The Barratts

Emma's 1st Birthday!!!

2012-02-01T12:07:00.001-08:00

Emma is now one year old, i can't believe it! She turned on Friday January 27, 2012. Emma is such a cute, fun, squishy little girl! She says a few words (hi, bye, mama, dada, uh oh, etc), loves to eat (chicken nuggets, fruits, toast, actually there isn't much that she doesn't like), can wave bye bye and "roll it" during patty cake, loves her mama, and thinks blake is the coolest. She loves to wrestle blake and her dad, climb on everything she can, and gets just as excited as we do when she accomplishes something new. Emma loves to swing, and help mom in the kitchen (pull out all the tupperware), and she is an excellent sleeper, but i think her favorite time of the day is bed time when tanner and i read books and sing songs to them to help them fall asleep. Emma just keeps handing us book after book and wants us to keep reading. She is just starting to walk everywhere and is such a good girl, whenever she starts crawling, tanner and i will say, "emma, get up and walk!" and she does it every time. First she will smile then stand up and start walking like she is thinking 'oh yea i forgot i can walk!'. I can't believe how much she already understands. Tanner and I always call her our ‘little rolly polly’ because she is so easy going and loves when we get down and play with her. We call her “miss emma”, “emma bemma” , “emma doo”

Blake also loves his little sister, Emma. He has grown up so much since she has come into the family by being more independent and helpful. When i ask him to help her or play with her, he does. I feel like he has become more confident in himself and loves to have someone around all day to play with him.

Emma has been a wonderful addition and blessing to our family this year.

Emma's birthday was on friday and tanner didn't get back from school untill 6pm. That night we went to dinner then to the mall to get emma's birthday gifts! The next day we had a little party with a few friends with pizza, cake, ice cream, bubbles, balloons, and lots of fun!!!.

Mama and Emma at her birthday!
Emma having fun at her party!!!
Very happy to get her chocolate cake! she didn't go too crazy with it just took a few bits then she was done. i think she was too excited to stop and eat.

My nice clean girl.

Emma got a big chair just like blake did on his first birthday!
I made emma a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting from scratch! It was so yummy! Emma wasn't sure what to do about the candle so we had to help her blow it out.
This is the only picture i got of all the kids. They had lots of fun playing with the bubble machine
Emma doing her goofy face with her bf oliver!

Brittany and Emma with Lauren and Blake.
All the balloons tanner had to blow up the night before!

Emma is almost walking!!!

2012-01-04T17:38:00.000-08:00

Emma took her first step Monday evening! The past two days she has been letting go of the furniture and taking one or two steps at a time. I can't believe she will be walking soon!

Happy New Year 2012!!!

2012-01-01T21:15:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T13:23:00.001-08:00

This year we went to Utah to visit my family for christmas! It was so fun but went by so fast! We go there on the the 20th and stayed till the 28th. Unfortunatly, the day before we left tanner and blake were diagnosed with step throat and then the morning before we left emma was also diagnosed with strep throat. That led to very long flights and lots of meds. Luckly we got them on meds so quick that it never got too bad. When we got there we did lots of christmas shopping before the big day. On christmas eve everyone came to my family's house for breakfast dinner with buttermilk syrup, pancakes, bacon sausage, eggs, etc... and then on christmas day we all go to my aunt's house for a turkey dinner. It was so nice to visit my family and i hope to see them again soon!!!

Emma 10 months!

2011-12-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

Emma is growing up so fast i can't keep up with posting about all of the milestones she has hit. Here is a quick summary!

July 4th - emma sitting up (5 months old)

6 month appointment she was in the 50-55% for height and weight 16.11lbs and 26.5 inches.

6 months old emma is talking like crazy, loves attention and smiling! Moving onto all fours.

September 2 - Emmas favorite game is to pop her lips and me so i will do it back to her.

September 7 - Scooting all over the place and wanting to crawl.

September 11- lay on belly -to- sitting up.

September 30- Emma is crawling!

October 1 Emma has her first tooth! ( she is 8 months old here, Blake was almost 13 months before his first tooth!)

October 11 - Follows me around the house crawling.

October 13- Emma is pulling her self up on furniture to standing.

October 14- 2nd tooth

November 19- walking along furniture and transferring from couch to couch.

December 3- Emma is walking with her push cart (toy with wheels) all by herself!

Emma is bright, happy, very smart, loves her big brother blake, loves to eat, loves babies and other kids her age, excellent sleeper, dimples, mommies girl, busy, and beautiful. She loves to play peek-a-boo and wrestle with Blake. Blake is a very good big brother and does not seem to mind at all to play with her. If emma is sad and i am busy i ask blake to go play with emma and he does! it is so nice! Emma will take a lot before she starts crying, not that blake is being mean just because he gets carried away and forgets she is smaller. She can't get enough of him!

Thanksgiving with Friends

2011-12-03T17:54:00.001-08:00

Its hard to be this far away from family but we have to many friends around us they are like our family. So this year we had thanksgiving at our house with our friends! Tanner and I made the turkey, it was quite the task! Here is the turkey recipe we followed. We had 8 adults, 4 kids and 2 babies a full house! Luckily our table has a leaf and everyone fit comfortable. Our friend brought a toddler table for the kids to sit and the babies played! It was so fun to visit and talk about what we where grateful for. (pictures to come!)

Halloween 2011

2011-12-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

This Year for Halloween was a hard one. The whole month of October our house went through Strep throat, Stomach flu, then ended with a virus (similar to strep throat but no meds). It was hard but we were determined to celebrate Halloween because it is one of our favorite Holidays! We were sad to miss a couple of the parties but we were able to do a few fun things. We were able to go to our ward halloween party friday then went trick or treating monday night!

Emma was a pumpkin, I think i will make all of my kids be pumpkins for their first halloween and just use the same costume. I love that costume! Blake was a cowboy/ sheriff with a horse! He loves horses! Especially to ride them, so tanner and i decided to make him a cowboy so he could ride a horse all night!
Blake was pretty good about riding his horse all night!
and emma was pretty good about being the cutest pumpkin around!
Halloween night we walked around our neighborhood to go door to door trick or treating. There were so many people out trick or treating in our neighborhood that made it so fun! blake rode his bike so he didn't have to walk. It helped make him last so much longer! We made it a whole 1 1/2 streets!
Emma just hung out in the stroller cause she is to little for candy!

family pics at the Beach

2011-11-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

Our sister in-law was so nice to take everyones family pictures while we were at the beach! Here are a few that we liked!

the beach with the barratts

2011-10-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

After we got back from connecticut with my family we flew out of Ky to Az to visit Tanner's family. We spent a couple days in Az before we all drove to California, and spent a week at the beach, balboa island, and disney land. It was so much fun! Blake loved the sand and water. He did so well, and just played all day, most of the time we didn't even hear from him. We brought emma's pack and play so she didn't have to be in the sand to play and could take naps. It was nice to see tanners family and to spend time with them. Blake and Emma had fun playing with their cousins brighton (3) and ellie (1). On the last couple days on the beach the waves were huge (well, huge for me). I tried to get some good pics of Tanner and his brothers riding them, but they were kind of far out and honestly I'm not very good at taking pics. It was nice to just relax in the sun all week. When the week was over we drove back to Az for a couple more days then home to Ky. By then summer break was over and Tanner had to go back to school.

Corona del mar Beach.
Blake loved playing in the sand and being outside all day everyday!
Cousins eating lunch, a crunchy lunch!
Disney Land with Goofy!
Tanner and his Brother Johnny.
Emma and Mommy.
Uncle Johnny, Blakey, and daddy Playing lacrosse!
sitting around the fire pit after long week at the beach.
We got to go to a Diamondbacks game while in Az. Blake thought it was so cool he just sat on our laps and watched almost the whole time we were there. We tried to explain to him what was going on, he sat and listened and watched. Blake loves all sports and games, he's a bit competitive.

summer break with my family

2011-10-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

I know its october but i want to catch up. We had such a fun summer break i need to share a little of what we did. First my mom and siblings came to ky for about a week to visit us. We had so much fun! we went to the children's museum, out to eat, movies, etc... It was so nice to see my family and for them to spend time with my kids.

Then my dad finally came for a day before we all drove out to connecticut for a family reunion with my dads side. It was nice because i got to see family i havn't seen in years and tanner got to meet them for the first time. My cousin Jody has a two little boys a little older then blake and emma, and we stayed with them for a few nights. It was fun for blake to have someone to play with.

Connecticut is also where Tanner served his LDS mission so it was nice to see the area he stayed in. i also got to meet some people he taught and had dinner with a family from the ward.

I loved being able to visit my family and can't wait till christmas when we go to utah and see them again!

Blake turns 2 yrs old!!!

2011-09-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

i am so behind on posts! Now that Im home for the week with strep throat i guess this is the best time to catch up!

