Barber Bustlings

Our sweet little Bailey is 6 years old now! We started the celebration with a surprise-Scott took the day before her birthday off. We went to visit Scott's grandma (whose birthday is the same as Bailey's) and then went swimming at a fun water park. On her actual birthday she had an action-packed day and said she wished that every day was her birthday. She got to go to lunch with Grandma Peggy and Aunt Jill, pick out presents from them and finished it off with Coldstone ice cream. We are so grateful to have family close by; Bailey loves to be spoiled! We had a mini-birthday party for Bailey (only 2 guests) with dinner, cake, presents and 100 tokens at Chuck E. Cheese. The girls went crazy with tokens, games, rides and noise. Even the $0.20 "prize" at the end of the night was a thrill. The pictures didn't turn out very well, as the girls were over-stimulated and very tired. They will all sleep well tonight, so a job well done on our part. I am really enjoying the su...

It's a boy! We are very surprised and excited to be expecting another boy. Bailey was sad, especially since she has been praying for a sister for such a long time. I was surprised and now am eating my words since I "felt" like it was a girl. Since the ultrasound yesterday this pregnancy feels more real and we now trying to imagine what he looks like, if he'll be high-energy like the other two, how he'll sleep (actually only I worry about that), how large he will be, since Myles was a tank, etc. I still can't believe how long we have until we meet him. I guess I should enjoy the time now because once he gets here, we'll be very busy. I am nervous about the transition from two kids to three, but Bailey will be a big help this time around. Now we have to agree on a name.....

Myles turned 2 yesterday. We celebrated with bad pizza and fun games at Peter Piper Pizza, swimming and the most delicious cake (compliments to Costco). Bailey lost another tooth during dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house, too. Myles has been a great addition to our family. He is happy (most of the time) and loves to make people laugh. He still loves to give Mom hugs-I will be sad when he outgrows that. When he gets angry he yells in the cutest, unintelligible jibberish but we get the gist of what he is trying to say. When he wants your attention, he pokes your arm until you look at him. He loves to dance and sing. He likes to do things on his terms; he's very independent. We love you, Myles!

Yesterday we went bowling as a family; it was our first time and we did pretty well. The highlight was Myles taking the family trophy with a high score of 134! Actually, Myles won both games, thanks to the contraption in the above picture. Bailey had a good time alternating between rolling the ball between her legs and trying to bowl normally. The whole family benefited from the bumpers; Scott got several strikes rebounding the ball off the bumper. The best outcome was that we were able to spend a couple of hours together doing something new. Who knows when we will attempt this again? By the middle of the second game Myles had lost interest and I was just warming up. Maybe in a few years when the kids are older Scott and I can join a league with some friends and get those cool shirts. For now, we'll bask in our high-scoring glory as a family. Game 1 Myles - 134 Becky - 132 Scott - 128 Bailey - 104 Game ...

When Bailey is determined to make something happen, watch out! After pushing and pulling her tooth every which way, it came out last night at a birthday party. I cannot believe how tiny her teeth are! This is the 2nd tooth she has lost so far. The tooth fairy set the stakes pretty high last time, delivering a certificate and a $1 bill. I am trying to explain to B that the very first tooth is a little more special than the others. One kid in her kindergarten class got $5 for a tooth last year. It makes me wonder what I would have received had I put all four of my gigantic wisdom teeth under my pillow when I was 18! Probably a laceration through the pillow; they were so sharp and fang-like.

For anyone interested, Barber baby #3 will be arriving November 2008. I am 17 weeks along and we are thrilled to be expecting another little one around here. Bailey is convinced that we are having a girl; after all, she's been praying for a sister for a few years now. I have felt like it was a girl, but we will be happy with whatever we get. My friends tell me that you cannot hide the third pregnancy and that is completely true in my case. I'm okay with it now that we are past the danger of miscarrying. We've had two ultrasounds and the baby looks healthy so we are celebrating our great news. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will find out if Bailey is right about the baby's gender. Scott and I have recently received bigger, more time-consuming callings and are interested to see how it will all work out when we add a baby on top of our busy lives. Scott is the new executive secretary for the ward and I am the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society. I am going ...

Myles Jay turns 2 next week. He is trying to give up his naps already; we are not on the same page there. He loves books and will sit with different books looking at the pictures by himself. I don't remember Bailey entertaining herself this way. Of course, she had me all to herself for four years before Myles got here. She is a much more social creature than he is. I love how different they both are from each other. Myles and Bailey play really well together: she tells him what to do and he does it. They both love to listen to music and dance. I don't know where my kids get their rhythm from, but it's nice to know that nature does correct itself since Scott and I can't dance at all.

Our little kindergartener, Bailey, has finished her first year of school. She had a wonderful teacher and I still find it hard to believe that the year is over. She turns six in a couple of weeks and has really changed. A lot of the changes have been good, like learning to read and finding out how much she loves Math. (That's my girl!) One sad change I have seen is that she no longer is confident and outgoing. She is intimidated and worries about what others think. She never did that before. This isn't always how she is, but in groups of kids she doesn't know she turns quite shy. My wiser, more experienced friends tell me this will change by the third grade, but I can't help but think that five is a bit young to be feeling social pressure. I wish I could take it from her and give her all my confidence, but I know she has to learn it for herself. This parenting stuff never gets any easier! Bailey donated 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love in April. She misses her long h...