I am a Media Specialist!

Today I finished my summer school internship in the library. What a difference this is from being in the classroom! It was WONDERFUL. I was able to teach, work with children, share my love of literacy, incorporate technology and meet with all grade levels, teachers and learning abilities. I was also part of the administrative team and very involved with administrators and things that I have never had to do as a classroom teacher. I also had to implement all of my previous knowledge from the program in terms of using the computer system, applying collection development, weeding, purchasing, and so much more. I worked at a wonderful school with amazing people. I had a truly amazing experience. I still have my comprehensive exam to take on September 25th. That exam will complete the masters. My endorsement is officially complete! It is hard to think that I will no longer have coursework, projects, research, readings, discussion boards, livetext or blackboard! These things have encompassed my life for two and a half years! I am so excited to be done! This year I will continue to be in the classroom since I just finished the program. I hope that next year I will be able to find a media specialist position. For now, I am just glad to know that my hard work has paid off :)

Egg Allergy

Today was eventful. First, I spent two hours in traffic this morning trying to get to my internship. While I was stuck in traffic I talked to my mom who had the kids (Bo had taken them there). She said that she had fixed Emma some bacon and eggs since I don't cook bacon (I hate the smell). Hannah has been trying a lot of table food recently and so my mom gave her a very small amound - she said about a fingernail portion - of egg. So, I get another phone call from mom saying that Hannah was breaking out and that her face and eyes were red and one side was swelling with bumps. She called again and said it was getting very bad and that she was taking her to the doctor. I called the dr. office while still in traffic and then it had got so bad that mom took her directly to the ER. I was able to turn around and get to her. Bo also left work and came to the hospital. By that time the swelling had already come down. Hannah was okay but Emma is terrified of doctors and hospitals so she was the one more upset!

Hannah was seen and dianogsed with a food allergy. She was given a Benedryl and a steriod and then was released. Other than taking the steriod medicine, she was fine. Apparently it did not taste too good because she gagged like crazy. Luckily she was okay and I am so glad my mom was able to get her there. We were scared since allergic reactions caused my grandmother's throat to swell up and close and she had to be intubated. We certainly did not want to see that happen to Hannah.

My mom felt terrible but I told her it was not her fault and if I were there I would had most likely let Hannah try some egg. She has had food with egg product before such as pancakes and had no reaction at all. Hopefully it is just eggs cooked by themselves that caused this. So, no eggs for Hannah for awhile! Thank goodness all is well.

Hannah Pulls Up!

Oh my goodness - here comes the scary stage of babies. The stage where they are going to lose their balance, fall and hit their chin or their heads. Hannah is into EVERYTHING! She can get anywhere she wants to and she pulled up on the couch first with my mom on July 20th. That did not count because I did not see it - BUT she did it on a laundry basket on July 25th and again on the toy box on July 26th. I have also seen her try to get up in her pack and play and her crib. She is not afraid and she knows that she is capable of getting around now. So, we are back to baby gates and pillows in front of the entertainment center. I don't have a picture yet, but I will get one soon!

Robbie and April's Baby Shower

Robbie is my first cousin on my dad's side of the family. He and his wife April have been married a long time and faced difficulties getting pregnant for several years, even longer than Bo and I. They miscarried, went through IUI's and even In Vitro. We did a lot together because we were in the same situation for a long time. Boy did I feel so horrible to tell them when I was pregnant - twice. They had pretty much accepted that a baby was not in the future and handled it so well. We were so happy for them when they found out they were pregnant just after Christmas. This is a real miracle baby and this baby will be so incredibly loved with parents who have waited a very long time.

We gave them a baby shower on July 24th. It was a couple's shower and although it was very hot, we had a nice time and they receieved many beautiful gifts for baby girl Adaire. We also had family from Maryland come and it was so great to see them. I got to meet my cousin Autumn for the first time and she is going in second grade! She loved playing with Emma and Hannah and she was just adorable. Here are some pictures from a great day of celebration. I am so happy for this amazing couple. They will be amazing parents and I am so excited for our kids to grow up together! Moreover, I cannot wait to see them hold their baby!

Autumn playing with the girls




Family picture - but my kids had gone home with Bo!

At dinner the next evening - you can't see Hannah Boo's head.

ABC's/ Word World Show

I had to create a blog about how well Emma is doing with her letter identification. I cannot believe that she is not even two, but can recognize her letters. She has had the leapfrog letter magnets on the fridge, plenty of books and the foam letters in the bathtub. Of course she has had a lot of exposure to words and reading, but it is not like I have pushed it on her. We realized that she was understanding letters about three months ago when she recognized the letter B. She would see a B and say it and then it has caught on to many other letters. She points and says the letters in the bathtub, on menus in restaurants, in her books, on t-shirts that we wear, on promotional displays in stores - basically anywhere she sees them. We will ask her, "where is the K?" and she will point and then she will say them on her own. The ones she knows by heart are B, F, H, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, U, X, and Y. I am amazed and my mom did not believe me when I first told her she was identifying letters. I knew she was a smart girl, but I am really excited with all that she is absorbing.

