Mike and Sarah

Today is our 5 year anniversary. 5 years married and 11 years together. Mike's parents came to visit at the beginning of the week and set us free one night to celebrate. We enjoyed a few beers together at El Bait Shop and then had dinner at Court Ave. where I enjoyed my first Blue Cheese Steak salad with a Black Hawk Stout in almost a year!!! We are so thankful Mike's parents were brave enough to stay home with our 2-ring circus (admittedly we worry most about Jackson because he's a handful to say the least :) so we could enjoy some time just the two of us. It was perfect. There's a lot I could say about Mike, about us, and about our adventures together but I don't think, even given a thousand words, I'd be able to capture the last 5 or 11 years adequately. A lot has changed but somehow it seems Mike and I haven't really changed at all, only evolved and adapted as we've grown. We've figured out a lot over the last 5 years and we've discovered...

Surviving the 3rd Trimester Oh boy. The 3rd trimester. You know the saying about March... how it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb? Well it's the opposite with the 3rd trimester... it comes in like a lamb... very sweet and innocent and hopeful and optimistic... and it goes out like a lion... roaring fiercely. I kid, I kid. Kind of. In an effort to make this informative but not scary I shall break this down into pros, cons, and lessons learned which I hope is helpful. Sometimes it's nice to know you're not alone with the thoughts and feelings swarming around your head and every inch of your body. Pros: - You really  feel the baby move. At this point, there's no doubt in your mind that there is a tiny human hanging out inside you. You feel feet, elbows, fingers, entire body rolls, etc. and you can see said extremities as they protrude out the sides of your ever growing belly. Sounds weird but it's actually pretty cool. You can also counter the m...

Will is officially 4 weeks old today and boy has he had a busy 4 weeks of life so far! I'm learning I can't really take time off from blogging because Will changes so much in one week let alone a month or more. As if an explanation of how quickly children grow is really needed, allow me to demonstrate how Will is growing and changing through pictures (with a little update on what we've been up to mixed in too)... Here's Will at 9 days old on his first road trip. We went to Minnesota to celebrate Uncle Jake's high school graduation (!). Just before the 4th of July we experienced unusually cool weather which meant our summer baby had to be dressed more like a fall baby. Luckily, he looks just as dashing in fall clothing as he does in summer clothing. Will's first 4th of July, 2 weeks and 2 days old. At 3 weeks old, Will took his 2nd road trip back up to Minnesota to celebrate his Grandma's retirement...

Scratch that, Teacher Talk Tuesday Wednesday I'm excited about this sporadic staple (is that an oxymoron?) here on the blog because I get to approach this from two different perspectives now... as a teacher and as a mom! A lot of parallels can be drawn between teaching and parenting and I am excited to explore what I know about teaching from the parenting perspective (and interested to see how being a parent effects my teacher brain for that matter). To start, I'd like to revisit a post I wrote  where I discuss the importance of reading to your kids. This is something I've thought a lot about over the last many months and I have to say, it's easier said than done. I'm slowly realizing that building a solid foundation for Will is going to take so much more than just filling his room with books and reading them to him. No, no... this is going to require much, much more. Luckily, I found just the resource yesterday to help me navigate this new role as a parent w...

Surviving the 2nd Trimester I wish I would've written this post while I was actually in my 2nd trimester but alas... I'm backfilling. I say this because now that I've experienced the third  trimester, I have a different perspective of the 2nd trimester and that perspective is... 2nd Trimester = Best Trimester Allow me to share a few highlights of weeks 14-27 (and actually for me the range was really more like weeks 14-34)... 1. Goodbye nausea, hello food! My nausea subsided and I could finally eat normally again, thank goodness. Although, I will say, I had a hard time eating a lot at one time because it made me feel really full on top of  being pregnant which is kind of uncomfortable.  2. Everyone oogles at your super cute pregnant belly and it really is super cute during this time. Just big enough to show but not big enough to steal the show. I will admit, getting dressed was tricky during this time though. The belly wasn't "hard" enou...

It's true... the wait is finally over... Baby P has officially joined the world. William Michael Pentek  finally  joined the world on June 18th! Truth be told, I was  completely shocked  it was a boy. I secretly was convinced it was a girl the entire time I was pregnant, honest. I didn't say anything ever because I truly did not care either way, it was just a feeling I had. And I was wrong! Mike was actually the one to announce the sex once he came out and I was in shock!! Here's Will the day after he was born. Here's Will as we packed up to leave the hospital. This picture cracks me up because the look on his face looks so  skeptical as if he's thinking, "are they really going to send me home with these  two?!" haha, can't say I blame him. :) Will is now 12 days old and we've been home for a week and 2 days. He (and we) even survived his first road trip to Minnesota this past weekend. We are adjusting very well...