Into the Woods

Because it's been far too long...

2012-01-29T22:18:00.002-06:00

and they're far too cute. Here's Barrett dressed up as daddy
Love this look
And here's Caroline walking with her walker! She's getting so big, it's crazy. Make sure to watch until the end to see what life is like at home with Barrett (:o).

Milestones

2011-11-12T14:19:00.005-06:00

Barrett's big milestone this month was relinquishing the paci once and for all! He has only been using it for sleeping since he was 2, but he is now completely paci-free. After a couple rounds of trying in months past, this time Barrett successfully handed it over and has been sleeping like a big boy for almost 2 weeks. Very exciting.

Also, he has become quite the artist. He's a perfectionist so he always wants to get the details right - he'll always correct you if you try to draw a face without eyebrows. Here's the Hulk. Those are his fists. He's smashing.
And Caroline had a big one this month - on Friday she pulled herself to stand for the first time, and then did it several more times just for good measure. I had been working with her a ton because I knew she was close, then Matt got home from work and I ran upstairs for maybe 3 minutes when I hear cheering downstairs. I missed it. I was grateful that at least she continued to show off her new skill so that I could see it the second and third times. She's growing up so fast. I haven't gotten the video of her standing on the computer yet, so I'll just share some adorable pictures. There's no shortage of those around here.

Halloween

2011-10-31T22:05:00.003-05:00

Our kids are awesome. This pose was Barrett's idea. Love.

In keeping with the super hero theme, Caroline was Wonder Woman this year. Double love. Matt had a trick or treat at his office the Friday before Halloween (big fun), but Caroline's costume wasn't ready in time. I threw this together and it worked fine, but Matt was right when he said she looked like Wonder Woman if Wonder Woman was starring in a workout video from the 80's.

This was her completed costume. For the record, it fit perfectly and looked awesome. I somehow forgot, though, that infant costumes are kind of supposed to be comfortable.

So at T-minus 30 minutes, I figured out a way to make it more comfortable. Given the rush, I was pleased enough with how it turned out. Impossible not to make her cute, though, really.

Trick or Treating!

New Jersey!

2011-10-18T20:09:00.007-05:00

We had a super fun and much needed family trip last weekend to visit Grandma and Grandpa Wood in New Jersey. Caroline did great on her first plane trip, and both kids had so much fun all weekend (and so did Mom and Dad!). Thanks so much, Grandma and Grandpa, for showing us such a great time and for creating the most inviting home - we love being there and already can't wait to come back! Here are some shots of the kiddos with their grandparents...

Swinging with Grandma

Walking through the woods with Dad and Grandpa
We went back to the beautiful farm where we visited during our last trip. Barrett was loving it.

Hay ride!

Cute Kids

2011-09-17T15:22:00.001-05:00

No real reason to post. Just showin' off the kiddos and their growing friendship.

Motherhood

2011-08-19T22:32:00.002-05:00

I read this yesterday on John Piper's desiringgod.org and found it to be one of the most encouraging words on motherhood I've read. And I felt it was good enough to share - here's an abridged version:

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.

Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory...You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent...laying down your life for another - and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.

So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.

...Live the gospel in the things no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone.

Do's and Don't's

2011-08-16T13:15:00.002-05:00

I am often surprised and amused by the things I hear myself saying to Barrett. You'd think that some things would go without saying, but here's a partial list of some of the things I have actually had to tell Barrett not to do in the past week:

"Barrett, please don't....

-lick the counter (while checking out at The Gap)
-throw your Captain America shield at your baby sister
-give your baby sister a wet willy
-talk about your private parts at church
-tell a woman you just met that she is disgusting
-tell your mommy and daddy that you will "poop on us" if we say something you don't like

Update

2011-08-05T15:45:00.018-05:00

I am the worst about getting updates on the blog, but here's a peek at what's been happening around here...

We've been having the best (and the hottest) summer here at the Wood house. Caroline is growing SO fast - she's 95th percentile in both weight and height, so she's proportional, but big. In the past month or so, she has totally emerged as a talkative and happy girl. For the first several months, she was very, very serious, but she seems to be lightening up a lot and enjoying her summer right along with the rest of us. She's totally in love with Barrett and finds him hilarious - she laughs at pretty much anything he does (which he loves, too, of course). She's eating solids at two meals/day and she's still doing great with sleeping. Such an angel. As for Barrett, he's in full-on big boy mode. We've been going to the pool as much as possible. He's so daring and he loves his floaties.
Making little sister laugh before lunch time.
Fun in the tub with mom Matt is the funnest dad ever. Ever. We have some seriously lucky kids.
Now get ready to see the most adorable chubby baby picture ever...

I'm going to try to post more pictures on facebook. That's it for now. Enjoy.

Beautiful

2011-06-21T14:25:00.002-05:00

It's celebration Sunday this weekend at the Village, which means they'll be doing baptisms and celebrating new babies. Caroline is among them, so I thought I'd share the picture(s) of her we'll be sharing so that everyone can see and celebrate her sweet little life.

3 Years Old

2011-06-15T20:45:00.004-05:00

On June 10 we celebrated Barrett's 3rd Birthday!! Can't believe he's already three, but we did some super fun celebrating on his birthday and afterward. Here he is opening presents first thing in the morning on Friday.

Licking the batter for his birthday cake. Red velvet - tasted delicious, but looks disgusting in the pictures. He looks like a vampire.
The finished product.

On the morning of his birthday, we were able to visit the Coppell fire station and tour (read: climb all over) the fire trucks. Barrett was in heaven. He was so excited and the fire fighters were loving him.

On Saturday we had a little party for family, our home group, and a few of Barrett's closest friends. Fun with the pinata. Hitting something with a stick to produce candy - I can't imagine anything more perfect for Barrett.

And Barrett's favorite gift from his day... an Iron Man helmet from his Uncle Ryan. It. is. awesome.

Happy Birthday little man!!

May

2011-05-26T22:08:00.008-05:00

Aside from a nasty fall by Barrett (see Passport to Life's "Superhero Injury" for details), this month has been full of good times and adorable children. Just thought I'd post a few pictures to keep everybody up to date. First, little Caroline...

Happy Mother's Day to me!Ha, I love this pictures. Happy Birthday, Daddy!! This is the best one we got. Hilarious.
Her two month shot. She really isn't much for posing.
And Barrett... I LOVE these pictures of him at the park. So handsome.
and Clark Kent. He's wearing his Daily Planet press pass that his Grandma Wood made him. So fun - you're so creative, Grandma, we love it!

Sleep Well, Dallas. Your Streets are Safe...

2011-04-17T14:45:00.012-05:00

For the first two months of 2011, Barrett was obsessed with Rocky (as in The Italian Stallion). I can only imagine that his Rocky phase was to get him in shape for his true calling - a superhero. Most of Barrett's waking hours (and now sleeping hours thanks to Superman pj's) are spent as either Clark Kent, Superman, Batman, Peter Parker, Spiderman, Wolverine, the Incredible Hulk or any villain of the aforementioned heroes. Underneath his clothes, he usually has a Superman S, the Bat symbol or the Spiderman emblem painted on his chest. His preferred mode of transportation is flying - meaning I am to carry him horizontally while his arms are outstretched and I sing various theme songs.