Also, any parent who has not seen the show Word World on PBS kids needs to watch it. It is the BEST tv show - nobody can say this show is not valuable. It is a precious cartoon with animals and objects spelled out and they focus on one or two words an episode to spell - using phonetically correct pronunciations. However, the other words in the show are also there so they are seeing them environmentally. AWESOME show! Emma and Hannah both love it plus the characters are adorable, it has cute music and beautiful colors. There is also a Word World website, Word World DVD's (the kids watch them in the van like crazy), and Word World books at the Dollar Store. I love this show and I also contribute this show to Emma's interest in letters.

Emma Holds Hannah!

On July 16th, Emma FINALLY decided to hold her baby sister! Everytime I wanted her to she would push Hannah away. Finally she just did it! She wrapped her arms around her and I grabbed the camera! I told Emma what a big girl she was for doing that. Now she does it anytime I ask her because she wants to be a "big" girl!

Hamrick Beach Trip/ July 4th

Yes, I know it is almost August and I am posting for July 4th. Can you tell things are crazy around here? I just finished my last final and now I am sitting down to catch up!!!


For the weekend of July 4th we went to Emerald Isle with Bo's family. We had a wonderful time together. This was Hannah's first trip to the beach and of course she loved everything. Emma was a little scared of the water this year and didn't care to get wet. However, she loved playing in the sand, finding shells and cleaning shells in buckets of water. As long as she was happy, we were happy! We had nights of getting ice cream and on evening of July 4th the guys and Gibson played cornhole and we watched the fireworks from our beachouse.

I love having all of the cousins together. Gibson, Owen, Emma and Hannah all got along great. They really entertain themselves by watching each other. Hannah was just starting to crawl more and more when we were there. We had a very nice long weekend. We had to leave Monday morning so I could report back to my internship.

* I meant to write that I had a big "mommy oops" on this vacation. Halfway to Raleigh I realized that I had forgotten Hannah's bag of clothes in the hallway upstairs!!! Poor baby! I had all of her cute July 4th outfits, bathing suit and everything in that bag! Luckily I had packed her hanging clothes separately. So, we had to take a little shopping trip to Kohls before we left from Raleigh Saturday morning!

Hannah is 9 Months Old!

Wow - seriously, where is the time going? Hannah has had a HUGE month in development. During the past month she has cut two teeth, crawled, babbled mama, dada and baba and is basically into everything. She also makes it known when that she no longer wants to be held to a certain point. She will squirm her way out of your arms. I will put her down, do something, turn around and she is completely across the room. She really has to be watched closely because she can find the tiniest little things in the carpet and wants to put EVERTHING in her mouth. She has also started eating puffs and crackers. Next month I am going to work on more table food since she is not too interested in baby food anymore. She sees the things that Emma gets to eat and she wants them too. Hannah is still such a sweet baby. She can go anywhere and do anything and she is always happy unless she is hungry or sleepy. She laughs at anything that you do, which makes it so easy to entertain her. She also loves looking at books, playing with blocks and claps when she hears a familiar song. At her nine month appointment Hannah weighed 18 lbs. 8 oz. This baby has brought so many "surprises" to our life and we just love how lovable and happy she is. We are certainly blessed to have her in our lives. We love you Hannah!

Emma and Her Horse

Bo was out of town and I was cleaning out my pool bag. Emma loves my keys in my pool bag that unlock the gate to our neighborhood pool so she was playing with them. I let her have them for awhile and started cleaning up around the living room before she went to bed. I looked over and saw Emma on her play horse. She was putting the keys in the handle of the horse and getting them to stay there before riding on it. It just cracked me up. I have never put keys in her horse before nor have I ever talked to her about my keys being a necessity for something to move. I realized how many connections she is making by simply watching me. I am such an example for her now and I don't realize that she is watching everything that I am doing. They are such simple things, but her little mind is absorbing so much. I snapped a picture of her really fast because I knew she would stop when she saw the camera.

Hannah Gets Tubes

On June 28th we went in for round two of tubes. Emma stayed the night at my mom and dad's since we had to wake poor Hannah up at 5:15. She went to a different hospital than Emma and it was farther away. This was actually Emma's initial appointment that I had to wait months go get. After realizing Hannah needed them so badly I found another doctor for Emma who did hers sooner. That way Hannah could see the CHKD doctor (Children's Hospital of Kings Daughters). I felt more comfortable having Hannah at the pediatric hospital since she is so much younger.

It was a very inviting atmosphere all centered around children. Hannah was wonderful considering she could not have anything to eat or drink. She was the youngest of the day, which meant she was first. She did great during her triage and then we waited in a beautiful playroom. Other children started coming in after about fifteen minutes of us being there.

