Barr Family News

So, my goal is to take a picture on each month birthday for Titus's first year and see how he grows each month. I didn't get it posted for One Month so this will be One Month/Two Months:

ONE MONTH:

Titus, you...
- are wearing size newborn diapers still.
- are going through diapers like crazy!
- had your first bottle!
- weigh about 8 1/2 pounds.
- still sleep all of the time. You wake up to eat and that is about it!
- wake up about two times a night to eat.
- met a LOT of family this month!
- decided you like the bouncy seat and swing.
- went to church for the first time and had your first Christmas!


TWO MONTHS OLD:
- You are wearing size 1 diapers!
- At your check up you weighed 11 pounds! You had your first round of shots and only cried for a few minutes.
- To kick off your second month, you spent a few days in the hospital.

- You eat about every 2-3 hours and wake up about once a night around 3 AM.
- You are smiling now and trying very hard to talk to us! Your first smile was when you were in the hospital looking at Mama.

- You still love your sleep!

- You can hold your head up very well!

- You had your first trip to ChickFilA...a place our family LOVES and your first trip to the park which you slept through!

As I am publishing this, Titus is actually just about 3 months old so look for a new post soon. He is growing too fast!

Yesterday the little man turned 2 weeks old. It's strange how I have gone through most of my life without knowing this little man, and now that he is here I feel like he's been around the whole time! He is just the sweetest baby...who is starting to show us a little bit more of his temper! He's awake a little bit more now, and when he is awake, whether he is hungry or not he thinks he should be eating! Little stinker! And, I was christened into the moms of little boys club one night while changing his diaper

We went to his 2 week check up yesterday and he was right back at his birth weight...7-5 and had lengthened out 1/2"---putting him at 20 1/2 inches. The Dr. said he is doing great and thinks he is a very healthy baby...thank you Lord.

Here are some cute pictures of our little cutie---

He's finally here! Titus was born Monday December 5 at 9:49 AM.

Heading to the hospital at midnight!

Welcome to the world Titus!










If you aren't one who likes birth details, stop reading here....
Overall, Titus's entry into the world went very well...probably the easiest delivery...and the fastest! We went in at midnight to get induced. We got settled in and got checked...I was only at 1 1/2 cm...which I had been at for at least 3 weeks. I got a round of cytotek (to soften the cervix---which had to happen more before I could actually get the pitocin). We were left to sleep. I know Michael didn't hardly sleep at all...I didn't either. Every time I would fall asleep the heartbeat monitor had to be adjusted because Titus would shift and his heartbeat would disappear. The times are all very foggy to me, but I think around 5 they started me on some pitocin since I had gotten to 3 cm. Contractions started getting a little more regular. I knew Michael needed breakfast so I kept telling him to go get something to eat, but he seemed reluctant to leave. Come to find out, he had been watching the monitors and knew something weird was going on because everytime I had a contraction, Titus's heart rate would slow way down. Just about the time he was going to go find the nurse, she arrived and was concerned. She stopped the pitocin and called Dr. Lehnert. I knew she was worried when she said that they were going to go ahead and get my epidural in case I needed an emergency C-section. SCARY! Dr. Lehnert arrived and felt that Titus was just plain out of room so he was getting squished with every contraction so he went on ahead and broke my water. That was around 7 I think.

After that everything was a blur. They put a fetal monitor thing on Titus's head, brought the epidural guy in, and started my pitocin back up...and Titus seemed unfazed by the contractions now that he had more room. It took a good half hour to get my epidural placed...which was almost torture because they had to stick me over and over again, all while I was having some pretty painful contractions. They finally got it going and around 8:30 I was at a 6. Michael called my parents and told them they might want to start heading up to the hospital with the girls. They worked on getting ready but weren't in too big of a hurry, thinking they still had plenty of time. Well, about 20 minutes later Michael called again with the news I was at an 8. I would have liked a camera to see the frenzy....they loaded up in the car, and then it wouldn't start! So, they moved to the truck and the girls were yelling at other drivers, "Don't you know we're having a baby?! Get out of our way!"

Dr. Lehnert showed up again and after pushing through 3 contractions, Titus arrived! He weighed 7-5 and was 20 inches long. We were pleasantly surprised that he wasn't as big as predicted. :) By the time he was cleaned up and I had a chance to try to feed him, my parents had arrived with the girls, and Michael's mom had arrived to join my Grandma in the waiting room---she had actually been there awhile. Michele had been there all morning and got to stay in the delivery room and watch him be born. The girls were so happy and sweet with him. They LOVE him and would hold and touch him all of the time if they could. Michaela likes to sing to him, and Gracie sounds like a little mommy talking to him. He is sleeping well and eating well. He is starting to be a little more awake for longer periods of time and has discovered that he likes his pacifier.

We are so in love with this little guy! We feel so blessed to have these 3 precious children to raise and care for.

I don't know where October went!  Here are some highlights from our month:

Apple Butter Day:

Dickerson Park Zoo Spooktacular



Pumpkin Patch



Somebody is getting big!!!!  As of right now, I am 34 1/2 weeks pregnant (this picture was taken a few weeks ago).  We are getting induced December 5th, so 5 weeks from yesterday!  Whoo-hoo!

