Proud Mommy Monday: Service

I love these Proud Mommy Moments every Monday, but sometimes I'm a little nervous about them. On the one hand, it has been so good for me to focus on what I am doing right. On the other hand, most of the women I know are incredible moms and I don't want to sound like I think I'm better than any of them. But because it has helped me stay more positive about myself, I will continue to participate as often as I can. It's been good for me. If you'd like to participate, head over to
Shannon's blog and check it out.

So my thought for today is that I have tried to include my children as I do service. I just heard recently (and I have no idea where I heard/read it, sorry) that service shouldn't be something we do because we're told to, it should be part of who we are... Our Savior spent his life in service to others and we are to become like him. Anyway, I have a long way to go, but I do try to serve and volunteer and I try to include my children when it is appropriate.

A few quick examples: When I've taken meals to neighbors that are sick, I've let them help prepare (if this can be done safely) or deliver the food. When I was working with the young women at church, I often brought my kids along. They could see what I was doing to serve, and they became close to these amazing youth that I hope they will emulate. Last Christmas, we did a special project that my kids still talk about regularly. I am sure that there is more that I can do to help them recognize the importance of service, and I hope that as they get older, I will be able to have them participate even more. But I want them to know that helping others is an important part of life.

My grandma was my babysitter as a little girl while my mom worked. I can remember so many times that my grandma gave a disabled friend rides or took her to the doctor. I can remember her taking meals to people, listening to them as they talked, watching other people's children, taking her own grown children in when they needed a place to live for awhile. So many people's lives have been blessed by my grandma. I can remember her saying that she tried to pray each day that she would have a chance to help someone...and she did nearly every day. She was such a tremendous example to me as a child (and so was my mom!!!!) and I would like to be that kind of example to my children.

3 Decisions

I subscribe to Creating Keepsakes. I used to scrapbook a ton, but life is busy and it doesn't happen as much as I would like now. In many ways, my blog has replaced my scrapbooking. Anyway, this month is their top ten issue. One of the articles especially caught my eye. Ten layouts that are missing from your album and shouldn't be. Basically, ten things you should record about yourself in your scrapbook. As I read it, I thought, if I'm being honest, I will probably never get these things scrapped, but they would make great blog topics... so that is my goal for the next month or so...to blog about these 10 topics. Some of them will really make me think. The first one is to record 3 of your most important decisions, decision that have really changed your life.

So what choices have really shaped who I've become? What choices have made me the person I am today? This is hard to narrow down to just 3. And do I pick the obvious ones or the less obvious ones? Hmm... I've been thinking about this since Friday, and for now, here are the ones that stand out.

Decision 1: Marrying Alfredo. Of course, choosing who you will marry is the biggest, most important decision you will make. This person will be the person you will spend life, and eternity with. This person will be the father of your children and your partner and friend. Alfredo and I met in a singles ward in West Valley. We were friends and hung out with a big group for about two years. I had lived in that singles ward for about 3 years at the time, and I was feeling like it was time to move, meet some new people, make some changes. I prayed about it and I won't go into all the details, but I knew I shouldn't move. Just a few months later, Alfredo and I began dating. We dated for 4 months, got engaged and got married six months later. While we were friends for about two years before we began dating, I'm fairly certain that if I'd moved, we wouldn't have begun dating. I know he is the person I am meant to be married to. He is a hard worker, a great father and a good man. This was definitely the very most important decision. And as a result, I am fortunate to have three beautiful girls that I adore.

Image from scovilleclan.com, found on Google images

Decision 2: Going to BYU: I was a good student and loved school. I looked into a number of colleges and applied for scholarships and received scholarships to NAU (Northern Arizona University), BYU (Brigham Young University), and Weber State University. Then I had a decision to make: which school should I attend? I wanted to move away from home and I wanted a school that had a good education program. Any of these qualified. I flew to Utah to tour Weber State and BYU and went to Flagstaff to tour NAU. Then I made lists of pros and cons and I prayed. And prayed. Finally, I chose BYU. I have no doubt I would have had a great experience at any of those universities, but BYU was the best for me. I was able to take religion classes that strenghtened my knowledge of and commitment to the gospel and my Savior. I got a degree in education, a career that I love. I had wonderful fun and made fabulous memories. But most importantly, I made lasting friendships. This fall marks 15 years since I started my freshman year at BYU and I am still in close contact with my college roommates. They are among some of my dearest friends. I sometimes reflect on this decision and wonder how my life would be different if not for Cyndie, Mon, Kristy, Cory, Mel, Rachel, Lori and Tasha. We are spread around the country now, but we have a website that we post to and many of us have blogs and are on Facebook. These are women that I know and love and trust and who I have turned to when I had trials and needed help as well as to share my joys and blessings. How would my life be different without them? I don't want to know. I hope we are still just as close in 15 more years and even 15 years after that. These are incredible women and I am blessed in countless ways by knowing them.

