Baby Owen Update!

Had my check-up yesterday and everything is perfect! Owen still has a good, strong heartbeat of 154 beats per minute. Doctor said all was well. He said the due date looks like May 7th or 10th, but we will look at scheduling the C-section the last part of April. I was hoping for a May baby, but I am sure I will be ready by then! :)

And the posts go on...

So, I just posted a TON of new stuff. Scroll down and on the right is a list of December posts. Choose "Long time...no posts!" if you want to start from the beginning and work backwards!

Christmas Day!

Harper was so good this year that Santa even brought her gifts to Grandma and Boppy's house. Her favorite was this princess cot. She just can't get enough of it. For some odd reason she also likes the bag it came in and keeps toting stuff around in it! :)

My favorite gift was this awesome apron! It is a super cute vintage style apron with really neat patterns. I will have to take a better picture of it to show you. Believe me, Santa was very good to me this year!

Richard got some awesome gifts from Santa too. He got some cool t-shirts, ipod stuff and some Wii games. Game Addicts Anonymous here we come!

I had to share this picture of my dad. My mom suprised him with a tool box for his truck. Too big to wrap of course...so Richard brought it in and my Dad hid his eyes, just like a good boy! :)
What a Merry Christmas!

The reindeer food worked...

Santa found our house! Yippee! Harper was a little timid at first, as she always is with new things, but she remembered this gig pretty quick. She picked up and admired everything!

Harper must have been a good girl, Santa brought her lots of fun stuff! Christmas morning is so magical...no matter how old you are!

Here comes Santa Claus...

Getting ready for Santa to come was a big deal this year. Santa, himself, sent us a letter saying how he liked cookies, milk and needed carrots for his reindeer. And a 3-year old never forgets!!!

Not even the carrots!!! She even had to sing the song to make sure she named off all of the reindeer and left enough for each!

This last picture takes a little explaining. At school, the kids made little sachets of reindeer food. It was a mixture of sugar, oats, hay (or grass as Harper calls it), and glitter pieces. It had a cute little poem attached about sprinkling it on your lawn so the reindeer could find your house. So...Christmas Eve, we all went outside, in our PJ's, with flashlight in hand to sprinkle the reindeer food! I am sure we looked like crazy people looking for aliens, but it was all for a good cause!!!

Christmas Eve Mass

What a glorious Christmas Eve! Wonderful sermon, beautifully decorated church, and an adorable little girl in her Christmas dress belting out Christmas carols.

Harper was a little confused as to why we were going to church at night...it usally always "morning time" she told me. Once we got into the church and saw all of the decorations she was awed...to say the least! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Hammin' it Up!

For lunch on Christmas Eve, we went over to exchange gifts with Richard's parents. I had to include this picture and story because they are priceless. Harper was so lucky, she got a Princess TV/DVD combo from her Granny & Grandpa! She loved it so much that I told her stand by it so I could take her picture and this is what I got...a full flegged POSE on top of the TV! She is a ham!

The Barlow Family Christmas!

On Christmas Eve Day, there wasn't much going on at the Barlow Household, so we decided to open our presents from each other. It was joyous as always. Richard had taken Harper to buy me some gifts at Target and she did a great job picking them out. I got a super cute coin purse and black and pink house slippers. I also got a new camera lens (Yippee! more posts to come after I get outside and try it out) and Cricut computer connection!

Rich was the most suprised of all. I got him (well....all of us) a Nintendo Wii game system! Now you know why I had us open presents that morning! :) It is so fun to play and Harper has even gotten the hang of it. I am sure I will post more Wii family addict pictures to come.

P.S. The Wii comes with all kinds of warning about wearing the wrist strap and being careful....but I already managed to break by "Crop Till You Drop" Drink Mug! Darn Wii...oh well...there will be more casualties I am sure!

Christmas Cookies!

It is tradition in my family to make frosted sugar cookies for any and EVERY occassion. Growing up, my mom would make these cookies as turkeys, shamrocks, Easter eggs, and of course any Christmas shape imaginable. Those of you that know me...know I am a stickler for tradition, so I decided that Harper and I would make the cookies this year!

She was a very big help with the mixing, but got a little bored with the rolling and cutting. Fiddled with her own ball of dough for a very long time and ended up with three "lumps" of cookie. Meanwhile, I made about 3 dozen stars and santas. The most fun part of the cookies is the decorating. I made yellow, green and red icing (except Harper insisted it was pink!). We also bought two jars of sprinkles and some M&M's. Richard and I iced and she added the "bling." It was fun and not mention a YUMMY treat!

Jump Zone!

Monday before Christmas, we went with the Hoke family to JumpZone, a huge warehouse type setting with tons of inflatable slides, moonbounces, etc. Harper had been here for a birthday party before and had a blast! She was so excited to go back and had even more fun the second time around!

