The Barton Family Blog

I tried to snap a shot of all three girls. Apparently Shy thinks this is how to pose for a picture.... and pose... and pose.... and Hollie had to get in on it.... goofy little sweeties! (: as a side note: the weather was supposed to be rainy and cold. the day was GORGEOUS. I could not have planned for a more beautiful day at the coast. It was clear and warm and just so so beautiful. I honestly DID NOT want to come home! Wahhh! I hope we can sneak back to the coast for a day like that day SOON! Here's a little video I took... in case it shows the beauty a little better (:

...but rather than continue in my blog slacker-dom - I thought I'd share some OK pictures of our field trip to the Newport Aquarium a few weeks ago. The girls' school went and I was thrilled to be able to go FOR FREE since that place charges an arm and a leg (and it's soooo not worth it!). Anyway... my parents joined me for a fun morning there... Heading in to the aquarium. These girls LOVE their papa! Seriously not the greatest pictures.... but a few to capture the highlights... the clear plastic on the floors is so old/worn/dirty that the girls really couldn't see the sharks swimming under us unless they laid down on the plastic. Natalee wanted to see the sharks more than anything - so she didn't really enjoy the rest of the aquarium.... we should've started with the sharks (: they were def. her favorite part The Jelly Fish were cool (: LOVED this shot. Especially since they added the JAWS painting behind the jaw. The girls look slightly troubled to sna...

It's official! As of 12pm yesterday May 23, 2011, we are a legal family of 5! Praise God! Shy and Hollie Barton are our little miracles! More pictures to come....

Had an extra ultrasound today. So fun! Made me cry as always. The miracle of life up on that screen never ceases to amaze me! He/she is just so perfect and beautiful! This one below reminds me a Natalee a bit. All the other ones look too chubby... maybe i"m just remembering Natalee wrong cause she WAS a chub! Love love this one. So stinking sweet! Less than 8 weeks till we meet this little one! Today I scheduled a C-section for July 13 in the event that I haven't gone into labor before then. I want to attempt a vbac if I do go into labor naturally - but if I haven't by the 13th then this baby will come one way or another! (: Right now baby is head up - feet down. She actually zoomed in on a chubby foot and we just stared - looking at the cute-ness - then she pointed to the black circle right next to that foot and said... "That's your bladder!" (Explains a LOT! ha!) It's funny how the "regular' ultrasound looks so weird at this age - too chubby t...

While we were wandering the outdoor mall one day in Redmond, Washington, I found a window w/ a mirror. I couldn't resist getting my girls to pose with me. It's a rarity to have all 3 in a photo with me - I think it's virtually impossible to get a photo of all 3 with me and they're all looking a the camera and maybe even smiling. Johnny doesn't have the patience to snap 49506070 photos in order to find that perfect one - so I don't end up with too many photos of my and my girls. So... here's a few... It took some practice to look in the mirror and not at the camera! I think they enjoyed the silly one the best:

Johnny and I have this little inside joke where we say "What a differences!". Tonight I tried to make my title "What a difference" but my fingers/brain just wouldn't let me... it had to be "differences". So while no ones gets the joke but us.... you can see by the following pictures that our work in the yard today was NOT a joke! A friend from church and I started weeding this morning around 9:30 and Johnny headed to a local rental company to rent a Rotatiller (sp?) and Weed Eater. We attacked everything with a vengance. There were lots of things I wanted to keep but as we began weeding we realized had to be pulled for one reason or another. There is still a lot of work to do... but WOW! What a differences! It's amazing what a few tools (we were previously lacking) can do to help you stay motivated! By this afternoon we were in full swing and my almost 9 mo. pregnant body was feeling it. I went and picked up 3 awesome Rice kids who helped Jo...

Hollie's 3rd birthday fell at a chaotic time - after 2 weeks out of state and right before another trip to Washington for Johnny's work. I tried to plan a party but with the exhaustion of travel and the lack of ability to attend on our family's parts... I decided to postpone her birthday and couple it w/ their adoption celebration later on this month. We didn't want to completely miss the day tho... so we plan a small get-together with Hollie's biological brother and sister and their adoptive parents. I ordered a small cake from Safeway, but Safeway decided to substitute a 1/2 sheet cake because of some special promo they were doing. This cake was massive... and there only like 12 of us there... ha ha o well... it's the darn cutest cake I've ever seen! (: and Hollie was THRILLED with it! She specifically requested a Strawberry Shortcake Cake - and I didn't know if they'd have one - but wah-lah! they did! (her smile says it all!) Untitled from Danie...