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! :)

Ben Got His Buck!

Yesterday Ben got an 8 point! He was pretty excited, yet says that he still needs to get a bigger one. Today we are heading off to watch my cousin play in the High School Football State Championship at Ford Field. That should be a good time. Then tomorrow is my grandma's 80th birthday party in Saginaw. A busy weekend filled with family...gotta love it! :) 

GO BLUE!!

Big day for the Michigan Wolverines!! They play Ohio State today (OSU is ranked 1 and UM is ranked 2). I'm home with Barrett today while Ben is off hunting in the northern woods, so I thought I'd better get Barrett ready for the big game. Thanks Melissa and Kyle for the adorable outfit. The outfit was too big earlier in the season and now it barely fits him! :) He's growing so fast!

Barrett update: He continues to sleep through the night. He only got up once this week in the middle of the night. A new thing he is doing is sucking his thumb!! Neither Ben or I was a thumb sucker, but I guess that doesn't seem to matter. I should have guessed this from the beginning though, because he really liked to suck! :) He still smiles a lot as you can see in the picture and he makes some very cute sounds. Overall, things are going great and we have a very good baby! :)

GO BLUE!!! I want to add how sad I am about Bo, too. What a legend he was.... We need to win this game for him!

Opening Day

Yesterday I sent my boys off in style! It was opening day of gun season and Ben was off for the day so he could shot a deer (he did not get one yesterday). Barrett was dressed like his daddy to show support. Whether you are for or against hunting...I must say that my boys look pretty cute! :)

P.S. I wonder what that orb is in the photo...hmmm.....

Sleeping

I wanted to wait to see if it was going to continue and I'm happy to say that it has...at least for the past three nights. Barrett has slept through the night the past three nights!!! A whole 7 straight hours each time. Yippee! Maybe I'm jinxing it now, but I had to share the good news. Of course, I didn't have to work the following days (so if he sleeps through the night tonight I will be a happy camper for work tomorrow!), but it was still great to get the good sleep. Okay, I have my first full week back at work this week, so wish me luck! :)

2 Months Old!!

(Aren't Barrett and Louis so precious in their baptismal gowns?!?)

Barrett turned two months old yesterday! He is already getting so strong and big. He is a good eater and sleeper. He is still waking up one time during the night to eat and get a diaper change, but he goes back to sleep easily afterwards. It could be worse, so I consider myself lucky. He eats 6 times a day plus one time in the middle of the night. He eats primarily breastmilk, yet with my conferences this week, he did need supplemental formula feedings. Developmentally, he likes to try to stand up on your lap, he has a strong grip, he flips over from belly to back easily now, he loves to kick his legs and flail his arms during play time in his gym, and he loves to smile at familiar faces. He continues to make new cooing sounds everyday, which are to the amusement of his father and me. We love 'em. Ben and I could not be happier and could not love Barrett more. He is the best gift we have ever received! :)

Baptism

Last Sunday was Barrett and Louis' baptism. It was a wonderful day spent with family. Barrett has wonderful godparents and he is loved by many. After the baptism, Amanda and Pat hosted a party to celebrate. Then the Rainey clan headed to dad's to celebrate his birthday. Overall it was a long day, but a great one. I couldn't ask for a more loving, caring family. :)

Happy Halloween!

Okay, so I'm a few days late with this post, but it is all my computers fault!! I apologize for these technical difficulties. Anyway, Barrett's first Halloween was very exciting. First we went to Ben's office for a kiddie parade and this is where I first saw Barrett in his costume (a co-worker of mine gave us the costume). I think it is just the cutest costume ever and Barrett looked so darn cute in it, too! :) After the office event we quickly went home to do a few things and then headed over to Grandpa and Grandma Raineys. They got to see Barrett in costume and we stayed and chatted for a little while. After that we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Spitzleys. We met up with cousin Louis there who was dressed up as a very cute monkey. Together they made quite a cute pair! :) The day was filled with smiles (check out Barrett's big one in the pic above)

Also at the Spitzleys we weighed Barrett (he hasn't been weighed since he was a week old) and Grandpa Delbert found Barrett to weigh about 15 lbs. now. Then Grandpa Del measure Barrett and Barrett was about 24 inches long. He's quite the growing boy! Barrett's also making a lot of new sounds which are really cute and he seems to be spitting up less (except when given the occassional bottle of formula). He still wakes up once a night, which may cause some sleepy days for me here soon because I go back to work on Monday. I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand I am ready to go back. I miss the students and the routine of the school day (and I'm a bit stir crazy at home), yet on the other hand I love my time with Barrett. But, alas, reality calls and I must go back to work. I am heading in today to get some things around for my day back (Ben's going to come home early and take care of Barrett) and hopefully I'll get a lot accomplished. Wish me luck! 

Sleepy Baby

Last night Barrett was getting very fussy, so I decided to walk around the house carrying him across the front of me (look at picture). He ended up falling asleep in my arms and drooling everywhere..you can see some on my arm! :) What a cute little man though! 

Barrett's Smilin'

Last weekend was a lot of fun. Saturday I spent most of the day with the in-laws. It is always so nice to hang out there and spend some good quality time together. Watching the big games was fun, too. Go Tigers! Go Blue! (and believe it or not...the Lions won Sunday, too!) Then Sunday we celebrated Grandpa Del's birthday with a get together at their house. Delbert also called it the "meet the grand babies day". The sun was shining, although it was crisp out, and there was even a hay ride. Barrett and I did not go on the hay ride this year, though, so hopefully we'll get to do it next year.

