Bye Turtle!

Well, it was my first full week with kids at school and man was I beat! It's always exhausting at the beginning, but even more so when you're packing around a few (okay a lot) more pounds and are 6 1/2 months pregnant! I'm so lucky that I have a wonderful husband who doesn't mind cooking and helping out with Zane!

We had spaghetti earlier this week so I thought I'd record Zane eating it. It's always so cute how he sucks the noodles into his mouth! He calls them "worms." Enjoy watching!

Zane had preschool twice this week, Tuesday and Thursday. It was MUCH easier dropping him off since I had done it before! Tuesday he was fine, but then when I started leaving he ran over to me and said "NO!" Luckily he likes his teacher...she asked him if he wanted to play the computer and he went right to her. Thursday he was fine, but we were racing to get inside and he slipped and fell on the ground, scraping his hands. So this started him crying. He was not wanting me to leave at all and clinging to me, so Miss Michelle asked him if he would help her change the hermit crab's water. He was all over that!

This week he again told me his preschool is fun and he likes it. He also says he's a "boo boy" (good boy). On Thursday the kids were playing on the playground when I picked him up, so I went to get him. As we were walking in the hall, he went over to the edge of the hallway where there is a strip of orange carpet and said "Zane walk on orange. My teacher says walk on orange." He also told me "My teacher says no hands on walls." At least he's listening! I'm going to also have to ask her about some song they must sing when they are being good listeners, because this weekend he started singing something about "sticky sticky bubble gum." It's so fun to hear him saying these things!

This weekend we headed to Iowa for the races. I can't believe there are only 2 more left now! It will be nice to stay home but we'll miss seeing our families too! I guess it'll be everyone's turn to come see us! :) Sunday we took the boat to Maryville to check out Mozingo Lake. Matt, Brent, and Craig went down first and then Keeta, Zane and I went later. The three of us don't last as long on the boat (mostly Zane and I), so we were fine with less time there. We watched everyone tube, ski, and played at the beach. Before we left, we let turtle go into the woods so he could find his mommy and daddy. We hope he's okay! Zane must have been worn out, he fell asleep in the van around 6:30 and didn't wake up until 6:30 this morning! Here is a video of the turtle release:

This week I have parent orientation, and recently found out that I have an all-day meeting that day, so it will be a busy week. I hate already having to have a sub, but that's how it goes! We hope everyone's doing well and enjoying the last of summer!

Preschool...A Success!

What a week! We had a lot of change happen in our family this week...all good, but crazy and busy just the same! First of all, since Zane has been 2 weeks old, we have taken a picture of him by Big Bird to how how much he has grown. I am attaching the first picture I took at 2 weeks old and the one I took this week at 3 years old. Has he grown and changed or what???

I have been in school all week...Monday and Tuesday were work days. Tuesday evening was our "Back to School Night," where the kids come to school, find out who their teacher is, and bring their school supplies. It always seems like such a whirlwind and is over before I know it! Then Wednesday was my first day of school. I have 21 little ones this year, which seems like a lot of 5 year old bodies! So far they really seem like a neat group of kiddos and I have awesome parent support! I have 2 siblings, so that is nice to already know the families. I definitely noticed how completely exhausted and tired I was this year...wonder why???

Thursday was a BIG day at the Baker house! It was Zane's first day of preschool!! He woke up on his own at 6:30 and was in our bedroom when I got out of the shower. I was surprised! We have been making a pretty big deal of preschool and telling him how much fun it is going to be, so he seemed pretty excited that morning. We were cheering, clapping, and talking about it all morning. I set out the "special plate" for him to eat his breakfast on and Matt made Zane his favorite...pancakes! I was bothered by the fact that he was not interested in eating that morning. I didn't want to send him to his first day of school with an empty tummy! But, I loaded him with milk and felt a little better.

We took the obligatory first day photos of Zane before leaving home. He just looks so grown up! He was very proud of his backpack...Lightning McQueen! Here are his first day photos:


Matt and I both took him the first day (I told Matt I'd need the support)! We got there around 7:30 and the classroom was empty but they were on their way from the early room. We walked back down the hall, unsure if we should go in the room without the teachers there, and Zane suddenly started crying and saying "Go Zane's house..." THAT was not helping his already emotional mommy! Matt got him settled down a little bit, so we headed back to the classroom. Here is a picture of Zane and Matt outside of his new classroom door (by the way, this is a BRAND NEW school...something I've never even gotten to experience!):

Once in the classroom, Zane first noticed a fishtank, so he was excited about that. We found his coathook and he hung his backpack up right away. The teacher asked if he had been to school before because he acted like a pro! I was talking to the teacher a little bit and Matt was showing Zane some of the toys he could play with. While I was chatting, Matt told Zane to be good, listen to his teachers, and have a good day. His response was "Okay. Bye Dad!" I went over to the two of them and Zane was happily playing with a puzzle. Matt said that we should go, so I kissed him on the head, told him to have a good day, and we walked out (me bawling...). He just kept right on playing so that did make it easier.

