Preggo update

Here I am at 26 weeks, one week away from the dreaded 3rd trimester! I think I finally look pregnant huh? Just over the past 2 weeks so many people came up to me in church and said, "Dawn! Congratulations! I had no idea you were pregnant!"



2 weeks and counting down until I am finished student teaching!! I like being at the school where I am but it has been a lot of work and I have been looking forward to getting the "baby room" painted and organized when I have time. May 1st will be my last day there.

Tom's big news

Hi everyone!  Sorry we haven't posted in a while! School has been keeping me busy but I have a few moments to update you on what's been going on...

I am feeling the baby's kicks more strongly now that I am 24 weeks along.  Another appointment with my doctor on Tuesday is coming up.  Hope to get a good report!

Tom has been super busy with work.  It has been a little stressful for him I think so in his spare time he gets away for a surf.  This morning he went to breakfast with the guys from his family and then will be going to surf (despite the high winds today!)

This week, Tom was offered a big promotion at work and he decided to go for it.  On Friday, the Dean announced his new position to the rest of the staff...his new position will be "assistant dean" and is a big step up from where he is now.  I am so proud of him and am still in a state of disbelief!  We will still be able to keep our housing so we won't have to move and they want him in the position so much that they are willing to work with him to make sure he still gets his certification.  He will start in a few weeks! 

An update

Well, after many bowls of chicken noodle soup and many cups of tea, I woke up this morning feeling so much better so I am thankful this cold did not last very long. Even though I complained about being sick, I guess I should be thankful...I have not gotten sick in a long time and Tom never caught my cold so all is well. Who knows? Maybe I will develop a stronger immune system being surrounded by children in a school!

It was such a nice, sunny day, that after spending hours working on lesson plans, I was able to coax Tom into going on a walk with me (he hates walking) but I told him it would be good for me and the baby so that did the trick! It's funny how a few days ago we had snow!

Sick

I knew I was in trouble when I woke up in the middle of the night coughing.  But I got up and went to school anyway today.  Unfortunately though, my symptoms did not go away, they got worse so at 1:30PM I left school with the permission of the teacher to go home to bed.  So far, no fever, just a nasty cough and a general run down feeling.  Pray that this cold is short lived.  This is the worst time for me to be sick. 

The first week!

Well, I made it through my first week of Student Teaching II at an elementary school about 8 minutes from our house (very convenient!) and so far, it is proving to be the exact opposite of my experience at the other school. My cooperating teacher at this school is an experienced elementary teacher with over 20 years of teaching under her belt. She also cares about her job and that was evident to me this week when I observed her teaching.

First, she is so organized! When I first met her, she showed me her "map" for each grade (k-5th). This map had each week of teaching planned out to teach specific music concepts to each grade for the whole year! I was so impressed. But more than impressed, I am excited to work and learn from her. So this week has been such a welcome relief from what I experienced before at the other school because I am learning that teaching can be a joy if you are organized and prepared and this current teacher is so I hope to soak up all I can from her!

Second, her classroom management and discipline in her classroom is so much better than the other teacher's system. She shows consistency in her discipline and her methods are effective! On Friday, she had me teach the 2nd and 3rd grade music classes a song and game (which ended up being about half of the class time for each period) and her critique of my teaching was very positive but also gave me a few practical things that I could work on to make my teaching even better. Again, this was opposite of the other teacher I had, who would ask me after watching me teach one of her classes, "how do you think you did?"

Next week, I will be teaching a lesson to one of my coop's kindergarten classes and also a 4th grade class.

It is a...

It's a girl!

The latest happenings...

Well, my first placement is finally over...yay! I have been so ready for it to end.  I shouldn't complain too much though because on my last day at the school this week, some of the kids baked cookies and brownies, got balloons and had a little surprise going away party for me.  It was really nice and I appreciated it.  Now that I am five months pregnant, I decided it was time to break down and buy some maternity clothes...do I look pregnant now?!

Tom took this unflattering picture of me but it is a picture nonetheless.  Did anyone get to enjoy the snow on Monday?  I sure did!  I didn't have to go in to school that day since the storm was so bad.  That didn't stop Tom from driving to the shore to surf though.  He said the waves were really good so it was worth the treacherous drive down (I know he's crazy!). 
I have been wanting to put this picture online for a while now...some students got the bright idea to fill Tom's office with balloons...this is a shot through his office door.

Another picture of the shore!
The drive down....

Tom in his office....
In a little under an hour, Tom and I are going to get THE ultrasound (boy or girl?).  I am so excited to see the baby!  I have been feeling movement more and more lately and it is really amazing.  I will probably post again once we find out so don't worry, you'll know soon hopefully.