Blake had his 2nd Birthday party!!! His birthday was June 26, but we had his party on the friday before. We invited all of his friends to his party and had it at the park. The adult played volleyball while the kids played at the park. I also brought bubbles and chalk for blake and all his friends to play with. We brought food for everyone then ended with cake, ice cream and gifts! Blake had so much fun with his friends! I can't believe he is already two!!!

Blowing bubbles! Blake and his shaggy hair!

It is so much fun when everyone comes to hang out!
Blake and his buddy George!
Blake and his girl buddy Kenz!

emma's 6 months!

2011-09-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Emma had her 6 month apt about a few weeks ago. Everything looks great! She weighs 16.11 lbs and 26.5 inches long, 50% for both.

Some of her favorite this to do are laughing at blake (doesn't matter if he is trying to be funny), Eat (probably at the top if the list), play with toys, take off daddy's glasses, make popping noises with lips, and grunt/laughing game we play together.

Currently she is almost crawling, she gets on all fours and rocks back and forth. She scoots everywhere and can get anywhere she wants to go. Tonight was the first night i noticed that she goes from laying down to sitting up. Emma is so fun and a very happy girl.

Blake loves to play with Emma. He loves that she thinks he is funny, and gets so happy when she wakes up from her nap. He has his jealous moments but for the most part he is a big help. He shares his toys when she is sad, throws away her diapers, and gives her hugs and kisses.

Basketball

2011-06-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Blake's favorite game is basketball!!! He calls it "baketba". He goes on the deck and plays all day!

Emma will be able to play soon!

emma eats cereal

2011-06-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

she loves it so much she wants to hold the spoon!

there is that goofy smile again but add the crazy bed head...love it!

emma at 4 months and crazy blake!

2011-06-22T19:43:00.001-07:00

emma is growing up so fast! we went to her 4 month apt about a month ago and she was about 11.5 lbs and in the 55% for height and weight. she is healthy and everything looks good. her hair is still dark brown and her eyes are still blue. she thinks everything is so funny especially her big brother blake! she loves to eat and play with her toys. she is a very good girl!

This is Blake in the bath. I told him to show me his teeth and smile for the camera and this is what i got! quick goofy smile then right back to playing. im pretty much obsessed with my kids!

projects

2011-06-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

i have been working on a few projects around the house...

i got this mirror at a yard sale for $2 and painted in antique white and then distressed it.

We painted our table black...

...so it would match the rest of my house:)

i also got this little table at another yard sale for $5. it wasn't in the best shape so we sanded it and painted it blake to match our table. Now it sits in the corner of our dining room and holds my hand and dish towels.

happy faces...

2011-06-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

... except emma, she's just concerned!

poor emma

2011-05-01T17:50:00.001-07:00

i ask tanner to hold emma, he falls asleep...

...i ask blakey to hold emma, he eats her...

...poor emma

Wahoo for the sun!

2011-05-01T17:33:00.001-07:00

Im so excited that the cold weather is over! now we just have the april showers to get through! At our apartment complex there are a lot of dental students and one of my favorite things we do together are bbq's at the park! There is a park with a bunch of grills right in our complex so we can just walk a couple buildings down and meet up with everyone! it is so nice cause its fenced in and set behind the building so the kids can run around and play and its easy to keep an eye on them.

My friends Ali and jess. Ali is holding my emma and jess is holding her baby oliver. Jess is george's mom, Blakes good friend, and oliver is only two weeks older then emma! It is so fun to have kids the same age!
happy faces!
This is Mark, Tanner and Rich. We are sad because rich and his wife carley are moving to oregon soon cause rich is finished with school. the are our next door neighbors and we have become really good friends with them. Blake loves their little girl brynlie, she is only a few months younger then him and they get along so well! we will miss them soooo much!

Me and Jess! i am so happy they are first years just like us and we have so many years of fun ahead of us!

pretty girl!

2011-05-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

i pulled out my camera the other day cause emma was in a fun mood and started snapping pics. i couldn't pic a favorite so i posted a bunch!

big boy truck

2011-05-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

Blake has two push carts and very large truck he can ride, but this is what he picks instead every time he wants to ride something! my goodness, he cracks me up!

Emma's Blessing

2011-05-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Emma was Blessed March 27, 2011. It was really nice because Tanner's parents came into town and then his mom stayed for the next week. Here are some pics of emma in her blessing dress. Her dress was made by a lady in our ward who makes and sells dresses for all kinds of occasions, including baby blessings. I fell in love with it the first time i saw it! The material is beautiful and thick with lots of detail. All the little pearls are real and were hand sewn by the woman who made it. i added the sweater because it was still cold here in march and her grandma jane bought her a pretty white bracelet and bow to match her dress.

I love the long cathedral blessing dresses, tanner was not as big of a fan, but i thought it was so beautiful! She was pretty sleepy after her big day!

emma's pictures

2011-02-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

We got newborn pics for emma when she was 7days old. One of our friends from dental school does photography, and she did a great job! Susan lookhart at lookhartphotography.blogspot.com. She spent so much time with us and took so many pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

My Boys!

2011-02-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

new baby girl

2011-02-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

Emma is now 10 days old and i am finally getting around to blogging. I forgot how tiring a newborn is, even with my moms help! I had a great labor and delivery, and everything went smoothly. Everyone told me the second child was easier but i didn't believe them...now i do! I woke up thursday morning about 4 am and i didn't know what woke me up, so i used the restroom and laid back down and about a min. later i had the worst contraction i'd had so far. I laid their hoping that was a real contraction and 7 min later another one came. so i waited half an hour till i woke tanner and during that time i had, had more contractions, 7 min apart. When i woke tanner it was about 4:40 and he said he would time them for me. Over the next hour they came stronger and closer together, 4 to 7 min apart. so, 6am we left for the hospital! we were both so nervous since with blake i got sent home twice before i was admitted. Of course the whole ride to the hospital, 20 min away, i only had one contraction. That made me nervous cause they hurt and i didn't want to go home!!! when we got to the hospital i told the nurse how i had a long labor with blake and i was really nervous. she said they would keep me for two hours to see if i would make any progress. the first hour they monitored the heart beat and the second i walked around. after two hours i went from being dilated 1 1/2 to a 4!!! I was admitted!!! I didn't get to my delivery room till about 9:15 and they went and got the anesthesiologist right away. I got my epidural, thank heavens, right away and they gave me pitocin to regulate the contractions. This was about 10 am. I wasn't able to fall asleep but i was so relaxed i felt good! A little after 1pm she came and checked and i was dilated a 7 she said to let her know when i felt like i needed to push. She left and the next contraction i felt like i needed to push. i waited three contractions and i definitely needed to push. i called the nurse back in and she called my doc. Dr. buck took longer then expected to get to the hospital and i had to hold my legs together cause emma was ready to get out. My doc arrived and i only had to push for under 10 min. and she was born! Born at 1:49pm on 1-27-11, Emma Eliza Barratt was 7lbs 15 oz and 20 1/2 inches.

Here i am at 39 weeks
We forgot the camera at home so the only pics we have of the day she was born is on tanners ipod and phone. So this is a pic of the next day, 1-28-11.
Here is grandma, toda, with both of her grandkids.
blake wasn't too sure about the hospital.

My first picture with Emma 1-28-11

Emma has big cheeks and a round head cause she came out so quick!

Picture with dad right before we went home!

She is so little in the car seat!

look at those cheeks!

She is a thumb sucker, she must have done that in my belly! Its been so fun having her home! I think blake likes her and gets sad when she is sad. She was crying and blake ran around the house trying to find a bottle for her so she wouldn't be sad! so cute! He also likes to push her on the swing but we have to keep a close watch cause he likes to push her high!

Emma Eliza Barratt

2011-01-30T06:36:00.000-08:00

She is here! Born 1-27-11 at 1:49pm. Emma was 7 lbs 15 oz and 20 1/2 inch. Lots of dark hair and big cheeks! I will post pics as soon as I get a chance!

36 weeks

2011-01-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

Doc says everything looks good and we start having appointments every week now. I feel great and the baby is moving a ton. She is very busy. I put my 36/37 week pic up from when i was pregnant with Blake to compare.

This is January 2011 with baby girl Barratt

This is June 2009 with Blake

Back in ky

2011-01-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

Our trip was only 10 days long and now we are back in Ky. The day we flew back i was 36 weeks so we didn't want to push it. When we walked in the door there was a package waiting for us from my family with gifts. So that would mean blake hada 3 christmas's this year, he must be loved:)

He was thrilled to get more toys and loves each and every one.
Blake rides around the house with his new dump truck.

During one of the days we had off we went to the zoo cause it was such a nice day. We let blake run around and see all of the animals. Here is a ape that came right up to the window and was just as interested in us and we were in it. Blake was a little nervous, but still thought it was great.

