or off your feet), water bottles, Tupperware, keys, and paper. She’s our own personal paper shredder!

 

hahahaha

She’s waving now! She started out waving backwards, but she’s getting the hang of it. I can tell she’s proud of herself when you celebrate with her! (or maybe she’s confused, either way it’s adorable.)

She is army crawling up a storm.  She is able to crawl on her hands and knees but I guess that isn’t as fun. She relies on the army crawl most of the time.  She has also started straightening her arms and legs out, where her legs are standing up.

She sleeps on her tummy with her bottom up in the air.

She swung at the park for the first time and loved it!

She’s eating snacks now.  We’re working on being able to grasp them and put them into her mouth.  She can grab them but they end up on the floor for Tucker most of the time. His favorite thing right now is to lie directly under her highchair while she’s eating.  It cracks me up!

Went to Lufkin for her cousin Aaron’s high school graduation.  Congratulations, Aaron! While we were there Emerson got to catch up with her family...and stay up way past her bedtime.  We had a great time!

Passed out on Uncle Robert, she looks so big! 

Headed home :)

Playing with Pawpaw Sears 

She loves her cousin, Brent!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this month:

So glad we got to see Martha Kate for a little bit! We miss you!

And today while I was at work Nathan kept sending me videos of her pulling up! I got home and look what I found...

Yay, Emerson! You are getting so big and I love watching you learn and grow.  We love you to the moon and back! Happy happy happy 8 months :)