What's in a name?

I've come to the realization today that Barret gets called many different things by his Mama and Daddy. The poor little guy, I'm wondering if he is every going to know his real name.

Bubba

Boo Boo

Little Man

Baby boy

Sweat Pea

Mr. Barret

Buster Brown

Baby

B

Mr. B

Bearman

Stinky Butt

Mr. Giggles

I'm sure there are more that I can't think of right now. All in all, I love my little man, no matter what we call him. And hopefully he does not get confused by everything we call him.

Barret's getting so big!!

If you don't already know, my favorite holiday is the fourth of July! Since Barret seems to have acquired 3 different 4th of July outfits, I thought it only fitting for him to wear one yesterday in order for a little pre-celebration.

Barret must like the 4th too and thought it needed a little bit of celebration.

See what Barret can do now!! He is getting so so big!

Oh Mr. Barret, how we missed you!

As difficult as I thought it would be to be without Mr. Barret, I actually did really well without him. I missed his hugs and the pulling of my hair. I missed his silly little giggle and the slobber that usually adorns my hands and arms. I missed his great big sighs and his beautiful blue eyes. I even missed his ever so loud, and ear piercing shrieks and his sad little crys. And without him in the next room at night, I still managed to wake up at 5 every morning.

Steve and I had a lot of fun at our church conference even without Barret, I think at times we were a little lost. Not knowing what to do or what to talk about, but we had an amazing and spirit filled week. I really believe that God did not let me miss Barret as much as I was expecting to. He wanted to make sure I got everything I could out of the conference and if my mind was too focused on missing Barret and being miserable without him, the conference would have been a waste for me.

One of the things Steve and I have been really feeling latley is that God is going to use us for a church plant. Steve has been talking about it since before we were married, that he just really felt called to go and plant a church. But for me, I was happily content with where we were and the friends and family we had near. However, the past few months I have really been praying that if this is what He wants for Steve, than to press it on my heart as well. At the conference we got prayer for this and I have never felt the Holy Spirit more than I did that night. After getting prayer I was really happy and excited (I still am) for how God is going to use our precious little family when it comes to planting churches, and I too feel that God is going to send me somewhere to go and reach the lost and hungry souls. I am so excited for that day!

And now, being home again with our little Barret we are so in love and such a happy little family. Barret is so lucky to have a Daddy who loves him and will protect him, as well as show him and teach him about our heavenly father who is always there to love us and protect us. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful little guy and an amazing husband!

Just so you know, even though I was fine without my little guy for those three whole days, it is going to be a long time before I leave him again!

Every day is something Special

Have you ever noticed how the best part of making brownies is the part where you get to lick the spoon? Today Barret and I decided to make a special day for Daddy. Making brownies with a 6 month old in the Bumbo on the counter whois trying to stick his hands in the bowl and inevitably lick it all up, is no small task mind you. Despite the screams when I finally pried his little hands off of the whisk and the big blue bowl filled with chocolate brownie heaven, the task was completed and the smell wofting out of the oven is simply bliss.

Don't think that the simple pan of brownies was how we made a special day for dad, those wonderful goodies were more for me :)

We made black bean tacos with all the fixin's, even HOMEMADE SALSA!!!

Dad was very surprised by the special dinner and happy to spend good quality time with Barret and I. Barret is so in love with his Daddy and was super excited to finally see him today.

Not only does Barret keeps us on our toes he helps us enjoy the little things each day brings! We love hearing him laugh. We love to make him smile. And we cheer for him every second of the day, whether it be trying to roll over or pushing up on his hands and toes.

Tonight was a wonderful night full of family time and giggles and wiggles.

It's SummerTime!

Barret and I are thoroughly enjoying our summer time. From the naps in the morning, to the library dates, to the naps in the afternoon, to the pool side play. I love having my summer so free and being able to really get to know and have fun with my little guy. He is such a funny little man, full of silly noises and faces to go with. He loves to scream really high pitch screams, and then laugh in his deep razzy voice.