Barratt Family Christmas in Az

2011-01-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

We got to Az on the 17th and Tanner's little sister Laura was getting married on the 18th, so we flew in just in time for all the hustle and bustle of a wedding. We got there in the morning, had a picnic in the park, got ready and went to a dance laura's new husband's, Aisea, family held. The next morning we were getting stuff ready for the reception and at 2pm they were married in the Az Temple. That evening there was a sit down dinner held for them that was absolutely beautiful. As soon as the wedding was over everyone started to get ready for christmas with only a few days left. Tanner was able to go to a suns basketball game, and shooting with his family and friends. I was able to go to the russian ballet of the nutcracker and get my nails and makeup done. Blake got to play with his cousins, go to the park, pond, and best of all play outside in the warm weather everyday. So, overall it was a good trip.

Here is Tanner and Blake getting ready to go to the wedding dinner.

We got to go to the train park and see all of the lights. we were going to ride the train, we had tickets and everything, but the line was so insanely long, worse then disney land in the summer, we decided to come back another time. Everyone there had already rode the train before so it wasn't a big deal.
Christmas morning at the Barratts! It was a big christmas this year totaling 15 people (this is only tanners siblings, their spouses, their kids, and his parents) Tom (dad), Jane (mom), Christian, Kara, brighton, ellie, tanner, me, blake, Laura, Aisea, Johnny, Elise, Jami, and Jack. I think this just blows my mind because my family is so much smaller then tanners. totally 7 people last time we were there:)
Blake slept pretty well while we were there but he picked one day to sleep in and it was christmas morning. Tanner finally had to go and wake him up cause everyone was waiting and we didn't want him to miss all the fun. Grandma got him some fun xmas pjs and he, again, had to stop after each toy so dad could put it together and he could play with it for a few minutes before moving to the next one.

It such a fun trip and it was so nice to see family again. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ky Christmas

2011-01-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

Before we headed up to Az for Christmas we decided to do our own little Christmas here in Ky. We thought it would be fun to do our own little family thing plus i didn't want to ship the gifts we got for each other to Az then ship them back home, kind of seemed like a waste of precious luggage space.

I was so excited that it snowed before we went to Az so we were able to have a little bit of a white christmas this year. We took Blake out into the snow and this was pretty much the face he had on the whole time... wasn't sure if he liked it.
Blake had fun on our christmas morning. There is a sit 'n spin in nursery that he loves so we decided to get him one. He started to climb on it before tanner could finish putting it together. We had to stop after he opened each gift so he could sit and play with it for a few minutes.
Here is our tree Christmas morning! notice how there are no ornaments on the bottom half? anyone with a one year old wonder why?
Here is our fire place all ready for santa! there are four stockings, one for tanner, me, blake and baby girl Barratt!
i wasn't sure what to get my siblings this year for christmas so i decided to make them something. It always means more when you put time and thought into a gift, and since we wouldn't be there this year i thought they might enjoy something for their room.

32 weeks

2011-01-03T18:14:00.001-08:00

Baby Swap!

2010-12-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

Some friends and I do a baby swap every week that has been great! There are four families all together and each week someone takes a turn baby sitting all four kids while the other parents have a date night. So each couple only babysits once a month and get to go on dates the other 3 weekends. It has been great so far and luckily our group has been Blake's, and our, close friends. Now that the Holidays are here we have to end this fun group and we are not sure when we will start up again. Jess (my friend) is having her baby at the end of this month and I will have my baby at the end of January. So we won't be able to go out or babysit for quite a while. Hopefully as spring and summer start up again we can start another group or at least switch off. Anyway, it was fun while it lasted and has been great for Blake! Here are some pics of Blake and his friend that i often mention, i thought you might want to know who everyone is.

Brynlie (13 months), Mckenzie (24 months), Blake (17 months), and George (22 months).
Brynlie crawled away for this pic, but they each have a bowl of grapes and are watching baby einstein (a crowd favorite).

utensils

2010-12-06T17:25:00.001-08:00

I can't believe how fast Blake is growing up! Sometimes i get really sad. Then i get over it when i remember we're having another baby in two months, and we get to start all over:) Blake is doing really well feeding himself and i just think its so cute when he does. In these pics he's eating with a spoon but my favorite is when he eats with a fork, there is just so much concentration it cracks me up. I love this little guy and am so excited to have more kids!

New Car!

2010-12-05T17:40:00.001-08:00

About a month ago Tanner and I decided that we needed a new car. It was so sad to see the Subaru go but it is just not a family car. Our little compact stroller took up the whole trunk, there was no way we could fit two car seats in the back seat comfortably, and it just felt squishy. So here is a flash back pic down memory lane... dedicated to tanner (He misses the soob!)

Here is our new car!!!

Way more room in the front and back seat

And we can defiantly fit a double stroller in this trunk!

So far we are very pleased with our purchase!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we did not go to any family house because everyone is so far away! We were planning on going to Tanner's brother and sister inlaw's house, Christian and Kara, but Blake got really sick and was in no condition to travel. So we had to cancel, but luckily he as better by Thanksgiving day. It was sad we couldn't be with family, but ok because i had just got back from Utah to see my family. Instead we spent Thanksgiving with friends. We went to our friends Jordan and Ali Pond and they have a little girl only a couple months older then Blake named Jovie. Our other friends Mark and Ali were there too. It was so fun! Everyone brought something to contribute to the Dinner. Tanner and I brought homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing, and Yams. Everything that everyone brought was so good! When we were finished with dinner we chatted and played games. Even though we don't have family close by its nice to have friends to spend the holidays with.

Visit to Utah!

2010-12-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago Blake and i went to Utah to visit my family and it was SO fun! We went from the 10th to the 16th, so we were there for my moms birthday. It was so nice to see everyone, and my dad even came into town while we were there even though he was working in a different state! Im glad blake got to see his grandma and grandpa! We go there wednesday night pretty late so we just went to bed. Thursday my mom, dad, blake and i went to lunch with our friends, Gina, Sharon (Ginas mom), Aiden (Gina's little boy, 6 weeks younger then blake), Mercedes, and Lucy (Mercedes daughter, 11 months). I loved seeing them and their cute kids. after lunch i went to Gina's house so Blake and Aiden could play while gina and i caught up. My mom was in school and my dad had to run errands so that worked out nice. Friday i went shopping with my dad to get my mom a birthday gift, for her party that night. It was fun because alot of people came to her party and it was nice to visit with family. My family got her a macbook for school. she was so surprised and loved it! Saturday we went to the Park City outlets and went shopping! I told my mom before i came that, that was something i wanted to do. She bought so many baby new baby girl clothes, and some stuff for blake! It was so fun! We love grandmas! Sunday we went to church then went to salt lake for the christmas show at the convention center. It was fun to see all the crafts and decorations! Monday my dad left back to work so i went to lunch with my Auntie Tabbie while my mom was in school. Then we let blake play at the play place at the mall. That evening we went to dinner at california pizza kitchen with aunts, uncles, and cousin then visited for a long time at my uncles. I was so glad i was able to see everyone because i felt like my trip went by so fast! Tuesday morning Blake and I packed up and went to the airport. It was so sad to leave:( but I was excited to see Tanner! I love my family and was so grateful i had an opportunity to visit them one last time before the new baby comes!

October

2010-11-29T19:05:00.000-08:00

Now that its the end of November, I figured I should probably catch up on things I've been wanting to post about since October! Wow, slacker! After our ward trunk-r-treat Blake and I went with our friends Natalie and Mckenzie to the Spring Street trick or treat! This is a street in New Albany, IN, about 20 min away, that does a trick or treat every year for kids. I didn't think it would be a big deal because i found out about it from a flyer on the door of the candy shop and never heard anything else. When we got there It was so packed! All my pics turned out bad because it was so dark. The line was 2 blocks long so it was nice that we were there with friends (our husbands were studying for tests). It was fun to see all of the costumes and celebrate this fun holiday with a such a huge crowd.

The next weekend, Halloween weekend, we went to a chili cook off/ halloween party at a friends house. i was so bummed because we forgot our camera and they had so much fun stuff to do! They had a bounce house for the kids, games, food, costumes and friends. We had such a great time!

This month was busy and fun!

Trunk-r-Treat

2010-10-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

This week we had our ward trunk-r-treat at a family farm. We had hot dogs, hay rides and the trunk-r-treat! Since Blake was a Dalmatian puppy Tanner and I decided to be fireman!

Family pic at the farm. Surprise face is Blakes favorite right now.
Here's our trunk and it says fire station. we had a emergency light that was going and reflector from our car emergency kit:)
Blake was done trunk-r-treating after he got one sucker.
He loves to play with George and they looked so cute in their puppy and lion costumes.
We are on the hay ride with Kolby, Jess and George! It was a fun halloween trunk-r-treat!

Fun at the Park!

2010-10-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

Blake and I went to the park with a few friends (not an unusual occurrence) and my friend Paige decided to bring her camera and snap a few pics. Then she gave me a copy of the ones she took of Blake. Here are a couple that I thought were cute.

