No Nap?

Barrett has discovered something that he thinks is great, and that I was hoping was not going to happen for quite a while.

I put him down for his nap today, and as usual, he was complaining loudly about being put in his bed. Then I heard him laughing and talking to himself. I assumed he had gotten to the mobile again, but when I walked in, I was horrified!



Of course, I ran to get the camera before he saw me. Doesn't he looked totally guilty in this picture? I'm sure it was me mumbling, "No, please, no," that made him think he had done something wrong. I really am not ready for him to pull up on everything, and I am especially not ready for him to pull up in bed. Luckily, he's only on his knees, but I know it is just a matter of time.



So, I guess I will lower the crib to it's lowest setting because that's the stage we're at. I just don't want him to be big enough to need a "big boy" crib. I can't imagine the trauma I'll feel when he graduates to a real bed!

On another note, when I picked out his nursery furniture that was WAY more than Daddy intended on paying, the sales lady went through her reasons why this set was the best. One of the reasons was the durable plastic in the edge of the crib that supposedly isn't really hard plastic. (She put it much more eloquently than that!) Now, I get why that is important:




It was hard to get frustrated with his newest trick because he was so proud of himself.

I think he was even prouder that it got him out of his nap. The millions of flashes pretty much blew any chance of him sleeping. It's ok though, Daddy is going to have him this evening when the missed nap will really matter! ;)

Not Recommended for Barrett

I have always wondered who comes up with age information on the outside of every toy's box. How can a game be good for a 10 year old but not a 9 year old? Also, Barrett's newest toy is for children ages 6 months to 2 years, but at 32 years old, I love playing with it. If any of you know the way toys get classified, let me know because it makes no sense to me.

Speaking of recommended ages...

Now I know why a bug net is not recommended for 8 month old children!

Where's the Fire?

Today we went to Cousin Austin's 3rd birthday party. When we first arrived, Austin came running to his "Cusin Bear-wit". Austin just adores Barrett, and I really think he is one of Barrett's favorites too!

It was lots of fun! We played, ate cake, destroyed a firetruck pinata, and watched Austin open presents, but the big moment was when a real firetruck pulled up to surprise Austin! At first he was so shocked he didn't even look excited, but he got over that pretty quick.

I honestly think that the adults were more excited to climb on it and play than the kids were.

(that is my brother-in-law)

Barrett had no idea that it was anything special, but he liked when Austin honked the horn!

Tyler had fun making silly faces while he was playing with the uniforms!




Unfortunately for Tyler, Uncle Dougie found a rope later in the party. Some of the adults joked about knowing it's a Texas party when you start roping kids for entertainment.

Austin and Tyler's other uncle, Rick, found a rope too. His was attached to a kite though. I don't think that Tyler had to worry about being tied up with this one considering Rick found it on the roof!

Barrett must of had a good time because he slept the whole way home which should have messed up bed time, but he still went to bed with no problem!



His perfect behavior might catch up with us tomorrow, but it was fun today!

Easter Weekend

Barrett's loved his first Easter! Ok, he had no clue that it was Easter, but he loved being held all weekend long.

On Saturday, we went to one of Doug's grandma's houses. His cousins were there with their kids, so Barrett had lots of entertainment. We tried to get a picture of all four kids, but it was impossible for them all to look at a camera at the same time especially when they were all distracted with eggs. We tried for a while, but we decided that what we had would have to do. Here is one of the pictures I had.



Barrett didn't get into the egg hunt we had, but he sure liked the plastic eggs. His second cousins (if that is what they are!) were more than happy to give him eggs to play with.



On Sunday, we went to Doug's other Grandparents. Doug's Grandpa is too cute, and Barrett LOVES him. Grandpa will get on the floor and talk with Barrett. Doug, Doug's dad, and I went to the pond to fish, and apparently Barrett talked to Grandpa the entire time we were gone. Dorothy swears Barrett makes her dad 40 years younger.

The big event of the weekend came on Sunday evening. Grandma was waving to Barrett and he waved back! She said, "Oh, he's waving?" I told her no, but when she waved to him again, he waved back. It is too cute. I think Grandma was really happy to get to see a first, and Barrett is thrilled with his new trick. When we got home, he would wave to Doug, so I got it on video too.

Yesterday at the grocery store, Barrett was waving to everyone we passed. He was laughing when they would wave back. I just can't get over how cute it is to watch him think about making his hand wave. I know soon it will be easy for him to do, so I am enjoying watching him figure it all out.



I hope all of you had a wonderful, relaxing Easter.

Good Friday = Bad Hair Day?

Today might have been Good Friday, but no one told Barrett's hair.

Bath Time with Daddy!

We have a nighttime routine. I give Barrett his bath, then Doug dries him and put him in his jammies. It is pretty much the same every night, except last night.

Last night, I had to bake cookies for the church Easter egg hunt, so I told Doug to give Barrett his bath. I was actually surprised when he just said, "Ok." He didn't ask me any questions, and I had to bite my tongue not to tell him how to do it "right". After about 20 minutes, Doug was yelling at me to come to the bathroom.

