Another Step in the Journey

Last trip together to Preschool

For months now we have been talking about going to kindergarten, but it wasn't until I realized that today would be Savannah's last day of preschool that it really hit home. Although Preston will still be going there, there's just something that will change now that I'm not taking Savannah.

I'll miss seeing Savannah walk Preston to his class!

I'll miss her holding his hand in the elevator on the way downstairs (making sure he doesn't hit the call button again)

She has been going to preschool at our church even before she could walk or talk and now here we are ready for kindergarten! It just doesn't seem possible!

Super sweet Miss Carol

Dedicated Miss Reese


Proud Savannah in her last preschool class

Savannah with her friend Lily



These two girls aren't going to know what to do without each other next year!

So today we said our good-byes, delivered our cards and teacher gifts, and now we're officially off to "big school". I know it's just another step in the journey, but today it's just hard to believe that we've taken this step and have moved from a babbling, crawling toddler to a big girl who is full of energy and ready for public kindergarten!!

Speaking of good-byes, it was also super hard to say good-bye to Preston's teachers!

What a blessing these two women have been to our family! Miss Jean and Miss Amy were incredible teachers and will definitely be missed by Preston! His teachers next year sure have big shoes to fill!

Happy Early Birthday, Savannah!

Today we celebrated the summer birthdays in Savannah's WEE school class. There are four girls who all turn 5 over the summer, so we wanted to make sure they were able to celebrate at school too! I brought in balloons for everyone and read a story, while the other moms were supposed to bring a snack and drink. There was a little mix up and we ended up with lots of juice and no snack, but the kids never knew because Ms. Reese just pulled out some popsicles for them to enjoy! Here is Savannah with her friend Anna Kate. During their special birthday celebration they get to pick one friend to sit beside and Savannah chose Anna Kate. The class was adorable all dressed in red for field day. Here is a cute picture of them all!

MOPS Retreat aka Girls Getaway!!

MOPS Steering Group

Just one of the beautiful views we had for the weekend

This weekend Dave played Mr. Mom. For the first time ever I left him in charge of both kids for the entire weekend! We had a MOPS steering retreat at a lake house in SC and I have to say it was an incredible weekend! We left early on Friday afternoon and stopped for a little shopping in Gaffney. The entire weekend was filled with shopping, eating incredible food, soaking in the hot tub, watching girl movies, and did I mention eating more yummy food?? It was such a special time to get some planning done for our meetings next year, get to know each other a little better, and to relax too! I have to say that Dave did a great job by himself and had everything completely under control. :)

He even helped the kids make a Welcome Home banner for me!

Mother's Day

Yesterday was such a sweet day for me. After church we travelled to Greenville, SC to celebrate Mother's Day with Dave's family. It's always fun (and chaotic) to see everyone and let the kids play. It's also a great way to keep me busy so I'm not sitting at home thinking about mom. As the years go on this holiday is getting easier to celebrate knowing that mom is heaven, but it's still hard not having her here to hug. A special thanks goes to all of my precious friends who prayed for me, called, and e-mailed yesterday. It means the world to me to have you by my side. I was truly loved on with not having to change any diapers and being able to take a nice long nap on the ride home. The kids were even great travellers!! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.

Group Picture

Grammy and Papa with the grandkids

Preston on the hunt for more "choclate"

My two precious kiddos

Papa reading to Preston

Preston's Sleep Update

Well, let's just say that there has been a LITTLE BIT of improvement in Preston's sleep. By Thursday I became desperate with things continuing to go downhill. Without getting a break from screaming during the day, having to get up during the wee hours of the morning, and listening to 3+ hours of screaming at bedtime, I was completely exhausted! So, that afternoon I decided to transition the crib to a toddler bed. At least then Preston would have to get his own stupid lovey and paci when he threw them out.

Savannah passing down her stool to Preston

I also made an appointment to take him into the doctor after school yesterday and of course, as I expected, he is perfectly fine in terms of health. Dr. Baker suggested that we continue to let him scream, but he did say that we should go in his room with increasing intervals. He assured me that there would be no long term damage even though Preston barely has a voice now and that the vocal cords could heal. He also suggested trying Benadryl. So, last night we put him to bed and I laid on the floor for a few minutes. He fell asleep and I left. Thankfully he slept until 4am in his big boy bed!!! However, he did come running into our room at 4 calling "mama, mama". I didn't lock the door or gate it for fear the noise would wake him up. oops. Anyway, I put him back in bed and he slept until 7:30am. Woo hoo!

Naptime continues to be a challenge, but at least now I know that it's possible to make good progress. He did finally go to sleep this afternoon after 1+ hours of crying and slept for an hour or so. Oh, and one improvement is that there is no more screaming since he doesn't have a voice! It's more moaning and crying mixed with a lot of "maaaa maaaa, maaa maaa".

At first, Preston loved his big boy bed! However, he quickly realized that it was the end of the lovey game and decided maybe it wasn't so great.

Mother's Day at WEE School

The welcome banner Savannah's class made with their hand prints

Me and Savannah


Sweet Savannah serving me an ice-cream sundae in the dish she made

For weeks now Savannah has talked about the Mother's Day party at WEE school, and today was finally the day for the celebration!! Their party did not disappoint! There was a class song where the kids did lots of freeze dancing, another special dance by some volunteers called the tooty taa, a chain prayer, a special ice-cream sundae served in a bowl made by Savannah, lots of awards given out to the moms from Ms. Reese, and then a special stepping stone gift. It was such a sweet day and I loved being able to share this time with Savannah!

PLEASE help me!!!!

Okay, I think this is the most frustrating thing I've EVER experienced . . . please comment with any advice or suggestions to the following dilemma.

As of last week, bedtime for Preston is a nightmare. For days on end now he has started screaming until he's almost hyperventilating and all because his lovey is on the floor. BUT he THROWS IT ON THE FLOOR as soon as we walk out of the room. I can watch him through the crack in the door and as soon as he can't see me, he shoves it through the slats in the crib! Why is he doing this??? For 2 1/2 hours now I've listened to screaming, gone up and put the lovey back in, and tried to dry his soaking wet head (from the sweat after screaming for hours on end). I'm about to lose it!!! If I don't put the lovey back in then he will likely be up until midnight and if he does wake up in the middle of the night then he'll start screaming again, which will wake us all up, again. If I do keep putting it back in then I'm just playing his game. HELP!!!!!!!!! I've tried switching the lovey, which by the way works perfectly fine all day and at nap time, and this too is not the problem.