Tooth Fairy's First Visit

The Tooth Fairy made her first visit to the Horton House this month!  May 1st Barrett lost his first tooth!  When he went to his last dental cleaning the dentist told him he had a loose tooth.  He had not noticed that it was loose yet, and even after she told me I wasn't convinced it was really loose yet.  So I knew it would be a while before it came out.  We kind of forgot about it.  It got looser and  looser and it was time, it needed to come out.  We tried tying a string to a nerf dart and shooting it out.  That was a big fail and ended with 3 of the 4 of us in tears.  We were at Play Day for Barrett's school and he was eating sour straws.  He made a weird face and I was afraid it came out.  He said it didn't, but it was barely hanging in there.  It was so loose he wouldn't open his mouth, talk or eat anything.  I was already planning to check him out after the fun so we left and went to my parents house to get AveryAnn.  When we got there he was all upset and still wouldn't talk to anyone.  My parents basically held him down and forced him to open his mouth so they could see and when my dad stuck his finger in Barrett's mouth the tooth was already out and laying in his mouth.  So that's how Barrett lost his first tooth.  Once it was out he was so excited!  He couldn't wait to put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.  I was really mad at myself that I hadn't made him a tooth fairy bag or pillow or something to put the tooth in but the tooth fairy found it and all was good.  He woke up to $5 and you would have thought it was a bar or gold.  He was so excited.  Patrick is usually gone before they wake up and he was so bummed he wasn't going to get to see how excited Barrett was.  About that time Barrett came running down the hall so excited about his $5 from the Tooth Fairy!  It was so sweet and I was so glad that Patrick got to see him.

This sweet boy is growing up right before my very eyes.  I'm not sure I'm ready but I know he is.  

Barrett's First Day of Mother's Day Out

As you know I've been taking Barrett to work with me since he was 5 weeks old.  Luckily he is so laid back that it has been working perfectly.  My boss is amazing and I'm pretty sure he likes Barrett more than me.  When I was pregnant I knew I didn't want to work full time and I knew that daycare wasn't going to be an option with my current job because I would have barely been making enough to cover the cost.  My boss said I could bring him at first and we could just see how it went.  Well almost 20 months later I'm still taking him with me.  I'm so thankful that this has worked out.  I love working because it gets me out of the house and I get to be creative while making a little money to help support my shopping habits my little family.  I also am blessed to pretty much make my schedule each week so we can still have play dates with friends and that kind of fun stuff.  It really is the best of both worlds.  

I was talking to a friend this summer and she was talking about putting her son in Mother's Day Out and her son and Barrett are about 6 months apart but they have always played really well together.  She was talking about how she couldn't leave her son anywhere because he was so attached to her, which we were having the same problems. Patrick and I started talking about it and praying about it.  Barrett still does great at my office but he's starting to not want to be confined for 6 hours a day and who would.  So we made the decision to enroll him in a local program.  It's two days a week from 8:30-12:30 and it's 5 minutes from my office.  So I'm able to drop him off and go to work and then go pick him up and go back to work.  I knew it would be good for him to be away from me for a little bit of time each week.  It would also be good for him to learn to take direction from someone other than family.  I knew it would be good for me also to let go a little and to trust someone else with my son.  Our early intervention coordinator and speech therapist also said it would be good for him to be around other kids.  So I know this is the right thing to do right now.

Today was his first day since he was sick last week.  It went about as well as you'd think.

This pretty much sums up the morning. Ha! 

He was very skeptical of my picture taking.

He likes wearing his backpack.

Trying to get a good picture of him before we left.

This is the best I could get with him holding his sign.  (It was so humid my lens started fogging up.)

Patrick was off today so he went with us to drop him off.  They have a car line but we had to go in the first day to fill out the paper work.  Patrick held him and I'm glad he did because I don't think I would have been able to put him down while he was upset.  He did fine playing while we were in the room talking to his teacher.  We could tell something was up when we left the classroom to put him in the bye bye buggy for the morning stroll.  His friend Drake was there and we put him in the buggy beside him and he started crying.  Then Drake started crying.  It was awful.  His sweet teachers assured me they would both be fine and she immediately took them on a ride.  It was heartbreaking.  The funniest part was the other two kids were just looking at them like, "get it together kids, it's not so bad, your mommies are going to come back to get you."  I wanted to sit in my car until it was time to pick him up.  I knew he would be fine.  He does that when I leave him with anyone.  But it doesn't really make it any easier.  They sent me a picture about 15 minutes later and he was fine and playing.  I was so thankful.  Before I knew it, it was time to go pick him up.  His teacher brought him out to my car and he was happy to see me but he was trying to act like he was mad at me.  It was pretty funny.  She said he did great and he and Drake played together.  He ate his whole sandwich at lunch and barely used his paci.  I was so happy.  When I got back to work my boss asked him if he had fun at school and he said, "no".  I'm glad he did good, I hope drop off gets easier.  I'm already dreading it on Wednesday.

