A Bibliophile’s Favorite Things

As a reading specialist (and lover of books), I get asked OFTEN to share with people my favorites.  As a person who is literally addicted to books, I wish people knew how impossibly hard it is to answer this question. But I hate to feel like I’m not giving them an answer- so I have been thinking for a while the best possible way to formulate my response to this question. Here’s what I came up with: 

Because it is impossible to pick just one book- I settled on three. More than that, it’s also impossible to pick just three books out of every category in the library- so I broke it down into three. First- I picked my top three educational books. These are books that have impacted me as a teacher- whether it be in philosophy or practice. Next, I picked books from my teaching career that I have loved either reading aloud or recommending to students. Last, I picked my top three books as a parent that my kids enjoy. I feel like these three categories give a great representation of the sections of my life.

Before I begin these lists, I feel the need to write a disclaimer. These are the books that are always on my mind. These are not, by any means, the best three books for everyone everywhere. Books can be a uniting force and also a divisive one. This list of for my life only- put together as sort of road map to what made me who I am today. 

I have been wanting to write this post for a very long time but I’ve never known how. I hope you like the method I chose and I apologize in advance for the length of this article. To make this massive post easier to navigate, it’s sectioned and bulleted for your convenience!

Category 1: Educator Books

In terms of educational books, there are so many books that have guided me to become the teacher I am today. So many, in fact, that picking a top three is truly impossible. So for this list, I am picking the three that are currently influencing me the most. These are in no particular order.

1. The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers by Jennifer Serravallo
2. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller
3. Hacking Education: 10 Quick Fixes for Every School (Hack Learning Series) (Volume 1) by Mark Barnes and Jennifer Gonzalez

The first book on the list, The Reading Strategies Book, is a favorite because of it’s amazing helping capabilities. I feel like that book has been a guide for me whenever I’ve been stuck with my reading groups about what to do next. Sometimes I feel like I’ve exhausted all my “tricks” and need direction. This book, first of all, is massive, so I know that I can find whatever I need in it. Second, Serravallo is SO bright on this subject that I know I can count on everything she writes. It’s like she knows exactly what I’m thinking and needing in  my reading classroom. It was helpful, though, for me to thoroughly study this book when I first got it. This is not the kind of book that you can buy because you think it will help but then never open. You must know the content of the book in order to apply it. For this reason, I participated in a blog book study about the book and wrote a reflective blog post on each section. If you’re interested, you can view this blog post which has a link to every single reflection I wrote. It has become an invaluable resource for me this year.

Next up is The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. I read this book when I was in my third year of teaching, after just finishing my reading specialist masters degree. I have to say I am a huge numbers person.  I like when things follow routines and when data makes sense. This book, in my opinion, is the opposite of that. This book throws out the idea of a perfect plan and quite simply requests that people read. If you want to be a better reader, then read. If you want to become a deeper reader, then read. If you want your students to become smarter, have them read. Just read. That’s it. Don’t stress about the details, don’t deal with the logistics, just carve out and keep a definite time to read. I loved this book so much because whenever I got to feeling beat down by the system, I knew that, when all else fails, we can always just return to the basics. Just focus on the reading and everything will be ok. We also read one of Miller's other books, Reading in the Wild as part of our #D100bloggerPD adventure. You will want to check out those posts, as well. 

Last up for impressionable educator book is Hacking Education by Mark Barnes and Jennifer Gonzalez. I must admit, I have just started this book, as it is the current focus of my #D100bloggerPD blog book study. I’ve read the introduction and reflected on it- and now it is the turn of the members in my crew to read and reflect on their parts. I then read the book as i go through the study. If you’d like to learn more about this concept, read this previous post. It explains why I am so excited about this book and it’s implications in the field of education.

