April 2007

OK - I'm just sad... I haven't updated this post in a while, but once you read this blog, you'll know why!! We've moved and I got a new job!! We decided to leave suburbia and move to the country. Our house is on a DIRT road and we don't have public water, sewer or cable. I work in the local public schools, where Brayden will start Kindergarten in the fall. Dave got a job with Orkin in their sales dept. What a life change!!

We also spent our first Easter in our new home. It snowed the night before Easter and we went sledding in our front yard! Too much fun. The boys loved their Easter baskets and even enjoyed going to church. We had several people invite us to the same church, so we went there for a nice service.

Here are some pictures of our new house and Easter:

Our new house

The view from our driveway

Our snowy front yard

The boys go sledding

Brayden and Andrew ready for church

October 2006

Happy Halloween month!!! Brayden has been counting down the days until Halloween. He can’t wait to wear his “Racecar Driver” costume, though now he’s considering being Buzz Lightyear again. YES – Buzz is a favorite once again, though he took a little vacation for a while. The Buzz costume now comes up to his shins, but who cares?! He’s still the coolest action hero around – pedal pushers or not!

October was busy, busy, busy!!! At least it seemed that way! Brayden took gymnastics lessons this month. He was good at it and picked it up quickly; unfortunately, he didn’t enjoy it that much. He DID enjoy getting the award at the end. He loved having everyone clapping for him. I think he enjoyed being the center of attention. Hmmmm… whom could he have gotten that trait from? Anywho (as Dad says), no more gymnastics for now. We might go back to ice skating next month.

We went to another wedding this month – lots of fun. We got to see plenty of friends from Longwood College (now University). It was like a mini-reunion… and an adult one at that! Even our friends who have 5 kids under the age of 3 (God, help them! There are two-year-old triplet boys!) were able to get away, even though it took four different baby sitters and an hour of driving. What fun!

We also went to visit Jenny and Grant Martin and their family. They live in Dayton, which is near Harrisonburg, VA. It’s in the mountains and the foliage was something to see. They live in a log cabin, which is rustic and absolutely beautiful. We had a great time. Brayden and Patrick got along famously and we’ve already decided that Andrew and Samantha will date when they get older (giggle, snort!). Katrina has grown up to be such a sweet girl and was so helpful with the little ones.

While we were there, we went hiking – right to the top of the mountain. About halfway up, I remembered that Candice is afraid of heights – oh, no!!! She was a trooper and made it to the top, though she did “make out” with the asphalt when we got to the bottom. We also went to the park and visited Jenny’s sister’s farm. Dave and Grant went fishing. Lots of fun!!

I had two conventions to go to at the end of the month. I started in Wintergreen, which is a ski resort (no skiing this time of year) for the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists (VASP) conference. The foliage was beautiful and it was great seeing my colleagues from around Virginia. Since I am the president-elect for VASP, I had to head to Louisville, KY for a Southeast regional conference. Now, this was GREAT. It was paid for by VASP and was a great learning experience. The beds were some of the most comfortable I’ve ever slept on – and I had two night of uninterrupted, wondrous sleep! I also went to a HUGE Halloween party at 4th Street Live in Louisville. There were some characters there, let me tell you! By Sunday I was missing the boys so badly. I was very happy to be home.

Halloween was exciting. Brayden had been waiting for this day forever, as he says. He felt like such a macho-boy in his racecar driver costume. I can’t even tell you how cute Andrew was dressed as a little, fuzzy bee. We have more candy than we can eat in a year. In fact, we had to ditch some of LAST YEAR’s candy so we could make room for new stuff!! To make matters worse, I bought THREE bags of candy (just in case). Not realizing I got the candy, Dave got three bags as well. Guess how many trick or treaters we had? Come on – guess! OK, we had ONE! Now we have 6 bags of candy, plus all that Brayden got. Oh, the temptation!! We have to find a new home for this stuff!

I hope that everyone has a great November. Look for another post from me then.

Love ya,
Terri

September 2006

Well, back to the old grind!! I’m officially back to work this month. It was hard to get back into a regular routine, but it was easy leaving the boys since Candice is around. The weekdays have been much more mundane than in months past – making dinner, cleaning up from dinner, playing with the boys, baths, a few chores, then bed. Sounds exciting, huh?!

Actually, the weekends have been fun. On September 16, Tom and Dale got married. We drove up to NY in the minivan (please, don’t laugh) on Friday and back on Sunday. It was well worth the drive! The wedding was beautiful and lots of fun. Best of all, it was great seeing the whole NY gang. It’s not often that we’re all together at the same time.





















Candice and I have started taking dance class. Jazz and Tap. OK, I’ve done the Jazz thing – but TAP?! Please, help me! I say that my right foot has a “tap IQ” of about 78 and my left foot has a “tap IQ” of 50! That left foot just doesn’t listen to what the brain is telling it to do. My brain says, “Shuffle, flap, flap, flap, ball change, ball change, shuffle, flap, flap.” My foot interprets, “shuffle (I can usually get the first step right!), scuff, scuff, scrape, stub the toe, stub the toe, scuff, scuff, scrape.” It really is a sight to behold! OK, really, it’s all in great fun. Candice and I are having a blast and I haven’t given up yet.

