Crosby's Birth- the Full Story

Even though I haven't written on this blog in a long time, sitting down to record the details of my baby birth stories has become one of my favorite postpartum traditions. Crosby Elliott Bennington was born on Sunday September 20th at 5:01am and, as one might expect, his entrance into the world was not like that of either of his siblings.

Tessa's story was long and bumpy, with a 36 hr NICU stay for her at the end. Charley's birth was short and exciting and he came very close to being born in our car. Crosby, like Goldilocks and the 3 bears....seemed just right.

On Saturday September 19th, I was 40 weeks and 3 days gestation and definitely ready to get the show on the road. Tessa and Charley had both come at 39 weeks so I had been expecting labor for well over a week at that point. Walking, evening primrose oil, labor salad...nothing could make him come except patience.

On that morning, Jeremy took the kids to lunch and dance class while I stayed back to be lazy. While he was gone, I started noticing light time-able contractions starting around noon. Soon it became obvious that they were consistently coming 10 minutes apart. Not painful, just consistent, which was music to my ears. I sat on the couch and tried to relax, wondering if I had a long evening ahead. I watched stupid mindless movies like Bring it On and The Wedding Ringer. When the kids got home we watched Home Alone 2 and cuddled on the couch.

Later I got into the tub for about 90 minutes, waiting for the contractions to pick up in pace, but they still seemed pretty slow. I told Jeremy that it was best to go ahead and feed the kids dinner and wait, since we didn't know what the evening would hold. Mom and Dad (our babysitters) were up at the Purdue game so I alerted them that things were happening, since that is a good 90 minute drive from our house. I told Mom to enjoy the game and have a beer, but plan to come our house instead of going home when they left.

We ate hot dogs for dinner and watched The Middle, while I watched the contraction timer get only slightly closer together, to 7 or 8 minutes. After everyone had eaten we decided to walk around outside on the cul-de-sac while the kids rode their bikes. I walked round and round the circle for at least and hour and noticed that the contractions were finally getting both more painful and closer together, at 3 minutes apart.

Once they were consistently 3 min apart for a while, we checked on Mom and Dad. They were a good hour away and since our hospital is 30 minutes from our house....we decided that it was best to go. I knew it wasn't yet TIME time, but since Charley's delivery had come so fast a furious, you could say I was a bit paranoid about waiting too long. So we decided to take the kids with us to the hospital and have Mom and Dad meet us there. The kids packed up snacks and iPads in a backpack while asking....'really? We're really going? Now???' They were quiet and excited in the car, not having expected such a trip that evening.

We got to hospital around 9pm and Mom and Dad (along with Andy and Whitney who were also at the game with them) came shortly behind us. We parted ways in the waiting area and they took the kids back to our house because it was obvious there would still be a long night ahead. We told them we'd see them in the morning with a baby brother or sister.

Upon admittance I was only 4 cm dilated and everything was looking good. Our awesome amazingly cool labor nurse Katie was a blessing. She was witty and funny but also very helpful and knowledgeable. She ended up staying with us all night until the end of her shift at 7am, and there were big hugs upon parting ways with her. So Katie informed us that she needed to strap me a heart and contraction monitor for 15 minutes out of every hour, and for the other 45 minutes we were free to do whatever we wanted for pain control. I was determined to once again try for an unmedicated birth and she basically said that my wish was her command in terms of how I wanted to handle that.

Since Tessa's birth was so much more closely monitored due to the meconium in the amniotic fluid, and my options for movement and freedom more limited (and with Charley I had done all the laboring at home)...this statement was a breath of fresh air. Once we were openly given 'free reign', I knew I'd be able to do it again.

*I should disclaim here that I am not fervently anti-epidural. I think women should make whatever choice is they need to during labor. I just know my personal preference after having done it both ways, and that I wanted to give natural birth the good college try again.*

So we started the night by walking the hospital hallways. Then moved to a birth ball while watching Saturday Night Live. After that the pain was increasing and I told Jeremy to take a nap so I could be alone with my music. Some people may lean heavily on their support person for massages and pep talks but me...I like to be left alone. Jeremy knows that so he snoozed for about 3 hrs while I listened to music in my earbuds.

