Eye Wear

The boys seem to be obsessed lately with glasses.

Fisher has broken TWO pairs of my glasses. He broke my good ones, and then while I was wearing my old ones as the others were being fixed, he broke those too.

A friend of mine told me to not put them where he could reach them. Unfortunately, they were on my face both times he got them. I have yet to find a way to keep him completely away from my face. Now, I just wear contacts from before he gets up until after he goes asleep. So far, my glasses have survived.

Barrett always "needs" his sunglasses in the car, and he freaks out if he can't find them. Typically, he doesn't need them for more than a few minutes. He now thinks his glasses need to be in the holder that is in the car where I used to put my sunglasses...

When I was on a weekend get-away a few weeks ago with the high school girls, I found some really cute, cheap kids sunglasses that were supposed to be for Barrett.

Fisher claimed them before Barrett had a chance.

He loved their special feature.

Two minutes after these pictures were taken, the glasses were broken.

This past weekend, I went on the leadership retreat for my MOPS group. It was wonderful, relaxing, and productive which I was not expecting! (Hoping for, yes, but not expecting.)

When I came home, I was exhausted from all the fun, but Barrett was worried about me getting him some "gaggles". He talked about them for a good 30 minutes. I told him we would discuss it in the morning.

Tuesday morning, I was given the full report.

Apparently, Barrett HAS to have goggles for our trip to Florida. Barrett's explanation went like this:

"Daddy said I need gaggles. I need gaggles to swim in the pool and the ocean. Daddy took me to Target, but they didn't have any that fit me. After Target, we ran (ran??) to HEB. HEB had gaggles, but they didn't fit either. Daddy kept trying them on me, but they hurt my nose. Then Daddy took me to Walmart, but they didn't have any gaggles at all. Now Daddy says you have to buy me gaggles that don't cover my nose for our bay-k-shen."

Daddy's version of the story:

"Barrett was swimming in the backyard, and Sydney came over with her goggles. She told Barrett he needs a pair. I told him to ask you."

I didn't really think Doug went power shopping for goggles.

Barrett has got quite the imagination!

Summer Fun?

Summer is more than half way over, and I really can't say we have done a whole lot.

My new "part time" job is pretty much keeping me busy on a more full time basis, but I am loving it. I especially love that I am with the preschoolers on the weekend, but I help with the various other children's stuff during the week. How many people can say that they are paid to do things like this...

Yep, I had 80 elementary age kids digging through giant bowls of ABC spaghetti-O's to write words. I know most people wouldn't see that as a good job, but it totally fits me.

The boys have been having a blast at their summer mother's day out, and while I am excited to start back at our church in September, I will miss all their great teachers they have right now.

Fisher continues to be a wild man. He pretty much has two modes: full speed or asleep.

The other day, Barrett begged me to buy a cupcake at the grocery store. He picked pink for himself and blue for Fisher. After Barrett ate a little of his icing, he was ready to give it to Fisher. The wild man didn't disappoint his brother, and Barrett was the one who told me that I had to get the camera.

Fisher is talking more and more. Unfortunately, he speaks a language that we don't know. Barrett claims to understand, but when the translation ends up being that Fisher wants Barrett to have skittles, I am pretty sure Barrett doesn't understand him either.

Barrett has grown up so much this summer. He is quite the little man, and if he would quit throwing fits throughout the day, he'd be really fun to be around all the time.

He is really into organizing things now, and I love it. He has "homes" for all his toys, and if something is in the wrong place, he is quick to correct it. I know it sounds like a wonderful thing, but he has had more than a few meltdowns when Fisher has decided to help pick up.

Barrett is also very excited about our upcoming "Bay-K-shun". We are headed to Florida in a couple weeks for Papa and Mary's wedding. I've tried to explain that to him, but he is focused on the beach, the pools, and his cousins. Although, he was super excited about the attire that Mary requested he wear. Here he is modeling the two options he has.

Notice the surfer hands that Katie, his babysitter/ swim teacher taught him. He thinks that it is really cool to do.

Other than that, Barrett is still singing "Hey, Good Looking" to most girls he sees, and he has become the ring tone on quite a few cell phones at church. :)

I wish I had more time to write, but I need to send out more recruiting emails. If you are wanting more updates and you go to my church, sign up to teach preschool Sunday school, and I'll have a lot more free time!

