In Between

As I wrote in my last post, Emmy started back to daycare this week. Although I only had to work on Monday and Wednesday, we made the decision to go ahead and start Emmy back, thinking it would give all of us a chance to ease back into the routine. While I had every intention of taking her all five days even on the days I wasn't actually working, I changed my mind after spending Monday away from her. It was hard being away from her for so many hours. We will just take next week as it comes; no need in jumping back to the routine before we have to, right?

We've had a good week of 'in between.' I feel like I am straddling work and summer right now, and it won't be long until I have both feet in the school year. The two days that I worked were good days. It was fun catching up with coworkers, and it was such a different feeling than last year when I was first starting at East Surry. I am certainly sad that the summer is over, but I think it will be a great Year 2 as a Cardinal. 

With the days that I was not working this past week, we fit in several fun activities. We've continued to progress with Emmy's independent eating; this week we tried cereal with milk! We have been rotating mornings between her usual rice cereal and Cheerios, but I think we will soon go strictly to real cereal when we use up the last of the rice cereal. 

A few of Emmy's favorite things right now are doors and books. She loves opening and closing closet doors and cabinets. I had a hard time dragging her away from one of the toddler gates at the Science Center, despite all the other fun things to see and do there. I've taught her to say "Knock, Knock" when she is playing her game with the doors, which comes out more like "gock, gock". I am amazed at how she is more readily trying new words. She is starting to repeat things even without prompting, and she is also starting to say "please" as opposed to doing the sign language. When Emmy was with Grammy earlier today, Grammy made a list of all the words Emmy can say. We are over 20 now: Mommy, Daddy, no, hi, book, bye-bye, milk, go, Grandpa, night-night, poopie, doggie, eat eat, hair bow, Bobby, bird, ball, all gone, more, yeah, and baby. There are also several more words that perhaps only I can understand, for example "ow hide" -- meaning outside. She can very clearly say "book," and she likes to have one when she is getting her diaper changed or riding in the car. We made a special stop at the library this week, and she loved reading books in the children's section. 

At the end of the week, we tagged along to 'Grammy Camp.' My mom is watching Zander during the next two weeks since my sister is back to work and Maddox is back at preschool. Zander will soon be starting kindergarten on the 27th, and Grammy has something fun planned everyday with him! On Thursday, we joined along on an outing to City Lake Park. The park is in High Point, and there is a carousel, train, and miniature golf course. Grandpa and Zander played several rounds of golf, and we rode the carousel and train many times - we definitely got our money's worth! On Friday, we went to the Science Center.

Boomer's schedule has picked up again with the start of fall sports. Emmy and I had a few evenings on our own, and I tried to send Boomer pictures so he didn't feel like he was missing too much. We are all adjusting to the late nights and early mornings once again. 

We have filled our weekend with the last of the summer activities. On Saturday, Emmy and I went to the Kernersville Honeybee Festival while Boomer was writing. It was a nice overcast morning, and we had a fun time walking around through the vendors and food. The festival was at the 4th of July Park in downtown Kernersville, so Emmy got in some swinging and sliding on the playground while we were there. It is neat to see how much more confident I am now on solo outings with Emmy. I have loved all the practice we have gotten in this summer! That evening, I got together with my Wake Forest girlfriends for dinner in Raleigh. Christina is now back in North Carolina after being in Colorado for the past year, and Amy is a new [second-time] mom to 2-month-old James -- it has been a big summer for everyone! Today, Boomer, Megan, Zander, my dad and I went to the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro. It was my first time going to a PGA tournament, and it was such a fun experience. We got to see a lot of the big-name golfers: Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Henrik Stenson, and the winner, Brandt Snedeker. Boomer and I mostly followed his favorite, Webb Simpson, who had a great final round to finish T2. It was a sunny, hot day, but we were able to find shade as we walked along the course. Emmy was home with Grammy, and they had a fun day, too, going for a walk and playing with all the toys at Grammy's house. I think we are all sufficiently worn-out, so hopefully we will sleep well in anticipation of our big day tomorrow. Boomer has his first day with students, and I have my first teacher workday with the opening faculty meeting. The alarm will be going off in just a few hours, and we are officially bidding farewell to summer. Thank you for your prayers as we start the new school year!