SUPER B!

 It's SUPER B with his trusty and ever faithful sidekick, Ted-Ted

I found this superhero mask at Target for $1.  Oh Target, I love you, I honestly love youuuu

  I see this face A LOT.

and thankfully, this one too.

even though he has his tyrannical moments, more lately than I'd like, he'll always be my sweet and super baby boy

the boy child and the girl child

the days are long but the years are short.  I keep telling myself this.

update on boy child (I call him boy child when he's been trying my patience...Adam knows it's been a long day when I say "guess what boy child did.")

 boy child (aka: Brady, tyrant, little manager, sassy pants) is in a stage.  But when aren't they, right?  Can I get an amen?!  AMEN!

This is a sassy sassy tough little stage...whoever told me that 3 was challenging was correcto.  It is.  I sometimes feel like we spend most of our day course correcting.  Trying to teach him how to be a respectful loving little man, not a future dictator.  We're in the stage where I answer a MILLION questions a day - here's a little sample conversation that was had earlier today:

as we were driving past a carpet cleaning van:

Brady: mama, what is that?

me: it's a carpet cleaning van

Brady: why?

me: they are having their carpets cleaned

Brady: are they sleeping or are they awake

me: ummm....I'm guessing they're awake

Brady: are they old people

me: um, bud, I really don't know.

Brady: mama, just tell me the truth, just be honest!

me: bud, I really don't know if they're old or young.

Brady: but mama, if you don't know, just tell me, just tell me the truth!! TELL ME RIGHT NOW!

here's another one just for fun:

me: ok B, time for bed

Brady: ugh, this is EXASPERATING!

 and then there's laundry.  I live with a bunch of diva slobs.  The B man insists on doing about 4 wardrobe changes a day.  You'd think he was hosting the oscars.

 aaaaand then there's Kate.  I love her to pieces, but she's totally crazy. ohmygosh.

 here she is riding a clothes basket like a wild woman while squealing like a banshee

 yeah.  I never thought a child could match and sometimes out-do the b man in the crazy department.  I WAS WRONG.  She is a serious force to be reckoned with.  She's also hilariously cute and charming.  

 These two are the reason I've lost most of my mind

but I couldn't imagine losing my mind for anything more worthwhile

sprinkler

 It's been gorgeous out - it actually feels like summer and we've been soakin' it up.  The other afternoon, I hooked the sprinkler up.  Brady LOVES the sprinkler, so I thought it would be fun to introduce Kate to a summer must-have

 She was fairly oblivious and decided to play some baseball first.

 once she discovered there was water involved, she dove in...head first.  Kate fears nothing.

 she stuck her head right into the sprinkler and loved every minute.  

the only upsetting part of this magical childhood rite of passage was when I applied sunscreen.  apparently having sunscreen applied is scary but sticking your head into a freezing sprinkler is awesome.

 welcome, summer.

Kate's 1st birthday party

Get ready for a LOT of photos of our Kater-celebrators.  We had a big 'ol Kater-shindig to celebrate the first birthday of our little princess.  A good time was had by all!

You can't have a party without cup-kates

 We started the party early...and by early, I mean Brady was up at 5:15am and Kate was up at 5:45am.  Good thing Grandpa was ready to play!

 Before the official party started, we had an unofficial party where Kate's present from Grandma and Grandpa was assembled.  You know, it was one of those "some assembly required" things...which means a LOT of assembly required.  It's a good thing we had many able and willing Barnes men to put Kate's cozy coupe together.

 Brady was not left out of the birthday fun - Grandma and Grandpa got him the matching gas pump so that he could keep his Kate's cozy coupe running smoothly.

 Kate was quite pleased to get a car for her first birthday!

 I decorated with a lot of photos - I printed off a bunch of instagrams as well as a photo from each month to show how much she's grown over her first year!

We had a full house!  Those in attendance for Kate's party:

Daddy, Mama, Brady, Grandma Barnes, Grandpa Barnes, Uncle Timmy, Jenna, Grandma Nancy, Grandpa Dan, Grandpa Mike, Vickie, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Beth, Noah, Emma, Resa, Jeff, Brook, Norah, Keara, Randy & Marcy

 Kate made a haul and got a lot of fun gifts!  