I'm Back, Kind of

I apologize for the lack of posts, but shortly after my last post, my computer died.

I now have a new computer, but I am too tired to write.

I promise there are stories to be written. They just won't be written today and probably not tomorrow...

Fourth of July

Fourth of July started out as a really boring day. I got a few things done for work, and then we all went to Walmart. Luckily, the neighbors were having a family party and invited us to join them.

The boys both had a lot of fun, but their favorites of the day could not have been more different.

Doug was trying to eat some ribs while Fisher begged him for food. Doug kept trying to give him beans, but that's not what he wanted.

Let's just say that if we took Fisher to an all-you-can-eat rib dinner, we would definitely get our money's worth. I honestly have no idea how much he ate, but he ate rib after rib for a LONG time.

When he was finally finished eating, he was happy to show off his BBQ face.


After dinner and playing, it was time for the fireworks. Barrett was just a little excited as you can tell in the picture.


(Honestly, I don't know why he was so excited because he didn't have a clue what fireworks were.)

The first things we did since it wasn't quite dark yet were the smoke bombs.

Fisher was really curious about them, but it had nothing to do with the smoke. He just wanted to play with the "ball".

Once they were lit, Fisher thought it was really funny, but he was still mad that he couldn't hold it.

Barrett just liked running in the smoke.



Once it got a little darker, some of the adults started setting off big fireworks.

Barrett was in awe.

Barrett and Sydney had fun sitting together on the curb watching the fireworks.

But it didn't take long for them to want to do their own again.

After about an hour and half, all the kids had gotten tired of the noise. Doug took Fisher in and put him to bed because he was not happy, and after trying cotton balls in Barrett and Sydney's ears, Doug solved the noise problem for them.

After another hour, Barrett was DONE, but he wouldn't admit it. He kept insisting he wanted to keep watching.

A few moments after that picture was taken, the melt down began. Within 15 minutes, he was inside, changed, and tucked in bed.

As I was leaving, he said, "Mommy, I love you this much. I had so much fun today. Can you tell the fireworks to be quiet?"

"Oh, I wish I could..."

Forget Golden, Silence is Scary

Most of my days are filled reminding my boys to be nice to each other, so you can imagine my concern the other morning when neither boy was making a sound.


I thought Barrett was in the playroom and Fisher was watching Baby Einstein, but Barrett had apparently decided Fisher's show was better than his cows.

If only they could get along this well all the time!

Sometimes Having a Kid is Helpful!

Most of the time, Barrett is so much like Doug it's just scary. Barrett wants to shoot things, play golf, watch Discovery Channel shows about surviving in the wild, and be outside in 100 degree heat as much as possible.


BUT, I have managed to train him to do something that Doug doesn't do. Doug might now how to do this, but I have never seen proof that he is capable.

If he could only reach the knobs, It would be perfect!

Back to Work

As of tomorrow, I am back to work.

After lengthy back and forth discussions with various leaders at my church, I was named the Director of Preschool Ministries this morning.

I am really excited about this for so many reasons, but there are two reasons that this is perfect for me.

One: I have a true passion for working with kids and watching them grow especially in their relationships with Christ. I am so thrilled to be getting to help our three, four, and five year olds start on their faith journey. It is equally exciting that Barrett will be entering the preschool program this Fall, and I'll get to see things from the parent perspective as well. Although, if I hate something, I'll have to complain to me!

Two: My part time job doesn't change the time I am with my kids at all. I will work while they are at school at the church, and I will work Sunday mornings which is nothing new to my family. I will have other responsibilities, but they are all things that I already do!

I have been wanting to "do something" for a couple of years now, and I really feel blessed that this has fallen into place.

Hopefully, I am still this excited when I actually start the job. :)

The Beast

Fisher has been out of control lately with his fits. He gets really mad and throws himself on the floor. The fits last so long that I am sure that half way through them he doesn’t even know what he is so mad about.


This morning, Doug and I were discussing what we should do when he acts like this.


Here’s the solution we came up with.


What do you think?





Maybe caging him all alone is cruel.

What about this?



