More Holiday Photos

Barrett's First Christmas

The holidays were busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way! :) It all started on the 23rd at Ben's parents house. There was a very festive dinner and then later we opened gifts and played games. The next morning we headed to my dad's house to open gifts and then that afternoon we went up to Saginaw to have Christmas dinner with the family. On the 25th, we woke up in our own home (we wanted to start the tradition of waking up as a family on Christmas morning in our own home) and went to church. After church Ben, Barrett, and I opened gifts and later went to have dinner at Mark and Sheryl's house. After dinner it was a night of games, from Catchphrase to Set Back and even some Cranium. Loved it! On the 26th, we went to lunch with the Uptons, Rachel, and Whitey in DeWitt and then we were off to Whitmore Lake to have an evening with the Edins and Williams. We played some dice and a new Friends game. Evenings like that are always so much fun! :) And to wrap up the festivities, we headed to Grand Haven the next day to have an evening with the Janiczeks, Owens, and Doug. We played more dice and Mad Gab. I thoroughly enjoyed all the games I got to play the past five days!!! Yeah! The past few days we have stayed at home and have enjoyed the relaxation. We have slept in and enjoyed our family time. I think Barrett loved seeing everyone, too. He was a trooper at each place. By the end of it all he was exhausted, too (just like us). He slept a lot on Thursday! He remained such a happy little guy though. Ben and I are always saying how happy he is. He smiles all the time and makes so many coos. He even giggled in a little giggle fit a few days ago. I cracked up. What an awesome baby!

Barrett's On the Move!

I just had to share the latest news...Barrett has figured out how to get around. No he's not crawling or walking yet, but he has figured out how to move backwards in his walker. I put him in the toy by the doorway to the bathroom today while I took a shower and later I found him by the bedroom window (about 5 feet away)!! I then decided to put him on the hardwood in the kitchen and he cruised right along (although it was difficult for him to get a "grip" on the slippery surface. He seemed to really enjoy it, but he got fussy when he would back himself into a wall (hasn't figured that one out yet). What a funny boy! I really think once he figures out the whole crawling/walking thing we will have our hands full! :)

Hanging Out

This past weekend was a lot of fun. We were at Ben's grandma's place with the rest of his mom's side for a Christmas weekend. There wasn't any snow, but the whole family got together anyway and exchanged gifts and had a great big dinner later Saturday night. It was Barrett's first weekend away from home (we have spent one night in Whitmore Lake a few times) and he did very well. He slept through the night even though his schedule got changed a little throughout the weekend. Everyone seemed to enjoy having him around (he's really fun these days...conversational and smiley). He got back to his routine easily today. Although he didn't poop all weekend and this morning (right as we were heading out the door) he had a blow out. Needless to say, he got a quick bath. What a great way to start the morning! :)

I wanted to share a few pictures we've taken of him recently (camera's working). The second one is of Barrett all bundled up for an afternoon walk and the first one is Barrett in his favorite toy (a hand-me-down from Ben's coworker).

3 Months Old

Barrett is 3 months old today! Wow! He is doing great. He smiles and coos all the time. I must say though that he is starting to get fussier these days. Sometimes he will get so fussy until you let him "stand" for a little while. He just loves to sit upright and "stand". Obviously he can't stand on his own, but he loves to try. Ben and I also put him in his first stationary toy yesterday and he loved it! Our camera is not working right now, but I'll try to get pictures of that soon. He also makes bubbles a lot and has started drooling a ton!! He wears a bib most of the time. :) Developmentally, he is able to do a lot. He can grasp toys/rattles, he can look around a room for someone (and follow you around a room), he can do mini-push-ups, and he even spends a lot of time simply checking out his own hands (I watched him for awhile the other night and he did this a lot...he even went crossed eyed a few times...silly little man). :) He continues to be amazing and we love him very much.

2 Month Check Up

Last week Barrett went in for his 2 month check up (although he is almost 3 months old). He got his first round of shots and that was so hard on me. They first gave him an oral vaccine, then they held his legs down (I was up by his head) and two nurses gave him a total of three shots in the thighs. It took him a minute to realize what had happened and then he started to cry. It was so hard to take, but he got through it just fine after that. He didn't react strangely at all and he has been a happy baby throughout it all. At that appointment he weighed in at a whopping 17 lbs.! The doctor said that this was above the 95th percentile! He was in the 50th percentile for length, also. Overall the check up went really well.

Last weekend we were busy, too. Friday I got a snow day so I was able to stay home with Barrett (loved it), but then I lost power. I headed over to my in-laws and rode into town with Sue to get Diana's birthday cake. Then on Saturday we had the Lewis' Christmas party during the day and then a work party (Ben's office) at night. Both parties were fun. The evening party has a casino theme so Ben and I got to play a little Blackjack and Hold 'Em. It was a nice "date night". Sue and Del watched Barrett while we were out. Finally, Sunday Erica and Ben had a wedding shower at my dad's. Rex and Jocelyn drove in from out of town, so it was nice visiting with them, too. Ben stayed home and worked on the decorations (we went and got our christmas tree earlier that day). The house was cheery when I returned home later on. Ben did a great job with all the porch decorations! :)