barrett: 140 months old

 

Barrett is embracing his winter clothes, voluntarily wearing long sleeve shirts and pants!  Last year it was nearly impossible to get him out of shorts, even when the temperatures dipped below 40 degrees, so I'm taking this as a win.  Barrett has been steadily working on all of the Lego sets he got for Christmas - finished the Concorde, working on Minecraft, and the chess set is up next.  He's also been working on a 1:400 scale airport replica with the hubs, and they're currently tackling the terminal buildings.  I'm a huge fan of miniatures, so I love seeing him get excited about working on his model!

Barrett is loving all things science right now (they are learning about biospheres in class) and playing his flight simulator game.  He's also been cheering on football teams as we inch closer to the national championship for college and of course, the Super Bowl.  

Likes: bagel bite minis, playing Pickleball

Dislikes: the long walk from the bus stop when it's raining

185 months old

 

Of course my first post of 2025 would be late!  Britton and I went to Virginia over Christmas break, and she and I weren't home on January 2nd for me to do this post on time.  Britton had a fantastic time visiting her friend in Richmond and I went to Virginia Beach to see my family.  January is promising to not give quarter to the weary!   School is back in session, and the trials and tribulations of final exams is behind, with new assignments, tests, and homework back on the schedule.  

Especially exciting this month will be softball team tryouts this week!  Britton has been working hard on her batting all year, and is ready to return to the team.  Tryouts were supposed to be last week, but Texas got a ton of rain and the field was swamped.  

Likes:  sleeping in, planning which concerts to attend this year

Dislikes: her plane getting delayed and landing in Richmond at 2:00 am

barrett: 139 months old

We're into December and Barrett is ready for Christmas!  I think he's come up with present ideas every day, but honey, that ship sailed because I already bought all my gifts.  He would love a bearded dragon, but we have a cat, so that isn't going to happen.  But, to appease his reptile needs, we hit up the Reptile Expo in Houston!  He got to hold a snake and an iguana!

Barrett is gearing up for his first final exams.  I think he's not quite sure what to expect, and going through final exams for the first time is pretty tough. Heck, I forget things from yesterday, so I sympathize with needing to remember four months of lessons!

Likes: all the reptiles

Dislikes: homework

184 months old

I feel like two minutes after Thanksgiving dinner was over, December was right there!  Actually, that is kind of accurate for how the calendar fell this year.  Two days after Thanksgiving, Britton, Barrett,  Memaw, and I were at the Nutcracker, kicking off the Christmas season!

Memaw and I used to take Britton to the Nutcracker in Pittsburgh, and have only been once in the eight years we've lived in Houston, so we decided it was time to see it again.  And Barrett has never seen it, so he was game to see what all the fuss was about!  When the Russian dancer started his routine, Barrett said,  "Hey, I know this song!"

Britton is gearing up for finals!  Of course, every class has to cram a test or quiz in before the end of the semester, so she's been nonstop studying.  She's past the point where I can be of any help, so we've gotten an Algebra II tutor to help out with the matrices and conics and everything else I can't remember.

Likes:  going to the ballet; sleeping in on the weekend; pistachio muffins

Dislikes:  studying for finals

 

barrett: 138 months old

Barrett is fully into November and still playing football!  But that's not a bad thing, because his team is headed to the end of season Turf Bowl!  They play next Sunday and we're so excited to go see him play at the high school football stadium.  Barrett plays left tackle in defense, and comes home from every practice covered in bruises.  And this is flag football!

Catching up from last month, Barrett was Wolverine for Halloween.  His best friend Walker was Deadpool, so they made a matching set.  I wandered the neighborhood with Barrett and his friends, and his friends' parents.  We strolled behind them as they raced around the neighborhood getting as much candy as they could carry.

Likes:  Pokemon cards, Madden,  football

Dislikes: lasagna and Philadelphia Eagles
 

183 months old

Well, hello November!   October was in and out like a roller coaster - ridiculously fast and no idea how it all went by in a blink of an eye.   Britton is slowly but surely chipping away at her driving classes.  She's had 7 two-hour sessions where she drives for one hour and observes for one hour.  Her last 3 lessons are one-hour sessions, and she's only got 2 sessions left.  We will spend the rest of the time (until August)  doing parent-led sessions.  I'm not ready!

Britton spent Halloween not trick-or-treating this year, but instead managing the playlist and handing out candy.   She dressed up as a witch (Barrett was Wolverine) and did a great job interacting with all of the kids that stopped by, complimenting their costumes and delivering candy into waiting hands.

She also had her first debate competition!  No parents were allowed to watch, but she did a great job and got the nerves out. I'm so impressed with her ability to go into public speaking with minimal nerves, something I still struggle with as an adult.

Likes: honeycomb ice cream

Dislikes: getting up early for Barrett's football games (but goes anyways and cheers him on!)

barrett: 137 months old

What a busy October we've had!  Barrett is deep into his flag football season and really enjoying it.  He plays defense, and is now actually looking forward to going to practice twice a week!  He's got 2 games left, then the end-of-season tournament.  He's also rocking it at school, with good grades and keeping track of all of his homework on his own.  Bonus - he's joined the Pokemon Club at school, and they had their first meeting today.  He said he got some good traded cards, and I'll take his word for it because I don't know much about Pokemon cards!

Likes:  football, Madden football video game, Nutella on waffles

Dislikes: ravioli

Throwback Barrett - 10 years ago!  Covered in paint