Ok, before you call CPS on us, we wouldn’t really cage them. We are dogsitting, and the cage came with Gizmo.

Fisher is fascinated by the cage, and it is almost impossible to keep him out of it. When I started laughing and taking pictures, Barrett had to be a part of it.

The funniest part of it all was Gizmo watching them inside of it. He almost seemed happy to have them caged up.




I think they are wearing him out with all the love he’s gotten.

What Is Going On With the Boys?

I am too busy to look back over what I have already told you about the boys, so here is a quick recap of what they are up to. This is really more for me than you, so sorry if it’s boring.

The Biggest News:

Barrett: He is completely potty trained. I have no horror stories about it. Doug went out of town, I put him in big boy underwear. We were done. Seriously, he has had two accidents in three weeks. One was when he had the stomach bug and one was when he was in a lot of trouble. I think it’s impressive that he had a stomach bug and still only had one accident with that much poo.

Fisher: He still walks weird. The doctor wants him to see a specialist, but we are having trouble finding one that will see him at only 16 months old. A lot of people comment how “cute” his walk is. I think that is nice people talk for, “What is wrong with that kid’s legs?” The doctor actually thinks it might be his hips or it may be nothing at all and that he will grow out of. As soon as we find a pediatric orthopedic surgeon that is on our insurance and will see him, I’ll know more. For now, if you know me in real life, please don’t comment on it. Do you think I haven’t noticed??

Their Favorite Foods:

Barrett: He doesn’t eat unless it’s chicken nuggets, strawberry LaCreme yogurt, fresh fruit, peanut butter crackers, and a couple other things.

Fisher: He’s my eater, well, my vegetarian eater. He really doesn’t eat any meats. It’s fun to finally have a kid that mesmerizes people with the amount he can consume. Pretty soon, he’ll out weigh Barrett. He also still sucks down too many bottles a day, and I know I should be getting rid of those.

Their Sleep Habits:

Barrett: In bed at 9:00 if we’re lucky, up by 6 on a good day. He typically is up once a night and sometimes it is as many as 5 times. It sucks. He will nap for an hour and a half, and I am thankful for that!

Fisher: He’s ready to pass out at 8:30, but he’ll keep going full speed if you let him. He’ll sleep until anytime between 6:30 and 7 unless it’s a good day, which could be as late as 8.

Their Toys:

Barrett: He loves all things animals. He’ll play with other stuff, but if he spots a farm, Noah’s Ark, or any other animal thing, he zones in on it. He currently is obsessed with cows. Which seems harmless, but when he is quizzing me on whether a cow is a Hereford, Angus, Brahma, or whatever other kinds there are, I really wonder if the obsession is healthy for a two year old.

Fisher: Fisher wants whatever brother has. He also loves cars and balls. He pretty much wants to play with whatever we tell him is a “no no”. It’s not really a toy, but lately he always wants a “baby” with him which is actually a blanket. He has a favorite camouflage one, but he really isn’t that picky about which one he has.

Current Sayings:

Barrett: Barrett is always talking, so narrowing down what he says the most is impossible. He’s been using ridiculous, hilarious, and absolutely a lot lately. He also told a cow at Paw’s house the other day to, “Back up damn cow!”, so we’ve been working on words you say and don’t say. He now asks about every new expression he hears if it is ok to say. He has decided that “Dern it” is not ok, but saying “Dern the luck” is ok. I realize that “dern” is a replacement for “damn”, but it’s not a big freaking deal to me if he uses it. :)

Fisher: He doesn’t talk much, but he has mastered puppy, cracker, bottle, mommy, daddy, Nana, PaPa, Paw, Gigi, NeeNee, candy, night night, please, and thank you. Oh, and how could I forget, he loves the word, “mine!”

My Favorite Things:

Barrett: I love putting Barrett to bed at night. He always wants me to sit right next to his bed and sing with him. I used to always rub his head, but now he rubs my cheek while we sing. I wish that would last forever.

Fisher: He’s been grumpy a lot lately. He throws the worlds worst fits. I don’t even want to think how much worse they might get. BUT, even when he’s in a bad mood, if you tickle him, he laughs. It’s not the normal laugh. I can’t explain it, but it is the happiest laugh in the world. Doug and I have to tickle him to get the laugh, but Barrett can get him to do it pretty much whenever he wants. I hope he always laughs like this.