I love that you can see all 6 of his teeth!
Surprise face!
Sweet little boy! He loves going down the slide! that is when she got most of his pics with him smiling.

Boo Zoo

2010-10-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

The Louisville Zoo has a trick or treat in their zoo every weekend in October. This past weekend we got Blake a costume and took him to the zoo. This year he is puppy because he loves dogs! He says "pupp, arf, arf!". He doesn't love the hat but he keeps it on for a while before he gets sick of it. We have a few things we are going to this month where he can wear his costume so he should be use to it by halloween:)

I fell in love with this costume when i saw it because its so dang cute. I got it at pottery barn kids and probably paid to much for it since its little kid costume, but i justified it by saying he will wear it a bunch this month. tanner said its ok, he will just be a puppy for the next three years! JK:) Both of his grandparents sent him surprise packages this month with money for a costume so he could be the cutest puppy on the block! Its great to be the only grandson!
can you find the puppy(Blake) in the hay maze?
I didn't get a chance to take very many pics while we were at boo zoo because i notice about half way through my camera was missing! i was so sad:( It had so many pics i hadn't downloaded yet. So i called sunday, they didn't have it; i called monday, they didn't have it and i was worried; when i called tuesday they had it! I was sooo grateful that someone had turned it in! I'v had my camera for years and love it! So we went today (wednesday) and picked it up. Since we were already at the zoo blake and i stopped in for a visit for a couple hours. Here he is staring at the tiger. I think he thought it was the biggest puppy he'd ever seen!
This was a statue of a pig he was scared of... so i sat him on it and took a pic! He wasn't scared anymore.

sunny acre farms pumpkin festival

2010-10-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Tanner, Blake and I went to sunny acre farms for their pumpkin festival this past saturday. It was only about 20 min away and they had animals you could pet, bounce house, hay maze corn box, little tractors to ride, and pumpkins everywhere!

Here is Blake and Tanner checking out the horse. Blake was so interested especially because it kept neighing. He wanted to put his arm through and pet it but whenever it got too close he would get nervous and pull his arm back. It was a huge horse!
Blake the farmer on his tractor and daddy the work horse pushing him through the fields.
Blake in the hay maze he kept getting stuck at the dead ends. This is his surprised face he does. I use to do it to him all the time and didn't realize it until he started doing it back to me:)
this pic cracks me up! mommy is having way more fun then blake here! i dont think he wanted to be a cow right then.
ohhh look at those muscles! he thought he was so cool cause he could lift the little pumpkins over his head.

First 'real' hair cut!

2010-10-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

Blake had his hair trimmed when he was 11 months old but that was just around the sides, none off the top. A couple weeks ago we started to notice just how long his hair was getting not only around the sides again, but especially on top. So we borrowed some clippers and tanner got to work!

Here is how long his hair was in the back before we cut it. I probably could have put it in a ponytail!
This was a better shot of the front and how long it was. Its also morning and he just woke up so the bed head doesn't help. He is playing with halloween stickies for the window.
We let him feel the clippers so he knew they were not scary. He thought they tickled his hand.
Still a little scary but he did great! Didn't move or complain the whole time tanner cut his hair.
Finished product! He's a little traumatized! Just Kidding we don't even think he noticed his hair was gone this is just his surprised face he does when we thinks something is cool. Anyway, i LOVE it! I think it makes him look sooo cute and older! i can't believe i kept it that long, for so long!

Schimpff's Confectionary (Candy Shop)

2010-10-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

We went to the cutest candy shop in Indiana about 20 min from our apartment. It was open in 1891 and is still in the same building and has the original machinery. We were able to watch them make 12 inch suckers, get a tour of their candy museum (not of old candy but of containers, machines etc.), buy some yummy candy, and get a scoop of the best pumpkin pie ice cream i have ever had! When we first got there they gave us a sample of their chocolate and Blake stuffed the whole thing in his mouth then tried to grab mine out of my hand! The lady gave me two because im eating for two:) We were able to go with our friends Kolby and Jess and their son George, one of Blake's good friends. Unfortunately i forgot my camera so i was not able to take pics. of everyone. The candy shop is located on a cute old street right near the river and they are doing a trick or treat on the 25th we might go too. It was a fun and yummy trip!

Deere Farms

2010-10-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin patch on Saturday Oct. 9, 2010 called Deere Farms in Indiana. It was so fun! We went with our friends Keith and Natalie and their little girl, McKenzie, who is almost 2 and one of Blake's friends. The farm had a hay maze, corn maze, corn kernel box (like a sand box), jump house, tube slide, ponies, hay ride, and a pumpkin patch! We got to do everything and Blake just loved it!

Here he is in the hay maze stuck in a dead end. Blake would run through it as fast as he could then all of a sudden get stuck at a dead end, his face is so confused.

Blake and Mckenzie in the corn Kernel box. They could have played in there all afternoon. What a good idea it was so nice to not have to clean sand off the kids. I want one of these in my back yard!

Here are the two pumpkins we picked at the pumpkin patch. We had to pull his socks up all the way to his knees cause the pumpkin patch had tall plants we had to walk though.
Here we are on the hay ride on our way back from the pumpkin patch to the hay ride.

24 weeks

2010-10-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

I went in for my 24 week appointment and everything looks good! The baby is moving so much now! It already feels like she's doing flips in there. I feel good, not sick anymore, and not too uncomfortable yet.

15 months

2010-10-08T08:57:00.001-07:00

Blake had his 15 month check up and i can't believe he is getting so old! He's still a baby but its still surprising how fast he is growing up! Here is a little about Blake... He loves puppies, the wii, outside, park, running, reading, bath time, fruit, friends (george, kenz, brynlie), playing in dirt and puddles, laughing, dad, and many more things but thats what i could think of off the top of my head. He has 6 teeth now, 4 top, 2 bottom, blond hair and brown eyes. Says momma, dadda, hat, and ba for bottle, bath, ball and bug. Theres a slight variation between each b word so i can tell the difference but i don't think anyone else can. He starts a word but has a hard time finishing it. i think he says more but i can't think of any right now. He moo's for a cow and arf arf for a dog/puppy. i can't decide what he should be for halloween a puppy because he loves them or a monkey because the costume is so cute! decisions, decisions... We have lots of fun things planned for the month of october so many fun posts to come!

Its finally starting to cool off here in louisville. We are so glad to be breaking off from the 90 degree weather.
Blake loves books! i often catch him in his room by himself looking through all his book or he follows me around the house saying momma momma trying to hand me a book. Of course i stop what im doing and we read a book, hopefully this love of books lasts!

Out with friends

2010-10-08T08:44:00.001-07:00

A couple weekends ago tanner's dental school held a ball on a boat called the bell of louisville. Its a landmark for louisville being 95 year old cruise ship. Now people can go on it for dinner and tours, and events. We were so excited to go until we found out it was going out on the water at 8pm and not coming back until 11pm. Then we found out there was not going to be dinner but light snacks and an open bar. Since we didn't have any to watch blake that long and we didn't find the open bar appealing, we decided not to go. Instead we went to dinner with all of our friends in the same shoes as us. It was a great restaurant right on the river. There was a big deck outside where most people ate that lead right down to the water. The boats even docked at the restaurant and you could get off and eat there or they would bring your food to you on your boat. It was such a fun atmosphere and we had a party of 10 good friends. After we ate dinner we went and got ice cream with everyone and by the time we were finished we had to rush home to pick up Blake from the baby sitter. Its always fun with food, friends, and freedom!

staying busy...

2010-09-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

I have done a few projects around the house to keep busy, and because i just liked them and thought they would add a little to our apartment. Here are a few...

I saw the idea for a Alphabet wall on someone's blog and thought it was such a good idea for a childs room. I changed it to what i wanted, and decorated them all different so the letters would catch Blake's interest. I made this before i found out i was having a girl, but at the time i didn't know so i made sure to make it gender neutral, and luckily i did!
When i had blake i had the hardest time finding crib bedding that i liked so i decided to just make some! It was quite the task since i don't sew very often but it was fun! I finished the bumper and the bed skirt a long time ago, but just recently finished the quilt. Its been put together i just was waiting for it to be quilted and then i had a good friend teach me to bind it. The binding was super intimidating but when i finally started doing it, it was so easy! and actually kind of fun!
Here is a close up of the fabric i used.
Here is my Halloween Trick-or-Treat banner!!! When i finished it was my very first halloween decoration up. I saw something similar on potterybarn's halloween decor and thought it was so cute but slightly over priced:) so i decided to just make one it didn't look too hard and it wasn't! I called a few friends to see if they wanted to do them with me and they did. We each did a banner but all of them are decorated differently to our own personal taste. They all turned out so cute and it was so fun to do with everyone!

Its a GIRL!!!

2010-09-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

I had my 20 week appointment today and we found out we are having a GIRL!!! We also decided my official due date on the doctor records is 1-28-11 and I am 19 weeks 6 days today! We are so excited!!!

tan lines!