Category 2: Elementary and Middle School Books

In my teaching career, I have spent 6 years in middle school and 2 years in elementary school. During these 8 years, I have spent countless hours reading books. Whether it be in small groups, out loud, book clubs, or just based off recommendations from students- it’s safe to say I’ve read tons of books. Like I mentioned above, it was hard to narrow this down to 3- but these three definitely stand out in my mind. 

1. Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
2. Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac
3. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The first book, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, is my all time favorite book for students (5th grade-8th grade) to read. Admittedly, I love everything by Wendy Mass, but this is far and beyond my favorite. I first read this book during my student teaching year and I have read it many times since. I just think this is a book that every kid should read- because it teaches them to live and have fun and learn about life. It stresses the importance about being a human while telling a humorous and exciting story. The book was made into a movie, and I waited so long to see it because I didn’t want to be disappointed, and even though it wasn’t as good as the book, it was still cute. It’s just a fun-loving story about two kids just exploring the world and discovering themselves. That sounds so cheesy, and I’m sure the back of the book says it better, but trust me, you have to read this book.

Next is Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac. This book made the list because it is my all time favorite book to read out loud to students. I would say it’s best for students grades 3-8- and yes-that span is big- but the book is awesome. It is just so captivating and exciting. I love reading to students and I love even more when they hang on every word. I remember, when I was younger, I visited my mom’s classroom when she was reading Witches by Roald Dahl. I remember vividly her voices and reading- and I also remember the looks on the faces of her students and the palpable suspense in the room. It was magical. Skeleton Man is my Witches. It’s an incredibly quick and short read- but I promise you won’t regret sharing it with your students. And side note, it does have a sequel, which is good- but nothing is as great as the original.

Last is Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. Having taught middle school for so long, I have to admit I don’t have as much expertise with these younger level texts. I came across Rainbow Fish a few times and thought it was cute, but it wasn’t until I read it, on Read-a-Thon day, to a group of Kindergarten and First graders. It was an unforgettable experience. To read to little kids is an experience that gives so much joy. So I read it, which was amazing, but then they had this adorable discussion about the fish and sharing and caring that it just touched my heart. I love the experiences that reading provides for kids. It’s irreplaceable. 

Category 3: Mom/Toddler Books

These books made the list because they are the current favorites of my kids and one of my all time favorites to read out loud to them. As a mom who loves reading, my kids spend an awful lot of time reading and being read to. Safe to say their “favorites” change often- but as of this post, here are the go to books!

1. The Octonauts and The Only Lonely Monster by Meomi
2. Daniel Goes to the Potty (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood) by Maggie Testa
3. You Are My Miracle by Maryann Cusimano Love and Satomi Ichikawa

First up, Octonauts. Since I don’t have cable, when my kids want to watch TV, they get Hulu or Netflix. One day, maybe 6 months ago, Brayden, my oldest, discovered Octonauts. Ever since then, we have been on every single deep sea adventure with this crew that they have to offer. As far as kids being addicted to TV shows, this really isn’t the worst. It’s pretty educational, in a marine biologist kind of way, and the main characters don’t play dumb or act ridiculous- one of my biggest mom pet peeves. Plus, there’s a super catchy “creature report” at the end of each episode where Captain Barnacles (he’s pretty cool) tells about the animals and even gives real pictures. I’m pretty proud to say that all this Octonaut watching has resulted in some pretty cool connections at the Shedd Aquarium and Brookfield Zoo. How many other kids strike up a conversation about the Mariana Trench? That’s right. Mine does. 

Next up, Daniel Goes to the Potty. Now, you can clearly tell that this is time sensitive- as I live with two toddlers- but really- thank you Daniel Tiger for potty training my youngest child. I really appreciate your help. Of course, I could’ve picked so many Daniel Tiger books as my favorite- because they all accomplish the same thing- teaching my kids about being nice humans while having fun with their favorite characters. I can’t tell you many songs I have memorized from Daniel and his show. “Gro-o-wn ups come back” and “See what it is, you might feel better” are just two that come to mind right away. Oh, and how could I forget, “If you have to go potty, stop and go right away!” That’s a definite favorite in my house! Anyway, I love Daniel Tiger and you should, too. That’s pretty much it.

