First Camping Trip

This afternoon we got back from Caitlin's first camping trip! It was absolutely awesome! She did very, very well and was so happy the whole time. And because she was so happy, she didn't go to sleep until 9:30 and woke up at 5:30 because she didn't want to miss out on any of the fun! I took her out on the boat in her cute life jacket and she was totally chill and didn't mind it at all. She didn't even mind when I jumped in and left her with her Aunt Denny. My dad brought Dennis this ultra think foam pad so he was super cozy each night. It was pretty hot during the day so we ended up giving Caitlin a cool bath in the sink but she pooped, so that was the end of that. She loved playing with all her cousins....I have some really cute pictures of them.

I'll post more later.....I need to get ready for the first day of summer school tomorrow!

Gymnast in the making?

This is what happens when we don't put her food tray up fast enough....Caitlin discovers her feet and the many things she can do with them. Will she become a little gymnast with tricks like that? Or is she beginning to show us her silly...or even mischievous side? Hmmm, I wonder. If she's anything like me, I know we're in trouble! And with her daddy's eyes.....we're in for an even bigger ride when she's older!

Wedding

On Saturday, we went to my cousin Jason's wedding. The whole family was ecstatic when he announced last Christmas that he proposed to Cyndi. It was a beautiful ceremony at a little church just outside of my hometown. The reception was so much fun especially since there were so many cousins there. At the last family wedding my cousin Amy and I had a blast! We ended up having a few too many margaritas....and let's just say the next morning was quite interesting. I really wish we were able to spend more time together with the cousins. Caitlin just loved crawling around with her cousin Kate. She also very much enjoyed dancing with her daddy and papa. My nana even joined in too! Caitlin was so awesome the whole time! She didn't even fuss when she got tired, she just cuddled into daddy's arms...how sweet!

While Caitlin was snuggling, I was out on the dance floor with all my other cousins. My super awesome Aunt Donna kept dragging us all out there and then she would disappear. Amy and I tried to find her and pull her out with us, but we could never find her when we tried. Then my cousin Leah was trying to get all us girls to go out to the Pub afterward, but I knew better. I knew I'd end up having a bit too much fun, especially if Amy was going. I kept on saying she was a bad influence on me, but as Leah pointed out, I was the common element in the "too much fun" issue.....and....I think she may be right. We ended up leaving a little after 8pm and Caitlin crashed out in the car shortly after we left. Thankfully, I had changed her into PJ's just before we left, so that was one less thing we had to do when we got home. We left for home early the next morning and Caitlin and I took a 2 1/2 hour nap (with daddy too) when we got back.....it was very nice.

Here are some photos:

Cyndi and Jason. The odd thing is that this is the only picture I have of the two of them. Crazy.

Sarah, Caitlin, and Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill says he's going to spoil Caitlin rotten. All I can say is that I'm sending him all the dentist bills! Haha.

Me and my man. Isn't he handsome! Surprisingly, it was definitely not halter dress weather that day AT ALL....oh well, I LOVE that dress anyway and I would have worn it even if it was snowing!

Ah, me and cousin Amy.....and my cousin Kari in the background. Put us girls in a room together (with or without refreshments) and you've got yourself a WILD time!

Caitlin's checking out her nana after she got her groove on. I don't think I've ever seen my nana dance before. It was pretty cute.

Papa and Caitlin getting jiggy with it!

I don't think I have one picture that shows Caitlin's entire dress or my dress! They were both so cute!

Who me? Cousin Bryn holding cousin Kate.

All us girls (Caitlin included) dancing to "I Will Survive."

Our sweet happy baby girl posing for a picture in the car on the way back home. Check out those teeth....and BLUE eyes!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to my wonderful husband! Dennis is such an amazing father and husband. I can't believe I found someone so loving, generous, and who makes me so happy every second of every day! I love you so much! Caitlin made a ceramic bowl with her feet prints on it along with a toe print inch worm and a fingerprinted ladybug for her daddy.

I also want to wish my dad and very happy Father's day as well. I love you daddy!

