B's Buzz 10.21.2009

I cannot believe it is almost Barrett's 2nd birthday. He has changed so much this past year. He has his own personality now and it's so much fun to watch him develop. Here are some thing he says/does/likes/dislikes/etc.

If you ask him when his birthday is, he will say "Halloween" and then if you ask how old he will be he says "twos". He is going to be Bam-Bam for Halloween and Mark and I are going to be Barney and Betty.

He is obsessed with singing Happy Birthday. He sings it to anyone and anything. Happy Birthday Zachary, Preston, Mama, Dada, socks, pretzels, food, Sadie, etc.

He calls Mark Mark instead of Daddy all the time. He calls me Honey instead of Mommy. He especially does it if he can't get our attention. He'll say Daddy, Da-da, Daddy, Mark, MARK, MARK! It's hysterical.

He loves talking on the phone. No matter who it is. If the phone rings, he'll immediately start saying "I talk" "I talk". He'll get on the phone and have a conversation with you. He has conversations on his play phones (yes, plural phones, he loves them that much) all the time. The best is when he starts laughing as if the fake person on the other end told him a joke.

He can sing the ABC's by himself and has some ABC flashcards. He can identify all but about 4-5 of the letters. He mixes up V with Y and M with W.

He can count to ten and if he's concentrating he can make it to 20.

He knows his colors and loves to play I Spy.

He loves to sing. His favorite songs include Happy Birthday, Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle, Twinkle, ABC's, Hokey Pokey, Itsy Bitsy Spider and If You're Happy and You Know It. He makes up songs too.

He still has his pacifier which we call nuk which he changed to nookie. He gets it at naptime and bedtime. However, he asks for it constantly. It's pretty funny when we are Target or somewhere and he is melting down and starts screaming "I nookie" over and over. I'm sure strangers think we are awesome parents. :)

He is obsessed with sports. He mixes them all up like he'll take his bat and hit a golf ball and shout 2 points! It cracks me up. He calls football, "shootball" and routinely says "down, blue 2 (which is supposed to be blue 42), set hut, hut, hut, hut".

We think he is left handed but we aren't 100% sure. He eats left, swings left, throws left. He mostly kicks right and he still colors with both hands.

He is very much a creature of habit and likes things to be certain ways. For example, when he goes to bed at night, he has to have his CD player, mobile, light up shapes on the ceiling, and white noise machine all turned on. When he wakes up he likes to snuggle on the couch for a while. He will say "I couch" when he wakes up.

He is entering his clean up phase which I find very helpful! He's always loved wipes too and now he gets them and starts wiping things down. YES!!!!

If he wants to be held he says "Mommy hold you" or "Daddy hold you". This is one of those things I hope he always says with incorrect grammar. :)

He is getting into the why phase. He asks "why" or "cause why"? He says "cause" alot too. He also says "no way" and "what doing?" all the time.

He is very big into picking between two things. He likes to have choices for his meals and he will pick which one he wants. He likes to pick between 2 shirts or 2 pairs of shoes as well.

He loves dip. Whenever we eat Mexican food he always wants to dip his chips in the salsa. We tell him it's hot and he blows on the chip and then eats it. Most of the time he does pretty well but there's been a few places where it's been too spicy for him. He loves guacamole, queso, anything he can dip.

He only drinks milk or water. (that I know of anyways - lol)

He is absolutely into the "I do it" thing. He wants to do everything. He finally mastered putting on his socks, even though they are usually crooked. He can put on most of his shoes and is now into trying to change his own diaper. Joy!

He'd probably move outside if we'd let him. He loves, loves, loves to be outside. He'll stay up until midnight (and has a few times) if we are outside doing something. He doesn't even get fussy or cranky.

If you ask him where he gets his cuteness from he'll say "from my dada". I love it!

He is "daddy's boy". If I ask him if he is mommy's boy he says "nope, I daddy's boy".

He loves Handy Manny. It's the only thing he ever wants to watch. He can name all the tools, has a toolbox with all the tools, and has a set of talking tools. Could he be more of a boy?

