First Day of Preschool!

Today was Bryan's official first day of pre-school. We had open house last night and got to meet his teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth. She seems very nice and had things very organized in his room. His classroom theme is "Faithful Fish" and she had their names written on fish in several different places. She said their seat will change after this week so they can start to recognize their names before kindergarten. Of course Bryan spotted his right away. Glad to know he's a little ahead in that area. :)

We left the house a few minutes early and got there in plenty of time to sign Bryan in. On the way in all he said was, "You'll come back to get me." Oh yes, buddy! I'll come back to get you. :) Lots of moms (and some dads) were waiting for the hallway doors to open. Bryan was very quiet and took it all in. He's always been super observant and today was no different. We walked right to his classroom, hung up his lunchbox and "pack pack" and he lined up outside in the hall with his other classmates. I gave him a hug and kiss and went on my way. No tears from either of us. I'll save those for next year.



I was thankful to go to the grocery store alone this morning. I didn't get a whole lot done after that, but it was nice to have some time to myself. I (and Simba) went back to get B about 12:25 and he was playing hard in his room. He was happy to see me, but then said "I had fun at school!" I am SO thankful for that. Anything else I ask him he responds with, "I don't know." HA! He did tell me a boy pushed the school and hurt his hand. I have no idea what that means. He also told me Mrs. Elizabeth said, "Shhhhhh!" and "Line up!" Hope those weren't directed at him. hahaha! His folder that comes home with him each day had a smiley face for behavior. Yay! I'm so glad he had a good first day. Hopefully he will feel like going back on Thursday. :)

hair cut

Sug was here for a few fun days! :) We celebrated her birthday Wednesday night. Thursday we went to one of her favorite stores, Walton's Cabin, and then to get Bryan his first salon haircut. Granna usually cuts it, but we haven't seen her in a while and his hair was getting scraggly. We went to Sports Clips, which is a place just for men and boys. I figured they would know what they are doing. :) Bryan got paired with a really sweet girl who cut hair faster than anyone I've ever seen. I guess she knows how wiggly a 2 year old can be. Bryan did GREAT! He loved staring at himself in the mirror. When it was time to shave his neck with the clippers he couldn't stand it. He is SO ticklish!!!





He got a sucker from the hairdresser and some special treats from Sug at Target for doing so good. :) He's getting so big!

Happy First Birthday Grant!

We love you!

First Giveaway

I've always wanted to do a giveaway and now I have the perfect thing!

I read Vicki Courtney's blog one day last week and saw that she had started doing the 30 Day Shred. I had ordered this video before Christmas and had never tried it. This post of hers had me motivated. I have now done 5 days worth. (I did not do 5 days in a row, but mostly every other day.) The first day is killer! I am not going to lie. But something about Jillian's video makes you want to keep trying it. The logo says "Lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days." Now, I don't want to lose 20 pounds, but my goal is to do this 30 times and see how my body changes. After just five times, I can do more push-ups and squats than the first time.

So, if you have weight to lose and/or just want to tone up, this is for you! All you have to do to win your own copy is leave a comment and a way to contact you (email/blog address). Deadline to enter is Sunday, May 3rd. I'll announce the winner Monday morning.

P.S. This post of BooMama's and this one of Big Mama's makes me laugh out loud.

First Egg Hunt

Untitled from jamie baker on Vimeo.

Firsts

Bryan had his first dentist appointment today. His teeth look great! No complaints from the dentist. And, to my surprise, he did not shed one tear. In fact, he loved it there! :) His favorite thing was the water and suction. The hygienist let him hold the suction and he was in heaven. haha!

Yesterday was another first for Bryan. His first snow! We enjoyed it so much. It was too cold and windy to play in it long, but it was so gorgeous to watch fall from the sky. It snowed from about 3AM until 12PM. If the ground would have been colder we could have had a lot more than we did, but we are thankful for what we got!


(more pictures in our webalbum. link to the right.)

Did you get any snow?

Kentucky

Our car has been having air conditioner troubles for almost 2 years. We've had several people look at it and have already spent almost $1,000 on repairs. Last week we were told the condenser was leaking and would need to be replaced. Before we spent another $1,100 dollars we wanted to see what my uncle, Big Daddy Bill, thought about it. So I decided to make a spur of the moment trip to Kentucky. Mom went along with me and Bryan. We also had another passenger....Margo! Margo and Bryan had a great time together. They really kept each other entertained and played well together for 2 two year olds :)

We arrived Tuesday night in time for bed. Wednesday we stayed inside all day and played, with the exception of going to eat Roy's BBQ. (it's the best!) Thursday we went to Bowling Green to Chaney's Diary Farm. There we had wonderful sandwiches for lunch and ice cream for dessert. They make everything right there at the diary. After lunch we took Margo and Bryan over to see their baby cows, goats, and rabbits. That afternoon they took very long naps and in the evening played hard outside. (you'll see Bryan's sweaty head in the pictures) We left to come home this morning and wish we were still there.

Here are our pictures!

Merry-go-round

First I wanted to say that all of your comments on the previous post were so sweet and encouraging. Thank you!

Granna came to visit us for a couple of days. We had a great time exploring, eating, and visiting. One unexpected thing we did was stop at the Galleria. It was a really cool place with lots of stores that I've never even heard of. (I think we lived in a small town for too long. haha) We stopped to let Bryan watch the merry-go-round and every time the frog came around he said "Frog!" Mom and I decided to let him ride and he was so excited to sit on the frog. :) Once the music started and the frog went up, he was a little scared. He would say, "down" one second and "fun" the next. I guess it really was fun because we had to pick him up off the floor to get him back in the stroller.



