An exciting update to an earlier post!

Okay, so the earlier post was a long time ago last year, but still, those of you who've been reading this blog a while, you'll remember! I had been going back and forth about whether or not to send Amelia to Kindergarten in the fall (in Michigan, you have to be 5 by December 1st). Bryan and I had reached the decision that we'd wait a year since she'd be one of the youngest in her class, and we'd keep sending her to preschool (Pre-K) like we've been doing this year, but instead of sending her three days a week we'd send her every day, for a half-day. We were both happy with this situation (although the monthly cost would be substantially higher, not happy), and then....

...my friend Michelle told me that she'd been to the Kindergarten Roundup (for parents of incoming kindergarteners) for our local district and they were very excited about a new program they're starting up this fall: Early K! Basically, it's a program designed specifically for kids who turn 5 close to the kindergarten cutoff date (between July 1 and December 1). You "commit" to the program for two years; the first year, your child goes every day, for a half day, and the next year, your child's classmates and teacher "loop" (stay together) and go up to full-day kindergarten. The teachers can adapt the curriculum to provide extra help or more challenging material, based on the needs of the individual kids. Michelle knew our dilemma with kindergarten next year, and thought of me!

I am SO glad about this program! I immediately contacted the school for more information and spoke to the principal (who is very nice) and got Amelia set up for an appointment to register. Yay! So now Amelia will technically be going to Kindergarten, but it's a much better situation, and we'll basically be getting the same (actually a little better) thing we would've been getting at TBDC (Amelia's current school)...but for FREE!!! When I went by the school to pick up the information packet, Amelia went with me, and she was SO excited to see the new school (especially the playground). Every day since she's been saying "I'm a big girl and I get to go to Kindergarten soon!" We can't wait to hear more about this new deveopment and we'll give updates as we know them. I love it when things work out!

A Big Day

Andrew turned one year old yesterday. I can hardly believe it! He is walking everywhere, getting into everything, cutting teeth, babbling up a storm, playing peek-a-boo, and keeping us entertained. Here is a "year in review" slideshow for you. Most of the pictures will be ones you've already seen if you follow the blog, but it's interesting to look at them in succesion.

Aha!

We were finally able to get a video of Andrew walking. Enjoy!

11 months

I realize it's a bit late to be saying "happy new year," so happy 2009! Since I last blogged, we had a wonderful Christmas with family, got about 12 inches of snow (not all at once, but that's how much is on the ground now), Andrew took his first steps, I turned 30, had dear friends visit from out of town, we got a new president, and Andrew turned 11 months old. That's a lot, if you ask me!

Andrew has never been in the snow, so I decided for his 11 month picture I'd put him in a snowsuit, take him outside and see what happened. He was less than thrilled, although I suspect most of that was due to the fact that he couldn't move with all that padding (think: kid from the move "Christmas Story" and see picture below). I haven't been able to catch Andrew walking on camera, and he really only does it a couple steps at a time (and that only when he doesn't realize he's doing it), so I thought some of him standing up would substitute fine. Thus the assortment of 11 month pictures below. Enjoy, and I hope your 2009 has started out wonderfully!

10 months and Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas week! Andrew turned 10 months old last week amid what I thought was a bad cold and turned out to be bronchiolitis and an ear infection. He is on medication and doing much better now, bless his heart, but please keep him in your prayers. Many blessings to you and yours this season! I'm thankful for each of you!

Our extra traveler: a pesky winter storm.

two inches of ice on the rearview mirrors......on the hood...and the sheet of ice that came off our roof!

We finally got home yesterday from a great trip to Arkansas. What was supposed to be a relatively short, uncomplicated trip became longer and a little tricky when a major winter storm decided to hang directly over our travel route! So instead of us going part of the way back on Monday night and the rest of the way Tuesday (putting us home Tuesday afternoon), we went part of the way Monday night, part of the way Tuesday, and the rest of the way Wednesday morning, putting us home Wednesday afternoon. We are very thankful to be home safely! Most of the way on Tuesday we had about two inches of ice covering our car (see pictures below). At one point on Tuesday night Bryan had to pull over and chip the ice off the headlights because we couldn't see! Bryan and I have a joke that every year we inevitably have one trip that is just awful (trust me, it's happened for like five years in a row), and this year we hadn't had it yet so we had to squeeze it in before 2009! HA! Anyway, like I said we are very glad to be home safe and sound. Thanks to those of you who prayed for safe travel for us!

We did have a great visit in Arkansas. Check out my slideshow below for a review!

Why we love Amelia--a select few reasons :-)

Amelia does "ta-da!" from her gymnastics class

Amelia never fails to entertain us. I often wonder to Bryan, "what did we laugh at before we had Amelia?" She always has something funny to say or an interesting perspective to share. Here are a few of her latest funnies, and a link to a great video.

1. At church we have a Children's Worship time during the sermon; it typically comes after the communion and offering. I usually give Amelia a dollar to put in the offering plate. Yesterday the plate went around faster than I realized and by the time it got to us, I hadn't given the dollar to Amelia yet, so I just put it in along with my check. Upset, she folded her arms and grumbled. Then came this exchange.

Amelia: "Now I can't go."
Me:"You can't go where?"
Amelia: "To Children's Worship."
Me: "Why not?"
Amelia: "Because I didn't put my dollars in."
Me: "Well Honey, you don't have to pay to go; you can still go."
Amelia: "Oh."

2. The other day I was on the computer, Bryan was working, and Andrew was down for a nap. Amelia really wanted someone to play with her. After telling her several times that I'd play with her as soon as I finished what I was doing, she said "but if no one plays with me, I won't be beautiful anymore." Not sure what that means, but at least she has self-confidence!

3. At school one day Amelia drew a picture of her family. As she was showing it to me I noticed there were only three people in it. She identified them as Mommy, Daddy and Amelia. I said, "where's Andrew and Fletcher?" To which she replied, "they're taking a nap." She certainly knows what goes on at our house!

4. Usually when I make dinner, Bryan does dishes. Last week, though, Bryan was putting up a new ceiling fan in our bedroom and wanted to get it done right away, so he went to work on it right after we ate. As I was about to start clearing the table and putting things away, Bryan called me into the room to help him. I'd been in there for several minutes when I heard Amelia humming to herself and heard water running. I peeked around the corner and saw that Amelia had gotten her stool out of the bathroom and, without being asked at all, had taken all our dishes to the sink, rinsed them off, and was putting them into the dishwasher. She'd also put away most of the food we had out (including the salt and pepper shakers, which were in the fridge--but hey, she was helping!!). I took this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXhY-_kiIko, most of it before she saw me. But it was so sweet that she wanted to help and did it all on her own, and we were so proud of her. She is such a great girl!