Bear in a Bucket

Who doesn't love a baby in a bucket? I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided this would be our 2011 Christmas card. There were too many cute shots to choose from so this smitten mama had to share!

6 months...a half birthday!

We've made it! Barrett is halfway through his first year. It's shocking to think that at this exact time six months ago, Grant was watching our newborn get his first bath & shots in the nursery as I happily wolfed down a well-deserved dinner of Chinese food. The night of Barrett's birth still makes me giddy with excitement and thankfulness. In fact, I'd happily do it all over again for the moment I laid eyes on my sweet baby boy.

Some noteable developments of the "Big Bear":

*Barrett has officially cut his first teeth. He has his front two bottoms. He had a couple of grumpy days, but nothing compared to the horror stories I've heard! Nothing a couple of (glorious) teething tablets can't fix.

*Bear is sitting up on his own and starting to reach for toys in front of him.

*Now when he floats on his back in the pool or bath, he kicks like a crazy baby. His kick is pretty strong, which means the bathroom ends up getting totally soaked. And he does it all with a huge smile on his face.

*Barrett has added sweet potatoes to his list of foods. And HE. IS. NUTS for them! He gets excited and starts flapping his arms when he sees the good stuff come out. He opens his mouth like a little baby bird and lets me know how delicious it is with lots of "hmmm's".

*We bought Barrett an exersaucer from another mom on Facebook. She bought it in 2006 and this Baby Einstein piece-of-heaven was in great shape. $20! Bear loves "going to his office" and working on different toys and puzzles. And it buys me enough time to take a quick shower or make a meal. Win-win!

*We seem to have FINALLY moved away from swaddling the boy. Horray! We've been told by several people for the last two months that it was time to give up his cozy wrap. Well, it's fair to say that Grant & I now appreciate Bear's strong will. We tried to force the issue and he made us pay with many angry nights. We gave in and let the little man run the show with his beloved Miracle Blanket...out of sheer exhaustion. Then out of the blue about two weeks ago, Barrett decided to put on his big-boy pj's and skip the swaddle. What a relief to see him curled up in his crib with sweet little clasped hands. Phew! Glad I won't have to swaddle him at 16...

*Finally, our boy's sense of humor seems to get bigger every month. Barrett likes to pick up on any audience and run with it. He spits when he's happy and if he gets a laugh out of it, he'll wiggle his eyebrows and continue to do it. In public, he'll watch for strangers to check him out and then he'll start gabbing at them and rolling his tongue. Little clown.

Here's to the next half of one amazing year!

Snapshots of Thanksgiving...

Bear's First Thanksgiving! Poor, decked-out baby...Bear with Uncle Chris...

Our Thanksgiving Table with Barrett, Erin, Chris, Grant, Laura, Ryan, Mom, & Dad...

Mommy & little turkey...
Bear & Aunt Cookie...

Bear Teeth

About 2 weeks ago, Bear's bottom two teeth popped through. For moms who have been through teething-torture, this picture speaks for itself.

Outdoor Bear...

Bear rolls...

This video was taken back in October, but the rolling hasn't slowed down! This is a more controlled version of what I usually see. He's fast and will take off without my being ready. I guess this is just foreshadowing of what's to come in the way of mobility!

5 Months!

Yesterday our big dude turned a whopping 5 months! He was lucky enough to see all four grandparents, two uncles, and his Aunt Cookie to celebrate. He is still the life of the party--talking so loudly at times that you have no choice but to be quiet and listen to what he has to say. He loves to flirt with anyone who will give him a moment and is still very into the ladies!

