Big, Big Day!

This week is a week of firsts for all of us.  Big things are happening in our lives right now.  For starters, I GOT A JOB!  I am going to be a kindergarten teacher at Oil City Magnet School!  Whoop :)

 

   OIL CITY MAGNET: "THE DIFFERENCE IS WORTH THE DISTANCE!"  

This is especially appropriate considering the distance I will be driving to work every day!  Oil City is about 25 minutes north of Shreveport, which means it's about an hour from our house.

Since I am going back to work, that means........day care!  I am not excited at all about leaving Mia, at all.  On the other hand, Austyn could not be more excited!  She is so ready to go back to school and play with her friends!

I love how she is holding on to Austyn, as if to say, "Please don't leave me!!"

As I picked them up from school, I was excited to hear that Austyn had a great day.  Her teacher has been anxiously awaiting her return to school (she was Gannon's teacher, also).

Mia, however, did not have so great of a day.  They called me this morning because she was refusing her bottles and she was very cranky and upset.  Poor little thing :(  This is a huge transition for her, and it is going to take some getting used to.  When I got to her classroom, she laughed and lunged at me!  When I picked her up, she just kept rubbing my face and giving me kisses.  Chere little heart!  Mommy missed you, too!!

In other news, another big first for Mia-Bug!

She couldn't quite reach the toy she wanted in the bucket, so she just pulled herself on up!!  Big girl!

Gannon is officially a bus rider, now.  He has chosen to ride from time to time, but I pick him up most days.  From now on, he will ride the bus both to and from school everyday.  His adjustment is going to be getting up early.  The bus passes at 6:30!!  That seems awfully early to me, but he likes it.  He says it allows him to nap on the way to school.  Ha!  What a good sport :)

Wish us luck on our new routines!  And please say a little prayer for Mia that she adjusts quickly :)

This and That

Not much has been going on around here, but I do have a few photos to share with yall.

 

The most important thing that has happened at our house lately is the reunion of Austyn with Piggy and Rora.  These two have been missing since we got home from Shawn and Lance's wedding.  We searched high and low, but could not find them anywhere.  Then, over a month later, I had an epiphany!  We stopped to play at Uncle Micha's in Shreveport on the way home!  Ta-daa!!



 

Reunited, and it feels so good!

 

Since the Olympics, these two have been so intrigued by gymnastics!  They are constantly flipping around the house, on the trampoline, etc.  The other day, Bryan made them each a balance beam.  They had so much fun!

 

 

 

 

Mia loves wires.  Wires of all shapes, sizes, and colors.  It doesn't matter how many toys we surround her with, she will manage to find a wire(s) to play with instead.

 



 

Mia has been tasting more and more foods with us at the dinner table.  Although she really isn't eating much of anything, at all, she is really excited to be a part of meal time!

 

toast

 

rice and gravy with carrots and potatoes 

Oh, and Mia is officially crawling!

That's all for now!  Hope you enjoyed your visit with us :)

Cookie Monster

We had a little football party last night to watch the Tigers try to beat the undefeated Tide.  With 52 seconds left in a great game, the Tide came back to win.  Boo.  Heartbreak.  But that's an entirely different story.

What goes with parties?  Food of course!  Among the delicious treats were chocolate chip cookies.  Those were the kids' choice.

As you all know, Mia is completely mobile, now.  She goes ev.ery.where!  This morning I found her under the kitchen table with a tasty treat!  I can't imagine how that got there ;)

Big sister, Austyn, was aiding and abetting this little munchkin on her quest for cookies!

I guess it is safe to say that this little girl loves cookies just like her mama!










This last photo is just for laughs :)

Happy Halloween 2012!

HAPPY

HALLOWEEN!!

 Love, The Manuel Monsters :)

 

Introducing...

 

The very brave, OPTIMUS PRIME!

 

 

The very scary, WICKED WITCH!

 

 

And, finally, OOOOOOOOOO....Mia the GHOST!

 

 

I am so proud of myself for making Mia's costume, with a little help from Pinterest, of course!  I found this super easy tutorial for making a dress from an old tee here, and then I just cut out a ghost face and ironed it right on!

Now, on to the Halloween festivities!
 

How did you spend your Halloween evening?  We went Trick-or-Treating, of course!  But first, we had a surprise for our munchkins.  They had some very special friends join them for the festivities!

 

First, they ate supper, read Halloween stories, and played with super-scary bats, skeletons, and spiders.

 

 

 

While my little Transformer was entirely too busy doing whatever it is that Transformers do, my little witch was completely smitten with our Halloween decorations and only wanted to help.

 

 

 

This next photo is not for the faint of heart...Look at your own risk ;)

 

 

 

How scary is she?!  She is sure to scare away all the evil spirits :)

 

 

Then, our special guests arrived!  They were beyond excited that their friends came to Trick-or-Treat  with them!  They had a blast at the kiids table eating, listening to Halloween stories, and playing with the little critters!  I am so sad I didn't get any photos of them in action, but it got a little crazy ;)


Austyn, Chloe, Ramsey, Brantley, Gannon, and Mia, Halloween 2012!

 

And here's the gang after a successful night of Trick-or-Treating!

 



 

Happy Halloween 2012!







7 Months and New Milestones

Sweet girl, you are seven months old!  You are busy and loving and curious and smart, and I just adore you!

 

Here's what you have been up to this month:

 

10/17- You learned how to sit yourself up!  Once you figured it out, you practiced all day!

You are very, very close to crawling!  You have the army crawl down, and you are fast!  Now, you are practicing getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth.

You also like to get on your hands and feet and "walk."  You don't go anywhere, but it's really cute!

Then, you take a break to watch the Golden Girls!

Although you are still only nursing (every 2-3 hours) for nutrition, you have started sampling (mostly sucking on) table foods.  You love most of the flavors, but the solid texture completely weirds you out.

Some things you have tried: plums, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, potato salad, gumbo, egg yolks (boiled), avocado, and broccoli.

You are starting to really notice when people around you are eating, and you open your mouth with them and pretend to chew.  I guess you are about ready for food yourself!

You may be noticing something different about these photos.  If you are guessing earrings, you are correct!  Nanny and I took you to get your ears pierced when we were in Lake Charles last weekend (10/20).  You were so brave.

Here you are before they do their magic.  I was so sad and so nervous, I couldn't watch.  Nanny was taking your picture.

 

Of course you cried, but hardly at all.  They said you were the best baby they had ever done!  And they pierce lots and lots of little ears!  They could believe how little you cried.

 



This is why I couldn't look.

I just scooped you up as fast as I could and nursed you.  You calmed down immediately.  You nursed for a couple of minutes and then you were smiling again!

Ta-daa!

Look at that pretty girl :)

10/19- At Mimi's house, you got up on all fours and actually crawled two "steps" then fell and army crawled.

You have done this a few more times, but never anymore than two "steps," then you return to the army crawl.  I expect you to be crawling in full force in a couple of weeks.

You have two teeth now!  And I am happy to say, you aren't biting me anymore!  Thank you, by the way! :)



Bath time is still your favorite!  Anytime you stay home with Daddy, I remind him to just put you in the tub if you get fussy.  It's an instant "happy pill."

Just look at that sweet face, would you?!  You tickle Daddy to his core. He can't look at you without smiling. You are his little sunshine :)

 

Your tongue is pretty famous.  You are always sticking it out at everyone!

Let's travel back in time....

 

I have a feeling you will be in kindergarten before I know it!!  I wish I could slow time just a little!  :)