9 months

Can you believe this little guy turned 9 months old this past Friday? I can't! Time definitely goes by faster with the 2nd kid. Barrett is still such a happy little boy and blesses us with smiles all the time! He absolutely adores Brody and loves playing with him. No one can make Barrett laugh as hard as Brody can and it's so precious to watch them together! Barrett says "Mama" and "Dada". He also says "Buh Buh" while waving bye and sometimes seems to be trying to say Bubba while "talking" to Brody. Crawling is nothing new (he's been doing that since 5 months), but now he's pulling up on everything and starting to try to walk behind his walker.

It's still a literal phrase when we call Barrett our "little" guy. At his 9 month appointment last Friday, he weighed in at a whoopin' 15 pounds 1 oz (less than 3% on the charts) and was 27.5" long (in the 25%). The dr doesn't seem too worried about his weight since he's ahead on the charts with his development. He's just a little baby...and it's so cute!!!

Brody and Barrett watching out the window while we wait for the dr to get to our room.

Mavs

Last night my cousin, Ginger, and her husband, Jesse, came to town with 2 extra tickets to the Mavs game! Daddy Steve and Namaw said they'd watch Brody, Barrett, and McKenna so that we could all go. We had a lot of fun together!

Jesse (a Denver native) was excited that the Nuggets beat the Mavericks by 2 points. It was a great game...just not the outcome that MOST of us wanted!

Startling Wake Up

I'm guessing that Brody had a bad dream last night. We were woken up at 3:15 am by a screaming, crying Brody. I jumped out of bed and found him on the couch in the living room...crying HARD! He was carrying his John Deere blanket and wouldn't even stop crying to tell me what was wrong. I took him back to his bed, but as soon as I laid him down he started screaming crying again. I asked if he needed to potty, but he wouldn't respond. I made him go potty and then took him back to his room. He didn't want to get in his bed, so I spent the next 10-15 minutes sitting on the floor by his bed just holding him in my lap with his head against my chest. It was a harsh wake up that ended in a truly precious time with my little boy. After a while I laid him back in bed. He wanted me to put his Twilight Turtle (it projects stars onto the ceiling) right by his face (making me think that he wasn't wanting to be in the dark). I gave him kisses, told him I loved him, and went back to bed. I don't know if I ever got back to sleep before my alarm went off at 4:35 am, but that's ok. During spin class and Body Pump this morning I just kept thanking God for my sweet little boy.

Lunch at the Park

It's been beautiful outside lately! One day last week I asked Daddy Steve if he'd want to go to lunch with me and the boys at the park. We stopped by Bueno and enjoyed eating it with a cool breeze under the shade of some trees.

Barrett loves riding in the backpack and was happy to watch us eat lunch and then watch Brody play on the playground from the comfort of Daddy Steve's back!

It's so fun having Daddy Steve work from home so that he can go to the park with us over his lunch break!

Upstairs

Barrett's learned a new trick! Sunday morning (over a week ago) Caleb and Namaw were watching the boys at church when Namaw said, "Uh oh! Staci, you better see this!" I turned to watch Barrett crawl up the stairs.

He was so proud of himself when he got all the way to the top!

__________

In other news, when you have minute read the blog www.mycharmingkids.net. Their almost 5 month old, Stellan, really needs our prayers right now.

Bringin' Home Baby

We got the following email from Jan & Ron yesterday. Thank you for all your prayers for baby Bella.

"Jon and Cindy brought Bella home this afternoon. They are happy to be home, but exhausted because of their lack of sleep last night. The nurses had to keep coming into their room all during the night to check Bella----- even checked her hearing during the night! When the nurses weren't checking things, Bella cried. She was sleeping good when I went by to see her after they got home, so hopefully they will all get more sleep tonight. She looks so cute!! The nurse said to be extra careful with her for about 2 weeks because her immunities are down because of the infection/ pneumonia that she had. Even Jon and Cindy have to use the sanitizer hand wash every time they hold her or change diapers etc. Hopefully everyone can see her soon!"

We are so glad that Bella is home now and we can't wait until we can see her in person!

Bowing

What? You didn't know that "Bowing" was a sport? Well, when you take your guns to the gun range, you go shooting...so Brody says that when you take your bow and arrows out to practice...you go "bowing"!

