Catching Up

We've had a great time celebrating Jacoby's third birthday. Now we're in catch-up mode before Grandma Pam & Grandpa Bill arrive next week and we celebrate Morgan & Justin!

Words can't really describe how busy Justin is and how much he has on his plate right now. But he's trucking along doing the best he can. We're considering having the boys go to school an extra day during the week until Justin's comprehensive exam is done at the end of April to give him some extra study time. In the meantime, Grandma Pam is coming to save the day and decided to extend her stay through the second week of March. We're really grateful for the help and extra pair of hands. We try really hard to not let the stress we have in our own lives trickle down to the boys, but I think they know when things are too busy and crazy.

Work has been busy for me and I'm already into planning mode for our May board meeting which will be in Portland, OR this time around. We've got a wine tour/tasting event planned for one of the evenings which should be a lot of fun. I'm also sporting my first-ever black eye, and while I wish I could say that I got it from taking brother-in-law Mark down in a game of touch football, it really happened last Friday when Jacoby and I bonked heads while playing. We were both stunned for a moment and then he carried on unharmed and I woke up the next morning with a bright purple streak under my eye which is now turning a lovely yellowish-green color!

I brought birthday treats to Jacoby's class on Tuesday to celebrate his birthday. It was fun to spend some time with his classmates, all of whom are super cute. They held a science fair at the school last week. Morgan's class displayed their growth charts so parents could see how much they've grown since the start of the school year. Jacoby's class showed off germs they've been growing in petri dishes (which are totally gross, by the way). It was a great project for the preschoolers because I think it really helped them understand what germs are and how dirty their hands are if they don't wash them!

Morgan is walking and very busy. He is climbing everything and it seems like there is nothing that is off limits in the house. Aunt Linda sent Jacoby an Elmo for his birthday, and while both boys really love him, Morgan is very enthralled with him. He's actually quite life-like and very fun. One of the things Morgan has gotten really good at is stealing Baby and Other Pooh whenever Jacoby leaves them unattended (which is probably why he's packing them around so much lately). It didn't take him long to learn that it is a great way to get a loud reaction out of his big brother. So in these videos you'll see that they worked out a game so to speak, and then you'll also see what happens when Morgan changes the rules. (:

How Jacoby gets on Mommy & Daddy's bed

Guess who can do it too? I know, I know, I should have been redirecting the behavior at this point, but I was secretly relieved that just maybe the boys have inherited a tiny bit of their dad's athleticism. (:

Happy Birthday Jacoby Brandt!

Jacoby's Third-Year Facts & Figures

Due Date: Feb 27, 2007
Birth Day: Feb 23, 2007, 6:14 pm
Birth Stats: 9 lbs, 11.6 ou, 22 inches
Current Stats: 33 lbs, 36.5 inches

Likes:
playing with Morgan, taking baths with Morgan, making Morgan laugh, eating fruit & monkey bread, reading, singing, driving trucks, playing fireman, running outside, watching truck videos, going for rides in the car, painting, coloring, visits from grandparents & family, cooking & trips to the library with Mommy, reading the visual dictionary & wrestling with Daddy

Dislikes:
flossing, brushing teeth, being cold when bath time is over, Morgan stealing Baby & Other Pooh

Third Year Accomplishments:
became a big brother, learned how to do jigsaw puzzles, memorized lots of songs, started preschool, transitioned to a toddler bed, rode a train, mastered using the potty, started helping in the kitchen, started putting dishes & milk away after his meals, learned many things about animals like what they eat, where they live and whether or not they are "danger", became a little more outgoing, visited two fire stations, learned how to swing a bat, learned how to pedal a trike

Daddy's Reflections About Jacoby:
Daddy loves Jacoby's fun-loving nature and his toddler logic.

Mommy's Reflections About Jacoby:
Jacoby has brought incredible joy into our lives since the day he arrived. We are so blessed by his caring nature, his sense of humor, and the conversations he carries on with us. He's extremely bright and perceptive. I love how much he loves Morgan and how he welcomed Morgan into his life so easily one year ago. He's accomplished many things during year three, and we're excited to see what's in store for our guy over the next year.

Birth Day

So new

4 Weeks

15 Weeks

6 Months

1 Year

15 Months

2 Years Old


2 Years +

3 Years Old

Jacoby's Birthday Party

We had such a fun birthday party for Jacoby today. We met our friends at the fire station for a tour which all of the kids seemed to really enjoy. The fireman gave a great tour and we learned a lot about the trucks, all of the different equipment, and how the fire department runs (most of us were jealous that their kitchen is nicer than ours!). The kids enjoyed sitting in the trucks and ambulance, and they even got to ring the bell on one of the trucks. The fireman did fire up the big engine and it was super noisy, so they weren't as crazy about that part but were quite fascinated with being able to touch and interact with these big, shiny trucks. The fire station was really cool and a great way to start off our party for Jacoby. He was quite proud that the fireman knew he was turning three, and he also wore his fireman jacket because he was sure that the fireman would really want to see it. (:

We came back to Jacoby's house and made pizzas for lunch. The kiddos enjoyed eating their projects along with "flame" jello. Next came the big sing-a-long and Jacoby blew out all three candles on his cake like a pro. We decided to make a non-traditional birthday treat for our non-cake eating birthday boy, so I made monkey bread (his favorite food ever) and topped it with a mini fire engine, two fireman, and three candles. It was a hit and enjoyed by all. We gave our friends fireman hats, firetruck cookies, and firetruck tattoos for the party favors.

