..::Barrett's First Haircut::..

When I was in Canada a few weeks ago, I gave Barrett his first "trim". I just took a little off the top so his curly fauxhawk wasn't so long. But his hair was starting to just get too long all over. I debated over whether or not to try and leave some longer on the top...but he was just too squirmy to try and create a STYLE. So a buzz he got!! But I think he still looks pretty darn adorable!

..::Can't Get Enough::..

Since starting solid foods a couple weeks ago, I can't keep up with bubba!! He. loves. it. all! You name it, he's eating it....cereal, fruits, veggies, meats! He seriously can't get enough. If I can't spoon it into his mouth fast enough, he cries. When I'm done feeding him, he cries. He just always wants more. I'm kinda worried about what life is going to be like when this little guy is a teenager!! He's already eating us out of house and home, I can only imagine what it'll be like when he's older and bringing his friends home!!! But I love having a good eater....I'll take this over a fussy one any day!

::Picture Perfect::

Alexa was soooo proud of the chalk-drawing she made on the back patio today. She grabbed the camera and took a couple pictures of it herself before I had a chance to help her with it. And then she insisted on being in the picture with her drawing. I loved though that she knew it probably wouldn't last long, being outside and all AND having a younger sister who likes to destroy things, and so she knew a picture would keep it forever!

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Love my little lady and her boundless imagination. She continually amazes me with the stories, songs and pictures she comes up with!

~Camping~

So my idea of camping is a nice cabin on a lake somewhere with said cabin having running water and electricity. And perhaps a couple jet skis on the dock...one especially for me, and one for everyone else! :-) THAT is MY idea of camping. Unfortunately, that's not the type of camping we experienced this weekend. I must really love my husband! :-) I was able to get out of the Mortenson Family Camp Out back in June because I'd just recently had a baby, only to have it cancelled anyways...so fast forward a couple months and it's not so recent that I just had a baby anymore and my husband. just. really. loves. camping. And really REALLY wants to go. So we plan a camping trip with his brother's family and their parents. The girls are super excited. Alexa well remembers her camping experience last Fall with her daddy and grandparents and can't wait to go again. I'll admit...I got a little caught up in their excitement too. However, it. is. a. lot. of. work. I think that's my biggest issue with it....it's sooooo much work to get everything all packed up for one day, to get there and get everything all set up, just to take it all down, get it home and put it all away again.

That would have been all fine though....if the Monsoon that had been absent for the past 3 weeks hadn't decided to come back with a vengance THE day we planned on going camping! Despite being stuck in our tent from about 7:30pm on due to pouring rain, thunder and lightning, and it being a lot colder than we'd anticipated, AND not getting to make s'mores by the fire :-), we did have a fun time, and thankfully got our camp set up before the rain set in. The girls had a great time! We had fun cooking over the fire, making a swing, finding a little horny toad named "Flowers", eating marshmallows, seeing a flock of wild turkeys and spending time with family!

Oh and here's my hottie chopping wood for our fire!!! Love you babe....you may just get me to go camping again, maybe!! :-)

..::Tummy Time::..

..::baby food::..

After Barrett's check-up yesterday, and the doctor's advice to put some prune juice with some rice cereal to help out with our little man's bowel issues....we decided to start baby food today! Barrett wasn't so sure on the first couple bites. But then he LOVED it! Couldn't get enough of it. I'm pretty sure our bubba man is going to eat us out of house and home...!

~Until We Meet Again~

My dear, sweet Grandpa Leavitt passed away this past Monday. He is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing people I have ever known. He has been a true and wonderful example to me my entire life. The last time I saw him (pictured above) was almost 3 years ago at my little brother's wedding. His health went downhill after that time and I'm grateful that I'm able to remember him as the same funny Gramps he always was! After getting the news Monday morning, I spent the rest of the day crazily trying to arrange things so that I could actually go to Canada to be at the funeral. Thankfully, we had known it wouldn't be much longer and so shortly after Barrett was born, we applied for his passport so we'd be able to travel with him if something like this should occurr. But seeing as this was so last minute, only Barrett and I were able to go and so I had to arrange things for my girls while Kevin was at work. I am sooooo grateful for wonderful friends who stepped in and saved me this past week and helped us out so much! It wouldn't have been possible without them!