I could go on and on of course since he is at that age where he is constantly changing and learning new things but that's enough for now. As always, I'll try to be better about updating the blog but don't hold your breath. :) I'll put some pics in the next post.

B's buzz 04.23.2009

It's been awhile since we have posted about what Barrett is up to. I don't have weight, height stats because he hasn't had his 18 month appointment yet. He will be 18 months old next week and is constantly learning new things. Mark and I are amazed on a daily basis by things he does/says.

He loves to sing. His favorite songs are ABC's of course, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Patty Cake, the Raindrops song (no idea the actual name of it), Row, Row, Row Your Boat and the song from Signing Times. He also really enjoys Fearless by Taylor Swift. No lie. In the car he gets a huge smile and dances when it comes on. He sings along to all of the above-mentioned songs which is hysterical.

He loves to count too and can count all the way to twenty. Most of the teens sound the same but he gets to twenty at the right time so we know he gets it. His pronunciation will get better with time.

His greatest advancement lately has been in his vocabulary. He is constantly learning new words. It is funny to hear how he says things. Here is his current vocabulary in Barrett language with the English word in parenthesis if necessary: Mama, Mom, Dada, Dad, Papaw, Poppy, Nana, Pre-pre (Preston), Ack (Zach), Ow-wix (Alex), Gi-nee (Granny), hel-wo (hello), Say-ee (Sadie - our dog), wawa (water), bite (bright - when he sees sunlight), ow-sigh (outside), yeah, wuv ew (love you), bye, hi, moo-mee (movie), nah (nuk/pacifier), cole (cold), aw-white (alright), boo (blue), re (red), purple (he says this one really well), bess-you (Bless You), than-doo (thank you), trass (trash), pa-ee (potty), in-sigh (inside), car, opie (open), aught (hot), coo-ee (cookie), baby, ban-kee (blankie), die-pee (diaper), eye, bath, ball, date-ja (great job), moh-moh (more-more-he usually repeats more over and over until you give him what he wants. He does the sign language with this one too), all-duh (all done), no-no, huh (hush - for Sadie when barking), tah-it (target - heehee). I'm sure there are more but that's all I can think of right now. He consistently says these words but he'll try to say almost anything you ask him too.

He loves to talk on the phone. If the phone rings he'll start running around saying "call, call, call, call". He'll talk on his play phone and the conversation goes something like this "Hel-wo. (insert babble we can't understand). Aw-white, wuv ew, bye." Sometimes he laughs like he's told a joke or heard one which cracks us up.

We are currently trying to teach him colors but he calls everything blue so we have a ways to go on that.


Mr. Helper helping Daddy carry the ladder to the garage.


Hammin' it up as usual.


Master of the spoon...but not really.


What a serious look on his face. It was the President getting B's thoughts on the stimulus.


Cutie pie!

B's Buzz 09.10.2008

Barrett is a little over 10 months old now. It's hard to believe that his first birthday is around the corner. He looks more and more like a little boy every day. He has changed so much in the past few months.

Mobility - He furniture walks and pushes toys all around the house. He is standing unassisted more and more every day. He is definitely a climber. He tries to climb up on anything and everything that he can. If you are sitting next to a table, he will climb on your legs and climb up on the table.

Talking - He is babbling constantly and has recently started saying dog-dog. It sounds like daow-daow but he looks at Sadie when he says it so we know he means dog. He gives attitude with a little fuss sound if you tell him No.

Eating - He eats or at least tries alot more adult food now. He loves mixed veggies, crackers, yogurt, Gerber puffs, cheerios, cheese, turkey, fruit, etc. He is a good eater! He loves feeding himself so we try to give him a lot of finger foods. He still nurses about 5 times a day and we plan to keep it up until he turns 1.

Toys - His favorite toys are my laptop and Blackberry. He loves playing chase with Daddy upstairs in the hallway. He chases Mark right after Mark chases him.

Random skills - He high fives and gives kisses. He likes to kiss inanimate objects more than people. He kisses his toys, the Blackberry, shoes, etc.


