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!

Good TV

Adam and I always look forward to Wednesday night. I don't know how many of you out there have ever watched this show, but we really like it! It's made by the same people who do American Idol, and it's basically the same idea except it's dance. And I almost hate to say it (because I know how many 'Idol' fans there are) but I really like this show much better. It's so much more entertaining. I can't dance at all but I really enjoy watching other people doing it. And these people can dance! What I especially like about this particular dance show is that these contestants actually come from a background of dance, so they put on a pretty good show. I highly recommend So You Think You Can Dance to anyone interested in some good, entertaining TV!

Nesting

knitted scarf
Originally uploaded by liannebarr

While I was pregnant I got bit by a BIG nesting bug. Maybe it was because we had just moved into a new house. During my second trimester, when I had the most energy, I did a lot of painting (the walls) and shopping for the house. But once I was into that last trimester I got really tired and I just didn't have it in me to do big things any more. So I switched attention to other creative ways of nesting. I started a quilt (didn't get to finish it, not even close). I look forward to finishing that when Ian has a more regular sleep schedule. I also started knitting again. It's a hobby that I have been doing on again off again for a while. I did most of this scarf before the baby was born, leaving about 30 minutes of work left to finish. Until recently there wasn't much time that I didn't have Ian in my arms. So now that he goes to bed for the night at about 7:30p, I finally finished my scarf. I think it turned out pretty good!

Bedtime

Adam has been putting Clara to bed since Ian came along. He usually has a fussy time at the end of the day (right during Clara's bedtime ritual), so Adam stepped up. The other night I took Ian in so Clara could say good night. It was so cute!

And then Adam read the bedtime story to both of his children (we are still getting used to the fact that we have children now!)

Ian's Blessing Day

Ian received his blessing this last Sunday. It was a beautifully, simple blessing. Ian did very well, no fussing! Although that may have something to do with the fact that Adam kept the pacifier in the baby's mouth. He told me after the blessing that at one point it fell out of Ian's mouth and Adam paused in order to retrieve the pacifier and put it back in his mouth. Adam was a little worried that he wouldn't be able to concentrate if the baby was crying. What a special day!

Great-Grandmothers

Clara and Ian are so lucky to know their great-grandmothers! And this day they got to spend time with all of them together! How wonderful for them to have such wonderful and loving examples, I am very grateful that these ladies are a part of my children's life!

Adam's family came to visit this last week. Nana, Adam's grandmother, stayed with us. We really enjoyed having her in our home! We miss you Nana!

Clara says . . .

Last night Adam went in to put Clara to bed. She had a book sitting on her bed that he picked up so he could pull the sheet back to put her under the covers. He tossed it on her bookshelf to free up his hands and Clara said, "Daddy don't throw my book! Do you have a bookshelf?" To this question Adam answered yes. And then she says, "Do you throw your books onto your bookshelf?"

I don't know if this says something about how we parent or that she is always going to reason her way out of trouble, either way we thought it was clever and really funny!

The Top 10 Things I am Most Grateful for in the last 6 Weeks

1. Living near my mom this time (she has helped A LOT with everything, thanks Mom!)
2. Taking care of a baby is way easier the second time, I have some idea of what to do this time.
3. My wonderful sister Ana let me hire her to clean my house every week, so I don't have to make the decision between a nap and cleaning the toilets.
4. The Dinner A'Fare, this really cool place that lets you come in to make a bunch of dinners at once and then you have lots of ready made, wholesome meals in the freezer (beats Stouffer's!)
5. Clara genuinely likes Ian, I haven't heard anything resembling "send him back" from her. She is really helpful too.
6. I am embarrassed to say that the TV has been great. Between horrible morning sickness, the third trimester exhaustion, and new baby exhaustion Clara has spent some quality time with the TV. (We are cutting that back a lot now that things are a little more normal)
7. Clara's preschool and swimming lessons because they have provided some quality experiences for Clara in an otherwise monotonous existence.
8. My sister-in-law Jamie lent me her papasan swing and it's the only thing that Ian would sleep in at night for the first several weeks of his life. (now he is fine in his pack n' play in our room, hurray, I was getting tired of carting the swing into our room every night)
9. Adam has been super supportive. He is really great about picking up whatever I have needed from the store and really helps a lot with Clara and Ian.
10. I am so lucky that Ian is such a happy, healthy, pleasant little guy!