I was a complete mess when leaving...it just didn't seem like my baby should be starting school already! I know have a newfound understanding and respect for the parents who entrust their children to me, a complete stranger, every year. I now know EXACTLY how that feels!

I was so excited to pick Zane up at the end of the day and couldn't wait to hear what he had to say about everything! When I got there, I signed him out and then went up to him where he was playing with some trains. I said "Hey." He looked up at me, then continued to play. That was a good sign to me that he had a great day! He said "Bye teachers! Zane come back Tuesday!" We got his backpack, papers, and headed down the hallway, talking about his new school. His comments were, "Zane had fun. My preschool fun. Zane good boy." It was so fun to listen to him talk about his first day! For lunch he said he had "salad" (coleslaw) and that he likes salad. He also talked about it raining, so I don't think they went outside for recess.

To celebrate a great first day, we took Zane to Chuck E Cheese for supper. We all loved it!!

This is one of the prizes Zane picked out. Lately he's been into moustaches since his Papa Farmer has one. He calls them a "musbash."

We ended up staying home this weekend. There's been a lot of claiming of motors going on at the races, so Chris decided to take a night off and stay at the State Fair for a concert. I was so excited to have a weekend at home...so much needed done! We now have a clean house and groceries in our refrigerator! Last night we had Madelyn over for a little while and she went out to supper with us. Here is Zane playing a game on Matt's phone and Madelyn watching him.


This will be my first full week with kids...we'll see how it goes! Hopefully they won't have forgotten everything over the weekend...it may be like starting over! I'm really excited to take Zane to preschool this week and see what else he has to say. Now that the first day is over, I think I'll be okay!

Take care and thanks for checking in on us!!

Back to Work...

We tried to make the most of our last few days of summertime! I feel so lucky that Zane and I get the summers together...we make many great memories!

Monday we went to Jo's house for a tie dyeing party with all of the daycare kids and parents. It was a lot of fun! We made a couple of shirts for Zane and some onesies for Bobby...we'll hope they fit! It was great to see everyone but still know we had a couple of days to stay home!

Tuesday was a bittersweet day...we had a parent meeting at Zane's preschool! I was trying so hard to be strong and not let it bother me that my baby was going to be going to this big old school and was now a big boy...until I saw his name on a class list! Then we were walking down the hall to his classroom and Matt said "Oh, this is Zaner's new school!" I lost it then! Whoops! He will be going to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays this year. I'm sure it will be harder on me than him! He is so lucky to get to go to a brand new school! His first day will be this Thursday the 14th, so we're going to go school supply shopping this week! While we were at the meeting, Zane stayed at Madelyn's house. We went out for supper with them after the meeting. Zane and Madelyn were sitting in the parking lot afterwards watching cars and this is what they did:


Wednesday was our last day home. Matt came home early so that I could go to the doctor and get my hair cut. My appointment was good, the only thing she said was "you jumped up in weight a little this month..." WHOOPS! I distinctly remember having heard the same thing when pregnant with Zane! I guess vacation and summertime wasn't good on me for weight...

Thursday was my first teacher work day. I have mixed emotions about it...ready to start a new year with a new class, but sad to not get as much time with Zane. Starting the year just gets us that much closer to meeting our little Bobby!

Friday after work we headed to Des. Moines for the Iowa State Fair! Zane was so excited to stay in the camper and he wanted to sleep "way up high" (in the bunk bed). We got there and he was all upset, not wanting to talk to anyone. I think he was under the impression we weren't honest with him and weren't going down to the fair. We did...and had a blast! He couldn't wait to ride the rides and had a lot of fun on them. Here he is on the bumper boats:

And here he is riding on the shuttle bus (a tractor pulling a wagon with seats). He just thought this was the greatest thing ever and just sat there so nicely!

Saturday morning we woke up and headed down to the fair again with Marcy and Chad for a couple of hours. Zane rode down the big slide with Marcy twice and got to meet Clifford! We left our camera at the camper, but Marcy had hers. I'll upload those pictures as soon as I get them from her. We headed back to Lenox around 1:00 so Matt could get the car ready for the races.

Today we went to the lake for breakfast and went boating/tubing/skiing/to the beach for the morning and early afternoon. We're trying to soak up all of summer we can! Zane was so good and didn't even get upset when we had to leave!

I am anxious for this week...I start with kids on Wednesday and take Zane to preschool for the first time on Thursday. It will be an emotional week for me...I hope I can stay strong for Zane!

Have a great week!

Lake of the Ozarks

What a great way to close our summer...on vacation in the Ozarks! Since the races were cancelled last Saturday, we got to leave a day early! Matt came home pretty early from work Friday, so he finshed up the swingset. After we were done, we found this turtle in our driveway. I can't get Zane to name it...so far he's come up with "boy" and "turtle." We put it in a wagon of his, gave it some water and rocks, and are deciding how long we'll actually keep it!

