Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Isn't he handsome?
John is starting to give some sweet, sweet smiles. He is winning my heart all over again. Love you, Johnny!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Preschool Graduation
June 7th was Spencer's preschool graduation. We attended the ceremony as a family. We're so proud of our graduate!
Here is a photo of the graduating class.
And the graduate himself: a 5-year-old in full regalia.
As we pulled out of our street, Emma pointed to a book that we have entitled "It's Graduation Day!" In the book, a big brother graduates, and the little sister insists that she needs a hat too. The brother finds her some bunny ears to wear. Emma was holding the book and said, "Let me read you the instructions," which indicated she, too, needed to wear bunny ears if she was going to fulfill her role in the day. We did a quick U-turn to comply with the request since we had some extra time and since she was modeling a fantastic reading strategy. What a great text-to-self connection!
Here's a picture of the pages Emma showed us.
Here's our Emma, making the story come to life.
We were very fortunate to have a carpool of GREAT kids from our ward. Here they are, all dressed up for the big day.
Mrs. Corwine was the lead teacher. She had classes of "student teachers" (high school students) that she mentored as they planned lessons and activities for the preschoolers. Spencer really came to love Mrs. Corwine; I did too. She is a fantastic educator.
Here is Allie, one of Spencer's favorite student teachers. He talked her into many a private drawing session through the course of the year. Thank you, Allie, for drawing Easter eggs, cars, airplanes, and boats upon request. We definitely see why Spencer liked preschool with so many cute student teachers to hang out with.
Finally, here is Spencer with his buddy Luke on their first day of preschool.
This photo is of them on graduation day.
The photo can hardly do justice to the amount of growth these boys have had through the course of the year. They entered the preschool door the first day clutching hands, a bit anxious about what they were getting themselves into. By the end of the year, the darted forward along the sidewalk on the way to school. I was hard pressed to keep up with them. Spencer has become a more independent, confident kid. He has shown some definite math smarts and can decipher many words. I know he will be hugely successful in kindergarten; he's ready for it. The question is...am I ready for my little boy to be in kindergarten? The time is passing all too quickly...
Here is a photo of the graduating class.
And the graduate himself: a 5-year-old in full regalia.
As we pulled out of our street, Emma pointed to a book that we have entitled "It's Graduation Day!" In the book, a big brother graduates, and the little sister insists that she needs a hat too. The brother finds her some bunny ears to wear. Emma was holding the book and said, "Let me read you the instructions," which indicated she, too, needed to wear bunny ears if she was going to fulfill her role in the day. We did a quick U-turn to comply with the request since we had some extra time and since she was modeling a fantastic reading strategy. What a great text-to-self connection!
Here's a picture of the pages Emma showed us.
Here's our Emma, making the story come to life.
We were very fortunate to have a carpool of GREAT kids from our ward. Here they are, all dressed up for the big day.
Mrs. Corwine was the lead teacher. She had classes of "student teachers" (high school students) that she mentored as they planned lessons and activities for the preschoolers. Spencer really came to love Mrs. Corwine; I did too. She is a fantastic educator.
Here is Allie, one of Spencer's favorite student teachers. He talked her into many a private drawing session through the course of the year. Thank you, Allie, for drawing Easter eggs, cars, airplanes, and boats upon request. We definitely see why Spencer liked preschool with so many cute student teachers to hang out with.
Finally, here is Spencer with his buddy Luke on their first day of preschool.
This photo is of them on graduation day.
The photo can hardly do justice to the amount of growth these boys have had through the course of the year. They entered the preschool door the first day clutching hands, a bit anxious about what they were getting themselves into. By the end of the year, the darted forward along the sidewalk on the way to school. I was hard pressed to keep up with them. Spencer has become a more independent, confident kid. He has shown some definite math smarts and can decipher many words. I know he will be hugely successful in kindergarten; he's ready for it. The question is...am I ready for my little boy to be in kindergarten? The time is passing all too quickly...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Photo Shoot!