2010-09-07T19:29:00.001-07:00

Blake has the best tan lines from his sandals! Its like he has his shoes on all the time! People get a kick out of it when they see his feet! He wears his shoes all the time when we are outside. Even at the pool. I had to take a picture because its so cute on his little feet!

puppy fun!

2010-09-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Blake loves dogs! We have a couple friends who have puppies and blake thinks they are the best and loves to play with them. The only bad part is that he loves all dogs so he tries to run up to any dog we see when we are outside and it makes me nervous. He doesn't understand why he can't play with every dog. Some friends came over the other night and brought their puppy. Blake ran around the house laughing and playing with the puppy! By the end of the night they were so worn out!

Tanner's 25th Birthday!

2010-09-07T19:07:00.001-07:00

Tanner turned 25 on August 30th! We had a birthday party for him with some of our friends and had dessert and and played volleyball! It was so fun and we are so grateful to have made such good friends since we have been here.

Sorry about the bad picture, it was almost dark when i took it. I would have taken more pictures but my battery died after 4 pics! i was so sad!

White Coat Ceremony

2010-09-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

Tanner's mom and younger brother Johnny came out to ky to visit us a couple weeks ago. Tanner had his white coat ceremony so they came to support him. A white coat ceremony is when the dental students officially get their white coats to represent their commitment to serve the patient the best of their ability (or something like that). Every dental school does it, but they all do it at different times during their schooling. Louisville does it the first year because they feel the students should start living this commitment as soon as possible. It was fun to have Tanner's family in town, and Blake just loved the company/attention!

Johnny and Grandma Jane. We went to eat at a crazy restaurant! i can't remember the name right now, but just look at the background!
Tanner with his mom after he got his white coat!

Crazy Face!

2010-08-31T18:16:00.001-07:00

This is blake's crazy face! He makes it whenever he is being funny. He scrunches his nose, goofy smile and lifts his chin. Then laughs, especially when he is running around crazy. So we call it his crazy face! He even does it when i ask! ill say blake do your crazy face and he will! He knows he is being funny and that makes it even better!

husking corn

2010-08-31T18:11:00.001-07:00

One night i assigned Tanner and Blake to peel the corn for dinner...

Blake is not sure what to think.
maybe you eat it?
Then he got it!

... and they did a good job!

Nauvoo

2010-08-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Tanner had a week off of school so we decide to take a trip to Nauvoo. Its only about 7 hrs away so we thought this would be a great opportunity to visit one of the most memorial church history sites. We also had a chance to stop at carthage jail. Since i have been learning more about church history this trip really meant a lot to me. some of my favorite stops where carthage jail, the mansion house, the homestead, Joseph Smiths and family grave site, parley street walk to the mississippi river, the red brick store and of course the Nauvoo Temple. When i first saw the temple i was completely blown away not only by the size but also the sheer beauty. The detail was amazing! i know it has been rebuilt since the saints, but i could not believe how much work must have went into it back in the 1800's. especially when you saw the simplicity of their houses. One of our favorite houses to visit was Brigham Young's. The teachings, obedience and example of Brigham Young has always been a favorite of Taner's. The more i learn about president Youngs the more i admire and look up to him as well. We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to visit Nauvoo and all that we learned. It was wonderful way to strengthen our testimony of how much the lord loves his children.

This is on the side of carthage jail after we went through the tour. Blake was carrying around the biggest leaf he had ever seen!
Us in front of the Nauvoo Temple. We would love to go back and do a session sometime.
The end of parley street and landing to the mississippi river where the saints had to cross.
Blake and I in front of a replica of a wagon the saints had to put their things in, and the raft to cross.

It was such a great trip and we can't wait to return one day!

Baby #2

2010-08-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Tanner and I are so excited to announce that we are pregnant with our second baby! I am 14 weeks this week! In the beginning I was so tired and sick but Im feeling much better lately. I had my first appointment last week and the doc said everything looks good so far. I got an ultra sound and my official due date is January 25. This means that Blake and the new baby will be 19 months apart. It will be a challenge but we are so excited! I think it will be so fun for them to grow up so close in age. I will keep updating and posting pics!

first tooth!

2010-07-27T08:44:00.001-07:00

Yay! Blake finally got his first tooth! and i think the second one is following close behind! It finally broke through on july 20th just days after my family left. I was bummed they didn't get to see it, but they sure got to experience it. Jk He's not to bad while teething. I haven't been able to get a good picture of his tooth yet, but i thought this one was cute cause you can see how blond his hair is getting! we are outside a lot so its sun bleached but it makes him look more like tanner was when he was blake's age.

Family in town!

2010-07-25T18:52:00.001-07:00

It was so nice to have my family come to louisville to visit last week! We did so many fun things and i was so happy Blake was able to spend time with his grandma and aunt and uncles! We were able to see Churchill Downs, the Waterfront Park, the Science Center, and tour Louisville! We even celebrated Blake's birthday again so he could have a party with family. We went swimming and had cake and ice cream! They even stayed an extra couple days for my Birthday! We went to see Eclipse and then went to dinner! I loved it!

These pics are from our fun day at the science center!

Here is blake at the Science center. They had a gym for little kids and he thought the tunnel was the best part. He kept crawling back and forth faster than we could catch him!
Blake was not afraid of that slide! We take him to the park all the time and his favorite part is the slide so he knew what he was doing!
I could not pull him away from this display. Literally! I tried to pick him up so we could move on and he cried and started reaching for it. So i put him down so he could look at it a little longer.
This display had bugs in it! If you know blake you know he loves bugs it was one of his first words! He was telling his grandma all about them!
This is my little sister, Breanne, and little brother, Brock, under a arch we built with blocks at the science center.

Ky Zoo

2010-07-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo a couple weeks ago again, but this time we went to the Kentucky Zoo and we went with some friends! Blake loves the zoo and all of the animals!

Here is a picture of the mama and baby giraffe. We decided to take a picture of them with the mama and baby blake!
They also had a petting zoo but the goats kept running away from blake. They must have been able to sense his threatening demeanor! jk

Blake went to the zoo with his friend george and they played at the splash pad! It was fun and perfect because it was so hot that day! The humidity here is killer!

1st Birthday

2010-07-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

Blake celebrated his first birthday when we first got to Kentucky. I wasn't sure what to do at first because with all of the moving and packing and unpacking i hadn't given it to much thought. So a couple days before I bought some decorations and invited some people in the ward we had recently met and had a birthday party. It ended up being so much FUN! We started at the pool because Blake loves swimming and stayed for about 45 min. Then went to our apartment for pizza and cupcakes!

Blake looks a little worried about that flame and is not sure why dad is letting him play with fire! just kidding, but he was concerned when everyone started singing Happy Birthday. I don't think he knew what was going on...

Until we let him go for the cupcake and he LOVED it! He tried to pick up the cupcake but just knocked it upside down so i just picked up the whole plate and just went for it!

What a mess!
And he had fun doing it!

Here are some friends that we invited and are still good friends with them. Blake loves to play with the little boy, George, and we visit them often during the week.

He was so happy to play with his friends all night! Best birthday ever!

His birthday went past his bedtime so he wasn't able to open his gifts until the next morning, but he was happy to see them! and yes that is his bed head that he wakes up with every morning! so cute!

We are Here!!!

2010-07-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

We are finally here in Louisville Ky!!! Well, we have actually been here for almost 3 weeks we just have not had any internet, but we should be getting some tonight so i will be able to post pics and more about what we have been doing. It has been so fun since we have been here. It is so different and we have already met so many people and made so many friends. Blake and I spend most days swimming and hanging out with friends and tanner loves school and his classmates. Blake has a few little friends that he loves to play with and I feel like he growing up so fast. Well i just wanted to do a little update and once we get the internet i will update everything that has happened!

Walking!

2010-06-17T20:32:00.001-07:00

Blake is officially walking! Until now he's taken a few steps here and there but mostly relayed on crawling. On Sunday he walked back and forth between Tanner and I a bunch of times and we were standing about 6 ft apart. Then did the same thing of monday and by tuesday he decided he liked walking way more then crawling. Now he almost never crawls unless he needs to climb over something. YAY!!! I think?

I took a video of him just walking around but it turned out really bad so ill need to do that again and post it.

This pic was Tuesday night and Blake was really tired and slap happy. He would walk under the basketball hoop while holding it up and then laugh hysterically.

A Day at the Zoo!

2010-06-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

We took Blake to the Phoenix Zoo a couple of weeks ago and he thought the animals were great! Blake loves animals and bugs so he had so much fun. The only bummer was that it was like 102 degrees outside! Poor little Blake's cheeks were pink from the heat so we were sure to give him lots of water and sunscreen.

The Animals were so big. I was really surprised at the size of the giraffe, lion and rhino.
We were able to go inside the monkey cage at this zoo. The monkeys were jumping all around us. In this picture above these monkeys are right over our heads!