I have to jet for now, Caitlin and her daddy are picking out a Father's Day movie to watch.

Mommy's Little Helper

Today I took Caitlin to school to help me prepare for summer school. Let's just say I got more accomplished during her hour nap than I did the other 5 hours I was there. I did put her in her stroller facing out for the first time. This worked rather well as I was able to feed her and afterward have her close enough to me for her to be happy and for me to be able to work. Unfortunately, I still have quite a bit to do and I'm not sure how I'm going to get it accomplished. I did bring home some homework that will help me out, but there is some writing stuff I need to look into. I also have copies to make, pencils to sharpen, rulers to find, a breakfast program to detangle, and that's only the beginning. I'm starting to wonder if it'll all get done!!!!! Aaahhhh!

Over the hill and through the coffee table....

Caitlin decided today was the day to crawl through the coffee table. The big puffy blankets under the coffee table was her motivation. The whole process was hilarious and even though she bumped her head a few times, she never made even the smallest pouty face. She was so excited when she got through that she turned around and was about to repeat herself when crazy mommy distracted her with the video camera and she decided to attack that instead. I'll capture it on video one of these days...but for the time being, here are a "few" photos of the trip.

Ahhh

It's so great to do absolutely nothing (even though I did shampoo the bedrooms and hallway)! I forget how awesome summer vacation is until it gets here. I've been in my sweats all day and it feels so good! I did take a shower though....I don't think I could get away with not taking one. And what did I do while Caitlin napped for 2 1/2 hours you ask? Nothing...absolutely nothing but watch my DVR shows and continue reading the last book in the Twilight series......all, very relaxing.

Educational

Well, Dennis only lasted an hour camping out with us. Mainly it was because he was afraid he was going to squish Caitlin. Our blow up mattress is only a Full and we are use to a Queen. However, Caitlin and I got through the whole night and it wasn't that bad. The hardest part was nursing because I didn't have anything to lean against. We're looking into a separate mattress for Dennis so he'll be more comfortable.

When I woke up this morning I was SUPER tired but thought I should get up anyway since it was 7:30. Well, Caitlin and I went into wake up Dennis and he asked me why I didn't try and put her back to sleep. Confused by his question, I just responded with "Well, she's awake now." So we all got up, made some coffee, and had some cereal. Then as I was getting everything together to take a shower, I looked at my watch and it said 7:35. I had to look at it several times and then look at a different clock to make sure mine was working okay....and it was. Then it dawned on me why I was so tired and why Dennis had asked me that.....I woke up at 6:30!!!!!!!!! The really sad this is, that happens to me more often than not when I check the time sans glasses. Thankfully, I was able to take a nap while Caitlin napped!

Well, it's time to go. Dennis is getting ready to shampoo the carpets.

Camp Out

.....or IN rather. Tonight we are camping in our living room before we actually have to camp outside.....it's like a dry run. So far Caitlin LOVES it. She was laughing and crawling all around the tent while we were setting it up and then while we were blowing up the mattress. I hope it goes well. At the very least, it will be quite a fun experience for all of us! :)

Explorer

The day before yesterday, Caitlin realized there is more to the house than just the living room. She finally discovered the kitchen! So now when Dennis and I are working on dinner stuff or cleaning up, she can now follow our voices to the kitchen. I wonder what she'll explore next? She's been down the hallway before, but she was chasing (or rather army crawling) after me. It'll be so funny when she does it on her own.....I can't wait!

Summer is finally here!

Woo hoo! I made it through another school year!!!! And, even better, I will have a job next year! Last night the board finally approved me coming back next year. My job will be a little different because they are reducing my Title 1 from 60% to 50% and I'll be teaching 1st grade 20% which equals out to 1 day a week (Friday's). I don't know about GATE yet and I won't find out until the end of this month. But hey, even if I don't get an additional 10% to bring me back to what I normally teach at, I'm fine with that.....I have a job and that's what counts. I plan on going in next week to work on summer school stuff. I'm hoping I can get everything accomplished in two days so I can relax with Caitlin as much as possible. Tomorrow I think I might celebrate the first day of summer by staying in my PJ's all day!!!! That would be crazy!!!!

