weekend

Friday evening...5:30ish

 

Saturday, 12:00 pm

Saturday, 4:30 pm (Valley West Mall, Des Moines)

(Those pictures are the epitome of Will...babbling and LOUD! Kind of looks like a little lion.)

Sunday, 5:00 pm

(Keatin is honestly a GREAT big sister...but every once in awhile, things are TOO quiet...and we find things like this.)

(His daddy's son.) :)

[saturday]

We had a nice Saturday...

Josh had to work until noon, so Keatin, Will, and I did some good playing in the morning.

Keatin is still loving on her dolls...

...and who doesn't love jumping on your bed when your mommy is changing the sheets??? Will had a blast trying to jump...or walk for that matter. :)

Saturday afternoon, we decided it was time to test out the snow and go sledding. We "tested" the baby sled inside first...Will was thinking he would like this sledding business...

...and I know he looks a bit unsure in this picture but let me tell you what, he LOVED it! I honestly had to drag him inside arching his back and crying after his poor little cheeks were freezing cold!

Keatin went down a few times, but she wasn't a huge fan.

And here is our sledding king! Being the mom...I, of course, thought this was too dangerous for Will to do by himself. Josh assured me he would be fine...this baby sled doesn't tip...and Will LOVED it! Not a lie when I say he went down the hill 5-7 times all by himself!

walkin' will

It is amazing what a few days can do when you are learning to walk!

This man is on the move...and Josh and I decided yesterday that we can "officially" say Will is walking. YIKES!

Josh, Keatin, and I were sitting at the kitchen table yesterday and Will was in the living room. I could hear him coming around the corner, down the hall...walking the whole way. It was a flashback to the first time I remember him CRAWLING around that same corner.

Sometimes I get that lump in my throat thinking about how fast my babies are getting "big"...but then I smile. :) I L-O-V-E being their mom. :)

getting close

The Barber residence will soon have 2 children walking around...ah! :)

blocks & bearcats

Happy Snowy Tuesday! Woke up to some snow this morning...it is probably only 2-3 inches, but this is the most we have had this winter.

Keatin and Will are still LOVING the blocks they got for Christmas from G & G Petersen. We spend lots of nights building things around Keatin, listening to Will cry while we make him wait, and then letting Will knock them all down with a smile on his face. :)

On Saturday morning, we headed to Maryville, MO to watch the Northwest Missouri State men's basketball game. Our good friend Ben is the head coach, and Josh has really been wanting to make a game. It is about a 3 hour trip...we had to make 2 quick stops on the way down, but the kids were AWESOME travelers. :) We were able to hang out and play with Ben's 2 sons, Peyton & Tate, and his wife Michelle for several hours before the game. At the game, the kids really did great as well...and the Bearcats won, so yipee!

Will was mesmerized by all the action - he loved it!

Keatin does not like going to games at Hilton, but she really liked the Bearcats game - much smaller arena...

Tate - right before he fell asleep and slept the whole game.

Peyton & Keatin. :)

Back at the McCollums - Will loved the boys' little chairs!

Sunday morning, we all headed to church - check out Josh and Peyton...TWINS!

It was a great trip - thanks to the McCollums for having us!

what is better...

...than reading a pink purse book with your big sister in a tent...

...or feeling happy enough to give a cheesy grin...

...or play peek-a-boo with your mama...

...or learning to eat yogurt like a big boy???

