Cora.. 5 Months

I just love my happy and curious little lady! Our hair is beginning to fill in, we can roll and scoot, lift our body all the way up, get our knees under us but not quite crawl. We laugh and giggle all the time and ... not one of my favorite things... we pull hair A LOT. Sweet love!

Fabulous Dad

Well, you did it babe. Love your very own post. Now that you know what you are doing... no more excuses... you can help me keep up on our blog. Haha. I fail at consistently staying up on it. Although it is one fabulous family journal! So be prepared, your help is greatly needed. Now what are you going to do? Many more things on your to do list to come... (1) blog about this and that. hehe.

Logan Hard At Work

This is my first time "Blogging" Tamara doesn’t even know I am doing this. Anyway Logan came and visited me at work today and we had a blast, he loves to get into everything in dad's office. After a while of that I put him in my chair and he just bangs on the keyboard and likes to see what the computer does. Good times. I had to take a picture because he looks so serious, like he is working very hard. I hope this was a good first blog.

Sweetness

Chocolate is the Enemy

Well, Reed's Birthday has come around once again! Yeah for fun times, laughter, and of course his favorites: (1) Taco Salad Dinner (2) Chocolate Cake (3) A New Pair of B&W Checkered Vans.

His birthday wish list did come true! Anyone who knows Reed the slightest bit is very familiar with his casual attire. You will never catch Reed in a pair of 'full length' pants except for Sundays. At best he will mix up which pair of Vans he is going to wear and alternate between T-shirts and Polos with the 'can't leave home without 'em' shorts!

Anyway, Happy Birthday love. I hope your birthday wishes came true with an additional day of R&R to catch up. We love you.

Let's get to the real story now.

Do you see this picture of a gorgeous chocolate cake? Excuse the ungly light switch in the picture!

Well this chocolate cake is homemade (thank you, thank you), has two layers, homemade chocolate frosting, and is coated with semi-sweet chocolate chips along the sides. Sounds delicious.

We had a family dinner on Monday night then invited over his parents and grandma for dessert. Everyone had a slice and we only devoured a quarter of the cake. The next two night Reed had two slices.

Here's the big question: Where did the rest of the cake go? A. Between Monday night and Wednesday night of the same week it went IN MY BELLY! Isn't that ridiculous and horrible. I have absolutely no self control once the 'goodness' is in my house. I CANNOT buy baked goods, ice cream, and especially no chocolate.

My conclusion: Chocolate is the Enemy!

Rattlesnakes and Bats at the Barnes', Oh My!

Well, friends are hard enough to make AND keep already. Surely they will never want to visit if we keep attracting these types of critters.

About 3 weeks ago, I walked right by a rattlesnake. It was just hanging out right next to the sidewalk below the stairs at our apartment. Then 5 days later, I spy another rattlesnake in front of my kitchen window. TODAY, Reed and I return home from our early morning park date with the kids and a flipping bat is in the corridor to get to our front door. You've got to be kidding? Animal control came out to catch it. Supposedly, bats are often times carriers of rabies. Yikes!

Friends, please visit. We apologize for the critters.

Miss Beauty!

Read previous post and apply to Cora this time. Excuse my excessiveness. Mommy loves Cora, the color purple, and babies' many expressions. She's EIGHT weeks old, already!!

Mommy you are pretty funny but if you want me to smile real big you are going to have to work harder than that.

See I told you to work harder. Now I am 'Miss Serious'.

Babies ponder too. So thoughtful. Hmmm...

Strike a pose! Hehe!

Oh my gosh Mommy that was so funny I can't even contain my laughter. Wild smile.

Wait a minute now, let me make this wild smile look good. Wild smile + composure = super cute!

