Thanksgiving Program

I am waaaay behind on blogging and need to take the time to catch up with all the stuff that's happened in the past few months. But, I have to post this precious video of Bryan singing at his school's Thanksgiving Program. It's definitely priceless. (It's also 12 minutes long! ha!)

Quote of the Week

Bryan's teacher, Ms. Kay, told him to get ready for carpool. He said, "We gotta get our bathing suits!" :)

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. :)

Happy Day

happy day

Update on Marie Ange

So, I opened the mailbox today and found a letter from Marie Ange written on the 20th of February...just 8 days after the awful earthquake. I thought you might like to know what her cousin wrote for her.

"Happiness that is in Marie Ange's heart can't be measured. She feels glad to find this occasion that is so special to talk to you. How's your family? Marie Ange is very fine thanks to God, so his her family. She thanks you for the letter, thank you for giving much advice and lots of wishes to her. Thanks a lot for the gift of Christmas you sent her. With that money her mom bought a nice dress for her. She had nobody who died in the event that occurred, but her house has holes. She'll always pray for you so God blesses you. Help her to pray also because she'd like to become a great girl in order to be useful to her community and her church."

She went on to ask a few questions and sent me some good drawings. What a sweet family. I'm so thankful to know they are ok and all of their family is alive!!! Thanks for your prayers too!

Funny Sayings...

So I'm WAY behind on blogging, but wanted to make a list of some funny things Bryan has said lately. I don't want to forget. :)

If he sees someone friendly he might say, "I want to talk to that." while pointing at them.

When he hears a phone beep he says, "You got a tessage."

I pulled out the tape measure one day to do something and he said "See how tall is me." Then he followed that by saying "I'm getting REALLY bigger."

If he wants you to throw him a ball he'll say "Catch it to me."

Today in the car he was talking about Allison's new puppy Casey and how she's at her house with Sydney. I told him Sydney wasn't there anymore and she was in Heaven. Then I asked if he knew how else lives in Heaven. He said, "Yeah! Mr. Fredrickson!!" :) (that's the old man in the movie Up!)

Today, he also pointed to the freckle on his arm and said, "See my pickle." HA! I about cracked up.

Snow Day

That thing you do!

Untitled from Lana Walker on Vimeo.

Marie Ange

Matt and I sponsor a child through Compassion in Haiti. Her name is Marie Ange Benjamin and she is 5 years old. One of my favorite things is to open the mailbox and have a letter from her. Usually it's her grandmother or uncle writing it for her, but she always draws a picture for me.

I just got a letter last week and I can't help but wonder if that will be the last one. I got an email from Compassion yesterday saying they are working to locate her and will let me know as soon as they do. When I first heard of the earthquake hitting Haiti I immediately started to worry about Marie Ange and her family. I'm not exactly sure how far away they live from the capital, but I pray they were far enough away to avoid any harm.

I wanted to share with you one of the letters she wrote to us a few months back that brought me to tears. To think this sweet child wants to know more about me and how to pray for our family is humbling, to say the least. The letters are written in their language and then translated to English. That's why it may sound a little odd.

Here's what her sweet letter said:

This is a great pleasure for Marie Ange and her family to write to you any time it's possible. Much greeting to you in Jesus' name. Thanks a lot for your letter, your participation, and the Christmas gift you sent her. Her grandmother bought a beautiful pink dress for her with that money. Understand that God is using you to bless her. Know that God doesn't use people for nothing. May God in his grace accompany you in all that you'll do this year! May he always guide you on the right way because he says in Psalms 23 he's a good Shepard. Thanks for your love, your picture, and your beautiful smile. You are really a lovely family and the glory of the Lord is shining on your face. Bryan is a beautiful baby. She wishes that one day he will grow up into a big boy like his father, Matt. Thanks for everything! Do you have a sea in your neighborhood? (We sent a family picture of us at the beach.) Pray for her to keep on growing in the love of the Lord.

Her favorite animal is a hen. She likes almost all the birds and she likes to feed them. Her favorite colors are red, blue, and pink. She greets you and she takes advantage to ask you what you'd like Bryan to become so that she can help you pray.

I know many of us are tight on money, but there is one inexpensive way we can give. Text "Disaster" to 90999. This will add $10 to your cellphone bill next month and gives directly to Compassion to help in this time of need. If you'd like to give more, here's a link for you to Compassion's disaster relief fund.

Haiti, Our prayers are with you and especially with you, Marie Ange.

Joy to the World

Joy to the World from jamie baker on Vimeo.

test post via sms

Christmas Santa

What a difference two years makes!:)

Christmastime

Bryan calls Santa "Christmas Santa" and a snowman is "Christmas man!" Ornaments are called "Christmas balls." Sunday after church we asked him what he learned in Sunday school and he said, "Jesus was born! :)

This year is going to be a super fun at Christmas!

pumpkin patch visit

We had a wonderful time last weekend visiting the pumpkin patch with the Haefs and Fountains. We went to Old Baker Farm on a VERY cold morning. Bryan loved picking up the pumpkins and telling us how heavy they were. "This is sooo heavy." He also liked trying to drive the little tractors. All of the ones he found were on the side of the path for a reason...they didn't work! We all enjoyed the yummy kettle corn. It really was delicious. Hopefully we can make it a tradition to go there every year. So fun!

In the beginning...

in the beginning from jamie baker on Vimeo.

Help!

Ok blogger friends and family! I need your help. We are about to start putting together Bryan's big boy room and I cannot make up my mind on which theme to go with.

Here's his comforter:

I don't have any themed sheets or anything yet.