So those two books were each of my children’s favorites. This last one is a me favorite as their mom. Ever since they were in my belly, I have read both of them the book You Are My Miracle. I know there are tons of books out there about parents loving their kids, but this one happens to be my definite favorite. It’s just a sweet story about love and faith and in my case- these kids really are our miracles. The story couldn’t be more on point for my family. If you haven’t read this one, I highly recommend grabbing it from the local library- but you might as well buy it because I’m sure you’re going to love it just as much as I do. We still read it often at bedtime and I’m sure it will continue to be a staple for a long time.

I realize that was a lot of writing. And a lot of reading. But honestly, I’ve known these books have been favorites of mine for a long time now and this post has been a long time coming- but sitting here writing and reflecting on them has really taught me a lot- about myself and about my life. I love how books have this unique ability to tell not just stories but to tell moments in my life. The books in these lists have created memories in my life, in my students, and in my children. All because I opened a book. 

#D100bloggerPD: Hacking Education: Introduction

I'm moving these links up to the top of my post now that the study has started so you can access them easier and follow along with our study. As each new one is posted, I'll hyperlink it here!

Pershing Principal Blog: Hack 1- Meet Me in the Cloud

Responsive Literacy: Hack 2- Pineapple Charts

Ginny from Hiawatha: Hack 3- Teacher Quiet Zones

Cool Cat Teacher: Hack 4- Track Records

Miss G Does 5th: Hack 5- Student Tech Gurus

Literacy Loving Gals: Hack 6- Marigold Committees

Learn, Teach, Grow: Hack 7- The In-Class Flip

Big Time Literacy: Hack 8- The Book Nook

Miss Kaczmarek’s Classroom: Hack 9- The Glass Classroom

Reading and Owl of the Above: Hack 10- The 360 Spreadsheet  

If you have visited my blog before, you have probably seen the many posts that I made (or linked) as part of the #D100bloggerPD crew. My teacher-twin Colleen and I brought this idea of "blogger professional development" to our district at the beginning of this year. Colleen (check out her amazing blog here), as part of the Reading Strategies Crew past summer, put on an amazing blog book study of Jennifer Serravallo's The Reading Strategies Book, which I was thrilled to participate in. I love the idea/professional growth potential so much that I talked to Colleen about bringing it to our district, and poof, #D100bloggerPD was born! Since then we have done blog book studies on (1) Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller (2) A "What Inspires You?" Series and (3) Move Your Bus by Ron Clark. Having just wrapped up the Move Your Bus study, we are now ready to launch our next blog book study on Hacking Education: 10 Quick Fixes for Every School (Hack Learning Series) (Volume 1)  by Mark Barnes and Jennifer Gonzalez.  

If you've never seen or been part of a blog book study before (whether a participant or audience member), it's really quite simple. Here's what to expect.  Notice the schedule that I opened this post with. You see all 10 hacks (plus this introduction) planned out twice a week over a 5 week period of time.  All the members of this book study are fellow colleagues in Berwyn South School District 100- a town right outside of Chicago, Il. There are 10 total participants and we will all be reading and reflecting on one hack each from Hacking Education.  

Still unsure? Here is an amazing Periscope/katch.me video by Jennifer Gonzalez as she explains, in her own funny way, what this #D100bloggerPD adventure is all about! Can I just say- to hear someone as smart and awesome as Jennifer Gonzalez call you out by name in a periscope- it's pretty much the coolest thing....ever! Thanks again, Jennifer!