*****

So, on Tuesday morning, Barrett and I ventured off to Canada. Even Payton hasn't been to Canada (unless you count me being pregnant with her the last time we were there!!!), so hopefully she doesn't hold that against Barrett when they're older!! :-) Barrett was such a good little traveler! I was able to get a row all to myself on the plane and Barrett slept the majority of the time! LOVE him!!!

The funeral was a fabulous tribute to a wonderful man. My mom, aunts and uncles did an amazing job pulling this together so quickly. It was so great to be able to see my sweet grandma and so many other family members who I haven't seen in so long! How grateful I am for the knowledge I have that families are forever and that I WILL see my grandpa again.

After the funeral, I was able to go back to Calgary for a couple days and spend time with friends who I haven't seen in years as well!

And, of course, I spent more time with family! Barrett was seriously loved by all! I'm pretty sure he was the life of the party, the center of attention every where we went!! :-)

It was a fun, fast, long whirlwind few days but I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be there! I'm thankful I was able to see my family and good friends. And now I'm looking forward to taking my WHOLE family back to Canada next summer for the Leavitt Family Reunion.

'Til we meet again Grampa, 'til we meet again! Love you tons!

-Three Little Wildcats-

To say Kevin is excited for football season to start is a GROSS understatement!! He attempted to take Alexa to the scrimmage last year but it got cancelled ten minutes into the game, due to lightning. Soooo...with no rain or lightning in the forecast, he wanted us all to go. He insisted that Barrett NEEDED to go to his first football game!! I'm sure it's made all the difference in the world! He's sure to be even more of an Arizona fanatic now!! :-) Anyways, despite it being sweltering hot, we had a great time and we even got Coach Stoops to sign a little football after the scrimmage was over! Let's go Wildcats!

Don't we have the cutest little wildcat fans ever??!!!

.::Barrett: 4 Months::..

FOUR months have passed since Bubba joined our family! Our little man has certainly beefed up...his stats from his 4 month check up are:

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26 1/2 inches tall (98th percentile)

20.4 lbs (off the charts)

48cm head circumference (off the charts)

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He is just a BIG kid! I'm pretty sure his rolls have rolls! And I LOVE it!! I absolutely love how squishy and delicious he is. I sure enjoy smooching on those cheeks ALL day EVERY day!

*****

What's happened with Barrett this past month:

*He started sleeping in his own room - July 23rd

*His (and all of ours) 1st trip to the Grand Canyon - July 30th

*He met his Grandpa Baker for the first time - July 30th

*He started putting himself to sleep!!! (LOVE this one!!) - August 3rd

*Started blowing raspberries - August 8th

*Has discovered his feet

*Continues his love affair with his hands!

*****

It's been a fun month....OH, I think the biggest thing this month is that Barrett is now completely on formula. I started weaning him right after 3 months and we are officially done nursing!!! He was a great nurser and I enjoyed that special bond with him, but it was time. It has definitely helped me feel less overwhelmed...now that others can help with his feeding!

Barrett, we sure love you and are enjoying each new day with you!!!

Barrett's First Trip to the ZOO

We ventured to the zoo this morning. It was Barrett's first time and he was so excited that he slept through the entire thing! He didn't wake up until it was time for our picnic lunch after the zoo. I'm sure he had a great time though!! The rest of us sure did...we got to see the the trainer with the Jaguars and with the Elephants too. And then we had a fun picnic by the pond. The pigeons tried to horn in on our lunch but the girls enjoyed chasing them away, over and over again!!

..::A Big BIG Day::..

A new chapter has begun....the school years!! Alexa turns 5 in November, which means she missed the cutoff for Kindergarten by only a couple of months....so we opted for preschool this year. Three mornings a week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, from 9am-noon at Lord of Grace Preschool, just under 10 minutes from our house. It's fabulous! Alexa was soooooooooo excited for her first day! She had no problem walking right into her classroom and getting settled. No tears here...for her OR for me! We were both soooooo READY for today!! After I picked her up and asked how her day went, she asked "mommy, can I go every day??"! I'd say it's safe to say that she likes it! I know she's technically ready for kindergarten...but this will be a good transition year for her to get ready for all day-every day kindergarten next year!

