My Quotable Kid

I've started a new blog:

http://quotablekidbarrett.blogspot.com/

Many times, Andrew says things that absolutely crack me up! I want to remember them, so I started a 'my quotable kid' blog so I can keep track of when and where he says the funny things he says! Once Evie starts talking (I know we're a long way away!) I will add her funny comments to it as well! This is mainly for me, but as always, feel free to check in on the funny things my crazy kid says! :)

Sappy Mom Moment

Today is a beautiful day!! I took advantage of the weather & got outside to blow some leaves. While hard at work, I became lost and surrounded in my thoughts....

Here I am outside working. I have left Andrew, 3 1/2, inside, alone with my 10 week old baby girl. And I TRUST him!! She was buckled in her swing smiling and cooing when I went outside. I left him with instructions to come get me if she started to cry. How amazing is that!? I checked in on them a few times. I was in awe with what I witnessed. Andrew thought she might be cold, so he put a blanket on her tucked in the way I do. To entertain her, he put little plastic eggs on her mobile so she could watch them. When her music stopped, he restarted it. As always she was very entertained by him, and he was eating it up!

How lucky am I to have this amazing little boy who is so caring and nurturing and loves to take such good care of his baby sister? How lucky am I to have this beautiful, sweet baby girl who has become so easy to care for?

It makes me think that along the way I have to have done something right. The next time I yell or snap at one of my kids (and actually feel bad about it) I'm going to remember this! I love my kids and I love my life. I need these moments to remind me of how good it can be. Andrew was testy the rest of the morning, and I have to just think about these times to help push me through. As I sit here with my baby waking up slowly in my arms the way she does...I know I wouldn't want it any other way!

(**Mental note...I had 8 hours of sleep & 2 cups of coffee prior to leaf blowing. Apparenty, this is my recipe!)

My funny kid

Today, Andrew and I had an opportunity to go to the park for a little one on one time. It was only 30 minutes, but I loved it!

We were playing his game -- pet shop -- where he pretends there are animals in cages underneath the playground equipment. He is the 'pet master' and will give you whatever pet you ask for, and then you have to teach it to do tricks using all the playground equipment. Then we switch turns so he can get his pet. Today, he chose to get the pet snake....

Flash forward through the game...he decided he wanted his snake to come home with him. What does it matter, right!? So, the snake came home. I was feeding Evie, and all of a sudden Andrew's snake was hungry. So, he lifted up his shirt to feed his snake, and proceeded to burp it before he played with it! It was SO funny!!

Evie - 2 months

We had Evie's 2 month checkup on October 30th....she weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs already! She also grew 2 inches & was 23 inches long! She started sleeping through the night at 6 1/2 weeks, and will go from about 8:30pm - 6:00am (roughly)...it is so nice! She coos & smiles, and some days is SO full of cuddles! She loves to lay naked on the floor...it is usually the easiest way to calm her down! She continues to be fixed on Andrew...when he is in the room she is drawn to him! She will talk more to him than to anyone else, and when she sees him her face usually lights up into a big smile! I LOVE to see their relationship grow!

First Smile!!

First Smile!!

I believe the actual first smile date was October 8th...

first time caught on camera was October 13th! I love it!

7 weeks flown by!

My oh my...how can she be 7 weeks old already? I can't believe it! So...a little bit about our little miss Ev!

She's a screamer...oh my goodness can this child cry! I thought she had reflux, so I took her to the doctor, explained the symptoms & she agreed with me so we got a prescription of Zantac. It helped a little, but not completely. The pediatrician had also recommended that I cut out dairy, so after a week, I gave it a try. What a turn around! She turned into a relatively calm child. She still has her bouts, but it is no longer all day every day...music to my ears! She started cooing & smiling all at the same time which is SO rewarding! It's like she's saying, thanks mom for figuring that out!

The little things I love so much...

Whenever Andrew is near her, she is absolutely drawn to him! He loves to do back time & tummy time with her, and she turns toward him & is always reaching out and grabbing his shirt or hand or touching his face...it is so sweet!

