Halloween 2012

Last night we went to our small groups Halloween party. It was by far the coolest Halloween party I've ever been to. Everyone had their costumes on and in character! The food was awesome....and like most parties I go to, I ate WAY too much! The host and hostess of the party are KNOWN for their games. In fact, Mike has a "game room" that has about 400 games. However, they are not your run of the mill type games, they are one of a kind, unique, FUN games! Needless to say, we had the BEST time and  played games for 4 hours!! GREAT first Halloween for Drake. HALLOWEEN 2012! 

Here are a few pics of our Halloween costumes! 

Batman and Robin

Robin is confused about what Batman is doing

Only picture with his mask on. He didn't like the mask very much

Me and my little guy

Heros!

He loves green M&M's!!

At the Pott's Halloween Party!

This was before church. I had to add because he looked SOOOO CUTE!!

Fall is finally here!

A lot is going on with us Barnhills. I won't try to explain everything that happened only highlight and add a few pics to make it more interesting :)

1.) WE ARE MOVING BACK TO ARKANSAS!!!
We knew we didn't want to be in Houston for a long time and Jamie is able to work from home as long as he has internet, an airport and phone. We decided on Fayetteville because we both went to college there and LOVE the town. We have always known we wanted our kids to go to school there and we both grew up going to elementary, junior high and high school in the same town and wanted the same for our kids. We put our house on the market and 4 days later an offer came in we couldn't refuse. It was totally the Lord and we are BEYOND excited about this new adventure.

Our first home! I LOVE this house.

2.) Pumpkin Patch: Last year during prime Fall season I was about 6 months pregnant and REALLY wanted to go to the pumpkin patch here in Spring. It's pretty awesome. They have hay rides, blowup games and TONS of AWESOME pumpkins. Well, I finally persuaded Jamie to take me. We show up looking like creepers because we're the ONLY ones without kids. So, this year I was bound and determined to go because we now have Drake as an excuse to go! We had SO much fun! And he loved it too.

He loved standing up in his wagon. 

Surrounded by Pumpkins

Me and my handsome!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these two!

3.) Drake is 9 Months

As of October 17th, Drake turned 9 Months. I know I say this every month, but I can't believe he is THAT old. I took him to see Dr. Pope for his check up. He was measuring 17lbs 4oz, and 27 inches long. His weight is still in the 15%, height 20% and head finally moved up to 40%. He had his first flu shot (he has to go back for a second) and he didn't react to well to it. He was very upset the rest of the day. I don't know if it just hurt or continuously stung, but he was cranky. Since seeing Dr. Pope, I've tried these new things: Whole milk, homemade mac and cheese (with real cheese and whole milk...not powder), cheese, homemade apple sauce, rice and eggs. He will NOT drink the milk. He starts to eat the mac and cheese but by the third bite he's done. Likes block sharp cheddar. Liked the apple sauce. He ate the rice, but I mixed it in with peas and corn. Did NOT like eggs. I hope he can start liking more "table food" instead of just mush, so I'm going to try to be persistent with it. Not sure if it's a texture thing, smell or he simply doesn't like how it tastes?! Also, a huge accomplishment, besides getting Drake's shot record for our new pediatrician and getting everything closed out here in Houston, is I finally got Drake's birth certificate!! I guess he's SUPER official now :). 

9 month old!

Happy Baby!

After his flu shot he was stuck to me like glue! I didn't mind!!

That's all for now! Next on the list......PACK!!!!!!!!! 

Happy HALF b-day to Drake

I have to warn whomever may read this that I'm feeling a little sappy today, so if you aren't in the mood, please don't read.

Well, today Drake is 6 months old. I knew the time would fly by, but NEVER did I think it would be this fast! I have to thank my absolutely amazing, wonderful, gracious, hardworking, loving, inspiring and BEST DAD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD....my husband. Because of him, I get to spend every precious moment with the most perfect boy in the world. God has blessed me beyond words and I'm so grateful that He chose me to marry my best friend, and stunningly good-looking man, and be able to stay home with my son. We've built so many memories that I will cherish forever. I know when we have more kids I won't be able to devote as much time as I've been able to do with Drake, so I've been soaking it all up. There are times my house is a wreck or there is laundry busting down the doors, but all I want to do is hold Drake while he takes a nap....and I do! I feel like he is my best friend because we spend ALL of our time together. I'm SO in love with this stage of life he is in right now. I wish I could bottle it up and save it forever. I love how he looks at me and smiles when I get him from his crib, when I say, "say momma" or when I make funny faces and noises. Drake jabbers and jabbers....he's getting very close to saying "dada" but right now it's just "blah blah" and I'm ok with that because he needs to say momma first! He's very ticklish too. He laughs so hard when I tickle him and squirms to try to get away....it's so funny.  I KNOW he already has the BEST personality and he's soo happy. He literally smiles all the time. These past two months have been so special and I've loved every minute.

