Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Smell the Roses

On Monday I had to take Barrett to the doctor to get a shot. Brody went with us so that I could go straight to work afterwards. It was 100 degrees outside when we arrived and the sun was beating down on us. I was hurrying to get both boys out of the car so we could get inside before we melted into pools of sweat. I finally get them both out of their carseats and we're making the trek inside. Brody is holding my hand while he talks to me about Barrett being born (since we were by a hospital that's what he was thinking about I guess). We're finally 20 feet from the door when Brody stops dead in his tracks. I pull on his hand and finally look back to see what he's doing. He's leaning over smelling of the flowers along the path. My first thought was to say, "Brody! Let's go! It's HOT out here!" But before I could say that he looked up and me with the sweetest grin and said, "Those flowers smell REALLY good!" I couldn't help but smile back at him. Then we walked from flower bush to flower bush smelling of each one...all the way to the building. I love how he gets joy out of the simplest things in life. I probably wouldn't have even noticed that there were flowers along the path if Brody hadn't been with me to make me stop and notice my surroundings.

Today I had another one of those moments. One of those times where you praise God for something so ordinary. It rained. We were sitting at the breakfast table and it was pouring down rain outside. Something inside of me wanted to get Brody and go run outside to play in the rain. Before I could act on that impulse, we heard thunder...so that idea was thrown out. Instead we talked about who made the rain and how thankful we are that God sent us rain!

Right now I'm sitting up waiting to feed Barrett before I can go to bed. These first few months are hard. In the first months a baby eats, sleeps, and cries. Barrett's been a little gassy lately and I feel that every time he's awake he's crying. Although I'm very tired tonight, I don't want to wish this night to rush by. Instead, I want to enjoy this quiet alone time with my baby boy and stop and smell the roses.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Showers

On Saturday a few girls from church threw a diaper shower for Barrett. We had fun talking, eating, and of course watching Barrett. Paula hosted the shower at her beautiful house along with Jana, Leanne, Anna, and Juli Beth.
Later on Saturday (after a day of shopping with Mom for other baby showers and then shopping for winter/fall clothes for Brody at consignment stores) I took the boys over to Caleb & Audria's house where Mike and Caleb were busy planting trees. Caleb bought a few good sized trees...meaning they had to dig huge holes!
Brody immediately took on the task of watering the trees for them. He's pretty smart to pick the water job on a 100 degree day! Of course he thought it was really funny to chase and try to get me wet with the water hose!
I'm not sure if the trees or Brody ended up with more water on them. As you can see in the picture below...he watered everything...even just mounds of dirt!
Caleb - Sorry if your water bill is higher this month!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Growing

Today Barrett is 4 weeks old. I can't believe that it's been a month since he was born! It's gone by super fast!

This morning I laid him down in his crib for a nap (rather than the bassinet) because Brody was very persistent that Barret should sleep in the "big crib". When I turned off the hairdryer I heard him crying and went to check on him. I was shocked to find that he had rolled over in the bed! I know it couldn't have been on purpose...he's just too young...but it made me realize that the next time I turn around he'll be crawling...then walking!

Brody too was reminding me how much he's maturing. He was talking to me while I was doing my hair (what's new...he talks to you every single moment he's awake! lol). Anyways, I was asking him, "Who made the trees?" and he'd answer, "God!" I asked him who made Brody, Daddy, Mommy, grass, etc. Before long he started asking me the question. He'd say, "Who made Namaw?", "Who made Daddy Steve?", etc.

It's fun watching our children reach physical milestones (like rolling over and walking), but what's even more exciting is watching them grow in the knowledge of our Lord!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Play Date

Today Megan brought her 3.5 year old, Logan, and her newborn, Camryn, over to play. Brody & Logan wanted to get in the pool ASAP...so out to the pool we went! They had a lot of fun swimming together!
After lunch Brody took Logan upstairs to play with his toys. We heard lots of banging going on up there. I guess they decided they should hammer on the work bench...and you must wear safety goggles when you do that! lol So cute!
It was a short visit, but it was fun to get to see them! They head back to Houston tomorrow.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Home Sweet Home

