Arizona

Our trip to Arizona was lots of fun especially for Barrett.

We started our trip by driving to Austin the afternoon before we left so we could watch my cousin play baseball.

He has made it to AAA, and while I am anxiously waiting for him to make it to Houston, I liked the minor league stadium much better than the stadium here. It had all kinds of activities for kids and was very clean. Even though Mark didn't win the game, I loved going to see him. Barrett was way more excited about the mascot than the actual game.

The real adventure in Austin was staying in a hotel with both kids. Barrett thought of a king size bed as more of a play land and not a place to sleep.

While Doug was getting Fisher to sleep, I went to bed with Barrett. I tried everything I could to get him to calm down and sleep. I did not have any luck. Doug put Fisher in the portable crib, and he came to bed.

We had Barrett surrounded, but that didn't help.

He just kept talking, rolling, jumping, laughing, and NOT sleeping. We considered putting him in the crib and having Fisher with us, but the thought of possibly waking the only sleeping kid we had was just too risky.

Finally, Doug and I turned our backs to him and ignored him. He got really still and quiet, and just as I started to think I was going to sleep, Barrett scooted close to me, wiggled his fingers, and said, "tickle, tickle, tickle."

I laughed which led to another half hour of his bed aerobics.

Eventually either he fell asleep or we did, I'm really not sure.

At one point in the night, after Barrett had busted my lip with a kick to the face, I was sleeping across the bottom of the bed, Doug had his pillow on the nightstand, and Barrett was happily snoring.

Mental note to self: NEVER try that again. Barrett will be in the crib next time.

On Friday morning, we made it the the airport with no problems.

Barrett was thrilled to watch all the planes.





When we got on the plane, we had a 45 minute delay, so Barrett was pretty restless.

Fortunately, as soon as we were in the air, I turned on the DVD player, and he was perfect the whole flight with the exception of requesting DVD changes every 5 minutes. (Thank you Gigi for that wonderful Christmas gift!)


Fisher slept through his entire first flight.



Once we got to Tucson, Barrett was excited to see Papa, but more excited to see Digger and Brandy, the dogs.




When we made it outside, Barrett saw that Papa had a "big pool" in his yard. He ended up in the water before we even got his suit on. So, I ran in, found my suit, and swam with him. We hadn't even been there 15 minutes.

Later that night, Uncle Ray and Kristin drove in from Phoenix to stay for the weekend. Fisher was already out cold, and Barrett was nice and grumpy by then.

On Saturday morning, all the men went to play golf, and Kristin and I swam with Barrett.


While we swam, Mary held Fisher inside. (Fisher was held the WHOLE trip.)






Once the men came home, we all played in the pool while, once again, Mary held Fisher in the air-conditioned house or in the shade outside. We did the same thing on Sunday too.

Barrett loved swimming with Uncle Ray, Papa, and Daddy.


Barrett became an expert with the water gun. He could shoot anyone at any distance.

He also shot himself a few times too!

His other pool time entertainment was throwing golf balls in the pool for all of us to fetch. Papa was kind enough to pull out the bucket of 50 yellow range balls that Doug and I dove for over and over again.

He doesn't have the balls in this picture, but this is one of the places where he sat to throw and roll the balls in.

Doug thought that he was going to get to play with Papa's cool water toys, the remote control jet ski and boat, but Barrett had other plans.

On Sunday evening, Ray and Kristin went home, but the water fun continued the rest of the trip anyway. We just had less pairs of hands to help us.

Barrett not only loved the pool, but he also loved the sprinklers. He thought running through them was big fun, and he was mesmerized by the wet footprints on the ground.

Here is his footprint next to Papa's.

On our last day there, we of course, swam all day again. This time, Fisher actually made it into the pool once it was shaded in the evening. He didn't like the cold water at first, but once he got over the initial shock, he loved it.

He even managed to hang out in the big float too.

Overall, the trip was lots of fun with the the exception of the journey home. Barrett is still talking about the big pool with guns and golf balls.