Today, we started our day at the doctors office for his 6 month check up. Dr. Pope said he could start eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. He said he could even have water and juice from a sippy cup. WHAT!? He's getting soo old! His head is 16 inches (7th percentile) he weighs 14lbs 12oz (8th percentile) and he's 26 and 1/4 inches long (45th percentile). I feel like he is absolutely normal and big, but I guess he's smaller than most babies his age? But, the doctor never acts like I should be worried, so I'm not....he's perfect to me! He had to have his last rounds of vaccinations and he took them like a PRO! He cried for 3 seconds and was done. Dr. Pope was very impressed with how well Drake was sitting up and said he was doing MUCH better than others his age. I was so proud! Drake is now in 3's for diapers and I guess we're going to have to go by some sippy cups so he can have some water! He also told me that we need to baby proof our house, like now! AHHH That mean's we have to get everything because our house isn't crawler/walker friendly at all. I guess Target will be seeing a lot of me in the next few weeks.

It's obviously raining again today, because it does EVERY day....so we haven't done too much, but I did take some pictures :). HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, DRAKE! I LOVE YOU!

Waiting to see the doctor...he loves being naked.

Kisses!

Still waiting.....

Almost shot time

My poor baby....tired and hungry after getting stabbed with the needle. 

Staying Busy

This week I have a lot to work on. Jamie's grandmother is wanting to write a book of the memories she's made through her lifetime. I think it's an AWESOME idea and Jamie and I agreed to help her get all of her thoughts and what she has written down in a readable format. So, my job this week is to compile everything that's on files and everything on paper and get it all typed up so we can read though it and edit the document. She was born in 1927 and I love reading what she has to say and thinking about how much life she has lived! 

I'm just starting, and I already have to take tons of breaks to feed Drake, play with him and put him down for naps. So,  I feel like the only time I get in a good rhythm is when he's napping.

I can keep an eye on Drake while I write.

Drake has been starting to get up on his hands and knees this past week and rock back and forth. He moves his knees up like he's trying to crawl, but he doesn't understand that he has to move his arm at the same time and he just falls over. I feel like he is going to be crawling VERY soon. He's always in the ready-to-crawl position when I get him from his crib or if I walk back in the room.In my steamer/blender I made squash and zucchini for the week. I gave Drake squash and avocado last night and he ate every bit of both! He is getting the hang of opening his mouth and actually getting the food in his mouth. I love trying new foods because his faces are so funny. He looks at me like, "Are you sure this is ok to eat?!"

It's been raining so much in Houston. Like we have a flash flood warning about everyday, it's so ridiculous. Saturday we were trying to get out of the house. I feel like I've been cooped up because the only time Drake and I get out is to go to the gym, so we decided to go somewhere indoors (because it was STILL RAINING) and the Galleria was the only logical choice. BAD DECISION. First of all, this mall is MASSIVE. I don't even think we saw 1/4 of the mall. I forgot my cell phone at the house and got separated from Jamie and Drake and had a mini panic attack because there were thousands of people there and there was no way I was going to find them. But, I finally spotted them and felt the blood start flowing through my body again after feeling panicky and numb. AND I didn't even buy anything! Needless to say, I don't think we'll be making that hour and a half trip again. I also have a new found love for my home and living in the BURBS. We rented some movies and Jamie made dinner. What a fabulous night in! 

Shrimp fried rice!

Obviously Jamie picked the movies. Act of Valor was really good.

I've been going to an all women's gym, which I LOVE because you never have to worry about not being able to use certain weights, the locker room is more like a spa, the day care is GREAT and we have classes pretty much all day everyday. So, I've been going to classes for about a month now and I have so much fun. The first time I went to Zumba I could not help but laugh the entire time because I'm disturbingly uncoordinated. I'm sure everyone in there was probably laughing at me too. However, I really think my moves have improved and it's one of my favorite classes. 

So, I'll be writing and gyming it up this week! 

Tomorrow Drake will be 6 months! I'll be posting pictures!!

