Two More Sleeps

Just two more sleeps, until the magic of Christmas morning. Two more sleeps until our sweet babies wake us with excitement and joy and their eyes reflect the wonder that is believing in the unseen. Two more sleeps until they bound down the stairs with more energy than Aaron and I will be able to muster, on what is sure to be an earlier than usual morning. Two more sleeps until all the waiting is finally over and we can see their faces light up as they open the gifts they've been wanting so badly. There aren't many things that make me smile more than seeing our children adore and enjoy the excitement and anticipation of Christmas. I revel in seeing their eager fingers pull the link off the paper chain each night, search for our Elf on the Shelf each morning, write letters to Santa, dance to Christmas music, hear them "ooohhh" and "aahhh" at Christmas lights, gobble up Christmas treats, kiss baby Jesus in the manger of our Nativity, and learn the words to "The Night Before Christmas" as we recite it together each night. The kids are old enough now to understand that Christmas is truly about the birth of Christ and I have enjoyed talking to them about that as we've gone to masses this Advent. The magic and true meaning of Christmas is still alive in my heart after all these years and I absolutely cherish witnessing my children live it every day as we have count down the sleeps to Christmas.

Clara & Colton with the big guy!

Our gorgeous tree, albeit a bit crooked!

The days preceding all the sleeps leading up to this time have been filled with their own wonder and joy and excitement.Christmas in a new house and in a new town means making new traditions and finding new ways to carry on already important ones. Clara and I managed to find a local production of The Nutcracker to see earlier this month and we have discovered a great little Christmas village full of lights, a tram ride and Santa that we explored with some new friends. We saw Disney on Ice and are trying some new tricks with making Christmas cookies. Naturally, Giselle, our friendly family Elf on the Shelf returned this year and we have had fun each morning discovering where she has found to hide in the new house.

"Giselle"

Decorating in and out was fun as we had to figure out new ways to use the old decorations. We have been enjoying our first real Christmas tree since being married. We'll will be spending our first Christmas in our home and not traveling up north to be with our extended families this year, so I just couldn't wait to have a real tree. There is nothing like walking into the house after work and smelling the aroma of a fresh tree. I love it!

It is bound to be a magical Christmas, but we'll just have to wait two more sleeps to find out how magical!

Best looking house on the block!

Merry Christmas, from the Barrett Family

Fall in Fayetteville

Our smiling blondies!

Fall in the Fayetteville area is turning out to be quite lovely. With the exception of a couple pretty rainy and drab weeks, the weather has been so beautiful. We picked one of the most beautiful days to explore a nearby pumpkin patch. We have so many fond memories from our visits to the pumpkin patch in Kentucky, the kids couldn't wait to check out a new one. Gross Farms was less than a half hour away and had tons of fun things for the kiddos to do, leaving me with plenty of opportunities to snap some pictures of my loves in action, smiling, laughing, and loving life.

Our babies exploring the corn maze

Mr. Man lookin' cool

Classic "insert head here" pic!

Me and my boy

I love how they love one another so much...most of the time!

Clara catching some air

 Naturally, we scored a few pumpkins on our trip to the pumpkin patch. We wasted no time and carved those babies as soon as we got home! They added just the right touch to our already Halloweened-out front yard.

The First Day!

Tuesday was a BIG day for Clara Rose. The first day of Kindergarten and the first day of her ballet/tap dance classes. Clara has been so excited to start Kindergarten she was thrilled when the day arrived.

Clara ready for her big day. 

If the quantity of ruffles equals 

the amount of ready, she was

very, VERY ready!

After an exciting morning of getting ready and having a nice breakfast, we packed up the car and headed off to the school drop off line. I was anxious how our girl would do. She still tends to get a little emotional when I drop her off at daycare each day. How was she going to do with me dropping her off at a sidewalk, into the hands of a stranger/teacher, while I remained in the car. Our big girl was proud, strong, and confident. We did our "kissing hand" kisses, said "I love you" and she was off. I, on the other hand, began crying as soon as I started driving away. Colton was confused as to why I was sad. I didn't think I was going to be that Mom that cried. At least I didn't cry in front of Clara; that could have been disastrous!

