Rice Cereal!

When we went to the doctor for Caroline's 4 month appointment, our pediatrician started talking to us about rice cereal and baby food.  Since Jack was already on baby food I knew that stage was almost upon us.  She gave us the green light and said anytime between then and 6 months would be the time to start.  Since Caroline had just started putting things in her mouth and chewing on stuff, we figured it was time to start.

When we were down in Florida visiting his grandparents, the rice cereal began!  We plopped ol' Sassy Pants in her bumbo and she ate it up.  There wasn't much of a learning period with it.  She ate it like she'd be doing it her whole life!  So we'll do this for a few more days and then those veggies are up to bat next!

FREEDOM!

Since the day that Caroline was born, she has been swaddled.  Anytime that she wasn't her arms would flail around and since she didn't know what those things were or how to use them, it made it hard for her to sleep.  So swaddling her kept everything tucked in so that she could sleep peacefully.  We would swaddle her so tightly that it would make her grunt a little bit.  We weren't being mean, but the tighter the swaddler, the better the sleep!  She was a little Houdini and sometimes we would go in there and her legs would be out or her little hands would be up around her face.  This usually would wake her up from her nap, but once she was swaddled tightly again, she'd doze right off. 

One morning I heard her screaming bloody murder.  This is very much not normal in her case and as I went into the nursery, I saw why.  She had turned herself over onto her stomach and with her hands swaddled, she couldn't do anything about it.  So I decided that it was time to break out of the swaddler.  She was starting to spend a lot of time fighting out of the swaddler, too, so I knew we'd be better off getting her out of it.  I was worried about how it would go, but like she has always done, it was no big deal!  She is such a champ.  One day for a nap I swaddled her right below her arms and gave her the paci and her bobo and this is what she looked like when I went in to check on her.

Those arms were as wide as they could be.  I'm sure she was thinking how great it felt to finally be free!  So we took naps that first day with her arms out and there wasn't a problem.  That night I put her down and she fussed for a while and once I swaddled those arms in, she was out.  She wasn't quite ready for the all night adventure!  After a couple of days of naps with her arms out we put her to bed at night like that and she fussed around 4, but after sticking that paci back in she was back asleep until 7.  Since then she has been sleeping with her arms out and she is getting better and better at it.  My sweet girl is growing up!

4 Month Update

* She weighs 13 1/2 pounds and is 24 inches long.  She is finally getting up to the 40-50th percentiles on all of her measurements, so she is about average now!

* She is wearing size 1 diapers.

* She is wearing 0/3 month and 3 month clothes.  The 0/3 month stuff is starting to get a little snug on her, but some of the 3 month stuff is still big. 

* She is still smiling and talking all the time!  It is fantastically wonderful.  There is nothing like going to get her out of her crib and her giving a huge smile when she sees you.

* She is a really laid back baby.  She is smiley and happy most of the time, but when she gets tired or hungry she will let you know it!  She gets quite dramatic quite quickly.  I wonder who that sounds like!

* She recently learned how to blow raspberries.  We would raspberry at her and she was get the biggest smile and now she has started to do them on her own.  It is absolutely precious when she is mad and starts fussing and then throws a raspberry in. 

* We recently spent a week in Wilmington with Leslie, Anna, and Jack and Jack had found his voice and was talking and squealing with delight all day.  Caroline has somewhat copied that and now when she is fussing she just squeals and talks.  It is hilarious.

* We are up to a 3 1/2 hour schedule.  Once school ended I began to stretch her out and she has done wonderfully.  She now eats (depending on when she wakes up) around 7, 10:30, 2, 5:30, and 9:15.  On average she is up for 1 1/2 hours (including eating) and then naps for 2 hours.  Of course it doesn’t always work out that way, but it usually does.  We are also now getting about 10 hours at night.

* Since school is out, we now get to spend all day together.  Jason has football in the morning and then he gets home to see her and play with her and it works out perfectly.  Whenever I complain about my job as a teacher, please remind me of these fabulous two months we get during the summer!

* I am still breastfeeding.  I got really sick with pneumonia and almost lost my milk supply, but after a few tears and some pep talking from my fabulous mom and husband, I drank my fluids and was able to hang on to it and build it back up after I was doing better.  Things are back to normal now!

* She is really learning how to grab onto things.  We broke out the toys that she can chew on and even went to Target and got her a new ball that she can grab a hold of pretty easily and put it in her mouth. 

* She still loves her exersaucer and Bumbo (even though she still has room to grow) and laying under her butterflies.

* Since she has been talking she has loved talking to the picture of her in the pink frame right by the changing table.  She will just stare and tell the greatest story to that picture!

