Lizzie

My good friend Leah came up to visit about two weeks ago and brought her adorable bull dog, Lizzie. Here are the girls getting to know one another through the sliding glass door.

Black eye

Here are some pictures of B's black eye after being stung by a bee.


(please ignore the stain on her pj's, it's from her liquid vitamins)

Note the 2 teeth on the bottom!

Do You Believe?

Today, I was in an all day teacher inservice on the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) scores, data, ayp (adequate yearly progress) and curriculum.

To start off our inservice, my principal showed us a very powerful video. This video is powerful because it shows a young 5th grader in the Dallas, TX school district addressing the 20,000 staff on behalf of the 157,000 students within that district. He thanks the teachers and staff for their hardwork and for believing in him and his peers. This video touched me deeply (brought tears to my eyes).

I work day in and day out in a third grade classroom hoping to touch at least one student on a daily basis either through learning with an 'ah-ha' moment where the lightbulb goes on and they get 'it' or on a personal level where maybe I have helped them solve a problem or I have just been a shoulder for them to lean on. In this day and age, many people don't seem to value or support public education like they used to. People believe that the educational system is failing us and they are so quick to blame the teachers - the ones in the trenches day in and day out working in overcrowded classrooms, getting paid minimal wages, working long hours without extra pay (many of you know you wouldn't do that), getting slammed with needed to bring their students to standard, no support from parents and the list goes on. I tell you what - I am HAPPY to do and feel PRIVILEGED to be in this profession, almost chosen in a way.

After watching this video, please do not be so quick to pass judgement on all of us and the students we work with on a daily basis. We do love our job, but the one thing I ask for is a little respect and trust in the fact that I do know what I am doing and am hoping to prepare your child not only for the next grade level, but also the 'real world.' I just don't teach the curriculum handed to me and that would be reading, writing, spelling, grammar, phonics, math, science, social studies and art; but I also teach respect, manners and common decency.

We are days away from electing our next president and if you live in WA, our next governor. When doing so, please continue to look at their views on the economy, the war in Iraq and other domestic issues. Please, please, please do not forget education when looking at our next leader. (here is where I get on my soap box, if I haven't been already!) Two leaders that I am a huge advocate for and hope that you will vote for as well are Senator Barack Obama and re-elect Governor Christine Gregoire. They both support education and value our teachers, something that has definitely gone by the wayside. Please select someone that values education because we all know that teachers are helping educate and prepare the future leaders of America.

Here is the link for the video: http://www.dallasisd.org/keynote.htm

Thank you for listening and please pass on the video to others, it is very powerful and profound!

I'm bringing home...

a baby bumblebee, won't my momma be so proud of me!

I got home later tonight after taking a class at school, so my mom was wonderful enough to pick up Brigitta from daycare. She shared the day's events with Scott who then told me that Brigitta got stung not once, but twice by a bee today. Poor baby!

She got stung on her hand and on her right cheek. She seems to be doing just fine and doesn't appear to have an allergic reaction, which is a huge relief!

And her first year check up went great. She is 22 lbs. and 28 inches long and her head is still big, but seems to be growing into it. She handled her shots well and didn't appear to have any major reactions.

We are finally off formula and onto 2% milk, she seems to like that better than whole and quite frankly, I think that is better for her - less fat. Still only has two teeth, scoots to get from point A to point B, is more confident on pulling herself up and standing next to the couch. We aren't walking yet, but soon it will happen and then watch out everyone, including Lena!

One year later

Brigitta Ruth Sutton, you were born at 5:47 a.m. on September 13th. We were so happy to finally meet you (and mom was so happy to not be pregnant anymore!) Brigitta you completed our little family and were such a wonderful baby.

Here are a few of Brigitta's first pics

Here is Brigitta one year later

Pretty adorable, don't you think!

We love you Brigitta Ruth!

Birthday Cake

Brigitta's birthday cake turned out great! We ordered it from Safeway and it was a chocolate/vanilla marble cake with cream cheese frosting. Doesn't that sound heavenly?

She put her hands in it right away....

Here is the end result. I think she got more on her face, hands and tray than in her actual stomach. She didn't seem to like the cake too much, but over time, I'm sure she will grow to love it! What girl doesn't love sugar?

Water

B's birthday weekend was full of wonderful sunny weather! On Sunday, we celebrated at my parent's house and after B's nap, she played in the pool.

She started splashing from the outside

Kenai even joined in - he likes to use it as his personal water dish! Gotta love dogs!

Eventually, she made it in the water. The water was nice and warm after sitting in the sun all day. She started out in her diaper and eventually we took that off.

Such a little water baby, she loves the bath and the pool equally! We may have to sign her up for swim lessons next year.

More b-day fun

We celebrated B's birthday throughout the weekend. On Saturday, we hosted a casual bbq at our house with close friends. Brigitta tried peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream for the first time that night. She wasn't too keen on it, but I'm sure over time, she will learn to like it more.

This is her the next morning, dressed for church and playing with a few of her new toys! Everyone was super generous!

Happy 1st Birthday!

So, Brigitta turned one on September 13th and here it is the 26th...oops! I'm a little late, sorry B!
Here are some pictures of the set up and Brigitta before her party officially got under way! (notice our new hutch in the background!)

Her highchair all decked out in the number 1 and yes, it did last!

The Happy Birthday star balloons in our driveway to let our guests know some fun was about to happen

Brigitta Ruth all dressed up with bow and all!

Birthday Surprise

My 29th birthday was at the beginning of August and Scott surprised me with an overnight getaway in Seattle. We had great seats at the Mariners game...my name was even on diamond vision! Our good friends Julie and Rich were in on the surprise and joined us at the game. So much fun!!

We stayed at the W Hotel in Seattle while Brigitta stayed the night with Grandma and Grandpa! We had a good time getting away for a night, but my favorite part was the in room massage on Sunday morning - pure heaven!

A shot of us in the room before we left for the game

This moose came out in between innings, he wasn't the normal Mariner Moose, more of a bobble head moose!

Mashed Potatoes

Enjoying mashed potatoes for one of the first times! I would have to say she likes them!

Sleeping Beauty

This is how I found Brigitta sleeping one afternoon. I had to wake her up to head out to my eye doctor appointment and she was sleeping so soundly. She didn't even wake up when I took pictures of her! So sweet!

Eleven Months

Our darling girl is now 11 months old! Wow!! I can still look back to this time last summer hoping that she was going to come early. The doctors were telling me I was dilated, I was having some small contractions and nothing!

Okay, here are some fun facts about Brigitta now that she is 11 months old.

*She still sleeps 10-13 hours per night and takes one nap a day that is usually 2-3 hours long.
*Still only has one tooth, but I get the feeling that more are on their way.
*B scoots to get everywhere around the house and gets moving so quickly that sometimes she looks like she is going to rocket into the air. (pretty funny to watch)
*Some of her new favorite foods include: watermelon, pancakes (plain), blueberry muffins and the yummy crackers from IKEA
*B had her first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house a few weeks ago when we spent the night in Seattle for my birthday and she did great!

She is still a terrific baby and we enjoy watching her change and grow with each passing day and are excited to see her little personality start to blossom even more.

Eureka!

Brigitta has finally cut her first tooth!! Hooray!! It has been a long and sometimes painful process, but it is finally through. She is almost 11 months old, better late than never, I guess.

I'll try and get a picture of it soon!

Helping daddy

Brigitta was more than happy to sit with daddy and help him out the other night. Little did she know, she was helping daddy install locks on our cabinets.

First born

Here is our first born, she will always have a special place in our hearts, on our couch and on our bed.

We love you Lena!

Adorable

How can you not love this face??