The last couple of days he has been fighting a fever. We took him to the doctor this morning and he said it looked like a fever virus. He woke up from his nap this afternoon soaking wet. I'm praying that's the end of the fever! :)

4th of July

Now that we live in Alabama we can buy fireworks legally. I just went by a trailer set up in the Wal-Mart parking lot and purchased our first ones as a family! I can't wait to shoot them off.

Tonight our neighborhood is hosting fireworks for our little city. I'm excited to see the show. Matt and I are hoping we'll be able to see them from our house and not have to fight the crowd.

What are your plans for the 4th?

Monkey

Guess what Bryan did today?!

Well, let me start by saying he LOVES playing with the books in his room. He can sit on the floor for 15 to 20 minutes by himself which is wonderful for me so I can get something done. Well, this morning I left him to check my email. After a few minutes I heard him grunting like he does when he's stuck or wants something he can't get to. After I walked to his room I was looking in the direction of the bookshelf thinking he would be on the floor, but NO! He was SITTING IN THE GLIDER! I WISH I would have had a camera with me. He pulled the bottom cushion off so he could climb on it to get in the rocker. He is definitely a monkey!

It was really really cute and funny! He still hasn't mastered how to get off of the furniture. We need to work a little harder with him on that! :)

2 hours...

In 2 hours our little boy will be one year old! I can't believe it! On this night last year I was getting ready for bed knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep much because I was so excited, nervous, and anxious for the next morning to arrive! (It also didn't help that we had to get up at 4:30am!) Like every new parent, we had no idea what to expect with labor and delivery. Then we had no idea how one little person could turn our worlds upside down...in a marvelous way! :) There is nothing in this world that I would trade for the 2-3 hour periods of sleep before waking or the poopy messes or spit up all over his shirt and mine.

Now we are on to bigger and better things like training and discipline...including spankings (yikes) and breaking his heart when we take him away from things he REALLY wants but can't get in to...like the dog food! :) But I am looking forward to it all because I know that these times are precious and fleeting. If one year goes as quickly as this one has then he'll be starting school soon. I'm going to hold on to him every second he will let me, and kiss him as much as possible because I know there will be a day that I will not be allowed!

Bryan, your name means Noble, Strong, Virtuous. Joel means "the Lord is God." I pray that you will grow into the meaning of your name and always remember that the Lord is God and there is no other! We dedicated you to the Lord even before you were born, but participated in our church service dedication when you were 3 months old. These are the scriptures that were chosen by God (and us) for you. This is our prayer:

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9


I love you, little man, and pray daily for you to come to know Jesus as your Savior at an early age and live your life sold out to Him! This truly is the only important decision you will ever make!

Can't wait for this next year!
Mommy

Allison's 1st Birthday Party

Allison Drew turns 1 this Friday, the 29th! That is so hard to believe! ML and Nate had her party today at the Riverquarium, here in Albany. We all toured the place and then watched Allison dig in to her yummy cake! :) She was precious rubbing her fingers in the icing. She finally learned to pick it up and squish it between her fingers.

In a little less than 2 months we'll be doing this with Bryan! My, how time flies!

St. George Island Day 2

Bryan LOVES the ocean! He got in the water for a while today and loved it. We bought him a cute little crab float (hopefully I'll get a pic of that soon) that has a hood over it. He floated in the waves for a long time and laughed when the water hit his face.

Bryan has learned to climb the stairs at our beach house this week! He actually just took off like he had climbed stairs his whole 9 months of life! :)

This is how a baby looks after a full day at the beach! He wasn't actually down at the beach for long, but it sure wore him out!

Greetings from the Beach!!!

We're just settling down now for our first night at St. George Island in Florida. We've had a LONG day! We went to see Wes Shiver and Sarah Salter get married this morning at 11, and then it was pack, travel, arrive, unload, and introduce the little boy to some sand,
and some water!

Starting to Pull Up

Bryan has mastered scooting and is now trying to learn the art of pulling up! He gets about this far and isn't sure what else to do. We've stood him up all the way a few times and he doesn't realize that he has to hold on! HA! Stay tuned because I'm sure it won't be long and he'll be cruising around the furniture!

Another quick update: He has a top tooth coming in and another on the way. Funny thing is that it's not the 2 front teeth! It's the ones beside them!

New Face

Bryan has started scrunching up his nose when he smiles sometimes. He also does it when he's frustrated along with a huffing and puffing noise! He cracks us up!

Hallelujah!

Guess who slept through the night last night?!!?!??! YES--I did! hahaha! :) No, Bryan and I both did! Usually when I hear him wake up I get up and look at the clock on my way out of the room. I seriously did a double take when I saw the clock reading 5:26!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He ate and then slept until 9:20! After 8 months of not sleeping I feel wonderful. I'm sure Bryan does too! :)

Fun Trip to the Farm

Sug and Pops have a farm in Webster County. We loaded up the car Friday and traveled up there for a fun and relaxing weekend. Matt and Sug spent Saturday morning fishing while I, Aunt Lou Lou, and Sug fished that afternoon. All together we had 45 fish. (mostly brim)


While there Bryan learned how to sit up all by himself! He's also creeping very well. I'd say in about 2 weeks he'll be a pro at crawling! I see baby proofing in our very near future.


Today (Sunday) we went to Sherwood Baptist Church to hear Kirk Cameron speak on "The Way of the Master" evangelism. AWESOME!!! He is STILL so cute but most importantly has such a huge heart for God and a passion for the lost.

Cheerios2

Here's his face while gumming down a Cheerio. He wasn't too sure about it, but he got a few down and didn't manage to choke himself, which is always a bonus. :)

Cheerios

Bryan got his first taste of Cheerios today, and we're not sure if he liked it or not...