* She rolled over for the first time the day she turned 4 months old.  We’ve gotten her to do it a couple more times, but it certainly is not the norm yet.  She hates tummy time and only tolerates it for about five minutes, but I still make sure she gets her time in.  She may just skip straight to walking!

* We have started giving her baths in the big tub.  We still have the whale tub out and we may use it, but she is starting to love kicking in the bathtub and it is just easier to lay her down on the foam and fill the tub up just a bit.

* She is still taking Zantac twice a day and has been since her two month appointment.  It has really helped with her wheezing and coughing and just general discomfort.

* She is still a spitter-upper and has been since day one.  Every time Jason gets her she unloads a pretty nice amount on him.  She is never unhappy when she does it.  We have just learned the sounds and when we hear them, we are right there with one of the five burp cloths we have laying around the house!

* She looks like she is developing some eczema. We’ll get that checked out at the doctor.  She may have weird skin like I do.

Getting some Daddy love. (13 Weeks)

Holding that head up! (13 Weeks)

Rocking her first bow! (14 Weeks)

She is such a happy baby. (15 Weeks)

Go Tarheels! (15 Weeks)

Every time she wakes up from a nap and that swaddler is undone, those hands instantly go up and those legs get pulled in.

Her first time really playing with a toy that she was able to hold on her own.  (15 Weeks)

If that is not the sweetest thing looking at you after a nap!  She also looks at you like this when she is trying to get up from a nap too early.  And sometimes, she wins.

Uncle Jeffro made Caroline laugh for the very first time.  She had been on the verge for a while where her smile would get so big and you knew there was something else back there, but he got it out of her tonight.  It was PRECIOUS! (15 Weeks)

Watch the video here!

A week after school got out, Leslie was loading her two and heading to Wilmington.  After a bit of reluctance from Jason, Caroline and I hopped in the van with them and we all headed to Wilmington.  She is such a good traveling baby.  You don’t even know she is back there most of the time!

Jackipoo and Caroline - the best of friends! (20 Weeks and 16 Weeks)

This is Caroline’s first ‘swim’.  It was a lot like the prom – it was a lot of fun to get her in her bathing suit and lotioned up, but the actual event was sort of eh.  She was indifferent to it all.  At least she didn’t scream!  If she is anything like me she will be a fish in no time!

One of the shots that we have of all the babies is of them playing at the hearth.  She has been able to hold herself up since she was about 3 weeks old.  She is getting so big!

Happy Four Months, sweet girl! 

Had to include this one to show those thighs!  She is becoming a chunk and I love every single little ounce of it.  If she is going to be my daughter, those thunder thighs are a must!

Teaching Fellows

I am very proud to say that I am a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. I believe when I submit a resume to a school and they see Teaching Fellow at the top, I get moved higher up in the pile. I married a Teaching Fellow. I have a lot of friends that are Teaching Fellows. My very best friends (except an honorary one!) are Teaching Fellows. I teach next door to a Teaching Fellow.


The program is incredible. For those of you that don't know about the program, it is funded by the state and awarsd the recipients $26,000 for college that gets repaid with 4 years of service teaching in North Carolina (or with a payback at 10% interest!). After graduating you come out so far ahead and with some many more experiences than someone graduating with their education degree alone. I felt so much more confident and ready to be in a classroom. I spent hours and hours in classrooms and with students. We had traveled the state and seen different schools in different cities. We got to see how things work. We had to complete things that we would not have completed otherwise. I completely feel like I am the teacher I am today because of the Teaching Fellows program. Not to mention that it allowed to get through school at a time when my parents very much appreciated me finding money for college.

Every year I help do mock interviews for students at my high school that are going to apply for the Teaching Fellows scholarship. I see these high school kids that are excited about teaching and nervous about their interviews because for some of them, this will be their only chance at going to college.

With all the money issues going on around this world, the state has decided to stop funding the Teaching Fellows program. They believe it has 'run its course' and that we no longer need this program. They are going to complete their obligation through the current high school seniors that have been awarded the scholarship, but after that, the program will be no more. They will not do interviews next year even though they have over 4,000 applications that have already been submitted. I have never heard anything as ridiculous. Once again, people are making decisions about things that they know nothing about. The education system in this state and in this country is in dire need of great teachers that are excited about what they can do for these students. I know that plenty of people come out of the educational programs at colleges and universities all over the state and country and are great teachers, but in this competitive job market we are in, being a Teaching Fellow gives you that upper hand that many people need to even get a job. I hate it for all of the high school students that had that as their plan and are now going to have to find a different avenue. Some of them are going to give up education completely.