Thank you Mary and Papa for having us out to your house. Maybe next year the boys will come on their own for a week or two! :)

Vacation?

I realized half way through my "vacation" that I never even mentioned on the blog that we were going to visit my dad in Arizona. We planned the trip at the last minute, so I guess things just got to busy.

We are now home, and I am EXHAUSTED! The trip itself wasn't too tiring, but the journey home was no fun at all.

A 3+ hour delay at the airport, a closed road which turned into an hour extra of driving, and a storm that required the high speed of about 30 mph to even be able to see, turning a 4 and a half hour trip into a 11 hour trip with two little ones just isn't all that enjoyable.

I'll write more on the trip later.

What are the odds I'll get a nap in today?

I know, not good, not good at all.

I Love Baby Einstein

There is nothing better than both boys being completely amused at the same time!

Happy Anniversary to Me

Today is my wedding anniversary.

One year ago today, I sat in the bathroom unable to believe what I was seeing, a positive pregnancy test.

I was pregnant with Fisher. Since it was a HUGE surprise for me, our anniversary last year was overshadowed by the fear of having two small children.

This morning, there was another surprise in the bathroom.

No, I am not pregnant.

On our wedding night, Doug had our hotel room covered in rose petals. Today, it was our bathroom.

Considering we were up most the night with Fisher, it was a really nice surprise to have all the sweet smelling rose petals and a really cheesy note from Doug written on the mirror.

When Barrett came into our bathroom as I was getting ready, he yelled, "Uh Oh, broke flowers, big mess!"

He was so upset about the mess, he grabbed a few rose petals and went running to tell Gigi about the mess.

This evening when Doug and I came home from dinner, I was changing into my jammies, and Barrett came into the bathroom.

He obviously got over the mess when he found a reason why the rose petals were fun to have all over the place.

He really was proud of himself when he realized he could attack Gigi with his roses...

I'm sure he was just telling Gigi how much he loves her.

Even though Doug can drive me crazy at times, I am really lucky to have a husband who loves me enough to not only talk Glenda, the balloon lady, into tearing apart roses to make the petals he needed, but he also had to ask a neighbor to store the rose petals in their refrigerator. Apparently, he made a mad dash over there last night to get them without me knowing.

This might not be a big deal to some of you who have overly romantic husbands, but for Doug this was WAY out of his comfort zone. :)

I guess I should do something for Father's Day now!

Monday Freeding Frenzy

I realize today isn't Monday, but it's been a busy week!

We woke up too early Monday morning, but somehow we still were running late to my bible study. Fisher was happily on the floor perfecting his rolling techniques as I chased a screaming almost-two-year-old around the house begging him to put pants on.

Fisher not only rolled completely across the room, he also managed to scoot to his brother's animal collection. The only good part of this was that Barrett got so mad at Fisher being near his zoo, that he forgot I was chasing him.

I don't know if it was all the rolling and scooting, or just that I didn't brush his hair after his bath the night before, but Fisher's hair was out of control. Since it was even more crazy than usual, I decided the shirt his Nana bought him was the best wardrobe choice.

We had a pretty good day after a crazy morning, and we ended the day with going out to eat with Gigi, Nana, and Paw.

We went to a Mexican place that we love mainly because they are fast and have free ice cream; two necessities with Barrett.

When I was reading my menu, I noticed that on Mondays, kids eat free. Since Barrett never eats, I've never ordered him anything. Sometimes he'll eat a little rice and cheese, but it's never enough to warrant paying for his own meal.

But, since it was free, I ordered him a queso puff and rice.

When his plate came, it had a giant queso puff and tons of rice. Seriously, there was about three cups of rice on the plate. I handed him a fork, and he started eating. I mean, really eating. Barrett ate the entire puff and about two cups of rice.

Then, I got him ice cream. He ate most of it before asking to eat MORE rice and cheese. He was eating it until the moment we got up from the table.

For the first time ever, I had to say that he needed to stop eating. (I wouldn't normally stop him, but I was concerned he might puke if he ate more.)