Saturday Mike took Brody "bowing" at Big Carl's house. Mike and "Uncle" Carl wanted to try out their new bows and Brody wanted to practice with the bow and arrows that "Daddy" Carl gave him. I begged Mike to take the camera and take a few pictures. He wouldn't make any promises, but said that he'd try to get a picture or two. There weren't any of the big guys shooting their bows, but there were lots of little Brody! It looks like everyone took turns showing him how to shoot.

"Uncle" Carl (he's not technically an uncle...he's Caleb's brother-in-law...but he's the only "uncle" that Brody actually calls "uncle"...kinda funny!) helping Brody pull back.

"Daddy" Carl (he's "Uncle" Carl's daddy who's also named Carl) letting Brody help him shoot his long bow (I think that's what this kind of bow is called?)

Oops! Looks like they missed the deer. Brody retrieves the arrow out of the haystack.

Mike's turn to help the little guy shoot his bow.

Gottem right in the sweet spot! Good job Brody!

While Mike and Carl practiced with their bows, Brody tagged along with Big Carl. They mowed, played in the dirt, and who knows what else. They all had fun...and Brody took a great nap when he got home! After he woke up he told Mike that next time he wanted to go hunting for a bear!

Blah

Barrett is BOUND to be getting a tooth. He had a fever off and on last week and has just been kinda fussy (not like Barrett!) Last Wednesday Mike was home sick, so Brody stayed home with him while I went to work. Barrett rode like this all the way down the street! Can you tell he didn't feel well?

Spring Break Fun

Today was the last day of Spring Break. Instead of fighting the crowds at the zoo (they reported over 23,000 on Wednesday), we headed to the lake! I called Daddy Steve this morning and asked if he'd want to take me and Brody kayaking. He said he'd be ready by 8:30. Brody was really excited to go and politely informed me that "I would really rather ride in Daddy Steve's kayak". I was excited when he changed his mind at the lake and decided to ride with me!

Notice Daddy Steve over Brody's shoulder.

Brody kept me entertained by talking to me the entire time. It's a little more difficult to paddle over a kid...and Body Pump this morning had already wasted my arms, but we still managed to paddle around for over an hour and a half.

From a ways off we saw what we thought was a flock of birds. They were so far away that we knew they had to be big birds and we couldn't resist going for a look. Looks like we stumbled across a flock of pelican!

There were only a few fishing boats on the lake this morning, so it was a very peaceful trip. We stopped a few times to breathe in the fresh air and feel the breeze on our faces.

Sweet Dreams

Smokin' Gun

Carl loaned Mike a couple new hunting videos. Brody LOVES watching them with Mike. Watching them makes Mike want to go outside and practice shooting his bow. In turn, that makes Brody want to get outside and practice shooting!

On the videos they use some unique things for blinds. In one of the videos all of the blinds at one ranch are old semi cabs. Brody decided that if you flip the top back on his golf cart, it makes an excellent blind and even provides a gun rest!

When you're shooting a rifle, you have to hold your mouth just right.

Check out the smoke!

Be careful. If you don't have the gun on your shoulder right, the kickback will HURT!

Sometimes it's more fun to randomly shoot up in the air rather than aim at a target (when it's just a cap gun you're shooting)!

Saturday Visit

On Saturday we loaded up the Durango, picked up Daddy Steve, and headed to Temple to visit for the day. It's been awhile since we've seen our family down there, so we had some catchin' up to do! Daddy Steve and Mike helped Grandmommy fix a few things around her house while the girls and the kids sat around talking and laughing.

Barrett has started giving kisses and he surprised Grandmommy by planting a slobbery kiss on her chin!

While Ginger, McKenna, and I went to pick up Cindy from work, Grandmommy and Sharon babysat Barrett (Brody was taking a nap). They said they had lots of fun...and that Barrett was a good baby!

I tried to get a picture of the little cousins, but Barrett was too intent on crawling off the couch despite the iron grip that McKenna and Brody had on his shoulders!

Barrett soon realized that McKenna is an easy target. She can't run away as fast as Brody can. He decided it would be fun to wrestle! She had fun too...but then she decided she'd had enough!