After picking her up at the end of the day, Clara only had one word to sum up her day, "Great!" Next, it was time to rush home, heat up some leftovers and head off to the first night of ballet/tap class.

All ready to dance!

We finished up, and went back home with one exhausted little girl. All that excitement wears a young lady out! Here's to a great year for Clara Rose with lots of new experiences!

Sunflowers: Weeks 7, 8 & 10

I've gotten a little off track with documenting our sunflowers this summer. I've been getting the weekly pictures taken, just not finding the time to upload them. We did miss pictures last week (week 9). We were working out in the yard and by the time we were done and ready to take pictures, it was starting to rain and thunder, and we had a bit of a fire ant problem.

June 9, 2013, Week 7: Love those big grins!

June 17, 2013, Week 8: Clara is quite happy, but Colton would
apparently rather be golfing than posing!

Our poor sunflowers. They were not doing well at all; I'm pretty sure the sandy soil just wasn't a good fit. They weren't  dying, but they weren't exactly thriving, either. So, in a desperate attempt to revive them, last week I dug them up, dug a huge hole and filled it with garden soil. The sunflowers were replanted in hopes that they would take off. Well....we have some casualties. There are several that have perished since last week, they probably weren't doing so hot and the shock of transplanting just was too much. On a good note, the ones that are left seem to be doing very well. They look sturdier, greener, and taller. I'll have to work harder next spring to get a good plot of soil ready before we plant the sunflowers next year.

June 30, 2013, Week 10: My goofs posing in pjs and rain boots!

June 30, 2013, Week 10: The remaining 10 plants, post replanting from
last week. Here's hoping they make it...

Our Graduate Girl!

Clara Rose all ready for Graduation

Last night was a big night! After weeks and weeks of excitement, day after day of practicing, hour and hours of singing around the house to rehearse her songs, and finally the day had arrived. Our little munchkin was graduating from Pre-K. Clara wouldn't dare let anyone get away with saying "preschool", after all, preschool is the name of Colton's class at daycare. She, the big sister, was in the Pre-K class. Overhills Child Development Center did an amazing job of setting up the graduation and it was wonderful!

Like any lady preparing for a big event, Clara arrived home early from school that afternoon, washed up, got a rainbow mani & pedi, had her hair done and donned the carefully selected graduation dress.

We could instantly tell our girl was nervous from the moment she made her entrance; her mouth wide open, tongue hanging out, the hallmark of her uncertainty. She did wonderfully! Read her book aloud, performed the group song with all the right motions, received her "diploma" and then, it was time to dance!

The processional

The proud graduate!

Letting loose!

So excited and silly

After all the excitement, all the dancing, and all the fun, it was time to call it a night. We are so proud of our girl! Kindergarten, here comes Clara Rose!

So proud of our graduate!

Sunflowers: Week 6

There doesn't seem to be much difference in the flowers this week. I'm hoping they do alright in this sandy soil that North Carolina is famous for.

June 2, 2013, Week 6: Clara showing off her new gardening gloves,
Colton grinning in his shades!

Sunflowers: Weeks 4 & 5

I was a couple days late getting the sunflower pictures done for last week since Aaron and I were out of town. The kids and Papa kept the flowers all watered and sunbathed while I was gone. They were ready for the ground last week, but that's something I just couldn't delegate to Papa. Yesterday, we got them in the ground! We found a great spot in the back of the yard that is sure to allow the sun to shine down plenty and help our sunflowers grow. We recruited the girls from next door and five pairs of little hands help me bury them nicely in the dirt.

May 21, 2013, Week 4

May 21, 2013, Week 4: Roots....guess they're ready for the ground!

May 26, 2013, Week 5: All planted in the yard!

Sunflowers: Week 3

Happy Mother's Day! Happy 6th anniversary to us! Happy third week birthday sunflower sprouts!