Now back to the plan. The date listed on the schedule is the date the new reflection will be posted- and the name listed in the schedule is the blog where the post will appear. To make that even easier, if you keep this post handy- I will continuously link every new post at the bottom of the page. Also, each post will link to the next person who is set to post. For example, at the end of this post, I will link to Marilyn over at Pershing Principal Blog for her reflection on Hack 1. Then she will link to Leah at Responsive Literacy, and so on and so forth.  Another way to keep track of this study (and any others) is to follow the #D100bloggerPD hashtag on Twitter. Anytime a member of our crew posts, they will always use this hashtag to keep our followers and fellow learners informed. 

Now that we’ve gotten the logistics out of the way- let’s get into the book! To kick off this study, I am doing a brief reflection on the introduction of the book.

 The introduction serves as a set up for the purpose of the rest of the book- introducing why we need to hack education and ultimately providing the answers or guidance along the path to hacking education. I love how the authors point out that they are not taking ownership of these hacks- just that they have compiled them, sometimes improved on them, and otherwise are promoting them in order to get these hacks into the hands of the right people- the teachers who need them the most! This rings so true for me- the world of education is so tough already- it's difficult and stressful and challenging- so why not help each other? Why, as the saying goes, reinvent the wheel every time you need to create something? In the last couple years, thanks to the internet and websites like Pinterest and Teachers Pay teachers, we have been introduced to a wide world of resources to help teachers save time and lean on each other in a time of need. And that's not even taking into account the cool things I find on Twitter! Hello, Social Media!

 I can't tell you how many times I've quickly looked up something on Pinterest to get a fun idea- or checked out my PLN on twitter to get more #edtech ideas to use in my paperless classroom. Once I check out these sites, find a tiny "seed idea", I take it into my own brain and morph it into something I need. All I'm saying is that every idea doesn't have to be freshly minted by me for it to be awesome. Share with each other. Learn from one another. Grow with each other. The educational climate is ever-changing and evolving- let's not go at it alone.

This idea of taking ideas and making them into something you can use is also something talked about in discussing how to use this Hacking Education book. The authors write about the idea of "iteration" as you can see in the quote to the right. Not everything in the book (or life, for that matter) is going to be a one size fits all solution for your classroom.  That's the important part about knowing your classroom. You probably won't be able to just take a hack out of the book and start using it in your classroom right away. You'll need to see it with an editing eye and make it appropriate for use in your classroom or setting. This is what will make the hack valuable. Not to mention, this is what will make the hack have longevity in your classroom. If you don't make the experience personalized to you and your students, it's not likely to work or make a difference. But if you make the change/hack fit your needs, it's more likely to be successful and have that transformative power you're seeking.

I came across one of my new favorite quotes as I read about iterations in the introduction.

 I love this because it helps me remember that education is always evolving- but that we don't have to forget the past. I recently resurrected an idea that I used my very first year of teaching to try and help my current students with deeper thinking. Now, even though I've only been teaching for 8 years, this idea seemed so old and outdated that I couldn't possibly use it again. However, when I began to think of my current needs, I saw this quote and thought perhaps I could dig that old idea back up and work with it. And alas, it's working out amazing! All it took was a little creative editing and revising of my previous idea and now it's "fresh" again! So now I am renewed in my thinking and my students are benefiting from my new outlook. It's truly a win-win for all involved!

 This is what I am most excited for as we go forward in the Hacking Education book- the idea that I can take the hacks that I am about to read about, apply them to my own classroom, and transform my teaching because of it.  And as a little more inspiration in the right direction, I'm going to end my reflection with this quote:

That's all for now! Be sure to check out Marilyn's post at Pershing Principal Blog on Monday, 3/7 for her reflection on the first Hack: Meet Me in the Cloud. And in the meantime, I’ve linked each blog that will be featured in this study- you can check them out now- and later, once they have posted their Hack reflection, I’ll also link that as well! 

