While we have been busy relaxing, our contractor has not. In past few weeks our home as gone from just the basement, to having a first floor sub floor, to having the first floor framed, to having the second floors with a sub floor. They framed the stairs this week too so we got to stand on the second floor with no walls around us. It was quite a view! Yesterday Jay and I went to pick out all our plumbing fixtures, fireplace, and the kitchen sink. It is so nice to be able to pick out whatever we want (within budget obviously) so the whole house can match our own taste and style.

April 17th- just the sub floor is down on the first floor.




April 23rd- All the rooms on the first floor are framed. We walked through each room and could feel the size of it and start to picture our furniture. Of course, without a ceiling each room felt much larger than it actually is! Jay climbed onto a pile of logs to get the aerial view.





This is the back of the house. Trey and I are looking out the kitchen window.

Spring Break

Our family is on spring break this week and we are loving the down time and a chance to visit family. After the crazy past 3 weeks with the Easter Pageant at church, all four of us being home at the same time takes a bit of getting used to! On Easter Sunday we got up bright and early (5:30) and were out the door by 7:00 for church and then on our way to Richmond right after church. The kids did so good with the early morning and while Trey looked so adorable in his Easter outfit, he did not want his picture taken. Charlotte can't hide from the camera yet, so here she is in her first Easter dress.





While in Richmond we visited with family and took a day trip down to Newport News to see more family. Charlotte met her aunt and uncle and Nanny (my mom's mom) for the first time. We also stopped by the outlets in Williamsburg to stock up for the kids' summer wardrobe. Trey had so much fun playing with his cousins and enjoyed his first Easter Egg hunt.

Bumbo

Whoever invented the Bumbo is a very wealthy and talented person. Here at our house the bumbo has been used often in the past few years. Chandler was the first one to use our bumbo, Trey loved it, we had friends use it when they visited with their little ones during dinner, and now Charlotte is a big fan.





Trey still fits into it too!



And just for comparison here is Trey in the Bumbo when he was 6 months old.

Recap

Here are some highlights from this past week. I realize that with working I am ready to go to bed as soon as the kids are asleep and everything is ready for the next day which equals little blogging time. *Sigh* I miss that precious 2 hour nap time in the afternoons.

*Charlotte turned 3 months old last week. I weighed her on the bathroom scale (which I like to think is a little inaccurate..) and she weighed in at 13.2 lbs.

* Charlotte has decided she only needs to nap for 45 minutes at a time. However, she is sleeping 9 hours straight consistently every night.

* Trey has LOVED going to his grandparents everyday and has been so good for us getting up and getting ready in the morning.

* Trey has started using new words like lotion and stool this week. He carries his little stool with him everywhere in an attempt to reach higher places.

* Trey pooped in the bathtub last night. It was not pretty. I spent my Friday night bleaching the whole downstairs bathroom because he didn't stop after I pulled him out of the tub.

* On Wednesday Charlotte vomited on me twice before 7:00 am. We both went through 3 outfits in 45 minutes.

* They have finished putting the subfloor on the downstairs of our house this week. Jay met with the contractor yesterday and we have to pick out exterior door hinges this weekend. Seriously.... who picks out minute things like exterior door hinges?

*We looked a catalog of front doors over dinner last night. I never thought I would get excited about a front door.

* I have enjoyed being back in the classroom this week. My students have brought me lots of pictures, notes, and flowers this week. Many parents have written me notes saying welcome back.

*Jay works at my school 2 days a week. Yesterday he taught a lesson in my classroom for about an hour. It was so much fun teaching with him. My students were excited that Mr. Hipes and Mrs. Hipes were both in their classroom.

* Jay will spend at least 3 hours everyday from now until Easter Sunday at church for the Easter Pageant. He is playing a disciple. Charlotte has been practicing her role as baby Jesus by wearing a diaper and nothing else in the evenings :)

* After the bathroom was clean and the kids were asleep and Jay was still at church I downloaded a book on my kindle and read on the sofa. Even though I fell asleep probably within 30 minutes it was such a wonderful me time.

* I took both kids to the spring carnival at my school today. Trey enjoyed handing over his tickets and getting to play any game that involved throwing a ball.

Trey loves kissing and hugging his sister. Now that we have put her in his lap a few times he constantly wants her to sit with him or lay beside him.



These pictures pictures were taken last week on Charlotte's 3 month birthday!





Trey loves his new table and chairs from his Grandma and Grandpa. He likes to sit at the table and eat his breakfast on the weekends.



These pictures from the house are from this past Monday. This was the first week they have been able to work every day because of the weather so it looks completely different now! Here is looking out from the basement. You can see the windows and french doors that lead out from the basement.



Looking into the basement from the outside.

I Survived

Not that I am mistaken into thinking many people read this blog, but in case you do, I wanted to let you know I survived my first day at work. I shed a few (okay lots) of tears this morning but the day went pretty well for a day at work. Jay does the dropping off in the mornings these days, which is very helpful for me. I am proud to say I got up at 6 and we were all out the door by 7:05. Pretty impressive.

My students were excited to see me and I got lots of hugs. I enjoyed being in the classroom again and getting a chance to teach. Only 9 more days until Spring Break!

