Barrett's First Birthday!

On Saturday, November 12, we celebrated Barrett's First Birthday with a Barnyard Bash!!

We had so much fun and Barrett was so blessed by the love shown to us by both our families and friends on his special day. Our Barnyard theme was inspired by his favorite book, Barnyard Dance! We served pulled pork sandwiches, chips, a vegetable "garden", a goldfish "pond", marshmallow pops, a pig cake, and cupcakes that looked like pigs, cows, and chickens!

The yummy treats!

Miss Lynne with Ellie and Barrett

The birthday banner - (Note to self : cut the ribbons!)

Our animal cupcakes



Miss Taryn with Ellie and Jon Michael

The wonderful gifts!

Maddie and Maddie

Noa and Adi

Barrett in his birthday shirt - courtesy of the wonderfully talented Allyson!

Maddie, Barrett and Ellie plotting their takeaway of more marshmallows!

My birthday boy

Family shot

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday to You!

Smooch!



What is this sticky stuff??

Okay, I am DONE!

Loving on Snoopy

Our sweet friends

Zachary, what do you say we get out of here??

Maddie as a hula girl

Happy Birthday Barrett! Thank you to everyone who helped to make Barrett's First Birthday such a wonderful event! I don't know what we would do without our wonderful "family of friends" to help celebrate life's special blessings. We love you all and Barrett loves you too!

Twelve Months!!

Sweet Barrett,

We are celebrating ONE whole year with you in our lives - although it seems like you captured our hearts long before then, we are so grateful and wonderfully blessed to be sharing your FIRST BIRTHDAY! At Twelve Months, here are a few stats:

This is just a preliminary take - we'll post a different picture once we have a better shot!



- You weigh 20 lbs. and 12.5 oz. (25th percentile) and are 29.75" long (50th percentile)
- You wear a size 3 diaper and size 12 month clothing
- You are nursing once in the morning and once in the evening - although you will be finished very soon! ;)
- Mealtime is always a joy and you are a wonderful eater - your favorites are Spaghettios (especially the meatballs), green peas, pears, avocados, black beans, black eyed peas, soy yogurt, graham crackers and Nilla wafers. You seem to like the healthy stuff more than the unhealthy stuff - we couldn't get you to touch your birthday cake or a cupcake!
- Soy milk is your drink of choice at the moment because of a little reaction to cow's milk. We are just going to wait another month or two and try again. We believe that you will outgrow the reaction, but want to give you time to make sure.
- You eat three good meals a day and several snacks in between. You are always a happy camper if there are Nilla wafers around!
- Some of your favorite toys are Mom and Dad's phones, your Bear (Boo Bear), Koda Bear (from Grammy and Pops), anything with farm animals or a ball, your farm house, and most anything that keeps your attention for just a few minutes!
- You have taken a few steps here and there, but aren't quite ready to walk! We practice with you walking between us and you always celebrate your success by saying YEAH!!
- One of your other favorite activities is using FaceTime or Skype to talk to Daddy at work, Grammy and Pops, Valerie, Nancy, and your Nanna. You always love to give them kisses and say "Awwww" when you kiss them on the phone!
- You have six teeth (Four top and two bottom) and are working on a few more!
- You can wave hi and bye bye, clap your hands, play peek-a-boo, and sign "More" and "All Done"
- Some of your favorite words are Mama, Dada, Dog, Hi, Bye Bye, Uh-oh, and usually say "Dohbedohbedoh" although we haven't quite figured out what that means!
- Your little social personality just shines everywhere we go! You enjoy waving and talking to everyone around us and entertaining folks at the grocery store or anywhere else we might be.

Barrett, we couldn't love you more! We know that God has great plans for you pray every day that you will walk in all that He has for your life. Happy Birthday sweet boy!!

We love you so much,
Mommy and Daddy

Eleven Months

Can it be true? Has it really been eleven months? In some ways, I feel like the year has quickly passed us by, but in others feel like you have been a part of our family forever. Sweet boy, every day is a joy and an adventure with you in our lives!! Here is what you have been up to lately.