Brady and I went shopping for Kate and Daddy's birthday gifts about a week ago.  Brady picked out a little "princess" doll for Kate.  I asked Brady what we should name Kate's baby and without even having to think about it, he said, "Monty".  So Kate now has a princess baby named "Monty".  He also picked out a matchbox car for her.

 Oh boy - the cake!  I had been looking forward to watching Kate destroy her cake for a long time!  Brady helped her blow her candle out.

 she approached her cupcake way more cautiously than I would have expected

 after a few bites, she seemed fairly uninterested in actually eating it but did have fun smearing it around her high chair

 I think the sugar was a bit much for her - this was by far the most sugar she'd ever had...

 such a sweet girl - sharing her cupcake with daddy

 cousins

 party people

and she ended her first cake experience with a severe sugar coma...

Happy Birthday baby girl!

Kate's 1 year stats

We had Kate's 1 year well baby check up today - she's a strong and healthy little 1 year old!  At one point in the appointment when they were asking about developmental milestones, they asked if she was pulling herself up on things yet.  Yep.  She is.  She's also sprinting, climbing stairs/couches/chairs, walking, rolling, doing yoga, & lunges.

Kate's 1 year stats:
height: 31.5in - 100th percentile
weight: 24lbs 1oz - 92nd percentile
head: 46.3cm - 84th percentile

Kate is ONE!!

Happy Birthday, baby girl!  

I think that Rosie the riveter is an accurate historical figure that represents our one year old daughter.  Never change, Kate.  You're going to do amazing things in life.  You're unstoppable!

 I took Kate's one year photos at the Capitol.  Kate loved exploring and climbing.

 I really can't believe how quickly this last year went by.  Kate, you are our miracle.  We prayed and dreamed about you and girl, you did not disappoint.  You are all that and a bag of chips.  You are personality plus and spunk packed into one little intense 1 year old.

 You were a week late (you just wanted an extra week of mommy womb snuggle time) but when you were ready to make your entrance into this world, you came with great urgency.  Most everything you do is with a great sense of urgency.

 You are sweet and silly and serious and snugly and intense and powerful.

You often use hand gestures to make your point while you rant in baby talk.  You're an effective communicator - we always know what you're thinking.

 You don't miss anything - you never have.  You are incredibly curious, intuitive, chatty and intelligent.

 You love your mama - you also love your daddy - and who could forget that brother of yours...nobody can make you laugh like Brady.  We're all pretty in love with you too.

We often joke that you think you're a three year old boy...this is pretty much true.  You've made it your mission to keep up with Brady.  I would say you've done a pretty stand up job of this...much to my dismay.

 When you smile, when you really smile, you smile so big that I sometimes worry your entire face will crack in half.  It's absolutely beautiful and it lights up the whole room.

 Kate - you complete us and we love you so incredibly much!

Kate at 1 year:

• walks/runs/climbs like a champ
• loves to carry things around
• says mama, dada, hi, ted-ted, this
• drinks whole milk and only eats table food (baby food is for babies.  Kate is not a baby.)
• starting to use a sippy cup, like most things, she mastered it immediately (I'm not bragging, it's just that my daughter is a genius.  FACT.)
• some separation anxiety
• wears 18mo clothes and size 5 shoes
• 10+ teeth...I couldn't accurately tell you because she absolutely refuses to let me in there.  I can confirm 3 molars though
• loves to wave - mostly at daddy (she waves so vigorously she sometimes knocks herself over)
• dances to music
• still wakes up once a night to eat
• not super attached to ted-ted, but does enjoy her pacifier at night or when upset/teething.  She prefers to have one pacifier in her mouth and one in each hand for bed time

click HERE to watch Kate's birthday video!

Happy Birthday, Adam!!

Happy Birthday, Adam!!

Today is Adam's 31st birthday!  I really couldn't ask for a better partner to share this crazy journey with.  He's an amazing husband and father, and we're blessed that he's ours.  We love you!!

It'll be hard to top last year's birthday, when your overdue wife drove the boat so you could waterski in your new drysuit...but we'll sure try!