Stats: 20.8lbs, about 29 inches, size 3 diapers, still in 6-9 month clothes, alot more hair, absolutely adorable (totally biased of course!)

At the end of every month we take a picture of him in his diaper. This is his 10 month pic.

Eating crackers. Yum!

B's Buzz 07.24.2008

What's new with B you ask? So many things! He has 8 teeth...YES...I said 8 - 4 on top, 4 on bottom! It's crazy and his smile is adorable. He is turning into Mr. Independent when it comes to food. More often than not, he gets frustrated with us feeding him and wants to feed himself. However, he obviously cannot use a spoon yet so it turns into a very messy situation. The next batch of food we make will include more finger foods for sure. Currently, he is enjoying beef casserole, salmon, fruity chicken, veggies (peas, broccoli and sweet potato), squash, blueberries and his favorites are Cheerios and baby yogurt.

He crawls everywhere and pulls up on EVERYTHING. If there is nothing to pull up on, he will try to just stand on his own. He can't do it just yet but it won't be long I'm sure.

He hates being confined and often cries when we buckle him in his carseat. He always rolls over when we are changing his diaper or clothes.

He still LOVES taking a bath. He tries to crawl and stand up in the tub which is very slick so it makes for some funny moments. Luckily he hasn't gotten hurt since we are always right there.

He is going for his 9 month checkup next Friday but he is about 20 lbs and 29 inches right now.

Who doesn't love a sweet baby booty? This is a common occurrence when he is getting changed. I told you he hates being confined!

Yay bathtime! Check out my cool submarine!

Check out my neato foam helmet (and that snack on my nose-haha). My mommy is a big fraidy cat and with hardwoods and tile everywhere she makes me wear this helmet alot. I know I look like a nerd, but I'm very thankful to have it because I've fallen over several times and hit my head but my trusty helmet has prevented injury. I didn't even cry!

B's Buzz 06.21.08

Barrett has been quite a busy B lately.


First off, he now says Momma! He's been saying it for a few weeks now and mostly says it when he is tired or hurting...you know when he most needs his Momma. :)


He is so very close to crawling (on all fours) and does a pretty good army crawl right now. His favorite thing to crawl for is Steph's watch.

His top two teeth broke through his gums today so he will soon have 4 pearly whites to show off. It's definitely been causing him some pain though.

On Wednesday, Steph took him to the doctor because he had a cough and turns out he has bronchitis and an ear infection in his right ear. Poor little guy. Good thing we called and took him in! He's almost finished with his antibiotics. We consider ourselves lucky that he hasn't had to have any antibiotics in his 7.5 months of life, especially since he was in daycare for a while and is around other kids alot. However, an ear infection, bronchitis and teething does not make for a happy baby at all.

Steph and Barrett are enrolled in Little Gym for the summer. It is pretty cute and definitely good to have an activity outside of the house. Barrett loves doing forward rolls and anything that involves him going upside down. He cracks up every time.

Barrett is a little piggy with his food. He loves solid food and eats 3 meals a day of solids. For dinner tonight he ate 2 cubes of food - one was apples, one was chicken with peas, carrots and sweet potatoes in it and entire thing of organic baby yogurt which is his favorite food right now. If you are wondering what a cube of food is, it's the little containers of food that we freeze for him. Each cube holds 2-3 ounces of food. For those that have bets going (I know who you are!), we are still making 98% of his food. We are hoping to keep it up!

Stats:

About 28 inches long

Just shy of 18 lbs.

B's Buzz 05.20.08

Let's see...what has the little guy been up to lately? For the past week, he's been waking up between 3 and 4 am. We have been so spoiled since he's been sleeping all night since he was 8 weeks old. He rolls all over the place now so he ends up rolling onto his stomach in his sleep and then won't roll back for whatever reason so he wakes up crying. Luckily, I just feed him and he goes right back to sleep until 7 or 7:30. Last night he actually didn't wake up and this morning I checked on him at 5 and he was sleeping on his tummy! Maybe he is getting used to it? I don't know but I hope he is done with the waking up in the wee hours of the morning.