Here are some new developments in the life of Barrett:
-He now sits in his big high-chair and eats cereal and butternut squash.The squash was quite a shock to his little baby tastebuds. The first time he tried it, he made a horrible face, shuddered, gagged, and then spit it out violently. The more I keep at it, the less he seems to hate it. What he'd rather have is the taste of icing his great-grandpa gave him a few weeks ago or the little nip of icecream that his G-Dad gave him yesterday.
-Barrett has been rolling back to front and vice versa for several weeks now and loves to roll all the way down the room. I'll put him in one spot, look away for a moment, and he'll suddenly be in a totally new spot. As a result, Barrett now has a playroom where he can roll to his little heart's delight! He is also playing with the idea of sitting up. I prop him up and he'll look up proudly at me for a few moments before he keels over to one side.
-Barrett has taken a huge interest in our dogs, lately. He will reach for Tex and grab his head. He loves to have Tex lick his hands and feet, though I try to keep dog-kisses away from his face. He also seems to love my sister's dog, Gabe. Gabe is a well over 100 pounds and a snow dog. Every time Barrett sees Gabe, he squeals in delight and laughs. We're not sure why Barrett is so crazy for Gabe but it's really fun to watch.
-Barrett now seems to buy into the excitement of his daddy getting home from work. He can be completely tired of my face but the moment his dad walks in the door, his eyes light up and he's got a million things to say.
-Barrett is now kicking and splashing during his swim lessons. He has gone under a couple of times and doesn't seem to be phased. He still has the most killer backfloat in class. I can barely get the kid to look at me during class because he's so absorbed in kicking and chasing balls in the pool. He also seems to have a crush on his teacher and a few girl-babies in the class. Go figure...

Barrett gets more fun every day and I'm eager to see what month #5 has in store for both him & us!

A hungry Bear...

Look who's eating rice cereal!

A Rhino Run Gone Wrong

Oh look at us...what happy, unsuspecting suckers we are. Last weekend Grant and I decided to do a 5K at the Dallas Zoo, Run for Rhinos. We got up at the lovely hour of 5am and dressed Barrett up in his Halloween costume (he's a very scary dragon, in case you weren't sure). The plan was for Grant to run the race and for me to walk Bear in his stroller and enjoy the scenery.

Mistake #1: There was a 1k that I could've done instead. I thought that distance sounded too short.

Mistake #2: We didn't find out ahead of time that the run didn't actually go through the zoo. As we crossed the starting line in the zoo's parking lot, I expected the race to head into the zoo. Instead we got a very real look at some of the more rough streets of Dallas AROUND the zoo. I started to feel worried when we passed a junkyard with an actual junkyard-dog barking at us.

Mistake #3: The dragon costume may have been a little on the hot side for October in Texas. The morning started off cool but heated up quickly, as did my son. I wasn't a mile in when I could hear whimpering coming from the jogging stroller and I had to start shedding articles of clothing.

Mistake #4: I should've turned around and headed back to the zoo. Grant passed me during the race, as he'd been running and my pace had slowed considerably due to my increasingly cranky child. Why didn't I just follow him back in? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Mistake #5: I only packed 4 pacifiers. Apparently that wasn't enough for Barrett to spit into the street.

This lead to Mistake #6: When I was out of pacifiers, I picked Barrett up and carried him to comfort him a little bit. Once he was out of the stroller, my stubborn baby decided he was NOT getting back in. As a result, I fell to the back of the back and was stuck carrying a 15-pound (crying) baby and pushing a stroller. I felt very alone, a little nervous, and a lot sweaty. We were only 1.5 miles into the 3.1 miles I needed to complete. And we were getting farther away from the zoo.

Mistake #7: I passed several policemen who were monitoring the race. I should've just asked them for help, but I figured they wouldn't drive me to the finish line without a carseat for Barrett.

Finally at less than a mile left in the race, my husband, the hero, came back to rescue me. By this point, I was crying right along with Barrett. Grant carried the wailing boy and I pushed the stroller with one hand and wiped miserable tears away with the other. Barrett became so hysterical that we actually sat in someone's front lawn to feed him while keeping our eyes on a roaming neighborhood dog. (Again, not the best part of town.) After feeding him and starting out again, the pickup truck that picks up the cones along the race route offered Barrett and I a ride. I stubbornly declined...for 30 seconds...until I couldn't take Barrett's tears any longer. We hopped in the truck and Bear quieted down immediately. He was beyond happy to look out the window and grin at passerbys. Stinker. Grant met us at the finish line where race volunteers were waiting to cheer on the final straggler at a finishing time of 1 hour, 9 minutes. Not the prouded moment of my life.

Grant and I decided that the next race will be done together. No separating the pack! But I'm doubtful that the next race will come anytime soon. In the meantime, enjoy laughing at our clueless grins and just imagine what came after these happy pictures. New parents can be such idiots.

