Kindergarten: a good place to start my real job

My journey to kindergarten actually started in 2004 when I spent some time in a 2nd grade classroom and watched an amazing teacher teach all kids, beautifully. I felt right at home and this planted the seed. In 2006 I went back to school so I could pursue this thing called teaching. Right about then districts started cutting their budgets and hiring fewer and fewer teachers every year---good timing, right? I've been VERY fortunate to have a teaching job every year, and I feel incredibly blessed by that gift! The stressful thing about these jobs has been they were each for only one year,  leaving me wondering what I'd be doing the following year (will I have a job? what grade? what school?). God knew the bigger picture. God has been using these years to refine me, not only as a person, but to be an even better teacher. So now,  after many many interviews, a few different grade levels, millions of wonderful learning experiences, amazing relationships with teachers, parents and kids, I now have a REAL teaching job!!!!! Of course all this was not without some great disappointments, frustrations and sacrifices along the way...all character building experiences I'm sure!  This year I started teaching as a substitute in a kindergarten class. I then went through the longest and most rigorous interview process I've EVER been a part of (including a teaching observation with a group of students I didn't know), to become a full time continuing teacher in my kindergarten class. As in, FOREVER.  As in, next summer I will be setting up my classroom in July and not over Labor Day weekend (all while figuring out how to teach a new grade level). As in, I can move all my teacher belongings out of our basement and permanently into my classroom. As in, I can think about my career and what I might do next year or the year after that or in 10 years from now, and not just think about my job that will end in June. As in, I no longer need to feel like I'm on a daily job interview. As in, I can now watch my students grow up for the next 6 years. This list in my mind keeps getting longer as I think of all the ways my world just changed. I'm so honored to be in the teaching profession, it is not easy, but it is rewarding in so many ways. I am thrilled to help these new little learners start their educational journey. A huge weight has been lifted and I feel great sense of relief, and in some ways I feel free to teach my heart out like I never have before. Praise God!

Summer Highlights

I can hardly believe it's August already... it always comes too soon! But this year it seemed faster than normal, maybe because it seems like it JUST warmed up enough to be real summer! To me, August means interviews and the anxiety of not knowing what God has in store for me as far as a teaching job....UGH! Needless to say July is my favorite summer month and it's long gone now. Luckily we've had a fun and relaxing summer so far, and it's not quite over yet.  Here are a few of the things we've been up to in reverse order.

Last weekend we cheered for Marissa (and many other friends) during the Spokane to Sandpoint race

Enjoying some extra time with Daddy...we love him being home in the summer!

Gramma came back for a few more snuggles with Kendall before the summer is over

Enjoying being outside more and showing her "intense" look in the tent

Robyn & Maya came for a visit

Kendall has had some quality cousin time

And play dates galore
(Maya, Nathan, & Avlynne---just before Kendall pulled their hair! She's a little jealous that she is still bald!)

Morning walks with Emily and Finley

Crafternoons

Kendall's been helping around the house

I won my first blog contest...a whole box of craft supplies!

A day of "camping" with Keith's family

First taste of FroYo

Kendall thinks this signing thing is really coming in handy!

Deer lake with my family

plenty of naked time (for Kendall!)

and of course some pool time!

Kendall's Pink Lemonade

During the early days with Kendall, and those long feeding sessions, I became hooked on crafting blogs! I came across the best idea for Kendall's party on Tip Junkie and have been planning it in my mind for months, it's perfectly girly and summery all in one! So, last weekend Kendall turned ONE, and we threw her a Pink Lemonade Party! Not only is it a classic summer drink, it also happens to be one of her Daddy's  favorites...so what about the pink part? Well, Kendall made me eat strawberries every day throughout the pregnancy! So it just made sense! We think she had a blast spending the day with her favorite people, her family and friends, and oh boy, she is one loved little girl! Not only is she blessed to have all of you wonderful people in her life, but so are we. It's hard to imagine parenthood without all the support and love we've received along the way so far. We are truly grateful to have all these amazing people helping us love and raise our sweet little Kendall. THANK YOU EVERYONE! So here are the pictures of the big event!

Kendall and I had a little photo shoot a few weeks ahead of time to create a fun invitation.

Here is the birthday girl modeling her birthday outfit.

A special 1st birthday bow made by Mommy :)

Welcome to the Pink Lemonade Party!

The food table (part way through the party---that is why you don't see any food! A special thanks to Bernie and Keith for helping me cut and kabob the pink and yellow fruit). The banner read: Happy Birthday Kendall!

Kendall's applesauce cake, specially frosted and sprinkled by Auntie Riss.

A few of the details: Gerber daisies, strawberry lemonade cupcakes (thanks to Aunt Kelli for loaning me her cake tower), and Kendall's 1 year picture (thanks Eric Strate Photography!)

