Phases

Every week it feels like we are hitting a new phase in our lives.  Most of this is due to the fact that newborns and babies change almost daily in their first 6 months of life. We go through sleepy stages, fussy stages, trouble eating stages, gassy stages, growing stages, you name it.  Barrett has probably hit about all of those in the past few weeks, and it's been a little trying, but like I said, it's just a phase, and it will pass.  Brooks and Keely have probably spent more time playing the iPads and watching Curious George than I would prefer, but sometimes we just have to do what we have to do to survive! But as you can see in the photo, Keely is playing a spelling game, so they really are learning when they play, right?!

Barrett has proven to be very similar to Brooks in his demeanor during the days.  He likes to be held a lot, whether he is asleep or awake, and really prefers Mommy the most.  Luckily he has done better with Dad than Brooks did at this age, but since Blake is at work during the days, it still falls on me to hold the little guy most of the time.  I might complain about this sometimes, but if in order to get my little guy to take a good nap in the afternoon to be happy in the evening means I have to hold him for it, so be it. Some might say I'm creating bad habits for him, that I should make him nap in his crib, or set certain nap times, but I just can't tolerate having a fussy baby if all I need to do is hold him to make him happy :) He is only a baby for a few months, and I did this with Brooks till he was over a year, so I don't think I will ruin Barrett.  Brooks still takes a nap most days in his own bed (ok, since Keely has moved into his room he now naps in our bed, but by himself), so I have concluded that holding my baby for an hour every afternoon isn't such a bad thing.  I honestly don't mind the downtime as well, since the other 2 kids are normally napping at this time too, it's quite peaceful in the house.  Cleaning, cooking, and Ace work all get pushed aside, but hey, this phase will pass too before I know it.
This is my view for the afternoon most days....I'm not complaining :)

Keely has also gone through some phases lately.  She is definitely a girl and almost everything can turn into a crisis, but we just go with the flow, and usually she can snap out of it after a short crying fit.  A few weeks ago she wasn't feeling good and I finally ended up taking her to the doctor and she did in fact have an ear infection which was probably causing most of the fits, so thankfully after she started feeling better, the fits became fewer and farther apart. I'm not sure what this one was about, but as you can see, it was a major crisis :)

 

To continue with the phases theme, the phase of these two boys being so different in size is probably a short one.  Before I know it, they will be running around playing together like the 3 year age difference is nothing.  They grow so fast!

And now some of the many faces of Barrett...he is turning out to be a pretty goofy guy that likes to smile at all of us, especially when Blake comes home and talks to him...he's always got a smile for Dad!

And he's still a finger sucker.  Kinda cute, but hope it doesn't last too long and he becomes a thumb or finger sucker as he gets older.

And again, with the fingers in the mouth as Brooks plays beside him. 

It's hard to believe that in just a year, this cute little guy is going to be walking around and playing with the other two. 

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What really blows my mind is this is a picture of Keely just a year ago in February.  How she has changed in a short year!

So for now, my life is crazy and stressful with 3 little ones under 4, but I hope I can remember the fun and joy they have brought me once it's all past and they are grown up and in school all day.  How different my life will look then!

A Trip to Smith Center

A couple weeks ago we took a long overdue trip to Smith Center.  As we were loading the van for the weekend only trip, we realized why we hadn't gone anywhere for awhile...the van was packed! Wow it takes a lot of stuff to go anywhere with 3 kids, especially with a newborn.  I look forward to the day when we no longer have to bring a pack and play along for a kid to sleep in if we go somewhere overnight!  Luckily even though it was January when we went, the weather was beautiful! (At least while we were there, a cold front came through as we were driving home and we went from 60 degree weather in Smith Center to snowing by the time we got home!) Here are a few pictures from the short trip.
Grandma getting in some good grandkid time.  Keely was excited to have Grandma and Papa time again and made sure she got in some good hugs throughout the weekend.  

Great Grandma Burgess got to hold Barrett for awhile.  He was in the middle of a nap time, so he let her hold him for quite a while.

Blake talking with his Granddad.