Barrett Meets his Great-Grandparents

This past weekend, Bear took his first plane ride to Ohio to meet his only surviving great-grandparents, Grandma & Grandpa Marshall (my mom's parents). I was pleasantly surprised by helpful airport staff and friendly "co-fliers" as I braved the skies with my 4-month old. It didn't hurt that my mom flew with us and was quick to lend a hand. (Grant was in San Fran for work.) Barrett loved looking out the plane window, chatting with nearby fliers, and catching a quick nap. I could tell that those around us breathed a sigh of relief when they realized they were flying with an extremely happy baby. I did too!

Grandma & Grandpa were thrilled to meet Bear and made constant comments about what a happy, cute baby he is. (No arguments there!) They loved calling him Bear and Grandpa even gave his new buddy some extra nicknames like "Louie" and "Rambo". Grandpa & Barrett became fast friends. Bear loved when Grandpa would put him in a "baby trance" by whispering secrets into his ear. We weren't sure what Grandpa was telling Bear, but it was important enough that Bear would become very still and his eyes would widen. It was really sweet to watch.

After seeing Bear & Grandpa together, it was pretty evident whose genes my boy has inherited. Grandpa has definitely passed down his cheeks and ears to Barrett. We found an old picture of Grandpa as a boy (he's on the right) and after comparing them with my munchkin, we couldn't believe the resemblance!

Can you see the resemblance??

4 Months!

Four months! Barrett has had some big developments with his new age. Last week he started rolling over, from front to back and vice versa. I actually missed his first roll. I popped into the kitchen and when I came back into the living room, Barrett was on his belly under his gym. He is fast! Now that he is in control of his little body, tummy-time is no longer baby-torture. He actually figured out that he can flip over and watch tv on his tummy. He is truly his father's son!

Barrett has also gotten into the habit of waking me up with the loudest chatter I've heard from him yet. More than once I've woken up in the middle of the night to joyful, one-sided banter coming from the monitor. 1:45am? 4:00am? It doesn't matter what time it is! This boy will party day or night.

My swimming Bear loves his swim class. He has started to frog-kick around the pool while I hold him. He also splashes and doesn't seem to mind when I pour water over his head and face. His has a new girlfriend in class and when they lock eyes, he kicks furiously and wiggles his eyebrows.

Barrett seems to be a favorite among the ladies in the church nursery. Every Sunday when I come to pick him up, he is happily curled up with one of them. They always give me reports about my little chatterbox and how he smiled and entertained them. That boy LOVES ladies!

A trip to the pumpkin patch...

Last weekend, Barrett's Mom, Aunt Cookie, & Sug took Bear-Bear to his very first pumpkin patch. Aunt Cookie found a nearby farm that had an incredibly cute set-up and Barrett wore his first Halloween outfit! He was the most adorable baby chicken-a gift from Sug. He was a trooper!

Barrett Teaches Mommy...

Barrett will turn 4 months next week- a fact that I'm still reeling over, though I suppose every month that goes by still amazes me. In these past few months, I have learned a few things from my tiny boss that I think are worth recording.

*It is shocking how little sleep I can go on when it comes to one brown-eyed boy. And more than that...I'm usually excited to be awake and see my son! I have always been a girl who likes her sleep and could go to bed when the sun went down. 10pm felt late to me. Last week I went to bed at 12am, got up to feed Barrett at 1am, and then got up for the day with him at 5am. My how times have changed.

*It is not the baby poop that grosses me out. It is the baby GAS. I am dumbfounded by the stench that my little guy can produce. His diaper can be as clean as a whistle, but when I open the back a smell not unlike a rotten egg sizzling in hell comes rushing out. Needless to say, he makes his daddy proud.

*Plans? What are plans? Barrett has taught his "check-list mother" that some things just have to wait...or be forgotten. I still use my planner to keep some semblance of my week, but many days have seen to-do lists go untouched while Barrett decided to be held all day or forgo any naps. My life is much more rich when filled with random cuddles or a walk through the park instead of sticking to the book.

*I would trade any night on the town to hear my baby laugh. My life of freedom before Barrett seems so very small compared to the days I spend now as I watch the little person I created grow and explore the world around him. I will tirelessly make funny faces and sounds to get some sort of giggle out of my baby Bear. If I had dignity before, it has long since left the building!

