wow...August was a long time ago

bed head-Jonas now 3.5 yrs old

pig tails for the first time-Ivy 1 yr old

my buddy

sweet Ivy on Christmas morning

I'd really like to get back to blogging...I really would. Maybe soon. Here are a few recent pictures of our babies we love so dearly.

Various pictures taken recently...

Cousin Macon is loving the "big" cousin role to Ivy. He loves her. Jessica placed Ivy in his stroller the other day and they were so cute. He loves playing with her toes whenever he is around her.

We were at a local park for a friends birthday party. They have a really neat train at the park and it was a highlight for all the kids.

Joe captured this shot of Jonas. Love it!

Ivy LOVES to swing!

self portrait of me and Ivy-I don't do these often...you can see why

swimming with daddy

Our beautiful Jonas...we can still say beautiful at 3 right?

first bath together

We were at my parents one night and due to a problem I have with my hands called Dyshidrosis, my dad was helping with giving the kids a bath in their big garden tub. Jonas and Ivy had never had a bath together and Ivy just recently became solo in the tub. So I was a little reluctant but they both did great. Here are some shots!

I'll post more about Dyshidrosis later.

catching up again....

Joe started new hours at work in June. We've enjoyed having more family time together in the mornings. We've been able to swim together at Joe's parent's pool, go to the park, zoo etc...its just been a better variety than what we were used to. He leaves after lunch to go to work, around the time I put the kids down for a nap. Its given me more time with friends in the evening whether it be a girls night out or having a friend over for dinner, or making a meal for friends in need. I've enjoyed the new change. However, there have been plenty of evenings I wish Joe was here to veg with me on the couch watching Forensic Files or The First 48. :-)
We were able to go to a family reunion on Joe's mother's side of the family recently. It was a nice little get away. We drove to West Virginia for a weekend. This was the first road trip with both kids. It went pretty well. We are thankful for portable DVD players!

sleeping babies in the car

one of the houses Mom Barker grew up in
Jonas and daddy by the OHIO River, on the Huntington W.V. side.

On our way back from W.V we were able to stop in Johnson City, TN to visit a friend and co-worker of mine. We have met in person 3 times now. We both work from our homes. We have so many things in common, most of all our salvation. Its been a neat friendship. These are her beautiful daughters. Jonas had fun taking a few hours out of our trip to play with the girls. Can't wait to see you again Dana!

Anniversary!

Joe and I celebrated 9 years of marriage in August. We've been together for almost 14 years. Its crazy to think that's even possible! We are encouraged to see how the Lord has blessed us and worked in our lives over this period of time. I can truly say our marriage continues to grow as we focus on Christ and we desire to do what is right. One thing that has been fun this year is having a guaranteed date night once a month. We have made an effort, with the help of family babysitters, to go out to a nice dinner. Sometimes coffee follows, but more than once a grocery shopping trip followed. Which is nice for me, so I don't have kids on tow! This time together has helped us keep our communication open and steady. We often find it hard to have conversations with the kids around. Jonas is always interjecting or just being loud and we lose our thought process etc...like every parent I'm sure! So, the date nights have been great! I hope we can keep it up next year! Love you Joe Barker...thanks for 9 wonderful years!

Jonas-he is probably the average 3 year old now. At many times we have felt as if we hit the terrible 3's. There has been constant correction involved. Some days are very draining for both Joe and I. Lately Jonas has decided he doesn't need his afternoon nap, which just isn't work friendly for mama. He has always loved his sleep so its hard for me to believe that he going from 2 hr naps to nothing isn't more than just him testing me right now. We'll see. I'm not giving in yet...but falling asleep at 4 p.m. -6 p.m. isn't exactly a great idea to me either. The kids rooms are right next to each other. I don't mind if he plays in there but his play is usually loud and then wakes Ivy. So, we'll see how things go and how creative I might need to get. Its just been stressful. On the other hand, Jonas is very sweet, loves to sing and is memorizing every song he learns. Its been fun to challenge him with certain songs and here him bellow out those notes.

Ivy-our baby girl is now 9 months old. She started crawling at 8 mos and is now pulling up on everything. She isn't quite walking around the furniture yet, but close. Tooth #9 is making its way. Yes, I said 9. Ugh...She has constantly teethed and her night sleeping still stinks. I long for the day of her sleeping through the night again. She is talking some and her words are: Daisy(our dog), da-da, uh-oh, mama, and no-no. Her facial expressions are changing a lot and she is cracking us up every day. She still takes a morning nap and afternoon nap. Her afternoon nap is usually 2 hrs if the morning nap doesn't go very long.

