Christmas Wishes

The funny story behind the REALLY BIG dollhouse is this . . . My cousin told me about this dollhouse she found for her daughter Ava for Christmas.  It was affordable but still cute and fully furnished.  So I decided to get it for Clara.  And then, after seeing a picture of a pretty big dollhouse in a Pottery Barn Kids catalogue, Clara decided that for Christmas she need a big dollhouse.  That is all she talked about for the weeks leading up to Christmas.  We left a letter for Santa by the cookies Christmas Eve asking for one.  And in it she told me to make sure I specified "A REALLY BIG" one.  So on the big day, she doesn't act at all surprised to find a BIG present by the tree.  Well, you can see for yourself in the video.  Happy Holidays!!!

Clara's Christmas Dance Recital

This was kind of an informal dance recital for Christmas.  But those of us there for Clara took up half the bleacher!  You'll notice she was mesmerized by something above her while performing, Adam thought he made a clever move by panning up to see the disco ball! (The cute, curly haired blond beside Clara is her best friend and cousin Ava!)

Merry Christmas!!

I know this is a little late.  But forgive me, we were having too much fun!  We stayed busy seeing friends and family and eating really great food.  The kids enjoyed a relatively quiet Christmas morning at home (remember I grew up with 6 siblings).  It was so much fun to watch them open presents together.  We got to see my mothers parents, Gammy and Papa, on Christmas Eve, and spent Christmas Dinner with my dad's mother, Grandma Ambs, and the rest of the Ambs Clan. (we meet at the cultural hall of the church because there are too many to meet in someones home)

We spent Christmas night at our house with my brothers and sisters play guitar hero world tour.  It was a lot of fun!  I hope everyone really enjoyed the holiday!

While Visions of Sugarplums . . .

We took Clara to see The Nutcracker Ballet on Saturday.  It was really fun to dress her up in her Christmas dress and go.  She was especially excited because of the ballet classes that she has been taking.  And believe it or not, my little four year old was captivated with the performance.  What a great memory!  And her favorite dancer was, no not Clara, but the Sugarplum Fairy.

Ian's Gettin' Busy

Ian is starting to be mobile and he is enjoying

time on the floor. I put him on the floor to play in his room while I was working on some laundry. I got busy doing and realized I hadn't heard Ian (which is odd because usually he likes to see me) so I went to check on him. This is how I found him. Happily playing with whatever he could scoot to and explore. It is so fun watching him grow!

Oh, Uggs.

We had some cold weather last month so I pulled out my Uggs so I can stay warm in the house. Several times I found Clara trying them on, one time she had gotten up out of bed and was sneaking into my room to do so. Always the Uggs, no other shoes. I finally asked her what she liked about them and she said "They are the most comfy, soft shoes ever!"

Yes they are Clara.

Home

We are back home and trying to get into the swing of things.  We enjoyed the vacation and the time with family and friends, but are happy to be home.  It's always nice to get away from time to time because it always gives me a fresh feel for things, and maybe even a renewed energy.  So we are trying to get schedules back on line and get ready for our first Christmas in or new home.  Adam put up Christmas lights on the house while the kids and I tried to help him, and put up some things on the inside.  How can you not love getting ready for Christmas when you have little children to enjoy it!  Before we put Clara to bed tonight we went out to the front of the house to enjoy Adam's handy work with the lights and Clara said "Now Santa can find our house!!"  That one excited comment made Adam's hours of labor worth it.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry, no pictures. Our camera isn't working and we haven't figured out what we want to do (get a new one or fix the old one). We are in California for Thanksgiving. It's been fun to be back, and I can't believe that it's already been a year. It doesn't seem that long! We have been visiting friends and family, and trying to have all our favorite take out (Florida doesn't have quite the same selection.) Both of the kids are having a little bit of a hard time with the time change. Naps have been hard to predict with Ian. I am sure that they both are sick is making it difficult for them too. But we are glad to be here for the holiday. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving, wherever you find yourselves!

Yum, yum!

So I finally decided to do it. And let me tell you that it hasn't been an easy decision. Nursing is just so easy. No mess, no staining, no cleaning up or washing anything, nothing to carry around with me. So it was really hard to decide to make the decision to start cereal. And believe me, I have stretched it as far as possible. Recommended start of solid foods is somewhere between 4 and 6 months, and Ian is 5 months and 3 1/2 weeks! So Sunday Ian and I had the house to ourselves and I thought it was time to give it a try. It was so funny because here I was thinking this was going to take some time and then I show Ian the spoon with cereal on it he opened up his mouth and kind of acted like "Where have you been all my life!" He knew exactly what to do and love, love, loves it! Every time he saw the spoon coming he opened up that little mouth as wide as possible and wriggled with excitement. It is so cute. I actually look forward to eating time!

