Bye Bye Crib

These past couple weeks my time has been spent training Barker to sleep out of his crib.

Originally I had planned to make the big transition in July or so and then move him into his big brother room, or even make both switches at the same time. But when he discovered how to climb out of his crib...

we knew it was time.

It is a process we are still working on but he is progressing.

We ended up placing a twin mattress on the floor, right next to his crib. This works out pretty well when Brett or I have to go lie down with him some times. Being 25 weeks pregnant does not help, but at least I am not on the floor. ;)

During the day I leave him in his room at 1 and he typically falls asleep in about 5 minutes, but usually on the floor right next to his door. Then he wakes up about 30min later and I'll go in to help him fall back to sleep on his mattress. Sometimes I'm able to then sneak out, but I often just ended up snoozing a little and then reading while he finishes his nap.

At night it starts out the same way (asleep in 5-10min, usually on the floor) and then he'll wake up once or twice in the night and we'll help him fall back to sleep then sneak out. 

There have been a few "restless nights" though where he keeps waking up and struggles to fall back to sleep. Last night he woke up at at 8pm, 9pm, 10pm and finally at 11:30pm I just brought him to bed with me. My body can only take so much right now. He continued to struggle and toss and turn most of he night even with me there. I wondered if he didn't feel well, but he was acting normal this morning

He must be in a growth spurt or something. Even on the days he sleeps well he seems sleepier than usual. It is pretty cute though to see him fall asleep in the middle of lunch.

Hehe So that is the big thing we've been working on over here.

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Barker's Growing Vocabulary

Barker is learning and using new words all the time now, so I thought I would list some of his most popular words and what they mean to him. ;)

Ball! --(always with exclamation) "ball" has multiple meanings 1. I want to go outside and golf 2. My ball is stuck under the furniture and you need to get it. 3. He sees a ball 4. His golf club or something he is using as a club

No --no, occasionally yes ;)

Wah --water, kool-aid, basically any drink in his sippy

Dad, Daddy, Dadda --he uses all three terms to refer to his dad whether he hears him coming into the room (very exciting!), looking for him, or missing him. Sometimes he just says it because he is thinking of him

Gool --aka "girl" This is how he calls and refers to our dog ("good girl") Sahara. Other dogs are often called "girl" too.

Bwett -- aka Brett, he thinks this means "I want your attention" (Hmmm I wonder how came up with that...)

Yay yay --Yay! I'm excited! I like that! =)

Up --upstairs, climb-up

Go --go ;)

Sit --sit, chair, sit down

Out --outside

Mom, Momma --I don't hear this often, but he knows who I am 

Yah --yes

Other words I've heard him try but not often include color, open, snack, under, and where. He's more a fan of one syllable words.
We are also getting head nods now which is fun. And of course he understands A LOT and is constantly pointing. It is so exciting to watch him grow, learn and communicate! =)

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Little Brother!

Yup! It's another Boy! Just as I predicted from the beginning. I started to doubt a couple times, but in the end, Mother's intuition was right from the start

We are super excited to have two little boys. They will be about 22 months apart so I think it's nice that they are the same sex and more likely to be into the same things.  Either way Barker will be very happy to have a little buddy to play ball with everyday. =)

We are not bothered to not have a little girl yet. We never planned to stop at two so I'm not worried. There is always next time (and the time after that ;)). Brett and I both come from families of 3 kids close in age. He comes from all boys and I from all girls so we know how great it can be to have same sex siblings and we're very excited that our boys will have that. And of course our dog is a girl so I'm not completely on my own. ;) Although the ultrasound tech called me "Queen of the Castle" and I think I like the sound of that...



So here are some pics of our very healthy, growing boy!

Little Brother (side view)

The dark spot in the middle of his chest is his heart beating at 146bpm. We saw all four chambers beating together--one of my favorite things about the 20wk appointment. =)

Facing forward

Little foot to kick Mommy

Holding up his hands like he's eating a sandwich

Baby Boy's Brain!

"Check out my guns!"

The tech measured him and predicts he already weighs about 15oz or maybe even a little more because it looks like he has chubby thighs and cheeks like big brother. =) She also said he has nice shoulders, is still perfectly in place (no restrictions!) and everything measures within 2 days of his due date (September 19th).

We can't wait to meet our second little boy in person in just 4 months! Hopefully he won't make us wait an extra week like his big brother... ;) <3

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Mother's Day 2015!