Brody got home on Friday night after a week in Colorado with Daddy Steve and Namaw. Since they didn't get in until late (and we were at Tyler and Ann's), we picked Brody up on Saturday morning. Mike and I were both so excited to see him. We really missed him while he was gone! Daddy Steve was working during the day so Brody and Namaw did some sight seeing together. They went to the Garden of the Gods, Focus on the Family, and spent a lot of time in at the hotel pool. In the evenings Daddy Steve would go with them to dinner and on a hike or to a park. Daddy Steve didn't have to work on Friday, so they all went to Pike's Peak together. Brody called us from the top and all he could talk about was a penny he found up there! lol He did mention that they were above the clouds and that he could see mountains...but mainly he talked about the penny. Mike and I both wished that we could've been there with him.

Brody was excited to go to our house and sleep in his own bed. I think he also missed a few of his toys while he was gone. On Sunday morning this is what I found when I went in to wake Brody up for church. I wonder if sleeping with a golf club makes you dream about playing golf?

Here's a sweet picture of Barrett.
On Sunday night Brody was excited to go to church...and Taco Bueno! I thought he looked so cute in his hat! He thought it was funny when I tried to take a picture of the two of us by myself!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Pool Party

Yesterday Tyler and Ann invited us and Caleb & Audria over for a pool side BBQ. Patrick and Noel were in town from California and were gonna stay the night at Tyler & Ann's before flying out today. It was fun to get to hang out with them! Patrick & Noel
Barrett says, "I smell hamburgers! Are you sure I can't have one?"
Barrett showin' off his new hat.

Friday, July 18, 2008

'lil b

Barrett has already taken on several nicknames. "Bear-bear", "Bubba", and " 'lil b" are just a few of them. That's one of the reasons I thought it was so cute when Barrett got the following onesie in the mail the other day! My friend, Anna, is a super crafty girl and made the onesie and the stocking hat for Barrett. They are so cute!!!! She's getting ready to start an online store for some of her crafty items. I'll be sure and post a link when she gets it up and going. THANKS ANNA!!!! "Hmmmm. This hat sure is comfy...but I wonder if I'd get hot wearing it outside in the Texas heat?"
"What?!? It's 100 degrees outside?!?!? Can you please take it off before we leave the house?"

Thursday, July 17, 2008

First Bath

Ahhhh! Can you imagine how good it would feel to take a bath when it's been 2 weeks since your last bath? Since we're house/dog sitting for my parents right now, we didn't have our baby bathtub to bathe Barrett in. Instead he got to take a bath in the sink. It sure made him look small!

I love how you can see his full belly in this picture! So cute! After awhile...he'd had enough.
Look at that wrinkled little face! Now close your eyes and smell that baby smell (not the dirty diaper smell...the clean baby smell)! I love that smell! It was great to wrap him up in a towel and just love on him while breathing in that sweet smell.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

2 year old talk

I love listening to Brody talk. Right now he is in Colorado with Daddy Steve and Namaw. Whenever I call and talk to him on the phone he excitedly tells me about different things he's doing. He's told me about the "big mountains" and the fact that there's "no diving board at the pool"! Tonight when we called they were hiking by some waterfalls and were watching a deer. When Brody got on the phone he told us that he "saw a big deer eating grass"! His voice sounds so sweet over the phone.

As sweet as it is over the phone, it's even sweeter in person. The other night we were driving around town with the boys. Before long Barrett woke up and started to cry. Brody doesn't like it when Barrett is crying. We heard him say, "Bear-bear crying! It's ok Bear-bear!" Then he said, "Mommy sing Bible Tells Me So!" I think that the song Jesus Loves Me is a comfort song to Brody, so he thought that if I sang it to Barrett that he would stop crying. Most of the time it works...but that night I think Barrett was crying louder than I could sing. Before long we heard whimpering in the back seat. I looked back there to see Brody watching Barrett with tears forming in his own eyes. I find it humbling to see the compassion that someone who's not even 2 years old yet can have for others. I can't wait to see what God has planned for his life. I know he'll do great things for Christ!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