Lately, Caroline made her first trip to Pottsboro to spend time with Angie's family and we had a visit from my mom.

Caroline is now 6 weeks old. In some ways it's been an incredibly fast six weeks and in other ways, incredibly slow. I don't know how Angie is able to handle the constant noise all day long. Anyway, isn't she pretty...

Back home

2011-03-23T13:52:00.005-05:00

Just thought I'd post a few more pictures of Caroline and Barrett from our first few weeks as a family of 4.

Barrett's a big fan of his little sister. He gets a little too excited at times, but overall, he's been amazingly sweet and gentle with her. The first time I put her in the play gym, he insisted on getting in with her to show her around.
Hugs.

In other BIG news - Barrett's potty trained!!! Here he is dancing with joy over his newest achievement in his big boy undies. I was probably a little crazy to try to potty train him with a 2 week old at home, but he seemed ready, and Spring Break seemed like the perfect opportunity. Definitely nice to have only 1 in diapers at a time.

This is from our first family walk. Barrett's wearing his new Cars shirt and hat that he got from Grandma Wood - thanks Grandma!! He LOVES them. He's actually napping in the hat as I type this.

Baby Caroline

2011-03-06T19:59:00.005-06:00

Baby Caroline was born last Tuesday, March 1 at 1:31 pm. She looks SO much like her big brother Barrett did when he was born. Here are a few pictures of our time at the hospital. More pictures of homecoming and early days at home to come...

Barrett was so excited to meet his sister. He's been incredibly sweet with her, and thankfully he's still excited about having her around.

So much love for my precious babies.

Getting Ready for Caroline

2011-02-04T19:45:00.004-06:00

A quick and long overdue blog post. Caroline Maureen Wood is scheduled to arrive in 3 1/2 weeks. I keep putting off a blog post about her nursery because it isn't completely finished yet. We're waiting on a project that my mom is working on to go over the crib, and I have some odds and ends to finish up as well, but here's a quick glance at what we've gotten ready so far.

Also, our amazing home group girls threw me a surprise baby shower last weekend. I was VERY surprised, and totally blown away by how sweet and thoughtful my friends are. Love these girls.

I'll try to get a better belly shot before Caroline comes - it's a little hard to tell in this picture, but trust me, I'm nice and huge.

Pictures and Rocky

2011-01-25T18:38:00.010-06:00

It's been a long time since we've had any real update on here. So, here you go...

Christmas (and visit from my (Matt's) parents):

Some other Barrett pics (and Charlie!):

Also, Barrett for some reason has become obsessed with Rocky. He watches the training montage from Rocky 2 daily. Before he caught a cold, he would go for daily runs around our block (about 0.5 miles) while making Angie or myself chase him like the kids chasing Rocky in the Rocky 2 scene. "Chase me like a kid!" He has taken to doing his variation of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, jumping rope and lifting weights - like Rocky. He also demands to wear a headband and sweatpants most of the time to be like Rocky. This video is his "training montage."

He's even crazier about it if there's no camera on him.

5 Years

2010-12-10T13:23:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been 5 years since this day.

Happy Anniversary to the most amazing husband, baby daddy, and friend I could have ever hoped for. Love love love.

Scallywag

2010-11-01T21:26:00.007-05:00

Barrett was a pirate this Halloween. He chose the costume for himself after watching Garfield's Halloween special and getting pretty excited about Garfield and Odie's pirate costumes. We had a very full weekend of festivities, so we were all about comfort this year. I was able to make his shirt, pants, and belt, and we just found a little pirate accessory pack to finish off the look. He's pretty handy with that sword.

Getting psyched...

Our first event was trick-or-treating at Matt's office on Friday afternoon (You'll notice that Barrett wasn't much for posing this Halloween - I did my best).

Playing with the horses outside Dad's office after plundering for candy.

Trunk or Treat with our home group at the Village Church on Saturday night - BIG fun. Our group's theme was "bun in the oven," so we did a kitchen theme with chef's hats and aprons

Barrett with Marissa and Andrew (aka: Danger) - I LOVE this picture - thanks, Marissa!!On Sunday, Barrett was a CHAMP at trick-or-treating. This was Dad's first year to get to come along, and it was fun getting to go as a family. We couldn't believe it, but Barrett was all about going up to people's doors by himself. He seemed like such a big boy as Matt and I watched him from the sidewalk, but he very politely waited his turn, said "trick or treat" and held out his bucket. A couple times, he ran back down to us afterward yelling, "I got some candy!!!" So adorable - I got one good shot of him at a neighbor's door.

Barrett Sings the ABC's

2010-09-24T15:03:00.003-05:00

I don't think we've posted a video of Barrett since he started walking (the video featured four or five steps followed by Matt saying, "holy"). That was around age 11 months. How far we've come - this is Barrett at 2 years and 3 months old. Nothing cuter than this.

Family Pictures

2010-08-23T21:02:00.005-05:00

We wanted to get some family shots before 3 becomes 4 -- and before I become too enormous. (I guess that statement serves as our official blog announcement that baby #2 is on the way! I don't think there's anyone who reads this who didn't already know that, but there it is again in writing, none the less. More to come on that later, though). Here's our little family to date...

I included this last one because Matt and I were both surprised to see how high he goes when we do this! Good thing we both have a good grip on him, I guess. Love love love my boys - so blessed.

Still Cute

2010-06-25T22:52:00.004-05:00

We just returned from Chelsea Brown's wedding shower where we had the priviledge of seeing Justin Wolfshohl (known to many of you as the author of the reknowned WJW). He asked if Barrett was still cute and expressed his concern about the lack of close up pictures of Barrett on the blog as of late. So, Justin, thanks for calling the problem to my attention and - yes - he is cuter than ever (if that's possible). Here's your proof.

The West Dallas Tigers Go to Houston

2010-06-19T13:35:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago I took my Little League team to Houston for a tournament against frighteningly superior competition. We performed better than expected but the box scores would look pretty embarassing to any outsider. On the bright side (depending on how you look at things), I got to share a hotel room with four hilarious kids all weekend.

My roommates: Reggie Rusk (4'5"), Claudie Perry (sporting a mohawk to which he kept applying baby oil), Cesar Sosa (I'm pretty sure he only came to get a free trip to Houston because this was the only time he's been with our team in the last month) and Jose Cortez (some kid from another team that only got to come because no one thought Cesar would show up).