Crazy Hair

Crazy hair baby! She gets so crazy now when her daddy gives her a bath. She splashes half of the water out before he can even soap her up!

It's Almost Over

School, that is!!!! Our last day is Thursday and then we get to Par-tay!!!! Actually, I get to prep for summer school and since I'm still breast feeding, no wild parties for me (tear).....sorry Kris. However, the absolutely wonderful news is that road construction season has begun, yuck, but there will be NO construction on my way to work this summer!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! You all know how I feel about road construction, so this is HUGE!!!!! I just hope that by writing this I don't jinx myself....that would be very, very bad. It's been years since I've driven to summer school without the curse words flying in my car during my commute. Although, this year I will definately have to curb the swearing (with or without construction) because I will be towing two wee ones with me to summer school everyday.

Books Galore!

Today I went to the mall with my friend to look for some gold shoes for her wedding....and of course, living where we live, we had absolutely no luck! However, since we were at the mall already, and I had a gift card to Boarders, we popped in to get some books for Caitlin. I ended up getting her 4 books (2 board books and 2 cloth ones) and then one for her and Daddy when Daddy gives her a bath. It's called "Barnyard Bath" by Sandra Boynton and it's pretty funny. Caitlin got a book for her Papa for his birthday too. The awesome thing was that I only had to pay $0.17 for the whole bunch! Caitlin started "reading" a.k.a. eating her books as soon as I got them home! Silly girl!

Literacy Night

Tonight I helped out Nancy and Amy put on a Literacy Night at our school. Kids from 0 to 5 years old were invited to check out the school. It was a beach party theme and so much fun! Both kindergarten classrooms were open and had numerous activities for the students. Nancy came up with some awesome stuff. I was in charge of the octopus hand prints (with googly eyes....because everything's better with googly eyes). Amy handled the clay with shell prints because, as you know, I don't touch play dough....or anything similar. We also had a bean bag toss, watercolor, and food in our room. Nancy's room had a blow up pool filled with balls, a collage station, a sandbox, prizes, and something else I can't remember. The kids all got to take home a beach themed book (Caitlin got the Rainbow Fish). The whole night was a great way to expose kids to school and give them something to look forward to. Many of the kids will start school in the fall so it was a great way to preview their personalities. It would have been neat for Caitlin to come down too, but she was spending quality time with Daddy watching the playoffs and eating dinner in front of the TV.....and when I called to check in, she was having quite the conversation with her Daddy.

Here is Caitlin's 7 month picture!

Antibiotics to the Rescue!

Yup, it's pink eye! And, no, it's not strep throat. However, because I should have been feeling better by now, they gave me antibiotics. So hopefully in a day or two I should be feeling much, much better. I'm so excited!!!! I stayed home today which was a very good idea and I ended up taking an unexpected 2 hour nap while Caitlin napped herself. I was planning on just laying on the couch but the next thing I remember was the phone ringing and it was already 4pm!

Oooo, so Caitlin tried the combo of banana and avocado for lunch and she really liked it! She also tried golden kiwi which she devoured!

Dr. Apt

When it rains, it pours! This morning I woke up with pink eye (at least that's what I think it is). Plus, I'm still feeling crappy and ended up going home a bit early today. Tomorrow I am using my last "no tell" day as a sick day and going to the doctor. The secretary recommended a doctor's office that is pretty easy to get into so I called at lunch today and I'll be seeing them tomorrow at 9am. With a "real" doctor, I won't have to even think about going to Urgent Care anymore....woo hoo! The other possibility with my eye is that my cold/flu virus has spread to my eye....super gross! Hopefully, they'll fix me up tomorrow!

Oh, and since my husband is soooooo wonderful, he brought home a big jug of orange juice tonight....the funny thing is, that was the one thing I forgot to ask him to bring home earlier.....but he just sensed that I needed it (even though I'm not normally a juice drinker)! How awesome and wonderful is that!!!!