On another note, Barrett has been smiling a lot recently. It no longer appears to be gas-related smiles, but rather genuine happy smiles!! It melts your heart! I was finally able to catch one on camera (sorry about the focus...it had to be quick). He's also making a lot of new sounds, which are really cute. Well, I've got to get...Barrett's getting fussy. :) 

Nighttime

I can't believe that it is Gwen's first birthday today!! Hooray for Gwen! Also, I woke up to snow on the ground...yup snow...and I'm sure many others of you did, too. Isn't it a little early for this?!? I'm not quite sure we've had a good Fall yet (which is a season I really enjoy), so hopefully this snow is just temporary.

I just wanted to post a quick entry today about Barrett sleeping through the night. A couple of nights ago Barrett slept from 10:30 pm until 5:30 am!! It was a milestone, but short lived of course because he was back to his norm last night (asleep at 10:30 pm, up at 2 am, asleep at 2:30 am and then back up again at 6 am). Hopefully the sleeping through the night becomes his norm sooner than later. :) Needless to say, the night he slept through was a great night. I felt so good the yesterday!

Enjoying Some Time With My Boys

Barrett is now one month old!! Wow! He is getting stronger and stronger every day. I actually think that he gets frustrated because his body will not allow him to do the things he wants to do. He kicks a lot and loves to roll over onto his back. He will even "stand" with support. He is a great baby that only cries when he's hungry, so we are very lucky with that. We're still working on the nighttime sleeping thing, but I know we'll get there. He still grunts a lot, but a lady told me the other day that "every grunt is a growth". Interesting...

Anyway, last weekend Ben and I hung out with Andrea and Gregor (separately... the boys played cards in DeWitt while we stayed in and hung out) on Friday night and then headed down to Ann Arbor Saturday for the big game (U of M v. MSU). My dad gave Ben and me his tickets (and volunteered himself and Trina to babysit), so we were able to go to the game!! Before the game was a tailgate/birthday party for Gwen at the Edin's. It was so much fun!! A lot of family and friends were there and it was really my first time at a big event like that since Barrett was born. I loved every minute of it! The game was great too. We switched tickets with cousin Robert (he had my grandparents tickets) and we were then able to watch the game on the 50-yard line. I haven't been to the big house in a long time, so this was great too (it didn't hurt that U of M won 31-13 either!). After the game we headed for home (I was ready...it was a long day and I was so tired...I can't hang like I used to). Sunday we got out and about a little bit (it was such a gorgeous day) and then went back home to greet my Aunt Patti and Uncle Scott (who had never seen our house or met Barrett yet). After they left then Travis and Misty stopped by followed by Grandma Sue. Another busy day, but I loved all the company! :) We feel the love! 

Cousins Meet for the First Time!

Ben and I decided to get out and about today because the weather was just too nice to stay inside. We first went to visit Aunt Steph and Barb at Bob and Sandy's house. Then we went to look for Grandpa Delbert (he was running corn) and on the way we stopped by Great Grandma and Great Uncle Mike's house. While we were there Frank and Linda (and a few others) stopped by to pick Mike up and got a chance to meet Barrett for the first time. We then headed to say "hi" to Grandpa Delbert and after that continued on to Uncle Pat and Aunt Amanda's house to have the cousins meet for the first time. It was so much fun to see the two boys together!!! All the pictures are just way too cute! :) I can't wait to see what these two will get into in the future (although I must say that Louie was pretty chill the whole time while Barrett seemed to not want to stay still...hmmm...what does that say about the future??!!??). It was a busy day, but oh so much fun!!! 

3 Weeks Old

Barrett is 3 weeks old today! Wow...where has the time gone?? I keep hearing that time will only go faster, so I'm trying to enjoy these moments. Yet, I must say that I jinxed myself last night because I was telling Ben that I'm getting used to getting up at night and it doesn't seem to be interferring too much during the day because Barrett will fall right back to sleep after nursing...BUT last night Barrett refused to sleep so I was awake much of the night...ugh! Just when you get used to something. :) It makes life interesting, right?!?

The picture above represents the place Barrett likes to be in the evenings...right on daddy's chest. I think Barrett gets bored with seeing me all day, because when dad is home he just likes to lay there and stare at him. It is truly adorable! :)

Tonight Ben and I are going out for our first entire evening away from Barrett. We've only left him one other time and that was just for a few hours. Tonight we will miss a feeding (I've introduced Barrett to the bottle already...pumping breastmilk), so Grandma Katrina and Papa will be over feeding and watching Barrett. It will be nice to get out, but I'm sure I'll miss Barrett most of the time. It's just something else to get used to. :) 

First MSU Tailgate

This past weekend we took Barrett to his first MSU tailgate. He looked like such a stud in his t-shirt and jeans! The stormy weather held off all day so I could stay a little longer with him. Everyone seemed to enjoy having him around and some people got to meet him for the first time. It was a busy day (I think I felt the effects more than Barrett) and we were definitely ready to go home when the time came, yet I must say we had a great time at the tailgate! :)

We also had many visitors this weekend, many of which were meeting Barrett for the first time. Ryan, Alissa, and family stopped by, as well as Todd and Erica. Jocelyn, Jacob, and Gwen even drove in from Ann Arbor to spend the day. Jocelyn did a lot of helpful things around the house, too which was nice and Gwen got to meet her cousin for the first time. It was great visiting with everyone!!