Since we had been so successful with Barrett, Doug and I decided that we'd see if the eating would continue at home with Fisher.

When we got home, we prepared everything, and Fisher had his first taste of rice cereal. At first, he had no clue what was going on, but when the spoon hit his mouth, he knew it was something good.

He ate quite a bit, and for the second time in one night, I had to stop one of my kids from eating too much.



If the first night is an indicator, Fisher should be a much better eater than his big brother!

He's Not Sick

This past week has been VERY busy and VERY long.

Normally, I have to look for things to write on the calender, but this week I had vacation bible school all week, a lake trip with a bunch of junior and senior high kids, a graduation party, and my mom was flying in.

As I looked at the calendar last weekend, I was so happy to feel like I had a life outside of my house for a change, but Sunday night made me realize that a full week was not going to be a good thing.

Fisher was up most the night Sunday, so as I drove to VBS Monday morning, I called the doctor to see about getting in. After trying to organize the 37 junior high, 4 high school, and 2 adult volunteers I had "helping" me with the outdoor games while I was on hold for 45 minutes, I knew the week wasn't going to be so fun.

I got an appointment with a doctor, but when you call on a Monday morning along with 3 billion other people, you have to take what you can get. The only good part was that they could see Fisher at 1 which meant that I could be at VBS to lead my area because leaving it with only my volunteers on the first day would have been disastrous considering NONE of them had ever helped with it before.

The first day of VBS wasn't without it glitches, but overall, it was great. I wish I could say the same about the doctor's visit.

When we went to sign in, I learned we'd be seeing a doctor that was in for a doctor that was out of town. He might have been good, but a doctor that is a fill in doctor makes me nervous. I just feel like if he was really good, he'd have his own practice.

I was right. I think we would have been better off driving by, throwing $25 out the window, and getting home in time for Barrett's nap.

The fill-in doctor told me that Fisher isn't sick. The fact that he coughed all night, wasn't sleeping, and wasn't eating meant nothing. His only suggestion was to give Fisher Triaminic or Pediacare. When I asked about dosage, he pointed at Barrett and said he could have what I give him. I know Barrett's not a big kid, but he is a lot bigger that a 3 and a half month old baby.

Monday night was sleepless again. So, Tuesday, I called and left a message for my doctor to call me. My call was returned really quickly, and I was told the correct dosage. (My doctor also wanted to know all the details of the fill-in doctor visit. I don't think he'll ever fill in for her!)

VBS went amazingly smooth all week, but the lack of sleep due to the "not sick" baby was making me insane.

So, Thursday morning, I called for an appointment with our normal doctor. I drove to VBS to get everything as organized as I could, drove to the doctor, and again I was told he's still not sick.

Ugh!

Doug's mom picked the kids up from the doctor's office so I could rush to be on time to go on the retreat with the older kids.

You know it's been a rough week when being on a party boat with 40 junior high and high school kids is relaxing.

Mom flew in Friday morning, and was quick to notice that Fisher was not in a good mood. His mood got worse ALL day.

Friday night was awful, last night was worse. He's not sleeping at all.

Last night, I was up with him from 1 until 4:30, and I gave up and got Doug. Doug was up with him until we went to church.

Fisher is coughing, moody, and not sleeping well at all, but at least I know he's "not sick".

Maybe he's teething. Maybe he's just figured out how to cough. Maybe he's really hungry at night. Whatever it is, I hope he gets over not being sick soon.

Locked Out

This morning, we took a trip to Walmart to get out of the house. We really didn't need anything, but we went anyway. That probably tells you how my morning was going while Doug was out playing golf.

When we returned from Walmart, I took Barrett out of the car and told him to carry his sippy cup in and put it on the kitchen counter while I unloaded the things we didn't need to buy.

He ran to the door, laughed, and shut it.

This is actually a normal thing for him to do. I reminded him I still needed to get Fisher out of the car, and I opened the door to go back into the garage.

As I was unloading Fisher, the door slammed shut again followed by the typical, "uh-oh."

