the hubs turns 39!

Britton's birthday sets off three straight months of birthdays in our family.  And on September 15th, we celebrated the hubs' 39th birthday!  The hubs and I don't usually make a big deal of our birthdays - it seems that we put so much into the kids' birthdays that when it gets to ours, we're okay with being low-key.  Though, admittedly, would it be in bad taste for me to get a bouncy house? So for the hubs' birthday, we had pizza, cake, and ice cream while secretly lamenting turning another year older :)

I think Barrett is making side eyes at my fun candle find!

Here's a funny side note - every picture I take of the hubs with food (usually our Thanksgiving turkey), he throws me the thumbs-up!  He's a big fan of chocolate birthday cake.

Wish came true!  

Britton's friend Lola came over to play, and ended up being a part of our celebration.  Here's to 39 awesome years!  My birthday is coming up at the end of October, and we will keep that easy-going as well.  I'm sure when the landmark 40th birthdays come next year (oh dear Lord, I will not be sober for that!), we'll come up with a fun adventure trip to take.  

barrett: 52 months old

Not until I looked back to see what month Barrett was turning did I even realize that I never took his 51st month picture.  Doh!  Blame my fried brain from returning from Disney and putting on Britton's party, but it totally left my mind until today.  I apologize for the second-child gaffe, Barrett!

Barrett is growing vertical at a high rate of speed!  He goes in and out of phases of eating, and currently has no real appetite, other than to snack on Ritz crackers, cheddar cheese, or shredded mini-wheats.  So while he's gotten taller, he is skinny as a rail!  He's gotten into acting out gymnastics and ninja moves too, and will run rather than walk.  

He's back at school and is adjusting to the new class.  His previous class was divided into two, and he is no longer in class with his best friend Elizabeth.  His new teachers are patient and kind, and I think once Barrett is back into the routine (he's been out of school for two weeks now, due to the hurricane) he will enjoy his new class.

This morning Memaw was teaching Britton to make bread, and Barrett got his own pile of dough for practicing his kneading.  He loved it like he loves his play dough, and was very focused on his dough!

Little flour-covered hands

Barrett has also reignited his love of building, and Memaw brought out the Legos for some castle-making.  That's his creation behind him, with the tallest tower that has ever stood in our living room for more than five minutes!  And he's so particular about the blocks, that whenever Memaw would place one somewhere, he'd purse his lips and silently move it somewhere else.  His way or no way :) It cracks me up how flexible this kid is - he's watching television, and his legs are crossed with one of top!

Likes:  playing outside, using his hands/active playing, orange peppers dipped in ranch dressing, Paw Patrol

Dislikes:  eating real meals, sharing toys

97 months old

Britton is no doubt tired of spending so much time at home!  School is cancelled until next Monday, so by then she will have had two weeks off only one week after starting.  This unscheduled vacation has given Britton plenty of time to hang out, watch YouTube, play with neighborhood friends, and hunt her new cookbook for recipes to try out!  And she's been writing and drawing - she even started a comic book about Big Foot today, inspired by the graphic Babysitter's Club novels that Aunt Jessica gave her for her birthday!

Unfortunately, the pool isn't balanced (due to all the rain water) so Britton hasn't been able to go swimming.  But luckily we've gotten in a few bike rides around the neighborhood.  And we managed to watch a new Harry Potter movie each day during the hurricane - a total of four, for each book we've read!  

Likes:  French yogurt (bonus - I love the little glass jars), drawing, Odd Squad

Dislikes:  so much together time with Barrett, gymnastics being cancelled for two weeks in a row