The Downside to Wearing Glasses...

When it became obvious that i was in need of some sort of correctional lenses, i opted for glasses instead of contacts. I thought glasses were classy looking and I was a fan of how easy they were to put on or take off.

Unfortunately, the latter "pro" of wearing glasses turned out to be a "con". Fumbling after your glasses once they've been knocked from your face by a child, a dog or any other random thing (which happens more than you would think) has to be one of the most emasculating feelings in the world. In the moment, it strips away any bit of cool or confidence you may have. Until the frames are placed securely back upon the bridge of your nose, you will undeniably be viewed as weak and dorky by others (consciously or subconsciously).

Helpful tip: If for some reason you ever get into a confrontation with someone wearing glasses, do not worry about it escalating into a physical fight. Wearing glasses makes people more cowardly. No one wants to get hit in the face while wearing glasses and therefore can be easily bullied. If they happen to be up for a fight, they'll move to take their glasses off first. Take that time to punch them in the face. It's a lose/lose for the bespectacled.

Helpful tip #2: Be fearful of those who are not afraid to be punched in the face while wearing glasses. They are rare and very dangerous.

Little Rascal

Unfortunately, I have no new pictures to post. The reason for that (we believe) is that Barrett threw away our camera. It disappeared completely a couple of weeks ago - we had transferred most of the pictures to our computer, but we lost a couple weeks worth, and obviously haven't been able to take any since. We had no idea where it could possibly be until we noticed Barrett's new habit of putting things in the big trash can in the kitchen. We saw him trying to throw away a remote control, a bill, and a couple of Christmas ornaments, and unless the camera miraculously surfaces somewhere, we're pretty sure it got put in there at some point and taken away.

He has developed some other adorably mischievous habits as well...

1) He begins to do something he knows he's not allowed to do, and when I tell him "no," he says, "bye bye" and waves at me to leave him to his business.

2) He is an amazing head-butter. If I go to pick him up and take him away from something he's been enjoying, I often look down to see him rearing his head back, preparing to slam it into me - he got me once right behind my ear and I thought I was going to pass out.

3) By far the cutest - he's learned to manipulate us through requests for hugs. If I'm trying to put him down for a nap or set him down to change his diaper, he'll get me into a bear hug that he knows I won't break - he says "hug," so of course I give him one, and if I try to stop, he just squeezes me really tight and keeps saying "hug" and putting his head on my shoulder so I won't set him down.

We'll try to get some good Christmas moments on the video camera.

Halloween

Barrett's cow-hide chaps (I made them - I was proud of myself) Grumpy cowboy

Barrett's most favorite friend -Ryann Lamb, aka: "Ronnie," seen here as Fancy Nancy.
"Let's play!!" - I love that they're running and holding hands. Sweetest little girl you ever met.

New Jersey

Last weekend we were able to go up to New Jersey to visit Matt's parents, and we had a fantastic time. The Woods Sr. were incredibly gracious and generous hosts and showed us a fantastic time. See "Passport to Life" for more pics - here are some of ours...

Howell Living Farm - who knew New Jersey was so beautiful.

B with Grandma and Grandpa Wood - love that he got the chance to wear his beloved boots on a real farm.

"I want this one"

On Sunday we drove to Philadelphia and went to the Aquarium.

"Sharky"

Shark tunnel

Meeting Pop-pop

Barrett did amazingly well on the plane ride both there and back, and was uncharacteristically well mannered and low maintenance the whole weekend. Overall, the perfect first vacation.

Lil' Texan

Barrett's going to be a cowboy for Halloween, so I finally had a good excuse to buy him some cowboy boots. He LOVES wearing them, and asks me to put them on him just about everyday regardless of what else he's wearing.

Half dressed in his costume - wearing his boots and chaps with a rocker T. Urban Cowboy.

A Day in the Life (aka: the pictures you asked for)

Barrett's day in pictures...

We woke up around 7:15 this morning, and began our day with some light reading.

Breakfast time - working on our spooning skills with some oatmeal. This picture doesn't capture how incredibly precious he is becoming with Charlie - here, he's leaning in for a hug (which basically consists of him pressing his face against her back)
Off to play at the gym while Mommy works out.
Then over to the mall for an unsuccessful shopping trip. But we stopped at this ride and had a blast. Back home, lunch and naptime. Here's Barrett slowly waking up from his nap.
Very slowly.
But now he's ready. Or maybe not...post nap grumpies. Really cute.

Dinner and BATH TIME!!

He usually has his best moments of the day right before bed time. Here's one of them - this is him cheering for the cars that he just sent racing.

One last moment with Dad, then it's off to bed.
A pretty typical day. Praise God for such a precious boy.