As I was walking to the door, I was lecturing him about not shutting it while Mommy is in the garage. Then, I went to open the door, but it was locked.

Barrett locked me out.

Not on purpose, but somehow he hit the little lock button next to the knob.

I told him to turn the knob, and I could hear him trying. Unfortunately, he wasn't successful.

I went back to my car to get my keys because usually I leave them in it when it's in the garage, but usually wasn't today.

So, now Fisher and I are in the garage while my keys to the house, my cell phone, his bottles, and Barrett are all locked safely in the house.

I look next door, and one of the neighbor's cars is home.

I run next door and bang on the door, but they don't answer. Either they're not home or they are ignoring the door which is very common for them. (Mental note to self: make house key copies for more neighbors!)

I run back to the garage, and I can still hear Barrett messing with the door knob. I am amazed how well he listened to me. I guess I need to sound panicked more often.

I realize that him turning the knob enough to make the lock "pop" may not happen, so I try another approach.

I ask him to go get his stool from his potty and bring it to the front door. To my amazement, he says, "yep."

I run to the front door and look through the glass that I always complain people can see in. (Now I am glad it's there.)

Barrett was just rounding the corner to his bathroom.

He is very easily distracted when we send him on other missions, so I was concerned that the unsupervised bathroom might be way too tempting.

Just a few seconds later, he comes running back around the corner carrying the stool looking extremely proud of himself.

He gets it to the front door, and I tell him to stand on it.

I then begin trying to explain to him to turn the dead bolt lock. He looked confused, but he was trying to listen.

He finally grabbed on to it, and as I cheered for him, I told him to turn it.

He was trying to turn it, and I was encouraging him to keep trying.

He finally stopped and told me it was, "too heavy." I told him to keep trying, but it never worked.

Next, we tried the garage door again, but it wasn't looking good.

I decided that I would have to find another neighbor that was home to let me call Doug or help me break in if he didn't answer on the golf course. I was just worried about leaving Barrett for too long.

As I was walking out of the garage with Fisher, I heard the greatest sound ever, "pop," followed by, "Yea Barrett."

I ran back to the door, and it was unlocked. After 45 minutes of trying, Barrett unlocked a door!

I know the lesson here should be about not leaving a toddler in the house alone even for a second, keeping an extra key hidden somewhere, or having more than one neighbor with a key, but what I learned is that Doug shouldn't leave to play golf on Saturday mornings.

After all, they wouldn't have been driving me crazy, I wouldn't have made a pointless trip to Walmart, and I wouldn't have ever been locked out by my son. Therefore, this was entirely Doug's fault! :)

Good Bye?

I think Barrett is getting confused.

He used to say bye-bye like a champ. He would do a cute, little wave and smile as he said, "bye-bye."

Now, he's just confused.

Sometimes, he yells, "Bye," while waving over his shoulder and walking away.

Sometimes, he says, "Peace Out," while holding up all five fingers. Apparently he can't make the peace sign yet. (Thanks to my neighbor Melissa for this one.)

Sometimes, he attempts to say Adios, but it comes out, "Deee-O's."

But my favorite is his response to "See you later, Alligator."

Whenever someone says that, I think he knows there is an animal response that goes with it. Unfortunately for him, he can't seem to remember that you're supposed to say, "In a while, crocodile."

On his own, he came up with what he would say.

His response is, "Bye, turtle."

He just cracks me up!

It's Monday

If you want to know how my day went, here's your answer...

Boogies

Barrett has been cracking me up today.

Today, he's obsessed with his boogers.

He woke up with a stuffed up nose, and ever since, we've been constantly nose blowing.

On the way to breakfast this morning (we go out every Sunday morning), he had me pass him a tissue at least five times. He would then blow his nose holding the tissue to his nose. After the blowing, he would inspect the outcome. Then, he would say, "Ewwww, boogies." Next, he would want me to take the dirty tissue. By the time we got to breakfast, I had a stack of dirty tissues in my lap.