GG's 85th Birthday

Jan and Mom thought that we should do something special for GG's birthday this year since she'll be turning 85 years old. They thought it would be fun to take GG on a camping trip with the family. So Ron & Jan loaded up their trailer and picked out a great campsite at Joe Pool Lake. On Friday night GG went out there with them and spent the night. Then on Saturday the rest of the family went out to the lake. The campsite was great. It was right on the lake. Dad loaded the kayaks right there and Matt & Julie were able to anchor their boat and load people onto it from the campsite! There was a Kansas wind blowing at the lake on Saturday and it helped to keep us a little cooler. Ron also set up a mister at the campsite to keep us cool. GG keeping an eye on Barrett while she ate her hot dog.
Brody was very excited that Collin, Lauren, and Katelyn came to play. I think it's so cute when little kids hold hands with each other. One time I looked up and saw a chain of all the kids holding hands while walking across the grass. I didn't get a picture of that...but I did get a picture of Daddy Steve and the boys holding hands.
Matt, Jon, Cindy, and Josh were the first ones to brave taking all the kids on a boat ride. It's kinda hard to see, but Brody was waving at me in this picture :)
Lauren & Katelyn loved going in the kayaks. I looked out one time and found Katelyn riding on the kayak in a very unusual fashion. I think she was wanting to stay cool in the water while still going on a ride!

I was impressed with how well the kids got along with one another all day long. We only had one minor incident!
I didn't see it happen (but I heard it!) I guess Collin decided to leave his mark on Brody ;) They were playing a game and who knows what Collin was thinking. The funny thing was that Brody didn't even seem to notice! lol! He probably wondered why we were having him show everyone his back!


Barrett was so good all day long. He was passed around from person to person and slept most of the day. Here's a cute picture of Mike and Barrett.
Mike and Caleb raced the kayaks back to shore after taking Lauren and Brody on boat rides.
Matt let Brody steer for a few minutes while he was driving the boat. Later Brody got back in the driver seat and started pushing buttons. This is the expression he had on his face when he accidentally pushed the button to honk the horn!
We were all exhausted by the time we got home (it was 11 pm!), but it was such a fun day. I'm glad that we got to spend so much time hanging out with the family...even if it was HOT!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Sounds of KS

If I close my eyes right now and just listen...I can imagine myself back at our house in KS. That may seem strange to you. You probably think that I'd be hearing traffic or sirens or other "city" noises. But I'm not! Right now I'm listening to the sound of a tractor! Our house backs up to a power easement. When the city decides it's time to mow, they send out a tractor with a huge bush hog on the back of it to mow the easement. The sound of the tractor making pass after pass by our back window makes me think of Chris. The sound of his tractor put me in a panic many a days. I'd hear his tractor, see the cloud of dust as a result of him "playing in the dirt" (as Mike called it), and rush to shut all the windows before the inside of our house was covered in the same fine dust that covered everything outside. When Brody was old enough we run to the windows or run outside to watch the big tractor drive by. Brody's at Daddy Steve & Namaw's house swimming right now. Next time that he's here when the city is mowing...I'll take him outside to watch the tractor and tell him stories about his short life in Kansas.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Back to work

Things have been pretty busy at our house lately. I went back to work on Tuesday. Rather than going at 6:30 in the morning...I've been going around noon and working thru Brody's nap. Yesterday we went a little early so that Brody could swim. I think he'd stay in the pool 8 hours a day if I'd let him!

Barrett has been doing great at night lately. When he wakes up in the night he'll eat, poop, and go right back to sleep :) So far he's not spitting up like Brody did as a baby...but it's still a little early for us to rest easy in that area!

Mike has been busy studying for his PMI certification. Hopefully he'll finish it up in the next few weeks!

Here are a few pictures from this week:

Brody playin' peek-a-boo with Mike at breakfast
Barrett loves laying on his belly (just like his daddy and big brother).
Don't worry...he's not happy 100% of the time ;)
But most of the time he's perfectly content. Brody loves getting to hold Barrett. He'll hug him and say, "Barrett nice! Barrett cute!" He's very sweet with his little brother.