Top row: Cyndie, Kristy, Mel, Cory Bottom Row: Monica, Me Taken in 1995 or 1996

Decision 3: Training as a literacy coordinator with CELL/ExLL in California. I debated exactly what to put as my third decision. Should I choose having children? Should I choose becoming a teacher? And actually I debated about listing my marriage to Alfredo, primarily because marrying him and having children are what I almost always write about. So I really wanted to write about what else shapes who I am as a person and what matters to me. And besides being a wife and mother, probably the biggest other factor of who I am is my role as a teacher. I am committed to education, committed especially to literacy. I don't know everything, but I try to learn as much as I can to make myself a better teacher. My third year of teaching, my school was adopting a new literacy program. Everyone would receive 5 days of training in Salt Lake but then each school would train two teachers more extensively. Those two teachers would spend a total of 5 weeks in California being trained. Then they would come back and provide ongoing training and support to the rest of the faculty. My faculty was asked for recommendations of who they thought should be trained and I was recommended by several people, so the principal asked if I would do it. It was a big decision...it was only my 3rd year of teaching and this was a big responsibility. But ultimately, I decided to go for it. I've never regretted that decision for a moment. It taught me how to be a better teacher, especially in language arts. It started a passion for learning about how kids learn to read and write. It helped me develop more confidence in myself as a teacher. It allowed me to see many amazing, incredible teachers at work. This training brought job opportunities, even greater passion for literacy, knowledge about what works and what is important in teaching children to read, and a better understanding of myself as a reader and a learner. I made some mistakes as I began training my staff and I am still not a perfect teacher, but I am a committed, passionate teacher with a lot of knowledge. And for eight years, I have lived and used what I learned. This year my school adopted a new language arts curriculum and while I am using it, I am better equipped to look at the program and determine what will work and what won't work based on what I know about research and how kids learn. I am a better teacher and a better mother because of what I know. Thank you Karen and Adria and the CELL Foundation for teaching me so much! It has truly changed my life.

These are some of the amazing teachers I trained with. We took an evening off and drove into San Francisco and went to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square.


Molly (left) was the other teacher from my school that trained--she trained for the lower grade, I trained for the upper grades. Sally and Sue are from Salt Lake and trained in the upper grades with me. And finally, Karen was our trainer and one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She flew in from CA for my wedding reception.

Don't turn your back on her!

My sweet baby girl is now totally mobile and gets into everything...Here are just a few examples. These were all taken about 3 weeks ago, in 2 days.




Other favorite ways to make messes:
unroll the toilet paper roll
pull all the kitchen towels out of the drawer
knock the DVDs off the shelf (almost daily)
pull all the bottles and sippy cups out of their holder
find chocolate and smear it on hands, face and anything she touches

It's a good thing she is cute! And most of the time I figure, if it doesn't kill her, it will make her stronger. Right? Right?! But she definitely got a bath and scrubbing down after splashing in the toilet. And we try (TRY being the key word here...I do have 2 other kids) to keep the bathroom door closed now.

More Photos of Provo Canyon

Don't the girls look happy? It was so beautiful there.

 

Provo Canyon...Shadow Shot Sunday

It's my first time participating in Shadow Shot Sunday, but I decided to play this week with a few photos I took last weekend when we went up Provo Canyon.

Michelle is a great helper and loves to push her baby sister in the stroller.
Here I am, with baby in one arm and camera in other. I almost always have my arms full with 3 kids and their paraphernalia.

And one more of Michelle pushing Gabrielle across a bridge.
If you want to play Shadow Shot Sunday, check out Hey Harriet's website. Or just go there to see some amazing photos. It's a great site!