Barrett Update

I saw Aunt Mandy's request for an update, and realized that I haven't shared anything about our little guy in quite some time. He is a BIG talker, saying TONS of words:

Mommy (enunciated clearly, adorable, and of course my favorite), Daddy, Charlie, Elmo, dog, door, dance, bark, ball, bus, bird, books, blocks, bubbles, bees, bear, bug, duck, mess, banana, toys, truck, toes, car, mouse, cat, dog, cows are called "boo" for moo, "baa" for sheep, "roar" for lion, pool, shoes, cheese, house, paci, pig, plane, puzzle, no (of course), bye, and Hi (which he uses correctly to greet just about anyone he encounters). We also have the Little People Noah's Ark set, and he knows "Noah" - adorable. I'm sure there are a few others, but these are the ones I can remember right now.

He can identify his ears, nose, arms, toes, and belly button. Speaking of ears...we're going to be taking our first plane trip with Barrett to visit Grandma and Grandpa Wood in New Jersey in just a couple weeks; we want him to be able to watch a video on the plane, so we've been practicing with our earphones. He loves it - they're falling down a little in this picture, but you get the idea. DJ BMW?

Mad Men

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the best show on TV - the Season 3 premiere of Mad Men aired last night, and Matt and I were so excited that we decided to make a day of it.

We tried to adhere to the show as closely as possible within reason. We dressed in early 60's attire and ate 3 home cooked meals at a table that was actually set (I made pot roast for dinner, which was accompanied by "fine beer from Holland"). We did not, however, smoke cigarettes in bed, have affairs, set Barrett in front of the TV all day, or let him play with the dry cleaning bags. Some pictures from our day...

Fresh pancakes for Matt before church

Dressed for church - this was actually moderately embarassing at our church, the Village. We were by FAR the most dressed up people there, and my hair was flipped out like Peggy's.

Looking like a secretary. I didn't have the skills (or the bod) to make myself look like Joan.

Whipping up some lunch

The boys in their weekend wear - notice Matt's awesomely slicked back hair

Just mowing the lawn in khakis

The episode itself was fantastic. A little racy as far as the show usually goes (dang, Sal!), but thoroughly enjoyable - if you aren't watching it yet, I highly recommend you begin with season one and get yourself caught up.

Delilah (a mixed metaphor)

When Barrett was born, the very first thing that was said about him was, "Wow! He's got a full head of blonde hair." We were surprised and delighted by how distinctive he looked - all the nurses said that they had never seen such a full head of blonde hair before. I felt like he was special, somehow, because of it; and I remember the day we got home from the hospital, I found the passages in Judges about Samson.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Samson's mother and told her, "you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head" 13:5. And indeed, "the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him" 13:24.

Samson had preternatural strength, and the ability to defeat any enemy that came against him, but he revealed to Delilah: "A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man" 16:17.

Delilah betrayed Samson, and his strength was taken from him . . . Today, I betrayed Barrett.

I don't know what I was thinking. I've been trimming his hair here and there for months, but the goal has always been to keep it looking the same - I trim a little off the back and sides to avoid a mullet, and a little off the front when it gets in his eyes. The top had never been cut, and say what you will, he's always been the most adorably distinctive little boy. But this morning, for some reason, I thought that I should use the clippers - I was thinking that because he's so small, the longest guard would actually leave his hair fairly long. But of course, I'm an idiot and that was ridiculous - regardless of what guard is used, clippers are for SHAVING your head. He's still my precious Barrett, so handsome and sweet, but I fear that I've made him "like any other man."

The worst part of the experience for me was having to finish after I realized what I was doing. Like having to shoot an animal after you've accidentally struck it with your car. After the first swipe of the clippers, I could see that it was much, much too short, but I couldn't just leave a single shaved patch down the center of his head. My mom and Matt each got a taste of how upset I was. I had to stop half-way through because I was heaving with sobs. It took me nearly 20 minutes to pull myself together and finish the job.

So, without further ado...

For a girl who loves a good list...

Matt showed me this website and, of course, I love it. Just list as many countries as you can in 5 minutes - time starts immediately, so be ready, and make sure you're wise to the correct spelling. No points awarded for getting close - I wasted too many of my precious seconds trying to get Kyrgyzstan (left out the "z", predictably). Enjoy.

http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/view2/countries

One Year Old

There were too many cute pictures to choose from - here are a few highlights for those of you who missed out on the fun...

Had to do a birthday suit picture on his birthday A precious shot of Barrett blowing out his candle on Wednesday - his actual birthday
The Luau (for who now?!) on Saturday - Barrett's sandcastle cake that I had so much fun making.

The Pre-party family shot

Loving that cupcake - I know that when it comes to first birthdays, it's the messier the better, but we served up a minimally frosted cupcake to a half naked boy, and the clean up was a breeze. I highly recommend it, and it was still messy enough to be precious.

VERY stoked about this gift

I can't believe it's been a year already - we love our precious little boy! Thanks so much to everyone who helped us celebrate - Barrett had a great birthday, and he's busy wearing himself out on all his great new stuff