Preschool 2009 - 2010

Today was Brenden's first day of preschool for the 2009-2010 school year!

He definitely had mixed emotions about going back to school this year which was very funny to us! He was excited about going to school again, but unsure about missing out on time with Nana and Papa. He said he was happy about getting to see some of his old friends but confused about getting a new teacher. He could not wait to wear his new backpack but was not thrilled AT ALL about putting on tennis shoes! We realized that it was actually very exciting to see him battle all of these different feelings and emotions because that means that our little boy is getting older and is starting to truly process what is happening to him everyday!

He woke up extremely early (go figure) but was happy and ready for his special day. He was also ready to take some pictures in his new outfit and with his new backpack on.

After the photo session at home, he went to Nana and Papa's house for a little while while Mommy ran into work for a meeting. At 8:45 Mommy, Nana, Hailey, and Brenden headed up to Aldersgate to take a few additional pictures. He was so excited to stand beside his cousin and hug on her...Hailey on the other hand, not so excited! ;)

Brenden was about to burst because he was so excited and ready to enter into the school. Once we got inside he was Mr. Independent eager to walk to his class and see his teachers. He walked ahead and went straight to his classroom without any reminders. He loved seeing his picture and name on the wall outside of the classroom and ran right into the room to start playing. After a quick hug and kiss, he was off playing and waving bye from across the room. It was a very different drop-off, but growing up and gaining independence is what every Mommy and Daddy wants for their child, so we're excited about the "Big Boy" drop-off today!

When Daddy went to pick Brenden up from school, his teachers were eager to report that he had a GREAT day! They were pleased with how well he did and he was in an extremely chipper mood! After a quick picture with his Best Buddy, Avery, he was ready to head out with Daddy! Still smiling from ear to ear and telling lots of great stories about the events throughout the morning.

At dinner tonight we talked about Brenden's first day and we're still excited about how well things went! Bug has nothing but great things to say about school (so far) and he didn't seem to mind his tennis shoes much at all. :) We're very proud of him and the growth that he has made over the past year. More than that, we're just VERY happy and blessed that we get to see this face at the end of each day at our house....school or no school....

So, we know that all of you know that Bryleigh is 1. We also know that all of you realize that she is SUPER adorable. But, we wanted to give you a peak at some of her 1 year pictures because not only do they show off that she is 1, they also show how unbelievable adorable she is! :)

(Please note how it looks like she's pointing out the 1 to all of us!) ;)

We hope you enjoyed the sample and we'll post more after MawMaw sees them this weekend!

Fall Soccer

It's hard to believe, but Brenden had his first soccer practice for the fall season on Monday night. He did a great job at the practice of dribbling the ball, shooting some great "goals", and picking some beautiful yellow flowers for Mommy! We're so proud of our soccer champ in training! ;)

(Due to our chaotic life, we just noticed that the we had created a post updating everyone on Bryleigh after turning one, but never hit "post". Sorry for our delay....)

We are still in shock and awe that our baby girl has turned 1! It is truly hard for us to believe that a year ago Brooke was at work trying to pretend that everything was normal and then almost 24 hours later, our Tinkerbell made her appearance. She scared us tremendously when she decided to join us a month earlier than planned, but she was a strong girl and was perfection to us from day 1!

In our eyes, not much has changed. Bryleigh is still amazingly strong and the most perfect girl that we've ever had! ;) We worried that her early arrival could be an indicator that she might be a little impatient and so far, we think that might be true. She definitely knows what she wants and typically she wants it immediately! :) However, we still feel amazingly blessed and overwhelmed by how much God loves us. We never expected such an amazing gift from Him and we know that we don't come close to deserving her. We're so thankful that He picked us as her Mommy and Daddy.

