Happy 8th Birthday to Brooks!

Happy 8th Birthday, Brooks! 

Brooks is a sweet, smart, and sensitive boy. He is shy and introverted, but learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable. He loves being with his family, and he loves going to school so he can play football with his friends.  He still has his feisty moments, but they are becoming fewer and farther in between. He is kind, curious and hard-working. He is also a great helper with Quinn and Bode. We love watching him learn and grow!

Here are some of his favorite things:

Favorite color: red

Favorite animal: chipmunk

Favorite TV show: Dude Perfect or Wild Kratts

Favorite food: spaghetti and meatballs

Favorite toy: action figures, hover board

Favorite lunch: pancakes

Favorite outfit: athletic clothes

Favorite snack: popcorn

Favorite song: Jingle Bells

Favorite book: the Bible

Best friend: Bennett and Blair and Saurav, Colton, Austin, Boston

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Favorite season: winter

Favorite sport: wrestling, football, and tennis

Favorite school subject: PE and reading

Favorite thing to do outside: play football

Favorite thing to do at school: play football

What do you want to be when you grow up? a zookeeper or a football player

Birthday dinner: Chocolate chip pancakes at home

Some more of his favorite things include...playing tag, building with legos, learning about animals, reading books, doing science experiments, learning about history, hanging out with Jon, running, wrestling, football, skiing, exploring in the woods, playing in the snow, all kinds of fruits, playing imaginative games, playing catch, exercising with Jon or me, and visiting his cousins!

A few things that he dislikes...playing alone, being told no, admitting he was wrong, saying sorry, practicing things that are hard, being corrected, picking up his toys, corn (he still has a true aversion), nightmares, wearing pajamas, and disappointing anyone.

In regards to milestones, he is making lots of progress in reading and math. He is reading at a 4th grade level, and he especially likes historical fiction or fantasy books. He likes to do math, and just finished the 2nd grade course on Khan Academy. He still seems athletic, or he at least loves to play and practice sports. He likes to wrestle. He LOVES to run football routes with Jon in the backyard. He enjoys tennis as well. He loves to go fast - running, ice skating, sledding, skiing, you name it, speed is his thing!  

Brooks weighs around 55pounds, and is about 51 inches (4'3") tall. Brooks wears size medium or 7/8 clothes, and size 1 shoes. 

We love our Brooksie Boy! 

Happy 10th Birthday to Kylie!

Happy 10th Birthday, Kylie! 

Kylie made her own cake - a marble layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting!

Kylie got her ears pierced! She was so brave!

And now she looks so grown up!

Kylie is so sweet, kind, smart, and joyful. She is a wonderful helper with the little kids and a great big sister to Brooks. She is a dream of a daughter and has been since the day she was born. We love our oldest with all of our hearts!

I asked Kylie about some of her favorite things again. Here are some of her answers:

Favorite color: dark blue

Favorite animal: snow leopard

Favorite TV show: Dude Perfect

Favorite movie: Harry Potter, Star Wars and Marvel

Favorite food: corn 

Favorite drink: water

Favorite toy: snow leopard stuffed animal

Favorite lunch: french toast sticks at school and nutella and PB sandwiches

Favorite outfit: t-shirt and athletic pants

Favorite snack: poptarts or bars

Favorite song: "Me" by Taylor Swift

Favorite book:  The Harry Potter series
Best friends: Annabelle, Halle, Hannah, Lauryn, Addison, Anna, Tori

Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite school subject: reading and writing and PE

Favorite thing to do outside: play in the snow in winter

Favorite thing to do at school: see my friends and teacher

Favorite thing to take to bed with you: snow leopard

What do you want to be when you grow up? a baker and actress

What did you eat for dinner on your birthday? Chester's

A few other things she likes...Reading, computer programming, going to school, baking, biking, playing board games and card games, basketball, tennis, volleyball, gymnastics, eating dessert (especially chocolate), making crafts, drawing, helping out around the house, and playing with her friends.

A few things that she dislikes...Saying good-bye to visitors, getting in trouble (which doesn't happen too often), brussels sprouts, raspberries, blackberries, and most melons, wearing jeans, and having her hair combed.

I'm trying to think of a few milestones over the past year. She has continued to make great progress at school. Her cursive handwriting is beautiful. She is also really progressing in sports and athletics. Both her volleyball and basketball skills have improved A TON in the last 12 months. It is really fun to watch her play. She can run well over long distances. She ran a mile in 8:44 this summer. She has been playing piano for almost 3 years now, and she has grown a lot in her musical ability. She started playing in the school bad this fall, and she has chosen to play percussion. She is loving it. She also likes to bake and is easily the best baker in the house! She got her ears pierced for her birthday and she is looking so grown up!

Kylie still likes to sleep, and sleeps from about 8:00pm-6:45am. She goes to school from 7:35am- 2:45pm. She has always been a good eater, and happily tries most foods! She likes both school hot lunches and cold lunches from home. She has lost 12 teeth, and has 4 more loose ones. She is still a teeth grinder as well, but it seems to be getting better as she gets older. 

She recently weighed in at 77 pounds, and she is about 59 inches (4'11") tall. She is wearing mostly size large/xl or 10-12 clothes, and size 5/6 in shoes. Her feet are officially bigger than mine, and I'm sure she'll be taller than me in a year or two!

Kylie is so special and we are so proud of the young woman she is becoming! 

