Boy oh Boy!!!

We are so very excited to say....we are having a BOY!!! Saiah so badly wanted a baby sister, but is now very excited to be have a baby brother. The ultrasound went very well. He was quite the mover, so we saw a LOT of poses. He is looking wonderfully perfect and healthy so far...praise God!

First Grade

Saiah with Ms. McDonald on the first day of First Grade

Hard to believe the summer is over and Saiah is now in the First Grade!! She was unsure about first grade. Many of her friends from last year were no longer going to be at her school, and she just didn't think she could make it until 2:30. Her class this year is a K-1 combo with Ms. McDonald again. Having Ms. McDonald again is a huge blessing, as Saiah adores her.

Turns out, even though most all of Saiah's friends are no longer there, she is enjoying the Kindergartners that are in her class, as well as the other lone first grader, her only friend from last year. I also have noticed many of the kids kind of "looking up to" her as she is indeed the tallest and oldest.

The end of the day is just the first graders.....the two first graders!! Yep..only two of them. It's actually a wonderful thing as a parent, knowing your child gets such specialized attention from a teacher. The two of them really like it as well. They get to go on special walks and do their Math and Reading outside on a picnic table for a special treat every so often.

I have the pleasure of being able to work in Saiah's class this year, all five days. I am thrilled to be in her class and helping one of my close friends during this school year.

Yes, Saiah didn't quite want summer to end, but I do believe she would tell you now that she is enjoying school and definitely looks forward to going. In fact, today, she didn't want to leave Ms. McDonald. Only thing that helped was my telling her that she would see her this evening as Lacey, aka Ms. McDonald, was coming to our house for dinner. Indeed a rare treat for a child to have their teacher also be an adopted aunt of our family!!

Saiah and Chloe, helping prepare special treats for the class

Saiah's classroom

Like Father, Like Daughter

This last weekend, we headed to Etna so Jason and Jed could take Saiah and Kylie hiking and fishing up at Taylor Lake. It was a trip talked about for most of the summer, so it was really nice to see it happen. The girls popped right out of bed at 6:00 a.m. with eager anticipation of the day. Dressed in clothes to hike and fish in, they were on their way. The guys reported the girls were quite the troopers, hiking all the way around the lake, going through spider webs and bushes, having a grand old time with no complaining. In fact...they said, with glee, that the girls, when posed with the question of "what would you rather do...fishing, or shopping?" quickly responded that they would rather fish! They are such Daddy's girls!!

Both girls came home excited to share their fish stories. Kylie was able to reel one in and Saiah actually cast, and reeled in her own fish all by herself, even though neither her Daddy nor uncle believed she had a fish on! Luckily, we have a bit of it on video Jason was able to catch.

Oh, and at the home front..Casandra and I kept things low with coffee and PJ's till noon!!! What more could a girl ask for?? ;)

Saiah's First Fish all by herself!!!