Bennett can feed himself!

I almost titled this post "Where there's a will, there's a way" because I left my camera at school and had to find a way to get some pictures of Bennett feeding himself. We figured out how to hold up the computer and snap photos of him!

I gave him some peach yogurt fruit melts. I broke them into 4 pieces and he just picked them up and started eating! He was really happy after he ate them!

This is tough work. You have to concentrate.

Yum...fingers taste good too!

Here are Mommy and Daddy trying to figure out the web cam.

A Good Deal

This is a post that I think Sister Leone will appreciate.

On Saturday morning, Leslie, Erinn, and I went to Starbuck's for a little morning beverage and conversation. Well, we got a little more than we bargained for! Erinn noticed that the Imelda's workers were putting shoes outside for their BIG sale! Woohoo! I just love a good deal. We later found out that their sale had really been the day before so got the left-overs. We didn't care though! I ended up with 5 pairs for $12.99 each. They will be perfect for teaching.

Visitors

We had some very special visitors come in town last week. Nana and Grand-Machine came over last Sunday to take us to lunch after church and to see Bennett. I think they were all excited to see each other.

We ate lunch at Imperial Cathay...one of our favorites. Bennett was so good and so happy to see his grandpa.

I thought this picture turned out so cute. We printed these pictures and gave them to Neil's parents for their 33rd anniversary.

We had some other fun visitors too! Caleb, Monica, and Tyler came to visit. They were in town from Memphis to see their families. We were so glad they came over to see us. Caleb and Bennett were born 2 days apart. We have the same doctor and were in the hospital at the same time. I was in labor when they were getting ready to leave, so we weren't there long together.

Caleb and Bennett had a good time playing. Bennett was trying to get in the kitchen so he just crawled right over Caleb like he wasn't even there! We are going to have to work on those manners!

Here are the sweet boys playing with the car. They really didn't notice each other though.

First Day of School

Well, it was the first day of school today. It went pretty well. I have been praying for confidence and I had this wave of confidence come over me. It was really reassuring. My 1st class was tough because I didn't have enough for them to do, but I tweaked it and it was great the rest of the day. I am WORN out though! It was hard getting there at 7 and getting home after 5. I had to do laundry, feed baby, and I am now doing more school work! Everyone says that the 1st year of teaching is the hardest. I hope I can make it through my first year. The work never ends.. except for on all those breaks! woo! I just have to keep my eyes on the prize! Labor Day. See you in 2 weeks.

Here I am on my first day.

When I got home today, the house was empty. Neil and Bennett were out shopping for me a "CSHS" plant in green and gold. Bennett is even wearing a "see ya later gator" onesie! They are so sweet to think of me. It was a great way to end a VERY long day. I love my boys!

The sweetest 8 month old I have ever met!

I know I say this every month, but I cannot believe that my baby boy is 8 months old today! He is so busy and talking so much. I wrote a few things to Bennett so that he can look back and see what he was doing at 8 months old!

Here are a few things that you are doing these days:

-Bennett, you are starting to get more cuddly. You never wanted to snuggle, you were always looking around and wanting to get down. You will put your head on my shoulder now!

-Bennett, you have 1 tooth!

-You sleep through the night but have woken up a few times around 4 am to cry for about 3 seconds.

-You want to play all the time! You love Gymboree and all of your toys at home. You love your little "car" jumper thing too. You will sit in that and watch Praise Baby DVD's.

-You are the happiest baby I have ever seen! You are always laughing or smiling especially if we smile at you first. You are the sweetest baby.

-You are really learning your name. I think you have known for a while but I think you really getting it now. We can say your name and you will most likely look over at us!

- I think you want to start walking. You are pulling up on EVERYTHING!

-You still like your bottle about every 3 hours during the day. You are eating a fruit with oatmeal for breakfast and a vegetable and a fruit at dinner. I am slowly going to start you on a lunch too!

-You just moved to the "creeper" room at Noel UMC. You are such a good boy that plays all day.

-Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces Bennett! You are the love of our lives.

Fun Weekend

We started out our weekend with a little trip to Betty Virginia Park. It was SO HOT! We had to let Bennett sit under the slides after about 10 minutes in the hot sun.

Here are Bennett and Daddy sliding. I'm sure he will love this once he gets bigger.

