Saturday, March 30, 2013

Playground Fun

After the Easter Egg Hunt Nathan had fun playing on the playground at church.

 


Nathan preferred to slide down on his tummy backwards.


Oops, lost a shoe!


Does this make me a big boy now Mom?
 
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Nathan's 1st Easter Egg Hunt

Ready and raring to go! 



Grandpa helped him find his first egg!
 
 


Here's another one!


Examining the results of the his hunt.
 


Callen comes in for a closer look to see if Nathan wants to share.


Hey Mom.  This was in my egg.  What is it?!
 
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New Puzzle

Nathan's new puzzle that came in his Easter Basket from Grandpa & Grandma:

 
 
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Busy Board

I found this idea on pinterest and sent it to my Dad.  He was able to use all kinds of things he already had in the garage to make it for Nathan.



Checking out how everything works.


Look I can sit right on top of it Mom!


Grandpa showing him all the moving parts.


My Dad was pretty excited to see Nathan put his handiwork to good use!



Thank you Grandpa!
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Quiet

If all is quiet in the house it usually means Nathan is reading books in his room...well that or he's getting into trouble touching something he's not supposed to!  Ha!

 
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Friday, March 29, 2013

Nathan's 1st Easter Basket

This Easter Basket arrived in the mail from Grandpa & Grandma George.  My rule is if a present arrives early, you get to open it!  Nathan had fun unloading and loading his basket over and over and over again!

 
 
 
 
 
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Thursday, March 28, 2013

2 Bags & 2 long awaited roles

Every afternoon I trade in this bag:



for this one:



Each one of these bags is important to me.
Each one of these bags fits a role I fulfill: Teacher & Mommy
And each one of these bags took a long time to acquire.

When I graduated from college I anxiously applied to school districts and then waited to be called for an interview.  And waited. And waited.  It wasn't until almost two years later when we decided that God might have a home (and a job for me!) in Arizona that I was able to start my teaching career.

I find it ironic that my goal of becoming a Mommy also required me to wait. And wait. And wait.  It wasn't until we had been trying for 2 years that we chose to start the adoption process and then 8 months later were blessed with our son, Nathan.

I was not born a patient person. And yet God has molded and shaped my character by making me wait.  By waiting to become a teacher I was able to learn and acquire skills from other experts in my field that laid the foundation for my teaching practice.  By waiting to become a Mom I have found it so much easier to cherish the small things and everyday moments with our son.

I have always considered myself to be a passionate person.  When I only had the title of teacher, that's where my passion was focused.  Everyday I found myself excited to go to work and privileged to be paid to do a job I loved so much.  Now I find that I am also just as passionate about my role as a Mom.  I love watching our son grow and learn new things.  Each new stage is proving to be more fun and more exciting than the previous one.  And sometimes it's hard to find enough passion to fuel my role as a teacher and my role as a Mom.

In a perfect world I would be able to do it all.  I would be a great teacher and a wonderful Mom and my passion would be equally shared between the two.  So for now I find myself waiting again.   Sometimes I'm waiting for a burst of passion to fuel a new idea or lesson at school.  And other times I'm waiting for the bell to ring so I can race home to the little boy I am so passionate about being a Mommy too.

But if I've learned anything about waiting, it's this:
in the end, it's always worth it!
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My Boys

My heart is full!


 
 
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Silly Boy

Whenever Nathan finishes a meal and we tell him it's time to get cleaned up he covers up his face.  Today he used a bowl to hide behind.



Look, no hands!


All finished, Mom!


Please Note:  No food was actually ingested during this meal.
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Cheap

Milk Lids + Empty Wipe Container = Toddler Entertainment

 



Thank you Pinterest!
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Keys to the Car

I found these on my pantry shelf the other day.  I guess Nathan is already thinking about driving!

 
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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Books

Nathan doesn't sit still for long but books have been helping during diaper changes! 



He "reads" the books to me while I get the job done. 


Our smiley boy!
 
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