Mr. Handsome

Let me begin by saying, I know this is a ridiculous number of photos of just Logan but I am allowed... I AM HIS MOTHER. I can be infatuated all I want. By the way, if you read the previous post... we have arrived at the park. Cora is now sound asleep. Hehe! It's about 7:20 or so in the AM. If you would like to check out these adorable photos, go right ahead, but I apologize ahead of time for drowning you in a mother's infatuation. And yes, I made this beanie all by myself. Wooohooo, I can knit. Thanks to Aimee for her help.

The Dynamite Duo

Even in June it is cold at 6:45 AM. Yes that is right. I begin loading the stroller for our walk to the park about this time. We don't exactly leave until about 5 or 10 after 7:00 but it's still a bit chilly. The point is .... Why do we have beanies on in the middle of summer? Because our children are the earliest risers. They are not just awake but ready to play at the park. And off we go.

Logan is sucking his thumb and holding his ear and Cora, she's just minding her own business.

Then HAPPINESS erupts.
Both little ones are giggling.

Logan returns to his thumb but Miss Cora can't contain her smile.

You've gotta love 'em!

Cora Addison Baby Blessing & Father's Day

So Logan was blessed on Easter 2009 and now Cora on Father's Day 2010. Hmmm... will we continue the pattern? Well I guess the first question might be will their be more babies? A break is in order for the time being but when babies begin to arrive again maybe we might continue this baby blessing thing only on existing holidays. Haha.

Logan in Mommy's arms, Uncle Scott, and Cora in Daddy's arms.

Mommy, Logan and Grandma B are snuggling.
Cora is in Grandpa B's arms and then there's good looking Daddy.

Well to the left is Great Grandma B and the rest of the gang.

Just kidding!!!

Here is the whole gang.

A pretty good picture I must say... well, with the exception of that darn sun glaring in our eyes.

Precious Moments... Mom and Cora!

Fun Times

It doesn't get anymore up close and personal.

Beauty at it's finest... a newborn's little face.

Uncle Brandon and Cora stretched out on the floor.

What's with this little chic's fuzzy hair?

Mom, did you forget to come it?

We took about 6 shots like this before one turned out well.

Grandma J, Miss Cora Addison, Uncle Brandon and Mom.

Super cute takes effort!

Well the sky couldn't appear any bright here, could it?

Grandma J and Logan are just tickle pink.

Happy campers I must say.

We sure love visiting the ranch.

"You Have Enemies? Good. That Means You've Stood Up for Something, at Sometime in Your Life." - Winston Churchill

So as I sit hear blogging about our children, Reed sends me this awesome quote. This is just one of the reasons why I love him. Of course he would pick out this quote while he's reading one of his "Winston Churchill books." He's a person with much character. I love that. No one wants to encourage enemies but please people... get an opinion and stick up for what matters most to you.

Thank you Reed for reminding me just how well two opinionated people CAN live together. I guess the goal shouldn't be finding someone who won't contest, be careless or without a mind of their own, but someone whose opinion values the things that I value too. Our strong personalities make us twice as strong in the SAME direction in life.

My Little Lady is growing up... Ahh... Can't I Ever Stop the Clock

Oh the joys and heartache of parenthood. Yesterday I just took and afternoon off to be with Cora. To cuddle with her, sing to her, read to her, touch her oh so soft skin, and yes... smell her baby smell goodness. I called Reed and just said I need 2 hours off just to love my brand new baby without any guilt. Moms... we have so much to do that sometimes we forget to enoy our children! Seriously how important is a gourmet dinner... pb&j will do with big glasses of milk and some fruit. Time together is so much more important.

Son of Man... Tarzan

Logan and I tend to have wild, wild dance sessions each morning before his first nap. Currently our fave Disney soundtrack to jam to is Tarzan, specifically Son of Man. These are some of the moments I treasue most. His anticipation is unreal. He wants to spin, dip, spin again until neither of us can see straight! I love my son.