Here are my ideas for his walls:

These are some cool vinyl wall stick on things.




or



Those are the themes I've been thinking about. Which one is your favorite? I'm leaning in one direction, but I want to hear what y'all think!!! :)

How He Loves Us

check up

I should be blogging about our beach trip, but we haven't transferred the pictures over from the laptop. We did have a wonderful time and I'll try to tell you all about it this week.

Bryan had his 3 year check-up this morning. He weighs 36.2 lbs and is 38 1/2 inches tall. He's grown 2 inches and has gained 6 1/2lbs in a year. Amazing! Dr. Whitaker gave him a good check up, had him repeat words, checked his eyes, etc. All was well. He noticed that he does speak through his nose a little bit. We've noticed that too, but Dr. Whitaker wants us to go to a speech therapist to have him checked out. I figured it was something he would out grow, but who knows. :) He also did a vision test where they covered one eye and he had to say what picture he saw. His left eye was perfect, but the right wasn't so great. He missed 4 pictures. So we have to follow up with an eye doctor. (He also has a dentist appointment tomorrow.) On top of all that he had his MMR shot and flumist. I've put off the MMR due to all the controversy, but felt a little bit pressured about him having it today. I'm just praying for no harmful side effects...temporary or permanent. Will you join me? Thanks!!!

3 years old

Today Bryan is 3! That is so hard to believe! We've already had a couple of family celebrations so I think we will take it easy today and celebrate as our small family of three. He's already gotten all of his big birthday gifts, but he has a couple of new puzzles I can wrap up for him to open. His big present from us is a new big boy room. We will set that up after we get home from our beach vacation.

I asked him last night what he wanted to do for his birthday and he answered he wants to go to "Target popcorn." That's his way of saying he wants to go to Target to get popcorn! :) So, I think we will do that after he eats waffles for breakfast. His favorite thing to eat out is Mexican, but the only thing he eats there is chips and salsa, but I have a feeling that's what he'll want for supper. (We just had Mexican Saturday night. haha! Maybe I'll just get him some "chips and dip dip" for lunch. I love Mexican whenever. Matt won't want it again.)

It's crazy to think that 3 years ago this morning I didn't even know Bryan. Now I know him as a very silly, yet strong opinionated little boy. He LOVES to laugh and to make people laugh. I love that quality about him. Some other things he loves are his guitar, music of all kinds, Guitar Hero, jumping on the bed, chips & dip dip (of course), m&m's, Kashi cereal that he calls "kind cheerios", grapes, cheetos, "Hosanna" and "Better is One Day", tobyMac, Max & Ruby, Simba (Simma, as he calls her), Imagination Movers, Tom & Jerry, taking a bath, sleeping!, Miss Amy at church, and puzzles. Just to name a few. :)

He's learned to be scared of things. He'll say he's "very scary" and start shaking all over. One thing he repeats is that he's very "scary" of the robot. I asked him what robot? He said, "the robot in the wall." haha! Not sure where he came up with that. He's also scared of bugs. He likes to tell you where one is and then shout, "Can you GET it?" Some other funny Bryan quotes are "Can you make it too loud?", "sure is!", "where are my binoculators?" If you ask him when his birthday is he replies, "3 in Au-gest for your birthday." haha

Bryan, I am so proud of you. Everyday you get smarter! I love to watch you figure things out on your own. Most of the time you can, but if not, you grunt and we help you. haha You say please and thank you a lot without us telling you that you need to. You say yeah, but it sounds like no so we are working on saying Yes plain and clear. Some days are long and hard and I'm ready to see bed time come, but others I miss you lots after you go to bed. I can't wait to see what year 3 has in store. I pray God will help me teach you more about Him! After all, that's why we are here. I want you to love Jesus with all your heart and not be afraid to talk about him to your little friends. One day I was telling you that God made your nose and God made your eyes and just went on and on. You sat spellbound. Then the next day I told you how God made mommy, daddy, etc. You sat spellbound again. Another day I told you about how God loves you, mommy, daddy, etc. and you listened to every word. I pray that every time we talk about Jesus you are enthralled. I can't wait until you start asking biblical questions. I have a feeling you will have a lot of them. :)

I love you so much big boy! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!
Mommy

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

August In Review

There have only been 16 days this month, but they have been jammed packed full of fun! On top of that, I applied for a job at James Avery on Friday. Monday they called to set up for an interview on Tuesday and hired me Wednesday. I offically started yesterday (Saturday) and was thrown to the wolves. haha! Not really, but the store just opened on Friday and when I got there at noon yesterday the store was packed out. I kind of like learning that way though. Today was slower so I got to learn more about the computer system. I hope this job will work out for a while to make some extra money for us on the side, but not mess with me being a momma! That comes first.

The first weekend of August we went down to Albany to celebrate Bryan's birthday with our family there. We had a Lightening McQueen birthday party. We had a great time swimming, eating, and opening up new treasures. (Can you believe how big Grant is!?!?)



The week following we had a play date with our cousins that live here. We went to the McWane Science Center. We had never been before. I think B really had a great time. He loves his cousins too :)

Last week we drove down to my parents house. ML had a few days off so she and A hopped in the car (for 7 hours!!) and drove to see us. We celebrated Bryan's, Dad's, and my birthdays together. I love sharing my birthday with them. :) One of Bryan's favorite places is Monkey Joe's so we had to take them there. They had a great time together. Every time A & B get to be together they play better and better. One night they were dancing to a music DVD when A stopped and said, "I love you Bryan!" That's the BEST!!! Bryan tried and tried to tell Allison what to do, but she just ignored him. It was hilarious.


Another post is coming in the morning. It's the big 3 year old birthday!! :)