Valentine's Day 2013

Here's what Valentine's Day looked like this year:

It was a 1st Valentine's Day for this little guy


I had a breakfast date with my Main Man


Big brother was at school and Barrett was the perfect tag-along on our date. He slept the whole time!


There were plenty of handmade Valentine's surprises from Eli and a pretty sweet stash of Valentine's goodies from his school buddies. He gave his friends "Cars 2" valentines attached to a bag of Graham Bunnies. We had fun putting them together this year.




Eli and I made some heart-shaped french toast together. It was delicious!



I got to spend the day with 3 Very Cute Valentines! I am one lucky lady!

1-Month-Old!

On February 8th, Barrett turned one-month-old! It's amazing how quickly the time is already flying by but he is definitely fitting right in and makes the perfect addition to our family. Here are Barrett's stats at 1-month-old:


Weight: 10 pounds 1 oz.
Height: 21 3/4 in
(These are his measurements as of the 3-Week Well-Visit)

He had lost a bunch of weight right after birth, going all the way down from 9lb 12oz at birth to 8 lb 10 oz right after our release from the hospital. The pediatrician made us do one weight check but obviously he's been doing just fine since. This is such a blessing because we had to monitor Eli's growth pretty closely for the first 6 months of his life, which was pretty stressful for me. Barrett loves to eat and is nursing great so far!

* Size one diapers (the boy poops ALL THE TIME which is opposite of how Eli was at this age)

* 0-3 Month clothes

* He's been sleeping in his crib since day 1 at home and is even giving me 4-5 hour chunks of sleep at night

* He's had a pretty nasty case of baby acne on his cheeks and chin

* He naps all over the place right now, but we're working on getting better about putting him down in the crib for them (it's just so hard not to hold a sleeping baby when you know now how quickly that phase is over!)

* He's starting to track more and more, especially his big brother

* Not a big fan of tummy-time but Eli loves cheering him on as he "works-out"

* Took his first real bath at 4-weeks old---his cord fell off at his 3-week appointment but the doctor had to use silver nitrate to dry it out a bit more, so we waited a bit before getting his belly button wet

* He'll use the Soothie paci when he's tired but don't even think about trying to give it to him when he's hungry!

* At a month old, he's not a big "spitter", usually just when gets the hiccups (which happen pretty frequently)

* He furrows his brows at everything/everyone constantly

* As of 3-weeks-old, he was attempting to smile but is still not quite sure how to do it consistently

* So far he seems to enjoy his swing, seat, and "talking" to the sheep mobile over his crib

* He also enjoys pooping/peeing on me rather regularly (Mark and Eli think this is funny)

* Eli is still smitten with "Baby Buddy" and always wants to check on him and hold him---it's pretty sweet! One morning he woke up and Barrett was out of his crib with me elsewhere in the house and he ran out of his room in disbelief stating "baby brother is missing!"

* Overall Barrett seems to have a pretty mellow temperament thus far, only fussing when hungry or fighting sleep. He gets MAD when he's hungry though! Thankfully, that is fixed pretty quickly and easily!



Here is Eli at 1-month-old for a quick comparison of the brothers
(Poor boy didn't have official monthly pics until 2-months-old)



Barrett is definitely a bit more "solid" than his brother at this age. I have a feeling we are going to have another big boy on our hands!

He's Here!

On Tuesday, January 8th, we welcomed Barrett William into the world. After a little under 5 hours of labor, he was born at 8:17 that evening and weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. We were so thankful for God's protection for baby and myself during the induction and delivery.

Eli is thrilled with his new role as big brother and is very sweet and attentive to Barrett. We will have to wait and see if that changes as he gets more mobile and into Eli's stuff! Here are a bunch of pictures from Barrett's first few days with us. We are still in disbelief that we are a family of FOUR now!

The night before induction---41-weeks-pregnant and SO ready to meet our newest little guy!

Touchdown!

Going Home!

2012 Highlights

2012 was a year full of excitement and blessings for our family. Here is a month-by-month recap of some of the highlights:

January
* Eli switched from his crib to a big-boy-bed, which he loved. Thankfully this was a pretty smooth transition.

* Mark switched back to day-shift at work. We were VERY happy about this!

February
* After a very warm winter, we enjoyed a random snowfall at LakeNear during my dad's birthday weekend

March
* We celebrated Mark's 30th Birthday!

April
* Easter came a bit earlier this year

* Found out Eli was going to be a big brother

May
* Took a day-trip to the NC Zoo

* Attended our 1st Bulls game of the season

* Aunt Margaret got married!

June
* Celebrated Father's Day Weekend

* Beach Vacation with Mark's family

July
* Celebrated 4th of July at LakeNear

* Beach Vacation with my family

* Cheered on Team USA in the London Summer Olympics

August
* Found out we would be welcoming another BOY into our family

* Enjoyed one last Bulls game as a family of 3

September
* Eli had his 1st day of Pre-school

* Eli turned 3!

October
* Enjoyed our 1st Durham Bull's Fan Day

* Eli's 1st school field trip

* Annual Apple Picking Trip with my family

* Halloween

November
* Moved Eli to his Big Boy Room

* Celebrated Thanksgiving with my family

* Enjoyed a Surprise Baby Shower with family and friends in VA

December

* Baby Boy and I were showered by my NC friends

* I turned 32!

* Eli met Santa for the 1st time

* We celebrated Christmas here at home

* Waited anxiously for Baby Brother's big debut!

2012 was pretty awesome but we are even more excited to see what blessings 2013 will bring! Not too much longer to wait until our biggest one arrives! Stay tuned!