Warm Heart

This week is my first full week back at work and Reed's first full week at daycare. Things seem to be going ok so far. He's apparently had a few reallly fussy days and the ladies are crediting it to gas. I don't doubt that some of it is related to gas, but looking at his "report card" I think it's more related to fatigue. He doesn't sleep as much at daycare and is usually pretty tuckered out by the time we get him home.

Work is going well. Today was a really good day. Our students took a test when they first started that measured their education level across a national average. Most of them tested around a 6th grade level for reading and math (these are 17-21 year olds). This week they are taking the test again to measure their growth at the mid-year point. Each student has a goal of having advanced at least 1 grade level in the two subjects. Each student on my caseload who I got a chance to talk to has scored higher this time than last. One student in particular scored 30 points higher in reading! This is an improvement of at least 3 grade levels! I'm especially proud of this student because he has come a very long way. I've invested A LOT of time working with him to keep him engaged and emotionally stable. It was so special to see how excited he was to come and tell me of his acheivement. I awarded him with some "Shearwater Bucks" (monetary system they can use to buy from the school store), I bragged on him in front of some other students to my supervisor, and I called his mom to let her know how awesome this accomplishment was.

Another touching moment occured when a new student was giving my co-worker some major attitude. A couple of our older students were in the room to witness it and when the new student walked out they immediately began saying that she had no right to talk to us that way and that they were about to slap her. One said "No one talks to our TRS (transition and resource specialist) that way. We would never do that so who does she think she is?" It was just so sweet to see how much they value their relationships with us. It warmed my heart.

If you're not familiar with where I work, check it out: http://www.shearwatereducation.org/

Here are some pics of whats happening in the Sample household this week:



Mom and Reed chilin

Happy Baby!

Dad was throwing Reed in the air not too long after eating...he learned his lesson.

Reed sucking on Dad's nose.

Looking foward to the weekend!



SNOW DAY!!!

Got a call from my supervisor this morning...SNOW DAY!!!

Reed and I slept until 8am (after his 4am feeding) and then just hung out all day. We watched Parenthood, Law and Order SVU, and Modern Family. We even made some brownies and washed some dirty diapers. Now dad is home and they're having some guy time.

For those of you who don't know, Reed is named after my mom whose maiden name was Reeds. On 2 occasions now I have been told that a character on The Young and the Restless named her son Reed after her mom's maiden name. I just want to set the record straight: This is just a coincidence. I have never watched that show and did not get the idea there. It was my own idea...a way for me to honor/remember my mom through my son.

Better go get dinner started.

Smile!

So, Reed has been starting to get the hang of smiling lately and last night I finally got some picture proof of it. It's not his biggest, open mouth, ear to ear smile (which will just melt your heart) but it's super sweet all the same.

With a smile like that he'll be able to get away with a lot!

Reed likes wearing Daddy's favorite hat too.

He was none too happy about this hair style.

Dane didn't have to go into work yesterday either so he and Reed took a field trip to visit mom at work. What a nice surprise. My co-workers couldn't get enough of him and some of the students were even there to get a peak (I didn't pass him around too much since he's got a cold and didn't need to get any more germs). It was nice having them there for a bit and I'm glad that Dad and Reed had that chance to have a good guys day!

Reed's cold is a little better but he's still pretty stuffy. Praying for a possible snow day tomorrow! At the very least, enough snow on the ground means I don't have to be at work until 11am-just that much more time with the little bug. 

Long Weekend

I was blessed to have a 4 day weekend with my boys. Dane was supposed to have work today, but got a call around 4:45 am from his boss telling him their computer system was down and that he didn't need to come in to work today. Awesome! So, we bundled Reed up and met Papa, Pat and Pop at St. Louis Bread Co. for a tasty lunch. Reed's first trip to Bread Co.- of many I'm sure (Panera Bread for those of you who don't live in St. Louis).

Reed woke up yesterday with a killer cold. He's totally stuffy, coughing and sneezing too. He had a rough nights sleepand has been a bit grumpy today too (I would be!). We called the doc and he said that as long as he doesn't have a fever (he doesn't) and is still eating (he is) we just need to ride it out. He said to keep using the bulb syringe and the saline water to help clear his sinuses. He also suggested a vaporizer. We don't have one so I asked my dad and Pop if either one of them had one...nope. But, a few minutes later my Pop called back...he had found a vaporizer for us to use! What a great Pop! Always taking care of us. Thanks!
So, we'll plug that sucker in tonight and hopefully Reed will have a bit more restful sleep.

After a bath the other night, Dane and I were having a little fun with Reed. We decided that, currently, his hair line resembles Papa's. So, we had the brilliant idea of combing Reed's hair in the fashion of Papa. This was hilarious so we had to share it with Papa. We sent him a text and he replied that Reed looked very smart and cool.

What do you think?

Here's hopin little man feels better soon!

The Bunny Room

Well, Reed and I made it through our first day back to school. My coworkers were excited to see me and even had a cookie cake with "Welcome Back Mallory" written on it in icing. Yummy. My students were thrilled to have me back as well and I got a lot of hugs. Of course everyone thought Reed was beyond cute.