Candice and I brought Brayden and Andrew to “Starry Nights,” offered by the local Parks and Recs Department. We went to the local park (which is a peninsula) and the host told stories about animals. We then answered questions about animals (all but one of which Brayden got right without any help – and he was the youngest one there!!), then we made SMORES – yum!!!! Brayden had a blast (and we did too). Dave wanted to be there, but I bet you can guess where he was – yep! Fishing!

Brayden’s academics are coming along nicely. He’s starting to enjoy drawing (this is no small feat!) and is improving in writing his letters. He’s starting to understand that letters have sounds, so he’s often asking how to spell things. Pretty cool! Brayden is so inquisitive and asks lots of questions. He’s my little philosopher!

Andrew is growing leaps and bounds! He adores his big brother and can’t seem to take his eyes off of him. He loves to smile and is so good-natured. He’s starting to eat more foods (squash, applesauce, sweet potatoes, pears), though he still gives up after just a few bites. I’m sure he’ll get used to it soon.



Well, that’s about it… at least until next month.

Terri

August 2006

August was so much fun! We started off the month with a vacation to the Poconos with my family. Unfortunately, Dave couldn't make it because of work. It was nice to relax with my parents, grandparents, sister and Candice. We played games every night, hung out by the pool, and went on day trips. That was the week when it was over 100 degrees, so it was challenging to find things to do and still stay cool. But being the creative people that we are, we managed to do a lot! We went to a waterpark, bowling/laser tag, Claws n' Paws animal park, the movies, and other fun things!! The picture above is at the Japanese restaurant.

Next, I went on a girl's weekend to Wintergreen Resort, which is about an hour from our house. I missed my boys a lot, but it sure was nice to get away with the girls. Needless to say, we got a little wild and crazy! As for the details... well, my lips are sealed!!




Finally, I returned back to work. It was so much easier leaving the boys with Candice, since I'm so comfortable with her caretaking style. I started at a new school this year and the people already seem so friendly. I think I'm going to like it there. I'll definitely enjoy the later start time (8 instead of 7)!

Andrew continues to develop and grow! At the end of this month he finally slept through the night!! Yippee!! We are all happy campers! He's also discovered his hands. He tries so hard to grab things and pick them up. It's amusing because he just doesn't quite have the coordination yet. If he's anything like his big brother, he'll get there soon enough!!

July

July was busy and exciting!! Andrew has grown and matured so much this month -- and I think Brayden has gotten taller as well. Andrew is now gurgling and cooing. He enjoys making sounds "ah-goo" and "ooh" are his favorites. I think he's going to be an early talker! Andrew also rolled over for the first time this month. Brayden is starting to associate sounds with letters and is trying to read the first sounds of words. Pretty impressive! Brayden loves being a big brother and is so gentle and sweet with Andrew.

We had to change our plans for the 4th of July, due to the heat. We were supposed to go to a big (and crowded) celebration at the Richmond International Raceway. 98 degrees and an infant do not mix! Instead, we parked our car near the fair grounds and watched the fireworks from our car. It was perfect! Not to loud for Brayden, but still exciting! Also, the ice cream man was parked out there, so we had ice cream on a hot day. The drawback was lack of bathrooms -- yikes!!
















The weekend after the 4th, we attended a 4th of July party at our friends' house (Mark and Lisa Simon). there were lots of our friends there, including many of Dave's fraternity brothers from Longwood. Mark and Lisa host this party each year. What started as a huge mingling party, with lots of beer has now become a great family activity. It's amazing -- I think we're growing up!!

In the middle of the month, we were very excited to welcome our Au Pair, Candice, from South Africa. She arrived on the 13th and immediately fit in with our family! We have been learning a lot about the South African culture, and Candice has been learning more about ours.



Only 3 days after Candice's arrival, we went on our beach vacation with Dave's family. We went to the Outer Banks, NC and stayed in Kitty Hawk. We had a lot of fun at the beach and even got to play Putt-Putt and fly a kite. Bill and Suzie enjoyed spending time with their grandsons. Candice loved the Outer Banks and had a good time getting to know the Sisson's. Shortly after we returned from the beach, I received an email from one of our friends, Julie Miller (whom we haven't seen in almost two years!). Apparently, the Millers were visiting the Outer Banks the same week as we were. They visited many of the same places and only stayed a couple of miles away!!! Her email was one of the catalysts for me starting this blog. If we had stayed in better touch, we would have been able to visit one another.





After our beach vacation, we were home for a week -- just enough time to do laundry and pack again for our next vacation in the Poconos. Stay tuned for the blog for August to find out what we did during that time!

Welcome

Hi, everyone!! Welcome to the Sisson Family Blogspot. Since we have so many friends and family that live far away, I figured I'd use a blog as a way to keep everyone updated. Please check here once a month and I'll let you know what has been going on with the Sisson family.