Cheese

"Hello, my name is Mollie. I'm addicted to cheese."

We've been trying to get this on video for a while. Almost every day, Mollie asks us several times a day for cheese. She doesn't ask for candy, cookies, or any other typical "treat". She asks for cheese. Then when we do give her cheese, she asks for more. More, more, more. She'll even ask in the nicest way she possibly can in order to get some. In this video, she was asking for cheese for breakfast. Silly Mollie, we sure do love you and your cheese addiction!

19 Months of Mollie!

Our sweet girl turned 19 months old this past week!

I have to admit, I am so glad that Mollie's 18th month is over with. It was a doozie! If you remember in her 18 Month post, she was in a "funk". Excessively cranky, teary, emotional, not napping well, not eating well, etc. etc. There was just something wrong with her and we didn't know what it was! We assumed it had something to to with teething, separation anxiety, sinus headache, ear infection, growing, or whatever else little ones go through about this age. Well, we slowly ruled several things out, and after one final trip to the dr. to rule out an ear infection, she just magically was fine. Isn't that how it always works?? Spend the $ for the copay and it magically goes away?? Of course.

However, we believe we've determined the culprit. Growing pains!! The day after we went to the doctor I put Mollie in one of her dresses that she hadn't worn in a few weeks and it didn't even cover her bottom (and it totally did the last time she wore it!) Then we took her to get some new shoes for the fall and she had grown 2 shoe sizes!! Geeze! She grew a whole lot in a short period of time and I'm sure it didn't feel good. I'm glad that's over with...except that there's more to come :o)

I'm happy to report that Mollie loves school. When we ask her if she's ready to go to school she replies "Cooool! Yay!!!!" Drop-offs are great now- we've had several days of NO TEARS at all! She just wants a hug then is excited to see her little friends. Her teacher told me this morning that she has one particularly special little friend named Aubrey. It's another little girl in her class and they sit by each other, play together, and even hold hands :o) So sweet! I can't tell you how happy it makes me that she enjoys going there. It makes my job as a momma so much easier!

She continues to talk more and more. She's definitely picked up new vocabulary at school, but we can't always tell what she's saying :o) We still strongly encourage her to USE HER WORDS; this is helping tremendously with whining and fits. I know the Terrible Two's are just around the corner, so hopefully we can ward some of that off by teaching her to communicate well. Hopefully :o)
Talking to Daddy on the phone at the TTU Football game...and sporting her new dress made by Momma Shelly!

One of Mollie's favorite things to do right now is to read. She'll bring you a book and say "wead it! wead it!" Her favorite books at this age are Moo, Baa, LaLaLa, (if you prompt her with the first words, she'll finish the page for ya!) and a counting book with a picture of a baby on it. She'll count the pictures in the book "one, two, one, two" while pointing to each one.

Mollie also love to rock in her rocking chair with us. We have the most amazingly soft and comfy chair in her room that we all three pile in before bedtime and read and rock and say our prayers. She'll say "wooock, woooock" and snuggle up with us as she gets into sleepy mode. This is our favorite time of the day. I can't believe we all three fit in that chair, but it's such a great way to end the day!

She's also doing so well with using the potty. She even successfully survived a bout with a stomach bug! Yikes! At first I was quite concerned with the mess we might have with an upset tummy, but thankfully she only had one or two very small accidents with this and kept the rest where it belongs. I know that was a challenge, especially since she didn't feel good. However, I'm so thankful she was potty trained this time around; we avoided the awful diaper rash that is usually associated with diarrhea. Good job Mollie!

Mollie loves to help. You can get her to do just about anything if you call it "helping"! She gets LOTS of praise when she helps. This is something we definitely want to encourage! She especially likes to help cook. She gets to pour and stir and taste and sometimes make big messes.
"Helping" Mommy with her water at the City Bank picnic!

This little girl has grown, both physically and intellectually, so much in the past month. We're loving watching what a special little thing she's becoming!
Having some fun with Daddy in the bounce house at the City Bank picnic!

Third Grade Shenanigans

Here begins "Adventures of a Substitute Teacher: Vol. 2"!

I spent the past few days teaching a third grade class! All along I've wanted to teach early elementary students (pk-3), so I was very excited about this opportunity. I want all the experience I can get teaching, so I gladly accepted this assignment. Boy, did I ever get some experience.

Wednesday morning, I had the opportunity to arrive early and visit with the teacher I would be subbing for, observe in her class all morning, then take over when she left. As we were talking and she was showing me around, she kept mentioning what a wild bunch of kiddos she had. Great. Too late to back out now.

I tell you, that woman was right. This was a CRAZY bunch of third graders! And you know that if they were awful for their regular teacher, can you even imagine what I experienced as a sub!? Everyone knows students show off and pretend like they don't know the rules when they have a sub. This was so much worse. Whew. Even the kindergarten teacher that had this group a few years ago said they were a wild bunch back then, too. So needless to say, I'm exhausted this evening! But ya know, even though it was a rough bunch of kids, I still enjoyed the teaching part and haven't changed my mind :o) I am still looking forward to my next adventures (which include 1st grade, Kindergarten, a repeat of middle school tennis, and yes, even another day or two with this 3rd grade class- yikes!!!)

I learned a lot this week, and hopefully it'll make me a better teacher (and mom) because of it!


On another note, Mollie survived another week of school! Drop-off is getting MUCH easier, and she cries less and less each day. More smiles and less tears = a very happy momma! According to her teachers, she continues to be very talkative, energetic, and curious; loves "learning time" and her "ABC's"; and does a good job of telling her teachers when she needs to potty. We've had a few accidents from being distracted, but she's doing great!