Jacoby got a couple of really neat gifts from his friends. He also got a cool firetruck from Morgan (I actually rescued it from the thrift store and then promptly forgot that I had stashed it in the basement almost a year ago!), a great race track from Grandmanette & Grandpa Michael, and a fire station from Mommy & Daddy. His cousins Des and Jax sent a fun firetruck fort that the kids enjoyed at the party as well. It was a great celebration!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We marked this special day with cinnamon rolls and a new animal encyclopedia (thanks to the bargain bin at the bookstore). We attempted a photo shoot, but you know how well those usually go! Mommy & Daddy actually went out for a dinner date last night for the first time in forever. We're swapping date night with friends and now that there are four kids involved us moms are just coming over to stay while the kiddos are asleep. So, we enjoyed an evening out and enjoyed good food that was hot and uninterrupted!

Morgan is very close to walking and cruises just about everywhere. His teachers are betting that it will be by March 1st! He's also eating regular food like a pro and recently decided spaghetti and blueberries are new favorites. We've also noticed Morgan taking a new interest in books and Elmo.

We're counting down to the start of our birthday extravaganza over the next couple of weeks. Jacoby's birthday party is next weekend and we're all very excited to celebrate his special day with a couple of friends. More details to share on that later. After watching a few minutes of ski jumping on the Olympics, Jacoby announced to us that he wants to ski! Oh, my. We're officially potty trained at home! He's doing a little better at school but we're still working on getting comfortable there. It won't be long, I'm sure.

Thursdays are garbage truck days down here. We're usually out the door and on our way to school by 7:15 am on those days, and Jacoby is always hopeful that we'll see garbage trucks out and about. We rarely see them since it's early so I usually have to tell him that the garbage trucks are still parked in the garage and haven't started their day yet. That's worked for a few weeks, but this past Thursday he wanted to know where the garage was for the garbage trucks (and of course I didn't know)! So, we're taking a little field trip tomorrow to see the garbage truck station. Our friends are all very lucky that we're not dragging them to the garbage dump for a birthday party! It was a very close second to fire trucks! That's about it for the week. We hope you all have a special day today!

Life on the Funny Farm Resumes

We're off to a normal, healthy, happy week...thank goodness! Everyone is better and back to their normal schedules/routines. We enjoyed time out in the snow this weekend along with some painting and reading.

It's officially "go time" to study for comps in Justin's world, so we didn't see much of him this weekend and I have a feeling it will be like this for awhile. But it's all for a good cause and helps get us closer to being done with school.

Morgan is getting a whole mouth full of teeth right now, so he goes between gnawing on everything and being fussy (or a "fuss bucket" as Jacoby and I call him). He's not as in to practicing walking this week as he was last, but that probably means he's going to take off running here one of these days. He's such a sweet little guy. Whenever he gets into trouble and we have to redirect him, he hangs his head and cries now! He's also starting to figure out the spoon and how to put it in his mouth.

Jacoby has a new stack of truck and firetruck books from the library that he's been reading non-stop for the past couple of days. We're talking more about his upcoming birthday and his party (Mommy is now going to be 3 (: ). His teachers sent home a project with each of the kids and one part of it has us talking about what makes him special. Jacoby told Justin that he was special because he likes crackers and Morgan. (: He's giving Play-Doh Valentines to his friends at school this week. Who knew you could get Play-Doh in tiny red, white, and pink containers just for Valentine's Day! I like it because it bypasses all of the candy, sugar stuff.

Two weekends ago I attended a workshop on keeping kiddos safe from abuse (which was very good) and this last weekend I attended a food allergy "support" group in Boulder that, oddly, was not very supportive. It was more geared towards families with kids who have severe food allergies, and I just don't think we fall in that category. So, I'm moving on from that and am contemplating whether or not to try and organize something for the families at the school who deal with allergies...in all of my spare time...hmmmm. I am loving the bible study I'm in right now though. The women are just lovely and I look forward to spending time with them every other week...and I guess the study is good too. (:

That's about all from our funny farm this week. Here are a couple of pictures & videos...We might need a bigger sled...

Morgan's new favorite place to climb

Birthday With My Boys...

So, I'm steadily making my way through the 30's and got to mark this year's milestone with all of my boys during a quiet, ordinary (albeit germy) day at the Barber house. Everyone slept in past 7 am (except for Daddy), he made delicious eggless, blueberry pancakes for breakfast, we colored, watched Morgan stand up all by himself and take some steps, watched Jacoby go potty (I know, I know TMI), and Jacoby helped Daddy make a yummy chocolate birthday cake. Other highlights included Jacoby telling everyone that Mommy was turning 2, the boys each colored me a birthday card, and I got lots of phone calls and cards from loved ones. It was a great day.