Blake could not keep his eyes off them. He kept calling them bugs!
Can you find the monkey in the tree?

They also had a petting zoo with goats. Blake was not afraid!

Overall it was a really fun trip and i am glad we got to go before we move to Ky. Blake loves the animals and I shed a few lbs from the heat!

crazy busy

2010-06-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

We have had a couple of crazy weeks here at the Barratt house with graduations, birthdays, mission homecomings, family in town, the list goes on. Its been exciting to spend time with Johnny after he recently returned from a mission in Salta, Argentina. He served a full time mission and is now heading up to BYU for summer semester on friday.

Suns game

2010-06-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

A couple week ago Tanner and I went to a Phoenix Suns vs Lakers playoff game! (game 4) It was so fun! I have never been to a professional basketball game before and it was awesome! i had been watching the Suns with Tanner all season and now I am officially a phoenix suns fan!

Here is Tanner and I before the game! We are so excited!

The game started out good! we got to our seats and we were winners! we took our winner ticket and got a phoenix sun bag!

Here is the team warming up! we are a bit in the nose bleed but its a small stadium so all seats are good!

I am warming up my clappers! which proved to be a good thing since i cheered the whole time!!! Tanner and i were the obnoxious people who used the loud clappers every time something good happened. Luckily everyone around us was cheering too!

We Won!

Peek-a-boo

2010-05-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Blake plays Peek-a-Boo with us now and he thinks its so fun!

Lets catch up!

2010-05-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

This is a fun new trick blake has learned...

The other day Blake was crying in the back seat because he didn't want to be in his car seat. I started patting his mouth with my hand to play with him and he stopped crying and thought it was so funny! The next morning he was sitting in the living room while I was working on a project and he was started to get fussy. While i was cleaning up he was whining/crying and he started to pat his mouth while whining and then just started making noises so he could keeping doing it. Now he does it all the time for fun!

A couple days later while in the back seat Blake's Aunt Laura was putting him in his car seat and i was in the front seat (Laura wanted to sit in back with blake because she loves to play with him). He was getting mad because he didn't want to be in his seat and he reached for me and said "mama"! It was so cute and i was so excited because that was the first time he has ever said mama. He says dada all the time, obviously we know who the favorite is:)

Yay! Blake can stand up all by him self while not holding on to anything! The first time i saw him do this i was so excited i started cheering for him and clapping. He loved the attention and kept doing it. Now he stands up where ever he is and stands for very long periods of time, never losing his balance.

Blake officially took his First step on Saturday May 22. He has taken little half steps before then and just fallen over. On Saturday he stood up and couldn't reach his cart and took two steps and stopped, but never fell over. He just stood there a little longer until he slowly lowered himself to the floor and crawled away! I was so excited! He is continuing to take more steps.

Today was so cute! Blake loves to watch Baby Einstiens. We got him a new one with a part about Bugs! I personally don't like bugs, but Blake thinks this is the best part of the whole movie and smiles whenever it comes on. Then his eyes are glued to the TV while they show all the bugs (what a little boy). Today while he was watching to Bugs Tanner looked at Blake and said "Bug". Blake looked right back at tanner and said "bug" back to him!!! I wish i could have got it on video. Blake repeated tanner a few more times then lost interest. Im not totally surprised because a couple weeks ago every time i would read him a book with a cow in it and i would say "Mooo" he would say "Moo" back to me. I though it was super cute but i can't believe he repeated and actual word!! Its crazy how fast he is growing up!

Blake and Aiden

2010-05-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

Blake's new best friend is Aiden! One of my Best Friend, Gina, had a baby only 6 weeks later then I did. She named him Aiden and we decided He and Blake would be friends! Unfortunatly they live in Utah and we live in Az. So we don't get to see each other very often. While we were at the reunion Blake would not sit still so I let him play on the ground and Aiden joined him shortly after. They took turns playing with the car and crawling around the floor. They both were so interested in each other and each others binkies. It was so cute to see them play together... well im not sure if they were playing together or just playing at the same time, probably the later but its still fun!

Blake still can't walk, but he sure loves to RUN! He will push his cart and his high chair (it has wheels) for hours and take little half steps here and there. He know bear crawls on his hands and feet i think because he is so ready to walk or because his poor little knees are worn out.

Fun in Utah!

2010-05-17T20:10:00.001-07:00

Here is Blake having so much fun in Utah with his uncle Brock and Auntie Breanne!!! Blake and I went to Utah to visit my Family and it was so much fun! I got there on Thursday and left of Sunday. On Thursday it was so good to spend that evening with my family. On Friday we had aunts, uncles, and cousin come over for dinner that my parents and I cooked. On Saturday i went to my 5 year high school reunion and got to see some old friends. Then Sunday Morning we had to leave. It was so good to see my family and i hope to return to Utah again soon.

Some Fun things that happened...

My mom got Blake a walker with wheels on it so he was cruising around the house all day while i was at the mall with my dad. We went to the mall to get my moms mothers day gift with my siblings and my mom watched Blake. My Cousins Jake and Walker (5yrs) were there also. Jake walked around the house with Blake moving Blake every time he ran into the wall with the walker. Ever time another kid came in the house Jake would ask if they wanted a turn and they would say 'no thanks' and keep play. Jake just patiently followed blake around the house for 15 min before he finally went out to play. What a good cousin!

Blake is not great with strangers but he took pretty quick to my mom! and started to warm up to my dad near the end of the trip:) My mom said its because she doesn't let him be scared, she will just hold him even though he doesn't know her. My mom barely put Blake down the whole time we were there! Blake loved all of the attention he got in Utah, like he doesn't get enough in Az, ha! Blake thinks its the best thing ever when you get down on the ground and play with him and he had plenty of kids to play with him in Ut.

On Friday everyone came over for dinner and my cousin Cassidy brought me and the other mothers a mothers day gift. She is not a mother herself, but has done this ever since she found out i was pregnant. She is only a year younger then me but has always been a very giving and thoughtful person. She also brought Tanner Fathers day cookies last year! I don't think she realizes how much it means to her family that she remembers them on these special holidays.

On Saturday i went to my 5 Yr High school reunion. I didn't even know they had 5 yr reunions until i was talking to one of my friends in utah and she asked if i was going. I decided to go since it was already the same weekend that i was going to utah. It was so fun to see all of my friends and their families. There was food, videos, and a slide show with pictures everyone now. Some of the people i seriously have not seen for 5 years so it was fun to see them again and catch up!

What has Blake been up to lately?

2010-05-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

We will start with the most exciting news! Blake walked along furniture today!!! During family night he stood up by the the coffee table and was trying to reach some stuff but couldn't. So he took a few steps while holding the table and reached it! Tanner and I thought it would never happen. If he used to want something he would just get down and crawl to it then gets back up. He loved to walk with his cart or holding his hands but never along the furniture, and now he has! This is just one more step toward walking. It is so fun to watch him grow and develop. He has such a funny personality and LOVES to laugh and play. His Favorite person in the World is his Dad, and cries every morning Tanner leaves for work (i know, mommy is so boring).

Blake is still a little nervous but he is standing all by himself more and more!

Blake loves to walk around the house pushing his cart. He will walk until he hits a wall, then cry for me to come turn the cart for him and walks until he hits another wall. He would do this all day if he could!

If Blake is not pushing his cart he's playing ball! This is the best game and he will let you play with him. He pushes the ball and then chases it! So simple, but so fun!!!

2 Year Wedding Anniversary!

2010-04-26T14:19:00.001-07:00

Yup, we have been married for two years now and it has been the best two years of my life!!! Sunday April 25 was our official Anniversary but we celebrated on friday with dinner and a movie. Something we have not done in a long time. Well, we have done both of them just not in the same night. Lets recap the past two year:

Married in the Salt lake temple

Graduated BYU (Sociology for me, and Biology for Tanner)

Holidays with family

Accepted to louisville, KY Dental school

A beautiful baby boy we named Blake!!! which is of course the best of all!

There has been many more exciting things that have happened to us, but those are the things i can think of off the top of my head. I am so excited for many more years together!

1st Hair Cut!

2010-04-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

Blake got his first hair cut on saturday! The hair around his ear's were getting so long, but the rest of his hair was staying short around the rest of his head! So friday night i took some scissors and cut the hair around his ears, but it didn't go quite that smooth. I sat him on the counter and gave him something to play with. When i was about to cut he turned his head to look at me to see what i was doing. The whole time i just tried to work around him to get to the spots that needed to be cut. By the end he had spilt a pitcher of water all over the counter (and was playing in it), hair was everywhere and he looked like a martian! I have no idea how to cut hair! ha ha it wasn't that bad because he only has like two hairs and its blond, but it was bad to me. Tanner was getting his hair cut on saturday anyway so we took blake in and the lady cut Blake's hair too. Blake did very well and didn't cry at all! Tanner put Baby einstein on his phone and blake watched it when he wasn't trying to see what the barber was doing to his head! It was funny to watch!