Mostly standing up, swaying and slow dancing with songs like Beautiful Things, Elastic Heart and Cologne. Or bouncing and thumping my head to songs like Lose Yourself and Empire State of Mind. On repeat over and over in order to become one with the beat, I played each song at least 7 times. Closing my eyes with the ever increasing contractions, alternating between thanking God for the pain and the child or asking Him to help me through it.

By 3:30ish the pain was getting pretty bad, and my genius nurse Katie suggest I hit the shower. Before I got in she checked me and found out I was only 5cm. I was disheartened to hear that after all the time that had passed, and I was starting to get tired. In the shower, the pain hit the max level. The cool head I had while playing my songs was gone, and I think I started to growl and cry. Jeremy sprinkled lavender and peace and calming essential oils in the shower (later the doctor commented on how nice our room smelled).

At about 4:45 am I left the shower in a much different mental state than I had entered. I was done and when the nursed asked if I was doing okay, I told her I was not. I told her and Jeremy both that if I was still at only 5cm, then I was calling for an epidural. I believe I said...I need an epidural or a baby. Whichever way it went, something needed to change because I couldn't take much more. Then she checked me and said I was at 9cm. In the course of less than an hour, I had transitioned in the shower and it was almost time.

The doctor then entered the scene for the first time all night. She was the same doc that had caught Charley and we hadn't seen her since then. Yet the first thing she remarked upon entering our room?..."You guys are my snowstorm people!! I remember you!!". Apparently that had been a crazy and memorable night for her as well and she totally knew who we were.

Since I was at 9cm, the doc broke my water and everything else happened very fast. The insane fire in my hips and the urge to push, the doctor rushing to get everything ready.....Crosby was born about 5 minutes later, within the course of 3 or 4 pushes.

It was still dark outside and we had lowered the lights in our room (aside from the medical spotlight the doc had used), so the morning came in very peacefully. Crosby laid on my chest for about 90 minutes before they scooped him up for weights and measures. An hour later we were wheeled up to our postpartum room just as the sun was rising and Jeremy was sent on the task of finding us some biscuits and gravy down in the cafeteria.

By 9am, Mom and Dad arrived with Tessa and Charley who were the first to meet him and find out that he was a boy.I had texted Mom to come, telling her only that we had a baby but not revealing the sex until their arrival. The kids held him, gave him presents, and watched his first bath, then went out to lunch with Mom and Dad and on the important task of buying baby boy clothes.

We stayed 2 days in the hospital while Mom stayed at our house and took care of getting the kids to bed, to the bus, their homework done and of course shuttling them to the hospital to visit. Crosby has done very well at nursing, being very persistent in those first couple of days before the milk comes in. By last night, his 5th night, his belly was so full and content that he slept a couple of nice long stretches as did I. Finally our nursing rhythm is being established.

Tessa and Charley seem pretty fascinated and content with their new baby brother, as do Jess and Mike who arrived from New York early to meet him before his umbilical cord even fell off. Tomorrow we are all headed down to North Vernon to introduce him to even more family and watch his older siblings swim in Mom's pool. Creating memories and bonds in these early days of our new family, we feel extremely blessed that his birth was such a healthy and uneventful one. Welcome to the world Crosby.

Revitalizing the Baby Blog

When I started this blog back in 2006 (which now feels like ancient history right?), it was because we were announcing a pregnancy. Before the widespread use of things like Facebook, for a long time this served as the way to keep our family abreast on what was going on.

I've written about a million things since then and taken a few nice blogging hiatusi. But it looks like we're back to square one, announcing another pregnancy!

Tessa and Charley holding a grain of rice, which is about how big baby #3 is right now. I have an app that compares the baby to a food size. I'd love to get a pic of the kids holding that item every week. Already they are amazed at how tiny it starts. Fun fact...the first time I was pregnant, nobody had ever heard or used the word 'app'. 