When daddy comes home Barret is nothing but excited. He jumps and wiggles and is all smiles and giggles. Barret has started to reach for people he wants now too. When Daddy walks up the stairs Barret reaches out for him. It is so so cute and I love it more than anything. He loves his daddy so much!

Tomorrow we are taking Barret to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Boehm for a couple days. I am very nervous about this and am going to miss my little bubba.

June

Here are some pictures from this month. Barret is growing so big and is now able to sit up all on his own. He is even practicing walking down the hallway with dad. He is such a little cutie :)
Helping Mom put away the laundry. But he was more interested in trying to pick up the laundry basket than actually helping.

My first trip to the real pool with mama and daddy! He did a great job, and it was well worth the $5 a piece for 45 minutes of fun in the pool!

Relaxing with Mama. Barret was more interested in watching all of the other kids run around than actually sitting in the water himself.

Here he is with Daddy. Just watching all of the other little kids play in the water.

So cute! Showing off our camo outfit from Uncle Jason!

Food and such

So since the last post, Barret has been taken off of solid foods and just recently been put back on. His poor little belly just couldn't handle the rice cereal or the peaches/pears. We were perscribed medicine by the doctor and even that wasn't working. So it was back to strictly nursing. Barret's system finally got cleaned out and he is back on a regular schedule. On Friday, June 18, we introduced peas, 1 tablespoon a day at dinner. So far so good, and he seems to eat them pretty willingly. I know pease, would not have been my first choice, but Barret seems to enjoy the green foods thus far. This morning we tried Oatmeal instead of rice cereal. I have been reading up on my baby food and have heard so many people say to go with the oatmeal, so that's what we did. I am hoping that this won't stop him up like the rice cereal and that my happy little Barret will get to stay around.

Barret has also been practicing drinking from a cup and is doing a marvelous job. He LOVES his pear juice, diluted with water, and will occasionally have a few sips of water out of his blue cup! He is so excited whenever he sees this cup, reaching out and grabbing onto it. The next part is where it gets a little messy, as you know Barret is a very aggressive eater, and that is no different when it comes to drinking. Barret is extremely strong for only being 22 weeks old and if you don't have a tight grip on the cup, the liquid will go flying everywhere. On the cleaner side of things, he does manage to get most of it in his mouth and enjoys taking huge gulps, putting the cup down, and giving mama a huge toothless grin! I love those little gums of his :)

Look What I can Do!!!

Barret is finding his voice. He loves to scream at the top of his lungs and raise his voice high and low. He is also realizing that if he coughs mommy is going to come to his rescue, so he is coughing quite a bit.

Here is a video of Barret's newest talent!

Barret enjoyed his first pool experience over memorial day weekend. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it thoroughly. Sometimes I wish I had a little pool, big enough for only me, that had a pillowy floor. It would be so wonderful!

We believe Barret is starting to teethe. His screams are no longer sounding like screams of hunger or tiredness. They are a different, painful scream. We ventured out to buy some baby orajel last night and used a bit of it already this morning. I don't know if it really worked. Mostly I just know that he made a very disgusted face when I smoothed it on his gums, and the cherry flavored fumes made me gag. Despite the awful taste and the horrible fumes, I am praying that it will be a source of comfort for our little guy. I just hate seeing him cry all day.

On another note, this week is going to be a fun filled week for us. Uncle Jason is coming down tonight to spend some time with us. Maybe we will even drag him to the pool with us tomorrow. On Friday Barret is riding up to Grandma and Grandpa Gaffney's with Tete Chelsey. Mommy is nervous about that, just becuase we know how much Barret doesn't like long car rides, and then arriving in a place that isn't too too familiar and mommy or daddy are not there. It could turn out to be a long day for our Mr. Barret. Saturday is Uncle Michael's High School Graduation! YAY!!!! We can't wait to see him graduate!