Okay VA folk...my sister-in-law is coming to town. At least, she is coming if she gets bookings for 12 photo shoots to help bankroll the trip. So, if it's been a while since your last family portrait, go to this link to see her stuff and book a session.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
What's in a name?
For the first hour of John's life, we lovingly referred to him as "sweet boy" and "handsome." After months of discussion and a long list of ideas, we still had not settled on a name. We always like to see baby before proclaiming any name choices, but we were far from a deciding point this time around. With Spencer, we had a top four that we took with us to the hospital, but Spencer was the clear favorite...and he definitely looked the part. With Emma, well...it's a good thing she makes such a cute Emma because I have loved that name for a LONG time and was somewhat distraught when I found out Adam has a cousin named Emma. We used the name anyway. :0) With this little man, it was much more difficult. We went through the usual procedures of combing the baby name websites and genealogy - even asking friends for suggestions via facebook. This resulted in a respectable, even hearty list. We wrote out combinations for first and middle, but it was not until the excitement of labor was over and we got to spend a little alone time with our sweet baby that we settled on his name: John Barnard Wride.
Adam has been fairly constant in his desire to name this baby John; I was undecided, swimming in the sea of options before us. I did find several Johns in my McDonald and Bezzant family lines, so that was a genealogical win. In the hour after baby John's birth, we had our final discussions about his name and discarded all other first name options, alternating between John Porter Wride and John Barnard Wride. In the end, we selected John Barnard to help carry on the Barnard line and because that is also Adam's middle name (his mother's maiden name).
Our choice was quickly confirmed when we discovered that John Porter Barnard, one of Adam's ancestors, was one of the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Here is little bit about him (from an e-mail Aunt Shauna sent shortly after we announced John's birth):
"On the 6th of April 1830 in Seneca County, New York, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized with only 6 members. It grew rapidly as missionaries were sent out to take the Gospel message to all who would listen. John Porter Barnard and his wife Eliza Ann were among the few in their neighborhood who believed the story. They received a testimony of the truthfulness of His gospel and in 1837 they became members of the church.
"Through the coming years their faith grew stronger and they were able to endure the persecutions which those faithful, strong hearted early church members were subjected to. Never once did John and Eliza faltered or have a desire to return to their former comforts. The same year that John and Eliza joined the church they left their home in New York and settled in Far West, Missouri. Then to Nauvoo, and on to Council Bluffs with the rest of the saints following the persecutions and death of Joseph Smith. John Barnard was prepared to come with the first group to the Salt Lake Valley, but was called by Brigham Young to remain in Council Bluffs to build a repair wagons as he was an expert blacksmith. They entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1848 and were immediately sent north to settle the community of Centerville, Utah, then to Idaho for some years eventually returning to Utah and settling in Harper, Utah a small settlement north of Brigham City."
Another special thank to Aunt Shauna for also sending this link to the Friend with another anecdote about John Porter Barnard.
We are so thrilled to have such an example of faith and endurance as baby John's namesake. John Barnard Wride, you have big things ahead of you.
Adam has been fairly constant in his desire to name this baby John; I was undecided, swimming in the sea of options before us. I did find several Johns in my McDonald and Bezzant family lines, so that was a genealogical win. In the hour after baby John's birth, we had our final discussions about his name and discarded all other first name options, alternating between John Porter Wride and John Barnard Wride. In the end, we selected John Barnard to help carry on the Barnard line and because that is also Adam's middle name (his mother's maiden name).
Our choice was quickly confirmed when we discovered that John Porter Barnard, one of Adam's ancestors, was one of the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Here is little bit about him (from an e-mail Aunt Shauna sent shortly after we announced John's birth):
"On the 6th of April 1830 in Seneca County, New York, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized with only 6 members. It grew rapidly as missionaries were sent out to take the Gospel message to all who would listen. John Porter Barnard and his wife Eliza Ann were among the few in their neighborhood who believed the story. They received a testimony of the truthfulness of His gospel and in 1837 they became members of the church.
