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.

Crockett's 1st Day of Preschool

Can't belive my sweet BIG boy is starting preschool this year! He is just growing so quickly. He is SO excited about his new school (Fool, as he says) and just LOVED his teacher, Mrs. Ford, when he met her at their tea. She told me that Crockett told her she was his best friend before he left that day :) I know he is going to have such an AWESOME year and learn so many new things and make some great new friends.

We even came across a couple of very familiar faces on our way into school! Love these boys SO very much!

Daddy's Birthday!

Crockett is very into "Birthdays" these days. We will sit in the car and I have to name each persons birthday, in order. So, for the last few months we have been counting down the months and weeks and days to Daddy's birthday! In preparation, Crockett and I talked about what kind of cake to get... He wanted an ice cream cake with Cars on top, like the ones Braidy got :) And what to get daddy. Good thing I didn't care about keeping any of it a secret, because Crockett would tell Chris what we talked about each day! I don't keep secrets well either, so he comes by it honestly! Ha! I finally figured out what to get Chris, and with a little help from LuLu and Papaw, we got it all taken care of while Chris was in Holliday. On the morning of September 3, Crockett woke up and immediately ran to tell daddy his present was in the back of mommy's car. He couldn't wait another minute to help open the gift. Chris was very excited to find a "wagon" for his bike. Crockett might have been more excited :) They put it together and were off for a ride!! It has been so much fun and will be even MORE fun when both of the boys can ride! Chris and I ended his birthday with dinner (by ourselves!) at Blue Mesa. It was so yummy and such a nice evening, just the two of us!

On the day after his birthday, we celebrated with LuLu, Papaw, Mon, Braidy and Quinny. We had lasagna, salad and bread and an ice cream cake, just as Crockett requested! It was so much fun and made for a super special birthday for Chris!

Happy 32nd Birthday, Chris! We have celebrated so many birthdays together, and they just keep getting better. I love you. Here's to many, many more!