Later when I picked him up from his Sunday school class, Miss Lily, his teacher, told me that he wanted to blow his nose every few minutes. She said all the helpers were giggling at him because he would blow his nose in the tissue, look at them, and then put the tissue in the trash can.

As we drove home, Barrett found something more fun to do. He told me he had boogies, so I went to hand him a tissue, but he said, "No nose Mommy, boogie finger."

He was so proud to show me the giant green booger on the tip of his finger.

I then gave him a tissue to put the boogie on. Then, he starting trying to find another boogie for the tissue. He was getting really frustrated because he couldn't find a boogie. He even tried fake sneezing to see if one came out. I don't know if I have ever laughed that much at him.

He never found another boogie, but he still held onto the tissue when we got home.

A few minutes later, I heard Fisher making odd noises as I put away the diaper bags.

When I ran into the living room, Barrett was hovering over Fisher.

When I called out his name, Barrett jumped up holding one finger in the air looking very proud.

"Fisher boogie on Barrett's finger!"

Yep, he picked his brother's nose. (Don't worry, Fisher is fine and a little less stuffy than he was earlier today.)

Barrett is down for his nap now, but when I was walking out of his room, he was saying something to his elephant stuffed animal, Peanut, about boogers. I can only assume that he was attempting to find something inside Peanut's trunk...

Teachers of the Year

Today was a sad day for us.

Today was Barrett's last day of Mother's Day Out.

Originally I thought this day would be awful because it meant the end of having some time for myself (assuming Fisher was cooperative), but it isn't the impending lack of me time that makes me sad.

I'm sad because Barrett loves school. I know he'll pass his classroom on Sunday at church and want to go in, but this time I can't say that he has to wait until Tuesday. Now, he'll have to wait until the end of August, but even then, it is still sad.

The best part of his school was his teachers, Carol and Diana.

I can honestly say they were perfect. I wouldn't change a thing they did, and trust me that's a huge statement for me to say because I am always looking for ways for things to improve especially in a school setting.

Last August, I was so scared sending this little baby boy to school. (Here he is on the first day of school.)

I had talked with Diana on the phone before school started and she assured me that even though he was the youngest and only non-walker, he was going to be fine.

It amazes me what they helped him to accomplish over one school year. He learned to walk, talk in sentences, count to ten, blow his nose, tell you when he has poopy pants, identify colors, identify a few letters, sing countless songs along with hand gestures, attempt going on the potty, and others I'm surely forgetting.

While I know they were not the only influence in helping him, they were a huge part of it.

Over the course of the year, Carol and Diana were not only close with Barrett, but they became my friends too.

I loved getting Barrett's bag packed every Tuesday and Thursday because labeling his diapers became a sort of hobby for me.

We were required to write our child's name or initials on two diapers. It didn't take long for me to decide that this could be very amusing for them when they were having to do the crappiest part of their jobs.

I ended up writing poems, notes, or just funny thoughts on his diapers instead of his name, and they loved it. Normally, they would take his diapers out to read them as soon as I dropped him off.

They were sure that when I had Fisher the notes would stop, but I managed to keep it up through the entire year, until today...

Today, Barrett's diapers simply said "B" because that is what they call him, but don't worry, they weren't disappointed.

Here is how we gave them their little note today.

I almost feel sorry for his teachers next year because I have VERY high expectations! :)

Ha Ha!

Fisher is laughing a lot now. There are a lot of things he thinks are funny.

Yesterday afternoon, I think we figured out what REALLY cracks him up.

He laughed and laughed while he sat in his bouncy seat in the yard watching this...

Mother's Day #2

Yesterday was a wonderful Mother's Day, but it did have a little less excitement than last year.

Doug made me a card on the computer with the boy's picture on it, and he also let Barrett sign it which basically means he scribbled all over it.

I didn't get a new car again, but it's ok. I still love mine. :)

Doug did give me something good though. He told me to make plans to go somewhere this summer for a weekend. I can take him and the boys or I can go alone. I'm still thinking about what I want to do. Doug and I are most likely going to Vegas for our anniversary, so who knows what I'll come up with for my trip!