Our room contained two double beds and a roll away bed for me. When discussing sleeping arrangements, the kids insisted that it was too "gay" for them to share a bed. However, the gayness seemed to only apply if they were sleeping vertically. One of them suggested they sleep head-to-toe, but Reggie was afraid he would accidentily wind up with someone's toes in his mouth during the night. After making fun of him for a while over that comment, they decided to sleep horiztontally on the bed - a move that apparently removed all possible gayness. The weird thing is that because sleeping horizontally afforded them a lot more room on the bed, three of them decided to share one bed together. I tried to make them aware of the fact that their new arrangement was probably the gayest arrangement of them all, but they immediately disregarded my input. Claudie came out the winner by getting a bed to himself the whole weekend.

A room favorite was telling "yo momma" jokes. One night after lights out, they stayed up "scoring" each other, as they liked to call it, for a good 45 minutes. However, these weren't memorized insults - they were freestyling. They were scoring each other with the best insults they could think of off the top of their heads. What followed was an endless string of poorly constructed and unfunny jokes. An example from the mouth of Jose Cortez - "your mama smells so bad...she smells like poop." Their jokes would generally illicit an eye roll from me, but a series of giggles from everyone else. About 20 minutes in, a couple of kids started to take offense to the jokes, so they proceeded to start each score with "someone's mama is so..."

The kids also loved the hotel pool. After a trip to the Astros/Cubs game, everyone begged to do some night swimming before bedtime. Claudie insisted, "i'm going to do like 16 cannon-balls and that's it!" He wore regular shorts, a collared shirt and socks in the pool. Watching 12 year olds play in the pool is vastly different than being at the pool with my peers. I think the longest anyone stayed in the pool before getting out to run and then jump back into the pool was 50 seconds. Reggie brought his own personal life vest. He wore it for a little while until he "remembered how to swim".

A couple of other humerous items...

One morning, while they were still in bed, Jose said to Cesar, "hey Cesar, I woke up last night and saw your mole and it scared me." Cesar has a medium sized mole on his upper lip. Jose didn't mean this to be rude. He was just merely letting Cesar know about it. Cesar didn't seem to take too much offense.

Black kids apparently love Axe body spray. They douse themselves with it before anything: a game, bed, lunch, the pool. Our room constantly smelled like someone spilled a bottle of cologne. Only one kid brought their Axe, so I constantly heard the phrase, "yo Michael, let me borrow yo Axe, bro!" followed by 10-12 seconds of aerosol spray.

Good times.

2nd Birthday

2010-06-14T14:32:00.004-05:00

Barrett turned 2 years old last Thursday! On his actual birthday, my mom came into town and took us to the Dallas Aquarium - it was pretty packed, but much neater than I expected and certainly a hit with Barrett.

On Saturday we had a little party for him with my family. My parents and Ryan and his family came down to help us celebrate

Barrett is obsessed with alligators (thanks Grandma Wood for all the great alligator presents!!), so I decided to try my hand at an alligator cake for him this year. It was my first time working with fondant, so I was a little nervous, but I was really pleased with how well it turned out.

Happy Birthday buddy!!

The Many Faces of Matt Wood: Wedding Guest

2010-04-17T13:55:00.009-05:00

I am probably the only person who finds this funny, but for some reason, I find it hilarious. Matt came to bed last night and asked, "Have you seen the wedding pictures from Travis and Lauren's wedding yet? ...It's a little awkward how many pictures I'm in." I had not yet seen them, but I just had the pleasure, and he was right. Apparently he was sitting in just the right spot for the photographer to catch him in the shot as the bridal party came down the aisle. It isn't the pictures themselves that are so funny, but the volume. This is only 5 out of many...

Am I the only one who thinks this is hilarious? If so, it is a result of my keen ability to detect awkwardness a mile away.

Fort Worth Zoo

2010-04-10T20:50:00.004-05:00

We took Barrett to the zoo for the first time this morning, and it was perfect! The Fort Worth Zoo is really incredible - Matt and I were both really impressed, and so was Barrett, naturally. Some pictures...

This picture makes me so happy. I love my boys so much.

Barrett's favorite animal is the alligator. He stood in front of this guy for several minutes stomping his feet and yelling, "Wake up, Alligator!"

Kangaroos

There's a fantastic bird enclosure filled with tiny tropical birds that will hop and fly right up to you. Barrett and Matt loved feeding them seeds - if you know me at all, you know that I was very jumpy in there.

Couldn't miss this, though; he was so happy in there, it was precious.

Snow Pictures

2010-02-21T17:25:00.004-06:00

So big

2010-01-29T14:28:00.002-06:00

Now that he's putting phrases and sentences together, he just seems like such a little boy. He likes to say "I love you," and he says "bless you, Mommy" after I sneeze. He says "thank you" any time I hand him something. My favorite, though, has got to be during our prayers - any time I pray now, he starts singing "Joy joy joy joy" (down in my heart). And I will look up at him and say, "where?" and he points to his chest and says, clear as day, "in my heart." Love love love this little guy.

Matt Wood, Sellout

2010-01-15T18:48:00.003-06:00

Not too long ago, I filled my ears with music by new artists that had not yet found their popularity. According to the wife, I was one of those people that turned their noses up at the thought "music on the radio."

As I sit here typing this post, I am listening to, and loving, Adam Lambert's "Whataya Want From Me." For those still too cool to know who he is, he is the 2009 American Idol runner-up. If you read those two previous sentences closely, you'll notice some sharp contrasts to the former version of myself detailed in the first paragraph.

I don't know what has happened to me. If you organize my iTunes playlist in order of "play count", you'll find "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga at #1, followed by a couple of Kanye West songs and more Gaga at spots #6 and #7.

I could blame it on the extra responsibilities I've taken on in the past couple years - getting married, having a kid, etc. But that's misleading and the easy way out. It probably started back in college - when I had multiple arguments trying to convince people that "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback was "an undeniably catchy" song.

I guess I just have to face the Lady Gaga music and realize I've changed. I've sold out. I've gone pop. I'm sorry I've failed all of you.

A Post That No One But Me Will Care About...

2010-01-09T22:45:00.004-06:00

Tonight, I am saddened. The Eagles lost their opening playoff game for the first time in the Reid/McNabb era. To top it off, the loss came to the Dallas Cowboys (a team I hate).

In the closing minutes of the game, I started to feel a sense of a nostalgia for Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. Most likely, they will be let go in the off season. The youth movement for the Eagles will prevail. Now, with all the young studs they have on their lineup, the transition should be smooth and the Eagles will most likely continue their winning ways. However, McNabb and Westbrook have been familiar faces to me over the past decade. I will miss them very much.

It's a time of change. Last year it was Brian Dawkins, now it's McNabb and Westbrook, and Sheldon Brown will soon follow.

Silly, I know, but I love my Eagles.

The Downside to Wearing Glasses...

2009-12-29T11:32:00.003-06:00

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

2009-12-23T17:57:00.004-06:00

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

2009-11-05T22:01:00.003-06:00

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

2009-10-19T12:30:00.004-05:00

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

2009-10-05T13:26:00.007-05:00

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)

2009-09-23T20:41:00.005-05:00

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

2009-09-14T10:28:00.010-05:00

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

2009-08-17T11:19:00.008-05:00

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)

2009-08-14T09:46:00.007-05:00

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...

