Recent happenings....

Since the last post, lots more has been happening in the Hinds household. Here's a month-by-month breakdown!!

August 2009: Caitlin turned 6 on the 13th, and celebrated by having a party with family & close friends. The party also celebrated Shawn's 31st birthday. Then, we all headed off to school. Shawn started his first full year of teaching of Station, while I began my 8th year at TLS. Caitlin began 1st (!) grade, and Colin went for his 2nd year at the daycare.

September 2009: Caitlin had another birthday party this month for all the girls in the 1st grade. The party was at Chuck E. Cheese one day after school, and we had an awesome cake from Carramanda's, our new favorite bakery. At the end of the month, I celebrated my 31st birthday by having sushi with friends and going out to the Penguin for fun afterwards!

October 2009: Not a whole lot of exciting things happened this month. Caitlin participated in the Boo Sing at school, and we enjoyed a night of trick-or-treating with our friends!

November & December 2009: We had a great Thanksgiving with family (though Mom & Dad were absent), and I had a great day of shopping on Black Friday! Unfortunately, Mom wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home that morning. Caitlin performed in the Holiday Concert this year, and for the first time, she got to stay for the whole performance and participate in the all-school song. Two days after concert , we left for a family vacation in Florida for nearly 2 weeks! What a fabulous way to unwind as a family. Plus, it helped that Shawn was on vacation with us too!!

Long time...no update

It has been forever! Lots has happened in the Hinds household since the last time I updated. Shawn is now working full time for Fayette County, teaching high school English. Colin turned 1 in March, started walking and never stopped! He is into absolutely everything these days, as nothing is safe around our house!

Caitlin turns 6 this month and starts 1st grade! It's unbelievable how fast time is going by. Caitlin, Mom, and I traveled to Washington D.C. last week for a girls vacation, leaving Shawn, Poppy, and Colin behind.

We went to a friend from college's baby shower in Richmond, then shopped at Potomac Mills. Afterwards, we headed into the city and visited the Capitol, the White House, Ford's Theatre, and Madame Tussaud's.

On the way home from D.C., we stopped by Roanoke to visit the old college grounds and show Caitlin around. Then, we stopped at some cemeteries in West Virginia, doing genealogy with Mom. All in all, a great time!

Ice Storm 2009!

Once again, almost exactly six years later, another ice storm has hit central Kentucky. Once again, we were not exempt from the wrath of that ice storm. Shawn and I were both out of school this entire week, getting to spend lots of time together with the kids. On Monday, Shawn and Caitie were both sick with the crud, then I caught it on Tuesday. On Tuesday night around 9:30, we lost power and it just came back on today (Friday!). We've been crashing at my parents house ever since our escape on Tuesday. We had company on Wednesday when the Yahr's joined us because they lost their power as well. They were fortunate in the fact that their power came back on later that afternoon. Be sure to check out our pics from the ice storm on our Flickr page!

Happy Almost Birthday

Today, well not too much longer, is the little man's 10-month birthday! I can't believe that we are rapidly approaching that first birthday! It seems like th time is going by too fast.

He's up to all sorts of no good on a regular basis now: he babbles Dada like a champ (no Mama), he crawls so quickly he beats us out of a room, and he loves table food. He's even started getting the same lunch at school that Caitie and I have. Pretty soon he'll be walking, and I am so not ready for that! Actually, I think Buffy and Caitie are more worried about that one. Caitie actually shut Colin out of her room the other day so she could have some "alone time." Colin stood up and banged on her door. Only a few more inches and he'll be able to reach the knob!

9 months old and growing like a weed!

Colin had his 9 month checkup today. Though he is currently suffering from an ear infection, he got two shots today: one for his Hep B and the other was his 2nd flu shot!

The doctor said his development was excellent. He totally showed off for her today, pulling up, sitting up while she held his hips, waving to her on cue, answering his name, shaking his head no to a question, and being extremely well-behaved.

Here are all his stats:

Head: 45 1/2 cm (50th %)

Weight: 18lb 0 oz (10th %)

Height: 29 (!) inches (75th %)

A long absence

Wow! It has been forever since I've been on here! Things have been so crazy at school that I have not had the time to do anything other than school stuff! Let me give you a little recap of what we've been up to:

Shawn - He finished his first semester of Grad School at Georgetown. He has completed four of his classes and next semester he will be student teaching at Dunbar. Lucky him!

Me - I've been busy with school and my extra stuff. For instance, I've had two speech tournaments this month (one that dragged on forever yesterday). I'm also serving on a Leadership Grant for KWLA (Kentucky World Language Association) where I'm helping to rework the Kentucky Standards for Foreign Language teaching.

Caitie - She is almost halfway through Kindergarten. I can't believe how fast she is growing up! She is active in gymnastics (trampoline and tumbling to be exact), dance (ballet and tap), and Daisies. Our week is very packed with Caitie activities!

Colin - He is 8 months old now, crawling like a maniac, and desperately trying to stand up. He eats like a fiend and has the most infectious little smile! Next month he goes in for his 9 month check-up!

Licking a peter

No, I'm not being dirty. Shawn and I went to see the Capitol Steps last night, as we do every presidential election eve. One of their big skits is called "Lirty Dies," where they flip the first letters of two words. Now, go back a re-evaluate the title.

Though I won't say who I voted for, because though I am proud of who I voted for, I don't want anyone to judge my decision that I have the freedom to make. That being said, watching John McCain give his concession speech right now, I am humbled by his great ability as an orator. He is so honest and open with his emotions and praiseworthy of not only his running mate, but also of his competitor.

I really don't know how we could have gone wrong with either Presidential candidate.