Michelle

Two notes about Michelle to share:

First, Alfredo pulled her other front tooth on Thursday night. She now has no front teeth on top. We'd sing the song "All I Want for Christmas" but I'm pretty sure they will grow in long before Christmas! :)

Second, on Friday, as we were leaving to go to babysitter's and school and work, the radio was on (unusual...we usually listen to CD's) and a news report came on about the girl who was kidnapped 18 years ago from Lake Tahoe, CA. I quickly changed the radio station as I don't like them to hear about stuff like that. But Michelle had heard the little clip, just as much as me. The whole way to school she peppered me with questions. Who took the girl? Did she miss her mommy? Did her mommy miss her? How did they find her? Was it a man or woman that took her? And on and on. Since I had only heard the quick news clip that she'd heard, I didn't have answers for most of her questions, but I answered the ones I could. After a few minutes of thinking, she said, "Mommy, it couldn't have been a woman that took her, because women are good and love kids." Somehow that made my heart so happy. She has been blessed to have so many good women role models that love her and that are good and kind... her grandmas, teachers at school and church, neighbors, babysitters, etc. I am so grateful that she still believes that all women are good and that she has had mostly positive experiences in her life. Not that she thinks men are bad. She has a wonderful dad and grandpas, but as a young child, I think she has had more women influence her than men. Anyway, this brought tears to my eyes when she said it. And because she wanted to know about it, I watched the news and gave her a few more details and tried to help her understand the basics of what happened and what we do to keep her safe. (But how can you really understand a kidnapping like that? It's so horrible that things like this do happen to any child or person!) She is such a sweet girl with a sensitive heart.

first day of first grade

Michelle had a great first day. What did she love? Seeing her friends (she was worried that her friends Mia, Iree, Liliana and others would not be back this year.) Lunch (both the lunch I packed and playing outside). Her teacher is funny and so nice. What didn't she like? School was too short! :)They are only having half days this week and it went way too fast.


Her English teacher, Miss Finerfrock, and I both used to work at Mountain View (neither of us do now). Last spring she told Michelle that she had gone to my baby shower when I was pregnant with Michelle. Michelle reminded me of that and said that her teacher already knew her name and that she loves her teacher. She didn't get to go to Ms. Bustillo's room today, but she will tomorrow and she is so excited.


Also, we got a letter that the schedule will be a little different this year. I'm excited about the schedule and think it will really be great for the kids. She will be with her English teacher from 8:15-11:15 to do English Language literacy (and the native Spanish speakers will be with the Spanish teacher to do Spanish Language literacy). Then they have lunch. From 11:50-12:15, they are in mixed language groups for science and social studies. Then from 12:15-1:30 they are also in mixed language groups for math. (Some days they will do science/social studies/math in English and some days in Spanish.) Then from 1:30-1:45 is recess. From 1:45-2:45 is Spanish Language Literacy and oral language development. So she will get about 3 hours of reading and writing in English daily to really get a solid foundation in English, but she will also have an hour DAILY in Spanish reading and writing. I think this schedule will be awesome! I was so impressed with all that she learned last year in Spanish, and I think this year will be just as amazing. And best of all, she loves her school and her friends and her teachers. Hooray!

Teacher Survival Kits

So, due to demand, I will happily tell what we put in the teacher survival kits. There are tons of ideas out there (just google "teacher survival kits" and see all the ideas that come up.) I mostly used ideas I found on google, and then made a cute card for it. And I just threw everything in a gift bag with tissue paper...I'm not creative enough to have a cute box or bag with ribbon. Anyway, here's what it had/said:

Teacher Survival Kit
Eraser: because everyone makes mistakes
Pens: because you write on our children's minds and hearts
Hugs and kisses: for when you need a hug
Mounds: for the mounds you teach
Almond Joy: so you and the students will have a year filled with joy
Starburst: for a burst of energy
Tissues: to wipe away tears
Gum: for an "Extra" great year and for "extra" patience
Lotion: to wash away the germs and dirt
Hand sanitize: to sanitize your hands, but never your heart

Her English teacher wasn't in when we went before school, but she delivered the bag to her Spanish teacher and got a hug. Her classrooms are both very cute and child friendly and I think it will be a great year. I'm at work but I'll post photos when I get home.

Proud Mommy Monday: Night Before School

Twas the night before school
and all through the house,
no children were stirring
Nor was my spouse.
I'd planned and prepared
and gotten things ready
so that I could sleep
when I slipped into bed-y.
The clothes were layed out
for my children's next day
Backpack and lunch for Michelle
And toys for Ella (& Gabby) to play.