He's eating solids 2-3 times a day now. He's doing really well with it. I'm making his fruits and veggies but buying the foods that have meat. I just don't have the capability of pureeing (is that a word?) meats into a thin enough consistency for him to eat. He is a big fan of Earth's Best Vegetable Turkey dinner.

Barrett's sitting skills are pretty solid now. He hardly tips over and can lean over and pick up toys and then sit upright again. When he is tired, he tips over more but we all do that right? :) He has started trying to pull his knees up when he's on his tummy and he definitely can turn in circles and push himself backwards. He isn't crawling quite yet though. I think we have a few more weeks and then he'll be all over the place.

Below are some current pictures of him. This is why we set up the blog...so we don't have to whip you all with huge emails of pictures of him. Ha!

I'm not sure what to do with my sippy cup so I'll just chew on it.

I'm supposed to sit in this little seat but I prefer laying in it!

I'm so messy when I eat! I do it to drive Mommy crazy because she is a neat freak!

Oh how I love my football! Thank you for buying this for me Granny!

I sure do love this new toy that Daddy bought me!

I'm wearing a baseball cap for the first time! I've got to protect my skin from the sun!

This face gets me whatever I want.

B's Buzz 05.07.08

Barrett had his 6 month check up today. He had to get 3 shots so he is not feeling too well this afternoon. He weighs 16.1 lbs and is 27 inches long. He is in the 80th percentile for head size and height and the 30th percentile for weight. He jumped quite a bit for height from last time and he dropped in his weight percentile. Dr. Blair said he looks great and is a healthy, happy, handsome boy!

B's Buzz 04.22.08

Two big milestones today! First, Barrett's second tooth has cut through his gum. It is right next to the first tooth that came in. Second, he is sitting all by himself! Yay Barrett! He is still a little wobbly at times, especially when he sees a toy that's a little bit out of reach and tries to go for it.

Mommy and Daddy made this fun play area for me to sit and play with my toys. It's nice and soft. So much better than the hardwood floor.

Could I be any cuter? I'm just sayin.

Touchdown!!!

B's Buzz 04.16.08

I'd ordered some freezing trays and food storage containers and they finally arrived so today I made apples and bananas for Barrett! He liked the apples okay but he LOVED the bananas. He ate 1/4 of a banana. That might not sound like a lot but it is when you are a tiny little thing like him. He kept sticking out his tongue and pulling the spoon towards his mouth to eat more.

I figure that since I'm home more now that I should give making food for him a shot. If you know me, then you know that I really do not like cooking/baking/anything "kitchen-y" at all. Thankfully, I have a husband that loves to cook! When Mark travels, I eat cereal. No lie. So of course today I couldn't figure out the food processor (I really do think it is broken), so I had to use this little smoothie maker thing that I actually know how to use! I also used the steamer to soften the apples before pureeing (<- is that a word?) them. It actually wasn't too hard and I like knowing exactly what he is eating. I'm excited to try other foods for him too.

I will post pictures in a few days. Our camera is not working properly (add that to the list of things) and we ordered a new one. It's supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Yay! Once I figure out how to use it I'll post some pictures.

B's Buzz 04.08.08

Okay so here's what we are going to do. Every so often we are going to post about Barrett's latest milestones, stats, etc. We are going to call it "B's Buzz" because we call him B all the time. So here is the first installment of B's Buzz.

Barrett cut his first tooth last Saturday. We had family pictures and he was drooling like you would not believe and was fussy when we got home. Steph put some Orajel on his gums before his nap and sure enough there was a tiny tooth poking through! If you look closely you can see it in the picture. It's his bottom right one in the front.

He loves grabbing things and reaches for anything that you put in front of him. He loves grabbing our faces and especially Mark's glasses. He has been eating baby oatmeal once a day for the past few days. At first he hated it and would purse his lips and not even let me get the spoon in his mouth. He opens his mouth now but most of the oatmeal ends up back on his bib or clothes! He sat in his high chair for the first time today! He's so happy.

Current stats:

• ~15.5lbs
• 27 inches long
• 3-6 month clothing
• Malhiot head
• Favorite toy is a chewy giraffe