Yesterday, Barrett and I played in our two pools for the backyard. We have the traditional little circle pool, but we also bought a big rectangular pool too. I can actually fit a float in it!

We ended up with a slide in each pool, and to say Barrett loved it would be a huge understatement. I think he's going to love swimming as much as I did.

Fisher had a great day too when Nana, Paw, and all the great-grandparents came over for dinner. He smiled and smiled at his great grandpa.

Overall, it was a great Mommy's Day. I had so much fun that Barrett and I might play in the pools again today as long as Fisher cooperates at his spot in the shade!

Life Has Changed

I went to the store today, and I am so excited because I actually bought the "good stuff" for a change.

"Good stuff" used to mean that I didn't buy Natural Light or Pearl. (For those of you not from Texas, Pearl beer is VERY cheap!)

That's not what the good stuff is anymore.

Today, I bought something I never splurge on because it is so expensive.

I can't figure out why it costs so much more than it's competitors, but it does.

I also can't figure out why it is better than the others, but it is.

Why other brands can't steal the secrets of this product will always be a mystery to me.

Today, I bought Tide.

I LOVE Tide. It smells better than the rest and the smell stays on the clothes, towels, sheets, and whatever else you wash!

I am actually getting laundry done today at a ridiculous pace.

Normally, I let it sit in the washer, but not today. Today, I can't wait for the beep telling me to change the loads.

Wow, how life has changed.

On that same topic, this morning when I went to Walmart, my neighbor asked me to buy her something she saw on the Tyra show. (Don't make fun of her, she has a newborn so she watches everything right now.)

As I looked for her item that apparently everyone in the free world saw on Tyra, I realized I had to ask for it.

I know I've grown up because I wasn't embarrassed to ask the male restocker, who was about 18, to help me find the Cellulite removing patches by Nivea.

I didn't even say they were for a friend mainly because he never would have believed me anyway.

I just heard the dryer's beep, I guess the towels are dry! Now, I can take my shower and dry off with a Tide towel.

(P.S. For those of you curious, I'll let you know if my neighbor's cellulite disappears because if those patches work, I'll be wearing them all over my thighs!)

Animals Everywhere

Barrett's weekend was very exciting. If you ask him anything about it, he'll say animals!

On Friday, Doug took the day off work, and we went to the zoo. It was so fun to watch Barrett and his daddy see all the animals. I don't get to sit back, relax, and watch Barrett have fun very often because I normally have to REALLY watch him.

Barrett loved pointing out all the birds around the zoo, but not the pretty ones. He liked the black, nasty zoo rat ones. Besides the birds, his two favorites are still the giraffes and the elephants.

At the elephants, one of them was playing in the water that was coming from a hose above. He would fill up his trunk and then spit the water back on himself. I think Barrett and Doug could have watched it all day. Doug would count down to the spraying, and Barrett would laugh and laugh.

Daddy also really liked seeing the alligators. I think that is partially because he liked telling me the one he killed was a lot bigger than the puny zoo ones. (Thank God the taxidermist who has the head has apparently disappeared because I am very proud of the lack of dead animals in my house.)

Here Daddy is showing both his boys the alligators.

Barrett wanted to get in the water to play. I don't think he understands that animals can be dangerous yet.

Speaking of not understanding animals, here he is petting a snake.

He thought the snake sticking out his tongue was really funny, and he likes to imitate what the snake did.

After we left the zoo, we went to ride the train that goes around Hermann Park.

The train has been there forever, and it was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. Doug said he even remembered liking to ride it too, and he never admits to remembering any of his childhood that didn't involve hunting, fishing, or farming.

Here is a self portrait of me and Barrett on the train. Daddy was busy feeding Fisher during the ride, so we had to take our own picture.

If the zoo trip wasn't exciting enough, Taylor, his babysitter, made the weekend of animals even more exciting.