Pershing Principal Blog: Hack 1- Meet Me in the Cloud

Responsive Literacy: Hack 2- Pineapple Charts

Ginny from Hiawatha: Hack 3- Teacher Quiet Zones

Cool Cat Teacher: Hack 4- Track Records

Miss G Does 5th: Hack 5- Student Tech Gurus

Literacy Loving Gals: Hack 6- Marigold Committees

Learn, Teach, Grow: Hack 7- The In-Class Flip

Big Time Literacy: Hack 8- The Book Nook

Miss Kaczmarek’s Classroom: Hack 9- The Glass Classroom

Reading and Owl of the Above: Hack 10- The 360 Spreadsheet   

Please, if you have any questions, comments, etc., please do not hesitate to leave a comment! All of us in the #D100bloggerPD crew love to hear from our readers!

Also- if you'd like to follow along with us on this study- be sure to pick up your copy of Hacking Education: 10 Quick Fixes for Every School (Hack Learning Series) (Volume 1) ! I got mine through Amazon- gotta love free two day shipping!! I look forward to reading and learning with all of you!

*If you want to be sure you don't miss a post from me in the future- check on the upper right side of my blog and you'll see a "bloglovin" button- just click that, subscribe to my blog, and you'll be updated in the future anytime I create a new post! It's the best way to guarantee you won't miss a thing! And if you're not already following me on Twitter- be sure to check out @MrsKRichey and join my PLN!

#D100bloggerPD: Move Your Bus! Part 1: Chapters 4-5

Thanks for joining me as I continue the #D100bloggerPD blog book study on Ron Clark's Move Your Bus. If you missed the first (and awesome) opening chapters from Colleen over at Literacy Loving Gals, you can check that incredibly thorough post out here. Then, after my post, stay with us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in February for a new blog post reflection from this fantastic and motivational book. You can always follow the above schedule, follow the #D100bloggerPD hashtag on Twitter, or keep checking Colleen's blog for the newest link to the most recent post. Have you read the book? Do you want to participate? We'd love to hear your thoughts and reflections on the book as well- so if you read and make a reflection post, be sure to share it in the comments! 

Now onto my reflection. I will be reflecting on Part 1: Chapters 4 and 5. Typically, when reading short, motivational books like this one, I like to base my reflection off of quotes that jumped out to my as I read. That's what you're going to see here. I've picked out a series of five quotes from my two short chapters and will share them with you along with some thoughts and musings that I had while reading.

Up first is Chapter 4: Riders are Dead Weight. If you have no clue what a Rider is, you might want to check out Colleen's post (linked above) which explains the ongoing metaphor that Clark uses throughout his book of a bus, a driver, runners, joggers, walkers, and riders. 

As you can probably imagine, a rider is someone, who, on the bus, is not pushing the bus forward in any way, shape, or form. Of course, the bus, being the metaphor for your school, has no need for these riders and as he points out, they are simply dead weight. I think, without getting into details, that if we think about our experience in the field of education, that we all know at least one rider. They might not be at your school, maybe not even in your district, but I'm sure, if you think about it enough, you can identify a rider. Now think about that person. Are they adding to their school? Are they enhancing the educational and impressionable lives of the students they are teaching? My guess is that the answer, to both questions, is no. Clark talks about having worked with a rider in his early education career. He talks about how, as a runner, that he wanted to get this rider on board and at least get her walking. As you can see in the quote to the left, whenever he saw her teaching, he knew it was bad news. And because it bothered him, he tried to help this rider. 

But what he learned, and what is a lesson to all of us, is that riders, as the chapter is titled, are simply dead weight. You can put in countless hours trying to make a rider walk- but at what expense to you? and your students? This is what he realized- that by putting all his effort into this rider, it was only making her marginally better and holding himself back from being exceptional. He sums up his thoughts with the quote to the right- further proving that we need to devote our energy to the right places because just the effort it takes to get that rider to start working is not worth it. At first, this was hard for me to think about- because in a world of Tenure, sometimes there are riders and sometimes we can't do anything about it. However, if that is the case, that should be even more the reason to focus on the Runners- because they will move the bus along in far more significant ways than that rider and innately pick up their slack. Ideally, those riders will then realize that the runners are getting all the attention and all the perks that they will either become better, or leave.  So then as Clark went on to run his own (incredibly successful) school, he just simply operates under the fact that there is absolutely no place for riders. I have to say I agree with him. If you are in the education field and you are not, in any way, contributing to the greater good, then perhaps it's time to find a new profession. 