I wrote in students' journals
then packed up my stuff
made teacher survival kits
had I done enough?
Tomorrow would come oh so
early and then
by preparing now
we wouldn't rush around then.

Off to the first day
at half past seven
If I'm organized now,
the morning is like heaven.
But if I don't prepare
chaos will reign
and crying and shouting will be heard
causing such pain.

So my Proud Mommy Moment
is that I got everything done
So I don't have to wake up
Much earlier than the sun!

(Okay, so I know that is pretty cheesy... I am no poet. So poetry is not my proud Mommy Moment... silliness, maybe! :))
But as I explained in my goofy poem, I worked hard tonight to be totally ready for tomorrow. Michelle's hair is in curlers. Clothes are all ironed and layed out, lunch is packed, bags are ready for Ella and Gabby and I even made teacher survival kits for Michelle's two teachers. It was a great idea I got from my friend Aly last year, and I'm glad that I remembered to do them again this year.

Since Gabrielle was born and Michelle started school last year, this has been something I've worked on... planning ahead, being organized the night before, having everything packed up and ready to go. Three kids require a bunch of stuff and the more I get done the night before, the better the morning goes for all of us. I get cranky and snappy when we are running late, so I know that if I get things ready we'll all have a happier morning.

And the proudest part of my Proud Mommy Monday? Michelle wrote a note for her new Spanish teacher in Spanish. I helped her spell 2 of the words (mostly just sounding them out with her) but she decided what to write.
It says, "You Quiero Mucho Ms. Bustillo" "De Michelle" (translation I love a lot Ms. Bustillo. From Michelle) (She means I love you a lot but left out the you.) Just as a quick review, I asked her to name a bunch of colors and shapes and solids in Spanish...totally a breeze (except a couple of harder colors, gray and brown and I think one other). She is so excited for the first day.

If you have a Proud Mommy Monday Moment, check out my friendShannon's blog. She is the creator of this fun weekly event. I am glad she started it, because it has made me think lately a lot about what I am doing right as a mom. It is easy to focus on the mistakes we make and so I'm glad to take a few minutes each week to reflect on the good things I do. And I also have to say that as I go through my week, it has made me several times stop what I was doing and think, "Ooh, this would NOT be a proud Mommy moment, better change what I'm doing." So thanks for starting this Shannon! It has been good for me...and so fun to read other people's positive moments. Even if you don't want to participate, go check out her moment and the links to other people's...it's good to see the great things other moms are doing!

Coming Home (Subtitle: Peace)

Ever gone somewhere and had it feel like you'd come home? You just felt content, calm, happy, peaceful....I had that experience twice today. First I attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication. Being part of that experience felt like coming home. It helped me review where I'm headed and how I can better get there. And I learned some things and above all felt loved, peaceful, and happy. Margaret Lifferth spoke about listening. Three things she said really made a lot of sense and have been echoing in my head today. First, that God really loves us and wants what will bring us safety, joy and peace. So when he asks us to obey, that is his reason (just like when I ask my kids to obey it is for their safety and to bring them joy and peace.) Second, she talked about listening and it just really struck me that listening is ACTIVE, not passive. Listening requires work, but it also brings great dividends in what you are able to learn when you listen and then obey. I want to better teach this to my children and my students (obviously, in different contexts and different ways). Third, her father wrote her a letter that said that if she made poor choices it would hurt them, but it would hurt her more. She said that she'd always thought obedience was a gift she gave her parents, but after reading that letter, she realized obedience is actually a gift you give yourself. This really made so much sense to me, but was not quite how I'd ever thought about things. But it's true. When you make poor choices, it often does hurt others, but ultimately the consequences fall mostly on you. And, conversely, when you make good choices, you reap the rewards.


This afternoon, I decided to take my kids to my favorite spot in Provo Canyon. Again, it felt much like coming home. When I was in college, I could drive up Provo Canyon in about 15 minutes. I'd often drive up there, then get out and walk and sort through my thoughts, pray about questions, or even bring my books and study. Provo Canyon was a place of peace and comfort and I spent many hours there while at BYU. It is beautiful. It is fairly busy, so you aren't necessarily alone, but there are still quiet spots and you are in the outdoors with a waterfall, a river, trees and canyons and wildflowers surrounding you. It is beautiful. So today I took my girls there. I haven't been for quite some time and it really did feel like coming home. Like sharing a piece of my spiritual journey with my girls. It is so nice to have a special place that is especially peaceful where you can sort through thoughts and feelings and pour out your heart and soul in prayer. While I can certainly do that in my home, I miss having a special spot that just seemed created especially for that purpose. There is something about being outside, especially in nature, that seems to draw you closer to our Creator and Father.

