Barnes Boys - Where They At

in bobby news...he must eat all meals with a fork. he also likes sitting at the kitchen table on a chair...he also tries to ride a Razor scooter. pretty much he wants to be one of the guys...now please. its mostly super cute and only kinda annoying.

this was taken round bryson's birthday. i had to document his amazing outfit that he put together. he is obsessed with my "indian boots" as he calls them...so i got him his own pair for his birthday (see the tassles on the back?) and this was his church outfit i believe...a polo under a button up...with a bow tie...and a hat...just amazing...what a style leader this one...and we are holding up our waffle egg sandwiches. bryan got me a waffle maker for my birthday and i dont think i have eaten a plain waffle yet...i have bruxie to thank for that obsession!

bodie bo...big news...he rode his bike yesterday WITHOUT training wheels! can you believe it? he is still just 2 (for one more week) bryson didnt do it till he was 4! mama is not ready for this...which is why it happened when mama was out running errands!!!! but daddy was nice enough to catch it on video for me - which i will post whenever we happen to get to our little video project...hahahahaha....

bodie is such a sweet heart....but oh man...today i almost pulled every hair out of my head and his with all his whining!!! mostly its "im just hungry" the boy is always hungry...but its really everything and anything and today i found that i have indeed reached my wall with that child and the whining.

we are celebrating bodie's birthday tomorrow and i am so excited to give him a little family party - and that he knows what is going on...he isnt one for excitement, but i think he will be over the moon tomorrow! maybe even not whine...as much...??

one can hope anyway...

Barnes Fam - Where They At

i normally do these posts just about the boys...but i am gunna jump on the update train too...so prepared to be dazzled...just kidding...nothing dazzling around here...just a lot of silliness - look at these guys...how can you ever be bored with these guys around? 

so these pics at the aquarium were taken on 11/11/11...how do i know the exact date? i came straight there to pick up the boys from watching my best friend give birth to her third baby girl - safely and beautifully at home surrounded by everyone dear to her. i dont know that i have the right words to adequately describe how much of an amazing experience that was quite yet...so i won't...until it comes to me...i am still processing it all and i think about little Penelope Claire every day and send off prayers. i know her mama knows this. 

look! i got 2 out of the 3 smiling here...that is a bonus...score! and all 3 are looking at the camera - double points! bobby just doesnt like being held in any way...

oh bobby...bryan calls him lunatic...affectionately of course! he likes to bang his head against things...like your head, the back of the car seat, the wall if you happen to be holding him near a wall, his crib, the ground...i am not sure what this is all quite about because most of the time it is done when he is happy...so we will keep you updated if any thing evolves from that.

he no longer walks...just full sprints as fast as a 14 month old can sprint. he likes to book out the front door if it is ever open. good thing bodie already trained us on never leaving the front door unattended. he is giving kisses now...which is nice...usually he just slaps you in the face or bites your lips or pulls your hair real hard. 

he is still my best little sleeper and still goes to bed around 6pm...which is real nice for mama. i think he needs the most sleep because he spends the most energy destroying all day. 

oh goodness...bryson is learning so much right now! last time i wrote, back in October he was trying to make his own words...now the kid is making sentences! so nuts...i helped out in his class the other day and their assignment was to make up and write out 5 sentences. total brag moment...bryson and this other little girl were the only ones to finish! he is so into it...just like everything else he does - he puts his whole heart into it! 

he just finished his first soccer season - they were undefeated the whole season - their team was something kinda incredible...they were passing the ball and waiting at the goal and scoring like crazy - i thought it was going to be a big dog pile on the ball for an hour, but they have actually played games. at their end of the year banquet the coach said a little something about all of them...about bryson he said, "bryson is very hard to control on the field. but he plays with his whole heart. he always wants the ball, always wants to score and that is what makes him such a good player." i leaned over and whispered to Bryan, "just like in life, huh?" the funniest part is that later on that night i asked Bryson if he heard what the coach said about him and bryson said, "not really - i wasnt really listening" HAHAHAHA!

yes - that is a leaf that we stuck in his helmet...he was actually very happy about it...dont let his bodie face fool you! this was taken up in san jose over thanksgiving - we were able to spend a whole week up there (if i am lucky another post to come)

bodie is so funny. his new thing to say is "I'm just hungry" - we hear it about 500x a day. and he usually is. the kid is eating like crazy - do you know he only weighs 3 pounds less than bryson? and he is gaining on him! bodie is doing awesome on his "new" bike. he also loves his scooter. we ride them just about every day to walk bryson to school. he gets very sad when bryson tries to turn it into a race though.

bodie is loving the Jesse Tree and bryan and I are getting a kick at seeing how much he is retaining -"Who made the earth Bodie?" and he will reply in his deep cute little voice "God" 

he turns 3 on Christmas Eve and i cant believe that 3 years have gone by since he was born. always will be the best Christmas ever!

