Max at One Month

I thought Nonny and Grandad would enjoy a few more pictures of their newest grandson. Soon they will be here to hold this little guy. We are so excited- only another month and they will be home from Mongolia! Two years really does go quickly.

   

I love this intense look he gives.

 

Tawny thinks he will be smiling within a few days. What a cutie.

   

 

 

 

Green is maybe not Aubree's best color. (for lips anyway)

Saturday with the girls

 I went outside this afternoon to watch these two little ragamuffins play. Tawny had the boys, Maren and Adam were at a mini youth conference, and Geoff was working, so it was just me and the girls. The weather was great for getting outside and taking turns on the computer wasn't working out. They were both looking a little neglected, so I decided to fix them up.

 

First a bubble bath

After getting hair dry and pink dresses on, (and a little fight about which dress was prettier and who would wear it) we went outside again to take a few more pictures. 

        Ahh! That's better. 

   

Bumping heads was funny.

Another week goes by...

Our power went out after a big wind storm. A branch must have fallen on the power lines. We waited  a long 28 hours for it to come back. Man, that seemed like forever! The kids went to bed at 7:30. It seemed much later on our dark street. Because of that early bedtime, they all popped out of bed nice and early. They spent about an hour and a half in my room, shining their flashlights and waiting for me to get up and get them some food. It was too cold to get out of bed! So they piled more blankets on top of me and got themselves cold cereal. They were hoping that school was cancelled for lack of power, but the buses came right on schedule. It turns out that the power outage only affected a lucky 136 homes in Ballwin. Trevor is still obsessed with school cancellations. 

I spent the next day at Tawny's, watching the Olympics I missed the night before (figure skating, my favorite) and holding little Max so Tawny could do a little shopping. It was very nice.

 The girls ate a big salad by candlelight.

The boys played video games by...  screen light.

Cute little Landon

I went to Alec's class for their Valentine's party. I used to volunteer in classroom all the time, but this was the first time this school year. I feel pretty lame about that. 

See Alec ducking down in the back? Little stinker.

Adam helped me get ready for preschool- Train Day.

                           We finally got some nice weather and took a little preschool walk.
Have I already mentioned that I am ready for spring? Unfortunately, cold weather is on the forecast...

A Haircut for me! (it's a slow week for blogging)

 My hair has never been this straight so I had to take a few pictures to preserve the good hair moment. They are few and far between. I have never been good at fixing my hair. I just don't like to take the time. The curls and cowlicks drive me crazy, and it is always falling out. And I don't like to spend money on getting it fixed. But when it does happen, it is very fun! 

Alec was my little photographer. He liked being on the other side of the camera for a change.

I sneaked a picture of him though.

Other happenings-
Alec was in the Pinewood Derby. Brian helped him with his car, which was WONDERFUL. It was pretty fast, but not enough to win a prize. But the night was still pretty fun. How can a kid complain too much when donuts and cotton candy are served? At the end every kid got a certificate and a candy bar. This is not an event that I love (it can be so emotional!) but this one was okay! Wish I'd brought the camera.

I had a day of science experiments with the preschoolers last Thursday. It was a fun and exciting mess. Then we attended a Science Night at the middle school. I had forced myself to take the kids. It's was cold outside and I was tired! But I'm glad we did. The kids made lava lamps and silly putty and pushed a stick through a balloon and other fun stuff. They had a table of reptiles and snakes that kids were able to hold. Very fun.

The kids have friends come over to house every Friday night. Sometimes they take turns and sometimes everyone invites for the same night. It can be quite a party. It is nice to have this wonderful house that can accommodate guests. We love it. And I love that the children have made friends in our new location.

Geoff has a new calling as an Elders' Quorum teacher and he also cleans the church every weekend. (1/3 of the church actually) He's giving a talk in sacrament meeting tomorrow. With that and two jobs, he is a busy guy.

Adam went to the Klondike Derby. I was unable to pry details out of him, but I think he had a good time making shelters, starting fires, shooting arrows, etc. He turns 14 this month and will be able to participate in Youth conference and dances and the trip to Palmyra with the youth of the ward.

Trevor asks every day if I think school will be cancelled. I'm sick of it. He thinks and almost expects a snow day every day! This is what comes from having 9 snow days this year. St. Louis is cold and snowy all the time. The temperature seems to rarely go above 20 degrees. It's like a South Dakota winter. The novelty of snow has long since faded away for the Barney kiddos. They have yet to go play in the latest snowfall. I don't mind it. I love staying home and making soup and homemade bread and snuggling in my warm bed. It's very cozy.

Annalisa is busy making valentines and even kissed the one she plans to give to a certain boy at preschool- three times. Trevor is bemoaning the fact that middle schoolers don't exchange valentines and that there will be no candy haul this year.

Piano lessons keep me busy. I'm up to ten counting my three boys. I love my calling as the primary chorister and I do my best to keep those kids on their toes. Music time should be fun! It takes a lot of planning. Lately it seems I am always planning. But it's worth it when I hear an older boy insist there is time for one more song before the closing prayer and another child say that their favorite song is one of the ones I taught her. Awesome.

It's great having a new baby nephew. He is so fun to hold and so dang cute. Max is very loved.

 Anna at preschool-

Anna is not sure she likes "Stone Soup."

Rain clouds in a jar

Oobleck!

Mixing colors in shaving cream

She made herself some whiskers- with permanent marker...

I guess I had more to say then I thought I did! Have a great week everybody!