The First...

Since my last update, our household has undergone a myriad of firsts. You might assume a topic of this nature only applies to Braedan, but both the hubby and I have experienced a few firsts of our own. These firsts were a lot of fun as expected to be, but as you other moms out there know, what fun is a first if you don't have a little worry to go with it. So to kick off the first of the firsts, I'll begin with Braedan and the first day of school.

In September, Braedan began attending a Mother's Day Out Progam twice a week. There was a little bit of crying during the first few weeks, none on my part, (surprise, surprise) but given those first few weeks of tears it's been a good change for him. Now I know my tone here sounds blase as if this whole school transition thing has been a breeze, but let me reassure you that about a month ago my brain was on overdrive in the worry mode. (I can explain more about that later in the next "first.") And as hard as it was seeing and hearing the tales of him getting upset, he once again showed me what a tough little guy he can be. Since that little bump in the road at the start things have gone well, and each week I can tell he is enjoying it more and more. I think it helps that a couple of his frequent playdate buddies happen to be in his class. His pals, Cole and Charlie, are frequently mentioned in our discussions about school.

Here we are prepared for the first day of school.

And here he is with his buddy Charlie having some fun outside of school.

This first of Braedan's actually leads into another for me, because as Braedan took part in the first day of school I too headed back for the first day of work in about two years. Thanks to a little bit of good luck and a good friend, I was able to get a teaching job at the Mother's Day Out Program Braedan attends. I help with teaching the 12-18 month old class, and it has been a nice way to ease back into the work world given that I only have to work two days a week and my toughest work challenge is handling cute little one-year-olds. And although I am enjoying this new chapter, it brought forth a whole new set of worries for me as I mentioned earlier. Watching Braedan get used to the new change of school, it caused the ever-present second guessing a mom endures to creep in. I found myself thinking that maybe I shouldn't have started working or maybe placing Braedan in the program was too much for him. Thankfully things worked out and after talking to other moms and hearing they went through this same thought process I now know I'm not completely crazy.

Moving from crazy to crazier, I find it odd that the hubby enjoys fishing yet doesn't enjoy eating fish. So it shocked me when several weeks ago the hubby headed out with a friend on a fishing excursion and came back for the first time ever with a fish for me to cook for dinner. In all fairness to him, it's fun to see him take up a new hobby because when he does he's like a little kid. He really enthralls himself in learning all he can about it, not to mention getting his hands on all the equipment and gadgets needed, that it almost becomes an obsession. In fact, he even drove to a neighboring town to get his hands on some wading boots that he just had to have. To add to the suspense of this boot hunting trip, he texted me a picture of these boots just to show me as he put it, "How awesome they are." I'll remember that for the next time I find an awesome pair of shoes on sale.

Here he is with his first big catch, a red drum.

And after...

And finally, this month marks the first year of our return to Texas, and it's hard to believe it's only been a year because it feels like we've been here for a few as opposed to just one. I guess I owe that sense of comfort to the fact that we are really enjoying our "way of life" down here. I mean you can't beat going to the beach in late September, which is just what we did a couple weeks ago. It was probably our last beach trip for the year, but Braedan definitely made sure to get the most out of it.

In both pictures, he's enjoying the beach with one of his other good buddies, Carter.