Ah - the simple things in life. :)

Birthday Party Bliss

Thank you to our friend, Morgen, for having your 5th birthday...and because of your AWESOME party on Saturday afternoon, Keatin was in birthday party bliss. :)

As Keatin would say, "just the girls" headed to Morgen's party...which was held at the Cardinal Gymnastics Academy at ISU. Keatin was told to wear her comfy clothes...she picked her pink leotard, underwear and all. :) (I TRIED to convince her she could take her underwear off...she left it on...and it peeked out of her leotard the whole time - ha!) The party consisted of letting the kids loose inside the ISU gymnastics team work-out/training room. Two of the team members were on hand to supervise and help kids for an hour and then at the end, we all went to a meeting/conference room for cake and gifts. I will admit, I am new to the children's birthday party scene...but WOW - this was AWESOME! I am not kidding when I say Keatin ran around, on things, off things, into things, and across things for AN HOUR STRAIGHT. Her little face was lit up the whole time (can you tell I had a blast just watching her??) :) I am a dancer at heart, but I can tell why kids buy into this whole gymnastics scene.

As I tucked Keatin in for her nap this afternoon, she said:
"Mom, where is my leotard?"
"In the wash - it is all sweaty and dirty."
"Oh - Mom, on my birfday, I am going to wear my leotard." :)

Testing out one of the balance beams for the first time...

Running into the foam pit.

Loved the tramp once she got the hang of it. :)

Hanging on the uneven bars.

Whew! Sitting still for a picture. :)

Cupcake time...notice the frosting to cupcake ratio - ha!

And this guy...not kidding folks, may be walking by the end of the week. This morning, he stood himself up in the middle of the kitchen...just to stand there. And I was in my bedroom after lunch and Will was playing with Keatin's dollhouse in her room, he WALKED across the hallway to find me! Life is going to get PRETTY CRAZY around here! And just in case you were wondering...who needs toys??? If your mom has a kitchen washcloth/towel drawer, life is good. :)

[2011 to 2012]

2011 was a year of...

new-ness - learning how to be a mom of TWO kids...SO GLAD I am, but whew - not always easy

sleepless nights

a family mini-van (still crazy to me...I swore I would never have one of those)

my baby getting BIG...and going to preschool...how did that happen???

same jobs, but changes in both positions...busy and stressful at times

celebrating 5 wonderful years of marriage

trip to Jamacia in July...with no kids...for 6 days...it was hard, but SO nice

newborn Will...to, according to my Baby Center weekly e-mails, "toddler" Will - YIKES!

sick kids

lots of walks and bike rides as a family

turning 30



Last weekend when my parents were here, my mom asked me what my resolutions were for 2012...and I honestly hadn't thought about it. My immediate response was maybe to run several 10K races...maybe even a 1/2 marathon??? And I would like to do those things (if my back and body will hold up)...but made me think even more...what do I want to strive for in 2012??

a still mind - at times, I am a worry-wart...anal...overthink...overplan...I would like a calm, still mind at those moments when worrying and stressing will do no good

a gracious heart - Lord knows, I have SO much to be grateful for in my life...and kind of going back to stressing too much...embracing a gracious heart and just being thankful for the good things I have

a positive outlook

patience...especially with my own children

kindness

wisdom...knowledge to help me be THE BEST wife, mom, friend, co-worker I can be

and maybe the completion of the ever-growing to-do list in my mind...or wait, that is me overplanning. :)



Truly, a happy 2012 to everyone! May it be a year filled of all the things that make you happy!

christmas on new years

We had a belated Christmas celebration at our house over New Years weekend with G & G Petersen and Jen/Joey. It is so much fun to have family come to our house...it gets chaotic, but I LOVE how much my kids LOVE having them here!

Everyone rolled into town last Friday...just in time to see ISU lose their bowl game...boo. :( After supper, it was time for MORE PRESENTS! Pictures below. :)

This is Keatin's Tangled doll and matching dress-up dress...but Will LOVED crawling and sitting on the box...we saved the box (even when it was empty) all weekend long!

After presents, it was time for baths. Keatin always wants to read books after her bath...and on this night, she picked her main-man, Joey. :)

Watching funny you tube videos with Jen and Joey...

Eating snacks with Grandpa...

After everyone headed home on Sunday, we tested out the new block set Keatin and Will got from G & G Petersen...they are a hit! :)

"Hey everyone! Have a great night!"