Thankful Thursday

1. Ian is crawling! I was afraid he was going to skip crawling and go right to walking. He's been crawling a little the last couple of weeks, but yesterday was the first day he really went a long distance. Today he's crawling all over the place. Be careful what you wish for, lol! I am going to be using the word "no" a lot more with him now that he can get into trouble more!

2. The first 2 photos were taken yesterday at the mall. I had purchased a book of 6 tickets for $5. I should have done so sooner. What fun! They allowed me to stand beside Nadia holding Ian. He enjoyed it very much, and they didn't require a ticket for him. So for about 80 cents the three of us had a lot of fun. We rode the carousel again today since Nadia cooperated for the pictures at Sears. The lady operating the ride gave us a coupon for Annie Anne's (we love those pretzels!) yesterday and today, and she let us know that if we showed our store receipts at the customer service (right next to the ride) we'd get a free gift. I took advantage of that today and received 4 packets of Godiva hot chocolate. Sounds yummy!

3. The bedding I ordered from Walmart came in the mail last week. I love the sets! They match the decor in their rooms really well. I was particularly stunned how well Nadia's comforter matched her wallpaper border - even down to a small detail of some aqua polka dots. I'm looking forward to setting up her big girl bed next month! I'm in no hurry to put Ian's to use. I don't want him to grow up too fast since he's most likely the baby of the family!

4. I got some good bargains yesterday at the mall. I had a 50% off anything coupon for Borders that I used to buy Ian one more Christmas present since I was feeling delinquent in that regard. I got him a Melissa & Doug wooden car carrier (that also came with 4 wooden cars).
5. As of Tuesday night I was caught up with grading. That isn't true any more since I haven't graded last night's exams yet, but on Tuesday I submitted grades for 3 of my 8 classes this semester (2 are just individualized instructions). After I grade last night's exam and the exam I'll give tonight and the work for the three individualized instruction students, I'll be done! The end of grading (for the next 6 months) is in sight!

6. We got some good photos today! That's always an answer to prayer as with a baby and a toddler, it's definitely not a given. I couldn't find Nadia's red headband before we left. That's my only complaint regarding this picture (at left) is that I wish I had something for Nadia's hair. Almost all the pictures were just of Ian for his 1 year pictures. My sister has volunteered to take some Christmas photos of the kids next week at my parent's house. I'll have Ian wear the Christmas vest that he wore on his birthday, and I'll have Nadia wear a different Christmas dress (she has quite the collection thanks to yard sales and clearance racks). Ian's crawling ability made the pictures more challenging. The photographer or I would sit him down and immediately he'd start crawling across the room. She tried to get photos without his tongue sticking out, but I told her that was highly unlikely as Ian's tongue is usually out. :-) I'm also thrilled that the pictures can be picked up on December 22nd. I didn't think they'd be ready that quickly. This means we can pass them out when we see our families next week!

7. Yesterday I got Paul's grandmother a gift, and today I got Paul's sister-in-law a gift. This means I have only ONE person left to buy a gift for - Paul's brother. Whew. I am not usually still shopping on December 16th. In contrast, Paul never does any shopping this "early." We are truly opposite in some regards! :-) Because the kids were so good, I not only let them ride the carousel, but I also let them ride the other rides that are coin operated. The nice thing is that they enjoy "riding" them even without me putting any money in them. So those rides are free for now, and the kids have a blast! Some day I imagine they will only enjoy riding them if I insert quarters, but I'm hoping this stage will last as long as possible since it's free entertainment.

8. Last night two of my students gave me a gift  bag. The gift bag included two small candles and a snowman that lights up and changes colors. How incredibly sweet! It was common to get gifts when I was a middle school teacher, but I have only gotten maybe 2-3 gifts the past 8 years as a professor. One of the other ones was actually this semester. A student in my Monday night class gave me two small stuffed animals in October when she learned about Ian's surgery. I was again touched by the student's thoughtfulness and generosity!