Advent

it has been a while...i think a month...and i really missed writing in this space. i enjoy the process and there is a lot that i intend to get written down...but sadly i haven't gotten around to it. and its not that things are crazy busy either. perhaps the opposite. our lives slowed down a bit to breathe and we are all resting in that exhale right now.

because our business is so seasonally different we know that we need to take the winters to breathe and re-cooperate and enjoy the down time. we are still working a lot, but trying to take an afternoon (or two) off. or a long lunch date. or a trip to disneyland during the week. or just long walks as a family because we can right now.

i have also realized these past few years that i am in control of the family calendar pretty much - i think that it is pretty standard that wives assume this duty...maybe because our brains are like computers and we can store conflicting data in there at the same time...men's brains are like calculators...that was a total gross generalization, but in my experience this is true...doesnt mean we are smarter...just better multi-taskers. anyway - because i have a highly advanced brain, i keep the family calendar. and so in this calendar-keeping business i have realized that if i plan too much for one day...or one week...or one weekend...the whole family suffers. i really try to keep balance and am getting much better at saying no. It has helped tremendously since we keep a google calendar that we can both edit and it goes to our phones. i can see when he has auditions and golf classes with bryson etc etc etc and keep it all in mind when trying to navigate our months.

this is just what i am in the process of learning...please do not mistake me that i have it figured out...my husband will readily laugh in your face if you suggest that. this is more like a reminder to myself that this is the right track and go with your gut...if you feel like its going to be too much...it probably is.

so all this silly business to say...this advent has been such a wonderful season so far.

we got a kickstart to the season right after Thanksgiving. we got our tree and put up the lights and the boys helped me decorate...a little...and bobby helped destroy just about everything at ground level. i wouldnt expect anything less.

our evenings have been amazing. i think anyone who has known me this past year can be surprised at this statement because our bedtimes have been a couple thousand notches less than stellar for a while. around 4 my kids get possessed by the devil and then we eat around 5 and they complain about the food the whole time and then they run around like maniacs until  story time at 7 and bedtime at 7:30 when we start the awful process of torturing them with a tooth brush and tucking them in. it wasnt like that every night, but it felt like it and i would have nightmares about putting my kids to bed. literally...i dreamt about it like every night for a week at one point...isnt that horrible?

anyway - since we started advent season there has been a shift for sure. our routine after dinner is a lot more structured - we eat and then clean up...bath time and then the boys run around outside and look at the Christmas lights. then its bobby bed time. after bobby goes to bed we do the Jesse Tree - they hang the ornament, we read the Bible, talk about the story a little, re-cap on all the ornaments we have done and then the boys color a coloring page. my girlfriend suggested that part and it has been a big success. they color for like a half an hour and dont fight. that is amazing to me.

it makes the bed time so much easier since things are so structured. i am NOT a structured person and i doubt that once the advent season is over that i will be able to keep something up like this, but for now - i am loving it.

but i think i would be fooling myself if i pinned it all on the routine. it has a lot to do with my attitude and state of mind. i am realizing how powerful my attitude is on my whole family. how i have the power to change the tides with a simple change in perspective. part of this is done by God's grace and the other part is done by coffee.

i think that the advent season is so important for us as a culture and it has been for us as a family to take time out to wait and breathe and enjoy all the blessings from the past year. i hope that you are able to take some time out to drive around the block and look at the pretty lights...or have hot chocolate as often as you can...or light a fire whenever the temp drops below 60...merry Christmas!
xoxo
Carlee

this kid

...is freakin hilarious...he is cracking us up lately. i always wonder what bodie or bobby would be like as only children and last night i got a little taste when the bigger boys went to soccer practice with their daddy and i had a couple hours alone with sweet bobby b. he played so nicely...didnt cry once...played with toys actually -the little we have left- but he usually never plays with toys...its usually kitty litter or knives he finds somehow or something dangerous and/or disgusting...but not last night. last night he was as sweet as could be and so giggly and fun and oh man this kid is just pure sunshine most of the day! if i could bottle a little bobby b and send it to someone in need of a pick-me-up he would brighten their day for sure! 