Ok, so I know that this is not all that interesting for most of you, but this blog is their baby book.

The boys are almost out of the bath, so I have to get the towels ready. I don’t know why Doug can’t seem to dry them off without me, but that’s a whole other story.

Quick Update

VBS is over tomorrow.

We are just 3 kids shy of 600.

I am exhausted.

I interviewed for a part-time job yesterday afternoon- I think it is happening. More on that later.

Since boys are outside with Daddy, I am going to enjoy the quiet for a moment.

I promise to have more to write when VBS ends, and I have recovered.

I know I have mentioned how much Barrett loves to sing songs, and that definitely has not changed.

Barrett will sing in the car, while he is playing, when he is supposed to be napping, and any other time a song pops into his head.

Lately, he has been picking up new songs everywhere, and there is one song that makes me laugh more than any other.

We still don't know who taught it to him. He claims it was Daddy, but Doug said it wasn't him.

Barrett not only knows it makes me smile, he also has learned that when I am upset with him, singing this works wonders.

He also likes to change songs up a little with his own re-mixes. You'll hear one of his changes in this video.

Enjoy!

"Smack"

Fisher loves to give kisses, but for a long time, he couldn't figure out how we made the kiss sound.

Lucky for him, he's pretty resourceful and found his own way to make a kiss.

I have been trying to get it on video forever. He actually does normal kisses at the beginning, but the last kiss is how he first figured out how to give kisses.



I am almost sad that he figured out the right way and doesn't still always kiss using his finger. It is so cute!

Shoes

Fisher loves to point out shoes.

When Doug is putting on his socks and shoes, Fisher runs to him, points, and says in his whispering voice, "shoe."

Doug has been working very hard on teaching Fisher the difference between shoes and socks, and for the most part, he is starting to get it.

Last night, we had a block party at our neighbor's house.

Barrett was very excited about swimming in a big pool, but he was not excited about the two dogs that live in their back yard.

Barrett immediately panicked when he saw them, and because Fisher mimics everything Barrett does, he screamed when the dogs got near him too.

Once Barrett and Daddy were in the pool, Barrett was in heaven. He would get out on the side and jump right back in. Sometimes he wouldn't wait for Doug to be ready causing a momentary panic attack in the water. Apparently, Barrett wouldn't be that upset about the extra seconds he was under water because he would get out and do it again without hesitation.

The only real problem was when the dogs came up beside him when he was about to jump in. He would scream and run into the pool. If he were capable of walking on water, it would have happened then.

Fisher, on the other hand, did not enjoy the pool. He wanted out the moment he got in. It might have to do with the fact that Barrett splashed him repeatedly, but whatever it was, Fisher only lasted about two minutes.

The best part of the party for Fisher was the food. I have no idea how much he actually ate, but I know he had at least one and a half hot dogs, two pieces of cake, a pickle, three glasses of kool-aid, a cup of blue jello, and millions of Doritos.

Fisher pretty much had food in his hands at all times which led to a problem.

When a kid is that short combined with a little unstable and is carrying food around, he quickly becomes the dogs' best friend.

Fisher did not share same love for them. He would scream and get mad at them usually throwing his food.

It was a vicious cycle.

Finally, Jill, the neighbor, told the the dogs to go away by saying, "Shoo!"

She even told Fisher to say, "Shoo," when they were bothering him.

A few handfuls of Doritos later, the dogs came looking for Fisher.

Fisher looked at us, looked at his Doritos, looked at the dogs, looked back at us, smiled, and then loudly yelled at the dogs, "Socks!"

The dogs went away, we all laughed, and Fisher sat there with his Doritos beaming with pride.

My Little Potato Heads

Yikes, I am WAY behind on blogging, and to be honest, I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back into it. I am co-directing VBS at my church this year, and it is a HUGE commitment. We are expecting 500 kids, and I have been using every free moment I have to work on it. So, the blog has been put on the back burner for now. I promise after June 13th, I should be able to post more.



One of Barrett's favorite parts of "VBS" is when I have a meeting at the church. We meet in Theresa's office which is a little kid's heaven. She has a gumball machine, millions of magnets, and most importantly, a huge potato head collection.