2009-08-04T20:13:00.003-05:00

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

2009-06-14T17:05:00.009-05:00

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

Mr. and Mrs. Wood Go to Washington

2009-06-05T19:28:00.005-05:00

It was our first time to be away from Barrett (mine anyway, and certainly the longest time Matt has been away from him as well), but we had a fantastic time. Thanks so much to the Brocks for their above and beyond hospitality. Jon, also, gave us a lot of his time, and hosted a hilarious hang out at his place Friday night.

Trip Highs:

Watching Matt spend several minutes trying to close a broken umbrella in the pouring rain so he could get into a cab. Trevor, the cab driver, and I all watched and laughed hysterically.
Lunch at Lauriol - great salsa and margaritas
Dinner at Bobby Vans - awesome food, great conversations
"Dreamlining"
Walking by the White House in the evening with the Brocks
Holocaust Museum

Trip Lows:

Seeing the bus that was supposed to take us to the airport leave the bus stop as we were running after it with our bags. (We ended up having to take a 30 minute cab ride to Dulles)
Terribly sore feet - I should have just accepted that I'm now an old lady and worn sneakers, but I did not do this. I was practically limping by the end of each day.

An otherwise wonderful trip. Some pictures...

Matt and I in front of the White HouseFord's Theater. The infamous Presidential Box.

The Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Big teeth.

Us on the beautiful Georgetown campus

312 Months

2009-05-19T08:32:00.005-05:00

Barrett at 11 months...

And Daddy at 312!
Happy Birthday, Matt!!! I had Matt sit in Barrett's birthday month seat for this picture, and there's an excellent chance that this post will be deleted when he stumbles upon it, but here it is for now. I love you sweetie!

Proof!

2009-05-16T12:44:00.002-05:00

Hershel

2009-05-15T09:22:00.007-05:00

Barrett is (pretty much) walking! Matt has taken to calling him Hershel. I've been trying like crazy to get it on camera, but he's never been one to perform on cue. So far I can only capture him taking 5 or 6 steps at a time and then falling on his tush. I know that's still pretty good, but I'm trying to get a shot of him making it to where he's going before I post a video.

He also really loves to weave around the dining room table and chairs and have me chase him. He finds this game VERY exciting (as you can see), and it's incredibly cute.

Easter plus

2009-04-23T19:58:00.006-05:00

Some belated Easter pictures of Barrett.

We also took our second official family trip last weekend when we drove down to Clute to visit Mandy and Brian and our precious new nephew Gabriel. Both Barrett and Charlie did surprisingly well for the 5 hour car ride.

Thanks again, Lipscombs, for having us!

Barrett - As Seen on TV

2009-03-11T21:12:00.006-05:00

Barrett had himself a pretty big day today. He and mom prettied themselves up and went downtown to the Fox 4 studio to shoot a commercial! It's kind of silly, but we're feeling pretty excited about it.

My friend Krystle Gutierrez is a reporter for Fox 4 News (you can check her out on the morning show, and as a sometimes anchor on the midday show). So, Fox was doing a promo for the March of Dimes who has a race coming up in Dallas, and they needed a few babies with their mamas for the commercial. You'll get to see Krystle and her precious daughter, Katelyn, and also Barrett and I of course! The commercial should begin airing sometime next week, and will run up until the race, which is April 18th.

If you live in the Dallas area, you can be on the lookout for us - I am "candidly" playing with Barrett when I look up at the camera to say, "I'm marching for Barrett" (which I'm not - the only time I'll ever be on TV and of course I'm lying. Part of me actually feels the need to sign myself up for the race now). We had to do about a dozen takes, because our normally ebullient little man was totally dazed by the lights and cameras. He did a lot of blank staring and uncomfortable squirming. I, too, was pretty uncomfortable - I kept forgetting to deliver the line, so I was basically just sitting there on the floor in front of the cameraman playing with my son, occassionally looking up to awkwardly say the line. Hopefully he'll be a genius in the editing room, but if you see us and we look silly, you'll understand why. I'm rather famously awkward, you know.

After we filmed, Krystle gave us a tour of the studio and we got some great pictures

Barrett and I with Krystle and Katelyn at the news desk

Barrett the Anchorman

Elroy Matthew Wood?

2009-03-07T19:57:00.013-06:00

Is it just me or does Barrett look
an awful lot like Elroy Jetson?
I'm seriously considering this as
a Halloween costume down the line.

Just Because

2009-02-05T19:24:00.002-06:00

20

2009-01-30T17:06:00.002-06:00

Unlike everyone else on facebook, I only came up with 20 random things about myself, but here they are. I don't know how to tag people on facebook, so I thought I'd put them up here in case anyone is interested.

1. I eat some kind of candy almost everyday. Today it was Heath.
2. I love dancing with Barrett in the afternoon when I feel like we need to mix things up. I keep the blinds open in the off chance that someone might see us and smile.
3. Barrett's favorite word right now is "Meow" - if we're calling that a word.
4. On more than one occassion, I have told a random lie to someone in order to fill an awkward silence.
5. I have had 17 jobs in my life - that is, 17 different employers.
6. I have been fired from only 1 of those jobs - the summer I was a dog walker.
7. No one has ever thought that I in any way resemeble Liv Tyler, yet I have been told by 3 different people that I look like "Liv Tyler in Lord of the Rings" - which is to say, I look like an elf. It's to do with the ears, I know.
8. I am always looking for cotton candy scented candles, but I've never found them.
9. I'm almost 2 full years older than Matt, and I love the month of June, because it's the only time we seem like we're only a year apart.
10. In addition to my brother Ryan, I also have a half brother named Jeff who is 50.
11. I'm supposed to be good with grammar, but I always get confused about object pronouns - that vs. which.
12. I have a (probably unhealthy) need to know exactly how everyone feels about me - good or bad. I therefore really enjoy reading student evaluations every semester.
13. I used to want my name to be Emily
14. I recently threw my neck out hugging my son and it made me feel really old.
15. Matt and I really enjoy doing puzzles, and we've made "puzzle" a verb. We puzzle competetively.
16. My best friend, Courtney, and I are a perfect partnership when it comes to playing any kind of game that involves the giving of clues. Our 2 most impressive feats were successfully signaling "Hormones" and "butternut squash" during a game of CHARADES.
17. In high school, my friends and I used to walk around the hallways of Omni hotels to steal the little vases that come on room service trays.
18. I think that hand holding is really sexy
19. One of my biggest guilty pleasures is the OC. It comes on SoapNet and I try to watch it everyday. I'm on my 3rd time through the series, and I can't stop. I am also somewhat compulsive about pointing out to Matt every actor we see who was ever on the OC.
20. My absolute favorite food is fruit snacks.

