Baby Barrett #2

It occurred to me the other day I haven't been blogging much about our pregnancy. It's not that I'm not enjoying it and that we're not excited, it's just that things have been so busy with Clara and life in general when I sit down to post on the blog I forget.

Things are going very well with the pregnancy. We are now 23 weeks pregnant, more than half way there and this little "guy" (we are being hopefully optimistic it's a boy) is doing great. I'm entertained with flips and kicks and stretches every night and many times throughout the day. My initial feelings of "something's wrong or different" have subsided and I am no longer worried and fully enjoying the miracle growing inside me.

We have a boy name picked out, well, leftover from last time really, but have yet to come up with a girl name. We'd like to stick with "C" names and since Clara is a more classic/traditional name we would like another girl name to be the same. We'd be glad to listen to any suggestions. Celeste Ann is at the top of our list, but we need Auntie Keri's permission for that one :)!

We spend a lot of time talking to Clara about the baby in Mommy's tummy and she responds with pointing to her own tummy and saying "baby in Clara's tummy". Needless to say, she's a little too young to grasp the concept! But we read books and talk about being a big sister all the time in hopes that the transition isn't too horrible of an experience for her.

All in all things have been fairly uneventful at this stage in Baby Barrett #2's life. I'm pretty tired in the evenings but sleeping great (when Aaron's snoring doesn't keep me up ;) ). I'll be sure to try and comment more about things in this regard and maybe get around to posting a belly pic or two before the baby is born! Again, just haven't thought about it a the right time. Being child number 2 certainly does make a difference, sorry buddy - we love you just as much, though!

Rainy Days

We have several days in a row of rainy days here in Kentucky. Clara gets to play outside nearly everyday, but when it's rainy she gets a little antsy! So, on Friday we had a some good old fashion couch cushion fun. It was so cute! Clara kept calling it "playing at the park". I guess that's because it's was just as much fun as playing at the park. Here are some super cute pics of her having a good time.

"Cheese!"

"Wheeeeeee!"

"Whoa! I got it." Nice save munchkin ;)

"I'm gonna getcha"

Clara just loves jumping, crashing, swinging and falling into the pillows! She's our little sensory girl for sure. It really is so much fun playing with her because she is all smiles and giggles and says "more again please" so sweetly, I just can't resist.

Today, is another rainy day here. The fifth in a row. This afternoon we are going to visit Daddy at work (he's got 24 hour duty today) and hang out with Michelle, Nick, & Hailey for a bit (Scott is working today too, bummer).

We hope you are all having a good weekend and miss you all!

Lots of love, xoxoxoxox

Potty Time!

I've got to take a few minutes to brag tonight.... We are officially in full gear when it comes to potty training. I don't want to jinx anything, but our big girl is doing so well. The last 3 mornings she has gone in the potty when she wakes up in the morning and before bathtime/bedtime. We are so proud of her! She gets so excited for herself too. She claps her hands and says "yeah, I'm a big girl!" when she goes. It's adorable! Connie (daycare provider) has been trying diligently during the day but no success yet. We are hopeful she'll keep up the good work; wish us luck! How wonderful would it be for her to be potty trained when baby brother or sister arrives? I'm keeping my fingers crossed! :)

Tiny Dancer

Clara loves dancing! She loves dancing with her dolls! I got a little video clip of her dancing with a Cinderella doll to Elmo and Lulu singing on on Sesame Street. Enjoy!

20 Week Ultrasound

Can you believe we are already halfway through with this pregnancy? I certainly can't. It seems like the last 3 months have gone by so quickly since we moved to Kentucky. Here it is 2010 and we have so much to look forward to!

We had our 20 week ultrasound this morning. The tech said everything looks "good" and the baby is measuring at 21 weeks. But, knowing myself, I won't be completely satisfied until I hear it from the doctor or see the radiologist's report. She said that the baby was a "feisty little one" squirming all around when she was doing her measurements. I had to agree with her because in the past few days I have felt baby move around a lot more. All those wonderful flips in my tummy when I'm lying in bed or snuggling on the couch make me smile :).

Here are the two pics they gave us this morning. Nothing super cute, just some nice head shots and one of baby "talking".

Looks like baby is kicking or punching itself in this one!"Ga ga goo goo"! Already gabbing up a storm like its big sister!

And just to clarify, no we didn't find out the sex! I know some of you were hoping we would cave and find out anyway. The hospital on post doesn't do it that way anyway. Today was strictly a "diagnostic" ultrasound done by the radiology department; they wouldn't have told us the sex even if we wanted. If we did want to know we'd have to schedule a separate one with the OB clinic at 24 weeks. But, never fear! We will stay strong and have a surprise!

All in all, things are going well. Started back to work today, yuck! Until next time.....xoxoxox

Happy 2010!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! We were so busy traveling, enjoying family and friends, and having fun I just didn't take the time to update the blog until now. I'm sure you all understand.

We had a wonderful Christmas, both in Detroit and in Kentucky. We were in Detroit for six days at Christmas and then came back home to Kentucky to celebrate a quiet, family Christmas. Both were fun and very nice. Clara reveled in opening so many presents and even marked the holiday with her first major temper tantrum! When it was my turn to open up the beautiful diamond bracelet Aaron got me she didn't understand why I wouldn't share it with her! Stomping, kicking, shaking, and yelling followed. Definitely the result of an overstimulated little girl! Besides that minor incident, the holiday was perfect. Catching up with friends and visiting with family made for a great week. Here are a few pics of our Christmas in Detroit, look at the slideshow at the bottom of the page for more good ones.

Listening to "The Night Before Christmas" with Papa

Putting out cookies for Santa with Auntie Keri

Opening up presents with Mommy

Back in Rineyville, we had some presents for Clara to open. Turns out Santa left some in Detroit and Rineyville; guess he wasn't sure where we'd be! I wanted to upload a video from our Christmas in Kentucky but it was taking too long. I'll try again this week because I'm sure my parents will want to see it.

We spent our New Year in South Bend. We have spent nearly every New Year's Eve in the Bend since 1999; it wouldn't be New Year's if we weren't there! Our friends Dave and Amy hosted a spectacular party for 75 of their closest family and friends! It was basically a wedding without the wedding. At a hall, great food, band, all dressed up, it was fabulous!

All dressed up, except Big Bird! If you look close the baby bump is getting big!Aaron, Amy & Sean serenading us!

On our last night in SB we bundled all the kids up and went out to play in the snow. There was more than a foot of snow in the yard and more was coming down. The kids had a blast! And, I must admit, so did Amy and I!

Getting all bundled upFun in the snow
Mmmm! Snow is cold and yummy!

That's our holiday story. We hope that you all had just as wonderful a holiday as we did. Back to work tomorrow and back to the daily grind of work. We wish you all a happy 2010 and are as blessed as we are.