After last Mother's Day was so special with Barker's baby dedication and Brett's super awesome gifts, I was worried this year might not seem as great. But I was wrong! =)

Once again I was blessed with being a part of the team leading worship at church, which is always awesome. =) Singing and worshiping brings me to my happy place and I love praising God for allowing me to be a Mom!

After second service I got to see my little boy looking like the cutest little man ever.

 And we got a cute photo.

After I was done serving I met Barker & Brett at our sister-in-law's house. She has a newborn so going out isn't the best option right now. ;) But Brett surprised us with a special mother's day lunch! He made chicken salad sandwiches on croissants and cut up some fresh fruit. It was rather tasty. (But he's a great cook, so that's no surprise.)

I was also presented with flowers that I was informed Barker picked out. They were apparently his second choice though because his first choice was super expensive. (Only the best for his Momma!)

Then they gave me a cake that Barker also picked out. =) Oh and now whenever I get a piece Barker giggles uncontrollably because apparently cake is yummy! (He gets that from my side of the family for sure. haha)

So overall, it was a special and sweet Mother's Day. And as a bonus, the next day (today), we got to see our next little baby via ultrasound and found out the sex!! But I'll save that for my next post...

Love to the awesome Mommies out there! I hope your day was as special as mine. =)

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We officially have an 18-Month-Old

Barker's half birthday was yesterday which now makes him 18 Months.

He has 16 teeth, is 32" tall and weighed in at 23lbs 13oz yesterday.

My mom has always said one of her favorite ages is 18 months and I totally see why. Barker is like a sponge right now learning new "tricks" and it is a lot of fun to watch. He finally started pointing to body parts when asked a couple weeks ago and quickly learns new ones to point to.

"Belly" is his favorite

 He also is experimenting even more with language. Last week we were coloring and I said, "color" and Barker would repeat, trying to say it better each time. In the end I could tell what he was saying for sure, but he managed to make "color" one syllable. haha Most of his two syllable words have become one syllable. It's quite impressive.

One of the sweetest things Barker does is bring us our shoes. Whenever he wants to go outside Barker first will find a matching pair of his shoes and place them to us. Then he will bring our own shoes. (And he almost always brings the correct shoes to the correct person, and they match!) Then, if that still doesn't work, (or we've waited to long to go outside after putting our shoes on) he will bring a hat and insist on wearing it. Then, it's time to go outside and play "ball!!" He tries to golf every day.

He simply enjoys being outside in general.

We really need to get more outside activities for him, but right now it's mostly golf and chalk.

He plays "ball" inside too, but he gets creative with his clubs. He's used a ladle, shovel, snorkel and ball popper so far.

You gotta love him!

Barker's Snacking Spot

I often give Barker snacks in little bowls and over time I started setting him up with his snacks on an end table shelf by his toddler chair. 

Now whenever I get him a snack he knows that is where it will be set up and he follows or leads me there while I set it up. 

Today I tried letting Barker carry his own bowl. I placed it in his hands and let him go. It was super cute and impressive to watch him slowly and very carefully carry his bowl of Cheerios (apple cinnamon) into the living room and to his special end table spot. Then he sat down to enjoy his snack and watch the morning news with a big, proud smile.

Hehe love him. And of course Sahara is always nearby.

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Niece #3

On Saturday morning I had just gotten Barker and I settled for breakfast when I checked my phone and saw that I had missed a very important text two hours before. My sister-in-law was possibly in labor!

An hour later it was confirmed that she indeed was in labor and this little girl had decided to make an appearance about 2.5 weeks before her due date. (She couldn't stand to miss this beautiful Florida weather anymore!)

After what felt like a long day of waiting and texting (it's hard being on the other side! hehe) we finally got word that our third niece (and first in Florida!) has been born at 6:40PM!

Sweetie Pie Emerson! She's pretty chill. 😍

A photo posted by sharalynnh (@sharalynnh) on Apr 19, 2015 at 10:36am PDT

Emerson Elizabeth Harrison weighed in at 6lbs 9oz and is 19.5" long. She also has quite a bit of hair.

I got to hold her just a few hours after her birth and Barker got to meet his newest little cousin.
 

Here is Aunt Hannah holding my oldest while I hold her oldest! =) Barker was in his PJs and slippers, it was a bit past his bed time. ;)

It's so exciting to finally have a niece growing up near by! The whole exciting experience has always made me even more excited about our next little one that will be coming in 5 months. =)  (Oh did I mention I'm pregnant and due September 19?)


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