Even though I couldn't participate (I didn't think Baby Owen would appreciate it much!), I had a great time watching Harper and Richard slide and bounce. It was like watching TWO 3 year olds. It was a great way to spend a super cold day!

Christmas at School!

Harper was lucky enough to get to do TONS of Christmas stuff at school this year! She was so excited each day she came home with a new project! Here are a few of the school happenings...
-Friday the 12th, Grandma got to go to school to have Christmas lunch with Harper. She said Harper was very well behaved, but joined in as most of the kiddos ate their cake first!
-At school they learned about Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Harper was so excited to tell us all about each holiday. When the first day of Hanukkah came around...she heard about it on the news and wanted to celebrate. So her and Grandma lit some candles. Hey, all of us have a little Jewish in us somewhere...right!
-One day they made Gingerbread Houses. It was actually a pretty clever idea. The teacher glued graham crackers to a Milk carton. I always wanted to know how to get mine to stay standing up! Harper decorated hers with a LOT of candy. Of course she has been picking it off and eating it ever since!
-Santa came to their school one day and they got to have their picture taken with him. Harper had on a cute Christmas outfit and it had striped leggings. She came home saying she had Candy Cane Legs!
-The best day of all was the last Friday they were at school. They had a Polar Express Party. All of the kiddos got to wear their PJ's and they did "train" activities all day. They even had a gift exchange...but the teacher said the kids were all upset that they couldn't have the gift they brought! :)
Being the mom of a school-aged kid is so much fun! Harper is so lucky to be in such a fantastic program!

Baby Barlow Has a Name!

Well...it is official. Baby Barlow has a name. He will be Owen James Barlow. Richard and I narrowed it down to two choices and asked Harper to pick. This was her choice. We are so excited to call him Owen now...Harper still calls him baby brother sometimes! She is so excited about her baby brother. She talks to him all the time and gives my ever growing belly a kiss any chance she gets. Just this morning, she gave Owen a kiss and I ended up with chocolate lip prints on my shirt for the rest of the day! She is the sweetest!!! :)

Long time...No Posts

I am back into the blogging world...I promise. Even if I have to make it my New Year's Resolution! Lots of Updates to come!

New Christmas Carol

Just a quick Harper funny...
Harper has been learning several Christmas song at school this week and last. Today she came home with a Jingle Bell bracelet and was singing "Jingle Bells." Her version included a different verse and went a little like this...
Dashing through the snow...
In a WALMART'S OPEN sleigh!!!
I just about died from laughter. I even asked her for clarification and yep...that is what she said. Wow...Kids say the darndest things!

An Ozark Family Christmas!

This weekend...My parents, sister, Harper and I all traveled to Branson to spend a long weekend with Gramps and Grandma Jan (my grandparents). We stayed at an amazing lodge at the College of the Ozarks called the Keeter Center. It was a wonderful lodge with a big fireplace and an even bigger Christmas tree! The best part about it was the fact that they brought us fresh milk (from their own dairy) and cookies each night. They also turned down our beds and left a chocolate on the pillow. Well...I had to do some quick "Mom" thinking and I told Harper these were "Good Morning" Chocolates! She waited to eat them, but did so at first chance each morning! :)

While we were there we saw the Pressley's Show and Noah:The Musical. They were both fantastic shows and Harper loved them. We also got to go to Silver Dollar City two different times. It was REALLY cold, but SDC just seems to make it all better when you are there. Unfortunately, I couldn't ride any rides. I didn't figure brother would appreciate that too much! So Melanie was the lucky one! I am so grateful for her helping with the super cold, extra freezing kiddie rides she endured.
My parents and Melanie helped me out so much with Harper...we really had a good time! This morning as we pulled into school, Harper asked..."When can we go back to the hotel Mom?" I think she kinda enjoyed herself.

It's a Baby....

Boy or Brother as Harper would say. Well...it is official...the Barlow's are having a Boy! And a very healthy one at that. The ultrasound today revealed a perfect baby who was very active. He was moving his hands around and stretching out his legs and feet (which seemed very big by the way!). Richard and I were very surprised that it was a boy! We don't even have any boy names picked out. I guess we better get working on that.:)
Harper got to go to the ultrasound with us and she was sooooo excited. When the baby first popped up on the screen the look on her face was priceless. It was a "there really is a baby in there" smile! She is very excited for her baby brother and has been graciously offering up any names she can think of. I keep telling her "we'll keep that in mind!"

So much to be thankful for...

