OK, ok...I'm bloggin!

Ok - here's an update of what I've been up to!
For those of you who are teachers - I'm sure you can relate to how I'm feeling...
I've started a new teaching gig at a new school this year!! YIKES! I'm teaching 3rd grade at Wills Point (in between Terrell & Canton). This is the same school that I tutored at last year a couple days a week. I've never taught 3rd gr - other than student teaching - which I don't think counts, especially since it was over 10 yrs ago! I definitely feel like a 1st year teacher, although I think it may be worse - since I have prior knowledge of what a "smooth flowing" classroom feels like! Brady helped me get my classroom set up early on in August, so that I could start focusing on lessons, etc. So now I've been working on getting up to speed on how 3rd graders think, what type of work progress I should expect, etc. These kiddos are babies compared to the 5th & 6th graders I taught! I do have to say, that God has really blessed me with such a great support team at school. The other third grade teachers have really taken me in under their wings. We have all clicked so well - it's like I've been teaching with them forever!!

In my quest for immersing myself in "all things 3rd grade", I've stumbled on to this great website - www.proteacher.com. (I just wish I had known of this site when I first started teaching years & years ago.) For those of you who aren't familiar, this is a great teacher forum, where you can ask questions & get advice, lessons, activities, etc from other teachers all around the country. I have gotten so much info & downloaded so many activities, it's ridiculous!

OK, enough teacher stuff....Bella has teeth! She has two on the bottom and two on top. She's eating some table food...but we still have her on formula, since we're trying to get her weight back up on the scale (last ped visit she was 4%). Our next visit is for her 15 month on Sept 22nd - so we're praying for good news! She's toddling like crazy back & forth. She's not totally steady yet (but when she falls, she gets right back up). She's so funny - if you're standing still, she'll go round & round you (walking or crawling). Bella is also just babbling away, she will talk your ear off! Most words are not recognizable - we like to say that she's speaking Mandarin. She has some catch phrases that she repetitively says- "what is that? who is that?", or at least that's what it sounds like she's saying!

BTW, I did not have to put Bella in daycare for this semester at least. Brady's college classes were conflicting with my Internet courses and my school day, so he rearranged them to where he is home during the day. So he is able to take care of Bella, when I'm at work. This turned out great, because we don't have to disrupt her schedule & we get to save on daycare expenses for now. I know eventually, I will have to put her in daycare - but I'm definitely holding off for as long as I can!