Poop

Macie has started telling us when she has a dirty diaper. She will grab her diaper and say "poop". Tonight, I heard her tooting and she said "poop". I thought she had just passed gas but sure enough, she had pooped! Every time I get her up from a nap, she tells us to change her diaper. She has also been very curious when I am going to the bathroom. I know she is only 19 months old, but she is showing a lot of signs for potty training. I plan to get a potty chair soon and start slowly. I worked in a daycare where all I did was potty train kids all day so I am very aware that she will do it when she is ready. I figure there is no harm in exposing her to it and see how she does! Wish us luck!!!

Swimming and More...

Today Macie swam in her pool for the first time. She swam at Grammie's house this week, but it was the first time we got out her pool at our house. Brian had to clean it out because it was disgusting from leaning against the fence all year. We only used the pool a few times last year because Macie was so small, but I look forward to getting a lot more use out of it this year. She loved it! She wasn't quite sure about sitting down in the water for some reason. The bottom of the pool was very slippery and she was sliding all over the place and even fell a few times. It scared her (and us) but all in all it was a lot of fun. We hope to all get in the water tomorrow if it isn't raining.
We also had some visitors today. Aunt Beth and Uncle Wil stopped in for a quick visit. They were in Evansville to do some shopping. My parents also came over to grill out. We had a delicious dinner and it was nice enough for us to eat outside. I love summer days just like this!

We dipped Gavin's feet into the water. He didn't seem to mind. If it's nice, we will put him in the water tomorrow!

Grandpa had to show Macie how to get water on her head

Aunt Beth helped her down the slide

Gavin sleeps so well outside. I love the belly hanging out!

Look at that messy face! Macie had bbq chicken and pork steak too! As you can tell, she loved it!!!!

Wild hair, messy face, filthy from head to toe... signs of a fun day!

Girls Night Out

Last night I actually went out for a few hours with Allie and two of my cousins. Brian was bartending. He actually will be bartending every Saturday for 5 weeks in a row. Then, he will have at least 3 weeks off. Even though he is gone a lot, we are so grateful that he is able to bartend. The money is great, he loves it, and he is away from us less than when he worked at Arc. Anyway....Allie called me yesterday morning and told me that I couldn't say no to what she was going to say. My cousin, Andrea, was in town and they were going out for a drink later and she told me I was going. Allie even went "behind my back" and called my mom to see if she would babysit. Mom agreed to come to my house which was great because we didn't go until 7 and that is Macie's bed time. I wasn't going to spend any money but Allie insisted that I share an appetizer and drink one beer on her because we feed her all of the time. Now that Gavin is sleeping through the night, I am able to have a drink every now and then and it is so nice! The best part was getting to hang out with some girls and now worry about the kiddos. Even though our conversations often were about our kids, it was nice to be an adult again and not just a mommy! Thank you Allie and Mom for always helping out with the kids!!! I love you both very much!!!!!

Family Update

What has the Mitchell family been up to????

Macie's been doing a great job eating with a fork and a spoon! She even eats off of her plate sometimes!

Coupon Club - I started a Coupon Club. We had our first meeting on Tuesday, May 25th. There were nine people there so I thought we had a great turnout for the first meeting. I brought a ton of coupons to share with others. We basically talked about money saving ideas and where to find coupons and deals. We plan to meet once a month. I know there are several more people interested so we shall see how the group grows!

I brought all of these and others brought some too!

This morning, Macie woke up screaming. Brian went in there to check on her and found her on the floor!! She had pulled her changing pad into the crib and used it as a ramp to get to her beloved pap. When Brian found her she was crying and kind of in shock, but she had her 2 paps by the time she came into bed with us. She held them both up to me and said "tu" in between sobs. Luckily, she wasn't hurt! We are going to have to lower her bed the rest of the way tonight and make sure the changing pad is not within reach anymore!!!

School's Out for the Summer!!!

Today was the last day of school!! I can hardly believe it! I've had another great year and just wrapped up my fifth year at Holy Spirit. I am looking forward to this summer. I was pregnant the last 2, so hopefully this time I will get to enjoy some time with my kids without feeling sick all of the time. Of course, there are several things I want to accomplish this summer. Brian asked me if I had made my project list yet. Ha ha... he knows me well! I haven't made an official list, although I plan to, but here is what I have going so far...scrapbooking, Wednesday play dates, a few conferences, St. Louis trip, day trip to winery, cleaning out our stuff to put in yard sale, cookouts and lots of family fun!!!!

Cereal

Tonight we gave Gavin cereal for the first time! He also sat in his high chair for the first time. I can't believe he is already old enough for this! I remember with Macie, Dr. V told us to give her cereal by the time she came for her 4 month appointment. Well, Gavin will be 4 months on June 1st, but he doesn't go to the doctor until the 23rd. I didn't want to wait any longer because my little boy is a porker and hungry all of the time! He is eating 5 1/2 to 6 ounces a feeding up to 7 times a day. That is a lot of food! I am hoping the cereal will fill him up more and stretch out his feedings a bit. For his first try, Gavin did great! He ate every bit and would have eaten more if I made it. He likes it thicker though just like Macie. The runny stuff just pours out of is mouth. If it is thicker, he kind of "chews" on it. His little tongue was going to town! I will stick with cereal for a few weeks before adding anything else. Next up: veggies!!

Not too sure about this new contraption
First bite

Getting the hang of it

Any more where that came from?

What a mess!

Allie's Housewarming

Allie had a housewarming party today. It was a great way to celebrate her beautiful home. Even though I had seen the house before, I was so happy to see all of the pictures hung up and everything in it's place. She had a great turnout. Even though everyone couldn't stay long, I know it meant a lot to Allie that so many people came out to see her new place. Brian was bartending so the kids and I went. I am very thankful that so many people love my kiddos and are so willing to help me with them! Macie had a blast playing with her friends and she was filthy by the time we got home. Gavin was as good as can be and showed off his big grins. It was another late night. Tomorrow, we will definitely have to get Macie in bed on time so she can get back on her schedule for the week.