She is such a happy girl and loves nothing more than to socialize with everyone around her. She is constantly waving to people that pass by her and "HI" is still one of her favorite things to yell when we're out and about. She absolutely loves playing beside her big brother and Brenden is still doing amazingly well taking care of her. They play cars, throw balls back and forth, and enjoy their Little People daily. We think that she is definitely calling Brenden's name, well actually his nickname, "Bug". Occasionally is sounds like "Bubba" but we think that she learned it from hearing us call him Bug all the time. She is also saying "mama", "dada", "papa", and "bye bye". She is signing more, finished, and drink. Brenden has taught her how to hold her hands up when he says "SOOO big" and she has just recently started folding her hands when we pray. She is still cruising around the house but she definitely prefers to crawl for longer distances. She is pulling up A LOT and has started walking while holding on to her toy shopping cart or our hands. We are really not encouraging her to walk though because we know everything will change then. However, we're definitely proud of all that she is learning and doing everyday and we strive to do all that we can to help her along the way.

Her 1 year physical went extremely well for her but was very difficult on Mommy. She had to get 3 shots and a finger prick which broke Mommy's heart. It was amazing how brave she was and how she didn't even cry until the 3rd shot. She's definitely a trooper and can tolerate pain well (maybe that's because of Brenden teaching her how to be tough). ;) The doctor was pleased with all of her developmental progress since he could observe most of it as he was questioning me. She was so busy during the visit with wanting to get down, trying to get him to say hey, and pointing to what she wanted that he was able to see most of what he was looking for.

For her stats.......She is now 17 lbs and 9.5 oz!

(YES, she is still extremely petite!)

She was 28 3/8 inches long and 44 cm was her head circumference.

This means that she is in the 10% for weight and 25% with length and head circumference.

It is so exciting to watch Bryleigh as she grows and changes each month/day/week. It is very hard to watch her get older and brings tears to our eyes regularly, but as parents we strive for our children to be the best that they can be. We want them to grow, experience life, enjoy things around them, and witness the miracles that surround them daily...we wish all of this and more for her. More than that though, our prayer is that everything good about her never changes so that as she grows up all of the people that meet her get to witness her amazing personality first-hand!

Bryleigh - 1 year old

Finally...We're able to post some pictures of Bryleigh's first birthday!

(Sorry for the delay!)

(Above are some pictures of our birthday girl on the morning of her 1st birthday!)

Bryleigh turned 1 last Saturday which was the most shocking thing for us. We just can't believe that it has been a whole year since she joined our family. We will update you on her 1 year stats later. For now, here are some great pictures from her birthday celebrations.

On Saturday morning we had a little celebration at our church. Bryleigh had a cupcake theme party so she wore an adorable cupcake shirt for most of the day. Daddy also made her a personal giant cupcake while the rest of the kids had smaller cupcakes to enjoy. Nana made her a great birthday banner out of fabric that we can reuse each year. :)

(Above is the party all set-up and ready to go.)

We invited some special friends and family members to join us as we had some yummy hot dogs, chips, fruit, and pasta salad! When the guests arrived Bryleigh changed into her birthday outfit - her "1" t-shirt that Mommy made with her perfectly pink tu-tu! She definitely looked adorable for her party! She spent a majority of the party crawling around, socializing with her family, and of course eating...she loves to eat!

(Above are a pictures of the events at the party...including the kid splashing outside in the 2 different pools.)

After about an hour of eating and playing we decided to attempt cake time....Daddy and Brenden were such a big help to Bryleigh. She had been practicing "blowing" out the candle for awhile now and had gotten pretty good but the boys were a little to eager to wait for her to blow the candle out herself! ;) She obviously didn't mind as you can see from the picture!

Finally, it was time for Bryleigh to dive into her personal cake. We were amazed with how dainty she was as she explored the cake and icing. She was a little reserved but then finally got a little brave and would occasionally taste it all. It was funny to watch her response to the cake as we all still remember Brenden covered head-to-toe with orange icing at his first party! :) However, there was one thing that was similar between the two....both of them broke out in a pretty bad rash at their first party from the cake icing...NICE!

The party was a huge success and we're very appreciative for all that came to celebrate such an amazing day and such a GREAT little girl. Afterwards, we went home for a long nap and then headed out to Fat Daddy's with most of the Baber group for a dinner celebration. Bryleigh loved hanging out with the family and being the center of attention. More than that though, she LOVED opening her presents and exploring her new toys! :) 1 year old and spoiled already!

It was definitely a great day and we can't really imagine it going any better! We know that she will not remember her 1st party, but it was definitely a memorable day for us that we're still thinking about with a smile on our face even at this time! We are truly BLESSED!!!!