Saturday morning we woke up, finished packing, loaded everything, and headed south! As we were getting ready, Zane wanted to put his lion under his shirt as his Bobby...so we posed for a picture of our bellies! Cute, huh?

When we arrived in the Ozarks, we first went to the outlet mall to shop. Unfortunately we didn't find the good deals I was hoping for! Then we went to some of the little shops that sell souvenirs. We were glad that the arcades were open and so was Zane...we had some fun playing with the games there. Our cabin wasn't going to be ready for us until Sunday evening, so we found another resort that would rent a room to us for one night. The first place we headed to was the pool...it was hot!!

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and had to fill up a lot of our day because we couldn't check in to the cabin until 4:30. After eating breakfast, we headed to Bridal Cave. Zane was very excited to go inside the cave! He did pretty well, but was getting a little antsy towards the end of it. Matt carried him around the entire time...it was very wet in there and we were scared of him falling or just running around all over during the tour! After that we got some groceries and headed to our resort!

Matt and Zane looking at the lake

Matt and Zane relaxing on the deck

Zane and Matt feeding the ducks (a daily ritual)

Our beatiful view of the lake from our deck
Monday morning we awoke to clouds. It was a little cooler also, so we decided it'd be a good day to ride go-carts and go miniature golfing. It was looking rainy, so we decided to go-cart first, thinking that Zane would be okay missing the golf, but not the go-carts! During their ride, it began to sprinkle, so we made a good choice! Zane had a great time on the cart and sat so nicely the whole time! Lucky for us they weren't busy because actually he was supposed to be 4 years old, but they let it slip since there weren't many people there. In the afternoon we headed to the pool at our resort...it was right across the street from our room!

On Tuesday we rented a boat for 4 hours. We wanted to spend some time on the water! The morning started off super nice, and just kept getting hotter!!! After a couple of hours, we were getting hot and tired (at least Zane and Mom were)! For lunch, we boated to this restaurant (The Topsider). It was the neatest place! When we got up there, they had a swimming pool, so we were able to swim while waiting for our food! Zane thought that was neat and it really perked him up since he was so hot and tired! If we would have had the boat for longer, we would have stayed there, but had to get it back. We ended up returning RIGHT on time...whew! Once again, we went swimming that afternoon.

The Topsider restaurantThe swimming pool at the Topsider
Zane, all tuckered out, from a morning on the lake!

Roasting marshmallows for S'Mores

Our plan for Wednesday was to rent a wave runner for an hour or two and go out on the lake some more. Unfortunately the day didn't want to cooperate with us...it rained ALL DAY LONG! We decided to drive around some more and see what we could find to do! We went to a place Matt remembered golfing at when he was a kid. Little did we know that it was now turned into an indoor amusement park for kids! We didn't end up staying for long...played some games, then headed out for lunch. We kept driving by "Peckers," so decided to eat there. Zane wanted to take his picture by Woody Woodpecker...so he did! Later in the evening it finally quit raining, so Matt and Zane went to the pool while I watched them.

Zane doing a slam dunk!

Thursday was the day we were heading home...we were a little sad to have to leave, we loved our vacation! We had to check out at 10:30, so didn't get much time on Thursday before we had to head out. When we were leaving, Zane waved at everything and told it good-bye. He said "Bye mine house. Zane come back!" It was very cute. He referred to our cabin as "his house" the entire time!

Zane and Matt...what a pair!The happy family!
Standing on our deck.
We got home around 2:30 Thursday. It was nice to have time to get unpacked and caught up on laundry. For supper we went to Pizza Shoppe...I was going through withdrawals!

Matt had his wisdom teeth out on Friday afternoon. He did really well! After he rested for a couple of hours, we decided to head to Iowa. That was a BAD call! We didn't even make it to St. Joe before turning the car around and coming back home. The car ride was making him feel nauseous and there was no way we could make it all the way home! So we went home and he slept for the rest of the night! It was a rough evening, but I was glad we were close to home!

We went to Iowa Saturday and had fun showing all of our vacation pictures to family. Zane would tell everyone about the pictures and told them we bought a new house and a new boat! I think he'd be ready to go back anytime!! That night he stayed with Gaga/Papa Farmer. He dscovered that they had a miniature tea set...so he had a tea party with some dolls! He has really been using his imagination while playing lately!

Matt's doing much better now...he really hasn't been in pain and doesn't have much swelling either. I think he's glad it's over...and he's also hungry! He hasn't braved too much besides water and vanilla pudding so far!

We have a very busy week ahead...and an emtional one I'm sure. We have a meeting at Zane's preschool and I go back to school on Thursday. I'm sure you're all crying lots of tears for me...but we've had such a great summer and I hate to see it come to an end! We've made lots of great memories!!

Thanks for checking in on us! Sorry it's so long...we had a lot happen this week!