The day was over way too soon. We can't wait to go back again!

New Addition

My cousin, Jon, and his wife, Cindy, had a sweet baby girl last night!

Isabella Grace was born at 6:45 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 10 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

There were a few complications during the labor/delivery that reminded us to thank God for the miracle of life. Cindy and Bella are doing ok (as of last night), but are being held for a few days for observation. The family in the waiting room was disappointed that Bella was taken to the NICU (where we couldn't even see her thru a window), but are so thankful that she and Cindy are alive and healthy! We're hoping that Jon will get to take a picture today to send to everyone.

Congrats Jon & Cindy! We love you!

**EDITED**
Just got an email from Jon. Bella is suffering from Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension and will have to be in the NICU 7-10 days. Cindy should get to go home in another 48 hours, but she hasn't gotten to see Bella yet. Please keep them in your prayers.

Short Sleeves

People always talk about how fun it is to dress up their little girls. Well...it's fun to put new outfits on your little boys too! Today a cold front came thru, but for the past week the weather has been beautiful. Last week I finally had to dig out some shorts and short sleeve shirts for the boys. Barrett better start growin' or I'll have to buy him a few more short sleeve things. When Brody was 8 months old, it was still long sleeve weather in Kansas! I'm realizing that long sleeve weather doesn't last very long in Texas (to the joy of some and disappointment of others).

Anyways, I thought Barrett looked so cute (and grown up) in his button up (as I proof read this I couldn't decide if I'm supposed to say "button up" or "button down"?) shirt and shorts. I just had to take him outside and take a few pictures!

Afternoon Chores

Last week Brody got back from school to find Daddy Steve on the roof. Where do you think he wanted to go?

Since it was warm outside, they decided to skip naptime and wash the cars instead.

He had fun helping Daddy Steve, but we paid for him not getting his nap! I don't think we'll do that again for awhile!

Cousin Weekend

The boys got to spend a lot of time with their cousins this weekend. On Friday Mark, Angela, and Jayden came over for pizza and a movie. The boys had fun playing together. It'll be nice when Jayden is mobile so that he can escape Barrett (who tried to wrestle with Jayden...which doesn't work quite yet)! I tried to get a picture of the boys playing...but Barrett heard my camera turn on and he turned on his camera smile!

On Saturday we had a shower for Jon and Cindy. Cindy's due the 17th...so we don't have to wait much longer to meet baby Bella!

Brody and Collin have so much fun playing together. They spent an hour digging dirt from one spot in the yard and taking it to the flower box on the play house. I think they were also making some mud pies!

You'll have to check out Dad's blog (hint hint...Dad!) for pictures of the water fight that the cousins had. The kids were soaking wet! They had so much fun. Brody wasn't ready to go home...even though it was almost 2 hours past his nap time!

Last night we had our small group Bible study at Caleb & Audria's house. Brody got to go to church and Taco Bueno with Daddy Steve & Namaw, so we just had Barrett with us. He had fun playing with Caleb's visor. Isn't he a cutie?!

Tractor Ride

What is the most efficient way to move your John Deere tractor from one side of the yard to the other?

Give it a ride on your four wheeler!

Oranges

Last night I was peeling an orange. I rolled it around on the counter before I started peeling it. Why? Because Daddy Ken taught me that if you roll the orange around, applying pressure as you roll it, it loosens the orange from the skin (is that what you call the outside of an orange?) Then you can easily peel the orange. Daddy Ken liked to show off and peel the orange keeping the skin all in one piece. Every time I peel an orange I think of Daddy Ken. I can see his hands rolling the orange...and then the big grin on his face as he shows off the one piece of orange peel (that still looks like there's an orange inside). Today is Daddy Ken's birthday...and the first one that I haven't been able to call and wish him a happy birthday. I still miss him so much! I'm glad that I'm reminded about him every day because of the little things that he taught me.

