Sock Monkey Birthday

We threw Barrett a Sock Monkey Party for his FIRST Birthday Party!  So hard to believe that our little man is ONE!  Thanks to Pinterest and some creative friends, our house looked so precious!  Gamma and Aunt Lindsey helped with all the last minute preparations.  So glad they were here!

Decorations and Cake!

Barrett was a little overwhelmed because there were so many people in his house! So we didn't capture too many pictures where he looks excited ... until the sugar rush kicked in!  He was a rockstar with his very first cake!  Instead of explaining how the party went, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking! (Or typing!)

 Nana, Mommy and Barrett

Mommy's Sweet Carroll Elementary Friends 

Poppy and The Birthday Boy

Sweet Friends Who Came to Play

Trying to Run Away

Mommy and Daddy

Aunt Kelley, Mommy, and Barrett

Gamma and Barrett

Uncle David and Uncle Thomas Playing with Barrett and Moses

All these Presents Are For Me?

 This Teddy Bear Is SOOO Soft!

Hannah Girl Posing for the Camera

Sock Money Jack In the Box

Barret's First Toms!  And a Basketball from Uncle Chris

Getting Ready for His First Cake

 Cute Birthday Boy Face

Hmmmm ... What IS This?

Not Sure If I Like It ... 

Here Gamma ... You Try Some

Why are Mom and Dad Stealing My Cake?!?!

Papa and Nana to the Rescue!

Until THESE TWO Try to Steal My Cake.  Who's Name Is On This Cake Anyway?

 Getting the Hang Of It

All Messy ... But TOTALLY Worth It!

By the time we got back inside after cleaning Barrett off, Nana and all the Wilson girls had the cake mess from the kitchen cleaned up.  And Uncle Brandon had attacked the high chair with a hose.  (That was a Barrett's birthday gift to Mommy!)

We had a great time at Barrett's party.  Thank you so much to everyone who took time out of their weekends to come and celebrate with us.  We were surrounded by friends and family who have been a part of Barrett's life ever since we found out we were pregnant with him.  And to celebrate his first birthday with those who prayed for him before he was born, and supported and encouraged us as parents through his first year, was truly the icing on OUR cake!

First Aggie Game

We weren't going to let a little rain get in our way!  When we woke up on Saturday morning, it was raining so hard it blocked your vision!  But since Gamma and Poppy live so close to Kyle Field, we decided we would take Barrett to the game for his first glimpse of ATM football.

Tailgating with Mattie, Posing for a Picture, and a Photo-Op with Mommy

 Hoping the Sky Doesn't Open Up Again!

 Break Time with Gamma and Mommy!

 Watching the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band with Mommy

 Cutest Lil' Aggie 

 Playing with Poppy

Although the weather kind of messed with our plans, Barrett had a great first experience at Kyle Field.  (And it made Mommy, Gamma, Poppy, and Aunt Lindsey very excited!)

Look Who's Talking ....

.... among other things!

This past week as been a busy week for Barrett!  He's starting to master so many things that we have been working on for weeks and months, which is opening the door to a while new world!

Waving

Until recently, waving was something that we were lucky to see.  And they always came at the most random times!  A few days ago Barrett and I were leaving Hobby Lobby and he waved at the cashier and said "ba ba ba ba."  I almost dropped him because I was so shocked!  The past few days, it's been happening more and more.  It might take a little while to get it out of him, but he's definitely starting to master it!

Pointing

Anything that Barrett sees that he wants our amuses him, he points to it.  Lately these objects have been across a crowded room, on the ceiling (i.e. the fan or the lights), or high up on the wall.  He thinks it's funny when I look at whatever he is pointing to.  When he points at me and I look right back at him, a wave of joy takes over his face.  With the cutest baby grin I've ever seen.

"No"

This might actually be his first word.  Which makes me cringe to think about what's in store for us for his toddler years.  But, legend has it, "no" was his daddy's first word too.  So I'm going to go with "Awww.  How cute!"   

A few days ago Matt was changing his diaper, and all I heard a little voice saying "nonono no no noo."  He wasn't upset, just babbling.  

Last night he decided to throw his broccoli instead of eating it.  Matt said, "We don't throw our broccoli, we eat it."  Barrett, looking straight in hid dad's eyes, said, "No no ..." Being the amazing mom that I am ... I doubled over laughing.  I'm going to have to work on that.

