Meet the Teacher

Friday we met Riley and Bentley's teachers. We went to Riley's room first and I must say, he was very different than last year. Last year, he was sweet, a little reserve and excited. This year, he just walked in there and started throwing legos and crashing the shopping cart! Then all the other kiddos started to come in and all the little boys were like that. I have come to the realization that 3 is worse than 2. I know his teachers from working with them at VBS and they don't take any crap, so I believe that is why they are teaching the 3 year old. I hope he doesn't give Ms Jana and Ms Emily too much trouble.

Bentley is going to school 1 day a week and I am hoping to help her socialize with other babies and gain some independence. Her teachers are Ms. Ebelinda and Ms. Joanne. I am really excited about her going after the meeting Friday. They are going to focus on routine and also teach her many things. She will learn to sleep on a nap mat and eat better (I hope). The teacher said many people think they cannot learn much at this age, but they are wrong. She said that it is amazing the change in them from September to May. I hope all of the our little ones have wonderful school years this year!!!!

Bentley is 14 months old and is into everything. She has gotten very very fast on her feet, but still has some issues walking in shoes. She does good in her Robeez, but other than that, she is a tad unstable. She weighs about 22 1/2 lbs and is 30 1/4 in. Her hair seems to get thicker everyday and she has beautiful baby curls like Riley did. She loves to mimick mommy's faces and stick her tongue out. She starts preschool one day a week next week and I hope it helps to socialize her a bit. She still does not eat good, but I think Riley just ate exceptionally well. We are so blessed to have her in our lives!!!

Redneck Girl

I bought Bentley this pacifier last Halloween as part of her "costume" and she didn't ever really like this pacifier, so she didn't even use it. Last Thursday, she came around the corner from my bedroom and had this in her mouth. She dug it out of her diaper basket....needless to say, it was hysterical!!!

Girls Night Out

Friday night, my sister and her friend Michelle came in from Beaumont to spend the night at mom's house. She was having a Scentsy party the next morning and so they went ahead and drove in Friday night. They wanted to have a girls night, and that is what we did. Barbara came over and we had a great steak dinner and some yummy red wine (and white too). We decided that we needed to head on down to a local bar and grace those patrons with our presence. They had a band and we danced (at least I did) and we talked and had a great time. We didn't leave until around 12:45 (very late for me and SUPER late for our geriatric crowd we were running with that night). It was tons of fun, but now I remember why I don't do that often. Here are some pics.
Also, I decided to finally paint my kitchen yesterday. I have wanted it a golden yellow color but have had some trouble deciding what color. Anyway, I took the plunge yeseterday and painted it. Mom was nice enough to come and help me (she has been called a slave driver before) and we got it done. I finished it up today. It is very different than what it was before, so it takes some getting used to, but I like it.

Bentley and her Coach

Bentley loves to play with my purses. She started with my cigar box purses and has moved on to my Coach purse now. She seriously will carry it around all day long. I finally caught a bit of her playing on video.

We have had a busy couple of weeks. Shawnda and Kenny came last weekend to do some school shopping at the outlet mall and they stayed for dinner. It was lots of fun as usual. Bentley finally started walking and is EVERY where now. I am looking forward to a new school year. Riley is going through a "terrible threes" phase, so I believe the discipline and routine of school will help him. Bentley is also going to school 1 day a week and I am really hoping it will help socialize her somewhat. She tends to be a momma's girl. So we have been preparing for school by getting some new shoes and clothes. Riley picked out some new Vans and he is really excited to wear them (he has a shoe fettish and I hve NO IDEA where he got that from)! Bentley is also cutting her 1 year molars and she has been chewing on everything is sight (picture below). Today we went to Lupe Tortilla to celebrate Casey's sister Sara's birthday and it was good and fun as usual. Riley had another accident there today....he tends to have accidents every time we go there...

New Pics of Bentley

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Originally uploaded by carrievaden

I am still just trying to get used to my camera. I got a few cute ones of Bentley. Her hair is growing like a weed!!!

Bentley Walking

Bentley has been really close to walking for over a month now. She would talke 2 or 3 solid steps and then do nothing. Well, this morning, she took about 10 steps and she has been walking on and off all day. I finally caught some footage of her. She loves to drag toys around as you can see.

Dr. Bryant & Mr. Fix It

Riley got a dr kit for his birthday from his Nana and it is adorable. It is all wooden and both Riley and Bentley love to play with it. Bentley takes the stethoscope and puts it around her neck and crawls around with it. It is the cutest thing. Riley also got another wooden took kit and loves it too. I have had to put a gate up for our dogs at night and he was "helping" me the other day. He put my pink dish washing gloves on and got his tool kit out and was drilling and hammering it together. Me and mom were cracking up.

Update on Miss Bentley's mobility. This child has been so close to walking for over a month now. She has taken 2 to 3 steps confidently on MANY occasions and we have been saying that any day she is just gonna take off. Well, she hasn't. She just stands and plays....I guess she is working on her balance, but she has great balance by now. Last night she took a solid 5 steps, but hasn't done it again. Who knows when she will take off, but by the time she does, she will be able to run!!!

Riley's Birthday Weekend

Riley has really enjoyed ringing in year number 3!!! Friday, we spent the day with Memaw and went to Chuck E Cheese. He had a blast playing and eating pizza. Then we came home, took a nap and Memaw took him to get a cake so he could have cake on his actual birthday (as if we needed that). He got a chocolate cake and we sang happy birthday and he loved it! I don't know who had more fun at Chuck E Cheese, Riley or Memaw ;) Then, Saturday we went and had his 3 year pictures made and they turned out so good. It is really hard to get a picture of both Bentley and him that is good, but we managed to get a couple. He is really photogenic when he wants to be. Today we had his party at our community splash pad/pool and he had a great turn out. He had all his friends there and they swam and had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (his FAV) and cake and ice cream. We are so blessed to have such great family members and friends to share these times with. He told me when we got home that he loved playing with his friends. Those moments just warm your heart. He got more gifts than we know what to do with, but he loves them all. I will toss a thanks out to Nana who BLESSED him with a real drum set.....and we wonder why I love wine :)

Friday before CEC

The Kemp & Waltman Families

Sister
Anna & Melissa

The twins