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Good luck, Alexa...mommy and daddy are so proud of you!!

Are They Related??

I'm pretty sure people can tell these 3 cute kiddos are siblings!! These are all my babies right around 2 1/2 months old. Of course, the headband/bow gives it away who the girls are...but Barrett fits right in too, even if he does have his own "look". However, can you believe how much BIGGER Barrett is than the girls were at his age...I mean, just the length of his legs, wow!! I don't think it'll be long before he towers over his BIG sisters!!

Look who is...

Our little man is growing up WAY too fast!! He's only 3 1/2 months old and already sitting up. Albeit a bit wobbly but sitting nonetheless!!

..:Goin' to the movies:..

I know this is a really dark picture...but it's the only one I got. Daddy took Alexa to HER first movie last summer and we never got a picture of that, so I wanted to make sure we documented Payton's first movie experience. It was the last day of the kids' summer movie program at our local theater and so we ventured out...me and the three kids! Payton was mesmerized for the first 45 minutes. She just sat eating her popcorn and watched the "big TV". But that quickly wore off...and then I was soooo glad that it was a bunch of other moms and their kids there too, as Payton was constantly in and out of her seat and both girls were asking me for snack after snack, meanwhile I'm trying to take care of Barrett, who didn't want to nap! BUT, we made it through the whole movie so I consider it a success! And the girls had fun so that makes me happy!

~Weekend Getaway~

This past weekend we got out of town for a little, much-needed vacation. We headed up to Flagstaff on Friday afternoon to stay the night before heading to the Grand Canyon on Saturday. My parents were flying in from Canada to meet us there for the adventure. So as soon as Kevin got off work on Friday, we loaded up and headed out of town. We got up to Flagstaff at dinnertime and so we popped into a hometown burger joint, Bun Huggers, that was recommended by a good friend. It did not disappoint. And even if we hadn't been told about it, we probably would have gone just for the name!! :-) After dinner, we checked into our hotel and then went for a swim. This was Barrett's first real time going for a swim, with his cute little swim trunks, not just a dip of the toes! He didn't really seem to care one way or the other. The girls just wanted to swim in the "mommy/daddy pool" (aka the hot tub), which they weren't allowed to!

After the swim, and quick baths, we headed down to the firepit they had in the courtyard of the hotel. The girls thought it was pretty cool to sit by the fire, but they REALLY thought it was cool when a complete stranger came up and said she had all the fixins for s'mores!! Yummo....it was so kind of her to share with all of us. The girls absolutely loved it....we probably should have waited to give them tubs until after the sticky treat, but oh well!

My parents arrived at the hotel after all the kids were asleep so they were all excited to see each other first thing on Saturday morning. My mom brought Barrett this adorable hat! As you can see, he enjoyed gettin' down with his bad self right away!! :-)

And then it was on to THE GRAND CANYON!!! I had never been there. Kevin went once when he was ten. If you have never been, and have only seen pictures....you just have to go and experience it in person. It. Is. Amazing! For reals. It is so HUGE and magnificent and breathtaking and beautiful and....I could go on and on. And it is definitely not something you can experience in just one day. That's all the time we had AND we had 3 small children, so I feel like we experienced it the best we could given our circumstances...but I definitely want to go back some day when our kids are a bit older (once we don't have to pack diapers bags but before they're teenagers and think it's too boring!!) so we can enjoy it a bit more. Seriously, if you have the opportunity, go. see. the Grand Canyon!

The rest of the quick visit from my parents, the kids just enjoyed having Gramma and Papa around! We went went to church, played in the rain, wore silly hats, went shopping, played at the mall play area, had lunch at the mall and went out for dinner. We crammed alot into our weekend but we sure had fun doing it!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a fun visit! The kids miss you tons and tons!