I'm not entirely sure he knows what it means when he says it.  In fact, as I'm writing this I just looked over my shoulder to see what he was doing, and told him, "Barrett!  No."  He replied "No No," but kept playing with the hands of a clock we haven't hung on the wall yet. Every time I say "No," he replies with, "No No."

"Mama/Dada"

He's been able to point us out for months. When we say, "Where's Daddy?" he looks right at Matt.  And vice versa.  But he's been saying these words more distinctively lately.  And today at lunch he said, "Mama," to get my attention, and then looked at me with those big blue eyes and signed "more."  My heart melted.  I would have given him ANYTHING he wanted in that moment.  Too bad the only thing he's figured out to ask for is food!

Dancing

One day Matt said, "You know, I haven't noticed Barrett dancing a lot like other babies do."  And then the next day (it seems like), Barrett started swaying to the beat.  But in true Barrett form, he was very picky about the beats he chose to dance.  We kept playing songs that WE thought would make him dance, and he just stared at us.  As if he was saying "Why do you guys keep staring at me every time that noise comes on?"

The next week, he added playing the drums (ok, playing the coffee table, or playing the floor), clapping, and bouncing to his list of dance moves.

Standing By Himself

We're still working on this one.  But he now WANTS to try to stand up himself more and more.  He sometimes forgets that he has to hold on to something to stay upright, and he becomes so engrossed in a toy that he accidentally lets go of the table and stays standing alone!  Then we react, he gets distracted, and plops back down.  It's really WEIRD to see him standing on his own.  Guess that just means the munchkin is growing up.

Walking Progress

This morning I was getting ready for the day and I could hear him playing in my room.  I kept poking my head through the bathroom door to make sure he wasn't eating the magazine I was pretty sure he could reach.   (Yet I didn't just move the magazine.) If you ever saw the way this kid can tear up an US Weekly, and the pure joy in his eyes, you wouldn't have moved it either.  I was almost startled when I saw him pushing a laundry basket across the room .... moving himself with his feet.  Ok,  walking.  He was walking, although I have a hard time admitting it because I'm having a difficult time coming to terms that his huge milestone is right around the corner.

Lucky I had my camera!

And then I took some more pictures later in the day:

Funny Little Munchkin

I love how we are starting to see parts of his little personality. 

These two pictures happened in about 5 seconds.  He used to just cry if he didn't like something ... now he tries to fix it.  And it's FUNNY!

Current Barrett-isms

Signing "more" EVERYTIME he wants food ... not just when he wants more food

"no no NO no no no no" (in a sing songy voicee) = no

"ma ma MA ma ma ma ma" = mommy

"da da da da da da da da" = daddy

"dOOOOOOO" = down

"yeeawww"/ "ya" = yeah

"baaaw" = ball

"caw caw caw" = car (I think.  We'll take it!)

11 Months

Barrett continues to love playing with balls, blocks, and anything that is NOT a toy. But his FAVORITE toys are his books. He will "stand" at his book trough and pull them out one by one, and then he sits down and starts opening them. Most of the time he "reads" them upside down, pointing at the pictures and making noises at them. I love watching him with his books.

"Reading" The Very Hungry Caterpillar

He is also working on standing up. Last week I was talking on the phone, and Barrett was crawling all over me as he tried to grab the phone. I noticed that I didn't feel his hands on me anymore, looked next to me, and saw Barrett standing up on his own! He hasn't done it on his own since then, but the past few days we've been propping him to see how long he will stand on his own while counting "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi .." The longest we've made it is "6 Mississippi," but he seems to be doing this a little more willingly than even last week. So I think we are getting close!

Barrett has also found his Boogie Shoes. He's started dancing all the time. Sometimes he bounces his legs, and bangs his hands on whatever is in front of him. But his go-to move is the side-to-side swing. He puts his hands down and leans to the left, the right, the left, the right (You get the idea.) Until recently, he was really only doing this in the crawling position. But he's gained some confidence and has started doing it while holding on to the coffee table also.

