Fun in First Grade

Well it is crazy to believe that we are almost done with the first quarter of school here in Honduras.  I have loved my class this year and feel that I have grown so much as a teacher.  My goal this year, was to make sure I spend more time on projects and making sure that I FINISH them!  All of you teachers know that when you start a project at school - it is crazy hard to finish it or to make sure you actually spend the time that should be spent on something.  Sadly, we are pushed to stretch our students and I have made it a point this year to make sure that they really understand the material instead of being able to squeak by.

 1st graders making a habitat for our 3rd grade buddies tadpoles!

Another thing that I have been adding to our routine is author studies.  Each month we are reading books from one author and creating different projects to mimic them.  Last month we looked at Baby Owen's favorite books by Richard Hargreaves aka the Mr. and Mrs. Books.  This kids loved these and really enjoyed making their own Mr. Men.  We have moved to Eric Carle and so far have made a 'mixed-up chameleon'.  The kids had a great time making these and also loved reading the story.

We also celebrated PEACE Day here at Mazapan and the new third grade teacher (Mr. Segall) and I decided to work together to make a bomb dot com photo collage of the song Imagine.  It was really great and the kids had a great time working with their 3rd grade buddies.

We also celebrated my 28th birthday.  It is still hard to believe that I am 28 but so far I am loving my life.  Sadly, the day after my birthday, Luke traveled with some kids to Nicaragua for a leadership conference for 5 days leaving me by my lonesome with baby O for 5 days.  When he came back he surprised me with Flor de Cana rum pajamas and a bar mat.  We promptly put the mat and pajamas to use and I couldn't be happier. 

We have a 4 month old!

Happy 4 months little O!  I know I say this all the time, but how do we have a 4 month old!  Owen continues to grow and become more OSMM (awesome) everyday we know him.  At four months he is getting better at standing and following movements with his eyes.  I think he is starting to hear better as well and can follow sounds more.  He has started to kick which is fun but hurts!  He kicks when he is excited, he kicks when he is sad, he kicks when he is hungry and well - you get point.

We took him to the doctor for his 4 month shots and his monthly check up.  He weighs 15 pounds and 2 ounces.  He is 27 inches long and has a head circumference of 42 cm.  He is pretty low in weight, and surprisingly, his head is also on the small side - but the kid is long!  Tall and skinny is what I say.

We are also enjoying the start of football and Owen has been loving watching the games.  Even Luke has finally started watching them with me and it is fun to make them a family affair.

Happy Honduran Independence Day!

Another year has come and September is upon us.  September is the month of Honduran independence and the school always throws a huge celebration with different kinds of foods and performances from different grades.  Kiddos get to dress up and show off their Honduran culture.  I love it because my kids are stinking cute - and even more in their outfits.  Baby Owen also got to make his first appearance at school and all of the kids were super excited.

Along with the holiday comes our first four day weekend.  Luke and I were not sure if we were going to go anywhere but decided that we would regret it if we didn't.  So, we packed our bags (and Owen's) and headed to Lake Yajoa which is about three hours away.  The drive itself wasn't bad but because it was the holiday our three hour drive turned into more of a 4.5 hour adventure with different traffic stops along the way.  We did well and had a good sense of humor about it.  It also helped that Owen was a rock star and slept most of the way.

We ended up staying at the Hidden River Hotel which was nice but just had a weird vibe to it.  We were next to the brewery which was fun to go and try different kinds of beer.  After a couple samples, we went back to our signature rum and cokes and found that beer is still just not for us.  Our hotel had a nice pool and a great patio with some hammocks to hang out on and chill with baby O.

The lake was beautiful.  It was so nice to be around fresh water rather than just the Caribbean.  I know, I sound like a snob but sometimes a girl just needs a little fresh water!  We ended up taking a day trip to the famous falls in Honduras which is called Pulhapanzak Falls.  We had a great time and loved hiking around.  Luke actually took a separate trip and was able to hike behind the waterfall and had a great time.  Owen and I hung out at the top while different people continued to come and admire him.  He is getting a pretty big head (literally and figuratively).

We ended up cutting our trip short because Owen was not feeling well.  We were able to make it back at a decent hour and spent the next two days relaxing at home with the dogs.  You can't ask for anything better than that.

Overall, we had a fantastic holiday weekend and look forward to visiting the lake again.

Happy 3 Month Baby O!

