Trunk or Treat!!

Last night we met up with some friends to go Trunk or Treating at Lakeridge Methodist Church. We did not have a costume yesterday, so we had to go get one. I have been asking Crockett what he wanted to be for Halloween for a while now. At first, he kept telling me he wanted to be a pumpkin... Thank goodness he changed his mind, because I think 3 is a little too old to be a pumpkin! Ever since then, he has told me he wanted to be a FIREFIGHTER! So yesterday as we were looking at all the costumes, we saw Jake the Pirate, Buzz and Woody, Spiderman, but he was dead set on a fireman. He put his outfit on as soon as we got home (about 3 p.m.) and did not take it off until he was ready to get in the bath. We had such a good time at the Trunk or Treat! Crockett got to ride the Choo-Choo Express, play several games, got lots of goodies and we got to see our friends the Ehlers. Crockett and Jayce were both firemen :) Too cute! When we got home, Crockett was so tired. It had been a long day. He told me "Momma, the fireman is done", took off his outfit and was ready for bed. I am so glad he loves his costume. I have a feeling it will get a lot of use... Halloween or not.

Field Trip #2

I am so thankful to be able to go with Crockett and his friends on their field trips. It is so much fun to see them all together and see just how they interact. I love being able to watch him grow and share these experiences with him. I didn't ride the bus this time, and just met them all at the Lubbock Arboretum. He was very excited to see me and to tell me about his ride on the "fool bus". He thought it was very cool that Mrs. Ford sat by him. He loves her. :) We walked around the Arboretum and Mrs. Andrews, the other 3 year old teacher, told us about all of the plants, trees and flowers. The children were encouraged to collect neat things (leaves, flowers, acorns) that they found. Mrs. Ford had a bag full of brown leaves by the time we left! Ha! All of the kids were very well behaved and aside from wanting to play in the dirt, they did just what they were told and stayed right on the path... most of the time. We stopped and had snacks and saw some beautiful butterflies. The kids climbed on rocks, up trees, over/into puddles and each of them found about 100 sticks that they REALLY wanted to play with! It was a long way around and they were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the entrance. It was really the perfect day for a stroll with one of my favorite boys!

Punkin Patch

I have been waiting for a beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon to take the boys to pick out some pumpkins. Chris got home early one afternoon last week, so we headed to the patch. In my head I had a few certain pictures I knew I wanted and I pictured Crockett having SO much fun picking out the perfect pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern. I should know better... Crockett was a little irritated that we took him away from his neighborhood buddies and his bike before we even left the house. That should have been a red flag. Once we got to the pumpkin patch, Bowen had fallen asleep, but Crockett was finally happy. We went and got a wagon to put our pumpkins in and the search for the perfect pumpkin was on! Crockett went straight (kind of) to the little pumpkins and began filling up the wagon. He was in the middle of load #4 or 5 when we told him he had to put some of the little ones back. That was not ok with him... So the tantrum began. He was not happy. He didn't want a big pumpkin. Then he wanted to move all the pumpkins and stand up on the hay. And when I finally decided on a couple of BIG pumpkins, he didn't want them in the wagon. Needless to say, our trip to the pumpkin patch was not the perfect family outing I had planned in my head... at least I got a couple cute pictures out of it :) And Crockett ended up with about 4 little pumpkins that he carries around in his bike every day! Sometimes it's the little things :)

Bowen Barrett - 4 Months Old!

Wow. I say this every month, but, where is the time going?!? My sweet itty-bitty baby is no longer. He is now my sweet chunky-monkey, roly-poly, very fat baby! I love him dearly and my love grows for him with each passing day. He has the sweetest smiles and everything he does just melts my heart. We are having so much fun continuing to watch him grow and develop. He is such a blessing.

