It's Officially Summer!!!!

Yesterday was my last day of work. My classroom has been packed up and everything has been moved back into storage for another summer. As of right now I am officially unemployed once again (sigh). I need to get hired one more year in order to get tenured. The job market is tough right now, but I'm still holding out hope that I will get hired again. Luckily the school my principal is moving to has two first grade positions. We talked yesterday about interviews, and he should be giving me a call in the next week or two. Every year the competition gets a little tougher, but I'm pretty confident things will work out for me. Fingers crossed!

On a side note...I'm looking forward to being home for the summer with William and Gracie! I have missed them dearly since my maternity leave especially with Gracie still being so young. I feel that she needs her mommy! Although I do appreciate the great care she receives while I'm at work from Olly, my mom, and Carla our daycare provider.

Gracie will be 5 months on June 26th, so she's about 4 1/2 months old right now. Here is what she's doing (this helps me remember so I can work on her baby book and scrapbook)...

*She enjoys sitting in her exersaucer. She is reaching out and grabbing the toys.

*She loves to suck on anything and everything that goes near her mouth, especially her hands. The front of her shirt is constantly wet which results in several changes a day.

*She loves to be held and interact with people. She always has a smile for everyone! She is very social.

*When we are in a strange place with other people she likes to be close to Mommy. She's not too fond of people holding her except when they come over to visit. She's definitely suffering from stranger anxiety.

*She is rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy.

*She is really strong, and I have a feeling she will be sitting up soon.

*She's still a great eater. She took the bottle well at daycare, but now that I'm home we'll just be nursing. She's doing great with nursing and is very efficient. She's typically done in 5 minutes or less. We aren't doing any solid foods. I'm planning to wait until she is about 6 months old. I'm not in a hurry!

*Sleep-AUGH! Sometimes she's a great sleeper and sometimes not! She doesn't have a very consistent bedtime yet. The other night she went to bed at 7:45, then next night 10:30, tonight it was closer to 11:00. This isn't for lack of trying on my part. We are still swaddling her, but I think she's getting close to being done with it. She fights it when I swaddle and while she's swaddled, but if I don't swaddle her she wakes up right away. When she's swaddled she sleeps better. I am lucky though that she is pretty much sleeping through the night! An occasional waking which is easy enough. She's been a great night sleeper...once I actually get her to sleep!

*She loves her big brother, William. He is her entertainment. She watches him closely and smiles whenever she sees him. It's really great!

*At her 4 month appointment she weighed 15lbs 3oz which was the 80th percentile. She still has those adorable chubby baby fat rolls. Sign of good health (only on a baby though, right?)

William is doing well too!

*He is 100% potty and #2 trained. He has the very occasional accident, but that's pretty typical.

*He is really into Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story, and this castle with these little knights.

*He is obsessed with Twins Baseball! He knows several players' names, and he often wants to play baseball outside. He is really good at hitting the ball and running the bases. We need to work on his pitching accuracy though!

*This summer he is going to take swimming lessons at the outdoor pool. This will be the first time he takes swimming lessons without one of us in the pool with him.

*He's all signed up for preschool in the Fall. I can't believe he's already going to school!