The anaesthesiologist met with us as well as the doctor. Everything was very familiar to us so we were very prepared. Hannah was called back at exactly 7:30. Bo and I then went to a separate family waiting room. About twenty minutes later the doctor came in, said Hannah did great, gave us some ear drops and some extra information and then he was on his way. A nurse came by, picked us up and we followed her to the post op area, which looked like an ER - little beds separated by curtains.

Hannah was already awake and being held by the nurse. She saw us and typical Hannah - she just smiled and laughed. She was then allowed to have juice so I gave her about four ounces of juice and precious thing just gulped it down. The nurse went to get more and we had to take her bottle away to refill it and that was the only time she cried! She did so well after her surgery. It was definatley a better age to have it done. Emma was more scared and more aware of everything happening, especially when they took her from us. Hannah really didn't know what was going on and it made me more relaxed knowing that she wasn't scared.

Hannah did great all day. Bo actually drove her home and stayed with her while I reported for my internship and completed some hours. I was so proud of her and couldn't wait to get home to her. But, it was like nothing had ever happened!

My mom dropped Emma off later that day and brought Hannah a new talking book. Bo's mom also sent Hannah her own "Abby Cadabby" doll. I had to put drops in Hannah's ears for the next three days and Emma wanted me to put drops in her ears too! So, I would have to pretend to put drops in Emma's ears just so she wouldn't feel left out.

I am so glad these procedures are over with! They have been on my mind a lot since March when they both stayed so sick. I really hope that I see a difference with ear infections but more importantly I hope that Emma and Hannah do not have to endure anymore pain, fevers, doctor appointments and medications because of thier little ears. We will see what happens!

Our 6 Year Anniversary

We celebrated six years of marriage on June 26th, exactly six years ago! It is amazing how many things have changed with our relationship since we got married. The jobs, moves, and children have been the biggest changes we have encountered. At the same time, we are sometimes still the same couple that dated in college - we just go to Chick Fil A and put kids to bed instead of staying out at fraternity parties.

We certainly had a wonderful weekend. Bo's parents came to watch the girls. We went to VA Beach and stayed at the oceanfront Hilton. We were on the Empyrian level and had an awesome room. We had access to a rooftop, overflowing pool that overlooked the ocean. There were waiters/waitresses serving our drinks. It was a beautiful place. We were not far from home and did not have to spend a lot of road time to feel like we were getting away.

Saturday night we went to dinner at our traditional anniversary restaurant, The Melting Pot. There, Bo surprised me with my new diamond wedding band. It is the same as my original, but it goes above the engagement ring. It definatley adds more sparkle to my hand! I was a very happy person!

We had a fabulous meal, went around the ocreanfront for awhile and called it a night. We spent some time at the pool Sunday morning before we left. It was a nice get away but always nice to come home. We missed our babies.

Later Sunday night both kids were screaming while getting dinner ready. Bo said, "want to go back to the Hilton?" Having time away from kids is healthy for a relationship but it is always nice to come home and know that we are all under the same roof again. I am so blessed with all that has happened in the past six years and grateful for a very loving husband.

Mamama/Dadadada

I just wanted to note how Hannah has started her dada, mama, guhguh sounds. She started her "dadada" sounds around the second week of June, but then she started some "mamama" sounds on June 21st. It was so sweet that she said it when I went to get her out of her crib that morning. She is really growing up and her little voice and laugh are so sweet!

Father's Day

We had a very nice Father's Day. The girls gave Bo a new IPOD travel case/speaker thing to take to the beach and pool this summer as well as a new Wii game. I love the cards that we gave to him this year. Hannah gave him one that says, "DADA" on the front, which is perfect because she is saying that so much now. Emma gave him one that says, "From Daddy's Little Girl," which suits her so well because he always asks her, "who's a daddy's girl?" and she says, "me!" I gave him a funny one that had a cartoon couple "making out" on the front that says something about how things use to be, you open it up and it says, "that is how we got into this parenting stuff to begin with." It also plays music inside. It made me laugh. I also gave him a sweet one about how I love seeing him be a daddy.

We started the day with church, ate lunch and went to the pool. That evening we went to my mom and dad's house for a cookout. Emma ate corn on the cob! We enjoyed the evening with everyone in my immediate family. It was a very nice day. Emma and Hannah love their daddy so much. I also appreciate Bo more than ever and love watching him be a daddy. These girls definately have him wrapped around their little fingers and Emma especially knows how to get what she wants by going to her daddy! Bo works hard for us and supports us in everything that we want to do for our girls' future. He is a wonderful father.

I am so grateful for my father and be being able to spend the time with him on Father's Day. He has worked or I have been out of town for the past few father's days. So, it was nice to be with him. He is one of the hardest working people I know and has sacrificed so much for his family. My mom and dad have both lost their fathers and I know it must be difficult to celebrate a holiday like this for many people. This day has really made me think how lucky I am to be surrounded by loving, supportive and respectful men.