Hart Adventures: August 2011

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Adam is so sweet to text me pictures of Sara Beth throughout the day while I'm at work. It makes my day so much easier to be able to feel like I'm a part of their day. This is one I got last week while she was "helping" her daddy add on to our porch. Love it!

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, my year of being a stay-at-home mommy is officially over. Sniff, sniff. . . I started working again a couple weeks ago when school began. I'm at a different school this year--- back at my elementary Alma mater actually. I do miss my friends at SGE, but I'm so grateful to be where I am this year. If I had stayed at SGE, I was going to be teaching 1st grade again. Don't get me wrong, I love first grade! But being in the classroom entails A LOT of "take-home work". I was worried about missing time with my family. Through a series of texts, I caught wind of a reading interventionist position that was opening at Summerfield. At first, I wasn't interested. My brain had finally started settling in to being back in the classroom. Adam finally convinced me to at least throw my name in the hat. So, I updated my resume and emailed it (tacky right?) to the principal on a Sunday night. Monday morning, while I was visiting my friend, Crystal, in the hospital, I got a call to come in for an interview. They were interviewing for the position right then, so I needed to be able to come within a few hours. Thankfully, I was decently dressed and even had make-up on. The interview went well, but I never expected what would happen next. I went to pick up Sara Beth from my parents' house, which is literally 3 minutes away. As we were headed home (it had been about 20 minutes since the interview) I got a call asking me to come back to the school again. So, there I was, with my baby on my hip, in the Principal's office, surrounded by administration folks. "We'd like to offer you the position, if you are interested." Really. It was that easy! I've never before had something just fall in my lap like that! God is amazing! So, now, when I'm lonely in this new place, missing my best friends and my baby girl, I try to remember that God put me at Summerfield. It's where I am supposed to be. I hope that I can shine a little Jesus and be an encouragement to others while I'm there. Maybe I'm there for me. Maybe I'm there for another teacher. Maybe there is a child that I can help. Maybe God put me there for my nieces, Shelby and Maddie. I get to hug their necks every day now. No matter why God put me there, I am so glad He did! Here's to a great year!
On another note, Adam is being a stay-at-home daddy this year. He resigned from his job during the summer so that he could be with SB this year and also supervise the building of our garage. I'm so glad that he is able to spend this time with her. He will cherish it forever! I love to hear about what they did while I was at work. It's usually so different than what I would've done with her. He teaches her about tools, helps her climb things, lets her get dirty outside, and other "daddy" stuff like that. It's priceless!

Monday, August 15, 2011

15 (and a half) Months Old

It's been a while since my last post, and even longer since my last monthly update about Sara Beth. She is now 15 months old and growing up WAY too fast! At her check-up with Dr. Ritch this month, she weighed 22 pounds (50th percentile) and was 31 inches long (75th percentile). In the last few months she has gotten lots more teeth (all the better to chew with, my dear) and now has 12 in all. She is a great little eater, which I love! I'd list the things she eats, but it's pretty much everything now. Her tolerance for spicy foods is still pretty low, but we're working on it. She usually takes a bite and seems to enjoy it until a few seconds later the spice hits her and then she cries. A sip of milk helps put out the flames, and then she goes back for another bite.

     Sara Beth is becoming quite the little monkey lately too, climbing on everything. Her favorite places to climb are up into her highchair and onto the back of the couch so she can see outside. She can kick and run, dance and clap, but can't throw a ball quite yet. She's learning to ride her balance bike, slowly (VERY) but surely. She learned to build with blocks a few weeks ago. She was enamored with blocks for a while and that's all she ever wanted to play with. Now, she's moved on to books. Sara Beth is a book-aholic! She has always loved books, but since Adam built her some bookshelves that she could reach, she has been obsessed with books. If you can't find her, just go look in the corner of her room. There she'll be, sitting in a pile of books, quietly flipping through each one or naming every picture that she sees. It's pretty amazing, and entertaining to watch! She can even name a few of her favorite books: There's A Wocket In My Pocket ("Pocket"), No, No, Noah ("No, no, no"), Mr. Brown Can Moo ("Moo"), Go, Dog! Go! ("Go, go, go"), and Uh Oh, Calico! ("Calico" most of the time, but occasionally she'll say the whole title).
     Sara Beth is a talker! I wonder who she got that from? Hmmm.... Anyway, she can parrot pretty much anything that you say to her. It only takes 2-3 exposures to a word before she's using it independently. Dr. Ritch asked us if she had a few words that we could understand. We said "Yes, quite a lot actually." He said, "Around 6?" Our reply. . . "Um. More like 100!" I love the way she says "happy", "yellow", "Zilla", and "Shelby". Her little voice just makes me smile! She is even starting to put 2 or 3 words together sometimes. Before we know it, she'll be spouting out sentences.
     This summer has been fun-- full of lots of play dates with friends, Gymboree classes, and swim lessons-- but it has been unbearably hot! We've been cooped up in the house for the last few weeks because it's sooo hot outside, even first thing in the morning. Here are a few pictures from the last 3 months to show you what our girl has been up to: