Bowling Baby Shower

Last Sunday my sweet students and their families gave Suzanna Grace a fabulous shower at the local bowling alley.  All of the kids, their siblings, and parents came out for a fun brunch and morning of running around, bowling, and giving lots of good advice.  I think that Kyle has a new appreciation for teachers and parents after spending nearly 4 hours with 40+ kids. 


They brought gifts of books and wrote some of the kindest words inside each one.  Some kids gave us new books and others hand selected books from their own libraries.  

Another precious student made us a "How To" booklet/PowerPoint. 

 I could not figure out how to upload a PowerPoint but PLEASE click on this link to take a look for yourself.  It is just precious and she created it ALL by herself!  I love that she added pictures so that I would know what the baby should/should not look like!  HAHA!

How To Be A Good Parent

I am not quite sure what this picture represents but it is special nonetheless. 

"Mrs. Moore,
I asked my Nana to make these burp clothes for your baby girl.  They are so soft.  You can use them to wipe your baby's nose when she gets older.  When she grows up they make perfect dust cloths.  I will miss you very much."

 All of those things make perfect sense to me sweet boy.  It sounds like his Momma probably made up a game with these clothes that gets him to use them as dust rags without complaining. :)



This gem is a card from one of my little boys who asks everyday, "Mrs. Moore, how's your baby doing today?!" 

Left: "Good luck with your new baby, Mrs. Moore."
Right: The "woman" at the bottom is me holding Suzanna Grace.  He was really proud of how he depicted my puffy hair.

Advice from a 7-year-old combined with a comic to show visuals of newborn care.

One family created onsies for Suzanna Grace to wear.  The one on the far left is a combined effort as they each took a fourth of the onsie to decorate.  I personally love the Dad's onsie: "Lil Moore, BLING Y'all!"

This is from a student who transferred a few weeks ago but was able to come back for the shower.  He told me that the baby will more than likely get mad at some point because she'll want cola...I will get mad too-or so he predicts.  I have a feeling that he probably experienced this exact situation as a 7 year old with his own mother right before he drew this card.   

The two "oo"s in good represent a rattle and a stinky diaper with steam.  I will use the picture to teach Kyle how to support her head when he holds her. 

What a blessing to be able to teach these kids.  I have become a better parent every year that I have been a teacher and I look forward to trying out my skills on our sweet girl in a few short days!  

Week 26 Update

How Far Along? 26 weeks

I'm not really sure where this came from but since Thanksgiving I have popped!  This was my view of the menu on Tuesday night.  Hello SG!  Mommy LOVES YOU!!

Size? 

Baby is:

Maternity Clothes? 

I am either going to only wear sweat pants from now on or splurge on some good maternity jeans.  I cannot find any store in my immediate location (Lord help me if I have to go downtown right now) that sale maternity pants.  They all have online sites where you can order them but nothing in store.  I placed a big ASOS order over a week ago...please hurry!  :) 

Weight Gain?  Not sure about any gain since the last appointment but I feel good.  And yes, Rob, adding apple juice and OJ does add additional calories if you have not been previously drinking it.  Thank you, Doctor. HAHA.

Look at how much baby girl has grown in 13 weeks!  

Stretch Marks? Nope.  Using the Burt's Bees Momma Tummy Lotion twice a day.

Gender? A precious baby GIRL!    

Sleep?  Sleeping really well, thank goodness!  I toss and turn a few times during the night and even in those few moments of being awake Baby Girl is moving or, as Kyle refers to it, "ripping around in there..."  

Movement? All the time.  It is glorious and I miss it when it doesn't happen for a little bit.  She should be doing some turning in the next week or so and I am looking forward to those new feelings.

Food Cravings? Nothing. I am loving all of the homemade treats that my students brought in this week!  
     

Anything making you queasy or sick? No, thank goodness. 

Labor signs? No!  Still have 14 weeks to go! 

Belly button in or out? She's not visible through my clothes but after I workout or eat a lot she kind of looks like a turtle poking its head out. Strange and possibly TMI?
  

Wedding rings, on or off? On.  I will be really sad when/if the answer to this changes. 

What I Miss? Nothing really.

Symptoms?  A few aches and pains from what I am assuming is stretching and growing.  

Happy or Moody? SUPER happy!  I wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning SG...your Mommy loves you...your Daddy loves you...JESUS loves you...and then I go through the names of all of her grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  

  

Best Moment of the Week? 

-Getting to see Little brother Rob Ray and Angela for a few hours before their trip to Alinea.
-All of the new movements from Baby Girl
-Christmas time at my new school.  Oh the love and appreciation that comes from the families and faculty.  I am blessed.  
-Dinner with Toes, Reno, and Kyle Friday night and being taken back to old times when it was just us, plus JohnJohn, on Newport Ave.   

Looking forward to... 
-Flying into Memphis tomorrow morning to begin working in the nursery bedding.
-Christmas Eve and Day traditions with the Rays, Moores, and Dahlems. 
-Celebrating Jesus' birthday! 

Sweet things and Life in General:

I had the privilege of picking up some of my old students from school on Monday and spending the evening with them.  We purchased gifts for some local families in need and LOVED being able to select items for their new home and that we thought they would enjoy playing with together.  These kids y'all, what giving hearts!  Even though they could very well have been in the same boat in terms of being on the receiving end, they spent so much time carefully choosing each gift and making sure that the budget we had to work with provided the most bang for their buck.  We ate a grand meal at the Sonic and then delivered the goodies to our friend Mrs. Dye who, with her husband, runs the non-profit Vision Nehemiah and hosts young men and boys in their home for various periods of time.  We took many pictures and each time they rotated who got to touch the baby. 
 Suggested baby names: Precious, Miracle, Heaven, Blessing, Dionate, and Alex.  

What My Kids Say Wednesday--a post that never made it...

Now that I am attempting to "clean up" and reorganize my blog...really I am just trying to finish SG's 1 year Blog book and catch up on the last 6 months of being pregnant with #2...I am finding some posts that just never made it to being published.  Most were not worth publishing but this one was.  I taught on the west side of Chicago for 6 of the 8 years that we lived in Chicago.  These kids were my first babies and I keep up with many of them to this day...

Here is the post that never made it:



I laugh every day at the things that come out of my students' mouths. They are an endless means of entertainment, wisdom, and wit. This post includes a variety of sayings and doings that I found on my computer but I'll try to get better at keeping up with them and sharing on a weekly basis...or at least until school gets out.

Last year after a series of unfortunate events that included this sweet soul getting in trouble more times than I can count he was finally banned from our year of the year field trip. A few days before the trip he asked if there was any way that he could regain the privilege. I explained that he would have to do something really impressive if that was going to happen...we'll this petition and all of his friends' signatures proved to be enough to win this teacher over...I signed too.

PS-One of his promises was to share his extensive knowledge of all of the zoo animals with his classmates.

I especially love that "Julia" has a heart shaped upper body and a mini-skirt while "James" has on no clothes and has only one eye. 

The comment about weave is funny...but the explanation for admiration is pretty sweet.

Well...this isn't quite the definition for weave that I anticipated students learning while reading Charlotte's Web but this does show a great understanding...I especially love the synonym and antonym.

Kyle says the best part about this one is that the kid knows who Rey Mysterio is...I don't know. I enjoy adding word bubbles to all of this student's drawings. I think that together we'd make a pretty legit comic book.

After a long afternoon sitting in a 98 degree classroom, tensions were high and this sweet soul was having a hard time staying focused and not arguing with a student in another group...his friends created these blinders for him to wear...he's looking at a computer screen...not through the eyes. Now that's problem solving.

                                           
                                               I laugh every time. "She will be broke..." Yup.

                                                                        Bless him.

I screamed in terror when these "little people" came to our ISAT pep rally too. Apparently they are a "big attraction" at many west side weddings and parties.

Stay tuned for What My Kids Say Wednesday next week! We've got plenty of field trips coming up too so this should get interesting. :)