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August 28, 2010

baby steps

Anna has quite a few special skills. She's an excellent listener. Yes, that's intended to be sarcastic. Click here. She's an excellent ball thrower. Click here and here. She's also an excellent walker. Click here, here, and here. (for some reason, blogger won't let me upload videos from our camera, so photobucket had to come to my rescue)

August 23, 2010

going once....going twice....

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I'm not sure any of us have ever seen this much cardboard in our LIVES....and there's more to come. 78 teachers at my school had to pack up their rooms over the summer for some much-needed custodial sprucing and saved their boxes for us. I have 43 boxes from one classroom ALONE. So, if you're planning on moving, or know someone who is, we could probably help them out. Seriously. Call me. I'm up to my ears in dead trees. They've taken over the house.
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And a little dessert to go with our good news:
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This is what happens when you let your kid play with your phone....well, this and her sending random text messages to people in your address book and adding contacts named jkldfjawoj29384ujn534k5j45.

August 18, 2010

simple joys

Simple joys have a simple voice: It says time is a living prize. Time gifts us so much. A healthy, happy baby girl....
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....who can now wear her hair in a perfectly-pebbles-ponytail....
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....and who practices a beautiful yoga butterfly pose.
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We celebrated time this weekend. Our sweet Danny is a year old. It seems like only yesterday we were enjoying the quiet of an August afternoon with a newborn snuggly-wrapped and napping on her Boppy when our cell phones buzzed with the news that the littlest Badour was on his way.
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check out that arm-flappin' going on....boyfriend wanted to get him some CAKE ON....
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and, CAKE ON he did! The littles enjoyed the simple joys of a cardboard box.
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not sure whether to laugh or cringe at the looks on their faces. they just scream, "I didn't do it".
The simple joys of finger-suckin'.
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World's Best Gift-Opener.
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The simple joys of a new Momma and her sweet baby girl. I swear, holding little Austin did wonders for my blood pressure.
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Notice how both of them have ripped into the poor, unassuming objects they were playing with.
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By far, time's sweetest living prize -- Grandpop Larry. We are so blessed to have him in our lives healthy, happy, and sharp as a tack, and our children are so fortunate to be able to know one of their great-grandparents. That isn't a bragging right many folks have.
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Another one of time's living prizes -- sending your child to school. Ok, it's daycare, and she's ONE, but it's still quite a milestone we knew would creep up on us.
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me-thinks she may have a new bff. this kid was in a bunch of pics from her first day.
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All in all, it was a successful first half-day. We are transitioning her this week into full-time. Yesterday, I picked her up before lunch....today, she'll dine with her classmates (Lucas, Lucas, and Kyle....she's the belle of the ball) and come home before naptime. Hopefully, she'll be an 8-5 girl by Friday.
And two things that patience has gifted us. A new home:
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You can view the entire album here. And one last thing.....over the past 4 years, I have taken the Praxis II Music:Content Knowledge Exam multiple times. It is the only thing standing in my way of full teacher certification. A passing score in Virginia is a 160, which is 20-30 points higher than any other state in the continental US. While I admire the Dept. of Ed's dedication to employing the cream of the crop, the fact remains that the test is written primarily on an instrumental basis. 78% of vocal majors never even come close to passing it. Until now, my score has hung out in the 150's. After July's test, I felt so awful about my performance, I registered for September's test as soon as I returned home. Apparently, I don't give myself enough credit. I passed, meaning I have completed all requirements and am now fully certified. I'm really liking August so far....

August 6, 2010

watermelonhead

What does a girl do when she finds she's always hungry a couple of hours after breakfast? Simple. Put a snack on your head and save it for later.
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It's worth mentioning that she proceeded to eat the rest of her watermelon AND an entire half of an English muffin with this little morsel on her head. Looks like it's bath day....