Richard, Harper and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving as usual. Wednesday we went to paint pottery with the Hoke "Circus" and Harper did a great job. I was so thankful for Richard's help with all of the kids. Such fun...but I think we might wait awhile before we go back. So much breakable stuff!
Thursday we stayed home in the morning and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Harper was mesmorized by all of it. She watched almost the entire thing. She wanted to help me cook...but she just couldn't peel herself away from the TV. That afternoon we went to my parents' house to eat. We had all of the usual fixins and they were delicious! I love Thanksgiving!!!
Friday morning it was "Up and At 'em" for a grand day of shopping with my sister and mom. My mom and I started off at Target at about 5:30 AM. It was actually really organized and not many rude people! :) We shopped around most of the morning and ended up at home just in time for me to take a nap.
Saturday Ethan came over to play with Harper. They had so much fun. It is just great to see her interact with him and he is quite smitten with her too! Saturday night we went over to Grandma T's to help her put up Christmas decorations. We put ours up last week...so it was good to still have some decorating to do...keeping with tradition and all.
Sunday was quiet. Getting ready to head back to school and work!
It was a wonderful break...probably the most relaxing I have had in a very long time!

Fall Fun!

 

Here are a few pics of Harper "graperin'" leaves with her Dad! She had a great time and I hope she was a little help.

 

It took her a little while to get the hang of the rake. She kept using it like a shovel...but she finally got it under control!

 

School Memories...

Having Harper in school is awesome...it gives me a chance to reminisce about my days in elementary.
On Friday, I got another teacher to cover my 4th hour and I got to go eat Thanksgiving lunch in the cafeteria with Harper. It was so cute to see all of the little kids in her cafeteria. As I watched her walk through the serving line, she seemed to be 6 years old. :( But it was so fun to see her interact with the cafeteria staff and the food was just as yummy as I remember it being...more than 16 years ago. Yummy homemade rolls, pumpkin pie and cartons of milk!
Also, the week after Thanksgiving Break, Harper will get a chance to shop in her school's Santa's Secret Shop. If any of you had this when you were younger, you probably remember it. It is a shop full of JUNK that little kids buy for their moms and dads. I just can't believe how expensive it has gotten...but it is the experience right?!?
I am so glad that Harper loves school as much as I did!

Family Pics

Christmas Season means time for Family Pics in the Barlow Household. A few Sundays ago, we went down to the Paseo Art District and had Angel Porch take our family pics. They turned out really good...I love the ones of Harper! If you want to check them out go to
http://www.angelporchphotography.com/index2.php
Click on Client Proofing
password is: harper

Baby Update!

Well...I had my checkup at the doc last week and everything is still hunky-dorie in the world of baby Barlow. The heartbeat was 154..."good and strong" the doc said. He told me my weight was good! Whewww...what a relief! :)
Two weeks from today, December 2nd, we have our ultrasound to determine if we are having a Brother or a Sister...as Harper puts it. Right now she says she wants a sister, because Mommy could put bows in it's hair. She says she would like to name the baby, "Diamond." Such classy taste she has! :)

There is a monster in our house...

Harper got these CRAZY, green monster teeth at her Halloween party at school last week. She has been obsessed with them ever since. She runs around "Rharrring!" everyone. It is hilarious because I remember those same teeth as a kid. The best part about the experience is that she takes them out periodically and says, "Don't be scared...it's just me...Harper." Thanks for the clarification, I was really beginning to wonder! :)

Dr. Pocahontas

Our Halloween was very Happy this year! Busy...but tons of fun! Harper was Pocahontas this year (we got the costume when we were at Disney last March) and she was excited to get to wear the costume for more than play time around the house. Since Pocahontas doesn't have curly hair, I had to do a lot of slicking back and ended up braiding her hair in low pigtails. She was so proud of her Pocahontas attire.

Wednesday night we went with the Hoke Family to Haunt the Zoo at the OKC Zoo. It was really crowded, but they expanded the trails this year so it ran much smoother. Harper had to get back in the hang of Trick or Treating, she wanted to eat each piece of candy after she got it. It was a fun night and the treats were really yummy!

Thursday night we continued our quest for candy at Haunt the Halls at Yukon HS. The pic above is Harper in front of Mommy's classroom door. All of the doors were decorated and the high school kids handed out candy at every door. They also had a carnival in the gym with lots of really fun games for the kiddos. We even got to pose with the Millerman! Aunt Melanie and Grandma even got to go along to see the Pro Trick or Treater in action!

Friday was Harper's Halloween Party at school. We decided against the Pocahontas costume at school because of the whole going to the bathroom issue. Didn't want to drag the fringe in the toilet. So for school Harper was Haper Barlow, MD. Her daddy had her a real name tag made and Aunt Melanie got her some real doctor stuff at the Hospital. Harper was so excited because Melanie even got her a "shot", aka syringe minus the needle. Her OSU scrubs from Grandma and Boppy completed the outfit! Halloween is so much fun!