The Barton Family Blog

O my gosh, this little boy... he has our hearts!! He is just a little jewel. What's he doing these days? Army crawling, when he feels it's worth it... often he sits and looks, and decides he just doesn't care enough to try to go for it! Turning in circles...  Sitting up unassisted...  Cooing (No mama-baba-dada yet) Lighting up like a light when sister/brother/mom/dad are within his line of sight Laughing when we REALLY work for it! Sleeping about 50% in the swing & 50% in his cosleeper Still not truly sleeping through the night. I either have to get up to pop the binky in several times, or give in and nurse once if I JUST WANT TO SLEEP :)  Still loves to be swaddled. I'm not sure how much he weighs- over 16lbs since he was 16 at his 6 month appt. (and STILL not on the growth chart for length!)  He's the sweetest little chubby bunny we know!!!!!

One of my biggest pet peeves is going on a drive somewhere and not having the time/option to stop and explore along the way. I decided to plan a trip with the kids driving toward the coast, and to a beach they'd never been to before... and to take our time. If we saw a park along the way, we could stop. A new campground we'd never driven through? Any place along the way, we would stop. And thus was born, our "adventure". I let the kids spend their allowance and buy treats (usually they don't spend their allowance on sugar or food). And we just drove. We headed down highway 20 toward Yahats and stopped along the way. We visited several campground and beaches and just did whatever we wanted with no real long term plan or destination. It was so fun! We explored and tried a new ice cream place. If the kids had an idea - I said "yes". And we had an adventure!!! I had no idea that this little adventure would start a yearly tradition with the kids. W...

During a four hour drive up to Seattle, we had the chance to listen to a wonderful audio  book entitled: A Boy Called Christmas.  It tells the story of a sad boy named  Nikolas, nicknamed Christmas, because he was born on Christmas day. Nikolas lives with his woodcutter Father  in a fairy tale land, and enjoys his relatively simple life. Eventually as the story gets underway, Nikolas  embarks on an adventure to find his missing  Father in the far northern lands. Along the way, he meets a reindeer he names Blitzen, and discovers an Elf Village. Nothing seems to go well for Nikolas, as every part of his story seems to be filled with more sorrow.  To find out how the Boy called Christmas, becomes "Father Christmas" you'll have to read (or listen to!) this lovely tale! *I received a copy of this audio book for free in exchange for an honest review for BloggingForBooks.

  At the end of 3rd grade, the girls had the privilege of riding their bikes on a looooong ride, from Philomath to Avery Park in Corvallis. 22 miles round trip!   They did so well! It was a beautiful, cool Spring day - which was unusual, as it had been unusually hot (think 90 degrees!) the previous few days.   Brock, Connor, Sawyer & I drove over and met the kids at the park. Brock got to hang with his "best friends" in the girls class... And I had to remember to snap photos with some of the girls' best friends  Hanna, Natalee, Brooke Kyah & Natalee  Reagan, Shyanne & Zoe Such a fun way to celebrate the end of the school year! 

Natalee landed a lead role in their Spring play! She was so excited and practiced her lines endlessly. The cast members arrived early and their moms put makeup on and curled their hair. Natalee felt so fancy!  Meet: BIRD Isn't she cute!?!?!?!?! More like BEAUTIFUL!!  Since Shyanne and Hollie came with us, they got a touch of make up too! Someone better lock these girls up!!!! Shyanne was a gardener/farmer.  She had a wide rimmed hat & gardening gloves to add to her costume. Hollie was a "weed". They were taking over the garden. "We're the weeds, we're cool, We're the weeds, weeds rule!" The cast before the show

 Natalee requested that we take monthly pictures of Sawyer with his little elephant she endearingly named "Buttons".  Since we didn't get a picture with Buttons at birth or at one month, I created little images to capture him... knowing that from two months on, those pictures would include Buttons! :) : How did this baby change so much already?!?? (waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh) Birth: 1 month:  2 months: 3 months:  4 months: 

 Sweet little miss Hollie May turned 8 on May 6. She was spoiled with fun presents tucked inside a new treasure chest in the morning.... and a special birthday party with a few close friends in the afternoon! Surrounded by family opening presents on my bed before school. The decorations and prep for this party was a blast!  Lots of color and lots of candy! Chocolate covered oreos dipped in sprinkles  Gumballs  and lollipops and pixie sticks galore! A candyland game trailed its way around the house....   And the centerpiece... a KitKat cake topped with M&Ms Love my girl! Happy 8th birthday sweet Hollie girl! You make us laugh and fill us with joy!  We blinked our eyes and you're already 8... slow down little lady!!!