-Angie

Inauguration Thought

2009-01-20T21:05:00.005-06:00

I understand the optimism that comes along with the inauguration of a new President. What I don't understand is how everyone already seems to be declaring Obama's presidency a success. A historic occasion? Yes. Has the man governed yet? No. Yet "change has come to America!" For all we know he could end up being one of the worst Presidents ever. Now, I wish him well (Mark Levin would slap me for saying that), but let's see how things go before everyone starts to call for the repealing of the 22nd Amendment.

The fanfare of it all has been enjoyable though (albeit excessive).

-Matt

All Things New

2009-01-15T16:31:00.003-06:00

Well, 4 things at least. Along with the New Year came 3 other new things specific to our little family.

1. We got a "new" car! My poor old Jeep was just tired out, and though I loved her terribly, it was time to say goodbye. So our new car is actually a 2007, but it's new to us! And we're very pleased. A seemingly random choice - it's a Mercury Mariner. (I have no idea how to insert a cute little link like others do, but you can see what they look like here: http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/mariner/gallery.asp?searchid=42644128125770205374986)

2. Barrett has teeth! His two bottom teeth are now plainly visible and he looks like such a big boy now when he smiles. Precious.

3. Matt started his new job. This one hasn't earned an exclamation point yet. We're thrilled that he is gainfully employed in the financial services industry in this job market, but he's still learning to love it. I'm terribly proud of him, though, and he's already making a name for himself there, it seems.

Family Pictures

2009-01-05T11:41:00.002-06:00

It's been way too long since I've posted, and there's lots of news, but first thing's first - here are some of the pictures we just got back from Barrett's 6 month photo shoot.

Santa Baby

2008-12-04T21:21:00.002-06:00

My mom took this picture this week, and it was just too cute not to make public.

Barrett also had a great time playing with his cousin, Dylan, at Thanksgiving. I can't believe that he is almost 5 years old. Anyone who was at our wedding may remember Dylan as our then tiny little ring bearer who barely made it down the aisle. It's looking like Barrett and Dylan are going to be great friends.

Big boy

2008-11-18T16:34:00.004-06:00

I was feeling anxious to post so that I could stop seeing the title: "I like you, here are my underpants" every time I checked the blog. So here are some big boy pictures of Barrett which will be much more fun for me to look at everyday.

Barrett turned five months old last week and I can hardly believe it. Here's his official five months pic - reclining in the chair like a tiny little old man.

And he just looks so big here; Matt especially likes this picture.
And I have to send out a very public THANK YOU to our wonderful friend Justin Wolfshohl (in addition to being the greatest friend ever, he also authors the best blog around: http://whyjustinwhy.blogspot.com/). Justin generously gave up his Friday night for us last weekend and became the first non-family member to give mom and dad a date night. He did awesome, and Barrett was all smiles when we got home. Matt and I were able to get out with another set of great and generous friends, the Latimers, who graciously shared their box seats at the Mavericks game with us. Praise God for such awesome friends.

I Like You, Here Are My Underpants

2008-11-08T19:59:00.003-06:00

I would like to examine the phenomenon of women throwing their underwear at celebrities.

Jerry Seinfeld once joked about the ridiculousness of men resorting to honking their car horns at women to get their attention, but doesn’t throwing underwear have to rank lower on the flirtation totem pole? What does this action even mean? The obvious guess is that the thrower wants to have sex with the intended recipient of said underwear. If this is the case, why is Tom Jones always the person you hear about this happening to? Angie thinks it’s because he wears tight pants and does lots of pelvic thrusts. But have you seen Tom Jones?

And I’m wondering about the logistics of the underwear throwing. Is the action pre-meditated – the ladies all bring along a special pair of undies to toss – or are there awkward scenes taking place at Tom Jones concerts everywhere, with ladies reaching up through pant legs and tearing their hose, so turned on by the thrusting that they can’t help but throw their underwear in a moment of pure lust?

And why doesn’t this happen outside of concerts? Don’t women lust in other places? It has to be something about musicians, because I know it surely isn’t happening to celebrities like this guy…

Who knows, maybe rednecks don’t wear underwear.

-Matt and Angie – a coauthored blog post.

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T17:29:00.003-05:00

Precious little pea-man. This picture is already framed and up on the wall. I love it. The Lambs and Latimers came by for some pre-Halloween pictures. Abby the pumpkin is a little pumpkin indeed! And Ryann looked ridiculously cute with her little pig tails, pom poms, and megaphone.

We had a special Halloween celebration at Itsy Bitsy Yoga before our work out.

Trick or Treating - he held his own little goody bag - I was so proud!!

I did it again...

2008-10-23T10:42:00.002-05:00

I'd like to make this public to help others avoid making the same awkward comment that I have recently made for the third - count it - first, second, third time.

Three times now, in an attempt to give a gal a compliment about her youthful appearance, I have created an awkward situation. I am somewhat famous for creating awkward situations, but I do like to avoid them whenever possible. How the scene plays out is: a woman tells me that she has a child who is X years old. I say, "wow, you don't look old enough to have a child that age." Instead of saying "thanks!" like I expect her to, she then becomes uncomfortable and tells me that she had the child when she was 14, 15, or 17 respectively. It's especially awkward if this person is your boss.

I am somehow amazed that I've managed to do this three times without learning my lesson. I'm reminded of a time when I told Katie Noble that I had just eaten 3 oranges. She said, "it's not that eating three oranges is that crazy - it's that after having eaten 2 oranges, you might say to yourself, 'I think I'll have an orange'"

-Angie

Happy Birthday!

2008-10-19T13:31:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday 10/17 to the lovely and delightful Courtney Greenberg. Hope you had a great time in New York - happy day!

Happy Birthday 10/18 to my new little niece - Mckenzie Lyn Ridenour! 8 lbs, 1 oz - Couldn't be happier for you, Ryan and Joey! Congratulations!!!

For Justin, An Opinion Post

2008-10-16T11:57:00.001-05:00

id·i·o·path·ic: adj. Of, relating to, or designating a disease having no known cause.

I think that the term "idiopathic" should be something of an embarassment to the medical community. Of course, it's only reasonable to acknowledge that not everything can be known. There is research yet to be done, and there are some things we just don't know yet. My particular beef with the term idiopathic, though, is that it seems like it's trying to hide its own meaning. It sounds like a word that a knowledgeable person would know, yet it actually works to cover up a lack of knowledge. I assume that a doctor doesn't want to say, "um, yeah, we don't know why you're having migraines," so he says, "you're having idiopathic headaches" - as though that were a satisfactory diagnosis.

I have a similar problem with the notion of an exclusionary diagnosis. I'll put a finer point on that and talk about SIDS. First of all, it's the syndrome that dare not speak its name for any parent of infants, so I hardly dare type it, but I think about it all the time, so I may as well mention it here. We don't know what causes it. The name, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, itself should be an embarassment - our diagnosis: your infant has suddenly died. And we don't know why, we just know what didn't cause it.