All of the alumni got an email from the program that gave some statistics that had been shared in the battle to fight this:

A recent study by Dr. Gary Henry, etc. with UNC-Chapel Hill will be released soon. The study’s findings validate the State’s investment. Some of the findings are:

• On average, Teaching Fellows score higher on Praxis II licensure exams than all other sources of teacher preparation

• Overall, the Teaching Fellows Program provides an effective source of teachers to the state of North Carolina

• Teaching Fellows are more effective in elementary school mathematics, middle grades mathematics and in high school

• The effectiveness of Teaching Fellows is primarily due to the recruitment and selection of high-quality individuals

• Teaching Fellows are significantly more likely to remain five years than teachers from any of the other categories

• Teaching Fellows are less likely to exit North Carolina public schools in their first three years of teaching


Data from the Program’s First Class in 1987 through March 2011:


Teaching Fellows Profile

• Teaching Fellows applications: 47,611

• Teaching Fellows Regional Finalists: 18,193

• Teaching Fellows Awards: 10,799

• 400 annual awards (1987-2005)
• 500 annual awards (2006-2011)
•  Approximately 2000 current undergraduates

• Teaching Fellows Graduates: 6,921

• Teaching Fellows Graduation Rate: (Classes 1987-2006): 84% (% will rise as some Fellows graduate late)

• Scholastic Profile of 2011 recipients: SAT Avg., 1175 (NC avg. 1008); GPA, 4.3 weighted scale


Teaching Fellows Service

• Teaching Fellows Graduates completing 4-year teaching service obligation: 4,153 (entering classes ’87-’02)

• Teaching Fellows Graduates employed in 5th year after completing 4 year teaching service obligation (2010-11): 84%

• Teaching Fellows Graduates employed after 5th (6th-20th) year of service after teaching service obligation (2010-11): 65%*

• All Teaching Fellows Graduates employed in public schools after teaching service obligation (5th-20th year, 2010-11): 66%*

• 1987 Teaching Fellows who completed teaching service obligation and are employed in public schools in 20th year: 60%*

• Teaching Fellows graduated in 2009-10 and employed in 2010-11: 64%*

• Teaching Fellows Graduates employed in 2010-2011 in 99 counties: 3,925

* Fellows may return/seek employment after graduate school, travel, and/or childcare.


Teaching Fellows in Leadership


• Teaching Fellows Graduates in graduate school:

99-00, 131; 00-01, 133; 01-02, 111; 02-03, 112; 03-04, 110; 04-05, 101; 05-06, 96; 06-07, 81; 07-08, 80; 08-09, 96; 09-10, 87; 10-11, 99
• Teaching Fellows Graduates with National Board Certification: 811 (as of 3/10)


• Teaching Fellows Graduates entering Principal Fellows Program: 105 (as of 6/10)

• Teaching Fellows Graduates in central office/administration: 241



Now tell me that doesn't sound like a program worth investing in!

Take a Second...

Friday morning I did something that a lot of people in this country were wishing they could do.  I signed my contract for next year.  That means that for another year of my life I am guaranteed a job and with that job, a paycheck.  A paycheck that allows me to help support my family.  A paycheck that allows me to have a car and gas in my car to get me from here to there.  A paycheck that guarantees that we have plenty of food to eat every day.  There are a lot of people who go to bed every night and wonder if they are going to have a job next week, next month, or next year.  They wonder how much longer they are going to have a home to come home to and food to put on the table.  And I want to be sure that I take a second to be thankful for all that I have.  I am blessed.

3 Month Update

* Unofficially she weighs about 12 1/2 pounds and 24 inches long.

* She is wearing 0/3 month and 3 month clothes.  The 0/3 are fitting her now and some of her 3 month stuff is still big.

* She is still in newborn diapers, but that may only last through tomorrow.  They are getting a little bikini-esque and they can't quite hold everything she is producing!  Even though the 1s still look huge on her to me, I think the switch is going to be tougher on me than her (pretty much the story of my life these days!).

* I am back at work.  I went back on May 16th.  We have been so blessed to have lots of great family support during these 4 1/2 weeks so that we didn't have to put her in day care yet.  Leslie, Mom, Jason, and Jason's mom have all taken turns keeping her and it has been awesome.  THANK YOU THANK YOU!  Being back at work was really rough the first week, but since I've been back for a couple of weeks it really hasn't been bad.  I've enjoyed getting back to my kids (even though my patience was just about zero from day one!) and getting to spend time with all of my friends here.  I hope when I have to do this again in August it goes as well!

* Since I'm back at work, we have to get our morning rolling fairly early.  When she is staying at our house we are getting her up at 6:30 to get the party started.  When she stayed at Leslie, I'd get up at 5:45 to get my shower in so that I could be on the road to meet Will by 7:30. 