Past 3 months

I cannot believe I haven't updated my blog since MARCH! So much has happened since my little man was 2 months! I'm not going to put everything about our entire last 3 months, but I will try to highlight so I can remember what happened.
We've been traveling quite a lot these past few months. We went to Wichita Falls for my sister-in-laws shower (April 14). I'll remember that date because it's the first time Drake rolled from his back to his stomach, and now he never stops! I worried so much about him sleeping on his stomach because ALL I'd heard since the day I found out I was pregnant was that babies HAVE to sleep on their back. WELL, once Drake discovered to roll he would immediately roll to his tummy when I put him down. I finally gave up the battle of forcing him to sleep on his back and he sleeps through the ENTIRE night now! He started sleeping through the night right after he turned 4 months. However, I still wake up through the night to check on him, but he sleeps GREAT.

Another huge change we went through these past months was nursing. Since I never produced enough for him (and trust me, I tried EVERYTHING....taking medicine, pumping whenever he wasn't eating and feeding him every hour and a half to two hours) I decided I would try to give him 3 oz of my milk and 3 oz of formula since he was going through a growth spirt and needed 6 oz and I ever could naver make more than 3...from both sides! I started this about 4 and a half months because I was going crazy, he would kick me the entire time and I couldn't go anywhere because I was either feeding him or pumping. I finally got over myself and decided we would both be better if he just had formula. I still did a morning feeding because it was so hard for me to "give up" but once I finally did it was more of "moving on" than "giving up."

Drake's first formula bottle

Drake is getting so much better at grabbing things and doing things himself. He's becoming very self-sufficient and wants to hold his own bottle while he eats. He can grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth and some of the time it's the right way. He LOVES to grab my hair. I think the thing I say to him the most (besides I love you) is "let go of momma's hair please."

Drake and Donald Duck

He started cutting his first tooth right after 5 months. He has been chewing and slobbering like crazy! Right when he started getting his first bottom tooth the second bottom tooth broke through. So, both front bottom teeth are coming in at the same time. They're about halfway up now. I give him Hyland's teething tablets and teething gel along with baby pain reliever. A lady at Target saw me struggling with what to use because there are a MILLION things out there and told me she took a class on baby products and anything Hyland is the best to use because it's all natural. I was so thankful for her and her knowledge because I was LOST!
I've also started Drake on baby food. We tried rice cereal about 4 and a half months and he was not having it. We stopped for about a week and a half and tried again and he would gag and make funny faces like he just hate the worst thing ever. So, I decided to pull out my baby brezza and make him some food. My mom got me the food maker and I LOVE it! I make sweet potatoes and green beans and freeze them in ice trays and feed him one cube every night. He definitely likes the sweet potatoes better than the green beans, but I think it might be because I put cinnamon in the potatoes. He also eats bananas and greek yogurt. I'm ready for him to start trying other things!

Eating Sweet Potatoes

Finally, we just got back from our first family vacation! Jamie loves the beach and growing up their family went every year, so we wanted to start our own family tradition....and we DID! We went to Orange beach, which is in Alabama. It's between Gulf Shores and Florida. It's BEAUTIFUL. It has white beaches and clear waters. We stayed in a condo right off the beach which was perfect because Drake still takes three naps a day so we could go up as much as we needed. I was a little worried about Drake and sand since he puts everything in his mouth, but he stayed in the shade and on the huge blanket without ever getting a mouthful of sand. He love love loved the water. He would splash his hands on the top of the water and got really excited when a wave would come our way. Needless to say, it was a HUGE success (even the trip there and back) and we can't wait for next year!! Ok, here are some pictures I've taken over the last few months and I will be better about writing about all of our activities!

At the Zoo

Swimming in Dallas

Helping momma with the laundry

Our view from the condo

Headed down to the beach

Drake sleeping on the beach and Jamie reading his sports magazine

Eating at Mellow Mushroom. GREAT PIZZA

Me and my love on the beach...I think Jamie used all the sunscreen on his face so I got burned.

Headed home!

2 Months

Drake is TWO months old today! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. I feel like it was yesterday when I was waking up at 3:00 A.M. to head to the hospital..... I'll save that story for another time :) For my baby shower my friends did the coolest thing and made Drake a onesie for each month. What a great idea. They are unique and we get to document his monthly growth. They're the BEST. These are pictures I took of him today.

2 footballs for 2 months

My two handsome guys

Spitting up a little...it happens

This morning was great! We woke up and met our neighbors at The Breakfast Place (yes, that's actually the name of the restaurant) to have some home cooked breakfast! Our neighbors are breakfast connoisseurs. Every weekend they pick one day and go out for breakfast and the other Kim cooks a big breakfast. So, we knew we were in good hands. Today's going to be a busy day of laundry and packing for me, while Jamie and Drake spend the day watching the NCAA tournament and napping! We are headed to Dallas tomorrow for a little work/VACA. BeBe and Double D, my parents, are going to meet us there so we can spend some time together while Jamie works. And BONUS we have a FREE babysitter Monday night so Jamie and I can celebrate our 1 year anniversary. Yes, I know, SO much has happened in a YEAR. It'll be nice having extra hands to help with Drake. It's just Jamie and I in Houston and it's really hard for me to run errands and do things I used to do in 10 minutes. Getting him calm, in the car seat and in and out of the car just to drop off mail or run in someplace becomes an hour or two hour adventure. I know we'll probably never live anywhere where we have family, so I've got to learn to be independent and deal with it....but when I get a weekend with grandparents I'll take FULL advantage.