He seemed to love the swing! He was still a little too small for it, but I think he had fun.

Max and Ann came and met us. These boys were wiped out after all their playing!

After the park, we went to Taco Bell for lunch and then to Ella Grace's birthday party. She is already 2 years old! It seems like I just went to Ashleigh's baby shower.

Isn't she cute? She is always dressed like a little doll. I love her bows!

I think Bennett had a good time too. He plays the whole time at Gymboree.

He is always on the move!

Daddy was being silly and put a toy on Bennett's head. He loves chewing on those things!

On Sunday, we went to church and then to Wal-mart for groceries. We went to Outback for a little family lunch. After all of that, we just had a quiet afternoon at home. Bennett and I just played in his room. I think this boy is getting ready to walk! I hope it's not too soon though...We are already chasing our little crawler!

It's Coming Together...

Welcome to my classroom! Mom and I have been working really hard the past 2 days getting it all ready. It was a lot of work and still really not where I want it to be. I guess you just have to work with what you have!

This is my door:

And here is my mom pretending to teach!

Here I am sitting at my desk thinking about the 09-10 school year!

Here is the left side of the room.

A close-up of the curtain I made. Erinn made one for her bathroom and told me the blog where she found the idea. They were super simple and NO sewing required!

Here is the right side of the room. I am really thankful that Mrs. White gave me so much stuff! She gave me posters, Gator stuff, ideas, and lesson plans! I don't know where I would be without her help!

Here is the Captain Shreve Food Lab. We have 7 mini kitchens. It is really big and so nice.

I wanted to show you what some of my friends have given me to get me started with my new career. Thank you Thoughtful Friends!

Casey gave me this so cute stamp! I love it and can't wait to use it! It says "From the Desk of Mrs. Lindsey Lewis!" It even has a little stove with a pot on top! So thoughtful!

Merideth gave me my teacher bag and Rebecca gave me all of the Vera Bradley goodies.

Leslie (interior designer extraordinaire) has been collecting all kinds of discontinued tile books, carpet books, fan decks, and fabric swatches for my Housing and Interior Design class. They fill up one whole cabinet already!

Here is the adorable arpon that Amy got for me!

Beach Trip-Day 5

I wish I could say we started this day off at the beach, but no. We made our way back to Shreveport today. We got up around 8:45 and Bennett was still asleep! Mom wanted him to sleep in her room the past 3 nights so we let him. We got everything packed and ready and then played a game of Mancala. I taught Neil how to play and beat me once we figured out the real rules!

Neil was really excited that he won!

I had to get Bennett's picture in front of the Florida sign. I would like to get Bennett's picture in front of every state sign (We only have FL, MS, and TX-we forgot to get AL and we have been there twice!). I want to make a map of the US out of his pictures in front of each state sign. I am so hoping I can do this. This just means a lot of travel!

We stopped at Pepper's in Hattisburg on the way home for lunch. The food was mediocre at best.

We are home at last. My dad is staying until Friday, but we needed to get back. Unpacking, laundry, dishes, and more laundry. Going to my classroom to work too. Busy Busy!

Beach Trip-Day 4

We started off Day 4 with Bennett being in a great mood just playing around in his pj's. He loved the bucket that we got him from the Crab Trap.

We went to the pool after breakfast. It was really hot, but we had fun. Pops loved being able to play with Bennett in the pool. Bennett loved the water.

Pops and Bennett. Bennett was pulling my dad's hair too! Haha!

Sweet water baby!

This is about the only picture of me in the ocean I want anyone to see! I loved being able to let Bennett experience the ocean for the first time.

Of course I had to write his name in the sand. He really liked being about to play with the sand. I think he was a little confused as to what to "do" with it.

Here he is playing in the middle of the 2 chairs. I thought that was the spot with the most shade. He had very fair skin so I wanted to make sure he didn't burn.

So sandy!

Gammy and Bennett.

Here is our group taking Beach pictures. This must have been the night to do it because we saw so many families taking their pictures. I wanted us to wear light blue, but it didn't really end up matching. Maybe I will plan better next year.

We went to eat at the Wharf. We had big plans to take the baby on the Ferris Wheel and shop around. I think Bennett had other plans. He was one sleepy boy.