Friday, July 04, 2008

Fun on the 4th

Chuck & LouAnn (Ann's parents) had a party at their house tonight. Tyler & Ann, Caleb & Audria, David & Daina (Audria's parents), Morgan & Lauren (Tyler & Ann's friends), Daddy Steve & Namaw, and our family of 4 were all in attendance. We had a lot of fun (even if it was HOT outside)!

Here's a picture I got of Brody and Barrett in their matching outfits. I had to get it quick because Brody was ready to get into his swimsuit! He then spent the next FIVE hours swimming! I don't think he was out of the pool for more than 5 minutes at a time between 4 and 9 pm! All he had to do was say "please" and he was able to convince one of his aunts or uncles to swim with him. Here's a picture of Caleb throwing Brody up in the air.
Then he threw Tyler up in the air!

Barrett spent the evening being passed from person to person. He slept 99% of the time.
Chuck & LouAnn had lots of games set up to play. After dinner the guys played a game of croquet (only after they wore themselves out playing football).
It was a fun evening. We watched fireworks, played games, talked, and ate way too much food! Thanks Chuck and LouAnn for having us over!

How long does it take to eat a pop tart?

About 45 minutes! At least that's how long it took Brody to eat his pop tart this morning when Daddy Steve took Brody and I kayaking on Lake Arlington. Since Brody woke up late, I just let him take his breakfast with him. It's a good thing I did. It took him almost our entire trip to eat his pop tart!

Brody was very excited about going out on the lake. As Daddy Steve was loading up the kayaks Brody looked up at them and said, "Those are the real deal!" lol! I guess he realized we were actually going to get in the water this trip to the lake rather than just feed the ducks. He was so good on the trip. He rode in the kayak with Daddy Steve and sat really still the whole time.
When we got home Brody told Daddy all about the kayak trip. Mike told him that he would take Brody out in the kayak sometime too. Brody won't let him forget that promise. He's already told us several times that next time Daddy's gonna take him in the kayak!

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Answered Prayers

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for praying for us for the past few months. God has answered your prayers in ways that we never imagined. Not only did he provide us with a place to rent and homes for our beloved pets, he also gave us strength to make it thru the months we were living apart. He blessed us with a safe and healthy labor and delivery. He also answered the prayers about the sell of our house in Kansas!

That's right, the house is now officially sold! What's even more amazing is that we never even had to advertise the house. God brought the buyer to us! We closed on the house on Monday and the check was deposited into our bank account today (making it truly official in our minds). As hard as it is to say goodbye to our home in KS...we want to praise the Lord for making the sell go so smoothly and quickly...and thank YOU for praying about it for us!

Now there's just one more big prayer request that we don't know how God will answer....a job for Mike. We know that he has something great in store for Mike and we can't wait to see what it will be! Please continue to pray about Mike's job search. We'll be sure to let you know how God answers your prayer.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Helpers

Last night was a little rough. Barrett was up for quite a while after eating. By 6:45 this morning I wasn't sure how we were gonna keep our eyes open when Brody woke up at 7:30! I called Mom and she came down so that Mike and I could get some sleep. As soon as Brody woke up he asked to go to Daddy Steve & Namaw's house (before bed last night we promised him that we'd go "tomorrow"...and he doesn't forget!). So Namaw took the boys back to her house. She brought Barrett back down for me to feed him around 9:30 and then took him back to her house so that Mike and I could run a few errands sans kids. It was good for us to get caught up on rest! We spent the rest of the afternoon at their house while Brody swam, napped, and played. (Barret mainly just slept ;)

Tonight Ann came over to visit and Paula brought dinner (can you say YUMMMMM!) Brody was so excited to see Ann. Of course he thought she came over just to play with him. He took her out in the backyard so she could watch him fix his "mower". Then he took her to his bedroom to show her his big boy bunk beds! Since he's only allowed to get in the top bunk with a grown up...I wasn't surprised to walk into the room and find Ann on the top bunk with him. He thinks it's so fun to go up there!

Of course Ann also had to spend some time holding Barrett.

It's so fun living close to family!