September Happenings

September has been a busy month so far with soccer season underway and Alex starting at her new school, ELF (Early Learning Facility). The WVU soccer team is off to another great start with a 4-1-0 record--follow along with the team by going to their team website! http://www.msnsportsnet.com/page.cfm?sport=msoccer

Alex started at her new "school" right after Labor Day, and she is really enjoying it. She stopped crying after the first few days and now seems to be excited to go each morning. This school was highly recommended to us by people we know in Morgantown, so after a year of being on the waiting list a spot opened up for her this month! The price was essentially the same as the daycare she was going to before, but you get so much more for your money!! The school is for children ages 2 through pre-K, so she is one of the younger children there, but she seems to be catching on to the routine quickly. The school really works to teach children how to be independent and encourages them to go to the bathroom on their own, wash their hands, brush their teeth, drink from the water fountain, etc. They get to play outside every day, and they will even go out during the winter--we will need to send her with snow clothes, boots, hat, gloves, etc., which I'm sure she will LOVE! They have a rotating curriculum of classes that the children rotate through each week--they have mini-classes on Math, Language Arts, Music, Science, Art, Social Studies, and Computers. Today they went on a nature hunt and collected rocks, acorns, grass, flowers, leaves, and dirt :). All of her items were sent home, glued to a piece of paper for us to cherish! Yesterday she came home with her pockets full of rocks that she collected on the playground--that was a pleasant surprise to find :) Below is a picture of her before leaving for school the other morning--it's so hard to catch her with a smile since she is NOT a fan of posing for the camera (she typically runs the other direction!)--this time we caught her mid-smile and it was pretty funny, so I thought I would share!
Alex participated in her first Show and Tell at school today, and she brought her Snap n Style doll Erika, given to her by Aunt Renee for her 2nd birthday! Erika was all dressed in her soccer outfit, and Alex's teacher said she talked A LOT about Erika's clothes and her hat. The teacher helps her show the object around to her class, then it goes back in the bag to bring home. I wasn't sure how that would work out but her teacher said she did very well!

Last but not least I'll share the very first "Belly Photo" I've taken with this pregnancy--just taken yesterday. Where do the months go?? I'm just about 4 months and I'm feeling pretty good--some days I'm extremely tired but that's usually the exception. Most evenings I'm on my own with Alex since Marlon usually has practice, and I imagine I'd be pretty tired even if I wasn't pregnant since a 2-year-old sure keeps you on your toes! I'll try to share more pregnancy images as there is more belly to be seen! I'm definitely in maternity pants these days unless it's nice enough to wear comfy gaucho pants--luckily the shirt styles these days are much more forgiving, so I still have a number of normal shirts that still fit. My friend Jessica was nice enough to pass along a ton of winter maternity clothes, which will definitely help me get through the coming months without spending a ton of money!

Guess that's it for now! Until later....