Ian's Favorite Sleeping Position

It's Summer Time

Because it is summer here, and keep in mind we do live in Florida (remember that means it's hot!) you can expect to be seeing a lot of pictures containing water. And because we plan to spend a lot of time in the water mentioned above, we thought it prudent that Clara have swimming lessons. She has actually been in swimming lessons for two weeks now. In fact, those lessons have been my only excursion with both my kids so far! Since the private lessons are only about 20-30 minutes long I felt I could handle such a short jaunt- kind of a warm up for other, more intimidating activities-- like the grocery store!

The lessons are going well. Clara has not yet refused to get ready, but she has expressed displeasure when she goes under the water. She does get more comfortable with the idea progressively as we have more lessons. I love how they do these lessons, because her teacher is helping her to learn to swim to the side of the pool, that will be really good if she ever happens to fall in , she'll be familiar with getting herself to the side.

Her big incentive for lessons is a lollipop at the end, she never turns those down!

Special Moments

There have been some big differences between having Clara, and my experience with her being my first as a mother, and the experience that I am enjoying with Ian. People have asked me if he is an easier baby than Clara, and I have to answer no. Clara was a wonderful baby! I couldn't have asked for better. But I think that I am really enjoying this time that I have with Ian more. So, obviously, the difference is in me. I guess that now I know how quickly this time that I have with him as an infant will pass. During the day with Clara running around and needing attention and the phone ringing and all the other things that just seem to happen, I don't have much of a chance to just sit and be with Ian. You know, all those things that make newborns special, smelling them and touching their little hands and feet and kissing that impossibly small cheek and looking into those deep, wise eyes. So now, in the middle of the night, when it's just the two of us up and it's quiet I find myself really happy for that time that I can spend with him. And those moments make the exhaustion of being a new mother again, really worth it.

He's Finally Here!

Ian Michael Barr

After just about 24 hours of labor, he finally decided he wanted to meet his parents face to face! Ian was born on May 19 at 3:50pm. Weighing in at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 19 inches long. Mom and baby are both happy, healthy, and thrilled to be spending so much time together. Clara met her little baby brother a few hours later where he gave her a present to thank her because he knows how great of a big sister she will be to him. She thinks he is really great and was very happy that he came out! Of courses Daddy couldn't be more happy with his son.

More pictures later . . .

Frolicking in the Flowers

Clara and I spent the afternoon the other day with her best friend Ava in this beautiful field full of blooming flowers. Ava is my cousin's daughter. This situation suits us all perfectly because I love spending time with my cousin Ila, and Clara absolutely adores spending time with Ava. In fact, they are in Sunbeams (thier church class) together and every Sunday they greet each other with a big hug and kiss. At any age it seems that best friends are just about the greatest things ever!

It's Scheduled!

So. . . unless our little guy decides to make an extra early appearance, then he will be here on Sunday, May 18! That's right around my 38th week of pregnancy. The plan is that I will be induced early that morning. My doctor tells me that because this is my second pregnancy things should go a little faster and smoother than last time! Hopefully things will go great. If there are any interesting updates, we'll let you know.

We've been busy trying to get things together for the baby. I really can't believe how fast time has gone this time! It's so different from being pregnant with Clara. The nursery is coming together and my sister is throwing me a baby shower tomorrow- I'll get some pictures up soon. I'm 35 weeks pregnant now and I'll tell you what, I am really feeling it. Getting more uncomfortable every day, which when I tell people that the first response I get is "I bet you can't wait to have him out of there." As crazy as this sounds I am actually not in a huge hurry to have the baby out. I still remember all too clearly the first few months with a newborn, and I figure that at least now I am still sleeping at night! Not that I am not excited to meet the newest member of our family, I am just not in a huge hurry for that to happen. On a brighter note, I have had several people tell me that the second time around with a newborn is a little easier because you have already been through it and know what to expect. Hopefully that's true, anybody with experience have an opinion? I guess that I'll know soon enough. Wish us luck!

Finally, I get to go swimming!

Clara has been asking us since we moved in if she can go swimming. And believe it or not, even though we live in Florida the water has been a little too cold for me or Adam to brave it. But Uncle Paul came over and had been working outside in the heat all day. He was all for taking Clara in. Although neither of them lasted very long, they did have a really great time while they were at it!

I am not dead yet . . .

Adam and I went to see Spamalot this last Tuesday. It was really a lot of fun. All the great scenes from the movie were in the show, which made them even more funny- especially the "But I am not dead yet!" sketches. It wasn't the kind of broadway play where I really want to go out and by the music on CD the next day or anything. However, there is something really fun about getting dressed up and going out to a nice dinner before going to see a live show! it's a nice change from fast food and a movie!

Happy Easter!

