more (former) Richman babies

I have to say that teaching at my school has given me many wonderful things.

I really love my job. I love the kids. I love the families.

But I also love the friends I have worked with the past 9 years

(I can't believe this is my 10th year teaching!)

The baby club would be even bigger, had these 2

wonderful friends not moved away.

I was lucky to spend some time with Christine and Josiah

a few weeks ago. They were visiting from Hong Kong!

(Jennifer and Jacob came, too, which was lots of fun!)

Today, Jack and I met Katie and her boys at Sea World.

Katie and I taught first grade together before she moved back

to Las Vegas. We had such a fun time.

The best part about meeting up with GOOD friends is that

it seems like no time has passed between visits.

I just wish it wasn't SO MUCH time between these special

playdates!

playdate and a look back

Molly and I were thankful to have another summer playdate with our baby friends. Shalimar and Salvatore had us over for an afternoon of water play! But, first, we had to check out Salvatore's toys...

Then, it was time to relax in the pool!Mia, Molly, and Milan spent some time inside, dancing....

seeing all of them together reminded me of how

much these "babies" have grown...This one was from June 2008...Mia, Molly, and Milan.
Time to relax after a fun day...Molly, Mia, and Salvatore.

and one year ago..the same trio!
I know I say this all the time, but I am so thankful for this

group of mommies and babies. We work together and

we play together. I love that our kids already have

a built in friendship!

facebook flashback

I was just looking at my "notes" on Facebook and this one made me smile...so, I am adding it here for my non-Facebook friends...The directions were to ask your kids the following questions and write their responses..I knew Jack would deliver some good ones! Enjoy!
1. What is something mom always says to you?" No more Wii. Time for bed" (he says as he's playing Wii)
2. What makes mom happy? "When I tell her I love her"
3. What makes mom sad? "When I have a 'sassy' mouth"
4. How does your mom make you laugh? "by tickling me"
5. What was your mom like as a child? "Well, I wasn't there when you were a little girl. I don't know"- (he really said this!)
6. How old is your mom? "27?"
7. How tall is your mom? "80 pounds..." (remind me to start give Jack money)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? "go to Disneyland"
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "has Molly and plays with her"
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "I think it would be for doing nice things" (my favorite answer)
11. What is your mom really good at? "setting up computer games. At school and at home" (I do teach computers to all 130 Kinders at my school....)
12. What is your mom not very good at?"you aren't really good at...hmmm...I don't know"
13. What does your mom do for a job? "goes to school as a job. To Kindergarten"
14.What is your mom's favorite food? "brocoli and vegetables...and Koki's"
15.What makes you proud of your mom? "I am proud of you when you make me happy" 16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?"I think you would be....(long pause)....Chowder"
17. What do you and your mom do together? "we read books together"
18. How are you and your mom the same? "We both have 2 blue eyes and we wear the same uniform to school. Today, we both have blue shirts"
19. How are you and your mom different? "because you have brown hair and I have blonde"
20. How do you know your mom loves you? "because you kiss me every night"
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? "because he is a parent with you"
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? "Disneyland. Didn't I already say that?"

My Little Hero...is ONE!

I borrowed this from his mommy's blog. Happy Birthday, baby boy! You are SO loved!

Happy 1st Birthday Talan 7-23

1 year old. 12 months. 365 days. Our precious little miracle baby is 1. How extraordinary is that. 1 year ago today!
As I was being wheeled into the operating room at 25 weeks gestation last year, scared and praying for my son's life. Pleading to God, please do not let this turn out like my daughter, Paris. Please keep him safe and cover him with the safety of your blood. I kept repeating this until the mask went on and I was asleep. I awoke to what seemed like a ton of doctors and nurse with me and a team of neonatlogist and nurses for Talan. I remember a nurse saying here is your baby. I could barely make out what was a little head in a BIG huge giant plastic box (isolette). He was here! Talan Rayce Smith born 7/23/08 @ 1:20 pm 1 lb 12 oz 11.5 in long. And after 1 surgery and 94 days in the NICU on October 24, 2008 he was home.
Talan is my mircopreemie miracle baby. The chances of survival are basically 50/50, maybe less. I am forever thankful to God, my husband, my family and the nurses and doctors, specialist, social worker, my WTE aunties, friends, church family who consistently prayed over Talan through what seemed like a lifetime in the NICU.
Talan is amazing. He has a smile that could make a room look like it is filled with sunshine. His eyes make our family melt. His personality is strong, funny and playful just like his Daddy. He like our other children shine in our hearts and make us proud every day.
Talan is 16 lbs 2 oz. a long way from what he started out at. A look back at my tiny miracle who has changed our lives in so many good ways....