*I admit that it's true what they say-once the baby comes along, your dogs become just dogs. Poor Maggie & Tex. Their cushy life of mornings in our bed, trips out to the lake, and wrestling time on the floor is a thing of the past.

*I can take the same picture of Barrett fifty times and still squeal in delight over each one. And you'd better look with me as if each were better than the last. After all, my baby is the cutest thing anyone has laid eyes on in the history of the world. Period.

*I am the mommy I was always terrified of becoming. I'm obsessed with my kid, I will resist food and sleep to cuddle him, I will tell you repeatedly about his latest developments, and my Facebook pictures are mostly close-ups of a baby. I am that mom. And I absolutely love and devour every minute.

Barrett Finds His Voice

In the last few days, my little munchkin has turned into one big talker. He now realizes he's got pretty important things to say and that he can do it at the loudest possible volume. I've been told that I'm a rather loud individual (insert sarcastic comment here) so I wonder if Barrett is mirroring what he hears all day every day. Either way, I'm pretty entertained by what used to be my sweet little lump of a baby. I've now got a dude with major things to say on my hands.

Here are Barrett's thoughts at 2 months of age. I'm shocked at the difference just a month makes!

3 months!

Amidst all of our moving madness, the littlest Qualley turned three months this week! It seems like we were just celebrating his two-month milestones and, yet, here we are! Despite the fact that we were packing up a house, saying our quick goodbyes, and moving into a new house, we stayed quite entertained with what I consider one of Barrett's most fun months to date.

Barrett's increased smiles and "talking" seem to be giving us glimpses into his happy little personality. He smiles from the moment he wakes up in the morning (usually the very early morning) to his bed-time routine while I read him books and put on his jammies. The smiles are usually accompanied by a constant chattering. He loves to intersperse his stories with raspberries and will raise his eyebrows in delight if I blow a few his way.

Barrett seems to have attracted the attention of the lady-folk...the older the better! We get stopped in the grocery store almost every trip by some adoring "mature lady" who wants a close look at my little stud. His signature look for them is a lowering of the eyes like he's scowling at them and then when they least expect it, he hits them with a great big grin. Bear started attending the infant nursery at church last week and the women there agree that he seems to already be a lady-killer. He entertained them with all kinds of chattering and flirty smiles.

It's not all fun and games with my little red-head. He's got a feisty side to him. When he's ready to eat, he has very little patience. Barrett will growl and scream until he's able to latch on and when he does, it is with a fierce CHOMP. If he doesn't feel like having his diaper changed, he will put his feet against anything nearby and push as hard as he can. He likes to go, "UGH!" as he tries to fling himself to freedom.

Barrett's new tricks:

• He's found his toes and likes to grab them


• He rolls to his side


• He sits in his Bumbo


• He finally does tummy-time without a fight (most of the time) and will lift his head briefly


• He can grab and hold onto rattles


• He turns his head from side to side and looks all around the room

Getting older can be serious business...
I often find him laying like this now. He's experiencing some tiny victory...

Ta-da!

Starting to fit into the "big kid" clothes and feeling good about it...

Happy three months, Bear-Bear! Thank you for our most fun month yet!

Life as we know it...

As many of you now know, Grant interviewed for a job in Dallas last month. We knew before Barrett was born that this change in jobs was a possibility, but as I told Grant more than once, "Let me have a baby first please". There were so many things to consider with a move. We had only bought our home in Pflugerville a year ago, Grant really loved the people he worked with in Austin, that whole having-a-baby-thing, and the great friends that we had made during our three years in the capital city made it hard to want to leave. On the other hand, moving back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area meant living in the same place as family and more great friends. This in an area that both Grant and I grew up in and the idea of raising Barrett in such a familiar, wonderful place was totally appealing. We were quickly learning how drastically your priorities can change when your family expands with a little one. The job offered to Grant was also a pretty amazing career move and would provide growth in both pay and experience. This was something Grant had been asking God to bring since we found out Barrett was coming and that I'd be leaving my job to stay home.