- You wear a size 12 months in most of your clothes and can still fit in some of the larger 6-12 month outfits and wear a size 4 shoe (although you would rather pull them off to play!) and a size 3 diaper
- Sleeping has been your latest great accomplishment!! You sleep from 7:30-8:30 p.m. to around 5:30 a.m., but we don't get you out of bed until 6:00. You are doing so well sweet boy!
- Naptime is still pretty tough for you, because you are so curious about everything else and refuse to miss something. You sometimes catch a 30 minute morning nap and anywhere from 30 minute to 1 hour nap in the afternoon.
- You have six teeth - four on the top and two on the bottom
- You are still nursing about four times a day and eating lots of solid foods with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack
- Some of your favorite foods are spaghetti, oatmeal, pears, peaches, cereal bars, GRAHAM CRACKERS, peas and yogurt
- We have started to give you some vanilla soymilk and you LOVE it!!
- You are the most active, little social bug and LOVE to be around people and chat with them. Strangers are not really strangers to you, as you make friends very quickly and easily. You really enjoy reaching out for people and waving hi - especially to little kids who are your size and older.
- Some of your new "tricks" are the Itsy Bitsy Spider song, saying "no", and holding on to our hands to try and "walk" everywhere
- You can wave hi and bye-bye, point, and say all kinds of things - Mama, Dada, Dog, Uh-Oh, No, and several other words that we don't yet understand.
- You definitely make it a point to let your thoughts be known with a shout and a "Da!"
- Reading books is still one of your favorite activities. Llama, Llama Red Pajama is one of your favorites this month, as well as any book with animals.

It has been so much fun to watch you blossom and grow this month! You are such a wonderful blessing to us and to others around you. We are so thankful that God has entrusted us with you and pray each day that you will fulfill the plans that He has for you. Happy 11 months sweet Barrett. Your Daddy and I love you SO much!!

Ten Months

Can it be that you are just two short months away from being one year old? I think each month passes by just a little more quickly than the last. You are growing and changing right before our very eyes - sometimes so fast that I can hardly keep up! Each month I try to remember your milestones and the things that you are doing, but they seem to just happen overnight and without much warning, leaving me wondering when exactly you started this activity or doing that.

These have been the very BEST ten months of our lives! We are just trying to soak in each moment with you - the laughs, snuggles, and even the little baby tears, because I know they will not last too long. So, our sweet busy boy, we love you more than words can express!! Here are a few milestones and memories from this month:



- You are wearing 9 month clothes and gradually moving into your 12 month sizes and your Fall wardrobe
- You wear a size 3 diaper and a size 4 shoe (although you much prefer to be barefoot)
- You are nursing five times a day and eating solid foods and baby food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a few snacks in between.
- Some of your favorite foods are graham crackers, green peas, string cheese, and spaghetti! You also love cereal bars, fresh peaches, plums, and pluots (I picked them up on sale and you LOVED them, who knew?)
- You now have SIX teeth!! Two on the bottom and four on the top. I have tried to pinpoint exactly when they came in, but the top four seemed to arrive all at once, with the exception of the last one, so we'll just say that you got all four top teeth in August, okay?
- Perhaps the BIGGEST deveopment of the month is your sleep habits and we are SO proud!! You have worked so hard at sleeping "like a big boy" this month and we are so proud of your progress. Thanks to my friend Katy at work, we found out about The Sleep Lady - and she has worked WONDERS for all of us.
- You go to bed around 7:30 - 8:00 and sleep until 6:00 a.m. YEAH Barrett!! You are even working hard at falling asleep on your own after our bedtime routine of a bath, stories, and songs. Way to go!!
- Your very favorite activity is reading books. Barnyard Dance is your absolute favorite, along with The Going to Bed Book, One, Two, Three, and any book with soft animals to touch. Miss Carol also told us that you love the Ten Little Ladybugs book, so it looks like that one will have to be on my list to get you next!!
- Your favorite toys this month are your singing stage (you love to dance to the music), anything that rattles when you shake it ("shakea shakeas"), and really any other toys that seem to be in your path
- One of the funniest things that you do is "driving" your toys across the floor. Whether it be a lotion bottle, a piece of paper, or a car, you really enjoy "driving" all over the house
- You are absolutely a little explorer, finding all sorts of things that we hadn't yet discovered...
- Some new words this month are "uh-oh", "dog", "dada", and "bye-bye"
- You are waving hi and bye-bye, and clapping your hands to songs, pattycake, and yeah, and you can also play peekaboo!! So cute!!
- You are still crawling everywhere and pulling up cruising everywhere. No walking yet, but it won't be long!
- Another one of your favorite activities is standing at the back door playing with Doc and Daisy - we love it!
- One of your other cute little "Barrettisms" is laying on soft blankets and saying "awww"

We have really enjoyed watching you grow into such a sweet little boy!!!

Nine Months!