I'll post more pictures of the kids in the next post. :-)

Dad sings the National Anthem

Waiting his turn, talking to Jay-Do (or something like that :-))

Getting ready to sing.
Receiving kind words from the owner and vice president of the Drive team

Dad heard try outs were going to be held for the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the Greenville Drive games. (The Greenville Dive is a Boston Red Sox farm team) He went this past April and they said you got the job! He sang at Thursday nights game. He was honored to sing. He is an Army Vetern from the Vietnam era. He is proud to have served his country and loves it very much. This was his first time to perform the anthem in public. Great job dad!!


Sorry I couldn't get the video to post directly to my blog. You can go here to view the video.

haha...he doesn't quite get it yet....

So, last night me, Joe, and Jonas were on the couch. Jonas looked at me and said "mommy, do you have a headache?" I said, "no, thankfully I don't". He said, "ok, I'll pray you get it back." He then broke out in prayer and asked that God give me my headahce back. We laughed and explained that its better for me not to have a headache. Boy does he have us on our toes lately... :-)

love that little voice...

We were in the car, on the way to church, listening to Patch the P*rate. Jonas often request this ipod choice by saying "Can I please listen to the big trumpets on I-Land?" (That would be the I-Land Overture from Kidna*ped on Island.) Jonas broke out into song after the prelude. It was the sweetest thing to here...."I give my life to Jesus, He shall have first place...." He loves to sing but this was the first time I have heard him sing almost the whole song word for word. Joe and I just sat there smiling and giggling at him. Being the mom...ya know, a tear came to my eye. We have been doing a lot of teaching and talking about God lately. Jonas is understanding the importance of praying, the importance of obeying and not just pleasing mommy and daddy but most importantly pleasing God. I am overjoyed at the moments where you can see it just click with him.

He had another moment on the way home from lunch...I had the onset of a migraine and I was asking him for silence in the car...no music and hopefully no talking. Except he has been a non stop chatterbox lately and he just wasn't getting the no talking part. He said "you have a headache mom?" I said, "yes." He said, "oh no, I will ask God to take it away. Dear Jesus, please don't give mommy a head ache." "Mommy, is your headache gone?" hee hee....Oh how I wish it worked that quickly. This was the first time Jonas prayed for something specific right at the moment of a need. Again, Joe and I chuckled at his sweetness and sincerity. Thank you Lord that some of this teaching is wearing off on our little man. We still need grace and patience. :-)

Happy 3rd Birthday

I can't believe we have hit the milestone of 3! This last year in Jonas' life sure has flown. Having another child during that time has certainly made time pass more quickly. For a while I struggled with sadness of not having more dedicated time with Jonas, after Ivy arrived. I know most mom's go through that. Thankfully Jonas is Mr. Independent and really didn't have much difficulty adjusting when Ivy came. I probably had a harder time with it than he did!

This year has brought many changes for him. A new room, a big bed, first ER visit, a new baby sister, swimming by himself with a life jacket, learning to sing and memorize many songs, difficulty and some accomplishment with potty training, buckling himself into his car seat, being mommy's big helper on a daily basis and the list could go on and on. Lately we have been challenged as parents with all of the "but why?" questions and reasoning's of a 3 yrs old. Like..."not right now mommy" after I asked him to do something, or "but I want to play!"

We have been laughing and cringing this last week over Jonas' antics and attitude. I told Joe, its like Jonas got ADD as soon as he turned 3! He's had a rough few days but they have gotten better. :-)

We love our Jonas and he really is a sweet heart. He loves his sister so much and plays very well with her. He wants to include her in everything he does. I'm almost saddened at how fast he is changing. Where has time gone? Where is my chubby little guy? What a reminder that every day is so important to try to raise him in the way God intends for us to. We have such a great responsibility. We are challenged every day! And we are so thankful. We love you buddy.

birthday party with family-I made him a choo choo train cake

a second party with friends and a hair cut inbetween

I made a cookie cake for that party. It was fun and very yummy.





This is a very cool froggie tent from grandma and grandpa. See...Jonas had to have Ivy in there with him. Doesn't she looked thrilled? :-)

Father's Day

I'm very behind lately....Father's Day wasn't exactly the perfect Father's Day. It was a crazy day with two sleep deprived parents, a baby who was cranky from teething, a mommy with a double ear infection...you get the point. :-) So, we didn't get any pictures on Father's Day. But we got these recently in honor of daddy.
He is the best daddy to our two children. I couldn't ask for a better father for them. He is a very hard working provider. He is patient, kind, loving, playful, helpful and the disciplinarian when he needs to be. He has always been very hands on. I'm a lucky mommy. :-) Here is the man I love with the best, two gifts we have ever been given.