After lots of prayer and trips to Sonic to discuss the pros and cons over root beer floats, we made the decision to jump into the unknown and take the Dallas job. There were many questions that we couldn't answer, but we knew two things. One: God was going to take care of our family and provide for us even if we weren't sure how. Two: We were COMPLETELY excited to take on this new adventure. It was difficult to tell the people we loved in Austin that we were leaving. It was equally as fun to tell our family and old friends in DFW that we were "coming home". With those announcements, the adventure began.

Grant put in his two-week notice at work a couple of weeks ago. We immediately called our realtor to get our house on the market for sale or lease. We called movers and began searching the area where we'd grown up for rental homes. In a matter of days, Grant was let go from his job due to the fact that he was going to work for a competitor, we found a rental home two streets over from my parents, Grant went to work in Dallas and I stayed in Pflugerville to pack up the house while caring for Barrett. Talk about a whirlwind!

A week ago, my mom and sister drove down to finish packing and helped me drive up with Barrett and our two dogs. My truck-bed was full of luggage, baby items, and various house stuff. My sister's car was also full of random items that we either didn't want movers to handle or that we thought we desperately needed before the movers would arrive. Grant had already been living at my parents' house for several days while he started his new job. With me entering the picture, we had one very full guest room.

It was almost comical to see our temporary 10x14 "home" filled with a baby swing, pack 'n play, rocker, suitcases, dog bed, etc. And yes, there are four dogs in that picture. With our two and my parents' two, it was a full house. And Patch, my mom's dog, is sporting the cone of shame for a few days due to a hot-spot on his tail. A dog in a cone who is bumping into your legs and doorways counts as two dogs! Since I had to get up with Barrett at night, Grant was forced to crawl over the foot of the bed at night to get some shut-eye. It was the most ridiculous set-up and yet in all of that chaos, it still felt right to be here. I spent this past week visiting with some of my best friends from college and their babies, going out to lunch and spending the night with my sister, and going to Barrett's first music class that we are lucky enough to have my mom teaching. Grant really likes his new job and co-workers. He has a lot of work to do, but loves that he is being given so much responsibility and support. Everything about us being here indicates that God knew what He was doing when he planted that first seed about the move back in the spring.

Today the movers are coming to deliver our boxed-up life to our new rental house! My mom is currently there giving the house a true mother's scrub-down while Barrett sleeps peacefully in his rocker. We are still waiting to hear whether some potential renters are going to put an application in on our home. While there are still loose ends in our adventure, we are enjoying the ride and thanking God for what He's already done and for the surprises He still has hiding up His sleeve.

2 months!

Another month has flown by! Barrett Ryan is now 2 months old and getting more adorable and fun by the minute! (I realize I'm a little biased, but hey, it's my blog!)

Barrett seems to be churning out new tricks every day. He recently started "talking". Every morning after he eats, the babe and I sit in bed and coo at each other for at least 20 minutes. Barrett's favorite things to say are "oh" in a cute little high-pitched voice and "ga ga ga". He has all kinds of other fun noises like gurgling, but has started to do less of the "bah" and "chipmunk" noises that were so frequent the first month. Barrett also loves when we sing together. Grant observed that I seem to sing to his son "all day long". His favorite song is "Skip to my Loo". I also recite the book "Going on a Bear Hunt" to him. Both of these things make him completely light up. He gets huge eyes, a giant smile, and will watch me like a big kid watches tv.

Baby boy has also discovered that his hands are great for sucking. And it is LOUD...like everything else he does. He has tuned in to his play-gym and will now lay under it for long periods, kicking at the hanging toys, and talking to them. He loves to wiggle and never seems to stop moving. (I have a feeling this is foreshadowing for the future!) Our little man loves to watch our dogs and is already used to licks on the face and barks in the face. He is a nature-lover and is content to sit or take a walk outside as long as he has trees and clouds to look at.

Barrett still hates tummy-time, but is even going so far as to punish me by staying grumpy long after we've finished practicing. I can hold him around his torso, though, and he will hold his head up while we chat. He doesn't seem to enjoy long stretches in the car anymore, which isn't good because we've been traveling a lot! Maybe it's this unrelenting Texas heat. Welcome home, little guy! He does allow me to get out at least once a day on errands around town and I enjoy getting to show off my studly babe.

This has definitely been a fun month as I've gotten into the swing of mommy-hood and am able to interact more with Barrett. He is my constant little pal and it's hard to remember life without my red-headed sidekick.