Next up is probably (it's so hard to pick just one!!) my favorite snippet from my two chapters. I love how Clark gets right to the point when he says, essentially, either work for it or get off the bus. 

You can't have a sense of entitlement just because you are smart. Being smart doesn't cut it- it's what you do with those smarts that matters. So if you're not willing to work, he's not going to put up with it. It's so startling at first to be so blunt (at least to me) but then when you let it sink in, it makes total sense. Why, if you're not here to give your best and work your hardest, are you even on the bus in the first place? Or maybe, you used to be working really hard at pushing your bus forward, but have since lost that passion, why are you still on the bus? Why still in the field of education- where- of any job- we have control of the future! I always like when people say that they have to do a good job at teaching their students because they will be controlling the future. Sometimes people mean it- and sometimes they say it in jest. HELLO!?! That's exactly what's happening here! Why would you not give it your 100%? Or, when you realize you can't do that, fix it or go.

Chapter 5: Drivers Steer the Organization was my second chapter for reflection. As you can imagine, it's about how the driver, in our case the principal, is the one who controls the direction in which your bus (school) is moving. My absolute favorite part of this section was one specific quote that focused on the spirit of the runners in the building. 

As you have learned from reading this so far- runners are what keep your building feeling alive and excited and keep the learning going at full speed. Clark points out in his book that runners are the ones that need to be kept happy- and that yes, they do make the occasional mistake, but that they are working so hard and fast that sometimes, one mistake happens out of a hundred attempts. That's certainly better than one mistake out of one attempt from a rider. So this quote, to the right, focuses on the fact that maybe, when the runner makes that on mistake, don't jump all over them for it. Or don't intentionally overlook an accomplishment of a runner to pump up a rider- at the expense of the runner's spirit. As I mentioned above- keeping your runner going full speed is much better than getting that rider to start working at all. So Clark points out that you must not, at any cost, kill the spirit of your runners. If a runner feels under appreciated or that their work may go unnoticed, then they might slow their running. They might feel as if all their efforts are for nothing. Now, because they are runners, they will likely keep running- but their spirit will be diminished and slowly their max speed might decrease. Nurturing runners is an important job of administrators- not because they are desperate for attention or because they are playing favorites- but because they should reward the hard work of those who are moving the bus the most. 

Following the logic of the last quote, Clark sums it up with this final thought- and I love how, as always, he just calls it like it is. If you want to work for Ron Clark, you must be a runner. If you are that runner who works for him, your life will be great. You'll be supported. You'll feel empowered. You will be appreciated and applauded and you will make the lives of students better every single day. Imagine if every principal in every school had this outlook. What would happen? What would that change look like in your building? In mine? It's certainly an interesting 'what if?' situation- but also, a 'why not?' situation. Why can't every school be full of runners? Why can't we all try, at all times, to be the best we can be? Because, ultimately, it's not about the driver or the runner. Or the joggers, walkers, or riders. It's not even about the bus. It's about the STUDENTS. Let's all just promise that every single day that we walk into a school- we will give our 100% effort to be doing the best we possibly can for the students who fill our classrooms. If that's our goal, our sole focus, I imagine our bus would be moving pretty fast.

If you want to keep following along with this Move Your Bus blog book study, be sure to check out Ginny's post on 2/5 for her reflection on the beginning of Part 2: Chapters 6 & 7. She will be guest blogging at Responsive Literacy.  And as always, follow along with our hashtag on Twitter: #D100bloggerPD to get the latest and most up to date happenings. Thanks for reading!

Want to follow along with us while we read? Grab your own copy of Move Your Bus!