I accept that modern medicine has its limits, but let's call a spade a spade.

-Angie

Four Months

2008-10-12T11:01:00.002-05:00

The official four months shot
Getting ready to start eating solids! He loves his booster seat.
Fun in the big bath tub for the first time. We probably won't return until he's sitting on his own a little better, but it was good fun.
Justin has requested an opinion post, and Matt and I are both trying to come up with suitable topics. Suggestions welcome, but I promise, an opinion post is forthcoming.

Three Months Old

2008-09-20T13:08:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how big he is getting!

June 10, 2008

July 10, 2008

August 10, 2008 September 10, 2008

Game Days - Dad has been REALLY excited about watching his Eagles with Barrett. A couple game day shots...

The Eagles Onesie

The Pool!

2008-09-05T18:30:00.003-05:00

Thanks to my very favorite friend Courtney and her family's pool, Barrett got in one good swim before the end of the season. He's still not sure how he feels about it, but it was good summer fun.

future's so bright...

-Angie

What Year is It???

2008-09-02T18:58:00.001-05:00

Today, Beverly Hills 90210 premieres in prime time and New Kids on the Block release a new CD.

Hmmm.

- Matt

Horsey Sleeper

2008-08-30T17:55:00.002-05:00

Possibly the cutest thing he's ever had on his little body. Thanks Nana!

He's loving it...

But he's had enough of the camera for now. Love those bottom lips.
-Angie

Two Months Plus

2008-08-20T21:40:00.004-05:00

I feel bad that I haven't posted pictures for a while, so I'll throw up some recent pictures before I head off to bed. I go back to work tomorrow (tear) and I'm sure I'll have more to say about that soon. Barrett's looking forward to spending time with Grandma Ridenour, though, while mom's at work!

Two Months pic:

First pair of shoes that actually fit him
Yay! Another naked picture...I know he'll hate me, but I can't help myself. At least he's covered in this one.

Big smiles

Little smiles

The obligatory bathtub mohawk pic

And my favorite - Mischevious smile with Charlie in the background.

Baby Talk

2008-08-08T18:08:00.003-05:00

I have always felt a little awkward around babies and young children. I struggle with knowing what activities and topics of conversation are age appropriate, so I tend to interact with my 4 year old nephew in roughly the same manner as I interact with his 30 year old mother. So Matt forwarded these to me, and I found them amusing.

-Angie

"On Children"

2008-08-07T15:48:00.007-05:00

I've been loving this for months and I just thought I'd share it. The first part used to be the most meaningful to me, but the last part has been resonating with me a lot recently - particularly remembering to "let [my] bending in the archer's hand be for gladness"

"On Children"

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Kahlil Gibran, from The Prophet

Angie

Like Father Like Son

2008-07-17T14:00:00.003-05:00

We've discovered that Barrett, like his father, knows a hot beat when he hears it. I put two and two together today...he's long been a fan of listening to "My Humps" with dad, and yesterday another piece of the puzzle fell into place when, during a record breaking crying spell, he stopped only long enough to hear the intro to "Run's House."

So about an hour ago we hopped on itunes together, and it's amazing - he's calm for hot beats, and fusses over boring songs. As I type, he's on my lap, absolutely fast asleep with hip hop music blaring at near club volume.

Our lullaby playlist includes:
Jay-Z, Dirt off your Shoulder
Justin Timberlake, Summer Love
Paperboy, Ditty
P.Diddy, Mo Money Mo Problems
...and of course - Run DMC, Run's House

Despite his love of old school hip hop, he does NOT care for Run DMC's "It's Tricky." Don't even try to sneak it in there.

-Angie

One month old

2008-07-11T13:49:00.003-05:00

No big news, Barrett is still eating and growing like a champ, and is now weighing in at 9 lbs, 12 oz. (up from 8 lbs, 3 oz just 2 weeks before) Here are some more pictures of our precious little man...

Daddy loves Barrett

Aunt Mandy and Uncle Brian came to visit over the Fourth of July
First tub bath!
And the naked shot!
He'll love that one when he gets older.

Long Overdue Update

2008-07-03T09:13:00.005-05:00

We're just past the 3 week mark and I haven't posted a Barrett update in weeks. He's doing AMAZING. I'm averaging about 5 hours of sleep each night, and I made it up to 6 and 1/2 one night this week! He's nowhere near sleeping through the night, of course, but he has established a consistent routine of at least sleeping AT night. Huge step.

We're crossing our fingers that it's just been a fussy week and he isn't developing colic - the past few nights he's cried from about 7pm to 12:30am, stopping only to feed. Poor Matt, the only time he gets to hold the baby during the week is when he's screaming. We're all over "the five S's" though, and they seemed to help last night. (Thanks Ashley and Meredith for loaning us the book and DVD! For you non-moms and dads out there, The Happiest Baby on the Block - make a mental note). The single most effective sleep aid for little Barrett, though, is dancing with his daddy to "My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas...adorable.

I'm able to make this post this morning because Barrett has finally developed a liking for his swing. He surprisingly prefers the fastest setting - it looks like he's going to fly out of there, but we just latch him in and he's out like a light.

The kiddos playing together. Charlie has been surprisingly gentle and calm with her little brother.
Grandma and Grandpa Wood came to visit.

Barrett's first major outing - Trevor's wedding in Comfort, TX. Congratulations Trevor and Kathryn!!! The wedding was beautiful, and we couldn't be happier for the new Brock family. (More pictures from the weekend are likely to follow) Barrett did as well as could be expected and he made lots of new friends and admirers.

Jon and Jason at the Ranch

Mrs. Brock and Trevor's Grandma before the rehearsal dinner.
Dad at the wedding - thank God, no spit up on the tux.

Our Little Man!!

2008-06-16T12:25:00.005-05:00

It's taken me a lot longer than I had intended to get some pictures up, but as you can imagine, it's been pretty crazy around here. A brief rundown of events since the last post - we checked in to the hospital on Monday night, officially began induction on Tuesday morning, 14 hours of labor, and we had Barrett!

Getting ready to meet our son

Seven pounds, one ounce, and a crazy surprising head full of long blonde hair. All of the delivery and nursery nurses said that they had never seen a head of hair like that.

Daddy and his boy

Mommy's little angel man

More daddy time

The car ride home

That brings us to our homecoming on Thursday. I'm hopelessly in love. I'll get some week one pictures up soon, but Barrett's crying in the other room so I've got to run!

Angie

Parenting Lesson in Patience #1

2008-06-06T09:28:00.004-05:00

It is June 6. That means that June 5 - Barrett's due date - has come and gone. We're scheduled to induce on Tuesday morning if he hasn't come on his own by then, but I'm hoping against hope that he'll show up before then. I am very very ready. Let's do this thing, kid.

Happy Birthday Matt!!

