An Open Letter of Gratitude to My Son's Pre-K Teachers

To the two amazing women that taught, molded, and shaped my son through his first year of school;

To the two women who made him a better kid;

To the two ladies that through the course of nine months expanded his four-year-old mind to lengths I never deemed possible in such a small amount of time;

To you Mrs. Crittenden and to you Mrs. Walker:

Thank you.

Back in August I walked my son into your classroom for his very first day of school. I was so thrilled and relieved to see how welcoming the two of you were as soon as he walked his nervous little self into the room. He walked in to be greeted by your big genuine smiles and warm welcomes. Deep down this mama was fighting tidal waves of emotions. I could only stay in the room for a brief moment before I had to leave in fear of Deacon seeing me weep like a baby. I felt he was in good hands, but I never knew how appreciative I would become of the two of you.

You two are proof that teachers are a big deal.

Proof that teachers are incredibly underpaid.

Proof that teachers are under appreciated.

Proof that teachers work...they work hard.

And proof that teachers--great teachers--really really do make a difference.

Thank you.

Those two words seem so small. They feel like such a tiny gesture to offer you in light of all you did for my Deacon this year. My heart is filled with gratitude and bursting with joy for all you've done. Your hard work and love you poured into your Pre-K class this year did not go unseen.

You have meant a great deal to my son.  He loves school.  He is excited to learn and to share the knowledge he has obtained each day.  He loves you both dearly.  He never, not even once this year dreaded going to school.  He was happy to go every.single.day.

Lastly, I would be lying if I didn't admit that the closing of this school year is bittersweet. While I am excited to have my boy home for a few months to enjoy summer break, the end of the school year also means you will no longer be his teachers. You have fulfilled your job in his Pre-K education. It is no longer your responsibility to teach this young man of mine. That makes today a little sad as well.

Thank you both for being teachers.

Thank you for loving children so much you do not even have to say it because it shows in your skill of educating them.

Thank you for making the first year of my son's education the most positive and impactful one that a parent could possibly wish for.

Thank you,

Cassie White
Deacon's Mama

Seven Months of Ainslee Blake

I had this blog all typed up and edited, and then the laptop decided to betray me by deleting all my work. Therefore, I had to start all over again. I did refrain from throwing the laptop up against the wall, although I may have yelled at it for a bit.

Now that my little rant is out of the way, here is seven months of Ainslee Blake:

Ainslee is now 7 months. With each new month this kiddo gets funnier and funnier. Her little personality is beginning to really shine through. We think she might end up being a tad ornery, but she is oh so adorable in carrying out her mischievous acts.

Ainslee also has several firsts this month. She is army crawling, sitting up by herself, and eating baby food.

Now that Ainslee is mobile (very mobile) the following picture is a little more accurate picture of how our little monthly photo shoots are panning out.

"I'm out."

Ainslee Blake's Likes:

• This face. She makes it all the time. We call it her old man face, and it always makes us laugh. Especially Deacon, he gets so tickled when she does it.

• Exploring the house. Her favorite thing to do is play with electric outlets, cords, vents...pretty much all things dangerous. With our other two children we always had the plastic covers in the electric outlets, but they never even went near them. Ainslee spends the majority of her day trying to inspect them. She is a mess!

• Bath time. Now that Ainslee is sitting up she gets to take big girl baths. She is all about the splashing. Her tongue usually stays out the whole bath as well.

• She is always up for playing dress up. She loves when she makes us laugh, so she has no problem putting on a funny hat or outfit for mama.

Ainslee's Dislikes:

• I have no picture, but Ainslee is not crazy about any sort of texture in her food. She freaks out if there is anything the least bit lumpy on her tongue. It took us a good month to get used to and be okay with eating baby cereal.

Here are some more pictures from this last month.

Spending quality time with Granny Eakle.

Decked out in her John Deere for Papa.

Meemaw's birthday lunch. Averi wasn't thrilled about stopping play for a photo.

Story time with brother and sister.

Watching brother play some t-ball.

We did not get that perfect Easter pic. So we went with the next best thing.

Those eyes :)

A.J. (Aunt Jill) bought Ainslee this adorable yellow crocheted dress. So naturally I had to dress Ainslee in it, drag a chair outside, and take her pictures in front of our old red barn. That's what anyone would do...right?

Love those toothies.

Lastly, two of my favorites. Babies playing with their piggies...

...and chubby legs. I love a baby with chubby legs.

Six Months of Ainslee Blake

Oh my word! Ainslee turned six months, um...a whole month ago. While I did actually take her six-month photo on her actual 1/2 birthday, I am so behind on blogging about it!

"Carl, you are too much."

"You alright?"

"Again with the ruffles.'

I took these a little too close to nap time...she wasn't in the mood for smiles.

Ainslee Blake's Likes:

• Kitchen utensils. Give this girl a spatula or turner and she's a happy girl. This is her version of helping mama cook.

• Making funny faces with her lips. This was by far the best.

• Sleeping with her eyes open. I've always been weirded out by people that do this. Now I have one living in my house.

• Playing with any toys that are not hers. She loves brothers toys. He sweetly (not really) gave her his least favorite Avenger to play with.

• Again playing with brother's toys. He was trying to do puzzles. She thought it looked like oodles of fun and wanted to "help".  Brother wasn't so thrilled.

• Getting into her diaper stash. She likes to get into the storage container and get all the diapers out, and unfold each of them.

• Swinging. I found a baby swing last summer at a flea market perfect for our campground swing. Little miss has a good time swinging with brother and sister.

• Inspecting teeth. Especially Daddy's braces. Maybe she has plans to be an orthodontist or a dentist one day.

Ainslee Blake's Dislike:

• When mama forgets to take off her headband before a car trip. This happens a lot. If brother or sister is in the car they save the day and remove it. However, poor baby is usually alone with mom when this occurs. In the picture below she threw a massive fit but eventually fell asleep. This is how I found her when we arrived at our destination.

"I give up."

• I have no pictures of the next dislike but, Ainslee isn't so crazy about her grandpas or uncles holding her. Although mama is proud of how much little A loves her, I'm not crazy about this phase. I know it's just part of that attachment issue phase, but I feel terrible for our poor family that doesn't get to see her that often.  

Now for some more pictures of this very fun, very chubby girl.

Checking out Sesame Street for the first time. She didn't look away for a good twenty minutes.

This picture captures her little personality right now. She is very funny and is constantly cracking us all up.