First Haircut

It was past time for Barrett's first hair cut.  I'd been putting it off because I knew it would instantly make him look older.  It was all in his eyes and getting out of control so I finally made an appointment with the lady that has done our family's hair for years.  She's been such a sweet friend over the years that I knew I could trust her to do just what I wanted. 

Sitting in the chair like a big boy.  He wasn't sure about the cape.

Barrett is going to grow up thinking he's a celebrity with the number of pictures I take of him.

She did just as I asked.  Basically just cut it out of his eyes and trimmed up the back a little.  

I know he's mine but I think he looks so sweet.

And the after.  Just tidied up a bit.  He did so good.  I've heard horror stories of first hair cuts so I was expecting a lot worse.  

He does look older but not to bad.

I think he looks so cute.

Weekend Review

Last Tuesday we met Jackson and Jessica at the splash pad for some water fun.  Barrett wasn't sure about the whole thing. He started getting brave toward the end but never went to the water on his own.  It probably didn't help that there were a lot of bigger kids there running wild.  I think he was a little intimidated.


But he looked really cute.


Hanging with Daddy before bed one night.


We had Taco night Friday night and Barrett enjoyed it.


Saturday I met up with one of my oldest friends Kellie (on the end opposite me) and we went to our friend Rachel's baby shower.  We were all in the youth group together at church.  We had some of the most fun together.  Rachel lives out of town so it was good to get to see her and celebrate this exciting time.


While I was at the baby shower Barrett stayed with Patrick's parents.  They were letting him run around in the driveway while Patrick did some work and he fell and earned his first skinned knees.  They said he didn't even cry. Saturday night we say out on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful weather. 


Sunday we went to Mass then picked up lunch on the way home.  We all took naps then I headed to put up a nursery decal for my friend Marion.  Her sweet boy will be her Friday and I can't wait to hold him!  That was pretty much it.  I did some cleaning which wasn't much fun!  We've got a fun week ahead, looking forward to a weekend at the lake!

Baby got a new pair of shoes

We had a great weekend.  Saturday I went to the gym for the first time in a week and thought I was going to die.  It was rough but I lived to tell about it and went back on Sunday.  My goal is to go everyday until the wedding.  Patrick had to work Saturday so Barrett and I went with my mom to get our dresses altered for the wedding. Yay!  Then for the big excitement of the weekend we took Barrett to get fitted for his first pair of big boy shoes.  He needed a pair of dress shoes for the wedding and I wanted to make sure we got the right size so we went and had him fitted.  He was so cute. 





We were sad Daddy missed it but I was happy to have Nana with us.


After church Sunday we went to lunch at Nana and Granddaddy's house.  Barrett ate and ate and ate.  Here he's eating a banana and laughing.  He was pretty entertaining!


This girl is so bad.  She's been getting out of our fence each time we think we have it fixed she still gets out.  Then she won't come to you, even if you have food.  This was a last resort but it worked like a charm.  I got a blanket and spread it out in the front yard and she came and sat right beside me.  Then I felt bad because she doesn't get enough attention.  We've got to figure a way to keep her in the fence that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
The weather this weekend was beautiful.  We've got one more weekend until the wedding and we can hardly wait.  Patrick started back on day shift today and we're a happy family! Hope y'all have a great week!

Play Date

Saturday, Barrett and I went to a fun little play date with Cruz and Jackson and their mommies.  Jackson was born 3 days before Barrett and Cruz is about a month older.  (We had a play date with Cruz when they were just 9 weeks and 5 weeks old)

The boys had a great time playing together and the moms enjoyed getting to catch up.  It's so nice to talk to other moms in this same season of life.   Aren't they so handsome.  
After the play date we came home so Barrett could take a nap before heading to his first night away from us.  We went to a party for John and Hope and Barrett stayed with my parents.  They said he did great and we did good too.  We missed him but it was nice to sleep till 8! I've got another post coming with pictures from the wedding shower.  It was so much fun.

First Ear Infection

We had Barrett's one year check up on January 2nd.  He'd had a snotty nose for a few days over the Christmas holidays but once we got him back on his schedule it seemed to get better.  He still had a bit of a cough but never ran a fever.  While we were at the dr. for his check up they found his ear infection.  I felt so bad that he'd been sick for a week and I didn't take him in.  Earlier this fall we'd taken him in because we thought he had one and he was fine so I didn't want to jump the gun again.  He was given an antibiotic and he seems to be feeling good.

