7 Months Old

Yes, you read that right -- Ryan Barrett is 7 months old today! WOW! That's really all I can say right now. Where does the time go? Who knows.....and it if you figure out how to slow it down, please let me know.

His latest accomplishments include clapping, laughing, "talking", and playing with his big sister. He isn't crawling yet and that's OK with us. I remember trying to get Landry to do everything "now, now, now".....but we don't feel that way with Ryan. We are happy with him staying in one place as long as he wants. He still does not have any teeth even though he chews on everything. Ryan is such a happy kid (in spite of the teething process). The only time he cries or gets fussy is when he is ready to eat. I'm pretty sure he gets that from me!! :)

Happy 7 months, baby boy! We love you so much!

A vow to keep up....

It has been exactly 5 months since my last post and so much has happened in that time that I can only itemize in this post:

1) My maternity leave ended in early March and I went back to work
2) Early April - I got a job at a big hospital in Dallas and gave notice at the current job
3) Early May - we MOVED TO DALLAS :)
4) Mid May - I started my new job and the kids started at their new school
5) Early June - Landry and Ryan switched schools because we weren't happy with the current one
6) Mid June - Dave got a new office that over looks North Central Expressway
7) Mid July - Ryan turned 6 months old
- Dave and I celebrated our 7th anniversary
8) June-Aug - Landry learned how to swim like a fish and is no longer scared of the water

Folks, those are just the highlights. I will work on putting a slide show together for you to see and it is my goal to maintain this blog on a more consistent basis. It is a fun way for you all to keep up with us and it's also nice to look back and see what happened when the kids were really little. So, stay tuned for pictures.....including Ryan's 6 month photo shoot!

We hope you are all staying cool in this dreadful heat. Some people I know have left the great state of Texas and headed to the high-country (mountains) where the temperatures are in the 40s at night......maybe we should all consider that option. :)

A new bike for a big girl!

Miss Landry has outgrown her tricycle so we decided to get her a "big girl" bicycle. It arrived in a box so that meant "some assembly required" and Landry was eager to help.....see for yourself!

And off she goes - as if she had done it all her life......

Ryan's first professional photo shoot

We had these taken when Ryan was about 3 weeks old....enjoy!!

Catching up - big time!!

I apologize profusely for the lack of updates in the last 2 months. As you know, it's been a little crazy around our house and we are loving every minute of it. After Landry's birthday, my sister got married (Landry was one of the flower girls) and the following week was Thanksgiving....then it was December, which I'm not even sure if I can remember that month....time has FLOWN by. Then January arrived and so did Ryan Barrett Mead. He was born January 11th at 12:16pm. He weighed 8lb 2oz and was 21.5 inches long. Those of you that were certain I was carrying twins now know why I was SO big! :) We were released from the hospital 24 hours after his birth and have been home since then. Life with 2 children is definitely an adjustment, but one that we have thoroughly (yes momma, I used that word) enjoyed! Landry absolutely LOVES being a big sister and has really turned out to be a big helper. She promised to change all of the dirty diapers but I don't think she realized just how often that needed to be done....I'm not even sure I remembered how often that needed to be done! It's all coming back to me now....



Enjoy the slide show!

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Happy Birthday Landry!

I say it every year (all the time, actually) that it is so hard to believe how quickly Landry is growing up. My parents used to say that they were going to find a big rock and put it on my head so I wouldn't grow up so fast - and I never really understood that until now. Three years ago Dave and I were in the hospital waiting for our baby girl to arrive and were so unaware of how our world would change. It changed for the better, no doubt, and we are enjoying Miss Landry so much. Since this is her 3rd birthday, here are three things we love about her:

1) Love for life - Landry is one of the happiest children we know. Although she does have her moments (don't we all??!!), she loves life and that is easy to see as you watch her grow and learn each day - whether she is playing or "working" very diligently on some important task! :)

2) Smile and Laugh - Landry's smile and laugh are so contagious. It warms our heart every time we hear her laugh out loud or see her flash that pretty smile.

3) Ability to entertain herself - we love, so much, to watch Landry play on her own. She can sit down to "read" a book, have a conversation with her dolls, play with her blocks or whatever else catches her eye at the moment and be content for long periods of time. It really is a cute thing to watch, but in our opinion, most things about her are cute. :)

Landry, we hope you have a wonderful birthday. We love you so much and look forward to many, many more birthday celebrations with you!

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Trick or Treating

As promised, here are a few pictures of Landry trick or treating as a precious cow! By the end of the evening the bucket in the pictures was FULL of candy. Since then, she asks nearly everyday if we can go trick or treating again......imagine that!

Waiting patiently with Grandpa

Waiting patiently with Grammy