Drake has changed so much in appearance and skills even from a month ago. I can't wait to go to the doctor and see how much weight he's gained. Last time we went (he was sick so we went about 3 weeks ago) he weighed 10lbs 8oz, so I'm predicting he's gained about a pound. I'm not looking forward to his shots. I think it's going to be pretty traumatic for us both, which is why I'm making Jamie come with me.
Yesterday Drake held his head up for the first time. He's actually held it up before, but yesterday he could keep it up and look around. He's not a huge fan of his pacifier. He'll take it, but doesn't know how to keep it in his mouth and when he's done he forces it out and it goes flying across the floor. He's still not sleeping very much and waking up every 3 hours through the night to eat. I don't even remember what its like getting a full nights rest, but can't wait for that day to come He only takes about two naps a day. They last anywhere from 20min to 90min. I don't really know how to make him sleep longer or get him in a sleep routine. He kind of does what he wants right now. I should work on that.
When he's awake he's very aware of things around him. He knows Jamie and I and can follow us around the room with his eyes when we walk away. He loves to making cooing noises and smile..he does this A LOT. He's the happiest in the morning after he has a full tummy. It's my favorite part of the day too.

Well, let's hope Drake enjoys Dallas! Happy St. Patty's Day

Walk at the park

Holding his head up

Wearing green

Loving the Razorback sock monkey

First Ever Blog Post!

I am so excited to be starting my very own blog! I have been reading every ones blogs lately and I have become inspired to start my own. Let me start out by telling you a little bit about myself and my family. I am a Texas native and will always LOVE my home state. I went to college at the University of Arkansas and fell in love with Northwest Arkansas...and an Arkansan. In Texas the rolling plains are the absolute best way to see God's glorious sunrises and sunsets, BUT Arkansas is the place to be when it comes to hills and gorgeous foliage. Jamie, my husband, is from Arkansas and is a Razorback THROUGH AND THROUGH! He loves his state and someday we hope to settle down in Northwest Arkansas, but we're enjoying Texas right now and all the heat it has to offer! Jamie and I's pride and joy is our 2 month old son, Drake. He will pretty much be the topic of my blog posts. I wanted to start writing because I had no idea I would have somebody as wonderful as my baby to share my days with and who would make life so interesting and fun! He is growing very quickly and I want to remember every step and milestone he goes through. 
I'm still very new to this whole motherhood thing, but I have already come to the conclusion this will be the most rewarding/challenging thing I will ever do with my life. I don't consider myself to be hyper-sensitive or super emotional. I have always been steady emotionally, but with my son I have lost all control over my emotions. For example, two weekends ago there was a collegiate baseball tournament that Jamie wanted to go to. We had a few friends in town and even though Drake was only 6 weeks he has always been great out of the house so I thought, WHY NOT!? Well, he was fine during the afternoon game, but by the time the night game rolled around he lost it! There was no consoling him. I had to go to the bathroom at the stadium twice to change him where no one had a pleasant experience. I also tried nursed him twice to calm him down. Nothing worked. At that moment, I lost it with him. I could feel everyone looking at me as if I were the worst mother for even attempting to take my 6 week old to a loud and light filled stadium where people are cheering, there were smells he has never encountered and the amount of music playing must have just shocked his new world. Why could I NOT calm him down? After all, I'm the mom and everyone knows it's the mom's duty to get the screaming kid quiet. Then, I had to make a decision to ruin my friend's weekend by making them leave the only game they drove down to see and only making it to the 5th inning. All I wanted in that moment was to be normal. I wanted to be able to go to a game without worrying how and when I would feed him, if he was going to cry and what my escape route would be if there was a foul ball. So, one of my first big challenges has been to not worry about what everyone else around me is thinking about my parenting skills, but to make sure Drake is ok. I had to understand he was having major sensory overload and there was nothing I could do until I could get him home to some familiarity. He needed his bed! I'm sure this won't be the last public fit...but the first one is over!




On another note, I want to keep track of Drake's progression. And I'm going to try and get better about taking pictures.
So, here we go....

All of us at the Baseball Tournament

Drake being shy!