My Boys

My cup runneth over. These two little boys just fill my heart with so much joy, love, awe, happiness, and that warm, fuzzy feeling.

And by the way, my sweet, not-so-little anymore, Bowen, has already grown out of one of my most FAVORITE pairs of pj's :( He is growing way too fast.

Crockett's Big Boy Bike!!

Crockett LOVES to ride Braidy's big boy bike. So, when Chris was outside watching him the other day, he asked him "Crockett, do you want a big boy bike?" and, of course, Crockett said "Oh YES!!" He has been such a great big brother and helper and has made this transition to a family of four like a pro, so I think he totally deserved it! Daddy got off of work pretty early one day last week, so we loaded up and went looking for a big boy bike! Crockett loved the Cars bike and we even found a helmet and bell to match! He was SO excited! (I think his Daddy was too :) Crockett couldn't wait for Daddy to get it put together, but as soon as he did, Crockett was off!! He is really good at it and LOVES to go FAST! There have only been a few minor spills, but he gets right back on. He loves to wear the helmet and often wears it even when he isn't riding! He also loves to ring the bell; you can hear him coming a mile away :) Now Crockett and Braidy both have big boy bikes and love to race! They are growing up SO fast!

Bowen LOVES his bath!

Bowen wasn't so sure about bath time at first, but he LOVES it now! He always hangs one leg off the mesh and pees after the first few minutes :) Definitely one of his, and my, favorite times of the day. Because everyone knows there is nothing better than a freshly bathed and lotioned baby!

Holliday, Here We Come!

Last weekend, Bowen got to take his first car trip! As soon as daddy got off work, we headed to Holliday for a fun, family and friend-filled weekend! As soon as we left Lubbock, Bowen fell asleep. Crocket... not so much! He did great, but talked the ENTIRE way :) Bowen did great! He finally woke up about Benjamin, so we only had about an hour to go. I fed him for a few minutes and then gave him his paci. He was such a trooper! We were all so glad to get to Mummer's house! On Friday, Crockett went with Daddy to run some errands, but really all he wanted to do was play with Rich! He asked about 200x, "Where's Rich?" They have so much fun together. Friday night was the family dinner. Everyone came to Mummer's house; Mimi came from Oklahoma, Kyle, Marla and Dylan came over, Brenda and Greg came, and FINALLY, Chad, Sara, Bella and Rich got there! The little boys immediately wanted to play! Everyone was SO excited to meet our sweet Bowen! He was such a good boy that night too :) Crockett loved playing with Bella, and she loved watching and shrieking at the big boys! I can't believe how much she has grown and how sweet she is. After dinner, Crockett and Rich went to Greg and Brenda's to play outside. It was such a beautiful evening! We had such a great time getting to see Mimi and I know Mimi LOVED getting to meet Bowen Barrett and see Crockett!

On Saturday, we got up and went out to the Parish to see Hotshot and Maryann. Crockett was so excited and had even packed his tunnel ('funnel') and nociars ('binoculars') to help call the cows just like Daddy and Hotshot :) He played outside a little bit, but it was so hot... He didn't last very long. Hotshot got to meet and hold Bowen. Bowen cried at first, but Hotshot started hummimg to him and he quit crying and just looked at Hotshot. It was so sweet. I know he will love Hotshot just as much as Crockett does. After we left, we went to town for a little while and back to Mummer's house. Crockett was SO TIRED, so we went home thinking we would all lay down for a bit... But shortly after we walked in, Brenda called to see if Crockett could go to "Chucky Cheeses" with Rich... How could we say no?!? He was SO excited! So, Greg, Brenda and Mummer took Crockett, Rich and Bella to play. They had so much fun and came back with pictures to prove it! Crockett had gotten his 2nd wind, so after we ate a bite, we went back to Greg and Brenda's and watched the boys SLIP N SLIDE! They had so much fun and put on quite the show :) And just when we thought Crockett could go anymore, we took him over to the Leggett's house. He was asleep as we pulled into their driveway, but he woke up and played with Hadley for a couple of hours. Leslie and Clint had Miss Chase Rebecca about a month before Bowen came along. We were so excited to see both of these babies here safe and sound. She was beautiful... Maybe Bowen's future girlfriend!?!?! Leslie and I got to visit and Chris and Clint hung out. We hadn't seen them in so long, so we all had such a nice visit. Definitely can't wait so long to see each other next time! Crockett was really SOUND ASLEEP by the time we got back to Mummer's house. What a long, busy, fun day we all had!

On Sunday morning we were so excited to get to see Grandpa Steve! He drove in from Dallas for the morning just to meet Bowen and see Crockett! He stayed and visited for a while, got to hold Bowen and talk to Crockett, so it was a wonderful visit! Greg, Brenda, Chad, Sara, Rich and Bella all came over for a little while. After a short visit, we all said our goodbyes... until next time, anyways! Kyle, Marla and Dylan joined us for lunch with Mummer before we packed up to head home.

We had such a lovely weekend. Everyone got to meet and hold our sweet Bowen. He was such a great sport, being held all weekend and passed from one person to the next. He did so good. Crockett always loves being in Holliday and he is already wanting to go back to Mummer's house :) So many special memories made! Until next time!!!

