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!

HE'S HERE!!!!!

Our newest little man FINALLY arrived! Bowen Barrett Stone made his much-anticipated debut on June 14, 2012 at 12:07 p.m. He weighed 7lbs and was 20.5 in. After what feels like months of thinking he could come any day, we finally scheduled an induction. It was completely different from Crockett's arrival, but it was so nice to have everything planned and accounted for. On that Thursday morning, we woke up at 4 and called the hospital at 5. Lulu came over to wait for Crockett to wake up, but he woke up at about 5:20, so they played ALL morning. When it was time for Chris and I to leave, I told Crockett that we had to go and he said, "Can I come momma?" It just broke my heart to tell him no and leave him there. After a few tears and many hugs, we had to go. Chris and I made it to the hospital at 6. Everything went so smoothly and I was blessed with the BEST labor nurse and dr. Bowen was the sweetest baby right from the start. He cried as soon as he was born, and then just took everything in the rest of the day. I was so lucky to have Chris and my mom by my side. Chris was the BEST, I couldn't have asked for a more supportive, loving husband. It was such a special moment for us. It was so special to have my mom in there too. Very emotional for both of us. Mon brought Crockett up to the hospital soon after Bowen arrived. He was smitten right from the start. He even got a special present from Baby Bowen! Bowen gave him a t-shirt that has bulldozers and tractors on it and a "I want to be a bulldozer driver" video. Crockett thought that was very COOL!! Crockett had a hard time leaving momma, and daddy eventually had to spend the night with Crockett while mommy stayed with Bowen, but that was ok. We had two precious boys to take care of now! Bowen and I had to spend two nights in the hospital. I had little or no amniotic fluid, so they did a blood culture on Bowen which required a 48 hour stay. Luckily, he was ok. He had a couple other little breathing episodes in the hospital, which scared his momma to death, but he was ok and has been great since he came home. We were blessed by several special visitors while we were there. We are so lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives!

We are so glad that our sweet Bowen Barrett is here. What joy he has already brought to our lives! I cannot wait to watch this sweet baby boy grow!

Any Day Now...

Our sweet little Bowen Barrett will be making his big debut ANY DAY NOW! We have been patiently awaiting his arrival for the past two weeks... and now patient has turned to impatient, at least with this aching, hot and grumpy momma! I cannot wait to meet him, though, and I know he will be worth the wait! When I last went to the Dr. at 37 weeks, I was dilated to a 4(!), so I got my big booty into gear, thinking he would be there any day! We finished his room... or most of it. It needs lots of personal touches, but I will add LOTS of those after he arrives. I love how it turned out. A very calming and masculine room, just what I was going for. It was a family effort. Everyone helped me so much and I am truly thankful! I know this little boy is going to fit right into our family. I just can't wait to FINALLY meet him! In the meantime, I have been enjoying my time with my sweet Crockett Christopher. I am actually pretty emotional about him not being my one and only baby anymore. We are all equally excited about our new baby, but my world has revolved around this super sweet kid for 3+ years. He has become such a loving and caring kid. He tells me daily "Momma, you are my best girl" and "Momma, I love you BIGGGGG MUCHHHHHH!" He is so excited to be a big brother and I know he will just LOVE 'our baby'. To mark this time in our lives, I had my multi-talented sister take a few maternity shots of Crockett and I. I think they are so special and am SO pleased with how they turned out! Don't really know how I will pick one (or ten :)! While we were out, my sister took a few of the BIG BROTHER :) Kind of late 3 year old pictures too. I love this little boy more than I can ever say. I am so excited about the next few days and ready to begin this new journey with our family! COME ON, BABY BOWEN!!!!