Macie's eyes were so red because she rubbed sunscreen in them. Poor baby!
"Taton" (Clayton)

I wanted to take Macie's picture and she said "nah" and then headed to the steps and posed. It was so cute!

I had to get a picture of Macie with the hostess. Look at that big smile!

Hannah shared her grapes with Macie

Look at those precious pigtails!

Best Little Brother

Holy Rosary Summer Social

Tonight we met Rachel and Eric at the Holy Rosary Summer Social. They recently joined the parish and asked if we wanted to meet them at the social for dinner. Rachel is due next Saturday and we wanted to spend a little time with them before the baby comes. We were a little worried about the rain, but it held off and ended up being a very enjoyable evening. Macie ate a whole corn dog. It was the first time we have ever given her anything like that. She did really well with it. She also played some games for the first time and loved people watching. We took our chance at the Chinese Auction so we will see how that turns out. Brian and Eric both wanted to win a cake, but it didn't work out. Oh well...maybe next time! Gavin snoozed some, but was actually awake most of the time. He was just smiling and talking and taking everything in! We didn't leave until a little after 9 and Macie was starting to melt down. I guess it's our fault considering that is 2 hours past her bedtime! Overall it was a good time!

I think she was a little shocked we were giving her the whole thing! She wasn't quite sure what to do at first, but soon figured it out!

Digging in!

Gavin ate before we went so he had to chew on his hand!

Macie caught ducks in the net. She didn't have any trouble getting the net under them, but she couldn't pick the net up, so Mommy helped a little.

Picking her prize...she went for the bead necklace but when I showed her a ball she gladly traded.

Going fishing with Daddy

I thought this game was really cute. When the child put the pole into the pond, the people working put a prize on the end that fit their age.

She got a small stuffed cat named "Tabby". Eric said that he didn't realize there were catfish in the pond...ha ha ha!

Just a Swingin'

Tonight I had the health club meeting at my house. It was finally nice enough for Macie to get outside and play on her swingset again. She was so excited! I just live for these moments and those smiles!!

What a difference 5 years can make...

It is hard to believe I am wrapping up my fifth year teaching at Holy Spirit. So much has happened in the last 5 years. Five years ago I was single, working temp jobs to make ends meet, and living in an apartment wondering where my life would lead me. In fact, I even visited a friend in Florida and talked to the principal about working at her school the next year. I felt like nothing was clicking or falling into place for me...then things started to change...

I got hired at Holy Spirit to teach First Grade (even though I interviewed for the second grade position), met Brian, got engaged, bought a house, got 2 dogs, got married, and had 2 babies. Throughout this time I also met most of my closest friends, grew professionally, and grew stronger in my faith. Because so many life changes have happened during my time here, I have been blessed to share them all with my second family...Holy Spirit. This place is my home away from home!

When I was in college, our teachers always told us that it takes about 5 years to get the hang of teaching. I thought that sounded crazy...5 years is a long time! Well, I don't think that anymore! I still have a lot to learn! So many things have happened/changed in the last 5 years, I can't even begin to imagine what the next 5 years have in store for me!

Movie Night Monday

Tonight we had our first movie night Monday. Before Christmas, we watched a different Christmas movie almost every night. I wanted to start that up again and we decided that Mondays were the best night. We obviously won't do it every week, but we are going to try and do it as often as possible. Macie was so excited! I found two Mickey Mouse movies in my classroom and I brought them home. They were both less than 30 minutes and I thought that is all we would be able to handle at this time. I let Macie pick which one we would watch. She picked "The Prince and the Pauper". She was running around the house with the box squealing until it was time to watch the movie. I popped a bag of popcorn for Brian and I and made some tropical punch kool aid. I made Macie a little dish of whale crackers and a few torn up marshmellows. We had to watch the movie in our bedroom because that is the only place we have a vcr. When Brian went to take a picture, Macie started eating some of our popcorn and decided that she loved it. I was a little nervous about her eating it because she chokes on things so easily, but she didn't have any problems at all. In fact, she kept sneaking Brian's popcorn througout the movie! Macie made it through the movie, but barely. Another great family moment!

Sneaking popcorn

Elmo Times 2

Tonight both kids got a good scrub down to ensure that they didn't have any ticks and were nice and clean. I picked the right kid too because Macie pooped in the tub again. Brian just doesn't have good luck! After baths, I wanted to put both kids in their Elmo pjs. Gavin is just now big enough to fit in them and Macie's won't fit her too much longer. I just had to get some pics in these precious pjs...

Sunday

Today was our last day. By the time I got up and fed Gavin, Brian already had the grill going for breakfast. After we ate, it was time to start packing up and cleaning the cabin. Macie was quite cranky because she didn't have a morning nap, but it was still a good day. After we had everything packed up, we headed down to the Wabash River so Macie could play on the playground and we could check out the river. We then headed to New Harmony for some ice cream, but the place was closed. We ended up coming back to Evansville and eating a quick lunch at Kiplees before heading home. Once we got home, we unpacked and settled in for a nap. Macie and I got a good nap in, but Brian and Gavin spent a lot of time cuddling on the couch. We spent the rest of the day prepping for the week, relaxing, and blogging!
Overall it was an awesome weekend. I feel relaxed and refreshed...ready to tackle the last 8 days of school!

Macie loved playing with the worms that were left from fishing...yuck!

Saying goodbye to the cabin...

The men folk hanging out

Love the belly hanging out!

Learning how to drink from a water fountain