So to answer some questions you may be having at this point....

-I'm feeling great! Tired but no sickness yet. I'm a vitamin junky because of my bariatric surgery. For that reason I will have to closely watch my intake, hydration and weight gain. I'm wondering if my small portion size is actually working in my favor to stave off pukey feelings. Better not jinx myself though. As soon as I say that I feel great, I might find myself puking.

-Due Sept. 16th. Although both other kids came on their own at 39 weeks so I've got my eyes set more toward Sept. 9th.

-I find it strange that people have been asking me if this is a big 'oops'. Uh no. It's not. That's all you need to know about our fertility.

-I told Jeremy he needs to check out the attic and see what baby stuff we had left. I know for sure we sold or gave away all our baby clothes. And I know for sure we still have a crib, changing table and high chair stored up there. So I figure we're good. Wisdom and experience has shown me that you really don't need that much...carseat, boobs, diapers and a place to sleep. Good, we've got it.

-Like with Charley, we've decided to not find out the sex or announce the name until the day it's born. So the world will have to wait a loooooong time. The kids will be the first to know, once they arrive at the hospital.

-We've also decided not to turn our 4th bedroom into a nursery. It will remain a guest room so all of our out of state family can still come and comfortably visit us. We'd like to keep it that way as long as we can. So baby will live in our room with us until he/she is old enough to move in with big brother/sister. Both kids think that's a pretty cool idea (although we'll see how they feel about in a few years). For now, the guest room stays a guest room.

-We did in fact lease a new car already. Both of us had very small cars so it was just a matter of time really. And although it looks like hyper-preparedness to get a big car almost as soon as the pee stick showed a plus...the timing really had more to do with our leasing plan using the family discount we get, and the fact that our dealership had a 5K rebate on Ford Flexes if you leased one before February. So, that's a done deal. Ready for another car seat.

Looking at the World Through Red-Blue Glasses

I have written briefly on this blog before about how Tessa has struggled with reading in the past. How first grade was tough for her, and she ended up seeing a reading tutor after school 3 days a week. There have been many updates on that issue and I realize that as I try to re-invigorate the blog, I should probably write about it.

By the end of first grade and after much tutoring, Tessa was *almost* caught up to the reading level of her class. We worked hard on it all summer and she continued to improve. We also chose to move from our private Christian school to our local public school, where she could receive more resources and remediation to help her.

But after the first month or so of school, it was obvious that her reading had plateaued and other subjects were starting to suffer as well. I had that Mommy gut instinct that told me something else was wrong. She's not ADD...could she be dyslexic? Does she have a learning disability?

The awesome thing is that we are SURROUNDED by teachers in our life. We had her tutor as a resource, her grandfather the school superintendent, her grandmother the 40 year teacher, her great aunt the 1st grade teacher, my best friend from middle school the 4th grade teacher, and our small group friends who are amazing home-schoolers. Many conversations, many opinions gathered.

Finally we decided to take her in for extensive vision testing to check on issues like tracking. She had had a normal eye chart test and the Target optical center, but nothing like this. It was 90 minutes of testing her tracking, depth perception, double vision, eye muscle movements. It was intense.

The conclusion was what I had suspected. The reason she hadn't been reading well was because she has two eye disorders, both of which affect the muscle movements of her eyes. The interesting part being that her vision is actually good and doesn't require glasses. But her ability to MOVE her eyes, and move them well together to read across a line of text....was crap.

For the researchers out there that might be interested, the technical words for what she has are binocular dysfunction and oculomotor dysfunction.

These things were causing her not only trouble with reading...but with any kind of crowded paperwork like math sheets, or basic classroom activities like copying from the board. Everything made sense to us. Like finding the missing puzzle piece.

As is often the case with medical things, we quite quickly became immersed in information and facts on her condition. The week after the testing she began and pretty intense 'vision therapy' program that uses both at home computer games and weekly in-office visits with an optometry specialist.

