pickin and a grinnin

At the end of the school year last spring I won a grant to purchase 30 guitars for my classroom, but with ordering and shipping and red tape, etc- we just got all the supplies implemented in my class about two months ago. We have been having a blast though! The kids absolutely love learning to play the guitars and I am having fun staying one step ahead of them! :)

We have learned a few songs so far and this week we started Jingle Bells. I was asked to take a group of students to perform for the Bentonville Public School Foundation Reception in three weeks, so we are working hard in my general music classes to get songs prepared to play for that.

The best thing about having these guitars is that they eliminate almost all my discipline problems. The kids are all so excited to be learning to play guitar that if I just mention that they will need to pack up their guitar because they are misbehaving... they shape up immediately. I love it! And it's often hard to impress sixth grade boys in music class, but playing guitar is something they get pretty pumped up about.

I like this next photo because you can see Beethoven looking over her shoulder. I hope he would approve of my style of teaching! :)

This week we finally got in our shipment of guitar tuners and HALLELUJAH it was about time. Now all the kiddos can tune their own guitars as we play in class (they are the type of chromatic tuners that only pick up the vibration of the guitar they are clamped on to). They are awesome and have already saved me time and headaches from listening to "almost in tune" guitars all day.

Anyways, I just wanted to give you a little glimpse into what I get to do all day. I really do love my job! 

owen's party

Last weekend Audrie was invited to a western theme party for Owen's 2nd birthday. She had a blast! She loved riding the horses but especially loved the fake bouncy horse the best.

 She did take a ride on a real horse with the birthday boy.

 She was so brave on that horse. There she is in this picture riding off into the sunset...

 Annie couldn't ride the horse because her bow was too big. ha! :)

 The party was amazing- horse rides, tons of wonderful food, toys for the kiddos, a campfire for making smores and even a hay ride. Audrie didn't want to leave!

Thank you, Owen, for inviting us to your birthday party!

translator, please

I'd say about 90% of the time we can decipher what Audrie is saying. She still has trouble with some words and a few letters she can't pronounce clearly, but we can usually understand everything she is saying. Usually. So the other day she sits down in Jamie's lap with her children's bible and announces that she is going to tell us a story about Jesus. Just a warning... you're going to need an English-Audrie dictionary for this video.



I love to tell the story from Jamie Cornett on Vimeo.

our thanksgiving

 This is the first year we decided not to split our time between both our families. It was tough to not be with Jamie's family for Thanksgiving but a relief to not have to spend half of our time driving. We were able to spend the day with my family at my mom's house. It was so great to see everyone!

 My niece Kara playing with sweet Annie Banannie.

 My nephew Matthew (he is two months younger than Audrie so they spent most of time chasing each other).

 Audrie really didn't stop running and playing the entire time, so I didn't get a photo of her except this one as she took a quick rest before darting off again.

 My brother Caleb and his sidekick, Lexi.

 My brother Seth texting all his important peeps.

 My brother Eric and his wife Trista.

 Me and my main squeeze.

 My mom carving up one of the four turkeys we had!

 I baked a tasty cheesecake for the occasion and it was DEElicious, if I say so myself.

 One of the turkeys we didn't eat...

 My niece Sydney trying to wrangle the wiggly baby girl.

 My brother Warren doing something to a turkey that required surgical gloves...?!

 My mom and dad...

 My sister Coleen and her two 'little' boys, Samuel and Levi.

 My nephew Stone.

 My nephew Wesley.

 My niece Emma.

 And her momma, Kim. :)

 A random pilgrim woman...

Well there were still a billion people I didn't take photos of and no photos of the amazing meal that we all sat down to. I think my dad said there were 35 people there, but it seemed like waaaaay more than that to me. Maybe all the kiddos running around made it seem like double the amount. Anyways, it was a really wonderful cozy day spent with our family that we are so thankful for!

A for effort

Here is a little video clip of Annie trying so hard to figure out this crawling thing...

Annie tries to crawl from Jamie Cornett on Vimeo.

jesus loves me this I know

In the past few weeks there have been some amazing sunsets and I've had to pull over the car to snap a photo with my phone a few times. I love these little reminders from God that there is more to life than dirty diapers and facebook. :)

(Maybe this was the evening He let Monet do the sunset...??)

 

I have so much to be thankful for, blessings in my life that I don't deserve, and a God who loves me despite my failures!

O Lord my God,
when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made
I see the stars,
I hear the mighty thunder,
thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed!

and audrie

 Miss Audrie is still queen of the castle and loving life. I have to say that since she is almost three (aka almost 13) her behavior and my desire to still want to share a home with her have greatly improved! She is comedy central, cartoon network and the soap opera channel all rolled into one blond mess.

 I took her to Wilson Park in Fayetteville yesterday (since I have the whole week off from work and can spend some real time with my girls!).

She had a great time running all over that park. Swinging and sliding and chasing all the leaves.

 Her favorite part was the bridge. She spent a good 15 minutes running up and down that thing!

I had Annie in my sling so I was able to enjoy the afternoon, too. I love all the beautiful trees in that park!

 Audrie is growing up too fast. But I love that I can have "real" conversations with her now like "what are you thinking about" or "what do you want to do tomorrow". And she has such genuine responses that melt my heart.

 But she's still our little girl.

 With a huge mouth.

Love her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

annie is half a year old!

Annie turned 6 months a few days ago and she was thrilled to celebrate her first half birthday by getting shots at the pediatrican's office! Awww, so sad. But she did great and the doctor said she's a perfect little girl. Just as we suspected.

 Annie weighs 15.5 pounds (50th percentile) and is 27 inches long (95th percentile). Even though we've started her on foods (rice cereal and sweet potatoes) she still drinks about 28 ounces of milk a day in 4-5 feedings. I have officially stopped breastfeeding/pumping so she's on straight formula now and is doing just great with it.

 She is still a crazy amazing sleeper. 2 big naps a day (one morning and one afternoon) with an occasional power nap in the evening. And then sleeps 12 hours nonstop all night. I'd be all smiles too if I slept that much!

Annie is still a really laid back baby, but she is starting to be a girl on the move and that is changing her personality a little. She doesn't like to sit still anymore and is so close to crawling! I call it "wallering" if that's a word. She doesn't officially crawl but she "wallers" all over the house. She can get herself into the sitting position now from laying down and she just wiggles and flops all over the house.

The other day I was watching her (on the video monitor) in her crib and I honestly thought she was going to pull herself up to standing. She got up on her knees and pulled her chin up to the crib rail! Jamie lowered her crib mattress all the way down the next day! I'm sure she'll be walking way before we want her to.

Annie still loves her jumperoo and is pretty content sitting in her high chair (I think she likes being up high to see all the action... aka "the audrie show" that is nonstop in our house). Annie hates having her nose wiped. As soon as you come towards her with a tissue she starts thrashing like a wild horse. She really likes being outside. And she is amazing in the car. Audrie can make her laugh and it's the cutest thing ever!

We love our baby Annie so stinkin' much!