Rub-a-dub-dub

Last night we got both of the kids in the tub. We're very environmentally friendly.

The Mighty Quinn

Quinn is now 5 weeks old and weighs 10 lbs 9 ounces - pretty impressive. She is becoming much more alert and is starting to smile at us frequently.
I can't believe how quickly she is growing and that over a month has gone by and I can't imagine what we did before we had her. OK, yes I can and I certainly had more sleep. But, I wouldn't change it for anything.
And, as everyone said two kids is a lot more than one. In fact, the other night Connor told Preston, "You have a lot of kids."
For more pictures of all my kids, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/85583787@N00/

Is it Halloween yet?

I’ve mentioned before that Fall is my favorite season. That is in great part to Halloween (it’s not all about K-State Football). I think it’s great fun and have very fond memories of my childhood Halloween festivities – hours of trick or treating followed by candy sorting and swapping with friends. One year myself and my gal pals dressed as the Pink Ladies from the movie Grease and I was Frenchie. Another year Megan and I dressed as bums, getting our costumes from the Salvation Army. As I got into junior high I remember walking the streets of Fairbury soaping cars and holding hands with a boy. Good times.

Well, to help pass on the love of the holiday to Connor we spent much of the past few days at Halloween celebrations and events. Quite frankly, it feels like I’ve celebrated Halloween 4 times and it’s not even the 31^st yet. But, at least we’ll get all the good out of the $20 Spiderman costume as possible. The sleeve is already stained with black paint from the face paint at the Montessori School Carnival and the pants are covered with frosting from cookie decorating. Fortunately, at Trick or Treat Street we narrowly escaped it being covered in urine (it was seconds people).

For the actual day, we are trick or treating with some neighbor friends and their 3 kids around the block, followed by passing out candy at our house.

I hope that you all get a lot more treats than you do tricks. And, don’t be the jerk that passes out healthy snacks or (Goddess forbid) toothbrushes or next year you’ll find your tree covered in toilet paper. And quite frankly, you’ll deserve it.

She's here and she's amazing

Quinn Landry Barton arrived on Monday, October 1st at 6:26 pm. Her birth fighting weight was 7 lbs 4 oz with a height of 18.5 inches. Hair color is TBD. She is the spitting image of her big (and very proud brother) Connor.
The delivery was relatively text book with only 26 minutes of active labor. I guess she was ready to join this crazy family, although since she may have changed her mind!
Thank you to all friends and family for your best wishes and thoughts. Hope you all get to meet her soon, because she's pretty damn awesome.

For more photos go to http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=b96q8mb.akpigokf&x=0&y=-yyep8e

One More Week

One more week little Ms. Barton and I'm handing you your walking papers. At my next doc appointment on Monday, October 1st we will schedule an induction for next week. My official due date is October 6th, but looks like we may get to meet the latest member of our family sooner than that. We will keep you all posted or check back for the story and pictures. Nothing too graphic we promise!

Are you kidding me?

I received an email today from Williams Sonoma. But, I think it was really sent to me by someone from another planet (an alien male perhaps). No sane person from this planet would send out this email or make this product. It contained information about how to have "Halloween Fun with Your Kids". It included merchandise like personalized, Halloween baking aprons for the kids (precious) and 3-D cookie cutter sets (I can't even manage cut out cookies at the holidays). Can you imagine making the cookies seen in the picture above with your kids? Sounds like a lot of fun doesn't it? Uh, maybe after you've cracked open a bottle of wine, put a straw in it and found the bottom. Who wants to be a mom with the expectation that precious moments with your children are created with 3-D cookie baking and frosting sessions.
I assume the E-Marketing Director for Williams Sonoma as well as the Product Manager is a male. One that is not married and definitely does not have children.
Now, I'm not saying that we won't hit the pumpkin patch with Connor, pick out some great gourds and carve them up in true fall fashion. It may or may not be a precious moment. It may be a disaster. It could include a tantrum about how the pumpkin looks, the fact that we won't let Connor actually use the carving knife himself, or just that in general he thinks our parenting skills are totally lacking. Doesn't mean I won't take part in this ritual of "family fun". But, let's be realistic about how these things go and ease up on the expectations. Particularly those that include scrapbooking photo opportunities and 3-D cookies.
For those of you wondering, yes they denied my "Mother of the Year" application once again.

Best Buddies

Obviously, I'm a girl. So, this whole raising a boy thing can be a real shocker some days. Needless to say that between Preston and Connor there is never a dull moment in my home. These are pictures from Tia's Back to School Party. Connor's best buddy Max was there. They are certainly BFF and pretty inseparable at school. Here are some pictures of them "hanging out" as Connor would say.
The picture with the cones on their heads is probably just a precursor to whatever Connor posts on his Myspace page after his first kegger at K-State 16 years from now.

See you next year Summer!

I can't believe that summer is drawing to a close. It's bittersweet. We will miss our Sundays spent at the pool, evenings in the sandbox and the camping season. But, we are excited for fall. It brings some of our favorite things, K-state football, the beautiful fall mountain colors, cooler temperatures and the arrival of Barton4. Connor has started Early Childhood at the Children's Montessori School of Salt Lake and is loving every minute of it. He now gets to enjoy Spanish, Art, Music and Dance class during his day.

Over Labor Day David, Eric, Jackson and Julia came out for a visit. We had a wonderful time and the kids played hard.

Ready for Barton 4

With some help from our friends Donovan and Erin we got the nursery all ready for Barton 4's arrival.

Nine Years of Bliss

Nine years ago we said our "I dos". Many of you were there to help us celebrate. Who could forget the pink champagne and carpet on the walls of the local Elks club? And, it's been bliss ever since. OK, well maybe not bliss but life is good and it looks like it's going to stick! We celebrated with an amazing dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in SLC, Tuscany.
So, here's to you Preston. Thank you for 9 amazing years and many adventures. I look forward to the next 60+.

August in the Uinta Mountains

Last weekend we hit the northern slope of the Uinta Mountains for our first and last camping trip of the season. The temperatures were perfect and Connor got to reel in his first fish!
Click here to see all of our pictures from the trip.

Seven Months and Counting

I am in the home stretch - officially 7 months. All is well and we expect our little girl sometime around October 6th. Connor loves the belly, but can't wait to be a big brother. We'll see how long that lasts!