Bowen, You now weigh 18.9 lbs (97 percentile) and are 25.8 in. (90 percentile)! You are a BIG BOY! You weigh almost 3 lbs more than Crockett did at 4 months... and we thought he was a chunk! You are wearing size 3 diapers and some 3-6 month clothes; although, 6-12 month clothes are much more comfortable and not quite so tight :) You nap about every 3 hours, but only for about 30 or 45 minutes. You are now sleeping really well at night, still in the nap nanny, but for long stretches. You will usually sleep from about 9 until 3 or 4. I am so good with that! You even slept from about 10 to 7:30 last Saturday (10/13/12). We were SO proud of you! You are still eating about every 3 hours during the day. Dr. G said we could try to take away the Zantac, but after 3 days, I am thinking you aren't quite ready for that. I am supposed to wait 2 weeks, but I don't think that is smart :) You have rolled over from your tummy to your back once, but I can't get you to do it again. Of course, I was the only one that saw it. You like tummy time a little more than you used to and can hold your head up quite well these days. You have become an occasional thumb-sucker. You may chew on it more than you suck. You chew on EVERYTHING else. I think we are in the beginning stages of teething. Looking forward to that :) You will have the CUTEST toothy grin. You are still incredibly vocal. You will scream and shriek at just about everything! You love to flirt and will bat your eyes and smile at just about anyone that will talk to you! You have become such a good baby and hardly ever cry unless you are hungry. If I knew that all my babies would be like you are NOW, I would have 100!!! We all love you BIG much and can't wait to see what this month will bring!

Visitors!

We were so excited to have visitors last weekend! Kyle, Marla, Kylee and Mummer came to visit!!! Kyle and Marla's son, Dylan, goes to Tech and turned 21 last week, so they came to celebrate and we were lucky enough to get to help! Crockett had been asking Mummer to come spend the night with him for a while, so he was PUMPED! They came in on Friday and we all met at Outback for a birthday dinner. We even got to meet Dylan's sweet girlfriend, Peyton, who I think Crockett had a crush on :) She was so sweet and just fit right in. After dinner, we all came back to our house and Dylan opened presents, Crockett showed everyone all his toys (one at a time :) and we ate some VERY YUMMY ice cream cake! Crockett even got to help Dylan blow out his candles. He thought that was very cool! Everyone except for Dylan and Peyton stayed at our house. It was a full house, but it was SO much fun! I must say, both of my boys were ROCKSTARS! It was such a late dinner and late night and they were such sports. I was SO proud of them!On Saturday morning, we all got to hang out and eat donuts and drink coffee for a while before Kyle, Marla and Kylee went to meet Dylan. Crockett showed everyone how he can ride his bike and the gator. Bowen showed everyone how he can sit in his bumbo and smile the sweetest little smiles :) Mummer stayed with us and watched the Tech game. We decided not to go, but were kicking ourselves shortly after the game started... Tech played AWESOME!!! Crockett loved having his Mummer around to read to him, play with him, sleep with him... he got very spoiled. We took Mummer to Abuelo's for dinner and then made it an early night. I think we were all exhausted! I think Elwanda might have been a good luck charm... Crockett slept in his bed (with Mummer) all night long 2 NIGHTS IN A ROW and Bowen slept ALL NIGHT LONG on Saturday! HALLELUJAH!!! It was amazing! Thank you, Mummer :) We were so sad to see everyone leave on Sunday. We had so much fun and LOVED having everyone here. We are so lucky to have such a special family! Come back and visit soon!

Crockett's 1st Field Trip

Crockett and all his classmates got to take their 1st field trip to the grocery store! I was lucky enough to get to tag along. All the children, their teachers, and several parents, including me, got to ride on the bus to Market Street. It was pretty fun. Crockett was very excited to ride the "Fool Bus" and felt like a VERY big boy :) We got to the grocery store and Crockett began to have a mini-meltdown because he couldn't get a little basket, nor would I let him ride in a big basket... Not a great way to start the tour. Once we got it together, he began to have a little fun and would put a little distance between us without freaking out. We got to watch one lady make a cake, which they later got to eat. When we left the bakery, all the kids got rings. That was very COOL! By the time we got to the produce section, we were clingy no more, and were having a great time. Thank goodness! We got to see crabs, fish and lobsters, which was probably Crockett's favorite part. We have had to go look at them again every time we have gone to the grocery store since then. It is even better because there is a "pirate ship" above all the fish. The kids all went into the freezer where they keep the ice cream. It was SO COLD! The kids had such a great time and I think the parents did too. I can now see why the teachers were so thankful for all the help. We had to block the kids in from every angle or we would have had a few drifters! The kids all left with fruit snacks, rings, a cake and flowers. It was such a fun morning and I was so glad to share the experience.