A day with Blake!

2010-04-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

what do you say about this video? what a crazy boy!

I don't know why he's eating his toes and i don't know why he's mad about it! i promise i feed my kid, he actually just ate! He's so funny!

He's not smiling much in this video but he usually does when we do this with him. I must have got the camera out too late and he was sick of it. Tanner comes up with the best/funniest ideas to entertain our son!

Yup blake can climb the stairs, but he cant walk or even stand for very long on his own. Is that normal? He can climb the whole flight of stairs when we let him. He's pretty good about not trying to go down the stairs yet, but don't worry we have gates around the house.

Its so fun to be a mom and see how fast babies grow up! I love my family and my life and can't believe how much love and satisfaction it brings!

Happy 1st Easter!

2010-04-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter sunday! it was great being able to watch conference and then spend time with family. In the Barratt home the easter bunny hides all of the easter baskets and leaves clues around the house so we can find them.

The Easter Bunny left blake lots of fun toys and a beautiful basket!

Fun with dad outside!
look at those cheeks!
Big boys can stand up!

Blake loved his easter basket!

9 months

2010-04-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

Here's blake helping me with the laundry:) I went out of the room for a second and when i came back blake had found my laundry. He was 9 months on march 26 and a big boy, big enough to help unload the basket.

Blake had his 9 month checkup. The doctor said that everything looks perfect. Blake is 18lbs 2oz (15%) and 28 1/2 inch long (58%) Head Circumference 17 1/2.

Standing up!

2010-03-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Blake is pulling himself up on furniture now! It's a whole new world for him... he just doesn't know what to do when he gets up there! After a while of standing he starts crying cause he doesn't know how to get back down. Its quite amusing:) He's the best little boy ever!

Tanner and I are doing good. We are only here in Az for 2 1/2 more months! Our time here has gone by so fast. We are kind of sad to leave because it has been so fun and relaxing, but tanner can't wait for dental school to start. The past few months have been nice for our little family because from what ive heard i won't be seeing much of tanner for the next four years! haha we'll see i guess. Some people say its hard, and others say its not that bad and we will see each other all the time. As of right now Tanner is not specializing and that makes it easier on him, so in theory he just has to pass his classes (not that, that is easy). Im a little nervous to be moving so far away from family and everyone we know. We are going to a whole new place where we don't know anyone! Both of us grew up on the west coast and Louisville, Ky is a 27 hour drive or a 3 1/2 hr plane flight from everything that is familiar to us. But, at the same time I am so excited and can't wait!!! It is going to be so fun to live in a whole new environment! The east coast and west coast are like totally different cultures (that's probably too dramatic of a comparison) and from what ive heard Ky is the best! The people we know who have lived there love it! Everyone is so nice with their southern hospitality, its absolutely beautiful, and there is so much to do! There always stuff going on in the city and by the waterfront. We won't be living in the city, but in a suburb about 20 min out of Louisville. The city life is a little to busy for us:) We found a great apartment called Terraces at Forest Springs (www.terracesatforrestsprings.com) and our official move in date is June 14. We are so excited for this new chapter in our lives and we are even more excited that we get to experience it together! Tanner is my best friend and the best husband ever. I am so proud of him for getting into dental school and leading our family to great opportunities and adventures.

Renaissance Fair

2010-03-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Renaissance Fair and there was so much going on and so much to do. We went to a few shows, ate BBQ and funnel cake (belly ache!) and went to a Jousting match/show.
My two favorite shows were the sword swallowing and jousting. The sword swallower was really entertaining and even swallowed an entire balloon. The Jousting was a little... realistic with real horses and fake blood.
Blake was so entertained the whole day and by the end was very worn out.

Family in AZ

2010-03-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my mom, younger siblings, Aunt and cousins came to Az to visit for spring break. On Friday we went to the train park with all of the kids and they had so much fun. We got to ride the train, play at the park and end the day with a yummy picnic! Saturday we went to the orange patch and my family got to bring home some sweet Az oranges. After we went to the Usury Pass visitor center so we could see all of the different cactus's here. Tanner acted as our tour guide and shared all of his desert knowledge. Then went to a splash pad at Tempe Market Place so they could play after being in the desert all afternoon. I was so sad when they finally had to leave, but Im planning a trip up there and will see them again soon.

dada

2010-03-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Fun in the sun!

2010-03-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was 85 degrees outside and so we went outside and played in the sun. The pool was still freezing so we couldn't go swimming. Blake had so much fun and was such a good boy and kept his hat on the whole time.

real taco's or... candy!

2010-03-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Tanner had his last day of work at his dads office and then on monday he is going to work for a different company grading state tests. He's excited for a change of pace and scenery. while tanner was working for his dad his favorite place to eat lunch was at carolinas and if he could eat their everyday he would. The girls at the office knew how much he liked to eat there so on friday they brought him a imitation of his favorite plate. It looks so real and yummy!

Shell = white chocolate mixed with oreo pieces. meat = crumbled brownies. rice, lettuce and cheese = dyed cocoanut. salsa = jello. black beans = fudge sauce with raisins.

Friends!

2010-03-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend we had some friends, Cody and Chelsea, come into town, and it was so fun!!!

They came to Az and stayed at the Ritz-Carlton on Dove Mountain for Cody's spring break. They invited us to come stay with them for a couple days. I have been so excited all month to see them and it was so fun! I was so sad that they couldn't stay longer. Here are some pics of our time with them.

Cody and Tanner in the pool. They went to down the water slide a few times but it was mostly fun just to relax.
Blake chilling with Chelsea by the pool.
At night they had fires lit all around so after dinner one night we sat and chatted.
Lunch at the clubhouse. Sooo pretty outside.
Blake cuddled with chels for like 20 min that morning... i think he liked her.

It was so sad when they had to leave. We love Cody and Chelsea and are so excited for when we see them again. Chelsea is 6 months pregnant and so Blake will have a little friend next time we see them. We are so excited for Baby Barrett.

8 months old

2010-03-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

I feel like blake is growing up so fast, its weird! he is crawling further and further every day but hasn't caused havoc yet. He is even acting older, he loves to talk his baby talk (dada, mama, nana, and scream for fun, etc). Ever since he was about 4 months he has loved drinking from a cup, and he still does but we have to hold the cup. Lately i have been giving him a sippy cut and last week he figured out how to use it all by himself! it is so cute to see him pick it up and get a drink whenever he wants!

He is even playing by himself for longer periods of time now. I think that now that he can move around he can entertain himself. I love when he is playing and he stops and get on his knees to investigate something. i feel like that is such a big boy thing to be able to sit on your knees! but Im a new mom so everything he does is the best thing Ever!

Family Pictures

2010-02-22T15:20:00.000-08:00

These were taken at the beginning of January. Blake had just turned 6 months.

Fun Fun

2010-02-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

yay, we fixed my computer! Macs are the best! i called to set up an appointment and they fixed it over the phone! anyway here are some pics...

Here is Blake in take-off position. I am so excited that he is begging to crawl (but I'm sure i will regret saying that in a week), he is such a big boy!

It was so cold in New York, even though they kept telling us it was "nice outside". I am so bummed, i had taken some pics while we were there, but while my computer was broken it must have eaten the pics cause i can't find them anywhere except for two, so here is one of them. This was a snow storm we hit on the way to the airport. When i think of NY i think of trees!

While we were on a walk somebody's irrigation was overflowing so their was a river of water flowing through the streets. We were trying to figure out a way to not get our feet wet because it was kind of deep. This is what we came up with... poor blake. We pushed blake half way, tanner jumped over the water, then pulled blake the rest of the way out. Blake thought the water was the coolest! His two FAVORITE activities are Bath Time and Walks and he got both in one!
Blake loves walks...
...they make him happy!

Blake Crawled!

2010-02-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

So i finially have some things to write about and now my computer is going crazy! im so bummed but im going to bring it to the mac store today and see if they can fix it. Meanwhile im using another computer in the house to catch up a little, but unfortunatly that means no pic. so i guess you will have to use your imagination... like the old days.

Im going to start with the most exciting news. BLAKE CRAWLED a little bit on saturday! We were sitting on the grass out side and he made two little crawls forward! It was so exciting! but thats all he's done since then. He makes his way around very well by skooting but mostly by rolling and crawing backwards and sideways. He is all over the place! He can pull himself up to his knees and sometimes one foot while playing with his toys. He has also started to wave bye-bye, but only sometimes.

Blake and I just got back from NY where we were visiting family and working on getting a status card. Overall it was a good trip, Blake did so good on the flight out there, he was held the entire time by my mom or other family, and we got started on getting our status cards ( a card given by the trib stating we are actually Native American). It was fun to see family that i haven't seen for years and my cousin Taryn just had her baby so we got to see the cutest little guy, who was only 5lbs (month early). It was like holding air compared to Blake.