*  She is sleeping 8 hours at night every night.  We are getting her up at 6:30 and then she'll eat at 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, and then her last feeding will be at 10.  She goes down at 10:30 and we get her up at 6:30 to start it all over again!  I love that last feeding.  Even though she sleeps through it most of the time, I love letting her sleep on my shoulder when she is finished for a just a few minutes before I put her down.  There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.  I love just listening to her breath and smelling her delicious baby smell and watching her smile those sweet sleepy smiles. 

* On Wednesday nights, Ja stays up and feeds her that last feeding so that I can go to bed right around 10 after I pump.  It is great to have as much sleep as I can on that one night.  It gives me enough energy to get through the rest of the week! 

* I am still feeding her, so pumping at work has become part of my daily routine!  We have it down pretty well.  I feed her at 6:30 and then I pump before I leave for work.  I pump at work around noon.  I feed her at 6 or 6:30 and then I pump before the 10 feeding.  It has been working great and my milk supply has stayed right up there.  It dipped a bit at the beginning of me working, but it has come back full force and I have a freezer FULL. 

* Her exersaucer and bumbo came out right around 12 weeks.  She has great head control and enjoys sitting up and standing up so that she can look around.  She is still a little bit small for them, but she does great and is building those muscles!

* She gets so serious when she studies things.  You can just see that brain working when she catches the pattern on the blanket or the pillow or the duck on Leslie's exersaucer that she is IN LOVE with.

* Anna LOVES her some Caroline.  When she stayed with Leslie, Anna was such a great helper.  She would feed her to help Leslie out.  One time she even fed her, burped her, and then gave her the rest of her bottle.  I see a fantastic babysitter in our future!!  I'm so glad that Caroline will have Anna and Jack to grow up with.

*  She is smiling and talking lots now!  She smiles fairly easily when she is fed and has had a good nap.  She talks a lot and I swear she is saying 'Hi!' and 'Hey!'.  That smile is enough to just melt me down to a puddle of nothing.  It is what I can't wait to get home to after a day at work.  We are only a couple of weeks away from summer when I get to see that sweet smile all the time!!

* I have come to call her Toots, even though her Daddy doesn't like it.  I started calling her Tutti Frutti when she first got here and then that progressed to Toots and Fruits and now I just like to call her Toots.  Her Daddy still calls her Squeaks sometimes because when she was little little she would squeak and grunt all the time. 

8 weeks - She LOVES her butterflies!

Caroline is 9 weeks and Jack is 13 weeks.  Not as much difference as there once was!

Uncle Jeffro got some Caroline snuggle time in while Leslie and I played with Penelope, Jack, and Anna! (9 weeks)

There is nothing sweeter than a good sleeping baby! (9 weeks)

Uncle Patrick was in North Carolina for a little bit and we met him at Southpoint for a little lunch and puke session!

Tell me that smile is not the cutest thing!

She doesn't wear anything on her feet often, but she is kicking it with those bunny slippers!! (10 weeks)

10 weeks!

Daddy brought Caroline to see me for lunch on my first day back at work! (10 weeks)

She is getting some thunder thighs!  (11 weeks)



Smileypants in her exersaucer.  She is such a happy little thing! (12 weeks)



Holding her own bottle!  She has no idea what she is doing, but it was still pretty funny! (12 weeks)

She still loves her bath time!  She usually smiles, but she is looking quite concerned here! (13 weeks)

Aunt Katie got her these sassy sunglasses and she rocked them for a while in the bath! (13 weeks)

Holding her hair back with her sunglasses, just like Aunt Leslie!

Happy 3 Months, Sweet Caroline!



2 Month Update

I had the grand idea that I was going to be able to capture every week of this little girl's life.  It turns out that I am busy living life and that isn't going to happen.  So I'm going to (try to) do an update every month.

2 Months:

* At her two month appointment she weighed 10 pounds on the dot.  She almost doubled her weight in two months!  I always said that as long as they come out small, they can get as big as they want!

* She was also 22 1/4 inches long and her head had a 15 in circumference.  So she is growing, but staying in the pretty small percentages.

* She is sleeping 7 hours at night.  We were feeding her at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, 9, and 11.  Then she would go down at 11:30 and she'd get up about 6 or 6:30 most mornings.  We had a few 4 or 5am wake up calls, but not many!

* She gave a few smiles here and there when she was first born, but at two months we were getting real smiles!  She was pretty stingy with them at first.  You would have to work really hard and then you'd get one smile and that would be it.

*  She hates getting her clothes changed.  Even though we do it multiple times a day, she is still not a fan.

* She is fairly dramatic.  Most of the time she is extremely laid back and just goes with the flow.  When she gets hungry, tired, and mad, she gets REALLY pissed and she lets you know it is time for whatever it is it is time for!

8 Weeks!

Our smiling girl!



Rocking Anna's shades at Jack-e-poo's dedication lunch! (8 Weeks)

Her two month picture!  Happy 2 Months, sweet girl!