Bowen Barrett - 1 Month Old

WOW. The last month has FLOWN by! As I look at my sweet, sleeping baby right now, I cannot believe how much he has grown since he was born. He weighed 7 lbs at birth and when we weighed on Tuesday, July 17, and Bowen weighed 9.15! Almost 10 lbs! He is gaining about 1 lb a week... obviously, he eats A LOT :) I have cut out dairy from my diet and it has helped TONS. He is so alert and awake and just has such a sweet, calm spirit. He looks so much like big brother, but is totally his own person. I can't wait to see how he looks next month... they change so quickly! He sleeps better than his big brother did, but momma is not getting very much sleep. You forget how difficult the first month is! Thank goodness :) He is still wearing a few newborn onesies, but has pretty much grown out of everything else "Newborn". I am loving having my two boys here and I can't get enough snuggles from them both! Crockett loves his baby brother too! He has done so good and just wants to hug and kiss him all the time. With one exception, Crockett picked Bowen up and was bringing him to momma :), Crockett has done so good following rules and being very gentle. It has been a crazy month, but we have all adjusted very well. Happy 1 month Birthday, Bowen Barrett!

OOPS!

It occured to me, as I was thinking about our crazy, busy last couple of months, that I never blogged about Father's Day. We didn't do anything special this year, and I was doing pretty good to get cards out about one week late! But I need to say a special THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU and I AM SORRY to my sweet husband! He is such a loving, hands-on, fun, thoughtful dad to our TWO boys! Crockett cries in the morning when daddy is not there and runs to him when he walks through the front door. They are best buds and love working together, checking the cows, riding bulldozers and tractors, watering the flowers and just being together. It just warms my heart to see them and I cannot wait until Bowen is able to join in the fun! We are all blessed with so many wonderful men that have had a 'father' role in our lives or the lives of our children. And Chris, our love for you is overflowing and unconditional. Thank you for giving me my sweet boys and for being such an amazing dad. Sorry this is so late, I love you!

Happy Birthday to Braidy!

It is so hard for me to believe that my nephew, Braidy Spencer Curry, has turned 4 years old! I still remember going up to the hospital as Monica and Ryan anxiously awaited his arrival, I remember holding him and loving on him when he was only days old, I remember helping celebrate his 1st birthday, and every one after that... It makes me sad how quickly he has grown, but more than that, I have LOVED watching him become the little boy he is! We began his birthday with donuts and candles at our house! He loved blowing out the candles :)

After playing for a while and eating ALL the donuts, Mon, Braidy and Quin went home for a while before we met up with LuLu and went to a very special lunch! Anyone who knows Braidy knows how much this child LOVES veggies and fruit! I mean he LOVES veggies and fruit :) So for his special birthday lunch, rather than going somewhere to play, we went to Bless Your Heart, where the birthday boy at all the fruit he wanted! He started with a small fruit cup, but wanted more when he was done, and since it was his birthday, Mon couldn't say no... so Braidy got a BIG fruit cup! He ate about half before the cup got knocked onto the floor :( I think he got his fill, though. He was a happy birthday boy :)

For dinner, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Mon cooked Braidy whatever he wanted and he picked FRIED SHRIMP!! We were lucky enough to get invited along with LuLu (Papaw was working) and Danielle and Tabor. The boys all played and had LOTS of fun while Uncle Ryan cooked the VERY YUMMY shrimp, green beans and baked potatoes. It was a very delicious meal. We ended the meal with a very special Cars ice cream cake! It was exactly what the birthday boy wanted! Braidy got lots of really fun presents. Chris, Crockett, Bowen, Rachy and I got him Cars 2 cars, which he was SO EXCITED TO GET!

Happy Birthday to my BIG 4 year old nephew, Braidy! We are so blessed to be able to share your BIG day with you! You are so special to us! We love you!

The 4th of July

I just love the 4th of July! Every year it seems that we manage to do something fun, and this year was no exeption! We started our day at the 4th on Broadway parade. We took all of the boys, ours and the Curry boys, last year and had a BLAST, so we weren't going to miss it this year! We got there bright and early and met up with the Curry's. We were right by the fountain and it was all we could do to keep the boys out of the water :) Once the parade started, the boys watched all the floats, tractors, fire trucks and everything in between pass by. They had lots of fun and enjoyed getting little favors and giving people high-fives. Chris got them some flags and I just loved watching them proudly wave them as everyone went by. Bowen even got a flag :) He slept soundly through about half of the parade, then got hungry, so we missed the rest of the parade. It was pretty hot by the time it was over, so we all headed home for some yummy lunch with the Curry's!

After lunch, Bowen, Crockett and I headed to LuLu and Papaw's house. Crockett was excited to play in the water and hang out with LuLu and Papaw. Mom helped me make my 1st batch of homemade butterfinger ice cream, which was DELICIOUS! Les cooked burgers on the grill and mom made her delicious potato salad. It was such a yummy dinner and exactly what I wanted on the 4th of July! I was a little bummed we didn't see any fireworks, and I didn't really even get to watch them on tv this year. Maybe next year when we don't have a newborn :) It was such a wonderful 4th of July spent with so many people we love!

CRITTERFEST!!

Crockett is ALWAYS dying to go to the "feshtoom" or as most people call it, the Science Spectrum. It is one of his favorite places. I cannot tell you how many times he begged to go and Mon or I had NO IDEA where he was asking to go! We decided to brave the crowds and go to Critterfest to see all the animals, with some major help from LuLu! Crockett had been such a trooper during Bowen's arrival and such a WONDERFUL BIG BROTHER in the days after we came home... he definitely deserved to do something SUPER FUN! It was Bowen's 1st outing and he did AWESOME too! Didn't wake up once :) We met up with Mon, John, Braidy, Quin, and the rest of Lubbock, and began our adventure! It was CRAZY!! There were animals around every corner! We saw so many different animals: tigers, puppy dogs, bunny rabbits, lizards, snakes, zebras, ponies, a cow, a camel and even an elephant! Crockett liked them all from a distance, but not so much close up! He would have rathered just play with all the toys that are always there!They did have a great time holding and petting the bunnies and dogs :) John held a boa constrictor and even rode the elephant. Crockett thought he was SO brave! It was lots and lots of fun and we can't wait to do it again next year!