There was a few hard parts of the trip though. I love to see my mom so it was sad saying goodbye at the airport especially since Blake is her only grandbaby so she misses him like crazy. Blake was not the easiest on the way home either. Our last flight was 3hrs and 40min. and he slept for about 30 min of that and the rest of the time he whined. I think it was his ears and perhaps just sick of traveling. It was also a disappointment because i thought/hoping with all my heart that i would only have to make the one trip but the tribe needs us to come back in 3-4 weeks to finish up. Its just a hard trip to make with a baby. It is also hard to be away from tanner for that long. He is my best friend. Blake went crazy when we got back and he saw his dad walking up to him in the airport. Blake is such a daddys boy!

mmm, yum!

2010-02-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

Blake was having kind of a ruff day. He hasn't been sleeping very well and tanners dad was holding him while i was doing something, and blake was a little fussy. Then all of a sudden he wasn't fussing anymore. I turned to look at blake and there he was going to town on a sucker. He had a death grip on that sugar stick and the whole thing in his little mouth. He was happy as a clam, it was hilarious, he never took it out of his mouth. He thought it was so yummy! I tried to take it away after a minute but he looked so sad so i went to give it back to him for just another minute and he opened his mouth before he had it in his hand. It went right back in his mouth and never came out. When we finally took it away for good he was so sad. He followed it around the room, and never took his eyes off it, while i tried to find something to wrap it in. That Popsie is his new best friend! Suckers taste so much better then mashed peas and bananas. Popsie was just giving Blake a peak at how bright, and yummy, his future is.

Valentines Day Surprise

2010-02-11T21:17:00.001-08:00

This year for Valentines day i will be on an air plane headed for New York to get my status card. Tanner so kindly reminded me that if he were to pull something like that i would... well i wouldn't let him pull something like that. I love happy heart day! I just as kindly reminded him that Valentines is not his favorite holiday and even if it was he probably wouldn't care anyway. Plus its more important that i can prove my American citizenship with a status card then be here on February 14th, We would have celebrated it a day early anyway since it falls on a sunday.

Today when i got home from cub scouts, which was, like always, ever so wearing, there was a card waiting for me on our bed. It said, "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, If you want your Valentines gift follow the Clue."

"Where would you go if your vehicle were in a state of emergency?"

I am horrible at riddles so i looked at Tanner and said, "well i would turn to you or my phone to call someone." Tanner responded with, "Well im not there and neither is your phone." With a little more prodding i headed for the car. First searched the glove compartment, but found the next clue in the trunk.

Taped to his Ipod it said, "for your next clue, press play," and the rocky theme song was playing (anyone who knows tanner knows that this was not strange at all).

I searched all the rocky movies in the house, then remembered that we have a little rocky action figure in our shower (awkward?... no, just a long story).

Rocky was holding my next clue, "Where can Christmas be found all year around?"

After a small discussion and some more prodding in the right direction (im telling you i am horrible at riddles) i went to the Christmas closet, and found my gift!

We are going to Dinner at Bandera, Then to a movie to see 'Valentines Day' (how appropriate) then staying the night in Scottsdale, Az at a Hotel. And we are doing all of this on fri-sat. It sounds so fun! I am so excited! I love going to Dinner and a Movie its my favorite date and then to stay in a hotel like we are on vacation with a new bed, room service and nothing familiar. I can't wait, tanner is the best!

super happy bath time

2010-02-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

This may be the happiest face i have ever seen in all my 22 years! My crazy boy!

7 months!

2010-01-26T21:39:00.001-08:00

Blake officially turned 7 months today! wow, i cant believe i have a seven month old baby... its the best thing ever! i love being a mom! So Blake had his 6 months appointment a month ago but i never updated and told about it. At his appointment he was 26 1/2 inches and 15 lbs 12 oz. So that means he was 50% for height and 15% for weight.

We now feed Blake baby food 3 times a day, along with cereal, and he eats about a jar/container each feeding half veggies half fruit. I can't really tell because he reacts the same to all of them, but i think peas and apples are his favorite. Although he doesn't really like any of the veggies, but he eats them, and he Loves all of the fruit so its hard to pick a favorite.

I just posted how blake loves to play steam roller with tanner, well now he likes to play it by himself. He has been able to rollover for a long time, but now he just keeps rolling and rolling all across the room until he runs into something then he stops and plays there or just rolls the other way. It is so cute and hilarious Tanner and I just sit and watch him.

He loves to just sit on the ground and play and roll around. When we put him on the ground it only takes a couple minutes for him to be a totally different place in the room. He also gets into crawling position and just stays there i think he will be crawling any day!

steam roller

2010-01-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

Blake loves to play steam roller so i got some pics and a short video of him playing with tanner. He also has just started clapping when he gets excited it is so cute.

Master of Disguise

2010-01-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

Guess who?

Crib

2010-01-22T06:11:00.001-08:00

Yay, we finally got blake a crib after weeks of looking! here are some pic, we think its beautiful!

Blake loves it! He loves to play in it because he quickly realized he can reach the rail and pull himself up so we just as quickly lowered the mattress hight.

We also got a matching dresser.

Bath time

2010-01-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

Blake loves bath time! He splashes in the water and plays with all of his toys. He has bath time every night before he goes to bed and the other night he discovered his belly. He looked down at his belly then started to grab it like he was thinking 'what is this?'. now almost every time he gets in the bath he needs to inspect his belly then continues playing, its so funny.

Fun with B!

2010-01-22T05:52:00.000-08:00

Well its been over a week since Kara and Christian moved to Oklahoma and we miss them so much, but B and Blake got in some good play time before they left.

B got a shopping cart for christmas and she liked blake so much she wanted to buy him! We all thought this was hilarious especially B, and blake was happy because he got to chew on paper this whole time.

Unfortunately it didn't end so great. We were standing very close the whole time but we were not quick enough to catch blake when the cart tipped over! poor blake :( but he recovered quickly and was smiling only a couple min. after the fall, but he did have a little bruise on his head for a couple days.

moving forward

2010-01-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

Blake is growing up so fast he is already leaning forward to crawl. He sees all of the toys but cant reach them, so he reaches till he is on all fours then rocks back and forth trying to move closer. He just started doing this only about two days ago. He is not even totally steady sitting up i can't believe he wants to crawl. Im sure it will still be a while because he can't even get back up when he tips over while sitting, but its cute to watch him try!

Fun Christmas!

2010-01-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas Tanner, Blake and I went to Utah to be with my family. My family was so excited to all of us, but especially excited to see Blake! Last time they saw him he was four months old and he turned six months while we were there. My mom and dad held him all day and my siblings played with him. Blake was kind of nervous the whole time because of all of the new people and he was passed around a lot, but by the end he was use to everyone and happy. Christmas eve we had friends and family over for a Christmas eve breakfast with waffles, buttermilk syrup, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and lots of other yummy things! It was so fun. Then Christmas morning we opened presents and in the afternoon we went to my Auntie Tabbies house with other family and friends for Christmas dinner.

Christmas morning was so exciting with all the presents. My first christmas i was almost six months also and there is a picture with my in the middle of all of the gifts with a bow on my head so I did the same thing to Blake Christmas morning.

He loved all the bright wrapping paper almost more then the actual toys! He just tried to eat all the paper.

My parents got Tanner a 12 gauge shot gun for Christmas and he was very happy. He said he felt like he was on the movie the christmas story' when Ralphie gets his B.B. gun.

My mom just held Blake the whole time and we were all sad when we had to leave. Blake loves his Grandma B and will hopefully be able to go back in March to visit again.

Happy Birthday Jake and Walker!

2009-12-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our cousins, Jake and Walkers, birthday! They turned 5 years old so we wanted to sing them a Happy Birthday song!

Big Boy!

2009-12-09T13:02:00.001-08:00

Blake is growing up! He is becoming such a big boy! He is getting a lot more steady while sitting up and he actually likes his cereal now! He also loves to drink out of a cup like a big person. So I let him drink a little bit of my water or Tanner will feed him his rice cereal like that, and he loves it! It so fun to see his sense of humor develop and thinks some thing are so funny. He likes when we shake our head from side to side or when we laugh he laughs. I will also let him suck on my apple or grape and he goes crazy for it! He loves the sweet juice from it, but don't worry I don't let him do it too much. I also like to give him carrots or broccoli stems so he learns to like veggies also, but he doesn't like those as much.

Last week Blake and I dressed up as Mary and Jesus and told stories about Jesus's life for a Relief Society activity. It was a fun experience and Blake was such a good baby Jesus. He fell asleep right before we went up there and woke up right when i finished. I think he qualified to play Jesus:)

Right now we are just getting ready to go up to Utah for Christmas. I am so excited to see my family and for them to see Blake he has changed so much. We are also getting ready to move to Kentucky but thats not until April or June. There are a lot of thing we need to do before we move there, like where we will live and pay for everything. I know everything will work out like it's supposed to but its still a little scary to move somewhere we have never even been!