As I ran, I had these flashing thoughts of Barrett drowning or being scalded with water that was too hot.

Doug just wanted me to see Barrett splashing. Doug was so excited about it that I didn't have the heart to tell him Barrett does that every night. So, instead, I ran and got the video camera and the still camera. Doug was laughing and encouraging Barrett to splash more. I think he was really proud that he saw what he thought was a first. Since he doesn't read my blog, we'll just keep this between me and everyone on the internet! :)

Here are a few of the pictures I took.

If you look at Barrett's hand in this one, you can see that he was slapping the water.

After bathtime was over, I took Barrett and got him dressed while Doug went to dry off from all the splashing. I know Barrett loves bathtime, but I think Daddy liked it even more than Barrett last night.

A Reason to Eat Brownies!

I received the following email this morning, and I feel like it is something I should share. It is from the the mom, Carol Barrett, of Barrett's namesake family. Whether you knew James Barrett or not, this would be a great tradition for any family.

Hi!!

My sister-in-law Stormy had an idea to help the kids and I remember James on his birthday which is this Friday. She intended it for our family but I loved the idea so much that I wanted to share it.

Friday April 7th has been deemed an official holiday in honor of James Barrett called Blessings and Brownies Day.

We simply ask that you use the entire day to count your blessings. (No negative thoughts please!!) Additionally, said List of Blessings shall begin each year with an appreciation of one James Morris Barrett, who taught us to recognize our blessings every day. Then eat a brownie in his honor. Brownies were always James' favorite.

A side note. I never could bake brownies that were cooked all the way through. It didn't matter how hard I tried, they were never the "Martha Stewart" worthy. James was always so kind about the whole thing, he never complained and never once made me feel bad about it. Instead he made the best of the situation. He scooped out the middle and put it on his ice cream. He would grin and tell me, "I love the gooey middle on my ice cream! They are perfect!!" However, I did notice when Jackie was old enough he would ask her to make the brownies instead of me.

Thanks!!!

Love, Carol

Bunny Lovin'

Yesterday, Barrett and I were at the mall, and I decided to see how he would react to the Easter bunny.

He handled Santa pretty well, but from what everyone says the older a kid gets the more he fears these kind of things. I walked to the Easter bunny arena with the idea of seeing how it went, but since I already had Easter pictures taken, I wasn't too concerned about it.

As we walked up, I was thrilled to see that NO ONE was there, just the bunny and photo lady. (I was there pretty early!) As I was getting Barrett out of the stroller and the photo lady was telling me how beautiful he is, the bunny got of his throne and walked towards us.

Barrett looked at the giant bunny and smiled. As soon as the bunny got close, Barrett flung himself towards it. Luckily, the bunny grabbed him. Barrett just smiled, giggled, and stared. He then started jumping up and down in the bunny's arms. I assumed this meant he wasn't afraid, so we decided to take the picture.

When the bunny sat down with Barrett, we realized there was going to be a major issue. Barrett would not look at anything but the bunny. He was hugging the bunny's arm, petting it, laughing at it, and screaming with delight, but he was not going to look at the camera.

After the bunny stood up multiple times, played with him more, and jumped around with Barrett squealing with glee, the Easter bunny sat back down to try again.

The camera lady and I did everything we could to get his attention. Finally, there were other people waiting, so with all of us calling him, Barrett finally looked our way.



After getting the shot, I walked over to get Barrett. He was clinging to the rabbit, and I literally had to rip him away screaming and crying.

As I was waiting to pay for the very overpriced pictures, the bunny finished with the other children. So, while Barrett wiggled for me to let him go, the bunny came and got him again. I paid and Barrett was again happy as could be with his giant stuffed animal.

I again ripped Barrett away from his friend and went on with our shopping.

When it was time to leave the mall, we had to walk right by the bunny. As we walked by, I stopped to let Barrett see it again. Even though the bunny had a line waiting to see him, he got up and came over to Barrett. Barrett of course leaned to him, so the bunny again took Barrett. Barrett hugged on him and hopped around for a minute before being returned to me.

To say Barrett had a great experience is an understatement. I don't know who was inside that costume, but it was wonderful to see someone truly enjoying their job. I hope all of you with children can find an equally wonderful bunny this Easter!

Today, I am Super Mom

Here are all the things I accomplished today (and it's only 4:45):

1. showered and dressed BEFORE Barrett woke up at 7:00

2. did 2 loads of laundry

3. put away the laundry I did a few days ago

4. went to a vacation bible school leader meeting at church & held Barrett wiggling the whole time

5. picked up Barrett's portraits at the mall

6. took some things back to Dillards

7. bought a new church outfit and a pair of pants (that I actually tried on)

8. took Barrett to get his picture taken with the Easter bunny (more on that later)

9. mopped the floor

10. vacuumed the whole house

11. dusted everything

12. cleaned the living room baseboards with Barrett following me the whole time

13. visited with the neighbor kids

14. took a walk with Barrett

15. mowed the yard (yes, I said mowed the yard!!!)

16. updated my blog

I'd say that's pretty good for one day. :)

Barrett is now screaming, so I have to run. I'll blog later about the Easter bunny!