"Through the coming years their faith grew stronger and they were able to endure the persecutions which those faithful, strong hearted early church members were subjected to. Never once did John and Eliza faltered or have a desire to return to their former comforts. The same year that John and Eliza joined the church they left their home in New York and settled in Far West, Missouri. Then to Nauvoo, and on to Council Bluffs with the rest of the saints following the persecutions and death of Joseph Smith. John Barnard was prepared to come with the first group to the Salt Lake Valley, but was called by Brigham Young to remain in Council Bluffs to build a repair wagons as he was an expert blacksmith. They entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1848 and were immediately sent north to settle the community of Centerville, Utah, then to Idaho for some years eventually returning to Utah and settling in Harper, Utah a small settlement north of Brigham City."
Another special thank to Aunt Shauna for also sending this link to the Friend with another anecdote about John Porter Barnard.
We are so thrilled to have such an example of faith and endurance as baby John's namesake. John Barnard Wride, you have big things ahead of you.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
John Barnard Wride
Introducing the newest member of our family: John Barnard Wride
It's hard to believe that today he is already a week old. In some ways, I can hardly remember what it was like without this little man as part of our family. Time with a newborn is difficult to track.
To begin the introduction, a few of his very impressive stats:
Birth Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces
Height: 21 inches
Birthday: May 5, 2010 (5/5/10, Cinco de Mayo!!!)
Birth time: 5:33PM
He is loved by his whole family.
And, while there has been some adjustment with a new baby in the home, it is easy to see that his big sister Emma adores him.
John also has a special bond with his big brother Spencer, who regularly requests to hold his little bro.
John, we are so happy to have you as part of our family, and we like to think that you are happy about it too. You are one of the sweetest babies I've ever seen.
It's hard to believe that today he is already a week old. In some ways, I can hardly remember what it was like without this little man as part of our family. Time with a newborn is difficult to track.
To begin the introduction, a few of his very impressive stats:
Birth Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces
Height: 21 inches
Birthday: May 5, 2010 (5/5/10, Cinco de Mayo!!!)
Birth time: 5:33PM
He is loved by his whole family.
And, while there has been some adjustment with a new baby in the home, it is easy to see that his big sister Emma adores him.
John also has a special bond with his big brother Spencer, who regularly requests to hold his little bro.
John, we are so happy to have you as part of our family, and we like to think that you are happy about it too. You are one of the sweetest babies I've ever seen.
Roly poly
Children never cease to amaze. When John was 4 days old, we put him on Emma's bed for a little tummy time. He promptly proceeded to roll over onto his back. He performed this feat repeatedly, and the camera was on hand to catch him in the act.
Today, I thought I'd try another round of tummy time - this time flat on the ground. You know, give him a chance to strengthen his neck muscles, etc. He had other ideas. That first round of rolling was no happenstance. Each time I put him back on his belly, he would lunge to one side and roll to his back - 4 times in quick succession.
(Is that boy not the sweetest little fella you've ever seen?)
I remember Emma did this same thing twice at her 2 week doctor's appointment. However, I cannot recall a repeat performance after that. Here she is showing John her rolling skills. She's still got it.
Today, I thought I'd try another round of tummy time - this time flat on the ground. You know, give him a chance to strengthen his neck muscles, etc. He had other ideas. That first round of rolling was no happenstance. Each time I put him back on his belly, he would lunge to one side and roll to his back - 4 times in quick succession.
(Is that boy not the sweetest little fella you've ever seen?)
I remember Emma did this same thing twice at her 2 week doctor's appointment. However, I cannot recall a repeat performance after that. Here she is showing John her rolling skills. She's still got it.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Feels like Christmas
We're off to have baby #3. I had the hardest time sleeping last night because I am so excited! Check here for some pictures later. Hooray for baby Snicket!
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