Like Brother, Like Brother

These two are Double Trouble! They were up to some sort of crazy conspiring shenanigans this evening. Evidence follows: 

"Ok, you unplug the sleep number bed over there to the left, so mom gets into a deflated bed later...I'll distract the parental units...Go!"

"Nice job Tarley! Lets change the time on the clock now!"

"There's mom and dad...play it cool brother"

"ok, now turn the monitor up really loud so that when you cry out tonight, you scare the poo out of mom...that's funny! I'll do something cute over here...like sing itsy-bitsy spider."

"You're pretty cool little brother...you can stay if you want."

Henry watching The Incredibles, and Charlie watching Henry.

More scheming

What?! Don't bother me mom, I'm busy.

More like brother, like brother. Charlie could not stand any closer to Henry!

We had a very nice weekend and we are looking forward to a short week before we leave for the beach. I took the boys to a my friends house who had 13 or so of our college sorority girlfriends over for pizza and the Beaver game. It was so fun to be with my college friends and to see the 20+ kids all together eating pizza around the table. Just 13 years ago, we were kids eating pizza around the table. Time just flies....

I think Henry is doing better (he has his bad moments of coughing rage). Today was his last day of treatments, so we'll see how tomorrow goes. He is in a much better mood and cute as ever! His new funny is he walks around with his arms bent and tries to be a robot. And in his robot voice says "I am your father"...we think he got this from Toy Story 2. Its hilarious! 

Charlie and I spent the afternoon running errands. While we were in New Seasons, we must have been stopped 5 or more times by people who Charlie decided to flirt with. Everyone has to comment on his crazy hair and ask me if I make it do that (he has a natural mohawk that stands up at least 2- 3 inches - straight up) All of the other hair on his head is short and slick - it is the craziest thing! Nate told me that it has become his trademark. A dang cute one too! Love, B

What's FUN and FREE?

Thursday night in the chez Barton! 

But first...Henry models his new hat from Grandma - made with love.

Henry LOVES this hat and wore it most of the day. Now he will have something to wear with his T-Rex Jammies and OSU Jersey.

And back to what is fun and free? Thursday night wrestling on Mom and Dad's bed!

Charlie was having a dandy of a time...see below:

Henry is in day 2 of the breathing treatment. He seems to be really good right afterwards, but if he does any running or wrestling, he coughs up a lung and butter. Its hard to keep the little man down. Love, B

Deep Breaths....

As previously mentioned, both boys have been quite sick. One day, Henry is worse, the next Charlie is worse. The nights...lets not even go there. Last night, Henry had a difficult night and was really only comfortable when I held him upright, which made for a very uncomfortable night of sleep - for both of us. Who am I kidding, for the whole family. So, we called the doctor who wanted to see Henry today (because he coughs until he wretches). In the end, she thinks Henry may have some pneumonia in his lungs and is also having bronchospasms (asthma). She did a breathing treatment in the office which seemed to significantly improve his wheezing, so decided to prescribe a 5-day breathing treatment...FOUR times a day. This was Henry's 3rd treatment so far...and he really is awesome at it!!! It makes dry ice-like smoke so he thinks it is pretty cool. 

Dad helping Henry - who, by the way, does NOT need help!

He likes to sing his ABC's (because he plays like it is a microphone) while he does this. It takes about 5-10 minutes for each treatment.

All done! Big hugs from proud dad!

Henry already seems like he has more energy and is coughing less. We'll see how tonight goes - that is what we call the "witching hour". If he has a coughing fit tonight, he will need to go back to the doctor tomorrow. I will be working from home the rest of the week so I can help Henry with these treatments. 

Of course, as soon as we get Henry on the road to wellness, Charlie starts coughing non-stop. He is a smart little infant and likely just wants to try Henry's treatment because it looks fun. With the way Charlie coughed before bed, Nate and I have prepared ourselves for another fun-filled night of coughing/soothing/holding/feeding. I am determined to get these boys well over the next few days. So, into their bubbles they will go! Love, B

Snot, Coughs and Fevers

Oh, what a week it has been. Both of the boys have been so sick with awful colds. Henry has had fevers and all-night coughing that has landed him in bed with Mom and Dad every night for the past week. Charlie also had a few very difficult nights that kept him up fussing for hours on end. As a result, we made the drastic decision to give Charlie his own room (our theory being that Charlie knows we are only 15 feet away and will do anything to get our attention). Seeing how we only have 2 bedrooms, that means we converted the family room/basement into a master living suite. It is rather nice! Still, we have had a little nightly visitor every night since we moved....aka Henry. Thought I'd share some photos of our sleepy, snotty little babies boys.

Henry loves emptying out his stuffed animal basket and putting his little stuffed buns in it:

Henry likes to see how far he can get before he bumps into walls, or his brother. 

Peek-a-boo!

A very large squeaky blow-up spider man hammer. Henry bangs this hammer around threatening anything or anyone in its path...including Higgins and Charlie.

I knew exactly where this was heading....

So, big boy can now climb up the stairs. All the way up! Daddy was right behind him and had to save him many times .

Tada! I did it!  Lets do it again. And again. And again!

Elton Barton. or Charlie John?

