New Do!

So many people know that I was prepared for a 3rd boy and found myself a little off guard when the ultrasound revealed I was going to be having a girl - eek! I was a bit apprehensive about having to do all the girlie stuff - pink, bows, dolls, etc. And so far I think I have done a pretty good job of adjusting to life with a girl, but I have by no means gone girlie. I do the occasional pink and dresses, but still so happy to put Rylan in jeans and a t-shirt (like mom). And I love that she likes to play with cars and legos and run all about with the boys outside when they're playing soccer or basketball.

There is one thing though that I have been looking forward to with a girl - fun hairstyles! I'm not talking about all the headbands and bows that you see babies wearing these days. I'm talking about having her hair long enough to start doing fun stuff with it. I love seeing little girls in pig tails, pony tails on the very top of their heads, and other fun things. By the time I was in second grade my mom had cut my hair down to a boy haircut and I had always missed having the fun, cute hairstyles my friends had. So now Rylan's hair is starting to get a bit longer, especially in the back, so I bought some barrettes and hair bands the other day while we were out. Below is a few pictures of Rylan's first hair do! So Cute! Looking forward to lots more fun to come when it gets even longer!

Back to School...and Life

Well, we're a couple of weeks into the new school year. Jake started 1st grade and is very happy with his new school and new teacher. There are quite a few kids from his old DK class from when he was at Morningstar and he, of course, has made lots of new friends as well. We did have a hiccup on the second day of school by getting a call home from his teacher. Most of it was the same old stuff - Jake is social and isn't always the best at paying attention, nothing new to us. But she was also concerned with how upset and frustrated he got with having to read in class. I have to admit, we could have done more over the summer working with him on his reading. Since bringing this up with us, Jake has been reading everyday and made HUGE improvements. On the first day it took at least an hour to get through a book and now it takes 20-30 minutes. He's recognizing more words and is doing a great job sounding out words to figure them out. The kid is mad smart, unfortunately, most of the time this is what gets in his way ;) I think he's going to have a great year and has also shown us that he will do just fine when we finally make the move to Cincinnati.

Brenden started DK at Morningstar this fall. It was sad to say goodbye to Ms. Melissa, she was his preschool teacher for the past couple of years. I'm sure we'll still see her from time to time on the playground though. Brenden is doing great so far, he likes his class and teachers and is making lots of new friends. He has only been for a week though because he got to go back with my Mom to Arizona for a week. He has been having a blast being the center of attention. I can see how hard it is to be the middle child so its nice for him to have this time. He has been swimming, went to Old Tucson Studios, went to the Airplane museum, and much more. I have a feeling he's not going to want to come home on Wednesday! It has been strange to only have 2 kids at home with me, but I have missed my little man lots and I'm excited to have him home in a couple of days.

The little lady is starting to show her "explosive power". Ginger, my MIL, has this book, "The Secret Language of Birthdays". Its fabulous and lots of fun. Everyday is its own unique day and talks about what people are like on each day, and Rylan's birthday is the day of Explosive Power. When I first saw this I have to admit I was a bit nervous for what this could mean. Well, Rylan is now a crazy woman determined to do what she wants, even if she's not ready, and quick to let us know when she wants something or is frustrated that she can't do/get it herself. She has quite the strong personality and it'll be fun and interesting to continue to watch it come out. She has been quite busy walking/running, climbing, and getting into everything she can. She has 2 new molars and 2 more trying to push through - Fun for all! She's not talking yet, but I think it'll be coming soon. She's doing lots of babbling and loves to have me read her alphabet books to her - 26 books with each letter and 3 pictures and words to go with the letters. I would say we spend close to an hour each day having her bring me a book and read the letter and words for each book and repeat the process with about 10 books each time we do it.

Chris is back to traveling a lot. He has already been to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and is now in Arizona. I refuse to look at his schedule because I know I'll just get depressed ;) He has lots more coming up in the next few weeks then hopefully things will quiet down a bit. Luckily, he has been home mostly on the weekends so we have been able to go to 2 Michigan football games and starting this Saturday he will be coaching Jake's soccer team.

I started back coaching last week. I had had a month off since Nationals. For the most part, I had enjoyed my time away, but it was definitely nice to get back to work. I'm going to be coaching 3 days a week and possibly one more day I will be doing private lessons with 2 of the girls on the team that live in Canada - we're still working it out to see if it will all work. I have NOT missed coaching high school at all. This is the first time in 10 years I haven't coached high school and I'm loving it. However, I'm not getting too attached to my time away as I will probably have to coach high school when we move to make some money.

The house is still on the market and we've gotten some new interest this week. I change my mind almost daily as to whether or not I'm ready for this move. Part of me just wants to get it over and get started in our new town, but then there are the days where the kids are happy playing with their friends in the neighborhood and I'm happy to be coaching at Legacy and I don't want to leave. I guess it'll all happen when its supposed to and I'll be ready.