One more down and ONE more to go!!!

Ru just finished his most challenging semester of the entire program. The craziness of the semester began with 3 weeks of midterms in October and it didn't let up until the last of his 3 weeks worth of finals today. This week was a big one with 6 exams in 4 days. Needless to say, we are all breathing a sigh of relief. And an even bigger sigh that we're ONE semester away from graduation!!! I seriously looked up graduation invitations yesterday, just poking around... :)

Ru usually works during his breaks, but we are unsure of how much work, if any, he'll be able to get this break, so we're going to enjoy every day we have together. I guess if we're looking on the bright side of things, it's nice that Ru's still in school so we have similar vacations. And he's definitely earned some time off!

I finished my first semester in Kindergarten P.E. Wow. Never thought I'd say I taught Kindergarteners. It's been fun and challenging and all around perfect, in large part because my mom (and sometimes my sister) take care of Kyle. I think I've mentioned more than once how much, after having Kyle, I felt I wanted/needed to be home with him. However, I've been completely at ease leaving him knowing that I wasn't abandoning him (as it could have felt like) because he was with family and because he absolutely adores my mother and sister. I think my worries prior to this job were due in large part to very real, crazy, post pregnancy hormones. While I was nursing Kyle around the clock and he was still so dependent on me, I was crushed to the core just thinking about leaving him. It went against every newly acquired maternal instinct I had. However, after Kyle turned one and I knew he could survive without me, the idea of working wasn't as bad. Add that to the fact that he's with my mom and I only work part time and we have a very doable situation. I'm so thankful.

Kyle Dakota? He's rummaging through books beside me, most often pulling out his absolute favorite, llama llama red pajama by Anna Dewdney. If not reading, he's climbing and if not climbing, he's trying to open things or figure out how they work. One of his recent loves is coloring. He gets to color a picture every Sunday in his little class and we've already started our collection. :) He's actually the only child who gets to color. The others are content to play in the room, but Kyle? He wants to climb stairs, go outside, etc. and the only way the volunteers can keep him happy inside is by letting him color! Speaking of which, Ru and my mom called it a few months ago and I had to agree a while back, that Kyle most likely will be left-handed. He can use both, but always transfers his spoon or marker or whatever to his left hand to use. It definitely suits him. He couldn't possibly go along with the majority. And we like it, because that's SO our Shmu. :)

So, the 3 of us are home, vacation is finally here and we're going to try and enjoy every bit of it!!