If she wakes up, Andrew takes it upon himself to go in to her. He will sing her a song (usually the ABC's), and if that doesn't immediately calm her down, he will decide she wants to watch a movie, will run & grab my iPod & start Little Einsteins for her! He lays down on the floor & watches it.

When I hold her, she reaches her little arm out & wraps it around my shoulder. I love it!

Her smile is GORGEOUS!!

She's FINALLY in her own room! Such a big girl...and I get my space back. It feels so good & like we've crossed one of the many bridges for the next year!

She absolutely loves to be sung to (Itsy Bitsy Spider is her kid favorite) and listen to music. Laurie figured out that the song "Everything's gonna be alright" by Bob Marley is her favorite, so that song is constantly on repeat!

Now that she doesn't cry so much, I've gotten back into reading to Andrew which I had totally missed! She will sit on my lap and listen to the books.

I feel like life is finally gaining a ground of normalcy which it had been lacking for the last 4 weeks.

Evie is growing and changing every day & Andrew is LOVING preschool and his role as big brother. We've come a long way in 7 weeks. I've only got 5 more weeks before I go back to work, and am SO excited to have more time as she becomes easier & a little person!

Alphabet Fun!

Andrew LOVES working on his alphabet. It is so fun for me to see him recognize a letter -- he gets SO proud "Look MOM! I see an 'A'! Just like in my name!" Today we were playing one of his games -- a 'what comes after' game, and I asked him what comes after the letter 'L'. His answer....'minnow pee'! So cute!! :)

PRESCHOOL!

Today was Andrew's first day of preschool. How and when did my baby get so old!? He has been looking forward to going to school all summer long, so I was so excited for him that this day was finally here. He was thrilled that he would be going and we would be staying home (with that baby!) We went school shopping a few weeks ago & we have kept those clothes in the bag waiting for this day. Last night we got them out & he picked out his own outfit to wear (he was so excited). I told him I would make him a special first day of school breakfast to get his energy for the day -- his choice of pancakes, waffles, bacon, toast -- you name it. What did he choose? Peanut butter & Jelly. It made my morning easier! He slept in this morning a little bit & was SO happy when he woke up!

On his way to school we were talking about the friends he was going to make, and as an added bonus he was going to get to see Liam at recess! He told us he was going to introduce Liam to all his friends and the girls too because girls can go to school too. Hmm...who knew! LOL! He had a blast his first day! He got to paint his hand, read "There Was an Old Lady who Lived in a Shoe", sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider", got to have crackers & apple juice for a snack, and played on the playground at recess. I'm so happy for him that he loves this & gets to go to preschool. I just can't believe he's old enough! :) (by the way, I made it through with no tears!)

Posing with his backpack

Andrew & Daddy

Andrew & Mommy

Standing in front of his school with his 'school supplies' (the required box with a change of clothes inside)

Already playing with (and telling on) his new friends. I don't know how many times he told us goodbye while we were there. He was SO ready for us to leave! At least he was happy to see me and go home too though! :)

How'd we get her name?

We've had a lot of people ask us how we came up with the name Evelyn Jean....

The long story :)...

When looking at baby names, I loved the name Evie - pronounced with a short e (like Evian) rather than a long E (like Eve) . I found that Evie was actually short for Evelyn, which I thought was beautiful and perfect. The name Lynn has many ties in our families -- my mom's middle name is Lynn, as is mine, Mike's mom's, and my cousin Erica's. The name Jean is just as strong in my family -- my Grandma's, sister's, and aunt's, middle name is Jean, and it is my cousin's first name. While we were trying to come up with a name, I was torn between carrying on 'Lynn' or carrying on 'Jean' (having family meaning to a name is important to me). When I came across Evelyn and paired it with Jean, I thought it sounded so elegant & beautiful that it almost had to be!

Then, to top it off, I was working at the Dupage County Fair one day and a little girl who looked JUST LIKE Andrew came walking up -- I was staring at this girl because of the resembelence. She had the same eyes, button nose, killer smile, and hair color (though hers was longer). When her mom was calling her back her name was Evie -- it was TOTALLY a sign! :)

We hadn't fully decided this would be her name until we actually met her. There were a lot of other names on the list we liked just as well, but she was such an Evie that it just worked out. :)

Firsts

This week Evie had many firsts (of course!) We had our first doctor's appointment, and she was already back up to 7lbs 2oz (she was 6lbs 14oz on discharge day).