Bode is 18 months!

Cheers to 1 and 1/2 years with Bobo! 

He's a happy boy!

Bode is 18 months old, and is he ever active and wild. He has no fear! He's like a little tornado. I spend much of my days chasing him and cleaning up after him. He throws/drops his food all over the place, takes ornaments off the Christmas tree, moves all my shelving decor around, climbs to death-defying heights, and just never stops moving! He is a fun, happy little toddler. He loves being around his older siblings, playing outside, and throwing the ball around. He's super cute with this little tuft of hair that just won't lay flat in the back of his head. He has the darkest hair of all of our babies and eyes that look like Kylie's. We love this sweet little guy!

As for his current likes and dislikes, he still loves his pacifiers, playing with balls, being chased, sleeping, taking baths, being with his family, and playing outside. He also loves playing with breakable objects, climbing as high as he possibly can on things, and balloons. He still dislikes getting his diaper changed, and most vegetables. He also dislikes being told no, especially when it comes to snacks. 

Bode is still a great sleeper, but probably the worst Barlow eater. He goes to bed around 7:00pm and wakes up in the morning around 7:00-7:15am. He has a cup of milk for breakfast and dinner. He eats poorly though. He LOVES fruit, but despises vegetables. He seems to enjoy peanut butter, but not necessarily the bread that it's on. He likes chicken nuggets, crackers, and lots of other unhealthy foods. He'll sometimes eat chickpeas or sweet potatoes, but usually I try to get his veggies in him by giving him baby food pouches. He's plus/minus on those. Just depends on the day. My goal over the next 6 months is to get him eating a little better. 

Bode has been making progress in the milestone department. He is our earliest walker, but our latest talker. I think (hope) both of those things can be attributed to the fact that he's the youngest of 4 and he's a boy. He started taking steps around 13 months old, and became a full time walker around 14 months old. As I said, he climbs all over the place as well - up and down the stairs, up ladders, on top of tables and counters. You name it, he'll climb it. :) He's great at throwing a ball. He also can kick a ball, stomp his feet, and clap his hands. As far as fine motor skills, he loves trying to eat with a spoon and fork, but he's not super successful yet. He's not much of a talker, but he is starting to say a few things like "uh oh," "ball," "Bobo," "cheese," "whoa/wow," "catch," "baby," and "mama" and "dada." And I think he said, "poop" just this morning. He waves goodbye, signs more and all done, and gives the cutest little stink eye on command. He knows where his nose and belly button are, and we're working on eyes and mouth. He has 16 teeth. He weighed 24 lbs, 7 ounces and was 31 inches long at his 15 month appointment, but won't have another appointment until his 2 year well child check up. He's wearing size 18-24 month clothing, size 5/6 shoes, and size 4 diapers.

Here are some examples of his wild antics:

Climbing up Kylie's bunk bed ladder.

He loves hiding!

He also loves playing with badminton and tennis racquets.

But he's extremely dangerous with them, swinging them around wildly with lots of force.

Future gymnast?

Again with the badminton racquet.

He also loves Jon's toothbrush, and sneaks away to retrieve it any chance he can get!

Hanging from drawers. Typical.

Dumping out cereal. Again, typical.

And hiding again! :)

Bode brings a lot of joy and adventure to our family. We love this little wild one so much! 

Fall 2020

     Fall came with the good news that the kids would be able to go back to in-person school. There would be precautions taken, like masking, hand washing, and social distancing, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. But after six months at home, we were all very excited to go back regardless. Thankfully, we had a gorgeous fall and were able to play outdoors a lot. There were a couple of cold weeks in October, but for the most part, we had warm weather. It even reached the 70s for a week in November. We also took two fun trips during the lull in the coronavirus pandemic. We went up to Duluth in September for a long weekend, and we went to Amelia Island, FL with the whole Barlow family to celebrate Doug and Kriss' 45th wedding anniversary. Here are some of our memories in photos:

First day of school 2020: Coronavirus pandemic edition

Long weekend vacation to Duluth!

Duluth zoo.

Gooseberry Falls.

Betty's Pies.

Canal Park and Lift Bridge.

Officially fall!

Fossils.

Volleyball with friends.

Amelia Island, FL.

A Barlow family happy place.

This was the crew at Fort Clinch.

Beautiful sunrises!

Lots of beach time.

Gnarly waves.

Crabbing.

Watching turtles at the nature center.

The whole family.

Sad to say goodbye!

Another gorgeous fall day on our trails.

Quinn's first day of preschool.

Pumpkin patch!

Our first snow!

Pumpkin carving!

Everyone loved it!

L to R: bat, ghost, happy jack, and cat.

Star Wars costume theme.

L to R: Kylo Wren, Baby Yoda, The Mandalorian, Rey, Darth Vader and Leia.

My favorite part is that apparently Bode was Jon's grandpa.

Football got a little cold at the end of the season, but it was fun nonetheless.

Another warm day and another walk on the trails.

We found a couple of trees cut down by beavers.

Grandma Susan came with us!

Bode LOVES playing ball.

He can almost always be found carrying one around.

Quinn wrote her name for the first time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall went out with the news that coronavirus cases were on the rise, and that we would need to go into a semi-lockdown again. School went into distance learning until after Christmas break, and all sports and activities were cancelled. We were encouraged to stay home for Thanksgiving, and so we did. We enjoyed a quiet day, with great food and lots of quality family time.