Daddy's Girl

It melts my heart every time Savannah crawls into Tal's lap and takes a nap. Tal often falls asleep, too!

Beat the Heat

Early Saturday morning, Savannah and I went to the park to beat the heat. Savannah had a blast swinging on the swings, climbing the stairs, and sliding down the four slides!  

No More Diapers!

Savannah, who turned 2 in February, is potty-trained (more or less) after 4 months of practice! Much to our delight, she rarely has accidents during the day. When Savannah ran out of diapers two weeks ago, she started wearing underwear to bed. During the last two weeks, Savannah has had only two accidents during the night.

In an adorable turn of events recently, Savannah has been playing Mommy and showing her babies how to use the potty (as shown below):

Shopping Trip

Now that I'm done with National Boards, I have more free time! On Saturday, Savannah and I (along with our friend Amanda) drove three hours to the nearest Ikea.

It was a full and tiring day, but the three of us had a wonderful time chatting during the car rides, eating in the Ikea cafe, and browsing the showrooms. At Ikea, Amanda bought some kitchen utensils, while I purchased an assortment of picture frames (as seen below) for a hallway art gallery in our house.

On the way home, I drove through the longest torrential rain storm I've ever experienced. For 1 hour and 15 minutes, we encountered lightning, thunder, and limited visibility. Savannah, Amanda, and I were thankful we made it home safely!

Test Day

During the last 14 months, I've been working on my National Boards certification, which includes a portfolio and assessment to prove that I'm an excellent teacher.

The National Boards process is grueling, and only a small percentage of candidates pass the first time. However, all of my hard work will pay off (literally) when I earn my certifcation and a 12% pay increase.

At the end of March, I turned in my portfolio, which included 129 pages of writing and artifacts.

On June 9, I took my National Boards assessment, which consisted of six 30-minute essay questions related to literature, technology, ethics, etc. Overall, I felt prepared for the assessment (for which I'd been studying 1-3 hours a day for the last 2 months).  As expected, however, the 30-minute time constraint was the biggest obstacle.

Now I wait...for 5 months. In November, I'll find out if I passed National Boards. Right now, however, I'm going to relax for the first time in 14 months.  I'm thrilled that I completed this professional journey, but  I can't wait to take a nap, watch TV, and play with Savannah--without feeling guilty that I should be working on National Boards instead.

My fingers are crossed that I receive good news in November!

Kids Museum

On June 3, Savannah and I (along with my mom and sister Renee) met up with my cousin Andy and some of his family at a local children's museum. 

Andy, Allie, and Jacob

Below are 7 of Savannah's favorite activities at the outdoor museum:

1. Seeing the dinosaurs

2. Digging for dinosaur fossils

3. Making a dam

5. Visiting the butterfly garden

6. Playing the drums

7. Digging in the sandbox

Beach Sunset

One of the highlights of our trip to Wrightsville Beach was walking along the beach while the sun set (and the temperatures were much cooler!):

Sun and Sand

Savannah and I, along with Grandma Judy and Aunt Renee, snuck away to Wrightsville Beach for three days of sun, sand, and relaxation.  

The four of us ate lunch at The Oceanic, which is a seafood restaurant that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

On Wednesday, Savannah had fun collecting shells and shoveling sand under the pier with Grandma Judy and Aunt Renee while I was at McDonald's studying for my National Boards assessment. It was a great mini-vacation!