My Bowen Bear

He is the cutest, fattest, most kissable, squeezeable little baby I know.

Bowen Barrett - Three Months Old!

My how time flies when you are having fun! This little boy has stolen my heart and has me wrapped around each of his fat little fingers! His little personality is beginning to show, and he is such a happy boy. He has a smile that just lights up the room and a giggle that is so infectious. He changes more and more each day, so I am enjoying every "baby" moment. It has been a very exhausting 3 months, but I wouldn't trade this little guy for anything. Love him to pieces.

Bowen, On your 3 month birthday, you weighed a WHOPPING 16.1 lbs! You are such a CHUNK! You have rolls upon rolls and are just wonderfully squishy! You are wearing 3-6 clothes and size 3 diapers. You have found your voice lately and you LOVE to talk! You are most talkative in the evening and before bedtime. Your daddy and I love to hear your sweet sounds. You love gnawing on your fists. I think you are in search of a thumb to suck on, but you refuse to unclinch your fist. You are oh so very ticklish! Almost every inch of your body, is incredibly ticklish! Sometimes you will laugh out loud and sometimes it just makes you squirm. You are beginning to sleep more than 2 hours at a time!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!! It is usually just a 3, or so, hour stretch, but I am beginning to see a silver lining! You are still in the nap nanny, and seem to feel pretty comfy in there. We will just stick with whatever works until we can't anymore! You are constantly biting or sucking on your lower lip. The little (well, kind of big) hernia you had has almost disappeared, giving you an almost completely normal belly button. You are still taking Zantac 2x a day, and that is ok with me. I feel like it helps you so much. You have started spitting up a little more, but it doesn't seem to bother you, which I am so thankful for. You love sitting outside or going on walks these days. We have had such lovely fall weather lately, so we just go sit and watch the big boys ride bikes or play. You are so content these days. I love every chance I have to sit and cuddle with you or just watch you make all kinds of expressions. You are such a joy and we couldn't imagine our family without you. Happy 3 Month Birthday, sweet Bowen!

An American Tribute

Every year at the park by our house, the city of Lubbock puts up 1,000 flags in honor of all the victims of September 11 and all First Responders. It is really a beautiful sight, despite the tragedy it signifies. I still remember exactly where I was that awful day and I still want to cry every time I think about it. The day they put the flags up this year was such a beautiful day, a perfectly blue sky with no clouds. Beautiful. Crockett, Braidy, Bowen and I walked down to see all the flags. The boys thought it was really cool and they loved running up and down each row. I was afraid I was going to lose them in there. They even happened to make the news :) It was pretty cool! Crockett kept asking to "Turn me on", meaning he wanted to see him and Braidy on TV :) haha One day I hope they will understand what all the flags mean and what a historic, tragic day that was. Until then, I will embrace the images of 2 of my favorite little boys running in the flags, with an innocence that is like a breath of fresh air on the anniversary of that dark day.

Reload and Reboot

A couple of weeks ago, as I innocently logged onto our computer to list some baby clothes on Craigslist, I got an ominous message... something about a "Fatal Error". I quickly turned the computer off, as if maybe, just maybe I could pretend I didn't see it and it would just go away. As I waited for the computer to reboot, I began freaking out in my mind about the THOUSANDS of pictures stored on my computer. Precious pictures, millions of memories and milestones. I ran around the house frantically looking for a cd or flash drive to save the more recent pictures on. No such luck. The computer was dead. Fatal error, indeed. Luckily, many of my pictures are saved on Shutterfly, but the process is so time-consuming, so many of them had not been backed up yet. I am thankful for this blog, because most of the memories and milestones have been blogged about. So although some pictures might be lost, the most important ones are forever accounted for. So, yesterday we went and bought a new computer and as I type this, I am reloading all the pictures I have on my camera, which I will back up... Atleast once. This is my attempt to reload and reboot.