Sweet Barrett - How can it be that you are NINE months old already? It seems like only yesterday that you first arrived, but it also seems like you have been with us forever. You are the sweetest, happiest baby and so full of life!! We have had so much fun getting to know you better and learning all about your little personality. With each passing month, it seems that you are growing by leaps and bounds and we just have more fun with you all the time. We are all learning to balance the daily duties of life - work, daycare, and family time - and get better with each passing month. Your daddy and I love the time that the three of us can spend together and just cherish each precious moment with you.

You are definitely a baby on the move!! From the time you wake up in the morning until bedtime, you are moving around almost everywhere that you want to go. We have to watch you pretty closely because you like to pick up little bits of anything you find on the floor - fuzz, crumbs, or other miscellaneous items - and try to discover what they are by putting them in your mouth. They have nicknamed you "Hoover" at daycare because of your ability to find the smallest things! We like to think that those are your budding surgical skills. :)

We have also found that you are quite the charmer. Those big blue eyes and your big smile seem to captivate friends and strangers alike. You are waving now, and make friends almost everywhere we go. All of the teachers at daycare (even the ones in the older classrooms) know your name and just love you! We think you are pretty special, but it is wonderful to know that you are so loved.

This has been such a fun month and we know it will just keep getting better!!! We love you sweet Barrett and are so blessed to watch you change and grow.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Here are a few other tidbits just for our memory:

- You are wearing 6-9 month clothes and almost ready to transition to the next size! You wear a size 3 diaper.
- Crawling and pulling up to standing are both skills you have perfected this month.
- You are also cruising around the house by holding on to the couch or different tables and getting a little too brave! Sometimes you forget that you need to hold on and let go - I guess this is practice for really walking.
- Your "words" for this month are "dadadada" "mamamama" and "babababa" - you are "talking" up a storm and we wish that we could translate what you are saying!
- Grammy taught you to say Uh-Oh while she was here and it is so funny to hear you say it!
- Sleeping has been SOoooo much better! You are waking up either once or twice a night - usually 3 or 4 a.m. and then sleeping again until almost 7 a.m. We are almost there!!
- Naptime is also MUCH better - you take a short morning nap (30 minutes) and then a longer afternoon nap (1-2 hours) We are getting there little champ!!
- You also LOVE to eat. We have had many new foods this month - cereal bar, noodles, Menchie's (your fave), cheese, whole green beans, and bread - you are still nursing between 5 -7 times daily and eat some pureed baby food in between, but crunchies and puffs are definitely your favorite. I call you my little puff monster!
- People and people watching are some of your favorite activities. You do just LOVE your Daddy!! You have also become a little more attached to Mommy and get a little sad when I leave you at daycare. (It makes me so sad to leave you, but I know that you love your friends and your teachers too)
- The mornings with you are just so sweet. You are pretty happy when you wake up and a very snuggly little guy. You give away sweet kisses in the morning right after you wake up. I love it!!
- Playtime is just so much fun! You love playing with all of your toys, and your favorites this month are your racecar, your new singing stage, the stacking cups, Maddie's mailbox and kitchen, the little singing books - but most of all BOOKS!! We are so glad that you love reading with us. The Sandra Boynton books are your very favorite - especially Barnyard Dance!
- Your nicknames are BB, Little Dude, Mister Man, Little Handsome and many others
- Happy Nine Months Barrett - We Love you!!

May

Let's just take a few minutes and recap the last few months. We'll start with May, since that was where most of the excitement began. In May, we took our first full family trip to Texas and Oklahoma to visit everyone!! We got to see most all of our favorite friends (minus Auntie Abbey, Jason, and Emma - but we'll catch you all next time) and had Barrett's Baby Dedication at God's House in Atoka. Here are some shots of our fun trip!!

Snoozing on the plane with Dad

All smiles with Mom

Praying over our precious boy

Lovin' on Auntie Nance

Love that Papa

Zane, Colton, Mikayla, Teri, and Barrett

This is definitely big trouble in the making



Nana Debbie and Mitzi

Uncle Tom and Aunt Donna

Auntie Val 

First Track and Field Day with Aunt Nance's class

Great Grandma



With my buds Harper Kate and Cooper 



 Feeling the grass for the first time with Grammy

Grammy and Pops are hilarious

Miss Kelly 

Uncle John

Lovin' on my Pops

Auntie Ade

Avocado - YUM!!

Day trip to Knoxville

Sitting up like a big boy! 



Auntie Marianne and Maddie

The big girls showing me how it's done

Brian and Taryn's Emma

Daisy girl

Barrett also had a few firsts this month - he started eating solid foods! Avocado was his first adventure into the world of real food and he seemed to like it. I had planned to make his baby food from scratch, but time just didn't allow for that little adventure!