barrett: 74 months old

Barrett is living his best life this summer!  We've decided that this is the summer that the puddle jumper life jacket gets thrown away.  Admittedly, it's coming apart at the seams and won't last much longer, but we're also past the point that Barrett needs to be a swimmer.  With the pool in the backyard, and swim team coming up next year, he's ready to swim like Britton does - like a fish!

Yesterday we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and got to see the dinosaurs and gemstones - amazing!  It was fun pointing out the children's birthstones to them, especially when Barrett's emeralds were in a queen-like necklace, 100s of carats total.  We also did a first for us - we went to the planetarium!  Barrett loves space, and he especially enjoyed the show.  We have a membership to the museum, so I really do need to plan more trips to the museum and planetarium this summer - such a good place to hide from the heat!

Barrett also loves Pokemon, and can't get enough of Eevee.  We decided to put together a chore chart for him to earn the Pokemon plushies he really wanted, and he was begging to wash dishes and take out the trash!  I can definitely see a Pokemon backpack on our back-to-school shopping list.

Likes:  Pokemon, talking about how far space goes, building LEGO cities

Dislikes:  when Britton won't let him play with her stuff

119 months old

One month until this sweet thing turns 10!  Mostly sweet, and sometimes salty and emotional for no reason, and when that happens puberty comes and hits me in the face with the reminders of the emotional rollercoasters.  I'm not ready to navigate the "tween" years and yet, here we are!  

We've been planning Britton's birthday party - she again wants a pool party at home.  And that's fine with me because she's up for some fun games and activities!  The theme this year is "mermaid" which is so apropos because this summer Britton really came into her own with her swimming.  I think she must be part-mermaid (comes from my side)!

Britton's dance recital was in June, and she had THREE routines to remember!  Her class consisted of ballet, tap, and jazz, and she's already signed up for next year's intermediate class of ballet, lyrical, tap, and jazz, because she enjoys dance so much.  And it's rubbed off on Barrett, who is now enrolled in a hip hop dance class for the year - these kids just love moving and grooving!

Tap Costume

With dance friends

Likes:  playing on her iPad, swimming, dyeing her hair (the red has all faded out!), getting ready for sleepaway camp

Dislikes: being with Barrett for too much of the day and Toy Story 4 (gasp!)