Officially Fall

Barret has successfully painted his first ever pumpkin and his Halloween costume is finally completed, thanks to our good friend Yvonne and all of her sewing talents :)

As much as I have never really liked or enjoyed Halloween, I'm looking forward to Barret's first. I can't wait to put him in his costume and hand out candy! I can't wait to carve our pumpkin....We've had this on the schedule for like a week and things just keep getting in the way...I can't wait to see our TWO pumpkins out on the front porch!

Fall has brought on many new changes to our family and most of which are hilarious. Barret enjoys drinking the water in the tub, and tonight he learned just how to turn the faucet on, and let me tell you, he LOVES to turn it on and off! I'm pretty sure the water was at least up to his elbows by the time he was finished.

Barret is also learning to eat more table food since he is completely appalled by his jarred foods. Tonight we had lasagna, about 1/3 or a banana, and some chips Barret found on the coffee table, where he decided to help himself to a few leaving his mouth a beautiful orange color (there was no hiding what he had eaten).

Daddy is in the chili mood, and is making his first batch this evening. The smell in the house is absolutely delicious. Being a pretty avid "No thanks, I'll pass" to chili fan, I must say this could possibly be something I end up taste testing. I'll let you know when I see the finished product :)

Tomorrow night brings the annual Wednesday night small group chili cook-off. Last year Steve took 3rd and was pretty proud...this year he plans to win it all!! All being, a great pat on the back and a lot of people eating his chili :)

And look who is making his way into the walking world.... He is just loving this dinosaur friend and dances and giggles his way through the house. That is until he runs into something and we have to help him change directions.

Barret has also learned that he is "SO BIG" and will show us just how big he is :) Waving bye-bye is still coming along. He does it but it isn't really consistent yet.

Oh, I almost forgot.... Look who has graduated into his big boy car seat! He is loving it now that he is used to it. He looks so big!

Yuck!

Yuck to veggies everywhere.....

Barret seems to be having a complete aversion to all things green, orange, and just plain veggie like. It doesn't seem to matter whether we mask it in oatmeal, hide it in applesauce, or give him the real deal... He knows what it is and he is not going to give in. I'd like to take the credit for my little man's behavior and attitude towards the little green and orange monsters, however, not eating veggies is truly NOT a good thing and is not something I broadcast willy-nilly.

Yuck to boogies....

Barret has been battling a cold the past week or two with a majorly runny nose that Mama is constantly wiping, creating a bit of a rough patch under there that may or may not have bled a couple of times. He is constantly sneezing and has stayed home from the sitters all but 4 days in the past two weeks. His sneezes remind me of an explosion in the microwave when the lid pops off the top of a Tupperware container and the contents just go bursting out, creating an all too sticky and icky mess. I'd like to say it is funny when the sneezes come so big out of such a little body and I think that there couldn't possibly be anything left in that cute button nose of his...but I am always wrong, and the next sneeze is possibly worse than the one before.

Yuck to messy diapers....

Barret seems to think it is funny to fill his diapers to the brim and then more. The past three days we have had to strip him of his clothes and quickly rush him into the shower in order to clean his messy body up. His clothes are stained with poop and it is altogether disgusting and has graced the bathroom floor a few too many times this week. We have gone through hundreds of wipes trying to clean it up, followed by gallons of water in the shower and sink (to soak his clothes BEFORE washing them), as well as far to many towels that have landed on the poopy diaper or bathroom floor. Needless to say, in all of the commotion Barret finds it absolutely hilarious and then begins to scream when we get the process of cleaning going.

Yuck to the flu....

Mama is convinced she has the flu bug and stayed home from work today. We sent Barret to the sitters though in hopes that Mama would be able to rest a bit more. Being pregnant and getting sick is certainly not ideal and hasn't made the diagnosis easy. But, you can feel the difference between pregnancy sickness and actual sickness sickness. Talking with the doctor today we came up with the conclusion that it is simply the 24 hour bug, meaning it should have already left me at this point, and I can not take any meds except for a de-nausea pill.. Yippee! Another pill I have to try and choke down, hopefully not making me sick.

Yuck to the weird weather.....

We Gaffney's are all for the fall weather, but are not enjoying the freezing mornings followed by the hot afternoons. Fall needs to just come and be here....none of this going over 75 degrees.

On a lighter side, this past weekend Barret graduated from his carrier car seat to a big boy car seat (still rear facing). We are all getting used to it, but He looks so much more comfortable in it than the old one. His legs are so long it was beginning to get a little squished back there.

Grandma and Grandpa Gaffney are coming down for the weekend and we can't wait to see them!

We also got to talk to Uncle Jason on Sunday and he seems to be doing great! We miss him and can't wait for him to come home!

Fall is Here!

Well, it's been 3 weeks since Daddy started his new job and we are all just loving it! Daddy comes home covered in dirt, dust, and cement; but we love him just the same and can't wait for him to walk up the stairs.

We have thoroughly been enjoying our Saturdays, spending them together as a family, running errands, relaxing at the Farmer's Market, going to breakfast, and really just getting to relax at home together.

In the past few weeks Barret has decided he wants to walk more than anything. He hasn't quit got it figured out yet, but he is trying his hardest. He has taken multiple steps, each one followed by a quick tumble and a speedy fast crawl. He is so cute and we are so proud of him.

Last weekend we celebrated the arrival of Fall by visiting Ropp Cheese Farm and Radar Pumpkin Farm with Tom and Jeanine. It was so much fun. Barret LOVED the animals, especially the calves, and couldn't stop laughing at the poor llama that desperately needed to see a dentist. We picked out our pumpkin, and I must say, it weighs almost as much, if not more than Barret does. It is the perfect pumpkin and we can't wait to carve it! Barret will get to join in the festivities as well by painting his own little pumpkin. I am so excited for that! Other than that, Barret has a hard time really enjoying things when we go out because he is so interested in what all the other people are doing. It's very funny to watch him just observe and take in all of the people around him when we are in a big crowd. We also celebrated Daddy's birthday last week by going to dinner and then watching the Bear/Packer game. It was a great day and Barret even made Daddy a card!

Yesterday Mama and Barret went up to see G and G Boehm. Grandpa and Mama shot a wedding and Barret got to spend the day with Grandma. He had a lot of fun with Scooter. They are both so very interested in each other, but when push comes to shove, they are both extremely scared of one another. Barret giggles and screams at Scooter, Scooter sniffs him and runs away, then he barks, and Barret cries. It is so funny to watch. But, I think Scooter enjoys Barret being their because of Barret likes to drop his snacks right there for the taking.

Today we went to the park after lunch and just enjoyed the wonderful weather. We spread our blanket and camped out for a while. Barret enjoyed his first swing experience and even showed off his slide climbing skills! He doesn't seem to enjoy going down the slide, even when he is with Mama or Daddy.

Finally, we are preparing to help Barret become a BIG BROTHER! Mama is going to have another little Baby Gaffney in April and as scared and nervous as we all are, we are very excited too!

That's all for now, enjoy this wonderful weather and get out your fall decorations if you haven't already!