The older Grae gets, the closer the boys become. Blood has nothing to do with the brotherhood that has formed between them in the last 7 months. And, everytime I witness this bond, I can’t help but get a little misty-eyed. Family is everything, and I am so thankful that our boys are able to help instill that in each other. What a spectacular gift.
Grae’s newfound pasttime is looking out the window in the front door. Today, I was curious what he was giggling at, and when I took a peek, it all became a little more clear. 🙂
STELLA!
Grandpa has been requesting more videos of Grae’s new crawling skills, so here is a quickie, will work on getting more soon. ❤
We got to visit with two of our foster daughters today that we haven’t seen in over year! We were so happy to meet their new foster mom, as the love in her eyes when she looked at our girls was undeniable. And the girls were happy- truly happy. They felt safe and settled, despite everything that they have gone through. I’m so proud of them, and feel so blessed that they were placed into such a nurturing, stable home. It was fun to have four of our ten children together in one room. Maybe, just maybe, one day, we will be able to get all ten of them together. 🙂
❤ 
Baby Grae,
Wow, in all nine months of your precious little life, this has been the week with the most changes! You are FULLY mobile and we can’t keep up with you! And, let me tell you, you are pleased as punch with your newfound independence. You love throwing your big blue ball down the hall then crawling after it as fast as you can. When you catch up to it, you turn around to look at us, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
You have started saying “HEY!” when you want attention, “Mamamaamaa” and “Dadadada” and will sometimes even mimic the word “HI!”
You are in to everything, and we are learning that our baby proofing skills are lacking in a big way. You can reach things that I never thought possible and somehow you always know exactly where the messiest things are kept.
You don’t like your jumper very much anymore. Or your high chair, or stroller, or anything else that tries to contain you. You love your freedom. Your favorite toys are balls (any shape, color or size will do) and musical instruments. You especially enjoy your baby piano these days.
You still wake up two or three times a night and rarely take naps during the day. You are too busy to waste time sleeping! 🙂 I’m sure Grandma and Grandpa are loving it, because I did the same thing to them for years.
We love you so much, there are truly no words to explain it. We just stare at you in amazement. You are the most wonderful blessing.
Mama and Dada
So, I’m back.
I’ve been snapped back to reality and summer vacay is officially over. I’m very slowly getting back in the routine of a real person and have been attempting to adjust to being both a mommy and a teacher again.
Last week, I spent every last second of daylight at school cleaning and organizing the science lab, as well as planning some pretty cool science experiments for the kiddos. Last weekend, my fabulous family came over to Atlanta and helped me get the school garden back in order (Whew, what a job that turned out to be!). And on Monday, our lovely students returned to school with smiles on their faces, ready to learn! As much as I wish summer vacation could last forever, it feels great to be back.
I am fully aware that my classroom looks nothing like those freakishly clean, themed, and organized Pinterest classrooms, but I thought I’d share a couple pics anyway. Don’t judge. 😉
Egg-citing Science 🙂 Hatching baby chicks is always a great way to start the year!
Little RJ is in Kindergarten! It has been so fun to watch the excitement brewing inside this little boy for this very important day. I hope he carries this passion for school with him throughout his life. He was so brave. He sat right down at his desk after meeting his teacher and waved goodbye to us like it was something he had done every day of his life. He looked so grown up in that little desk, I couldn’t help but get tears in my eyes. We are so proud of you, RJ! We love you!
Leaving the house on the FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!
Grae is MOBILE!! Our little man took his first “steps” (the crawling version, of course) this morning, and now, not even 12 hours later, he’s easily making his way around the house, and QUICKLY at that! How am I going to keep up with him after he has a couple more days of practice under his belt, errr, diaper?!
On another note, I’m sorry I’ve been a little absent lately. I’m WAY behind on my posts and answering emails. I have SO much to do; however, this is my last week of summer vacation, so I’m trying to spend as much time as possible with my boys with as little distraction as possible. 🙂 This new milestone was just too exciting not to share right away. But, I assure you I am reading each and every email and will get back to you very soon, it just won’t be this week. 😉 Thanks for your continued support and understanding.
Love,
A
The Mielke Way 