I cannot believe that my baby boy is already 3 months old!  We have had lots of fun getting to know him and are loving everyday as he learns more and more things.

We went to the doctors and were told we have a healthy baby.  He is now 14.3 lbs. and growing.  He is really tall and can't fit in to the three month closed pants because he is too long for them.

He loves to be sung to which makes me believe that he is hard of hearing since neither Luke or myself are musically inclined.  :)

We also officially received Owen's passport and certificate of birth abroad.  Baby O is officially a registered American citizen which is a huge relief.  We bought our tickets home and are ready for Owen to meet all of our family and friends state side!

Here are some pictures to entertain you!

A New Start to a New Year

Well summer is over and it is the start of a new school year!  I am very excited about starting this new year with 30 new bright and smiling faces.

Last week I was able to get into the school and set up my classroom.  I was really excited because of Pinterest (aka teacher crack) and had a lot of really fun ideas for the classroom.  I had asked to have new tables ordered versus the old desks that we had last year.  The school also ordered me new chairs which were a lot nicer and really colorful.

Here are some photos around the room and soon it will be filled with more art from the kiddos.

Our carpet area

A view of the board from the back of the room

 Our supplies area/mailbox area

Our Flat Stanley board (so excited for it to get filled with his adventures)

Listening center

Computer center and some of the tables

The back wall which is now our calendar/math area

The back of the classroom

Our new behavior chart (thanks Pinterest)

Our classroom library - thanks for all the donations!

An example of our tables

As a last hurrah before school starts we flew out to Roatan to meet up with Jessica and David Horowitz to enjoy our last weekend of summer.  Tropical Storm Ernesto was in town and caused some really cool lightening strikes.  Luke was a champ and managed to snap a really great photo - even though he took about 2,000 total.

We took them to the two restaurants that everyone has to go to Roatan (Thai food and Gios).  Both were a huge success and Owen was a rock star.  His and aunt and uncle brought him some really cool shades that he rocked on the boat and I think we all appreciated how awesome he looked in them.

School is back and after meeting the kids I am so excited for this year!  I am transitioning from a mostly boy class to one that is mostly girls and I am going to be honest - it is much easier!  Although I have three new kiddos, I am super excited and love how nice all the kids in the class are to each other.  I still have to be a hard ass at the beginning of the year, but I am super excited for all of the fun things that I have planned for them!

Happy 4 years!

It is hard to believe that Luke and I have been married for 4 years.  We have had lots of adventures and been able to travel all over the world and now have a bouncing baby boy!  I can't believe in those four years we have been to 8 countries, lived in three, found jobs and have had our family grow.

Yaya and Bear were in town on the day so we had a baby sitter and were able to go to the movies and out to dinner.  We ended up seeing the new Johnny Depp movie and thought it was pretty good and went out for drinks afterward.

We also, in theme from last year decided to buy a table for ourselves as an anniversary present for one another.  We love it and are excited to add it to our collection!  :)

Martin Family Holiday

Since the arrival of Baby O we have been really lucky to have lots of visitors - and most recently, Yaya and Bear came down to visit.

We had a great time and spent the first half of their visit in La Ceiba.  Yaya and Bear had a great time with Owen and he had a lot of fun with them.  Owen's new favorite sleeping spot was on Bear's tummy and he let us know it.  :)  Yaya was also very excited about his red hair and had a lot of fun talking and reading to baby O.

After a couple nights in Ceiba - we headed to Roatan and had a great time exploring the island with Yaya and Bear.  Luke was able to convince them to go snorkeling and they handled it like a champ.  We also had a lot of fun just hanging out and drinking wine while looking at the tropical waters.  Not a bad life.

For my upcoming birthday, they were super sweet and bought Luke and I a package to swim with the dolphins.  We spent half and hour with a trainer and a dolphin and got to watch them do tricks and pet them.  Our dolphin's name was Bailey and was very playful.  It was fun to pet her and watch her swim around. 

The second half of the tour was snorkeling with about 20 dolphins in the enclosure.  It was really fun but the only thing that we wish we could have improved was the visibility.  You would swim around and them all the sudden have three dolphins underneath you.  It was amazing to see what powerful swimmers they are and cool to see them swim around with each other.  

Sadly, Yaya and Bear had to leave almost as soon as they got here but it was a great holiday!  We can't wait to see them at Christmas time!