Ian's hair is growing in as a mohawk. Don't worry, I don't usually style it like this, it doesn't suit him. But it is fun to play with before a bath!

Little Ian chilling on the couch.

Happy Halloween!

We had the Trunk or Treat at church last night. Our Apopka ward sure can throw a party, I can't believe how many people showed up for that! So here is a picture of our entire family. It's not the greatest. Poor little Ian was blinded by his costume, but it's the only one we got. Clara is a pink princess butterfly, Ian is a caterpillar, and Adam and I are butterfly catchers. However, everyone thought Adam was Indiana Jones!

Adam handed out candy AND since he's a dentist-travel size toothpaste. Believe it or not, the toothpaste was a hit!

Backlighting

We took the pumpkin in during the day to try and prolong its life. One day we found this.This picture is a little blurry, but I thought that you could see the haunted house better! So what we found was this flashlight sitting in the top of the pumpkin. Apparently Clara decided she wanted the pumpkin to glow and figured out a way to do it!

Pumpkin Carving

So my brother Paul and his girlfriend Niky decided to babysit our kids so Adam and I could go out for an evening. And they figured since they were going to be here already they might as well make it a fun event. So a pumpkin carving activity was planned. My sister Carol and her husband and well as my mom and dad came. It's kind of funny that two kids had six babysitters! Now, if it were me I would have said two triangles for eyes and a half moon for a mouth would make a great pumpkin but they decided to let Clara pick the design and she apparently picked the hardest one, a haunted house! It turned out nicely. Unfortunately, because we live in Florida, the pumpkin only lasted about four days. But it looked really good while we had it!

Cute Moment

We have Barbie in the Nutcracker from Netflix this week. So we have seen a lot of it. It's not so bad by the way. So yesterday, she was watching it and didn't know that I was in the room behind her. It was at the part where the prince is dancing with Clara (Barbie) at the end after everything is resolved. And Barbie does this move, like a split. (There is a picture below). My Clara says, "Woooo, that's a big kick!!" And I could see her little brain thinking about her dance class and having to do something like that. I thought it was so cute and funny.

Sick, sick, sick . . .

You haven't heard from me because the Barr family has all been battling a bug. Yup, all four of us are sick. I think it is the worst when the mommy AND the daddy are both sick because guess who gets to take care of everyone? You guessed it, the mommy. (Although Adam really has been a trooper). Since it isn't really encouraged to give little children any kind of over the counter medicine anymore, and I am nursing, I have been trying all kinds of natural things to help. Vapor rubs, a neti pot, humidifier, lots of Vit C. But mostly, my main tactic is to wait out this bug. . . I hope that I am more stubborn, because I need some sleep. My kids aren't sleeping as well as usual.

Ian and Papa

Some of you may have already seen this picture in an earlier blog. But I had some technical difficulties with it and had to remove it from the post. As I said before, my grandparents were visiting today and Ian was holding Papa's hand. It was really cute, so I took a picture . . . and then played with it a little.

Happy Birthday Baby.

My Clara turned 4 today! I can't believe it, our baby is not a baby anymore. We didn't have huge plans for the day. We had general conference for our church and didn't want a party to conflict with anyone's plans. But we did our best to make the day special for Clara. We had a special breakfast of rainbow pancakes and then we picked Clara's best friend Ava up for a little park time.

I even got a picture of Adam playing (he thought it would be a cool picture if he and Clara were both hanging in this net structure, but she wasn't into it).

We had a few visitors throughout the day (who brought presents). And although it was a simple birthday, I think Clara felt that it was her special day. Tomorrow we are getting together to do a little more birthday stuff.

My Little Ian

Ian is growing so fast and getting so strong! I have been trying to really focus on tummy time lately and his development seems to be taking off. He can push himself up on his little arms to look around and then roll over onto his back. He almost has the from back to tummy roll down. He is such a sweet little guy. He coos and looks around, he is so interested in everything! I just love this little guy.

It's a Miracle!