Then, she had her first nap in her swing....

......her first bath in the sink (she hardly cried at all!!) Andrew helped wash her hair and her arms...then he was done. :)

.....her first walk to the park

....and her first flowers (hand picked by Andrew!)

Evie also went to her first party! A 60th birthday party for her Grandpa Barrett. I forgot the camera, so I don't have any pictures. She slept the whole time in the Baby Bjorn, which worked out very well for everyone! :)

There has been a lot of adjusting this week, but in all everything is going well. Every day gets just a little bit easier. She seems to be a pretty easy baby, just has her days and nights mixed up a bit, but we're working on turning that around with some success. She is definitely not bothered by noise, prefers to be held than in a swing or bouncer, but is doing awesome at sleeping in her bed (the pack n play for now). She's not too dependant on pacifiers, and eats (on average) every 3 hours. I think it's been a little hard on Andrew (and me too) that we don't have 100% of our time to give to him, but we're all getting used to it. I think it's really going to help out a ton that he's starting preschool this week, so he'll have his own time to do his own thing which has nothing to do with us or the baby. On top of preschool, I'm going to be sending him to his babysitter 1 day per week -- he has friends there that he loves to play with, and I think that'll be good for him too. Plus, it will keep a little consistency in his schedule. I fully intend on having a 'date night' with him once Evie gets a little older, just so he can see he's still the apple of my eye! :)

Big Brother Andrew

Andrew has been so sweet with his new baby sister, that I have to share some stories so that I don't forget them!

It really was awesome to see him in the hospital after she was born...it had felt like forever since I'd seen him, and really it had only been a day! He ran into the room & hopped up on the bed & wanted to 'carry' her. He was so gentle holding her! He started trying to tickle her on her face and on her tummy, which was adorable! He introduced himself to her 'Hi Evie, I'm Andrew!'. She was absolutely mesmerized by him and wouldn't keep her eyes off him. After a minute or so I suggested he sing her a song, to which he promptly belted out the ABC's, followed by Baa Baa Black Sheep. It was so cute! The next morning when we were going to be on our way home, I called & talked to him and he asked if we were bringing 'that baby' home too. She's here to stay buddy!

Apparently when my mom & sister told him we had a baby girl, he started crying saying he wanted a baby brother. He still comes up to my belly & tells me there's a baby in it, and this one's going to be a brother. HAHA!!

It's a GIRL!!!

After nine long months of anticipation, our sweet baby GIRL made her arrival on August 30th! She decided she was on her way at around 10am. I patiently waited for Mike to get home from work, and we made our way to the hospital around 1pm. The labor went pretty fast & easy -- I was totally shocked, actually! I called my mom (who watched Andrew for us) at around 7:30 or so to tell Andrew goodnight and to report that I didn't think the baby would be born any time soon. While on the phone with her, the doctor came in, so I finished saying goodnight & hung up. Much to my surprise, he was in there because it was time to deliver! Our beautiful little miss Evelyn Jean Barrett came into this world at 7:56pm weighing 7lbs, 4oz and 20" long. The words 'It's a GIRL' were so sweet to hear! She looked nothing like Andrew, which totally surprised me...my whole pregnancy I just assumed this baby would look just like he did. She came out with black hair, and eyes that I think will stay blue! She has the chubbiest cheeks, and is oh, so sweet! Welcome to our lives our sweet little Evie!

Happy Birthday Mike!

This year Mike celebrated his 32nd birthday! We had a great night with family, and he got some pretty cool gifts too! He had a lot of help opening presents from Andrew & Liam. Mike & Andrew have been loving his new Wii games! It sure seems like a lot of time has passed since his big 30th birthday party, but it's only been 2 years!!

