Happy Birthday Ezra!!

So I'm still having technical difficulties in getting pictures uploaded to the computer so this may be sans pictures for a bit. Ezra turned the big 1 on the Saturday of Easter Conference weekend.  We had a mostly low key day because Chops family was out of town so we celebrated on Monday with an Easter dinner and cupcakes for the birthday boy. Both previous children have been somewhat surly on their birthdays so I had fairly low expectations but secretly thought Ez would be different. He did not disappoint! He was very excited that there was fire on his cupcake and the look on his face when we sang happy birthday was so cute. He knew this party was for him and he soaked it up. I love my little (big) one year old! He has four, almost five teeth and has regressed in sleeping to the point that I may feel like I have a newborn again (well, he was actually a great sleeper as a newborn so I guess I'm just getting it later) He is a speed crawler and often lifts up his knees and just crawls on his hands and feet. He likes to stand and has taken several tentative steps but when you try to help him he promptly sits down.  But I know he'll be off and running once he gets the hang of it. I think that some of Wyatt's roughness has worn off on him because he is getting some major attitude. He is still smily and sweet but not all the time. He definitely got the Dawson stubborn gene and the loud gene. I love watching him learn and grow and play with his brother and sister.  He is still a champion eater although he is slimming down. He's only in the 93% for weight!

Back to School!

So Chops has been thinking about going back to school to get his Masters in Administration and this year his Principal really gave him lots of opportunities for leadership and growth in that area. Chops applied to a couple of different schools and decided to go with the LPP program at BYU. It will be a 15 month program that starts in a week with him going to school after school and then full time in the summer with the next school year being three month internships at three different schools. He is taking a sabbatical from teaching while in the program. I'm super proud and excited for him but it is bittersweet. I've loved having him teach at Deerfield and he may or may not go back there. I feel that there is a need for male teachers that are committed to teaching. He can continue teaching after getting his masters but they typically encourage graduates to move into administration roles.  The kids love visiting dad at school and his classes always treat them like celebrities. I think Addie is going to have a hard time learning that kindergarten is not always class parties and celebrations like is the norm for when we visit dad. I also love his hours-he typically gets home at 4:30 except for Parent Teacher conference week, which is three times a year. So having him gone until 8:30 or so M-Th is going to be a bit of an adjustment to say the least! But I am excited for the new adventures he will be having and the papers I will no doubt be proofreading. I'm grateful for his hard work and I am proud of him.  There will be some major adjustments for the next little bit but we're off on a new adventure!  I may have to take a couple of vacations with the kids while he's busy at school :)