The big news of the past month (besides the hair cut!) is that Barrett learned to sign "more." We were eating out one day, and Barrett looked right at his dad and started signing "more" because he wanted more Cheerios. I couldn't believe it! All that repetition FINALLY paid off. And then I couldn't believe that Matt got to reap the benefits of all my hard work. For the next few days, Barrett would only sign to Daddy. Now he does it all the time, and I'm pretty certain we are going to run out of food any minute. (And I'm pretty sure he thinks it means food. Baby steps ... I'm just so thrilled that its a form of communication that Mommy instantly understands!)

Just Tell Me When ...

I'm Just Gonna Explore While You Guys Get Ready

Laughing

Things I Don't Want to Forget:

• how his face looks when he gets "too excited" (it includes a deep breath, a huge smile, and a squished up baby face)
• how he chunks whatever is in his hand to his side the second he is done with it
• his big eyes when he signs "more" ... I can't resist it
• the determination to WANT to talk, but he hasn't quite figured out the meanings of words yet
• listening to him babble in the backseat of the car. I wonder who he thinks he's talking to
• when he tries to sing with me when I'm singing him to sleep
• the speed he suddenly picks up when he's crawling to his Daddy when he gets home from work
• how he is obsessed with holding the toys he's playing with on one hand (and how he gets frustrated when he can't do it .. i.e. a ball and a bowl)
• the way it feels when he falls asleep on me
• the baby kisses I've been getting in the mornings

We love you little stinker! Can't believe you are almost 1 year old!

Party Party!

This weekend we went to Hannah's 4th Birthday Party. Barrett was NOT in the mood to party. Little Man missed his nap, and he only wanted Mommy or Daddy to hold him. Until we fed him, which is always a mood changer, we tried to just make him laugh to get him out of his funk.

Watching Papa Make Silly Noises

Laughing at Daddy and Papa

Playing With Mommy's Necklace

After he ate, he perked right up. And he seemed to be entertained by Hannah opening her presents:

Hannah read what I wrote on her card, word-for-word. And she read it upside down! Now THAT'S talent.

Checking Out the Princess Dress We Gave Her

(Which she wore for the rest of the party. Score for Uncle Matthew and Aunt Alli!)

We thought Barrett would be cranky the rest of the day because he only had one nap. But he ended up making us laugh all afternoon. He played, explored, and danced (which I can't seem to catch on camera yet because he gets camera shy) his way through the rest of the day.

His current favorite toy is a ball that he chases around the house. He picks it up, holds it over his head, drops it, watches it bounce and roll, and crawls after it while yelling "aaahhh aahh ahhh aaahhh aaaahhh." You would think he would get bored of this game pretty quickly, but he can entertain himself like this for hours! And we laughed at him each time he did it.

Excited Because He "Caught" The Ball

This was a great way to end a great week. The temperature dropped, which means Barrett and I can go outside and get some fresh air without melting. Barrett is feeling better after a rotten cold he had most of the week. And apparently, Little Man likes to start the day by giving Mommy kisses in the morning. (A new development this week. And my absolute favorite part of the day!)

Labor Day!

It's always a treat when Daddy gets a day off work. Barrett and I have been playing at the pool all summer, but we wanted Daddy to come with us for some fun in the sun!

Our little froggie had so much fun playing with both Mommy and Daddy this morning. He climbed on the pool playground, splashed and splashed and splashed, and even swam away in his infant float. We went after him, only to find him just lounging with a huge smile on his face.

Family Self Portrait

Mommy is sad to see summer go. Barrett and I have had so much fun playing and exploring our new neighborhood. But I can't think of a better way to celebrate the end of summer than a family day at the pool. (And maybe one last pool induced, loooooong baby nap!)

Baby Boy's First Haircut

Well ... it was SUPPOSED to be a trim. In fact, if I attached the video you would hear both me and the Cool Cuts lady say "Just a trim." But ... we made the best of it. Barrett wiggled and fussed the entire time, but it only took about 7 minutes. Poor little guy couldn't quite figure out what was happening!

Trying to figure out what is going on!

Looking at Daddy for comfort.

Mommy trying to distract Barrett....

... and the moment Mommy realized I was too distracted myself to see what exactly was happening here.

The final product!

How our curly, dark headed baby turned into a blonde, straight haired little boy in about 7 minutes is kind of astounding! But now he can SEE! And hopefully, he won't be confused as a baby girl anymore.

Mommy loves you sweet boy. And I think your new hair cut makes you look like the sweetest little boy I've ever seen! I'm just not sure I am ready for you to look like a little boy instead of a baby boy.