Rainy Saturday

A couple Saturdays ago, we had a very cold & rainy day. It's kind of funny how we're so used to playing outside that when we have a rain day, I feel like I'm at a loss for what to do! I obviously figure it out in the winter! :) So, I decided we would set up Andrew's frog tent & 'campout' in the living room! We went to the library & rented Alvin & the Chipmunks, then came home and got the tent stocked with blankets & pillows! Andrew LOVED it! Mike and I were not allowed in his tent -- it was for him only! He even got to have popcorn & a drink while watching his movie! As a special treat, we told him he could sleep in it at night -- he was thrilled. We moved the tent back to his room & got everything all set up for him. He lasted about 10 minutes before he moved into his bed! The tent was a hit for the next couple days before we had to take it down!

Sneak Peak!

Here's a sneak peak at our old office turned baby's room! I think it is adorable! Everything is the same as it was when it was all in Andrew's room, but there is something different about it that I love! We still need to put the mobile & Ocean Wonders on the crib, but other than that it's ready to go!! :)

We should have taken a before & after picture to show the amount of work it took to get this room where it is!

Library Fun!

Recently, Andrew and I have been LOVING the Geneva Library. We went there for the first time about a month ago, and each got cards. Andrew loves to go there and check out new books. He will pick out a book and sit down in the middle of the floor and 'read' it! The library offers a lot of great free programs as well! Last week we got to enjoy Kindermusik's 'Shake, Wiggle & Giggle'...it's a program I've thought about getting Andrew in since he loves music & instruments so much. Kindermusik teaches kids how to keep a beat and listen to music and that sort of thing. I think they tried to cover a wide range of age activities in a small amount of time...it was less interesting than I thought it would be, but Andrew loved it & was really into it!

This week we got to go meet Clifford the Big Red Dog! The boys were so excited, which I thought was cool since they aren't even all that into Clifford. Laurie & Liam came with us & we met up with Andrew's old babysitter & her two boys. After Clifford we went to the splash park for a picnic lunch & some fun!!

Where we have been...

Okay, so when you haven't blogged in almost a year, where do you even start? I have no clue!!

Let's see -- we started out the New Year by finding out I'm pregnant. That was exciting! I don't think Andrew really got it at first, but as my belly has gotten bigger, he's getting excited about being a big brother. He hugs my belly & kisses it at least once a day! One time he told Mike that he didn't want the baby in my tummy anymore -- he wanted it out so he could play with it! For a while he was saying he was going to have a sister, but lately he's decided he's having a brother. Whenever I'm hungry he asks if my baby is hungry, to which I say yes. Then he'll stick out his belly and say 'so is mine!'. (Yes, he's decided he has a baby in his tummy too!) The other night when I asked him what his baby's name was, he told me it was "Hammy". My baby's name is "Coo Coo Caa Caa". Hmm...I think between the two I like Hammy better! During dinner he'll tell us that his tummy is going to open and all his food & the baby are going to fly out all over the place. I'll leave that explanation alone!!

We went to Florida twice this year. Once for Spring Break with Laurie & Liam, and another time about a month later with Mike. Andrew LOVES Florida & has decided that every plane is on it's way to Florida! He still tells me that he wants to go there all the time, and even that he wants to live there. I may just take the little man up on that some day! He hates being cold, and loves the sand & ocean....he may be on to something there! We spent a lot of time at the beach with my mom & Ron, and even got to take a few boat rides on Ron's new Danzi! We were at one beach, and some guy came flying in & hit Ron's boat. Without any prompting, Andrew stands up tall & while shaking his finger, yells "Hey you silly guy, you hit our boat!" Way to stand up for us buddy! I try to teach him to use his words to stand up for himself -- he must be listening! On Mother's Day in Florida we went out to a great breakfast & then to the Moat Aquarium where we got to see lots of fish, a dolphin show, and other cool things. It was a blast!

At home, I decided I was going to do my best to make as many moments count with Andrew this summer, and I'm surprised at how easy & rewarding it has been! We've taken lots of trips to Cosley Zoo, spent time at mom's pool & the splash park, took a train ride to Wheaton for ice cream, joined the library & done some cool things like Kindermusik & Clifford. It has been a blast, and I have loved all the time with my little guy! Of course, his favorite thing to do is just hang out and play with Liam, which is very easy to do since he's just across the street!