We had our first official "gathering" in our new home for Easter this year. Eighteen people! I can't believe that we have a space big enough for that many to sit in one place all together! It was a lot of fun and everyone was really helpful so the whole experience was really great!

We Are Here, We Are Here!!

We took Clara to her first movie event yesterday. Until now, I wasn't sure she had the attention span to sit through a whole movie. So Adam and I, along with my dad and some of my brothers and sisters took Clara to the movies! She loved it! Of course we got her some popcorn so she could have to whole experience. It's a cute movie, but the best part was watching her enjoy it. And then after it was over listening to her talk about it. Several times since yesterday she chants "We are here, we are here." Which, if you know the story is what the who's say so that the other characters believe that they are living on the spec on the clover.

The Happiest Place on Earth!

Guess where we spent Saturday? What do those comercials say? "Adam and Lianne, you've moved across the country, bought a new house, started a new job, and have a baby on the way . . . what are you going to do now?" Well, of course our answer was "Well, we are going to Disney World!" And so we did. Adam, Clara and I spent all of Saturday with my brother Brian and his family. Since I grew up in this area I can say that I have been to visit Disney quite a few times. I even had a job there for a short time. And I have had some good times there. But I never understood that title "The Happiest Place on Earth". I always thought that was kind of a silly thing to say. You know, you hear that and automatically roll your eyes a little. But as silly as that may be I had the best time ever taking my little girl there and sharing that day with her. And between being pregnant and because I was there with Clara, I didn't go on a single ride or go to an attraction for me, and I have never had a better time there. We loved sharing that day with Clara and my brother's family!

This is Brian and Cameron with Adam and Clara and all the gear in front of Cinderella's Castle. Of course, Jamie and I (the moms) and taking the pictures!

The very first ride we went on was Peter Pan- Clara and Adam are really excited!

We are waiting to eat at a restaurant in frontier land, and these two little cousins can't help but be cute. These pictures are not posed at all!




When we asked Clara what her favorite part of the day was she said, "Meeting the princesses!" She's three, almost every little girl right around three loves the princesses. She met Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora. But Cinderelle, as she calls her is the favorite.







Another unposed sweet moment. Along we go walking along Main Street, and we notice that the two little cousins are holding hands in their strollers! Picture perfect.





Adam wanted Clara to have Mickey ears, so we looked for the right ones all day. He felt very strongley that they needed to have the polka dot bow on them. So the last thing we did that day was buy Clara and Cameron some matching ears!

So as they say at Disney

See you real soon!

Just a quick catch up

Since we have been in the process of moving for the last couple of months I have to admit that taking pictures has not been my top priority. But I did manage to take a few pictures here and there.




This is the last night of packing in California. Most of the furniture was already gone so Adam made a little table out of packing material for Clara to eat dinner on. Clara thought it was really fun!

This was by far Clara's favorite Christmas present. A Cinderella dress complete with glass slippers. Thanks Antie Carol, what a hit. I think that she has worn it part of every day since Christmas!

So, this is how we moved from the West Coast to the East Coast. They don't look like they would hold all that much do they? Some how we managed to get it all here. And in good condition! Believe me, I had my moments where I was sure one of these things was going to fall right off the truck and bust open. We haven't unpacked everything yet but so far things look great! And may I say, it is so nice to be near so much family. Last Tuesday these pods were delivered and that night I had a whole group of uncles and cousins and siblings here to help me unpack them. Can you believe EVERYTHING was out in a mere 30 minutes!! Thank you Ambs Family!!! I still can't believe how fast they did it, Adam and I spent several days trying to get them loaded.


By the way- the pregnancy is going so well. Are second pregnancies normally so much better than firsts or am I just lucky? I do get tired a little sooner than normal. But I really have had so much energy. Working on our new house has been so fun. We have been painting and shopping for furniture and unpacking and I am really having a great time. Thank goodness!

Clara's grandpa Clark was so excited to get her the Radio Flyer big wheels. It came in the mail yesterday and they had so much fun putting it together. It ended up being just a little big for her but she still likes to try. And Clara was such a good helper putting it together!

I want everyone to know that I haven't forgotten to put pictures up of the inside of our new house. I have found that I work much better if I concentrate on one room at a time. So I won't be posting every room finished of the house all at once. Actually I could do that but you probably wouldn't see the post for a year. So as I finish a room I'll post a picture. I wish I was good at multi-tasking when it comes to decorating, but I really want to be happy with how it turns out and I feel like if I take my time the chances of that happening greatly improve. Thanks for your patience! Take care . . . until the next time!