2008-05-19T09:10:00.004-05:00

Today my handsome and wonderful husband is 25! In an attempt to shower him with birthday love both publicly and privately, I've decided to share some of my favorite things about my Matty here on the blog. In no particular order, the first things that come to mind include...

1. His quick wit
2. The fact that he laughs out loud when something is funny on television
3. The way he likes to show me the book he is reading to let me see how many pages he has read since the last time he showed me.
4. His professed fear of giraffes, which we can only assume stems from this early incident -

5. That after he has been surprised or scared by something unexpected, he gets a sour look on his face and says, "I didn't like that."
6. His abilities in the kitchen - namely omelettes (though he's great with all breakfast foods) and sliders.
7. His goodness and integrity. I mean by "integrity" more than just a moral soundness, but the notion of being in a consistent and genuine state - an integrity of self - being the same person all the time and in all situations. There is nothing false or misleading about him.
8. The fact that he LOVES the movie, A League of Their Own, and knows pretty much every line.
9. The heart he has for the kids on his baseball team
10. His super manly voice and facial hair

And on and on and on. Happy Birthday Matt!!

-Angie

WDLL Astros - Game 2

2008-05-10T16:18:00.006-05:00

Opponent: West Dallas Red Sox

Score: 3-12 (Red Sox win in 4 innings)

It didn't turn out well today for our Astros. I sensed it was going to be a rocky afternoon when only 2 of our players showed up by the time our game was actually supposed to start. After a delay of 40 minutes, we finally had enough kids to field a team.

We were up first and loaded the bases pretty quickly. Things were looking up. Unfortunately, that's where they stayed and we were retired with 3 straight strikeouts. Oh well.

Fred Kirk (pictured below) started the game today, and it was disastrous. Coach Nathan and I used every cliche in the book - "just play catch" or "rock & fire" -but Fred just couldn't pull himself out of it. He only recorded one out in the first inning before the Red Sox scored the maximum amount of runs allowed - 5. Inning number 2 didn't go much better. Fred was pulled after giving up 4 more runs without recording an out.

Then the new guy, Raymundo (last name currently unknown), took the mound. 1,2,3. Jackpot. Raymundo pitched well the rest of the game, and we made some pretty nice plays in the field.

We made a late comeback by posting 3 quick runs in the 4th, which included one of the worst slides into home I've ever seen (DeAunte pictured after slide). We found ourselves with the bases loaded once again, but we failed to get any of them in.

We'll get 'em next time.

- Coach Matt

The Tour

2008-05-08T14:46:00.008-05:00

My semester officially ended on Wednesday when I posted final grades! And though the last few days have been one kick in the pants after another with angry emails from disgruntled students, I have actually managed to get quite a bit accomplished on the house. So, as promised, I have some more pictures so that you can all watch in amazement how slowly we manage to get things in order around here.

The Backyard -

Matt gets every last bit of credit for this. It's still a work in progress, but parts of it are starting to look nice.

This picture does not show what an overwhelming undertaking that flower bed was. It was an entire afternoon of intensive labor for Matt - and four tiny shrubs to show for it - but they'll grow (we're told)!

And a really pretty flower that just bloomed this week. It's gorgeous - even Charlie likes to look at it.
The Nursery -

Here's the crib, and the painting that Mandy created for Barrett - we love it!

These curtains were my big project - I couldn't find matching ones so I made these, and I was pretty pleased with how well they coordinate with the bedding.

The Living Room

Front family room - believe it or not, this is tremendous progress. We FINALLY have the hardwood IN our house. It has yet to be installed of course, but we're told that will happen next Wednesday. Fingers crossed.

Downstairs guest bathroom

Upstairs guest bath - another huge undertaking. It took me a month to peel all the wallpaper down, and I finally got it painted and got some stuff in there. Ready for all the new grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends to come stay!

And our bathroom

That's the tour for now. Hopefully my future posts will be more frequent and thought provoking now that I'm done with school for a while.

-Angie

WDLL Astros - Game 1

2008-05-01T22:45:00.007-05:00

Opponent: Carrollton Little League Braves
Score: 5-12 (Braves win in 4 innings)

The most (in)famous franchise in West Dallas history kicked off its 2008 campaign this evening in Carrollton. Kendrick Evans (pictured above) got the opening day nod and delivered 3 solid innings of work. He started off a little wild in the first (walking at least 6 batters), but settled down and began to consistently find the strike zone. You might be wondering, how could I call his performance "solid" after giving up 12 runs? Well, take a look at the first and second basemen in the picture above. Is that what you would call ready positions? I stopped counting after the 10th error by our infield (5 by shortstop Sergio Facundo alone).

Our lackluster performance at the plate didn't really help much either. We only had 3 hits the whole night - Kendrick (RBI triple), Ernan Molina (infield single) and DeAunte Vickers (double).

Interesting side notes:

- DeAunte is 11 years old and at least 5'8", 160 lbs. I would like to see this kid's birth certificate.

- A portly fellow named Jose Castro for some reason felt the need to try and steal a base even though I explicitly told him not to. Normally I wouldn't mind too much, but you would probably need a calendar to clock this guy's speed.

Even though it sounds otherwise, I was proud of our team tonight. We played a tough team after only having 4 practices and hung in there. Things are looking positive for the Astros (especially since we are in the process of signing up a ringer).

Season Record: 0-1

-Coach Matt

Cash Rules Everything Around Me

2008-04-25T19:49:00.002-05:00

Aside from God, money is arguably the most controlling force in the world. Most of our money is spoken for before we even touch it. In fact, I don’t even get to touch most of it since I rarely use cash. So actually, my life is dictated by bills, plastic cards and an account balance displayed on a website. The frustrating thing about money is that it’s necessary. This world does not work without some sort of monetary system, whether it be paper bills, coins or the tradable value of a good or service.

“How much does it cost?” Is there anyway to escape this burdensome question? Probably not. I could turn to sustenance farming, but then I’d have to come up with the cash to purchase land, farming equipment, crop seeds, some animals and a ton of “How To…” books. It even costs money to found a lifestyle based upon the principle of sustaining your own existence!

Even if we survived those immense start-up costs, realistically I’d only master the production of one or two crops. Who wants to live off the same two vegetables for the rest of their life? As it is, I get tired of eating turkey and roast beef sandwiches for lunch everyday. At least making money affords me variety.

It’s a gift and a curse I guess.

- Matt

ps. You can thank those insightful street prophets the Wu-Tang Clan for that great title.

Saturday Afternoon Stroll

2008-04-21T21:25:00.003-05:00

We took advantage of the beautiful day on Saturday by taking a leisurely walk along the canal.

- Matt

I Hate Local Weathermen

2008-04-17T19:37:00.002-05:00

This is not a very interesting post, but I need an outlet for my frustration, as I've already complained to Angie enough tonight. During days of "extreme weather", local weather forecasters really piss me off (or if you watch Family Guy - grind my gears). Why do they need to completely interrupt my Thursday night TV? It's not enough that they break in every now and again to give updates, now they monopolize the airwaves for continuous hours. Why can't I watch my 30 Rock while they run text updates at the bottom of the screen like they used to? No one needs continuous weather updates. At most they need updates every 20 minutes (and that's only during the most extreme of circumstances).