On Saturday, we got to go to the park after naps and play outside.  It was nice to get some much needed fresh air and sunshine.  Keely loved the big slides.  Brooks was nervous to go down it, so he stayed on the ground mostly, but he still had fun.

We brought Brooks' soccer ball along and he kicked it all over the park.  I think we need to sign him up for soccer league! Not sure how he will take playing with other kids, since at the park he would rather just kick by himself instead of with the kids there, but we have to keep trying!

Brooks jumping off the 'green thing'.

Keely playing catch with Uncle Jerry and Papa.

It was a fun weekend even though it was a lot of work to haul all of our stuff for just a few short days! Barrett did great sleeping and did his normal waking up of once a night while we were there.  He has now since entered what I call the most difficult baby stage, so his sleeping has not been as good and he has become a little more difficult, but more on that in the next post!

A Beautiful Day

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted.  I keep meaning to and then of course Barrett is having a needy day where he wants to be held all the time or something else comes up.  Anyway, a few weeks ago we had a rare 60 degree day in January, and we took advantage! It was so nice to get a little sunshine in and get outdoors again.  With Keely older now and not having to constantly chase her so she doesn't fall off the drop-off in our backyard makes spring and summer time outside something I will look forward to more this year!
Brooks was super excited to shoot some baskets on his outdoor hoop!

Barrett got his first real outdoor experience.  He seemed to like it and was pretty calm the whole time.

They missed their sandbox!

 

Both kids still absolutely adore Barrett!

Brooks takes good care of him and wipes up any drool and talks to him all the time.

He's still a pretty happy baby! and is finally giving us some great smiles!

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas this year, we tried to keep it pretty low key considering we were all tired from getting over colds, having a newborn in the house, and busy times at ACE.  We had our little family Christmas on Friday the 20th.  After Blake and I showered and got everyone ready for the day, we opened presents.  Brooks was super excited for 'present day' as we had talked about opening gifts on Friday all week.  We tried to get a picture with both older kids smiling under the tree, this was the best we got!

 And one with Barrett too

 Barrett did well while we all opened gifts.  He pretty much just sat in his rocker seat the whole time! 

 Brooks got a cash register and was pretty excited about it.  Both him and Keely have liked playing with it.

 The kids with their stockings...not quite the picture I was looking for, but they were too excited to take a better picture!

 Both kids also got shopping carts from Blake and I.  They have loved pushing them around the house and pretend to shop for things all the time.  Keely has to have her puppy in the cart with her when she plays...and it has to be a certain way.  She is so particular about some things!

 My attempt at a picture with Barrett under the tree...

 On Christmas Eve, we went to my parents' church service in Henderson and then went to their house to play a few games with Brooks' new UNO cards.  I don't have a picture of us playing, but we had a lot of fun.  Brooks will definitely be our game player as we play UNO with him pretty much daily! Since it was going to be a fairly late evening to get the kids home and to bed on time after playing a few games, we put them to sleep at Grandma's before Blake and I left with Barrett.  Brooks was excited to sleep over, and they even slept in!
Here is Grandpa reading to Brooks before bed.

The next morning we got back to Grandma's around 9, and we opened presents about 10.  The 4 older kids were pretty excited!

 Grandpa helping Keely open one of her favorite gifts she received.  A baby stroller! (or should I say stuffed animal stroller!)

 Brooks got a KU hat!

 Keely already pushing her puppy in the stroller before we were even done opening gifts.

 Keely opening a book she received about Snoopy.  Think she was a little excited?!

 Playing in wrapping paper is always lots of fun!

 Barrett did pretty well the whole Christmas day...I did have to hold him while we opened gifts, so Brooks and Keely got to open all of mine for me this year.

 The 4 older cousins are getting good at eating at their own table....it might get a little cramped here in a year or so when Scarlett and Barrett start joining them!

 This is how Barrett was most of the afternoon...it was nice and relaxing while most of the kids had their afternoon naps! 

 Brooks got several games for Christmas, including Zingo, UNO, and picture dominos that he is playing with Aunt Laura here:

 Finally, Merry Christmas from Barrett...my sister got a new lens for her camera, so she was playing around with it and got this good picture of Barrett with his eyes open!