The Next Chapter

Chapter One:

Leaving Home

After graduating from ISU, Ben & I decided to pack up, leave Mackinaw, and head out on our own. It was scary at times, being 2,000 miles away from everyone we knew, but oh how good it was to do something new and exciting! 

Chapter Two:

Las Vegas

I got my first teaching job. My colleagues and friends at Rose Warren Empowerment Elementary School became my second family. I learned sooooo much those first two years of teaching. 

Ben learned a lot, too. After two short years, he graduated from UNLV with his Master's degree. 

It seemed like we were hosting guests at least once a month! My best friend Jamie (far right) came to visit us 3 times in a year! 

Cocktails with the RW crew... I miss these girls so much!! Pretty sure we spent just as much time at Happy Hour as we did writing lesson plans! 

Chapter Three:

Wedded Bliss

Really, this chapter was wedged in the pages of Chapter Two: Las Vegas. We drove home to IL to get married and celebrate with all of our friends and family. 

Chapter Four:

Kentucky

I was fortunate enough to get a job in Lexington while Ben went to UK to get his Doctorate. I made great friends, worked with amazing kids, and hopefully changed some lives. 

finding a loophole to the "no costumes" policy 

Another batch of wonderful friends

Dinner with my first team (minus Erin)

With Dr. Ben Stiers on his graduation day

Chapter Five:

Charlotte

Born August 7, 2011

June 7, 2011

Charlotte Grace came to us on a hot, Sunday afternoon. We loved her instantly and continue falling deeper and deeper in love with this precious little girl each day. She's full of giggles, wonder, and life. 

Chapter Six:

Illinois

Ben and I are headed back to our alma mater. Ben has accepted a position at Illinois State University as the Technical Director for the School of Music. He'll also be instructing the BRMM drum line and teaching lessons in the percussion studio. It's an exciting, yet bittersweet move for our family. We're both thrilled by the opportunity for Ben at ISU, and are so happy to be able to move much closer to home. Charlotte will get to see her grandparents, uncles, and cousins much more often! I'll also be able to stay home with Charlotte & begin working on my Master's. But Ben has really enjoyed the time he was able to spend at home with Charlotte this spring. It's also difficult for me to leave Millcreek after 4 years of working with wonderful teachers and kids. We will definitely miss all of the friends we've made here in Lexington. A huge THANK YOU to all of you who have helped us along the way - personally and professionally. 

And to all of our friends & family - thank you for your continued support and Ben and I continue on this journey called LIFE. We are blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives. 

To be continued... 

Teething

Charlotte has had her bottom two teeth for a couple of months, but it seems like they'll have company before too long (hopefully). I can see the outline of the top FOUR teeth not far from the surface of her delicate little gums. We're also dealing with the other telltale signs of teething - low-grade fever, chewing on everything, low appetite, interrupted sleep, and rubbing her face & ears. 

This, my friends, is the (adorable) face of teething: 

We do what we can to help her with the pain & discomfort. We give her plenty of cold teethers, offer things to chew on, tylenol or advil, teething tablets... Yesterday I put a wet washcloth in the freezer for a few hours & let her chomp on that. It seemed to work for a while. 

  

Sometimes, though, nothing works better than gnawing on her own hands. 

I feel bad for my sweet baby. No parent wants to watch their child suffer - especially as a baby. I hate that I can't explain to her that it's temporary and there is a purpose behind her pain. But I also can't help but snicker when she's over-the-top dramatic about it. 

Charlotte's New Pool

Our summer started with a wonderful visit from our friends Anna & Joseph and their adorable little guy, Anderson. While they were here, the summer heat kind of snuck up on us and caught us off guard. We wanted the babies to have some fun in the sun, but were forced to improvise on the pool. We came up with this:

That's right - an under-bed storage container! We had everything else we needed - swimsuits, toys, sunscreen, water... what difference does the container make? The kids had a ball and we had a good laugh, too.

Blowing kisses at Anderson!

Just minutes after Anna & Joseph hit the road, I got an email from them with an Amazon gift card attached! As a Thank You for "letting" them stay with us (are you kidding?? it was our pleasure!), they sent the gift of a pool for Charlotte!! Today was the day she got to play in it for the first time!

She loved it! She splashed around, kicked, played with her squirt toys, and chatted with the froggy. It's a good thing Charlotte has a few different swimsuits, as I can see they'll be in pretty constant use this summer!

If you're wondering why Charlotte's sitting in the shade or why she's not wearing a hat to protect that sweet little head of hers from the sun..........

She hates hats!

10 Months Old

Charlotte is 10 months old now. Can you believe that?! We can't! Time is F.L.Y.I.N.G. Our little baby is growing and changing so quickly! With so much personality, curiosity, and ability to get into everything, she sometimes looks like *gasp* a toddler!! With the way she feeds herself with her little pinching fingers, to the way she sits on her knees while investigating something new... a little bit of our baby turns into a big girl.

 

This month, Charlotte has started taking baths in the regular tub instead of her baby tub, is cruising along furniture - even letting go with one hand to move to another piece of furniture, hustling up the stairs with us right behind her, telling us she's done with meals by dropping food on the floor, drinking out of a straw, and talking in her adorable baby babble pretty much constantly. She is continuing to take great naps in the morning and afternoon, and sleep at night is still kind of hit or miss. She loves to play with her Daddy - crawling around him, riding on his shoulders, smacking his face, and drumming on his belly. She also loves to play hide & seek, she tries to get Donny & Marie to play with her (or at least let her pull their tails), and she likes to help fold laundry and unload the dishwasher. 

Charlotte does so well out in public. She loves going grocery shopping, will sit and feed herself Puffs while we eat at restaurants, enjoys watching joggers and dogs at the park, talks to the birds and trees when we take her for walks, and usually does pretty well playing in the car on short trips. 

No trip to the park is complete without some time spent in the swing! What a sweet girl!! 

A Lesson in Sharing

When I went in to get Charlotte up this morning, I saw that she had fished her little paw through her crib slats and pulled all of the extra pacifiers off of her nightstand. What's even more adorable is that she had passed them out to each of her little friends that hang out in her crib with her (a dolly, 2 bears, and an elephant lovey). I thought it was adorable and told her how sweet she was. Then I picked her up & discovered her diaper had leaked & she needed to be changed, as did her bedding.

A few hours later, after her morning nap, I went upstairs after she woke up to find that again, she had given pacifiers to her friends! This time, I thought to take a picture. You can see a paci next to her dolly, and there is another friend with a paci behind her that you can't see.

Oh sweet girl, you're so precious!