Happy as a Clam!

The past two weeks have been fun with Hannah.

Each time one of us goes to retrieve her from her crib she begins to smile. The past few days however, when she sees us she breaks out into a fit of giggles. This tells me that my child is a morning person...or she just loves her parents.

She especially loves her daddy. She'll get excited to see her mommy but when her daddy comes in to view she just STARES at him with a gigantic grin! It is so sweet. Sometimes I want to say "look kid, I carried you for nine months and THEN gave birth to you after laboring all day..." but I'm sure she would just look at me and think I was silly.

I have started to tell her stories every day. I've been telling her classics like Red Ridding Hood and Three Little Pigs. She LOVES story time. I think she believes we are having a conversation because I get really close to her face and stare into her eyes for about thirty minutes and just talk to her. She tries to answer back with coos and babble so it is pretty fun.

We traded one of the pieces of her three white bear mobile for a big pink lady bug. She is distinguishing the difference and will follow the lady bug around.

Hannah is still an extremely pleasant baby. I'm grateful for that, as she allows me to get my work accomplished. Last night I felt like super mom! I was grading over a hundred assessments and assignments for the week with Hannah sitting right across from me in her bouncer. We were talking the whole time until she started to fuss because she was hungry... so I got the boppy out and began to feed her and continue to grade papers. There I was attached to a baby grading papers without missing a beat! Maybe I CAN do this semester!

It took me about four hours to grade the papers. Then I have to prepare for next week by reading through each lesson I wrote, gathering materials, and distributing those materials. I told my mom I'm in survival mode. I've never had a more challenging semester but I'm learning so much!

I think it is incredible that Adam and I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to switch rolls...He's the stay at home parent, caring for Hannah and the house while I go to school each day and be a teacher. Not only is it "I'm at work, he's at home" but we are doing the EXACT SAME JOB. Being a teacher is hard work. I know people say that all the time but until you've DONE it, it is hard to fully appreciate. Only a teacher could manage a classroom of 20 + 8 year olds with love and kindness and TEACH them something as well without strangling at least one. It is hard enough to TEACH as well as MANAGE BEHAVIOR and then trying to PLAN and PREPARE for it all. What a FANTASTIC experience!

I can't wait to stay at home with my sweet happy baby...oh sounds like her mobile is not working...she's yelling at the bears to move some more :)