You're it!

Madie has come up with a new game.

No it is not running around half dressed. Although her at home attire is a pair of undies and a shirt

(I pick my battles).

Her new game is this:

She brings me the camera, tells me to take her picture and then I have to try to take the picture before she runs off.

It is great fun.

The Man of the House

Before Ben leaves for work he always reminds Slade that while Dad is gone he is the Man of the House and that he has to take care of the girls. Slade loves it. He reminds us that he is the Man of the House repeatedly the entire time that Dad is gone.

Ben also tells him to keep an eye on Mom because she is trouble. Whenever Slade talks to Ben he reports back that Mom has stayed out of trouble and that he is keeping his eyes on her. Then he asks if Levi (Ben's friend and boss) is staying out of trouble in North Dakota and if Dad is keeping his eyes on him.

He loves having a job to do while Dad is gone. Toward the end of the two weeks Ben will always tell Slade that he can think of something that he wants to do - Just him and Dad - and they will do it when Dad gets home. He tells Slade it is his reward for keeping the girls in line, because Dad knows how big of a job that is. So far Slade has choose to go shooting both times.

This Man of the House sure does a great job watching out for us and us girls are so happy we have him.

We love you dude!

Scaredy Cat

I don't know what my problem is... I am scared in my own home.

Before Ben left for work this past week I had him install some chain locks on our doors. I told him that it was because both kids can unlock the doors and Madie keeps trying to sneak out, but really it is also because I am scared here alone.

Last night I tried to go down to the road to pull the garbage can in... It is still on the street now. I got as far as the gate on the fence, freaked out, ran back to the house, slammed the door and frantically locked the door.

I did not even attempt to try to get Madie to sleep in her own bed. I just told her to go crawl in my bed. Abbi is still in our room anyway and Slade was with his mom.

The last time I was here alone at night was when he was gone before Abbi was born. I wasn't scared, I could go outside at night, I could let my kids sleep in their own beds. I guess I thought at nine months pregnant I could handle anyone or anything that tried to mess with me.

I know I am a huge freak. I am a grown mother of three and I am afraid in my home.

Now what?

Happy Halloween!

The kids had such a great Halloween.

Ben took Slade and Madie trick or treating with their cousins and some friends.

Abbi and I hung out at Grandma's house.

A Marine

A Giraffe

and a Puppy

All three together... So cute!

And the best part... we didn't spend a dime on costumes.

One Month Already

I can't believe this little angel is a month old already. Time is going to fast.

two and a half weeks old

Abbi is such a sweet baby.

She is so content the majority of the time, which is good considering that her brother and sister are both very needy all the time.

She sleeps best during the day when there is tons of noise. At night when everything is quiet she thinks she should be awake.

She eats really well and thinks that whenever she is awake she should be eating.

At her 2 week well check she weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was  20 1/4 inches long.
At birth she was 6 lbs 13 ozs and 19 1/4 inches long.

She is definitely a Mama's girl.

We sure love this sweet little girl!

Madie is 3!

I can't believe that my baby is 3 years old already...

ok I am a bit behind, her birthday was actually on October 3.

It seems like just yesterday she was born and I was holding her in my arms, now she is so big and so capable of doing things for herself.

A few things about Madie...

• She loves to color.
• She is starting to get into dress up. Grandma got her some princess dress up shoes, she wears them all the time and calls them her 'tappy shoes'.
• Every morning before anything else she asks for her 'chocolate chip' (chocolate milk).
• She thinks her sister is very cute but is not at all interested in helping with her. She refuses to put Abbi's paci back in her mouth and gets really annoyed with Abbi when she cries. She does however run to get me when she thinks that Abbi needs me.
• She hates to wear cloths. At home her normal wardrobe is a shirt, a diaper and her tappy shoes.
• She loves to sit on the toilet and play with toilet paper. She will sometimes sit there for 45 minutes singing and folding one square of toilet paper.
• She still hates to sleep in her own bed and insists to sleep with Mom and Dad.
• She eats just about anything that we put in front of her.
• She wants to do everything herself.
• She is starting to like Barbies.
• She loves to ride the rocking horse that her Grandpa built.
• She misses her Daddy terribly when he is gone to work and loves to talk to him on the phone.
• She is a screamer! It is loud and high pitched. She has apparently been doing it long enough though that Abbi recognized from inside my belly, she is not even phased but it.
• She has no volume control. All through church she talks at a normal volume no matter how many times she is asked to be quiet.  

We sure love our little Lous.

Happy Birthday Sweet pea!

  

Introducing...

Abbigail Julie Barrett

September 27, 2011

8:37 pm

6 lbs 13 ozs

19 1/4 inches

 

Abbi's Birth Story

We had been scheduled to be induced on Thursday September 29th. When we went to our doctor appointment Tuesday morning I was dilated to 5 cm. Our midwife asked if we just wanted to have this little girl today instead of waiting two more days.

Um... YES!

She sent us over to Mountain View Hospital and they got my IV going. We made some phone calls and Courtney came for Slade and Laura came for Madie. I had to have some antibiotics for a couple hours before anything else could be done to get labor going so we just sat and waited. At 2:30 our midwife came in and broke my water. And then the contractions started. By about 7:30 I was dilated to a 9 and shortly after started pushing. I pushed for about 40 minutes and then at 8:37 she was born.

This birth went so much better then Madie's did. By having a midwife this time I was able to do it without an epidural. Some might think that I am crazy but I am so happy that I was able to do it without drugs. The birth went so much better and I was able to listen to my body instead of the doctor or nurses telling me what I had to do. Because of that there I didn't need any stitches and and recovering much better than I did with Madie.

We are so grateful that Abbi waited to come until Ben was able to be home and we are so happy that she is finally here.

Abbi has the sweetest little personality. So far she is really mellow and loves to sleep... except at night. She is a great little eater now that she has figured out nursing.

Our Family of Five 

Madie is absolutely obsessed with Abbi. She calls her "Her Baby" and is constantly telling us how cute her baby is. She has done surprisingly well sharing her Mommy. Madie loves to help with everything Abbi. She runs to get me diapers, wipes, or whatever I need.

Slade is still mad that she is not a brother but he still thinks that she is cute.

Both kids love to give help with her pacifier and Abbi gets it shoved into her mouth whether or not she wants it. 

And just because everyone likes to look at a cute baby