We are coming off of a highly emotional and exhausting week here in the Barr household.  Last weekend, we headed up North to Michael's family reunion.  It is an annual event, one which we have not been able to be at for the past several years.  We loaded up the girls, hit the road, and had a great time seeing all of the family we so rarely see.  Michael's grandmother had been in the hospital since the beginning of July but had finally been released to a nursing home to do rehab...gaining strength back to walk and do all of the other daily things that so many weeks laying in a bed had left her struggling to do as she once had.  We went and visited her Saturday along with several other family members...so many of us were in from out of town.  We decided to go back Sunday morning before the reunion to have her to ourselves for awhile.  Bless her heart, she was full of questions on the house updates we are doing, on how the baby was doing, on how Michael was liking his job, how Gracie was liking 1st grade, and how Michaela was enjoying preschool and speech school.  It was a precious time of catching up.  We went to the reunion and decided last minute to stop back by on our way out of town to give her one more hug.  Thank God that we did.  She was looking great and acted as though she was feeling just fine.  After one more hug and a promise that we would send her pictures of the house updates we headed toward Springfield.

In Clinton we stopped at McDonald's to eat where we received a phone call that she had collapsed and passed away....just like that.  It was nothing short of a sucker punch.  We had the girls with us so we headed on home for the night, turned back around and headed back the next morning.

Glenda Kay was one of the most special ladies I have ever known....so very kind and generous, and genuinely interested in what was going on in the lives of those she loved.  She and Grandpa Bill have always made an effort to make the road trip to visit us several times a year, and oh my goodness, how she loved the girls.

This has been Gracie and Michaela's first experience with death of a loved one that they were really old enough to understand so our week has been full of showing them how we "do not grieve like those without hope."  Rather, we have grieved, knowing Glenda Kay is now with Jesus, and "better is one day in His courts, than thousands elsewhere."  When we went to the funeral home the morning of the visitation to have the viewing I wasn't sure how the girls would react.  As everyone cried, both of my girls wanted to go to another room so we sat in the hall for awhile.  They did eventually go up to look at her; although, we told them the choice was completely up to them.  Michaela said she looked like a Disney princess, and Gracie wanted to know where her wings were.  :)  So sweet.  Many tears have been shed, but we are so blessed and thankful to know where she is and that we will see her again someday.

The countdown is on!  I am at 25 weeks today....that means only 15 weeks left until our family of 4 becomes a family of 5.  Holy moly.  Michael will tell you that I have definetly kicked it into overdrive about what we need to get done before he gets here.  I made a list....I broke it down by month....and I basically told him to get on board.  :)  We have not done much of anything to prepare our house for a baby.  Our "nursery" is still full of junk that needs to be cleared out, and because it has been so ungodly hot for most of the summer we haven't ventured into the attic to pull down all of our "BABY" tubs that we stored away what seems like ages ago.  On top of all of the baby-specific things we have to do, we also are going to be doing some re-modeling.  Yeah, we are crazy like that.

When we moved into this house, we knew that we would want to replace flooring at some point.  The carpet in the living room was new but we are hard on carpet.  The "wood" laminate cheapest-option-in-the-store was fine but we knew it wasn't going to last long.  Sure enough, we were right.  Carpet and "wood" are definetly looking worse for wear.  On top of that, we have a bar that takes up a lot of space....it is too high to actually prep any food and it's main purpose is to collect piles....piles of books, papers, random things the girls place up there.....piles I have to sort through every couple of days.  The bar is coming out.  So, bar knock-out, new floors in dining room, kitchen, living room, and hall.  That is September's big  task....along with emptying out the nursery of all of its homeless junk.  Deep breath.....  :)  October's focus will be the nursery decorating.

I go in a week for my glucose test at the Dr.'s office.  Ick....drinking a big glass of sugary syrup and hanging out at the doctor's office for an hour waiting to get my blood taken is not my idea of fun.  Hopefully all will be well though.  Can't wait to see if the Baby is still measuring a little big or if he is slowing it down a little bit!  The girls are getting SOOOO excited and impatient for him to get here.  Michaela pulls up my shirt every day and cuddles my belly....it is so sweet.  And, Gracie is concerned about how he is getting OUT of my belly.  ha!  I spent a lot of time this time around holding onto this pregnancy very loosely....after how hard it was to even get pregnant, part of me kept waiting for something to go wrong.  Now that I am just a few weeks short of hitting my 3rd trimester, I'm just thrilled with anticipation of adding another member to our family!  What an adventure it is going to be!

Here is a recipe for your recipe box!  We tried these tonight, and they were SOOOO good....and pretty healthy to top it off!

Chicken Chimichangas:
Preheat oven to 400*.
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
- onion, in strips
- green and/or red pepper, in strips
         Cook your chicken in vegetables in a skillet along with some kosher salt and garlic salt.
Add and mix all together.
- 1 t. cumin
- 1 t. oregano
- 1/2 t. chili powder
- some more garlic salt or powder
- black pepper
- some salsa (I eyeballed it...enough to coat, but not be soupy)
- some cheddar cheese (again, eyeball it)
- 1 can drained and rinsed black beans
- chopped baby spinach (load up on this!!!  It wilts down to nothing and is so healthy!)
- chopped scallions, to taste.

Once everything is combined, soften tortillas in the microwave by sprinkling with water and wrapping in a towel.  Fill, fold, and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Brush top and sides with EVOO.  As they start to crisp up, flip and brush the other side with EVOO.  These were super good!  I'd say about 25 minutes total in the oven!