5 months!

5 months old! Thank goodness Great Aunt Lori gave him this cute bear so we can see how much he has grown:)

First, a HUGE update...
Anderson is now sleeping through the night!! Not the "sleeping through the night" that books refer to as 5-6 hours (what kind of night is that?), but 10-11 hours! He eats about 6:45, is in bed by 7 and doesn't eat again until some time between 5-6:30. I am trying for the 6:30 obviously, but will take 5 instead of 10, 2 & 5! He is awesome. Since he doesn't have formula at night, I did not sleep more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. For 5 months. Literally every single night. For 5 months. I had no idea this world existed. People told me that I would sleep one day, but that was like telling someone in poverty that she was going to win the lottery. It seemed incomprehensible. Now it is here!! It definitely took A LOT of crying it out-I am a big fan of this method...it is the hardest thing ever, but it works. I still wake up at least once a night and check on him, but I am hoping that might go away soon.....

On another positive note, Aunt Ems came to visit! Anderson LOVED her (so did Gabbi, actually. I think it's because everyone loves her.) She helped give him a bath and snuggled him and played on the floor. He wore one of the hundreds of outfits that she gave him for the occasion.
Sad news. Anderson's little tummy was breaking out in this rash and his skin was dry (doc said it's eczema) and it just kept getting worse. Thank goodness mom figured out it might be the detergent, so we switched and now it is getting better! Also, I started using Aveeno lotion and Dove soap (Johnson's, what is wrong with you and the 4 bottles I have stored up?). The sad part-I was using the Target brand of the Tide Free & Clear and now I have to use the real Tide. Target, a close friend of mine, has let me down. I will probably overlook this as a one time betrayal and give her one more chance. (Target has to be a girl, right?) Also, Anderson is going to have to step it up and be ok with some generic because we use a lot of that around this house. I ended up taking him to the doctor today because it looked worse & he got his first prescription, which means his first prescription transfer gift card!

I am still a little obsessed with pirates. GG got him this adorable bib.
First dip in the pool! Shout out to the Alabama family-we love you, too!

He is standing here, but Anderson is kind of crawling! It is definitely a scooting right now, but he is EVERYWHERE! The doctor said that it counts as crawling, but I am a little concerned because I feel like it is a little early and mobility seems scary....

Here is a little video of him over the past few weeks. It isn't that great because I am too lazy to edit the individual clips & just chose the magic movie option where the computer does it. I just realized he only has a diaper on in part of it. Not sure where the clothes went...

so many thanks.

Today I had a great day. I played with my munchkin-we blew spit bubbles, chewed on toys, rolled around. Then I walked my dogs with my parents, took Anderson to see Brandon at work, ran some errands, made dinner, watched a movie, talked on the phone to my sisters...all normal things. I was able to do all of those things, in part, because of the above crosses in the Normandy Cemetery. I have never felt so overwhelmed with gratitute and awe and respect as I did when I stood on Omaha Beach in Normandy. Then the trip ended and I went back to normal- It's so easy to take things for granted. Two events recently have kind of jarred me out of that state. First, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns, a fictional account of 2 women in Afghanistan, and I haven't been able to get Mariam & Laila out of my mind. The things they wanted in life were so basic. And things that I have always had and never really appreciate. Also, Brandon & I have started re-watching Band of Brothers and each episode reminds me that I have what I do because so many men literally gave everything they had. I know this is so cheesy, but it's the truth. So, thank you to all the men and women who gave their lives so I can have mine.

Memories

When the parents decided to move, mom went through the hundreds of boxes in the attic and discovered that she had, in fact, saved everything. Everything. Seriously, what is this? Jeannie-I need your help, this must be something from one of the Latin Conventions? Something with the Harpies? Help!

I have no idea.

Our 16th birthday party invites-Dr. Seuss. Wow.

Nicole and her craftiness. Give the girl some felt, a marker and a popsicle stick and she can make a masterpiece that will rival any of the Ninja Turtles (Michaelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo....)

I can't remember the names of these things, but I loved them.

A giant note ball that was made in middle school or high school....can't remember which. I just know that it was during math class. How sad that my students can't save their own note balls since text messages aren't tangible.

Every year we went to the Twinfest in Twinsburg, Ohio and it was so much fun. Don't make fun-you would go to if you were a twin. We won the tshirt slogan contest a few times, too, thanks to my mom's creativity. This was one year's shirt. Nicole's had the puzzle with this piece missing. The back said, "Without my twin, my life wouldn't be complete." Very cute. And horribly cheesy.

This is my favorite-Mom & Pops had these made when they got married (23 years ago...) I think the back says, "Dancing Dego", which just completes the picture. The best part? This wasn't in the attic! He was wearing it like it was normal. Love it.

the floor.

When you are 4 months old, you spend a lot of time on the floor. Please disregard the dog hair everywhere, as I really do vacuum ALL of the time. We are all shedding together.

Anderson & Jack had their first offical play date! Sesame Street was on, the toys were out, they were thrilled. Actually, they were holding hands for a minute, but we were not fast enough with the cameras!

The Munchkin has become very intrigued by the dogs; he loves how Gabs follows him around being protective and sharing her bones and he loves how Chloe (you know this is coming) wakes him up from his naps barking when the neighbors breathe too loudly.

Playing on the floor. Check out the random leg in the background. Where is the rest of the body?
Weird.