The morning was rough. After holding Reed in the Bunny Room for about 15 minutes before finally handing him over to Mary, I got in the car and cried as I left my baby boy in the care of virtual strangers for the day. It was heart wrenching. By the time I got to work I had composed myself and was ready to start catching up...until my supervisor looked at me and said "How are you doing?" in her best caring mommy voice. So, of course I started to cry again. She cried with me for a bit (having had 3 kids herself and being a crier, this was no surprise to me) and then we looked at the pictures of Reed I had brought to share with her. That made me feel better and then we got to work.

I called a couple of times to check in on Reed and Pat said he was doing just fine. She said he was such a sweetie and was having a good day. When Dane picked him up he was sleeping in the arms of one of the ladies who was apparently just smitten with him (who wouldn't be?).

So, it seems that Reed is no worse for the wear. While I still hate the idea of daycare, I know that God has a plan (Jer. 29:11)...now not only for my life but for my son's life too...and as silly as it may sound, daycare is part of it. I prayed for peace today and He granted it. However, I think I may be praying for peace each day for a while :)
I guess no one ever said this parenting thing was easy.

Looking forward to a long weekend with my little bug!!!

Don't forget to vote for Reed at parents.com. He has moved up from 6th to 5th place...only a couple more days left!

Thanks for all your prayers. I really think they got me through the day. Keep 'em comin!

Hi Ho Hi Ho...Back to Work I Go...

Tomorrow is my last day with little man before I head back to work and he heads off to daycare. We went by today to drop off some of his supplies and to introduce him to the ladies that will be taking care of him begining Wednesday. As the director was handing me a sheet to fill out with Reed's "instructions" I just started to cry. It came out of nowhere, but it just broke my heart to think about handing him off to be taken care of by other people. No one else knows how to take care of him like I do. This is going to be so hard for me. Prayers please!

I mean, just look at the little guy!

I think I'll sign off now and spend some more snuggle time with my little dino. 

Happy Birthday Devan

Tomorrow is my sister-in-law Devan's birthday...

Devan-we've certainly come a long way in the past 7 years. I remember on my wedding day telling you that I was excited to see you as the aunt to my kids one day. Let me just say that you have not dissapointed in the least. From the moment you knew I was pregnant you were a wonderful aunt. You began spoiling Reed before he was born and even though you are adjusting to a lot of change in your life right now, you still manage to squeeze in time to come and visit every chance you get. Reed is lucky to have an aunt like you.

As I have watched you "grow up", I have been very impressed with the woman you have become. You are a tasty cook and baker, a good wife, a thoughtful daughter, a caring sister, an excited new teacher, a responsible woman, and, of course, a wonderful aunt. I am so glad that our relationship has blossomed and that you are not just my my sister-in-law, but also my friend.

So...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I hope you have a great one.

Results

Well here are the results of Reed's weigh-in...11 lbs 8 oz, 22.5 inches long (I was pretty off). Doc says he's lookin good!

1 Month!!!

Today Reed is 1 month old! We have a doctor's appointment this week so I'll start taking bets now on how much he weighs. I'm gonna go in at 10 pounds 7 ounces. He was 21 inches when he was born so maybe now he's 21.5 inches. He sure is starting to fill out his bassinet rather quickly.

I started reading a book titled Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (thanks Lauren Bealafeld!) and found that Reed is quite the normal, if not exceptional baby. Dane and I were getting pretty frustrated this past week as it seemed that if Reed wasn't sleeping or eating he was screaming or fussing. We were crediting this to the extreme gas that he seems to have, but as I was reading this book I found that it is completely normal, if not expected, that babies begin to go through a fussy period begining around 2-3 weeks old and lasting until about 6 weeks. It has something to do with their nervous system still developing and causes them to be fussy/screaming most of the time that they are alert and not eating. This fussiness then causes the baby to suck in air, thus resulting in the painful gas. It's a vicious cycle, but the good news is that 6 weeks is just around the corner! This book also told us that we have an "easy" baby when it comes to his sleep habits so far. He has no problem falling asleep in public places or when there are a lot of people and noises around. His longest sleep strech at night is 4-5.5 hours long (most babies at his age average 3) and it's completely normal that now he is taking longer and longer to fall asleep, frustating as it may be,  because he is begnining to fight sleep in order to stay awake with us. Needless to say, Dane and I were quite pleased to find out that our little one, although trying at times, is just being an infant (and a good one to boot!).

Dane and I read Reed some stories the other night before putting him to bed. I picked out a favorite of mine, Love You Forever. Now, my mom was not much of a crier. She certainly didn't like to cry in front of people, but there were two things you could always count on to get her to tear up: Love You Forever, and All Is Well. I myself do not like to cry and often try my best to stiffle my tears. Yet, I made it through about 3/4 of the book before I too broke down.
There is a moment in the book (if you've never read it I highly reccomend it, especially parents) where upon hearing that his mother is sick, the son drives across town, picks up his mom and sings to her the same song she sang to him, substituting the word "baby" for "mother"-of course this brought about thoughts of my own mom. To make matters worse, the next page shows the son standing above the crib of his newborn baby as he reaches down to sing the same song to his new little child. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. Dane just looked at me when I reached that page and said..."Well, you almost made it."

Anyway...enough with the sappy stuff. Here are some of my new favorite pics:

Proud Papa with Dakota and Reed

 Happy Baby!

So, after our first month all is well. Looking forward to watching Reed grow in the months to come.