In March, Andrew got moved into his new big boy bed. He absolutely loves the bed & his room. He spends time in there by himself playing lots of times. His new love is to put on a CD & dance! He likes it if I join him too! :)

Andrew turned 3 in June & got his very own big boy bike with training wheels. He loves riding it to the park & is just sure some day he'll be faster than Liam! He's got a ways to go!

Shortly after his 3rd birthday we managed to get him potty trained. It took a few months for him to figure it all out, but a sticker chart, smiley face chart, rewards cards, and promise of a big prize & he finally got it! It's been nice to have no diapers for a few months!

Andrew will be starting preschool in the fall & is SO excited. It was all he would talk about for the longest time! The timing will be perfect too, because he'll start right when the baby's born, so he'll have a couple days of 'me time' to himself, which I think will be very rewarding and good for him! He's going to continue going to the baby sitter one day a week as well. We changed sitters a few months ago, so for consistency he'll be going one day a week. It will be more time for him, and some time just for me & the baby! I was a little torn about that decision at first, but as it gets closer I think it's going to be great! I've never been one to send my kid to the sitter when I'm home, but I really think it'll be best for everyone to stick to the schedule.

Mike and I went to Vegas in June for my sister Carrie's wedding. What a place!! It was absolutley intoxicating, and I'm definitely going to go back when I can enjoy the night life of it all! Vegas is NOT where you want to be while pregnant! Andrew stayed with Mike's parents while we were gone -- it was the longest I'd ever left him! It was hard, but we all survived. :) This past weekend I let him go to Wisconsin with my Mom, Ron, Laurie & Liam. He had a blast & I was able to get a little work done around the house.

There have been other little things we've been working with Andrew on this summer, like dressing himself & picking up & getting his own snacks that he's picked up very nicely. I think those are essential skills which will also help with his independence once the baby's here.

Andrew's really taken to sports this summer -- he can hit a pitched ball (better than off the T!), shoot baskets, and loves to dribble the soccer ball. We skipped T-ball this season, but I'm really considering putting him in soccer for the fall. He REALLY wants to play on a team & get a trophy! :)

The baby's room is ready to go -- just waiting for the little body to occupy the crib! We need to pick up a couple miscelaneous things, but for the most part we're ready to go! I also plan on picking up some new things for Andrew to help keep him busy in the event I can't get to him when he needs something!

Not much has changed as far as Mike & I go. Mike got moved to a store that's much closer to home which has been WONDERFUL! He now helps with taking Andrew to the sitter, he leaves late enough in the morning to help out some and is home for dinner at night. He does work 2 nights per week, which is more than he had been doing, but it's not that bad! I'm still working at John Deere where everything has changed. I have a job though, so I can't complain. :)

So, I'm sure I've left out something, but it's at least a starting point to getting back into the blog! I couldn't get any pictures to load for some reason, but they're all on facebook anyway!

Oh....one thing I DID forget -- Andrew's tall enough this year to touch the bottom of the pool! No more being carried around! As soon as he realized he could touch, his overall confidence in the water shot up! He still wants my hands to jump in, but that's about all the help from me he needs!

I'm Back!

After an INCREDIBLY long hiatus, I am going to make a strong effort to get back into blogging. I have been very into facebook -- mainly because it's so much faste & the picture upload tool is way easier to use than the blogger one. But, I have realized that I miss the stories. I go back through this blog & I love the milestones that are documented and the stories of our lives. That is not something you get on facebook. So, with the arrival of baby #2 on its way, I am going to remember this & will be blogging again! :)

'they're talking about sandwiches!'

The other day while driving home, Andrew kept asking me why they were talking about sandwiches. I had no clue what he was talking about & was asking him all kinds of questions trying to figure it out. I had about given up until I listened to the radio. The John Mayer song "Say What You Need to Say" was playing, and if you listen, he does kind of run the words together....'sandwich you need to say'! I laughed, and tried to tell Andrew what the words were, and he insisted they were talking about sandwiches. Tonight, on the drive home, the song came on again, and he says 'see, they're talking about sandwiches again!' I smiled & agreed with him!