No one likes you weathermen. Stop interrupting my TV and find real jobs.

Welcome Home

2008-04-02T14:44:00.005-05:00

We're finally starting to get situated in the new house, so I thought I'd share a few pictures for those of you who haven't seen it yet. We still have quite a bit of work to do with decorating and unpacking; we're having hardwood floors put in the living and dining rooms next week, Matt has begun his attack on the back yard, I'm working on re-doing the guest bathroom, and there's lots of furniture yet to buy, but we're off to a great start.

Just pulled up to the house on moving day.

I felt completely useless on moving day since I'm technically not supposed to lift anything heavy; we disagreed a good bit about what constitutes "heavy." Charlie was curious about the truck, so my job mostly involved keeping her out of the way. Thankfully my parents, Trevor, and Mark were all there to help. Thanks!!

The stairway and living room

LOVE our new kitchen

Matt fulfilled his rite of passage into fatherhood and assembled the crib

More pictures will be forthcoming as rooms become presentable.

Don't Mess With McCain

2008-04-01T18:58:00.005-05:00

After spending some time today reading one of my favorite "blogs", The Caucus: The New York Times Politics Blog, I've come to the conclusion that it's not in anyone's best interest to insult John McCain....

From McCain's speech at his former high school...

“I was always the new kid, and was accustomed to proving myself quickly at each new school as someone not to be challenged lightly. As a young man, I would respond aggressively and sometimes irresponsibly to anyone whom I perceived to have questioned my sense of honor and self-respect. Those responses often got me in a fair amount of trouble earlier in life. In all candor, as an adult I’ve been known to forget occasionally the discretion expected of a person of my years and station when I believe I’ve been accorded a lack of respect I did not deserve."

From David Letterman's recent monologue (about John McCain prior to McCain guesting on the show)...

“He looks like the guy at the hardware store who makes the keys. He looks like the guy who can’t stop talking about how well his tomatoes are doing. He looks like the guy who goes into town for turpentine. He looks like the guy who always has wiry hair growing out of new places. He looks like the guy who points out the spots they missed at the car wash.’’

Now, how well do you think McCain took these jabs?

I reach one conclusion from these excerpts:

I'm sure McCain was a good sport while the tape was rolling, but i guarantee he tried to rip Letterman's throat out backstage.

-Matt

OBAMA

2008-03-18T21:22:00.005-05:00

I so badly want to write in depth about the whole Obama/Rev. Wright business. However, I lack the necessary training in brevity and coherence to tackle this subject effectively.

If you've been following the news lately, Rev. Wright, the pastor of Obama's church, has made some pretty inflammatory comments about America over the years. Is this enough cause for the American people to reconsider their feelings about Obama's character?

To what extent should the pastor of your church be a reflection of your own beliefs/morals? Only in politics would the two be so inseparable. But you are who your friends are, right? By choosing to become a member of a church, you are accepting its leader as a strong influence on your life. Where does the influence stop? Do you only connect with that person on spiritual matters? Or do you connect with them on political matters as well?

Although, I am inclined to believe your pastor should be a good representative of your character, in Obama's situation, I don't believe this to be true. Obama appears to be very genuine and to say these two guys are one in the same is to call him a phony, and I just don't think that's the case.

For those of you who haven't watched his speech today on the topic of race, click on the link below and enjoy. It's very good.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/obamas-speech-on-race/

-Matt

Burnin' & Lootin'

2008-03-06T16:14:00.004-06:00

Just had an interesting conversation with the wife…

Let’s say that you found yourself in the middle of a riot. How strong would the peer pressure be in this kind of a situation? I know that most of our readers probably have a sound value system in place and realize rioting is wrong. But isn’t there a little something in all of us that would want to participate? And if so, to what extent? Mob mentality can be a tricky thing. We have a friend who was once amidst a mob of sorts and he literally looked a girl straight in the eye and proceeded to step on her, even though she was trapped under a barricade. In his defense, he was caught in the middle of a forceful crowd and had no other choice…or did he?

So back to the question, if you found yourself in the middle of a riot, would you participate?

1) Would you loot anything from a store that was already being raided?
2) Would you burn anything?
3) If it came to it, would you try to inflict bodily harm on someone else?
4) Would you aid others in flipping over a car?
5) Would you break or deface any public property?

My answers:

1) Yes – But I don’t think I could steal any “expensive” items.
2) No – I don’t think I have it in me to commit arson.
3) Maybe – There’s no telling what’s going to go down in a riot. If I have to protect myself or my loot, it could happen.
4) Yes – Not a strong yes, but I would strongly consider it. When else would you have that opportunity?
5) No – Although, if someone has already thrown a brick through a store window, it can’t really be too big of a deal if another one gets tossed through trying to knock out the rest of the glass the first guy missed

-Matt

Naught to Haute

2008-02-25T21:23:00.002-06:00

As I sat down to write this post, I was accused of the same character trait I was about to condemn – haughtiness. After minutes of reflection, I realized that this statement is probably accurate. It appears that out of my fear of sounding stupid, I overcompensate with a lofty writing style. Since my spoken words are often such a meandering mess, I tend to inject a bit of formality in my writing in hopes of receiving a “well put” from time to time. Since the accuser is an English professor at SMU, I’ll do my best to adhere to her suggestion and avoid crossing into the tacky world of over-writing.

Returning to the original intention of this post, last night’s Academy Awards had me thinking about intellectual snobbery (as found in others). There Will Be Blood was one of the most critically acclaimed films (that’s what smart people call movies) of the year. Can someone tell me why? This movie is like the ugly piece of art that everyone loves for fear of not-seeming “cultured” enough to understand it.

-Matt

You didn't hear this from me...

2008-02-21T18:00:00.005-06:00

Angie desires “Into the Woods” to be a co-authored venture. I will make the effort to participate and lend the occasional opinion, however it makes me a tad nervous. Deniability and publishing do not go hand-in-hand. By nature, I tend to make definitive statements before solidifying my supporting argument. Subsequently, as holes in my reasoning are uncovered, I become filled with regret (and embarrassment) for making the statement in the first place. Those feelings do not lend to building my self-confidence.

So why make such statements on a family blog? Flair, spice, entertainment – take your pick. I am doing this for you, the reader (and for Angie). So on occasion, hopefully I'll write something worth reading, worth thinking about and worth commenting on. If your comments create the aforementioned feelings within me, I'll promptly delete the post and deny its existence.

-Matt

Here We Blog

2008-02-20T16:44:00.012-06:00

I suppose we're officially bloggers now. I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a few (somewhat) recent pictures; hopefully, more interesting posts will follow.

Whisper Valley Ranch -October 2007

London - May 2007

The Honeymoon - December 2005