Okay, so maybe not a miracle of biblical proportions, but it's a miracle in my little piece of the world. Over the years I have tried out several different cookie sheets (or baking pans, as I like to use them for oh, so much more than just cookies!) My favorite are the half sheet pan size with the raised edges so juices don't fall off into the oven a make a smokey mess. But my big problem is the cleaning up afterward. For a long time I just assumed that spending forever cleaning up after meals was just the price to be paid for making a home cooked meal. But how is that fair. We put time and love into a nice meal and then we have to pay for it by scrub, scrub, scrubbing away at the sink? I don't think so. Then I tried out these baking sheets from Williams-Sonoma and problem solved! When they say non-stick, they mean it. And I like to cook seriously sticky stuff on mine like roasted vegetables in olive oil or a roast chicken. Now, they are an investment. But to me? Worth every penny. I am thinking about getting another so I have more than one to work with!

School Days

I know that the picture isn't great. I blame it on the fact that there was a hurricane raging around us and my camera didn't like going from an air-conditioned house to the muggy, raining front porch. But it was the first day of school and we needed a picture, good or not! Clara loves school! In fact, the other morning, we were getting ready for school and Clara was playing around (not getting ready for school). So I say, "Well I guess you are not going to school!" And she scrambled around and got ready quickly. I didn't think anything of it at the time but later I thought, well this isn't going to last forever! I am going to make a point of enjoying the time that I have of Clara wanting to go to school! I am sure that there will be plenty of "I'm sick, I can't go." or "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!" 's in my future.

"We Make 'Em Cute!"

While Adam and I were looking through old pictures of Clara, and then some of Ian, Adam's comment was the title of this blog.

So what do you think? When I look at old pictures of Clara, I see Ian so clearly. I couldn't find actual pictures of Clara and Ian at the same age in the same pose but I think that they look a lot alike. He is definitely shaped like a boy, and Clara more like a girl. But I think that there are similarities. (I didn't label pictures because Clara is wearing pink! So far, I haven't subjected Ian to pink clothes.)

New Kitchen Attire

So I know that most of you talented ladies out there could whip this thing up in no time. But I don't feel that Ian is old enough (takes regular or long naps) to allow me to hone my sewing skills. I do plan to become more familiar with my sewing machine soon, but not quite yet. Isn't this apron the cutest thing? It almost makes you want to think of extra things to cook up in the kitchen so you can wear it!

iTunes Update

I am currently working on adding to my iTunes. Anybody have suggestions? Any kind of music, as long as you love it!

Being a Big Sister

Clara is such a good big sister to Ian. If he is crying, she runs and gets him a toy or tries talking to him. She plays with him and sings to him. When he is playing in his activity mat on the floor she likes to join him (like in the picture). She helps me a lot too. She retrieves diapers and toys and the phone, just about anything. She is even willing to stay quiet when he is sleeping, or remind us to be quiet. I am so happy to have her around!

Thoughts of Ian

Some of my favorite things:

1. Being held, it's much more fun than anything else (expect maybe nursing.)
2. I like to make eye contact and be talked to, and I like to respond.
3. Watching my big sister Clara show me toys and talk to me.
4. I like to be able to see what is going on, so please hold me looking out.
5. Music.
6. My swing, there is a really cool mirror above me that I can look at.
7. There are little animals on my bouncy chair that I like to bat at.
8. Bath time. I am especially cute and like to talk and coo at my mommy then.
9. I like to ride on Mommy or Daddy in my sling or bjorn.
10. I really, really like to be outside and go for walks.
11. I know that I am loved and that makes me happy!

It occurs to me that maybe I came across sounding a little harsh in my last blog. I wrote it at about 3am (I couldn't sleep because I have been sick). I would like to clarify my feelings on the subject. When I get frustrated or disappointed I cry too, but since I am a grown up I have learned to try and hold it off until I can be private. My frustration comes from not knowing how to help my little Clara to understand and control her emotions! I really feel that we all need a good cry sometimes. I would also like to teach her that maybe it's okay to have a purple fairy wand instead of pink sometimes, or at least the principle that sometimes, even when we don't get what we are expecting in life, sometimes things turn out fine or even better with an alternative. Does anyone else out there have any thoughts?

Dancing Meltdown

Clara, originally uploaded by liannebarr.