Barrett and Fisher love playing with the potato heads, but not in the conventional way.

Fisher typically can't get the glasses on his face, and he ends up with them stuck on the back of his neck. It's "ill-air-eeee-us" according to Barrett.

What Did He Say?

Fisher has a new word which sounds just like, "Baaa - beee". Most people think he is saying baby, and to be honest for a while I did too. Until I realized he was pointing at Barrett everytime he said it.

So, Fisher's name for his big brother sounds a lot like, "baby."

I'm sure when they are teenagers, Fisher will think this is funny.

The Sounds of Brotherhood

Most of my day is spent telling Barrett to stop abusing his brother.

I can hear Fisher's muffled squeal and without looking, I know Barrett is on top of him.

"Barrett, get off of your brother!"

If Fisher grunts, Barrett is pulling on some part of him.

"Barrett, let go of your brother."

If I hear a smack, followed by Barrett saying, "No," Barrett has just spanked Fisher.

"Barrett, you do not spank your brother."

If Fisher laughs but quickly get really quiet, Barrett has smothered him with something.

"Barrett, take the stuffed animal/pillow/blanket/whatever off of the baby!"

If Fisher screams then throws himself on the floor (thud), Barrett has taken something away from him.

"Barrett, give Fisher back the toy!"

So, the other day Fisher made a sound while they were playing I had never heard.

I went running.

Here is what I found.

Apparently, Barrett can play with his little brother without injuring him.

Who knew??

broom broom

I realize I have been bad about updating, and it's not that nothing has been happening, I just haven't had a chance to write.

I wish I could sit here and write about all the funny things the boys have been doing, but I can only get so much "me time" a day. Since I have a very limited amount of time, I'll just give you a quick set of pictures I took of Fisher the other day.

Fisher is in love with any form of transportation. He especially loves to be on the four wheeler with Paw or Daddy, but when that is not an option, he likes to sit in his truck.

When Daddy is home, he'll push Fisher across the room, and Fisher will just laugh and laugh.

When Daddy is not home and Mommy is not in the mood to play, Fisher has to find other fun things to do in the truck...

...Like show how flexible he is...

...or snack on his toes.

He is such a silly, little man!

Photo Attempt

I tried to take pictures of the boys together last week.

This is the only one where they are both even close to being together, their eyes are somewhat open, and no one is crying.




I think it will be a few years before they look sweet and innocent at the same time.

Eating Yogurt

Fisher has always loved yogurt. Recently, he has decided that he can eat it on his own, and he does not want our help.

He actually does really good at first.

It's when he realizes how good it feels on his hands that the mess really begins.

By the time he finishes, there is more yogurt on him, the highchair, and the floor than there is in his tummy, but he is so proud!

Did You Know?

This is an actual conversation that Barrett and I had in the car a few weeks ago. I had written it down when we go to where we were going, but I forgot to blog about it until I was cleaning out the car yesterday and found it.

Basically, Barrett did ALL the talking.

"Mom, did you know I have shoes on?"

"Mom, did you know that boogers are sticky?"

"Mom, did you know that I am going to Miss Leslie's and Miss Diana's class today, and did you know that today is Tuesday so I see Miss Barb sing too, did you know that?"

"Did you know that I have 5 fingers. Did you know that?

"Did you know that there is a big truck over there? Did you know that it has a little door on the back big door? Did you know that means it has cold stuff inside?"



"Mom, did you know that Taco Cabana has red chips. Did you know that is so silly? Did you know that?"

"Did you know Fisher is playing with is milk? Did you know that?"

"Mom, did you know that Jesus loves me? Did you know if I am sick, he can make me all better?"

"Did you know there is a bird up there? Did you know?"

"Did you know I can spell my name, B-A-R-T-T, Bart? Did you know that?"

Ugh, after a few more, I finally said, "Barrett, did you know that you say, 'did you know,' about a million times?"

Silence......

Ahh, sweet silence. Seriously, there was silence for a good minute or two.

"Mom, what's a million?"

"That is a really big number. Way bigger than 10."

"Oh, thanks."

Silence again for about 20 seconds.

"Mom, did you know that a million is a REALLY big number? Did you know that?"