Things have also changed for in the classroom, as we have met with her teacher and the school resource teacher about having accommodations made for her, meaning some things are read out loud to her as well as small changes like bigger computer screens and less homework.

So far she is clicking right along with it. She has been doing the therapy for 9 weeks and is really starting to show some improvement. They tested her again at 8 weeks and while her eye teaming has a ways to go, her depth perception has already improved by 10 TIMES from where it started.

She will continue this for at least 4-6 more months, which means every Wednesday I will pick her up at her school lunch time and truck her over to the optomotrist. Of course once she is seeing better, there will be some ground to make up from the stuff that didn't 'stick' in her earlier grades.

But the great thing is that Tessa has the most amazing team around her. Great teacher, great vision therapist, great tutor, great friends who are encouraging and praying for her, and a Mom who is willing to do whatever it takes.

By the grace of God, we'll get there!  (maybe that should become our new motto?)

Awards and Rewards, and Lack There Of

Way back in Mid-May when it was the last day of school and time for the end-of-year award ceremony, I sat and watched as my first grader left the auditorium without a single ribbon in her hand. She was one of the few in the whole place to not receive something, and I believe the only in her class. 

I made every effort to not become 'that parent' who lodged a complaint about my child be unfairly treated. But I can't lie. I was upset.

This year had been a tough one for Tessa who struggled a lot with reading. She didn't get any ribbons for honor roll, perfect attendance, or book-it. Surprisingly she didn't even get one for citizenship even though her behavior at school had always been top notch to my knowledge. And despite getting an A in Bible class every grading period, she didn't get a Bible award either.

There was nothing for her.

I guess as a parent, the reason that this stung was because she had worked so hard. She began meeting with a reading tutor three times a week after school in March and between then and May was able to improve her reading by SEVEN levels.

I don't care to expound about my feelings about how this could have happened. I have nothing bad to say about the teacher or the school. If anyone cares to sit down with me and a glass of wine, I would tell you how first grade was more difficult than I expected, and how our school choice turned out differently than I expected.

And at the end of that conversation I would tell you that Tessa wasn't upset by her lack of ribbons. She wasn't upset when I told her that she would have to start seeing a tutor because she was reading like a kindergartener. She wasn't upset when she realized that all of that extra work would cut into her time for fun things like gymnastics and TV. She wasn't upset when we told her that we would be moving to a different school that could more appropriately help her.

She stayed resilient and positive.

At camp last week she got the character award for contentment. He camp counselor said she was always happy to go with the flow.

And there I saw what I had been waiting for....someone taking a moment to recognize her for who she really is, and give her an award that matters. 

Of course this summer has not been without other awards and rewards. Tessa got her 5th ribbon for completing her 5th dance recital. Every year she become more grown up and natural onstage, and continues to love dancing.

She also got baptized at the beginning of June, which is an even bigger deal because it comes with the reward of salvation. In our church we wait to baptize kids until they are old enough to understand and choose it on their own. She came to us and asked about it and said she was ready, completely on her own leading. And even though she chickened out when Pastor Doug tried to talk to her onstage in front of the whole congregation, she understood that this makes her a real member of our church.

She even took her first communion that same day. Her rewards that day were bigger than any stupid ribbon.

This summer she is continuing to see her tutor twice a week, who is confident that she will start second grade at grade level standard...which is awesome! In my mind, I like to envision that this school year is going to be a much better and easier one, but of course there is no guarantee of that. In my imagination though, I see her getting ribbons next year at the end-of-year awards ceremony.

And if she doesn't, I have to remember her gift of contentment and remind myself that it doesn't matter. Awards and rewards are only ever as important as you make them.

Tooth Face

Someone was talking today on FB about how the new gap in their child's smile looked so big, they wondered how the adult teeth would look. Tessa has had her front adult teeth for a while now and I guess I'm used to her new smile so I hadn't really thought about it...her smile IS much different than it was this time last year.