he is still the hardest baby in the world to change - he still RUNS not walks...RUNS everywhere - he can say mama and dada and tickle tickle tickle and kee-ee (kitty) and ahh-duhh (all done) and learned the sign for "sorry" which he will hit you on purpose, just so he can make that sign. whenever i pick him up in the nursery people just look at me admiringly and ask me how i keep up with him...or tell me he is a handful, or a tank, or tell me how fast he is (like i dont know) or tell me how he figured out how to move the furniture so he could climb up things better...this is every day people! times three! the only scary part with this particular number three is that there is no way to watch him as closely as i could with number one...even number two...so this number three gets away with A LOT. and he knows it. and he even has a guilty face at 14 months...lately he has taken to climbing up on the kitchen chairs while i am feeding the bigger boys lunch and starts to eat a banana or something like one of the guys. i think our high chair is going to be defunct quite soon...

Birthdays

newborn bryson...was he ever that small???

my birthday and bryson's birthdays are only 5 days apart. i will always remember my birthday 6 years ago...so over being pregnant...i was so big...and dreaming about my baby boy...

6 years later...here we are! my birthday was pretty low key. my sweet husband stayed up until 1 in the morning the night before finishing his work so that we could spend the afternoon together as a family...which we did...at disneyland - and it was amazing - no lines...10 minute wait on space mountain (bryson went for his first time...and then went again since we got the baby swap pass) he also went on star tours twice.  That evening we went to dinner with friends (at Tavern on 2 - had the burger...sweet potato fries and brussel sprouts...all were loved well...and eaten completely). i got to hang out a little with my girlfriend the next day...but not long enough...but that is what happens when you have 3 kids i guess. this weekend there will be a girls party and i am quite looking forward to it!

For bryson's birthday...i just realized...i have NO pictures of the celebrations.  i think this is also a part of having 3 kids...i do not have enough free hands or time to document things as they happen. i had asked bryson if he wanted a party, or wanted to go somewhere special with a friend...he chose somewhere special with a firend...so the weekend before he took a friend to Camelot/Golf Land...we went miniature golfing...ate nasty cheesy pizza (they loved it) and played arcade games and traded in tickets for cheap-o breakable toys. bryson picked out the handcuffs and a slinky and his buddy got a slinky and a red jet :) then we went out for ice cream and opened some presents.

on his actual birthday we picked him up from school and went to disneyland again! this time California Land and bryson went on Soaring over California for his first time. i tried to get him to go on tower of terror, but he wasnt having it..our passes expire in the beginning of december and we decided not to renew them and i am all kinds of broken up about it. i know its a smart decision- i cant take all 3 by myself and we would have to pay for 4 passes next year and bryson is in school now...so its kind of like the end of this era for me. i know - so sad huh? i bet you totally pity me :) its more sad that my play-date school-free days are over...and these are very special times to me.

anyway - back to my super long birthday post. this should have been broken up...i apologize. rashelle - this is for you...its killing like 10 minutes for you...so you are welcome...okay okay...now i am really going to go back to the post...

so after disneyland we came back to the house. i had spent the entire morning setting up for bryson - i hung decorations, blew up balloons went last minute shopping...spent a super quick 20 minutes making up a scavenger hunt for him to find his *new* bike! PS...my drawings were so bad...i have not improved since kindergarten...he had to ask me on like every picture what it was...struggle...on one - i was like - thats a fridge! really? i cant even draw a fridge...

he was very excited and helped me make his own cake. he also got to pick his dinner (waffles). oh...yeah...for my birthday bryan got me a waffle maker...but more than that - he promised to make saturdays waffle saturdays...we are gunna get all kinds of good at waffles...bryan even made me some waffle sandwiches on the night of bryson's bday - prosciutto, brie, arugula and pepperjack sandwiches..yummmmmmmm...bruxie style...

we were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day...but it was good. bryan was a little peeved because it seemed like bryson didnt care much for the bike since he rode it all of 10 seconds...but every day since he has come home from school i have heard him exclaim, "oh man i love my bike". i need to get a pic of him on it soon! sorry about the lack of pictures and poor quality pictures...the rest are on various phones...but i had to document (rather lengthily i might add again) the festivities. 6 is gunna be awesome!

as a little aside...and just to make it a wee bit longer...i asked bryson the night before his birthday to make some "5" lists...since it was the last time he would ever be 5...here they are...

What were your 5 favorite memories from being 5 years old:
1. going miniature golfing with asher
2. spending the night at asher's house
3. going to colorado
4. going golfing with daddy
5. kindergarten

Name 5 things you are thankful for:
1. this food
2. this house
3. this family
4. God
5. golf

Name 5 friends:
1. asher
2. maverick
3. bodie
4. max acuff
5. bobby

Name 5 things you love doing:
1. soccer
2. golfing
3. baseball
4. going to disneyland
5. going to meemas house

Name 5 of your favorite foods:
1. spaghetti (daddy's spaghetti...i should add)
2. burritos
3. pancakes
4. waffles
5. birthday cake

Halloween

so...i realized the problem with me and Halloween...