Shocked at how much he loves the monkey toy. Notice bodyguard Gabs in the background...

This boy wants to crawl SO badly. He gets so frustrated because he can get on all fours, but then can't figure out what comes next. Part of the currciulum at Noni & Bop's is crawling, so he gets lots of practice.

The bodyguard again. Possibly protecting him from Chloe? Ok, so I sound so mean. Of course I love the Chloeworm so much. She was my first child. She is just a little more intense than an average daughter, I think. She must be in her 7th grade phase. (Shout out to Nicole & Jessica...)

When Chloe decided to make an appearance, it was to wrestle with Gabbi right next to Anderson so I had to move them on the other side of the room. Such a good mom. He loves this blanket that my cousin, Vivian, made because it has all of these textures. Right now, he is intrigued (terrified?) by the wrestling event he has front row tickets for.

gasp!

I just realized that I did an entire post with no pictures of the munch! Crazy, I know. So here are some pics of the last few days...

Much more exciting than the bath...Anderson met Jack this week!! Since Clare figured out that they are like Ron (Jack has red hair, Clare is going to have 5 more kids...just kidding) and Harry (Anderson has dark hair, there is a relative named Lily, he will probably need glasses), we figured it was only fitting that they meet at Hogwarts. Since that was not available (summer holiday), we decided for them to meet at Farragut!

Some things I notice in this picture: Is Anderson 3? He is huge. How adorable is Jack?
Very. How much more together does the mom of the 3 week old look? This is the story of my life.

Overall, it was a huge success.....Splash Country, here we come!

Just playing with Dad. PLAYING....this is new. I prefer it to the lay there and stare at the toys. Thanks to Lillard for all the toys:)

So true. We do love our favorite bodyguard/superhero/protector. Noni found this onesie for him and it is sweet. Now if it said, "I sleep well at night" that would be a complete lie...

Bumper pads are back in the crib! Anderson is pumped. I took them out because of the SIDS paranoia, but now that he has mastered the rolling he is getting beat up at night.



WARNING: Gross picture below.....

yes, I put a picture of my hairball on here because I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. This is how much hair I lost in ONE brushing. I do this about 10 times a day. I really don't know if Gabs or I am shedding more. I know it's some post pregnancy thing, but come on. When does it end???

Home Sweet- Away From- Home

My intern, Jessica, is officially a teacher! I am so proud of her and going to miss her SO much. Who else is going to dress up like Mario & Luigi with me???

Since I spend pretty much all of my time in one of 3 places, home, Target or my classroom, I decided to post some pics! It is a cozy little place and it usually only smells bad when the students are there, so that is nice. I love this quote!

The deal of the classroom is the knight that I found at a garage sale last summer! One of Toni's friends was selling this for $10! One man's trash is another man's treasure, I guess.Speaking of trash, you will notice the fake wall behind him, which allows me to teach not only to my students but to the kids next door. There is also a big crack on the other side that Breeding & I use to talk to each other. Some students interviewed us for the school newspaper once and wrote about how "Glover & Breeding frequently use crack in their classrooms." Conveniently they forgot "the". The arrow is chalkboard paint (Saasha, do you remember painting that like 2 years ago?) and the fridge is magnetic paint. The fridge is a testament to my non-existent art skills, as it is the only thing in the room I actually painted. And I traced it from an overhead projector. Sad.

Artwork by a student-it is me surrounded by my favorites, Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt & Winston Churchill. I look kind of like a history stud. What is the female version of stud? Isn't it like prostitute or something? Maybe that isn't the best description of myself, but you get the idea. You'll notice the thermostat next to it, which is a really fun game that Knox County plays called, "You think you have some control over the temperature in your room!". We lose every time.

The real reason I am putting these pics up is the AMAZING WWII mural on my wall. One of my students, Chris LaBorde, spent all semester on it. It is so, so the coolest thing I have ever seen.
On a side note, look how sweet the desks look when they are empty.

It is life size.

My all-time favorite event in history-the Yalta Conference. Churchill, FDR & Stalin together to plan the future of the world! On. my. wall. I know.

Iwo Jima.

The picture of the nurse & sailor celebrating V-J Day.

The D-Day Invasion. Seriously, how absolutely amazing are these pictures? I am in shock everytime I walk into my classroom! Just a 2 second rant about education...this is why standardized tests are not the answer!! We can't measure what people are capable of my pencils & bubble answers. Look what he can do! A test never could have measured this. Now this particular student is pretty much awesome all around-talented at art AND tests (he took AP classes and speaks fluent German!), but you get the point....

the fam.

Big shout out to Noni who has been watching Anderson and making my life so much easier! Anderson was supposed to be holding this sign, but he just wanted to eat it, which is actually much cuter.

I think this picture is so cute of Anderson & GG. They are just really excited about seeing each other & hanging out!

Clare left her precious 3 week old Jack to come over and see Anderson! She is doing such a great job-look how amazing she looks WITH A NEWBORN. She is an inspiration to me since my hair never looks this good. Anderson was even a little shocked when he caught a glimpse of me. We do have plans of introducing the bffs soon, so stay tuned!

Hanging out with JPa-thanks for the salad, by the way!

Anderson got to see Uncle Austin this weekend & he was excited. Please notice how much Austin looks like Jack in the above picture...What is with the dominant Glover dad genes??