The Bush

We have a bush in front of our house that was REALLY needing to be pruned. It had probably been years since it was really dealt with. Bobby had trimmed it but never extreme. He decided to do it Sunday night. I think it looks great!!

First Time and Stubborn

First Time-

Bekah got up while we were still sleeping and took herself to the potty!!!! Yeah Bekah!! She was dry too!! She usually is dry, but every once-in-a-while her pull-up is wet. I know she's a little old to be having these victories, but Bekah has taken a lot longer to potty train than we ever imagined.

Stubborn-

Sarah will pull herself up on everything and take a few steps around furniture, but that's it. If you put her behind her walker, she takes a few steps with stiff legs and then bends over and starts crawling. I can't remember if Bekah was full out walking at 13 months, but she was definitely walking circles around furniture and walking behind her walker. In her own time.

Flying Over our House Yesterday

Visitors Last Weekend

My sister and her family came down last week to help us start "thinning the herd" before we move in July. Except for the fact that Bekah was thrown off her sleeping schedule and therefore stayed up till 1 am on Sunday night, it was a great time!! Here are some pictures from the time and pictures of their van filled with stuff for a garage sale.

Visitors Last Week

Last week, our friends the Tabers were in town from Iowa. Sandy started babysitting Bekah when Bekah was almost 1 and stopped babysitting her 2 months before Sarah was born when she had her own daughter. Their son Patrick is exactly 2 months older than Bekah, and their daughter Amelia and 3 days less than 2 months older than Sarah. It was nice to catch up with them for a couple hours.

Information

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows what is going on with the Fannin family in the near future.

-I have resigned from my job. Towards the beginning of the year, I felt a lot of pressure from the administrator that observes me that I have too much stress in my life and I should maybe make a change. A combination of this and my normal frustration with my students and the overwhelming urge to be with my children before they go off to school led us to think about other options. Going the rate we were going, it was going to be another 3.5 years before Bobby was done with the MDiv. Bobby and I prayed about it and he changed to Masters of Arts in Christian Leadership. After this semester, he will have 4 classes left that he can take all online. I had not planned to resign this early, but the high school choir program on my side of the district was being cut. Now that I have resigned, the HS lady is going to come to the MS in the morning and the high school in the afternoon. (the music theory classes have been cut)

-We are moving in with my parents and I am taking care of my kids and my sister's kids. Bobby is transferring to UPS in Columbus and will be doing an unpaid internship with a church for part of his classes. This is why we are moving in with my parents. :~)

- I am going to take 2 years off, then start my masters in something. I haven't decided what yet. Then, when Sarah's in at least kindergarten, I will go back to work. Either in a school or church music.

We are so excited for the future!!!

(By the way, I know that I am a good teacher. I just need a break from teaching and this setting right now!!)

Never Again/Bad Night.....and a Prayer Request

My sister and her family came this weekend to help us start purging items to get ready to move. It was great to have them here. The only problem is that Bekah's sleep pattern was affected. She went to bed a good 2 hours later than usual, and then still got up around the same time. This all resulted in Bekah falling asleep on the way home from lunch yesterday. She slept till 5 pm. Later that night, we tried to put her down around 10 pm. We all (except for Sarah) didn't end up getting to sleep until almost 1 am, and she ended up sleeping with us. She was screaming and yelling, not wanting to go to sleep. This is why we don't let her take long naps, but on this occasion, she was extremely grumpy and needed to sleep. Needless to say, we are very tired this morning, and I am worried about this happening again tonight. Please say a prayer for patience tonight as we really need our sleep.

P.S. There is a church in Ohio we are waiting to hear from whether or not Bobby can go and volunteer this summer. This will help determine his ability to be able to transfer to Columbus with UPS. I have already resigned at my school, so it is very important that this goes through. The church board meets on Thursday to decide.

One of Sarah's first words

Sarah has been saying "mama, dada, and beha" for a while now. She also has been "talking in sentences" for a while. The doctor says this is because she has an older sibling. Today, her language went to the next level. Bobby and I were playing peekaboo with Sarah. She was putting her hands in front of her eyes and pulling them to the side over and over with us. Several times, she very clearly said "peekaboo." Some were clearer than others, but it was most definitely the word peekaboo. Talking at 12.5 months!!!!

Bekah, 3.5 years!!

What a girl!! At 3.5, I think Bekah is finally completely potty trained. Every once-in-a-while she'll go in her pull up over night, but for the most part, she's good. I think I can finally say she's potty trained because of what happened this afternoon. They were having a baby shower for a lady at my school, and during it Bekah said, "Oo, I have to go potty" and we ran and went. She hardly ever tells us at home, she just takes herself. Yeah Bekah!!
She is also completely paciless for 2 months. She never even asks for it any more. I can't believe how much she has grown!!!

Sarah's 1 year vs. Bekah's 1 year

Sarah

Bekah

Bekah was definitely a lot thinner at this point than Sarah. She started moving earlier. It's always fun to put Sarah in the same outfit as Bekah and see how it looks. I wish I could find the other ones where Bekah is standing up in this dress. You can really tell the difference in their cheeks. I may have to scan the originals in. :~)

Sarah's One Year Pictures

Spring Break.... in a nutshell

Last Saturday: We went to Ohio to have Sarah's b-day party, you've seen those pictures

Last Sunday: In the afternoon, we went to the butterfly place (it's name escapes me right now), you've seen those pictures

Monday: We packed up and headed home in time to drop Bobby off at UPS in Lexington. We had left his car there Friday night.

Tuesday: Mom grocery shopping in the morning, Sarah's doctor's appointment in the afternoon (Bobby and Bekah played in the gym at ATS while I took Sarah to her appointment)

Wednesday: Morning at home playing etc, Sarah's pictures at JcPenney at 2:00 pm. After pictures, we played in the play area, did a bit of shopping and got a snack, Auntie Ann's pretzels and cookies from Starbucks. (yummy!!)

Thursday: Bobby and Paula eye appointments in the morning, playing at home in the afternoon.

Friday: Take Bobby's car to the shop (where we later found out the guy cannot get the check engine light to go off, we will have to take it to a dealer), go to the eye place to get fitted, etc for our new lenses. Play at home.

Saturday: We were hoping to go to Natural Bridge state park, but it's been raining A LOT and the trails were VERY muddy, so we ventured into Lexington to a place called McConnell Springs Nature Reserve. They have paved paths, several springs and some picnic tables. We had a nice time. After that, we came home and played outside, etc. We had a nice break together. (Mom went to the grocery store for this next week) Later we went out to a Mexican restaurant we like for dinner. Good prices! The three of us (Sarah ate some of ours and stuff we brought) for 21 dollars including tip.

Sunday: Church, relaxing, playing out before lunch, lunch, relaxing, playing outside, going for a walk or bike ride, etc. It's supposed to be 70 degrees today. Yeah!!

The pictures below are from our time at the nature place yesterday.

Sarah walking behind the walker

Sarah's 1 year stats, and her birthday cake

The cake that Bobby decorated. I made the cake and started to decorate, and he took over. Ever since Bekah's first birthday where we made a Nemo cake (and I had the stomach flu and couldn't get off the kitchen floor to decorate it), Bobby thinks he should just do it. :~)

Weight- 21 lbs. 12 oz. (with diaper, onesie, and socks on) ; almost 2 full pounds heavier than Bekah was. Bekah starting moving around a lot earlier, so she only gained 5 oz. between her 9 month and 1 year appointment.
Height- 29 inches (1/2 inch shorter than Bekah)
Head- 18 inches (no idea about Bekah's head)