TayTay came to babysit on Saturday night, and they had so much fun. She brought her pet hamster with her, and Barrett was too happy about the critter.

When we got home from dinner, Fisher was asleep in bed, and Barrett was bathed, in his pajamas, and snuggling with TayTay on the couch along with the giant teddy bear from his room that he convinced her to get down.

The best part of Barrett's night was after we got home, and TayTay had him help her feed Penny.

He was so careful with Penny, and Taylor was just as careful with Barrett.

We are so lucky to have a young girl that adores our kids and wants to spend time with them!

Barrett loved his weekend of animals, but I am paying the price today.

When we got in the car this morning to go to church for a meeting, Barrett said, "Animals, zoo, TayTay, Penny," over and over again.

As I put him down for his nap and was walking out of the room, I heard him talking to himself saying, "Animals, deer, elephant, giraffe, snake, cow, hamster," and a variety of other animals too.

I guess we'll head back to the zoo again soon.

How Embarrassing!

Thanks to my sister, every month I receive Parents magazine.

I always like going to the mailbox and finding it. There are a lot of things in the magazine that make it great for parents to read, but my favorite part is the "how embarrassing" stories.

Sometimes the stories completely crack me up, while others make me thankful that the story is not mine to tell.

The little blurb at the bottom of the page says, "Tell us about your less-than-perfect parenting moments. We pay $50 for published items."

Consider me $50 richer...

The other day I was standing talking to a friend while holding Barrett. There were people all around, and as usual, Barrett was happily people watching. As I was talking, Barrett interrupted to say, "Boobies,"as he pointed at a lady behind me.

As I turned to apologize, I realized that she was wearing a VERY revealing top.

As if this weren't bad enough, Barrett reached his hand out to her chest and said, "Barrett touch boobies."

Yes, you read that correctly.

There really is no way to respond to this, so I gave her the "kids say the craziest things" look and shrugged my shoulders.

She seemed to be a little offended, but I think that is the response she wanted from a man. I guess she was just hoping for an older one.

Like I said, the 50 bucks is mine if I bother to submit this. Maybe I'll help the community with it and buy her a bra.

Bath Time

Last night, Daddy decided to use the jets in our tub to make it a mega bubble bath.

At first, Barrett was a little intimidated by the sea of bubbles slowly growing around him.

It didn't take him long to realize how much fun they could be. There were bubbles all over the walls and floor.

While Barrett was busy laughing and screaming, Fisher was hanging out on our bed. Nothing makes him smile and giggle like hearing his big brother having fun!

Ice Cream, Rain, & Milk

On Sunday after I returned from the high school retreat with our church, I needed to wash the writing off of my car windows. I didn't want to drive around with, "I am hott," along with various other things written on my car. (Yes, I know I misspelled hot. Apparently, that is the cool way to spell it.)

Barrett, Fisher, and I went outside to wash my car, and I needed a way to keep Barrett occupied, so I gave him one of those ice cream push up things. He was in heaven!

He constantly yelled at me to look at the ice cream on his fingers, and he wanted to clean up the mess.

Eventually, he accepted the being dirty part when I told him Elmo would clean him up when he finished. He had no idea what this meant, but he liked saying, "Elmo clean Barrett mess."

I'm not sure how much ice cream he really consumed, but the container was completely empty when he brought it to me and said, "Barrett done."

When I got Elmo out, he didn't hesitate to run at him. At first, Barrett was upset by the "rain" hitting him, but he quickly got over that.

He played with Elmo for a long time while Fisher sat in his bouncy seat smiling at his big brother.

Fisher started to fuss, so I told Barrett I was just running inside to get Fisher a bottle. When I came back out, Barrett insisted on helping by shaking the bottle.

Normally the shaking is where his help stops, but he said he wanted to give the bottle to Fisher.

Here is how that went...

Fisher didn't even seem to mind that Barrett never got any milk into his mouth. I think Barrett's laughing entertained him. In the end, Barrett went back to Elmo, and Fisher and I watched as he had his bottle.