Lemon drops, pink salt water taffy, starburst, and specially made pink lemonade lolly pops made by Kendall's Mimi.

Cute pic of K & Daddy, and notice on the right you can kind of see the Lemonade drink station...forgot to get a pic. And the bubbles underneath the drink station were the party favors.

Kendall from birth to now in pictures, plus her "coming home" outfit. This really shows how much Kendall has grown this year!

Pompoms and balloons (al a Martha Stewart!)

Daddy

Mommy 

(and an "intense" Kendall)

I love these pictures because it shows how much she loves her cards...she's been playing with them, nibbling on them, sorting them, and "reading" them all week! 

A dainty little bite to start out...

She's great at sharing

A family pic

Eventually she started to dig in a little, but she actually doesn't really like to get super messy when she eats (she takes after her dad I think).

The cousins

Aunt Kelli

Mimi

Auntie Riss 

(Kendall was singing "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to....")

It was such a fun day! I loved working on every little detail, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. In fact, I'm tempted to start planning next years party already...I love to craft! Thanks again to everyone who came to celebrate on this special day, but more importantly in this journey that we've been on for Kendall's first year in our lives. We seriously feel so blessed!

Happy birthday Kendall! We love you so much!

Sweet, Silly, & Social: Our ONE year old!

One year old dolly picture

Kendall's very first dolly picture at the hospital!

On July 15th, 2010 I decided I should buy a parenting book...I thought I had a little over a week to read up. Little did I know that the very next day we would actually BE parents!  That day literally feels like YESTERDAY. Keith and I are in SHOCK by just how fast a year has gone by. But wow, it has been seriously AMAZING! The past couple days we've had a great time "reliving" all the special moments and surprises leading up to Kendall's birth. Those memories are all still so fresh, and I hope they always feel that way. We are truly blessed by Kendall; every single day she brings us so much joy and laughter. As I've documented our feelings and milestones over the past year I know I've said over and over that each new stage has been our favorite, and as we enter the toddler world the feeling is the same. We are LOVING every minute of Kendall these days. It seems like she is absorbing so much lately, every day she has a new trick or understands something new that we say or do. It feels like she has recently turned that corner from baby to toddler. Even though her size sometimes is deceiving (she's about 17lbs and on her birthday a lady at the grocery store asked me if I was sure she was old enough to be sitting in the front part of the cart!). Here is some of the latest with Kendall...
*We think she has quite the sense of humor for a one year old. Actually, she is a riot! She knows how to ham it up and loves an audience. Her crowd favorite right now is the "intense" face with clenched fists---the more laughter she gets the more she does it! We hope she doesn't pop a blood vessel or something!
*Her all time favorite food is avocados! She screams and pounds on her high chair if she sees me with one and can literally eat an entire avocado in one sitting (too bad they are stinkin' expensive right now)! Generally she'll eat anything we give her, and so far she has no allergies. We've also made the switch from formula to whole milk and she has done pretty well, although we still need to get her to take it cold from a sippy cup.
*She is a little love bug! She has always been cuddly, but recently she learned what it means to hug and she will hug us as well as all her favorite toys. On her birthday she was hugging all her new dolls that were still in the packages! If you ask for a kiss you will probably get a slobbery, open mouth, bitting style of kiss. And she can give hi-5's and blows kisses, too.
*Kendall knows how to bust a move! She has the cutest little booty shake and anytime there is any sort of a beat she is groovin'!
*Anything can be a toy for Kendall. She likes to pull all the kleenex out of the box and rip it into tiny pieces. And she also loves to put things inside of containers or take things out. Her other favorite activities include playing with her kitty cats (she has 3 now!), and "reading" all her books. This is how we usually find her when she wakes up, reading to her kitties and binkies (she is still a great sleeper and usually wakes up super happy---unless she is teething (3 teeth in and one is almost through))! She also loves to share the things she is using (including food).
*She is on the move! She hasn't yet taken independent steps, but she is getting really brave with her cruising and loves it when we help her walk. We think she's pretty close to walking alone! She also is very quick going up and down stairs and can safely get herself off of the couches. We think we'll have a climber---but luckily she isn't tall enough to do too much of that yet!
*Our favorite thing that Kendall does is talk...and boy does she love to talk! NON STOP! She sounds like she really has something to say, but still doesn't really have any actual words beyond Mama and Dada and uh-oh. Occasionally we think she is saying Kitty, or bye-bye but it's pretty hit or miss.

A blueberry muffin birthday tradition

Hugging her dolly

She doesn't stay still for long! 

Well, there you have it! Our little love is one year old. We can't wait to see what she has in store for us on this adventure of parenthood.