Top 10 Tuesday

Here are a few things going on in the Barber family:

1. Jacoby is starting to read! It's so cool. He's really into sounding words out, figuring out what letter different words start with, and is able to pick out simple words to read.

2. Morgan is potty training in his own way and at his own pace. He's a pro at going potty and is figuring out how all of this works. He is younger than Jacoby was, so we're keeping this in mind and just trying to track with him. He's even sitting on the potty at school.

3. We are in the midst of "monsoon season" here in Colorado, which means we have crazy thunderstorms, torrential rain, huge wind gusts, and some hail just about every afternoon (i.e., just about everything was blown off the deck on Sunday and our beloved dump truck ended up clear out in the lawn!). Since when is there a monsoon season in the US?!

4. Morgan's current interests: making messes and not cleaning them up, being a fireman, playing with trucks, reading books, being naughty at mealtimes, playing with Jacoby, and being a helper.

5. Jacoby's current interests: doing mazes in a special wipe-off book, playing with Lightning McQueen, anything having to do with ancient sea creatures, dinos, prehistoric mammals, etc., and playing ambulance with Morgan (he's the rescue worker, Morgan is the patient).

6. We picked peas, romaine, and onion out of our garden! The boys enjoyed eating fresh peas out of the pod, and Jacoby likes the lady bugs that have taken up residence in the garden.

7. We're getting very excited for our trip to Montana next week and look forward to seeing most of our family in Great Falls and Billings. I think the boys will be excellent travelers.

8. Jacoby grew 4.4 inches this past year and gained 6.7 pounds! He exceeded the endocrinologist's goals for his first year on growth hormone treatment.

9. I made homemade granola bars for the first time and think they came out pretty well. And in other random news in my life, I got a tetanus shot last week and have wanted to have my arm removed ever since. It's finally better today, I think. OUCH!

10. Justin joined the world of Facebook a few weeks ago and has since been back in touch with buddies from high school who he plans to meet up with in Bozeman while we're in Montana.

Quote of the week:
Mommy: "Raise your hand if you made the huge mess with the books!" Morgan, looking as innocent as can be: "Maybe Daddy made the mess..."

Jacoby picking peas out of the garden

A good little farmer

Some of our bounty

Hello!

We hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

We enjoyed a fun and relaxing long weekend at home. Our weather has been extremely hot, so we were stuck inside for much of the time. We did manage to get to the pool for a fun morning of splashing and playing. The boys had a great time and are showing more and more interest in swimming. Jacoby and I ventured out to see Cars 2 in the theater. I don't think he moved an inch during the first hour since it was his first time at a movie in front of the big screen. I never realized how LOUD movies were until sitting there with my 4-year old wondering if he'd be able to hear after it was over. He had a good time and enjoyed the experience I think. It was hard to leave Morgan behind...sometime during the short span of his little life he has developed a "left behind" complex and does not like being left out of anything. He was sure that Jacoby and I had taken off to Montana without him and Daddy! Cars 2 was pretty good...a little heavy on the 007 aspect with a whole bunch of guns and bombs that I wasn't expecting. Thankfully, Jacoby hasn't been running around like a car trying to shoot and bomb things.

The boys have become very interested in helping us make dinner lately, so we're trying to incorporate a meal once or twice a week that is a hands-on activity for them. Earlier in the week we made pizza, and they had a great time with that except Jacoby would not let any of us eat his pizza! He had made it and so therefore it was his! So, yesterday we made hobo dinners and fortunately everyone got to make their own so there was no sharing involved. (: We also put up the tent for them and they enjoyed a camp-out in the living room last night after fireworks.

Jacoby's preschool class has been doing a unit on clothing, so they rode the bus last week to Goodwill and got a tour of the store and learned all about how they process donations and move the items out onto the floor. Jacoby reported that he rode 4 buses total that day (2 going, 2 coming back--he's got very brave teachers as far as I'm concerned). They're off to the library this week via bus again. He's going to be a pro at public transportation by the end of the summer!

Morgan is in the beginning stages of potty training. He's interested, has been successful, and seems to understand, so we've been spending time sitting on the potty and trying out some underwear. Unlike Jacoby, who jumped in and mastered the process within a few days, Morgan seems more interested in practicing little by little. So, we'll see how it goes...the prospect of having two kids potty trained and diaper-free is thrilling!

Justin is busy working on his dissertation proposal. He hopes to defend the proposal this fall and then begin work on the actual dissertation. He also begins teaching next month, and we were surprised and excited to find out that he's going to be paid more than we were initially told.

Quote of the week:
Jacoby: "Morgan, you're my best friend, right?"

Have a great week everyone!

The silly bakers

Playing with shaving cream on the windows

Jacoby being gentle with a lady bug

Our growing garden...we're going to have peas galore in a week or so! I had to shoo a baby bunny away last night...it was more for his own good than my garden's since we have a huge, obnoxious neighbor cat that stalks our yard. I promise I'm not being too much like Farmer McGregor (from Peter Rabbit). (:

Putting up the tent

Making hobo dinners

Ready for a camp-out

So excited!

Going to see fireworks in the wagon

Watching the fireworks...we had great seats!

The boys love this guy from the old Sesame Street videos and have a great time mimicking him. I promise they really can count...just not when they're being silly!