May 12, 2013, Week 3: Smiling in the sun

May 12, 2013, Week 3

A Fair to Remember

We took the kids to the Ft. Bragg Fair Friday night. It was our first trip to a real carnival. Rides, games, funnel cakes and popcorn made for a very memorable family night out.

Colton said, "Daddy's like a car hauler".
To which Clara  said, "He's a kid hauler!"
Walking into the fair.

Helping Colton look at the camera

We took the kids on their first roller coaster. Sure, it was a kiddie-sized roller coaster, but it still counts. As a person who craves the tallest, steepest, fastest roller coaster, I loved seeing the thrill on Clara's face as she held her arms in the air and screamed with joy, and not wanting the ride to end. Daddy won each one of them a small stuffed toy playing a water gun game. Colton's highlight was a helicopter ride that went high into the air and spun around. It was so fun to watch Clara take care of Colton when they went on rides alone together. Clara is so motherly toward Colton. We saved the ferris wheel until it was dark. Seeing the amazement on their faces, well, on Clara's at least, was all worth the waiting in the chilly night air. Colton clung to me, not sure what to think, a little too short to see the view around him. We ended the night on the carousel. Seeing the smiling faces of my three loves, the one's who hold my heart and my happiness, made my heart smile. It was a night to remember. It may seem like a simple thing, and something we'll probably do dozens of times as a family, but, it was a first and "firsts" are special.

All smiles on the carousel

It's Gone!

Clara has lost her first tooth! Barely five years old and her two front bottom teeth have been loose for about a week, with the new ones pushing up behind them already. We noticed the missing tooth this morning. Unfortunately, we have no idea where it is! Odds are it was swallowed either during her morning apple or in her sleep last night. Clara was pretty upset when a search of the house and her room turned up nothing. She has been assured the Tooth Fairy will know her tooth is gone and will still visit tonight. She's bound and determined to keep track of the other loose tooth when it comes out!

Later in the day...Clara was so impatient for the next tooth to come out and, I think, desperate to have something to leave for the Tooth Fairy, she convinced Aaron to pull it. After some wiggling and tugging, out it came!

Two teeth, gone, in the same day!

Update! Today, the day after the missing tooth incident, we have found the tooth! While getting up from the family room floor following an intense game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos, I was poked in the hand by something sharp. That something sharp was Clara's tooth! It must have fallen out yesterday morning, unbeknownst to her, and camouflaged by the beige carpet, remained undiscovered during our search of that same floor. She and I were both quite excited to have found it! It is now waiting safely under her pillow, in the little yellow tooth pillow that used to be mine, for the Tooth Fairy to collect.

Sunflowers: Week 2

They're growing! Such a change in just one week. Clara has one less tooth and all the pots have big sprouts in them.

May 5, 2013, Week 2: A toothless smile on sis with all the sprouts!

May 5, 2013, Week 2: So many sprouts!

Sunflowers: Week 1

This is our fourth year planting sunflower seeds, but, I am always just as excited as the kids when we find that first sprout! It only took five days this year.

April 26, 2013, Day 5: Our first sprout!

 

Once that first sprout appears, it not too long before the rest of them catch up. Sure enough, just a couple days later, and we have nine pots with at least one sprout in them. Our neighbors haven't seen them yet; Clara and Colton can't wait to show them off!

April 28, 2013, Week 1: 9 out of 15 have sprouts!

We can see the dirt being pushed up in a few more, so it won't be long before we can add more pots to our list of sprouted ones. They're sure to take off from here and we'll be planting them in the yard before we know it.

April 28, 2013, Week 1: Posing blue-eyed blondies!

They're Back!!

It's Sunflower Time at the Barrett house! We've got a new house, which means a new yard, and that means finding a new place to plant our sunflowers. We have a few weeks to decide for sure. This year, we recruited the help of three of our neighbors to help with the planting. Everyone is so excited to see how quickly they will grow. We have 15 pots and will be watching those babies sprout before we know it!

April 21, 2013,  "Planting Day"