Those new teeth grew in so big that they have taken over her smile and her mouth barely has room for them. I'm sure as her face changes and grows it will adjust and hopefully we are not looking at the 8 years of orthodontia that I had.

Yes I had braces for 8 years....from age 7 to 15. If you don't believe me, I'm sure my parent's bank accounts will corroborate.

But I'm sure they will also agree that my teeth were in much worse shape than Tessa's. Here's an artist rendering of what my face would have looked like WITHOUT 8 years of braces...

Either way, we can all agree that Tessa's teeth make her look so grown up. Not to mention pretty cute.

Dance Recital of June 2013

Top row toothless, August 2013

Dance picture take in May of 2014.

Can you spot the difference?

Room 42, The Final Tour

Our kids will be attending a different elementary school starting next year and the other night we were at Kindergarten round-up for Charley, exploring the place. When Jeremy and I ventured off of the guided tour to check things like the music room and cafeteria, Tessa was highly concerned that we were going to get in trouble for walking around the school. She literally begged us to take her back to the Kindergarten rooms so we didn't get reprimanded.

I can't blame the kid for being a rule follower, I did train her to be that way after all.

After getting frustrated with her begging, my retort to her was simple...."Tessa, I grew up in an elementary school and I say it's fine!"

I guess there's some truth in that. My Mom is now on her 40th and final year of teaching 4th grade. Always in the same school, in room 42, always 4th grade. At least for as long as I can remember.

I was at Hayden Elementary before and after school every day until I was old enough to drive myself. The staff there was more like a group of aunts and uncles than a bunch of random teachers and aides. The building, as familiar as my own house.

I wonder if these are the kinds of things that only a teacher's kid can understand. School, a second home.

What Tessa and Charley may not realize is that they grew up here too...

 

 

So last week on spring break we went down to visit room 42 (since they were in school). We even took Waffle as a special guest. Unless we go out there again to attend a retirement party or help Mom pack boxes, I imagine this will be our last time there.

It's impossible to imagine my Mom no longer being a teacher. I'm sure it's impossible for her as well. But I know she's also excited. Retirement...what every working person is eventually looking ahead to right?

Mom had stationary, a shirt and bag made for this school year that say "Room 42, The Final Tour". Going out in style, just as she should. 

Life Changing

I don't normally cross-post from my bariatric blog, but since this has affected my life as a Mom as well I thought it was a worth a mention. The story behind my elephant mask.

Mom Guilt- We All Have it at Some Point Right?

My kids were great sleepers and still are.

My kids both potty trained easily and early.

My kids are generally well behaved.

My kids have great social skills with other kids and adults.

My kids know a lot about Jesus and the bible.

These are some things that I can count as small victories in our life together so far. I can look to these things and success for me personally as a Mom. I can say...potty training, yes no problem!

But that by no means, NO MEANS implies that we haven't had other struggles. I guess it's bound to happen at some point. There will be something that your kid just does NOT get and you will feel guilty as a Mom...like you've failed them in some way. Be it the potty, or sleeping, or eating properly or in our case, reading.

I'm going to openly confess that I wasted a lot of time when Tessa was 4 and 5 doing other things like playing, painting, watching TV and did not invest very much time in reading at all. She vaguely learned her letters in pre-school and I thought that going into Kindergarten that would be enough.

Until she started struggling in Kindergarten which carried into first grade. At age 6.5, she can still barely read. She can spell great which is a mystery to me, but I've started to think that's just pure memorization. When it comes to applying that knowledge to reading a book, she's often lost.

Yes we've tested her eyes, and he teacher is finding a reading tutor for her at the school. We're on it.

But I still feel bad. I could have helped this. I could have been teaching her letters a lot more back when she was 4.

And now Charley is 4 and in the same boat. I worry about him going forward to Kindergarten. His speech is improving all the time, which is good...but now I've started giving him a daily 'homework' sheet which mostly includes writing his name over and over.

But when I show him the ABC cue cards, he only knows C.