I am so grateful for this peaceful, happy day. I am grateful to know (at least sort of) who I am... to know that the primary song is true. I am a child of God. I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father who loves me and I love Him.

out with the old, in with the new

paint and furniture that is....

In July, Alfredo repainted our living room and we bought new curtains to match. The living room had been purple for 6 years and while we liked the color, we were ready for a change. So we picked out two shades, taupe for the walls and cream for the trim and entryway. We changed all the trim to a fancier one also. And we bought cream and chocolate curtains.
Here's a photo of the old color.

And here's a couple of the new color.
A funny (well, not at the time, but funny now) story: Alfredo has spray painted the railing several times, no big deal. We decided to spray paint it chocolate this time to match the curtains and our new beautiful mirror and a few other accents. Anyway, he bought a different brand than normal. He covered the immediate area with plastic and went to town spray painting. We played outside until he was done and it was time for bed. I came inside and went to the kitchen...there was a layer of paint all over the kitchen counters...and the kitchen floor and the living room carpet and really everywhere that wasn't covered by plastic...and splatters of spray paint on the newly painted walls. We had a huge job shampooing the carpet and scrubbing the kitchen floor and counters. But now, it looks great. :)


Alfredo bought our kitchen table more than 10 years ago, back before we even met, let alone got married. It is on the small side, glass, and only has 4 chairs. We are now a family of 5 (although Gabrielle doesn't "sit" at the table yet...she's in a booster chair, so we would be okay for probably another year without a seat for her). Also, we often have others over for dinner. Our glass table doesn't comfortably seat more than 4 and tops 6. So we decided that for a combined anniversary gift we would purchase a kitchen table that sat 6+. So 2 weeks ago, we became the proud owners of a new dining room set. I love it!

The old table...

And the new one....



Isn't it beautiful?!

favorite things swap

I participated in Kelly's favorite things swap. My partner was
Sam from Washington. It has been so fun to get to know her. She is amazingly talented at quilting and sewing. She was so generous. For the swap, you are supposed to send 3 of your favorite things to your partner. She went above and beyond and sent me incredible things.

Here is what I found when I opened the box...everything wrapped and so cute!

And here is what was inside... chocolate from Germany as well as kisses and mint patties. Three crayon roll ups for my three girls...these are awesome...they have spots for the crayons and for a small pad of paper and my girls drew with them for about a half hour at church last week. They are wonderful!!! She made me this darling flower purse. She also made a tiny first aid kit purse which is small and portable but totally useful! She also sent some lotion and a list taker (a notepad with a beautiful cover...it's so nice.) I love everything! Thank you Sam, thank you!



And here's what I sent her... my favorite book of the past 6 months... The Hunger Games. It's one I couldn't put down. (Thank you so much for recommending it Brandi! Did I tell you I loved it? Did I tell you that almost everyone in my book club has read it and loved it?! Thanks!) I sent her my favorite chocolates, Lindor Milk Chocolates (sorry they melted...hope they were still edible, Sam!) I sent her two tiny scented candles (which I love for my bathroom) and some hot chocolate (which I drink year round). I also made her several cards using my Cricut machine (which I love but don't have near enough time to use! Where did my summer go?!)

This was so fun, and especially getting to know Sam. I can hardly wait to participate next year!

so much to post, so little energy

So I have about 6 posts I want to do, but since Tuesday I have been sick. I've come home from work and crashed each night. Today was a half day and I got home at 2 and slept for 2 hours before picking my kids up from the babysitter. I feel the tiniest bit better but am just wiped out. I have had a sore throat and headache for 3 days. I'm exhausted and a little dizzy. On Tuesday and Wednesday I was freezing...shivering all day despite wearing a jacket. I have the day off tomorrow and had grand plans of going to the children's museum or the zoo or something fun with the kids...a last hurrah before Michelle starts school next week. I think we may spend the day on the couch, reading books and watching movies. Cooking dinner and doing the few dishes wiped me out for the night. And it was an easy meal and there were only about 15 dishes. I hope whatever this is will go away soon. But thank heavens, no one else in my family has gotten it. (Cross my fingers that stays true!)