The kids did well today. Charlotte took 2 bottles today while I was gone and if you spoke to us 2 weeks ago we would have never believed that would happen! She didn't sleep so well, but I am sure that will come. Trey had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa and the new toys I send down for him to play with. Well not really new, but new to him in that they had been up in storage for the past few months until their next "toy rotation."

When I picked them up Charlotte settled down for a long nursing session and Trey gave me a big hug. We played outside with bubbles and grilled out dinner while Charlotte took a LONG nap (sorry Grandma!). After dinner we drove down our house site to see the basement progress. Hopefully I can put up pics of the house progress tomorrow night, but for now it is time to get ready to another crazy day!

*Sigh*

What happening at our house? Well, I go back to work tomorrow.

I REALLY REALLY don't want to go back to work. Not that I don't like my job, but I don't want to leave my kids.

I think instead I will just whine and pout that I don't want to go. I have a toddler so I know exactly how to throw a good temper tantrum. But that doesn't pay any bills. So... back to work I go.

My kids are in good hands, but I will miss all the sweet moments I have had all to myself these past 12 weeks. I will miss Trey loving on his sister or insisting he wants waffles for breakfast and yelling "Pop!" the moment they pop from the toaster. I will miss Charlotte's sweet coos and smiles while she eats. I will miss having my cup of coffee in the quiet kitchen before everyone gets up and knowing I don't have to rush out the door.

Lunches are made, bottles are put together, bags are packed and lesson plans are written so tomorrow here I come.

I have savored every moment I have had at home. Here are some snap shots I got of my last few days as just a mom.

Year 2 in Review

Two Years Old

Dear Trey,

I can't believe you are two years old! You have had a lot of firsts this year.

-1st trip to the beach
-1st time swimming
- 1st time overnight away from Mommy and Daddy
- Walked for the first time
- Ran for the first time
- 1st time being a big brother!
- Slept in a big boy bed for the first time

You have had so many changed in your little life this year as you learn how to communicate, express your opinions, and get used to having a little sister. You have taught your mommy and daddy the best way to ask you questions, like "Where do you want to put your carrots on your plate?" NOT "Do you want your carrots?" You like to pick out your clothes and tell us exactly where things are supposed to go. You are learning how to clean up and sing the song Mommy made up every time we clean up together!

Some of your favorite things to do are:
- play outside and collect rocks and chase bubble
- play with stickers and crayons at the table
- throw balls, although we are working on only doing this outside
- sing songs, especially The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row Your Boat, The Wheels on the Bus, Baa Baa Black Sleep, and Jesus Loves Me
- Buckle, zip, or velcro anything!
- Puzzles- Your mommy and daddy can't believe how well you can do puzzles!
- Count things, you line up items (like crayons) and point to each one as you count
- Wear Shoes- especially those that are not your own.
- Read books. The toddler Bible is your favorite. It has been greatly loved this year.
- Pray Anytime you are happy your will just fold your hands together and say "Pray."

Your mommy and daddy are so proud of you. You are learning to be a good listener and to obey the first time. You don't even mind going to time out. You are so sweet to your sister and love to hug her and hold her. When you come downstairs in the morning you look around until you find her and give her a kiss. Your new favorite thing is to wink, especially at the ladies.

We can't wait to see how you grow and develop your sweet personality more this year!

~Mommy and Daddy

Bathing Beauty

Charlotte gets a bath every evening around 8:30. I am so excited she is following nicely into a schedule and bedtime routine. It makes evenings so much easier for me! Trey goes to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 each evening. 7:00 if he didn't nap or has been playing hard outside and closer to 7:30 if he took a long nap or we were outside playing until 7:00! The light outside lasting longer has pushed dinner back a bit as we play outside or he and Jay work in the garden in the afternoons. Plus with an infant, dinner isn't always served at the same time every night so we have learned to be flexible with bedtime!

Charlotte usually takes her last nap of the day from 7:00-7:30 and then she is happy to play until her bedtime. This works out great because Trey is able to get the attention of both his parents during his bedtime routine and Charlotte gets to play on the floor because there is no big brother that might fall on her or poke her as she plays! She has a bath at 8:30 and then I take her upstairs, feed her and put her to bed around 9:00 in the crib. Most night she finds her thumb and puts herself to sleep and occasionally I have to go upstairs one time to give her the paci. The past week and half she has slept from 9:00-4:30 until she needs to eat. Last night she slept until 5:15! Some days she is up for about 45 minutes before she goes back to sleep again. But I don't mind because I am getting 6-7 hours of sleep myself, so getting up for the day at 5 am is no big deal. I can get a lot done in those early morning hours!

I think having her bath every night is a signal to her she is about to go to bed. Sometimes she is a little fussy while I get the bath ready, but as soon as we put her on the towel and start taking off her clothes she is happy as can be!

Charlotte is so big she has completely outgrown the basket part of the bathtub. Look how she fills up the whole tub!


She relaxes during the bath and just smiles and coos during the whole time.





There is nothing sweeter than a little one fresh from a bath! Please excuse the blue bath towel. Her baby towels are inherited from her brother :)