I worry that this will be a struggle for both of our kids. Those other things we mastered without trouble. And I'm sure there's some Mom out there who's 4 year old can read but still poops their pants. It seems like there's a hang up for every family...and I've come to think this may be ours.

To each their own struggle.

Just Being Six

There's something about Tessa's age right now that I really love. I really thought that a five year old Kindergartener was going to be the age I missed the most, until I met my spunky, toothless, clever, barely reading, optimistic six year old.

Her joy and rosie outlook are infectious to the whole house. She's clever and creative but with more self awareness than she had last year. All of the sudden she has a determination that she never had before...to actually listen in dance class instead of picking her nose, to do her homework without giving me a hard time, to design her own one of a kind Halloween costume.

It's like the start of first grade flipped a switch that reminded her that the world is her oyster and she can do anything....but yet she's too young to be all anxious about it. She's just being six.

"Now We Are Six"

When I was one,

I had just begun.

When I was two,

I was nearly new.

When I was three,

I was hardly me.

When I was four,

I was not much more.

When I was five,

I was just alive.

But now I am six,

I'm as clever as clever.

So I think I'll be six

now and forever.

Author: A.A. Milne

Captain Daddy

 Last week Jeremy celebrated his birthday and we showed him a good time, family style.

 For reference....carrot cake is slightly less delicious when you top it with this much sugar and marshmallows. But hey, the artistic value can't be beat.

We took presented him with his cake, a card and his present. Then we took him out for sushi and to see the movie "Planes."

Jeremy's been working on getting his private pilot's license all summer and requested his own pair of aviation headphones as a gift. Apparently the alternative is paying money to rent them and also share someone else's ear germs. Plus, now he's official.

A couple of days after this, he passed his FAA written exam and now only has to complete a certain number of solo hours in order to get his license.

That means he will soon be flying in a plane alone. For real.

Then he will be an actual pilot. For real.

 I should be used to his risky death defying hobbies. I mean, he eats uni after all.

But honestly, as much as I make fun of him for suddlenly being an aviation geek or worry about his safety....I think it's pretty cool that he decided to randomly do something he's always wanted to do. Not everyone has the guts to do that.

Speaking of random hobbies, it's almost time to make wine at the Bennington winery. And come to think of it, maybe our future dream vineyard should include an airplane hanger. You know, as soon as we win the lottery.

Start of School and Changes for Mommy

On Wednesday the kids started the school year. Tessa in First Grade and Charley in Pre-K. Best part, at the same school! I cannot express enough how awesome it is to have them in the same place. And assuming we continue to be happy with this school, they'll be there until they graduate high school.

They were both ready to go and have positive reports from the first week. We're pretty lucky that at least at this age, both kids love going to school.

Charley will go three mornings a week, meaning I have approximately 10 hrs to myself. I'm hoping that it works out that on Tuesday mornings I do my allergy shots and other errands, on Wednesday mornings I exercise, and on Thursday mornings I do some sort of personal enrichment like bible study.

It sounds really anal when I map it out like that doesn't? I know, I can't help it...I like to plan and schedule. It keeps me sane as well as the other members of my household. And also, I want to make sure I don't always use my time for watching Games of Thrones on my iPad.

Not to say that that won't happen, because it will.

What is strange to think about is that next year Charley will be in all day Kindergarten and I will suddenly have tons of time on my hands. I can't even imagine it.

I don't plan to ever go back to a full time job, but I've successfully started a home business that brings in some extra dough and gives me something to do. And basically...I'm open to whatever God has in store, including more babies. I just don't know for sure.

What I do know for sure is that I'll pick them up every day at 3pm and will continue to spend as much time with them as I can, doing my most important job.

Sous Chef

Tessa has expressed some interest in learning to cook. You know...really cook, not just stir up cookie dough for me. I think she's old enough to be safe so I told her she can help me cook dinner a couple of nights a week.

I reminded her that that meant as soon as she was done with homework I would put her to work instead of letting her watch TV. And she was okay with that. Apparently she's not as lazy as I am cause I would always choose the second option.