Christmas in June

The joy of stashing away half my son's toys just to reveal them one unannounced evening and what do you know... it's like Christmas in June. These toys couldnt possibly be the toys he had just a few months ago, right? No for Logan they were brand new and we had so much fun playing together. By the way did I mention how much nicer it is to only have half his toys out every day... its so worth while to store a child's toys and switch them out over time. This has been a "Smart Mom Trick" I value very, very much!

Cora's First Month and She Rolls Over

My Beautiful Little Lady

Mid-Week Recap

Yes he is a big boy but really, both of these little ones are babies to me. Logan is only 15 1/2 months old and Cora is exactly 3 weeks in the next 5 pictures. The cutest babies around! Both with their blankets - he's sucking his thumb and she hangs on to his little finger. Can you say adorable? And no I did not pose these two... Logan just loves to hold on to her and we are teaching him that the best place to touch/hold her is her hand.

Below is a close up of Cora!

Eyes wide open and reaching for Big Brother's hand.
Logan either wants to be the star of this photo and is trying to block Cora out with his big head or the truth is that it's so close to his nap time and he was trying to lay his head down... on top of Cora. Hmmm... that won't work!?!
Is there a better wake call than doughnuts. Logan peps right up for me, at least so long as I keep up with his little tummy. I hand him the doughnut pieces and he smiles back.

There he goes again. Reaching out to grab Cora!

So on Tuesday, we decided to go out to our GSpoon in Lake Forest. We had a yogurt than browsed the shops in the center. I just love my double stroller. So do the kids but it was time for Logan to get out and stretch his legs. The next two pictures are of him, showing that cement curb just who is boss. He spent about 10 solid minutes attempting to get his little foot on top of that curb and when he did... boy was there a huge smile/smerk on his face. It's like he wanted to say, "I am King of this hill, alright. Mom do you see me?!"

Monday we hung out in our sandbox. Woohooo. This was a fabulous addition to our patio. Thanks to Grandma J for the fabulous idea. Logan sure loves to dig with his shovel and smash the castles mommy builds for him. Next step is to fill up the other half of this amazing outdoor piece. The lid to the sandbox opens up and becomes a mini pool! So cool!

Lastly, it wouldn't be a mid week recap if I didn't mention our many, many naps.

For Cora the exception is still awake time rather than nap time. Hehe.

Isn't she adorable here?

An Unhappy Adventure with Insects

What a beautiful morning, or so I thought it was going to be a beautiful morning as I packed up the kids, some sidewalk chalk, and Logan's bubble gun. Off we went to go play in the morning sun. I love mornings and my kids do too as they all refuse to sleep any later than about 6:15 in the morning. Luckily we are all in agreement that the morning is the best part of today.

However, this morning did not play out as well as most. So stroller is packed and we are off on our walk to the perfect destination for all of our fun toys. Pool side. That's where we were heading. We arrive with big huge smiles on our faces, plop down on the warm cement and get out our chalk. Logan's scribbling away and wandering... you know how boys and little ones in general love to investigate the great outdoors. Well here I am chatting away to him about the chalk, when Logan decides to reach out and show a little buzzing bee who's boss. Not! As Logan tries to squish the daylights out of this bumblebee, the bugger stings him. OUCH!! And Logan eyes begin to tear. Needless to say it was mommy to the rescue...

React poorly with a huge "Oh My Gosh" when I finally realize what just happened.
Flick the bee off Logan's hand.
Pull out the stinger.
Give Logan a huge bear hug.
Distract him with a very yummy ritz cracker.
And hurry home for ice and a cozy couch to cuddle on.

Moms really are heros.

A Handful of Good Stories

(1) Logan's can reach the door knob. Yep, that's right on the very tips of his toes and stretching out his arms, hand, and fingers as far as he can, Logan can definitely reach the door knobs. He has been closing doors for quite some time and just thinks that is a hoot. He will slam his door shut, laugh histarically and then wait ever so patiently right by the door for you to open it again. Now he will open the door himself. I forsee many trouble making days ahead of us as he opens doors to rooms he does not belong in. Hmmm... what shall I do??