Stories

On Friday night Brody asked me, "Can you finish the kite story?" Kite story? I didn't know what he was talking about! He said, "Daddy Steve started it earlier but he didn't get to finish it. Can you tell it to me?" I told him that he'd have to ask Daddy Steve to finish it for him sometime. He turned to me and said, "Mama, do you have your phone on you?" I told him I did and he said, "I need it. I need to call Daddy Steve!" So I dialed the number and handed my phone over to a 2 year old. Daddy Steve was excited to hear it was Brody on the phone and began to tell him a story about a kite. I left the room to do a few chores and left Brody with the phone.

Almost 20 minutes later I came back into Barrett's room to find this:

Brody sitting in the baby swing (that's disassembled on the floor) talking on the phone with Barrett watching. I told him it was time to get off the phone. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be getting on to my 2 year old for being on the phone too long!!

Pulling Up

Last week I was busy working when I heard Barrett wake up from his nap. He was talking very excitedly and loudly! Mom and I both walked in to see what he was up to and found him standing up in the pack-n-play. I think he was really proud of himself. He was laughing and jabbering nonstop.

He just loves the camera. As soon as I turn it on he starts grinning. Here he is crawling down the hall at Daddy Steve and Namaw's house...grinnin' for the camera!

2 year old talks with God

I learn something every day from our little boy, Brody. Last night he was asking me how much I love him. The conversation when like this:

Brody: Mommy, How much do you love me?
Me: More than you'll ever know!
Brody: But how much do you love me?
Me: To Heaven and back!
Brody: How much do you love me?
Me: A million times infinity!
Brody: Do you love me this much? (spreads his arms out as wide as he can)
Me: I love you MORE than that!
Brody: How much do you love me?
Me: To the moon and back!
Brody: Do you love me this much? (spreads his arms out again)
Me: Nope. I love you a lot more than that!
**This conversation goes on...and on...and on with the repetition that only a 2 year old has the stamina for! Finally we get to the point where I realize I'm not going to be able to answer the question the way he wants, so I give the answer that usually works when he's asked "why" a million times and I don't have a satisfactory answer..."You'll just have to ask God!"

So what does Brody do? He bows his head, then quickly looks back up and me and says, "I'm prayin'!" Then he prays out loud a prayer that can't help but make you smile:

Brody: "Hey God! How much does Mommy love me?" He keeps his head bowed for a minute and then says, "AMEN!"

Brody looks up at me grinning, climbs down from his chair, and says, "God says you love me THIS much!"

A few days ago Brody and I were talking about our impending move. I don't think he quite understands the concept of moving houses. I asked him if he was excited about moving to our new house.

Brody: Are we going to pick up THIS house and move it?

Me: No, we're going to go live in the new house.

Brody: Will we move the house with the pool and put it here?

Me: No we're going to go live in the house with the pool right where it is. Are you excited about living in the new house?

Brody: No.

Me: Why?

Brody: Because I want to stay in this house and live here!

Me: Why do you want to live in this house? (I was waiting for his normal response which includes something about the big concrete pad in our backyard on which he rides his golf cart)

Brody: Because God gave us this house!

Me: You're right. God did bless us with this house when we moved from Kansas. Now he's blessing us with a new house!

I was amazed at his reasoning. I know that Mike and I have talked about how God has provided for our every need in this transition from Kansas to Texas. When we left Kansas we had no idea what the next year would hold. God has blessed us more than we ever imagined and I'm so happy to hear our son acknowledging these blessings!

One Year

Today marks one year since I left my job of 7 1/2 years as a fitness director/aerobics instructor/personal trainer/assistant superintendent of recreation to become an accountant for my mom. It's been quite a career change, but I've really loved it. I've learned so much in this past year. Not only is my mom an awesome mom, she's a great teacher and a boss that's fun to work for! I've really enjoyed working together. I've also enjoyed getting to see both my parents every day (Dad works from home too) and love that the boys are forming such a special relationship with them.

For some reason this day also brings some nostalgia. Maybe it's because I had a dream last night in which I was teaching an aerobics class back in Kansas, but today I'm really missing all my friends from Iron Works. If it wasn't so far, I'd just hop in the car and meet them for aerobics at 9 am. Then I'd stay around and talk with Junior and the other people at the gym. Maybe after tax season is over (and we move into our new house) we'll get a chance to go visit...

***EDIT***
See my parent's blog for pictures from my "Year of Service Recognition Day"