Barrett's First Haircut

Well we finally pulled the trigger and de-mulleted our little boy. Okay, I'll admit, it was looking a little shaggy! Every weekend we planned to do it, but I just wasn't ready. Finally even I admitted that it was time. And looking at these pictures, I'm realizing just how mulleted he was!

Yes, some tears were shed. By me. He did fine! He loved the racecar from the second we set him in it. He was turning the wheel, smiling like crazy. He sobered up the longer it went on and was pretty antsy towards the end, but he did a great job. It was very sad to see those pretty blond curls disappear but he looks much better now. And he probably won't get asked where his Trans Am is now.

Before (obviously!):












After:


GQ may be calling soon, look at my little man!





We also recently gave our other boy a haircut. He was also one shaggy dog!
Before:


After:

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!
We had a great celebration - Tim surprised me at lunch with flowers and I surprised Barrett with a balloon after school. He loves balloons and has had a lot of fun with it.

Snowmageddon

The Chicago area experienced the craziest snowfall that I think I've ever seen. It was nuts! Offices were closed for the day. The storm raged on from about 1pm Tuesday through Wed am. It was a ton of snow! I'm convinced it won't melt until May.
We hunkered down, watched a lot of news and tried to stay as warm and cozy as we could. I made a delicious quiche for dinner and we were thankful for our nice warm house on such a snowy day.

So it begins...


drifts to the top of the fence


look at all that snow! oh, and what cute bedhead this little boy has!




poor snowdog. and our poor hardwood floors, since of course he brings in half the yard of snow in with him


more drifts




the wind was so strong it pushed snow under the garage door and into our garage


the great dig


Tim was out there for hours digging out the driveway and walkway. I did help and did the front sidewalk but wasn't out for too long. Someone had to watch the baby, right?? What a hardworking husband!

Barrett - Thirteen months old

Dear Barrett -

You are now 1 year + 1 month. You have been a one year old for all of one month now and what a month it's been. You still look the same to me but I know you're growing. You still have little legs, but they are working hard on making you mobile, little or not. You are still racing through the house behind that little walker of yours and will push anything you can to help you get around - chairs, toys, kitchen stools. And the biggest change of all is that you're now walking with our hands. Yay! You used to get jelly legs whenever we'd try that, but now you have conceded that maybe it'll be fun to walk on your own and you cross rooms now with those little hands of yours in ours. I think you may have a while before you walk unassisted, but I know it's coming. You have had quite a few bruises on your forehead this past month, as you are so eager to be up and mobile, but we're still working on the balance thing. I hate seeing you take tumbles but I know that it's a part of toddlerhood.

You are such a social little butterfly. When we're at home, you are so tied to us. You love being around mommy and daddy and get upset when we leave the room or don't pay attention to you (especially mommy, which makes me feel very loved!) but as soon as we're around other people, you are off playing without a look back. You especially love being with the older kids and watching everything they do. You have a smile for everyone and are such a happy little guy. You manage to charm everyone we come across.

This month was tough because you were sick, starting from your 1st birthday on January 1. I hope this isn't a sign of your year to come as a 1 year old! We've battled RSV, an ear infection, and pink eye. You've battled through it like a champ though. You also are getting your molars in and those are some big boys!

While Mommy and Daddy worked a ton of hours the first week of January, Mimi was here to take care of you during the day. We are so glad she was here! I don't know what we would have done without her here because of all the hours we worked and how sick you were. She took good care of you though and by the end of the week, you were starting to be back to your normal playful self.

This month you have discovered your great love of books! Yay! I am so happy about that. Now you're always bringing books for us to read to you. Your favorites are the Peekabo books, Baby Talk and I Love You Through and Through. You love the little baby who's hungry and always making smacking noises when you see her eating. You love flipping the pages. We read the same books over and over (and over and over!) but that is okay because I love having you on my lap and loving books.

It's been a fun month, my little toddler!

Love,
Mommy

Professional Photos

We had a photographer come out again in December and take some family pictures for us along with Barrett's 1 year photos. I posted a few proofs that we got from her here: http://thislovedlife.blogspot.com/2010/12/family-and-1-year-photos.html
We are so happy that we have done this periodically to capture the family moments. For as many pictures as we take, it's really tough to get pictures of the entire family. And I do love these natural photos compared to staged studio pictures. I love capturing B with his favorite toys, at home and with his funny natural little expressions.

I know there's a lot below, but it's hard to pick my favorites!

He was head over heels in love with the Christmas tree. Every day when we came down the stairs he had to go over to see the tree right away. He loved touching the branches and ornaments. His favorites were my 25 year old not-so-pretty ones. Maybe because they were on the bottom of the tree, in easy reach of little fingers!


pure awe






chewing on his fuzzy red Elmo


one of my absolute favorites of him all-time




My two favorite boys


little chipmunk


who me? No, that wasn't me who put all those teeth marks in the crib!












Barrett's FAVORITE toy. hands down.




socks in the mouth. why does he do this?

Bear with me!

I have been extremely neglectful of this blog lately. My life has been a whirlwind of Christmas, B's birthday and subsequent party and crazy work. So sadly this little blog of mine has been shamefully neglected, despite lots of fun things to write and post pictures about. I promise to pick this back up in a week or two, when work slows down to a moderate pace, and catch up on all the fun things we've been up to over the last month, so check back then!

Barrett - Twelve months old

My dear baby Barrett

Well this is it, baby. Can I still call you baby, now that you're one year old? I think so, because to me, you'll always be my baby! Throughout the last few days I keep thinking, what was going on one year ago now? One year ago now, I was thinking the baby would never come, we were on our way to the hospital, I was in labor, we learned a c-section was inevitable, you were born! What a whirlwind those days were. What a time of exhaustion, of pain but total and utter joy. I couldn't imagine past those first few days, of a crying newborn and sleepless nights. But here you are, playing in front of me as I write this, chewing on your Elmo toy, listening to your music table and dancing with it and looking up at me and saying hi as our eyes meet. You have become 1 year old in the blink of an eye. It is a very emotional time for mommy as I realize you are more of a toddler now than a baby.

You are becoming quite a talker and know at least 5 words now and when to use them. Impressive!! You can say mommy, ball, uh-oh, hi and bye. And the last two are accompanied with hand waving. It is unbelievably cute! When I pick you up to leave the room or when you can tell someone else is leaving you say "buh-bye!" and wave. So cute! You're so proud of this new party trick too and seem very eager for people to come and go so you can use it. Even a walk into the other room to change your diaper will elicit this grand goodbye and you smile when everyone laughs and waves back. You also say "muh" and point when you want something but I don't know what this means - mine or more maybe?

You get around so easily now, crawling and creeping along furniture at the speed of light. But no standing or walking alone and when we hold you up to encourage you to stand, you let your little legs buckle. You can do it, but I think you'd rather be held so you don't try. Silly duck. I recently read though that good crawlers may be slow to walk because they can get around so well already and I'm wondering if that will be true in your case.

Still silly with the food and somewhat picky. You, however, tried birthday cake on your birthday at Mimi and Papa's house and I think it was instant love. You clamped your lips and refused to open them until I put a dab of frosting on your lips and then you gobbled it right up. It was a vanilla cake with raspberry filling and whipped frosting and you couldn't get enough. We have your birthday party right around the corner and I know you'll be in cake heaven when you have a little one of your own.

We love you so much, baby. This last year has been an amazing whirlwind of joy and I am so happy to have you in our family!

Love
Mommy

Loving everyone singing Happy Birthday to him




Clapping after the candle is blown out




Yum, CAKE!