proud mommy moment

My proud mommy moment for this week is just a small one. I'm too tired and busy to think very hard, so it's all I could come up with. And it's something that many, many moms do. But anyway, my positive thing today is that I read to my kids daily. As a teacher, we know that early experiences with books have a tremendous correlation with a child's ease with learning to read. In fact we talk about a 1,000 book child versus a 10 book child. Basically, children who are read to regularly would have at least 1,000 experiences with books by the time they start kindergarten. And really, I think that is a very conservative number. If you started reading to your child at 1 year old (and you can start at birth! I did!) and read just 1 book a day, 300 days a year (that gives 65 days off, just in case, because life does sometimes get crazy), you will have read 1200 books by the time they start kinder. But who can stop at just one? So I figure many kids come with 3 or 4 times that many. And some come with almost none. I'm not saying that parents who don't read to their kids are bad parents; many of them are great parents. But reading to your child increases their vocabulary, world knowledge, sense of story, knowledge of print, and many other skills. It also is a great way to bond. So, enough of the technical, teacher stuff.

Since my kids were very young, I have made it an (almost) daily part of our lives to read stories. We visit the library often, in addition to the hundreds of books I own. I shouldn't (because I have so many books), but I often buy books from the book orders. So every evening before bed, I cuddle with my two older girls (and sometimes Gabrielle...but not every day) and read 1-5 stories. We talk about what's happening, I answer their questions, I let Michelle read to us, and we have a great time right before bed.

And because I am too tired to hunt down photos of me reading to the kids...here's a cute one of Michelle as a baby "reading" to herself. My kiddos all love books, just like their mom.

Marathon

My sister is running a marathon and raising money to help those battling blood cancer. If you can donate, even just a dollar, please check out her fundraising page. Thanks!
Welcome to My Fundraising Page!

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(Also, I added 2 other posts today so make sure to scroll down!)

My baby...

had her first birthday party yesterday! To celebrate we invited our family and had tacos (made by Alfredo, YUM!) and cake and ice cream.

Gabrielle enjoyed cuddling with her grandpa (my dad).

I made a ladybug cake for her birthday. I was pleased that it turned out. (It was quite easy...I got the recipe from the Betty Crocker website...). She loved the cake/cupcakes and even ate one of the ladybug's spots which was black licorice flavor. I was surprised she ate it.





Gabrielle was given lots of nice gifts, and she absolutely loved the blocks she got. She also really liked the card. It was so cute. She opened it as if she was reading it, and then she gave it kisses.



So I can remember, here are some of the things she does now at one year old.
*She walks.
*She climbs up and down stairs (and into tubs and onto other things).
*She points at everything.
*She shakes her head no.
*She says "Mama" "Dada" "Uh-oh" "woof" "Hi"
*She loves to make messes....knock down the DVD's, pull things out of drawers, etc.
*She laughs and smiles a lot.
*She has developed a temper and squeals loudly when angry.
*She loves her daddy and her face lights up when she sees him.
*She sings and hums to herself when she is tired and wants to fall asleep.
*She likes other babies and tries to hug them.
*She gives kisses.
*She waves.

I can hardly believe how fast this year has gone. Gabrielle is barely a baby now. Thank goodness that in between her busy moments she still loves to cuddle and be held. I'm not ready for her to grow up yet! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

The story of a girl

This is the story of a girl's loose tooth. This is the story of Michelle's mouth with the front tooth loose, but still attached. It was so loose that it was sticking out at a funny angle. So loose that it bled 3 times yesterday. So loose that when she woke up this morning, the back side of her tooth was facing front...it had twisted completely around.


This is the story of a girl who wanted the tooth to come out but was scared to have her daddy pull it. Said Daddy tried yesterday to no avail. Finally, he determined it should come out. This is the story of a girl who kicked and screamed and cried that it would hurt. This is the story of a girl who didn't even realize it was out when her daddy gave it a quick pull. This is the story of a girl who now "sounths a bith like thith."
This is the story of a beautiful girl who is lovely, with or without her front tooth, who can't wait for the tooth fairy to come so she can add her money to the savings jar for Disneyland. This is the story of a girl who has been smiling proudly all day long, anxious to show off how big she is getting.

This is the story of a girl who is growing up, oh so fast, but is lovely and I'm so glad she's mine.

Happy Birthday!

My baby girl is one today! I can't believe it. More on this later, but Happy Birthday sweet Gabrielle!