Tonight we had sloppy joes and she browned our ground turkey at the stove and added the sauce. Big time stuff for a six year old. And yes, she's wearing a nightgown and lipstick.

She's way ahead of me. I didn't learn to cook until I was like 22 years old and married. My  husband taught me and he's still a WAY better cook than I am. But I've come a long way, baby.

Charley helped too...by helping Jeremy open the wine bottle and then smashing a bunch of peas into the counter. And that's why four year old boys aren't sous chefs.

Piano Wednesdays

This is Angie. She is goes to our church and is in our small group and has the world's most infectious smile. She also comes over every Wednesday afternoon to give Tessa an at-home piano lesson. She's been teaching her since March and Tessa is catching on pretty well. She can play a few short songs and likes to do duets with her teacher.

Angie also gives her a piece of candy for every minute of practice she did during the week. 32 minutes of practice? 32 skittles. No wonder Tessa likes piano

I caught their picture by surprise and I'm pretty certain Tessa is not sitting in proper playing form. Oh well...

While Angie is teaching Tessa, her two girls play with me and Charley. Usually we go out to the playground, have a little snack and tell knock knock jokes. Today Charley and 4 year old Lydia discussed their wedding plans again. He told her that when they get married he will kiss her and then give her a baby.

Uh....that sounds almost accurate. How did he figure that out?

Tessa Goes to Camp

Blog, what blog? That's the way it feels lately anyway. I haven't written anything is almost a month, which may be an all time record. I think I'll blame our back to back road trips combined with the laziness of a quick mobile upload when I have something to share. I know...I once promised that I wouldn't allow Facebook to affect my ability to do good hair blogs.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago now, Tessa went to a camp! 

It was a sports themed Christian Day camp held over at the facility where the kids used to do preschool. This 'brand' of camp is all over the Midwest. 9am-4pm every day and it wore Tessa OUT. Rope and rock climbing, water play, rappelling, competitive games, crazy songs, bible study and lots of sunscreen.

She loved it, even though there were a few days that she dragged her feet. I think that was mostly due to exhaustion. At the end of the week they gave each kid a biblical character trait (much like they did at her Kindergarten graduation). Tessa's was determination.

Can you see the determination in her rope climbing face? I think they hit the nail on the head.

As soon as camp wrapped up at 4pm the last day, we loaded into the car and started on a 1,000 mile road trip. More on that to come....

Kindergarten Graduation

Last Thursday, Tessa's school had their Kindergarten Celebration ceremony. The kids did an awesome job singing and doing bible verses for us.

Look for Tessa's starring moment on the microphone at 3:20.


Tessa Kindergarten Program- May 2013 from Laura Sargent Bennington on Vimeo.

Each child got an award for the biblical characteristic they best portray. Tessa got the psalmist award for 'beautiful use of written and spoken word'. The teachers also gave them certificates with a 'most likely' job. Tessa was most likely to be an organic farmer! Yes!

I hope that happens and she can build a little spot on her farm for her parents and their vineyard. A mom can dream right?

The teachers read a little poem at the beginning that *almost* made me tear up. It basically said I'm giving your children back to you now, bigger and smarter than when we started. I also like the part where she said that if I see your child 10 years from now, we'll have a special place in our hearts for each other.

Coming from a family of educators, I know that's true. We'll always fondly remember Mrs. Andrews.

Next year we'll have a 1st grader and pre-K student at this school. Looking forward to it!

Tessa's Playground

Well, it was for Tessa's birthday present, but of course this gift is for Charley and any other kid who comes over.

We owe a BIG THANK YOU to the grandparents and aunties who contributed to help us buy this for her brith. It is already well loved, and I can't wait until we have the small group kids over to check it out.

We will be spending a lot of our summer outside I think.

I took a little video of Tessa's showing off the features of the playset, which turned into an 8 minute tour of our yard, narrated by the 6 year old herself. 


Tessa tours her playground and yard from Laura Sargent Bennington on Vimeo.

Pierced