1. i dont plan on making costumes...which needs to happen
2. i kinda make costumes all the time, so its not as a big a deal to me as my kids
3. i am cheap and i do not believe in spending money on a costume when i can perfectly well make one thank you (only i dont...so there is that)
4. my kids change their minds like every day, so its hard to commit...

next year though...next year i think bryson will be at an age where he can stick to one idea and stick through it for all the parades, parties, etc. so david bowie for sure next year bryson...promise (he was super bummed...he wanted me to find him crystal balls and everything)

this year was a little nuts as far as parties and events leading up to halloween. we had many opportunities to dress up- bryson was a vampire bat, a pirate and a soccer player (meaning he went to a party right after a soccer game and it was too hot to wear his actual costume)

bodie was mickey mouse, batman (an old costume that did not fit at all), and a pirate.

bobby...was left out a little...i threw a zoodie on him here and there, but that is all he really would take at this point...

for actual Halloween night, my sister came over to babysit Bobby while he slept so that bry and i could take the boys out trick or treating. it was not quite the turnout from last year...probably because it was a monday night...but still fun - our neighborhood gives full size candy bars...they make us look cheap...they boys ended up going as pirates...totally last minute...and i couldnt even find bodie's full costume - which is so typical of us...but he didnt mind and we had fun.

i only let the boys eat one piece of candy...and the next day i put one piece in their lunch...and then we put the candy "away" meaning we ate some, let our friends eat some. i know i can only get away with this for a couple more years...so i will! i think bryson will smart on next year though...good thing he is into the idea of the "candy fairy"!

Barnes Boys - Where They At

i realized i haven't written in this space in a while and my little boys are growing so fast i just want to take some time to document where they are all at.

and can i include myself in this post? oh good...cause these last 3 weeks have been some of the hardest and also some of the awesomest weeks i can recall. our small business has been struggling with cash flow since the beginning and just this week something happened to change that and i cant tell you how amazing it all is. there has been a serendipitous series of events around here and although i have been putting in long and trying hours, i feel really good at the end of the day - good about our future and good about my change in attitude and thankful for a business that has supported us for 10 years and lasted through 2 recessions...

Bryson is liking school and learning to read - he is starting to apply the sounds of words and connect that to writing and reading...he tried to spell "bird" on his own the other day and out came "brt" - super cute...i saved it (which is big, cause i dont save much). he is also loving soccer and has a surprising renewed interest in golf...in fact he may just be in his first tournament this sunday! what? crazy!  he had picture day today at school and chose his own outfit...a red polo with a clip n tie...love this kid! he also told me he wanted to be david bowie from the labyrinth for halloween and i might have shrieked with joy! he loves that movie almost as much as me and we always say to each other "you remind me of the babe" and the other responds appropriately. cute...my brother and i have been doing it to each other for years and now bryson is joining in on the bowie love.

bodie...he is the little heart of the family...this kid...he is so sweet, but so very 2! i can not tell for the life of me if he just doesnt get some things or he is just that stubborn. honest to paul....i can't figure him out. bryson was easy, but bodie...bodie is different. he loves riding his scooter and watching mikey mouse and playing the ipad while pooping and hanging out with me (cause i am the coolest) and he loves his school...he also is starting to come out of his shell just the slightest bit...we still struggle with saying hi instead of giving someone a mad dog stare...but he is improving! lately his catch phrase is "i'm just feeling better" in a whiney way, which makes us think its either him saying he isnt feeling good, or it is just a general way to try to distract us from what we just told him to do and has nothing to do with anything...like i said...he is a tough nut to crack...

now this one...this guy may be the smallest...but he is a big presence - trust me...this kid is into everything! he is the biggest destroyer i have ever seen. i am so lucky he goes to bed at 6 because by then i am just done! so done...so exhausted from chasing his tornado trail. he is the sweetest most adorable...most melt every strangers heart kinda kid, but man can he make a mess! love this crazy kid...he is going to be a hoot i can already tell! 

i have been cooped up in the office so much this week i have actually had time to kinda miss these boogers! i think i have the bulk of the work i needed to get done, done so we are going to try to make use of our disneyland pass or do something silly with them to make up for being stressed out and working all the time...i think disneyland equals like a week in the office...