And Suddenly It’s Fall

I’m back to work after a fast and fantastic four and a half months! The transition went more smoothly than I anticipated, thank heavens. Vera is a champ at daycare, and we feel very lucky knowing that she is well take care of each day.

So while Vera’s playing at Jill’s, I’m playing with this group of 33 fifth graders. I have to admit, I was very nervous about having such a big group this year. It seems to be working just fine, though. They are a really nice class, and I have an aide who is a great help! In the picture above we’re out flying our paper airplanes or the first science lab of the year. That was a little exhausting. 😉

Hooray, our deck is back and ready to be enjoyed. The old deck was in really rough shape and needed to be replaced, but when Bill went to start on the renovation early this summer we were met with foundation work that needed to be taken care of first. It’s been a long process, and we are so thankful for our brother-in-law, Jesse, who designs and oversees all of these projects! We’re grateful for the help of lots of family who pitched in in various ways. 

Our house still has a long list of things that we will need to fix / update, but we take it one  at a time and enjoy all the fun things we’re able to do because we live where we do.

Last weekend we headed up to see Grandpa Poderzay. Vera showed off her rolling / moving around skills, and she wasn’t short on smiles. Grandpa seemed to love the visit, as did I.

Around home I’m just trying to keep up with the shenanigans. It’s not uncommon for me to turn around to see Vera wearing her pants on her head or laying upside down on her dad when the two of them are together. 

We also  started solids with Vera last week. I guess we haven’t really committed to it… while she’s not disagreeable, she’s not overly excited about the delicious rice cereal we’re offering her. It’s a long process that requires a bath afterwards, so I will admit we’ve only really tried a couple of nights. I really thought that this was going to be our ticket to a full night’s sleep, but alas, we’re still partying through the night.

At 5 months old, our girl is still very smiley and generally quite happy. She is starting to show concern when Bill or I (or Jill during work days) leave the room, but she’s also playing more independently when we’re within view. She flips both ways, though tummy to back is a rare event to be captured. She scoots around the floor – often making a complete circle, and she appears to be getting ready to crawl (I’m okay if she takes some time with that one… not sure I’m ready for all the gates!). We’re still having an awful lot of fun!