Happy Birthday precious Talan. How blessed are we to have you in our life. How blessed are we that God gave us such a miracle. How blessed are we to be your parents. You are AMAZING!
Love,
Daddy, Mommy, Austyn, your guardian angel sister Paris and Gavin.

Another look back....














I LOVE this last picture! It makes me smile!
He's ready for birthday cake!

well check

We had Molly's 18 month well check today.
Molly is in the 95% for height and the 75% for weight!
I knew that Dr. Akey (yes, his name is Dr. Akey) would ask about Molly's language.
"Does she say about 5 words now?", he asked.
Let's see:
Mama, Daddy, bird, ball, apple, up, down, cheese, more, no, uh-oh (even though this follows something clearly done on purpose!), thank you (sort of), hi, bye, Spongebob (seriously), Blue (as in Blue's Clues), shoe, kitty, puppy (uppy), baby (aby), Mickey (sort of), tree, duck, quack, shhhh (as in the baby is sleeping), yum, star...
Those are off the top of my head...she is also starting to sing a little. Her favorites:
Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Your Boat, 5 Little Monkeys, ABC song, Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle...Oh, and the theme song to Spongebob AND Bakugan (thanks, big brother).
She can tell you the sounds the following animals make: duck, bird, bunny (she says hop), elephant, gorilla, dog (panting dog, not barking dog), cow, rooster (sometimes), mouse...
Dr. Akey was impressed :)
Of course, she wouldn't be Molly if she didn't barf from being so upset with him checking her out...Little Miss Drama!

VOTE for me!

O.K...so, I would love a new camera. I don't need it, but I do want one.
Can you help me?
Take a minute EVERYDAY and vote for Molly's yogurt face picture!
You will have to register with the site, but it's a good one, really!
And, once you do, bookmark the site because you can vote EVERYDAY!
They are awarding the one with the most votes, so I need lots of help!
(did I mention you can vote everyday?)

Wordless Wednesday (one day early)

This week's Wordless Wednesday...a series of pictures...

O.C. Fair

Well, it's that time of year again...
We went to the Fair on Friday!
Jack was a wild man, running around and going on some rides.

I didn't get many pictures of him...
but I did get this one, and it made me sad.

He looks so grown up all of a sudden!

No rides for Molly this year...and really, why bother,

when putting spaghetti on your head is just as fun.

Molly also loved all the animals...

and did whatever it took to get a closer look!

We will be back...because Mommy didn't get her cinammon roll!

skating babies

This is the best commercial I've seen in a long time.
Jack laughed and laughed...Molly danced and clapped...

18

My sweet baby girl, tomorrow you are 18 months old, a year and a half.
It feels like you were just here:
You have changed so much, it's hard to decide which "face" I like the most...

It seems like you've been in our family forever...not just 18 months.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday, Molly!

Yes, I know it's July...but, for Christmas and her birthday, Molly received some gift certificates for classes at Gymboree (THANK YOU, friends and family!)

I had been waiting for summer to start so that I could

take advantage of my schedule.

We went yesterday and had lots of fun.

She was a bit overwhelmed...but tried almost everything:

jumping on the trampoline
climbing through the tunnels

playing basketball

but, just like Jack, her favorite was the bubbles!

(we had to buy some for bubbles at home...something about those Gymboree bubbles...

they are awesome!)

Of course, as I was completing the paperwork after the class,

she hit her mouth on the swinging door (naughty!)...

hopefully, next week, she remembers the fun and NOT the

bloody mouth!