Lets play cover Charlie up game!

I can't breathe through my nose. But good thing I have my new T-Rex jammies on! So, is 5 days in a row of the same jammies too many? Yea, I know.  Henry is really into picking out his clothes. Every morning we play the "I want to wear something else!" game. It is sooooo fun! Not.

Naturally, little man would love to wear PJs everyday...and on dress up days, it would be PJs with his OSU jersey over it. Yum. I really, really need a girl in this family.

Happy sweetness lovin on daddy

Charlie's left eye was particularly good this day. It is still pretty goopey - especially when he has a cold. He has such pretty dark fanned-out eyelashes when they are not gunked out with yellow ick. One day sweet Charlie, your eyes will be 100% clear. 

And....he's back in his basket. Different day (from above), same basket, same jammies. 

Charlie and his halo. 

So, hopefully we are through the worst of the colds/flu and we are looking forward to more fun days. Today, I thought we had turned a corner, except when I got home from work, Henry looked AWFUL and actually fell asleep on the couch - which I can honestly say has never happened. We are really looking forward to the Thanksgiving break. We will be going to Seaside for a few days with my parents, sisters and all of the little babies - 6 to be exact - all in one house, under one roof. Guaranteed to be a loud, yet memorable holiday which I promise to document thoroughly with pictures. Love, B

Finger Trauma, New Jammies and Charlie's 1st Movie!

Sorry for the lack 0f updates the past week. It was an awfully busy week that left no time for pictures! I made of for the lack of pictures this weekend!

First...who is the big boy drinking from a sippy??? 

For a couple of days, every time I fed Charlie, he made this weird face..what the heck?????

Maybe he was copying is brother. This is how Henry "smiles" for the camera now. Oh Brother. Daddy made an awesome batch of french toast - he is the french toast master!

Charlie was looking like a little man in this outfit.  Big boy is now scooting along the coffee table. We are in so much trouble!

Cute Butt!

Arg..Pirate Charlie

Grandpa brought Henry a camel from Qatar....made of camel bone, or hide or something nasty like that. It was so animal-nasty (and must still be coated with camel musk) that Higgins fell in love with it and will lick it any chance he gets. Ew.

This was my attempt at getting a picture of my boys. I don't think I have one yet. And I still don't..obviously.

More puppy behavior!

We love Costco jammies! Both boys got a pair today. Here are Henry's. Henry has this awful nasty fake snake that looks so stinking real. He knows how I feel about snakes, so he torments me with it! The snake is always appearing from behind me, or giving me surprise kisses. 

And Charlie's new jammies:

Another attempt at a picture that contains both kids..

Times are tough....but Henry is doing his part by providing his own dental care: 

And provide his own medical care. Henry's hand was run over by a bike at daycare last week. Today, we saw the bi-product of that accident. He is losing his finger nail. He will NOT let us touch it...it is so wrong looking!! I am guessing tonight is its last night on Henry's little finger.

Charlie reviewing the Portland housing market. 

This is Henry saying "Fee Fi Fo Fummy...." So cute!

Saturday, we decided to TRY to see a movie. We had ZERO expectations (since we were bringing Charlie). Nate found a theater that had a 10:30 am showing of Madagascar 2. So, we kept poor Charlie up all morning with the grand plan that he might sleep through the whole movie. Even though Henry and I obnoxiously entertained Charlie in the back seat of the car, he still dozed off on the way to the theater. He was so tired, even the downpour of rain didn't faze him as we ran from the car to the mall. Though, by the time we got in the theater, he was awake and I was concerned that I might spend the next hour and thirty minutes in the lobby with a fussy Charlie. HOWEVER, after a 6 ounce bottle and the previews ended, Charlie was out like the lights...and didn't wake until the credits rolled. It was AMAZING! The movie was so cute and Henry loved it! 

Henry has added some new (and adorable) new songs to his repertoire....in particular, The itsy-bitsy spider (or as he first sang it...the IPSY, BIPSY spider) Henry always forgets the last line of the song, so we inevitably end up in a never ending loop of the song. Its so cute though, it actually gives me goose bumps and we could listen to him sing it all day long. 

Henry has also brought a couple of non-cute things home from daycare. One being something like what I call "boy talk". For example, when we sing "Twinkle, Twinkle little star..." Henry says "Twinkle, Twinkle little par tar tar" It's hard to explain, but believe me, its crazy-silly. 

Well, its time to sign-off so I can start the little dance we call "bedtime with Henry" which usually takes 1 hour and at least 10 threats of some kind. Oh, I forgot to mention that Nate and I always hear about toddlers who sneak into their parents bed in the middle of the night and to us, it sounds so nice...Henry never leaves his room (ok, its because we have safety handles on the inside and he CAN'T get out, but whatever)...so last week, we told Henry we would open his door before we went to bed, so if he wakes up, he can come upstairs. I now know that people mean when they say Pandora's Box. We have a visitor more nights than not...now, we LOVE him snuggling with us, but don't love that he sleeps sideways and uses his toes as weapons. I'm sure the excitement of it all will wear off soon and he won't want to sleep with us, but for now, snuggle-time is nice, even if it means we have black circles under our eyes every day. Love, B