(2) Cora is a comedian. She can make Logan laugh like crazy. Well, we do help her out a bit. The point is that when Reed or I am holding Cora, if we take her feet and karate chop Logan with her feet he just thinks that is hilarious. See, Logan loves to poke and jab Cora but the fact that she might engage with him is still a novelty. So when we take her little bitsy feet and karate chop Logan with them he loves it. So much fun!

(3) Logan has found a new hiding spot. And I am not so sure if it is a good thing. Whenever he gets an opportunity to get his little mischevious fingers on one of our grown up electronic toys (you know what I mean, our cell phones, ipods, etc) he loves to run off with it. He really hasn't tried to hide it from us yet and I am not sure if he intentionally tried to hide it this time either but today after lunch he managed to run off with my ipod and I watched him very sneakly dump my ipod cover right into our kitchen trash can. Ahh... that is a HORRIBLE hiding place. Under the couch was such a better option but now that he has discovered the trash can and more importantly dumping things in the trash can I am going to have to keep an extra eye out for missing valueables. Uh...oh....

(4) Bad mom alert. The other day I took the truck in to the Toyota dealership to get an oil change and was feeling extra confident because I had my double stroller. Woohoo. It has made getting to and from so much easier. Well we roll on into the waiting room. Park ourselves comfortable with lunch in hand to munch on while we wait. It was perfect. Then I thought, might as well let Logan get out some energy and stretch his legs. So I unbuckle my monkey and encourage him to follow me out the double automatic sliding glass doors in the front of the dealership. I am leading the way and all SEEMS well until I glance back and about five steps behind me Logan has decided to plop his bum down right in the middle of the automatic sliding doors. I try to call him and tell him to get up so we can play.... pretending to be calm, I really wasn't very far away, just a little more than an arms reach. But then the doors started to close, I tried to reach for the stroller wheel lock fast enough but couldn't and right as Logan was starting to get up off the floor the doors came in and squished him on his sides. Luckily the doors can't really hurt you since they open right back up. But it was a hilarious sight and Logan stopped and looked up at me with the most puzzled "mommy!!" face. There were no tears just shock and laughter. I wish I could have taken a picture of this sight fast enough but then again I couldn't even get to the wheel lock fast enough... who am I kidding???

Mommy's Precious Girl!

May 13, 2010

Cora Addison Barnes is only 8 days old.

Irrisistable of course.

And just like her onsie says... she is Mommy's Precious Girl!

It's pretty amazing how you can love all your children so.......... much.

Logan and Cora. What would I do without my babies??

Logan's Discovered Bubbles

This was taken one week day evening. Dad came home from work a early and we stepped out to have a little fun. Oh the joy of bubbles. A little one can really teach us 'grown ups' how to have fun again. And yes no need to be proper... Logan doesn't see a problem with his shorts being unbuttoned and diaper exposed to the world at all! :o)

March 24, 2010

The Three Loves of my Life

Do I need to say more??

Friday, May 7 2010

Grandma "J" and Uncle Brandon Come to Visit... Boy oh Boy did We Love the Park!

Pictures taken Saturday May 8th 2010.

Just three days after Cora's arrival.

She was too tired to take any photos! Hehe.

Sometimes, well most of the time, these candid shots are the best pictures ever!

Look at both of their reactions. Clearly this is the best slide around.

Wheh... they made it to the bottom in one piece with smiles on their faces.

Grandma J and Logan on the swing.
Grandma can't get enough of Logan and Logan... well, he's to busy staring off at some other kids at the park. Logan's a people watcher even as young as he is.

This was our attempted pose, more formal shot playing in the sand.

Grandma J and Uncle Brandon are smiling away and again Logan couldn't be bothered. The sand is so much more entertaining.

Logan couldn't help but demolish every last sand castle his uncle or grandma tried to build for him. Oh man... destruction is so... much fun.