Bryden Going to Pre-School

Well, we enrolled Bryden in Pre-School today!!! Yikes, that kind of scares us...well, me anyway. She is getting so big! We found an awesome place called Hanover Montessori, and we LOVE the teacher and we love the method of the Montessori teachings. We think Bryden will do really well there and will truly enjoy herself, her teachers and her classmates. It is a small school with only 12 children, which means lots of attention to each child. Montessori promotes independence and confidence in oneself and in learning. The children are given time to explore different stations at their own pace and are taught practical life skills, as well as having individual lesson time from the teacher. It is definitely different than your "typical" school, in that the teacher does not sit at the head of the class and preach to the children while they sit at their desks. The teacher works with individual children while the others are working on projects together (with another teacher overseeing) or working individually. So, we are really excited to see what Bryden brings home to tell us all about. She met with the teacher alone the other day, and has already picked up some new skills that she did at home right away. So fun!
We think this will also be a great transition when the baby comes. It will give the baby some undivided attention in the mornings and Bryden will be having fun at school, then Bryden will get her time in the afternoon, then family time in the evenings. Well, if all goes according to plan anyway!!!

Bryden Working Out

So, I put Bryden down for a nap today and told her I was going to take a shower and I'd come check on her in a few minutes. Well, while in the shower, I hear her hollering, so I tell her I'll be done in a minute...when I went to check on her, I hear her yelling "I'm working out" so I grab the camera, and this is what I walked into...

Swimming at Aunt Chandra's

Bryden, Nanne and I went down to visit Aunt Chandra and Uncle Murat in Virginia Beach yesterday and had a GREAT time playing in the pool! Bryden is getting to be such a great swimmer, we can't wait to watch her grow and continue with her love of the water. You go little fishy!

Bryden's New Room

Since we are having another little munchkin soon, we moved Bryden's room into our old office, so the baby room could stay a baby room. Bryden had no issues moving, especially since the walls are pink and she has horses on her bed. She was SOOOOO excited last night when she saw her room all made up with her new bedding. She kept saying "My horsey bed, My horsey bed". This morning, instead of the usual "Mommy, I want milk" holler when she wakes up, we got "Mommy, come lay in my horsey bed!" So funny! So, thanks Nanne and Grandpa for her early birthday present, she absolutely adores it.

Moving to VA

Well, we are all back in Mechanicsville, VA. We got back last night and unloaded the moving truck with the help of several neighbors (Thanks Guys!!!) and unpacked most of the stuff from the truck today, so the house looks presentable. Now it is just slowly unpacking ALL the boxes we put in the garage from the house that we packed up in case we were going to move. UGH! But, i am giving it a month to get it all done. No rush, just slowly picking at one box at a time.

It is REALLY nice to be back in our own home. I will try to take some pictures of Bryden's new room tomorrow and post them. I want to wait til I get her new bedding on tonight so you can all see the finished product...I am really pleased with how it turned out!

Check back soon!

Pregnancy - Almost 9 Weeks

We had our follow up pregnancy ultrasound today, and little Pip did not make it :o(. That was pretty much expected, though we were hoping for a better outcome. BUT, Kiwi is looking fabulous and right on track with where I am in my pregnancy and where he/she is supposed to be. Her (I am leaning toward it being a girl since I feel the exact same as I did with Bryden, though it is still early...we are indifferent either way, just so excited to have another baby joining the family!) heartbeat was very strong and healthy, and we saw her little nuggets of legs sticking out. We could see her moving quite a bit, an active little bugger...it was like she was jumping on a trampoline or something in her little fluid filled sac!

Anyway, we wanted to send out an update. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers sent our way, but we guess God just needed Pip for something else in this world! We cant wait to follow Kiwi's progress and keep everyone updated!

We will be 9 weeks tomorrow and we are due February 25, 2009!


Courtney and Jim

Kingsmill Marina

Nanne and Grandpa watched Bryden for us the couple days that we have been getting house work done. We went down to pick her up and went to dinner and the Marina. There were TONS of ducks out and we got some awesome pictures! Enjoy the pics!

Make a Smilebox photobook