My Inspirational Follow-Up

As you see in the previous post, the #D100bloggerPD crew just wrapped up our January journey- which was a post on something that inspires you. We had 10 wonderful posts, from educators though Berwyn South District 100, all reflecting on something that inspires them- in whatever way they wanted. I loved the variety of posts- from quotes and books, to family and heritage, even workouts and chicken nuggets- point being that inspiration comes from the most personal of places- yet when handled properly, impacts so many people. 

I began that #whatinspiresyou journey all the way back on 1/11 with my post about what inspired me recently- and that was a quote from Dave Burgess who, as many know, is the incredibly engaging author of Teach Like a Pirate. Ever since that post, however, I have felt that I would be crazy to not do a follow up entry about what truly inspires me every single day, without fail. That is, of course, my family. If you've been reading my posts for a while, you know a little about my family- but let me introduce them.

First, I am married to an incredibly smart and selfless man- Peter- who is a middle school math teacher in Elmhurst, IL. We met while attending Illinois State University (yet another of the million reasons why I love my alma mater) and have been inseparable ever since. He is, as the cliche goes, definitely my better half. He's dedicated to our little family above anything else and would do anything for us- yet still finds time to be an amazing teacher, son, friend, and overall human being. Recently, we have started presenting at EdTech Conferences together and being able to work with him to help other teachers has been incredibly fun and rewarding. He inspires me every single day to be a better in every way. It's so awesome to have someone in your corner who always supports you and pushes you to be better, while still making you feel proud of what you've accomplished. The top picture is from our wedding (8/2/08) and the bottom is from our most recent conference presentation.  

The other two pieces of my inspiration puzzle are our children- Brayden and Olive. Brayden, who is 4 and a half, is an absolute tender heart who tries his best at everything he does.

Brayden (Left: 4, Right: 2 Weeks)

He was born tongue tied (yes, that's a thing) and after his corrective surgery, has been in Speech to work on his sounds that were delayed due to that condition.  Just last night we were practicing his speech homework and the progress he has made (at 4!!) has been incredible. He just keeps trying and he never gives up. He is also super sweet and has a heart of gold- something that I know might change over time but I plan to nurture as long as possible. He's going to be starting Kindergarten next fall and I can only imagine the ride we are in for. I've never been one to get emotional at the first day of school- but I'm not going to lie- I'm already preparing myself for this one. Everyone says that time only goes by faster- and so far we have found this to be true- but even still. It's just so hard to believe that our little boy, who was born almost 7 weeks early into a whirlwind of life- could possibly be old enough to be starting elementary school. It's crazy. 

One great thing about Brayden having such a sweet personality is that it makes him such a tolerant and patient older brother to his little sister Olive.

Olive (Top: 2.5, Bottom: 2 Weeks)

A lot of people wonder if they heard me right when I say my daughter's name is Olive- and yes, they did. And while it seems like an "out there" kind of name- if you met her, you'd know we were spot on. Whereas Brayden is our sweet and gentle child, Olive is our wild and free spirit who, I am sure of it, will never cease to keep us on our toes. She is full of energy, full of life, and full of an independent spirit that I cannot wait to see where it takes her in life. At only 3 years old (nearly exactly as I write this!), she is already taking the world by storm. With a head of crazy curls and chubby little cheeks, she is inquisitive and curious- all while smiling her way through the day. Right now, Peter and I are convinced she's going to be a reporter when she grows up because she just has to know everything. And then, when she knows it, she questions it. Her preschool teacher probably loves this trait! But all kidding aside, she's stolen our hearts from day one and we are excited to see where she takes it. 

I realize that I just wrote an entire post about how much I love my family- but I think pausing to reflect on the gratitude I feel towards these 3 people for changing my life is important. We cannot ever overlook that sometimes the most inspirational people are the closest to us at all times. And we can never stop appreciating them for all they do to make us better every single day.