I think it's so funny that he hasn't taken a paci since he was about 3 weeks old, until last week.  Now he wants it all the time.  I know I shouldn't let him have it but it's so cute and I know it's comforting to him.  Plus he grinds his teeth when he doesn't have it.  
It was a rainy, dreary day. The Dr. mentioned that he should really be at least saying "mama" and "dada" by now, which he isn't.  I wasn't really concerned because I feel like he hears just fine but you can't help but worry when you feel like they are "behind".  So we are working everyday on getting him to say words.  
He was stuck in his walk behind toy.  It was funny.
We have dropped the bottle and are completely on whole milk.  I'm certain it was more traumatic for me.
After Christmas and Barrett's birthday it was painfully obvious that the "man cave" was going to need to be duel purpose as a play area too.  So we're doing a little rearranging and Patrick is building a shelving unit to go across the back wall for toys.  I'm really excited about it! I took my Christmas down so the pack and play went back to its "spot" in the living room.  That means we no longer had something to block the kitchen doorway.  Patrick put these two chairs down and Barrett just pushed them out of the way.  That boy is smart!
I know I've said it a million times but I am so thankful for my job.  My boss is awesome and lets me bring Barrett everyday. (He actually prefers Barrett to me, when Barrett can run the sign equipment I'm toast!)  Well until now he's just been in a pack and play in the corner and it's worked perfectly. Now he just needed a little more room so Steven fixed this side of my office for him.  He put down some carpet and put up the fence.  So far Barrett loves it!  He has so much room! And just because he's cute! Man, I love him so much!

2013...That's a wrap!

This year has been amazing.  Quite honestly I can't believe it's coming to an end.  We've made a lot of great memories...here's a walk down memory lane!

January

We rang in the New Year with our tiny newborn.  Oh my goodness how precious was that itty baby.  We watched Alabama win another National Championship. Roll Tide!  We had a SNOW day and I took by 3 week old baby out in it.  Celebrated surviving Barrett's first month. We wrapped the month up with Barrett's First trip to Church.

February

I fell out of a blogging routine and resorted to random photo dumps to stay on top of things. These continued throughout the year (and will probably continue throughout the rest of my blogging career!)  We celebrated Barrett's first Valentine's Day.  I finally shared Barrett's birth announcement.

Barrett turned two months old.

March

Barrett was baptized.  It was such a special day shared with family and friends.

Barrett turned 3 months old and Patrick and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.

April

We celebrated Barrett's first Easter. SO much fun!  We watched Ava play softball.  Barrett made his first (and hopefully his last ;)) trip to Auburn.  Barrett turned another month older.

Patrick and I had our first date night since the baby was born.

May
Ally turned 5 years old.  I shared some Deep thoughts on becoming a mother and celebrating my very first Mother's Day.  On Barrett's 5 month birthday we headed to the lake for his first trip.

Finally we ended the month with some real food, Barrett ate carrots. 

June

I felt really old that it was already time for my 10 year reunion but we went and it was fun.

We took Barrett to the zoo.  We celebrated all the dad's on Father's Day.

Barrett turned half a year old.

July

Barrett enjoyed his first 4th of July.  I shared my thoughts on breastfeeding.  We went to the lake for the weekend with John and Hope and took the big dogs.  We finally had family pictures made of the three of us.   I was so excited about the royal baby. It was such a fun moment in history.  Barrett turned 7 months old and I turned 28.  We took Barrett to Tuscaloosa for the first time.

August

My childhood dreams came true when we went to the American Girl store and Bistro for our birthdays.

Barrett turned 8 months old.  Blast from the past when I got to see the Backstreet Boys in concert again.  It was just as thrilling as when I was 14!

September

We got to visit with my cousins from Florida that we don't get to see nearly enough.  I got real and shared my struggle with Mommy guilt.  We went on our first vacation as a family of three.  We had a blast!  Part 2 and Part 3.  Barrett turned 9 months old.  I took Barrett to his first tailgate in Tuscaloosa.

October

We went to Tuscaloosa for homecoming and I got to take Barrett to his first football game.  Barrett turned 10 months old and I started frantically planning his first birthday party.  We had a fun little family date to the pumpkin patch.  I left the baby at home and went to the Alabama/ Tennessee game.  It was a much needed mom day and he had a blast with his grandparents.  We wrapped up the month with a little Halloween get together.

November

I shared my love for Fall and some really cute pictures of Barrett in the leaves.  I took another trip to Tuscaloosa without the boys for the Alabama/ LSU game.  Barrett turned 11 months old and we celebrated his first Thanksgiving.

December

I decided I was crazy and would dress Barrett in a Christmas outfit everyday in December thus the 25 days of Christmas outfits was born.  We took Barrett to see Santa.  We watched Uncle John graduate from Alabama and celebrated Barrett's first birthday all in the same weekend.  He loved his cake so much!

Barrett's final monthly post and we all had a Merry Christmas!

Thanks for following along with our little life.  I love writing this blog, I love recording all these little and big moments for our son to read one day.  Hearing that other people enjoy it is just icing on the cake for me. We're wishing you all the best in 2014!