This is kind of a follow up blog from the dancing one before. Clara sure does look cute in her little pink leotard. She thinks so too, I guess that is why she wears it (even at home, prancing around the house!) Would it even cross your mind that she could ever be anything but cute in this? Well, let me set the record straight. She most certainly can! I don't know why, I have spent a lot of time pondering why actually. . . the most recent episode happened this last Wednesday. Clara's teacher was handing out little princess wands for the girls to dance with and horror of horrors, Clara did not get the pink one! Can you believe it? Pink, by the way, is her favorite color. I think at the time I was looking at Ian and I heard through the see-through mirror that parents sit behind a little girl crying. I look up to see it's my little girl and she is sitting on the floor while all the other little girls are at the barre trying to do a grand battement (kicks). She finally decided to join the class, but it did take a while. And then she was fine. Last week when it happened I think she wanted some water. Her teacher says not to worry. I know from swimming lessons that this is how new things start. But my big issue is that in swimming all the little kids I saw cried at least once. Did I mention that Clara is the only one to do this in her class? We talk about it, hopefully she and I can work something out now while she is 3 so she can learn to control her emotions when she is older. Maybe next week will be better!

BYU Reunion

Well kind of. It was more like Adam's college roommate reunion, or maybe a good friends reunion. Adam, Rob, and Greg roomed together at BYU. And have all been close friends ever since.

And look what the three of them have grown into . . . .

Alas, baby Ian is not in this picture, he was already in bed.

Rob and his wife Sarah live close by in Clermont. And Greg and his wife Lara drove down from Atlanta for the weekend. We had a fun filled weekend together. Saturday we play mini golf at Disney's Fantasia Gardens, and went to dinner. By the way, it rained while we were there.

On Sunday, we got together at our house for a BBQ. We had a great time

catching up. And our kids must have had a good time because they were

making a lot of loud happy noises.

By the way, if you see some of the same pictures on their blogs, it's because there was only one camera on Saturday (thanks Greg and Lara)!

Dancing Clara

dancing Clara, originally uploaded by liannebarr.

Clara started taking dance lessons. This is something that I have wanted to do for a while now. In fact, I can't remember a time when she hasn't run instead of walked and danced her way through the day. She is enjoying herself. Every week they do ballet and then alternate between tap and tumbling. I think that the cutest thing I have seen is all those little girls and their tiny tap shoes all hook together in a train going around the room headed by their teacher, Miss Mary, and all that can be heard is tap, tap, tap, tap in unison!

Ian with Grandpa

Lately this is Ian's favorite position in which to be held. My dad was holding him today so I could eat. He just looked so cute resting there on my dad's arm that I had to take a picture!

Tropical Storm Fay

Since this is our first hurricane/tropical storm since moving to Florida I thought I should document it. I know that in some parts of the state she has reeked some major havoc but for us Fay has only caused some miner annoyances. When we first realized she was headed for us I ran out and got a lot of canned and non-perishable food. (I haven't established a working food storage supply yet.) And then we had three days of nothing besides some grey skies. We actually thought she was going to avoid us entirely. But last night it started raining, and still hasn't stopped. Apparently she likes where she is just fine seeing as she is only traveling at 2 miles per hour. So, as things stand now, we may be seeing a few more days of rain. I actually like rain, so this isn't soooo bad, but we did have to drain our pool today or it would have overflowed. And taking Clara to pre-school today was an adventure . . . a very, very wet adventure.

Family Together

family
Originally uploaded by liannebarr

We haven't all been together like this in a long time! So, of course we needed a picture.

My Little Girl

Time at the Beach

beach, originally uploaded by liannebarr.

We just spent a little over two weeks at the beach. It was fun to spend time with family. Clara had a great time. She got to spend quality time with her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even some cousins. And she got a great tan, have you ever noticed that kids skin gets the best sun tans? This picture is from the balcony of the condo that we stayed in. And that is the only picture of outside that I got! I can't believe that I didn't take any other pictures outside. But I quickly found out that have a 2 month old baby makes doing a lot of things on vacation hard! I really did enjoy the time away, but I am looking forward to doing things like that more when Ian is older.

BEACH OR BUST

Or should I say that we are bringing so much stuff that we are busting out of our cars! We are on our way to the beach for a few weeks! I forgot how much stuff you need when you have a baby. Adam will be taking a few days off, but for the most part is still going to work and may commute as it's only a 45 minute drive. We are all excited to spend some time in the sun and with family, and I can't wait for Clara to use her new swim skills. We are looking forward to a great vacation!