Wednesday, December 20, 2006

happy feet

mom and i took the kiddos (all 3) to Fort Smith (about 1 1/2 hrs away) this weekend to see "Happy Feet". actually we went with the intentions of watching "Charlotte's Web" and the kids decided on "Happy Feet" at the last minute. It was one of the best and funniest and sweetest children's movies that I've watched in a long time. I really had no interest in it before and now i am so happy that we got to see it.

ezra did beautifully. he slept in his car seat the entire time (until i woke him up for lunch) and that is just amazing to me. neither of the other kids ever slept in their car seats unless they were in a moving vehicle.

julian ate almost an entire medium sized tub of popcorn by himself. the kid can pack away popcorn like nobody i've ever seen. of course, he had a terrible stomach ache by that evening.

we took the kids shopping after it was over, and that was quite an experience. we had to do lots of shuffling around (ezra in stroller, ezra out of stroller, juju in stroller, bathroom trip, bathroom trip, stop for drinks, bathroom trip, feed ezra, etc. etc. etc.) and didn't get too much shopping done, but in the end, i was very pleased with how well we all did, considering it was a nap-free day, plus mucho sugary treats at the movie theater. i always have so much fun shopping with my mom too, and it was great to venture out of the house.

a few more days until all the men are here (dad, cj and dustin) and then we will have christmas. it is very festive here in mom's house, her tree is beautiful and very tempting for my juju, but he is doing pretty well with leaving it alone. a few nights ago, julian came into my room at 2 am needing to use the restroom. we had stayed up late that night wrapping gifts, so the tree was full. julian saw the gifts and said, "Ooooohhhh mama, it's cri-mass day! let's open presents!!!"

annabelle loves to eat. if julian and i are home alone, i may forget to feed him for several hours, before finding him picking cheerios out of the couch cushions. but annabelle NEVER forgets to remind me when it is breakfast time, or snack time, or treat time, or lunch time....

yesterday, i was preparing lunch when ezra woke up SO hungry. i stopped to feed him, and moments later, annabelle came into the room expecting to eat lunch. she walked up to me and said, "mama, is lunch ready?" i said, "no baby, i had to feed ezra first." she sighed and said, "Mama, you STILL have to feed us TOO, ya know," and sulked out of the living room.

annabelle also has the best memory. if she sees a commercial for a new movie coming out, she will ask me how many days until the movie comes out and she will count down (on her own) every day until the movie should be out. while in the hospital after having ezra, she saw a preview for Fox and the Hound 2. I told her it would be out in 8 days. on day 8, she woke up and walked into the living room and said, "Mama, where's Tata?" I told her that she already left for work. Normally she bursts into tears at the thought of Tata leaving without saying goodbye. Instead she said, "Well whose car are we going to take to the video store to get Fox and the Hound 2? It came out today, you know"

Friday, December 15, 2006


lastone, i promise. i just love ezra's sweet little face in this one. look at his long skinny fingers. Posted by Picasa


ezra looks weird in this one, but the 2 big kids look so....well, big. i had to share. Posted by Picasa


my 3 kids. bella, wearing her always inside out and backwards shirt, juju covered in a blanket as he only wears undies indoors, and ezra, so peaceful and sweet in his little hand-me-downs from juju. ezra looks so much like his sister, don't ya think? Posted by Picasa

***attention valerie, kara and heather***

i am so frustrated with blogger. i just wanted to let all my blogger friends know that i am not being allowed to leave comments on your blogs, so valerie, (i already emailed you), i want you to know how much i love you and how much your writing makes me smile and think and laugh and i look foward to checking your blog everyday. Kara, I want to see pictures of your baby boy's nursery, and i hope you enjoy your laney christmas this weekend and i hope that baby comes soon soon soon for you (but not TOO soon. :) ) and Heather, baby Tristen looks so precious and snuggly and content. he and ezra were born within 7 minutes of eachother, which i think is just wild, and i wish we lived closer to eachother, as I am sure they would make the best of friends. :)

i hope you all still check my blog so you can see my comments here. i just want you to know that i am not at all trying to ignore you or neglect you guys. blogger just stinks sometimes. and that is all for now. (i am off to try to leave more comments on other blogs, and if it doesn't work...i'll be back here ;)

Thursday, December 14, 2006

baby ezra


we are alive and well. i am just neglecting my blog because i have been a tad bit busy.
our sweet baby boy, Ezra Harper Bartell, (i won!!) was born last Tuesday, December 5th.
7 lbs. 4 oz., he is the smallest of my three babies, and he definitely has the most calm, sweet spirit of the three (as newborns). He rarely demands anything from us, and spends much of his awake hours just snuggling us and contentedly sucking on his shirt sleeves and fingers.

the kids are just deliriously happy with him. i hear about 50 times a day, "baby ezra's cuuute" from Julian and Annabelle is seriously offended if I don't let her hold him on demand. she is such a great helper, and loves to rock him and sing to him.

ezra is small but has the longest, skinniest fingers and toes. he is a little baldie and has the littlest chicken legs and baby booty. he has jaundice but it is hopefully going away, as he has been doing a lot of "sunbathing" the past 2 days.

i am still using my mom's computer and don't have a way to upload photos, but i will share some as soon as i can. these are the only photos i can find on her computer, so i will share more when i can.

Monday, December 04, 2006

*i won!!! i won!!! :) dustin un-vetoed my baby name! i'll share soon, i promise. (we're still kicking around a couple of middle names)

*my car is having transmission problems. serious problems (took dustin 3 1/2 hrs. to make a 2 hour trip tonight). i am stressing a little, because instead of driving to arkansas right now, dustin is waiting for the hyundai dealership to open. he is afraid that the transmission could fall out between austin and here. i *guess* that is a legitimate reason, but i just really want him here now.

*dustin also smashed his right ring finger while changing a flat tire two nights ago. he is in mucho pain, but fortunately his little brother is going to the doctor tomorrow, and dustin may be able to squeeze in an appointment around the same time to have his finger looked at. i really really hope it isn't broken, but at this point, it seems pretty likely. poor boy.

*we had such a fun time at my sister's house last night. she is all moved in to their new home and we had a little bonfire and roasted marshmallows and hotdogs and then watched the Razorback game on their big screen. i don't even like football, but i really enjoyed it.

*my dad was in Maine this week, and he picked out a stuffed lobster for Jocelyn, a stuffed moose for Julian and a stuffed Bear for Bella. Julian tried to trade his moose (my personal favorite) for Jocelyn's lobster, because he thought it was Mr. Crab from Spongebob. we convinced him that it wasn't a crab, but a lobster and he has called it a "Wosbter" ever since.

*the swelling has gone down in my ankles and knees, and has instead travelled to my face. i hate this part of pregnancy and was hoping i could avoid the fatty face this time around. no such luck. :(

*on top of the normal train and truck Christmas gift requests from juju, he has also asked for Polly Pockets, My Little Ponies, and a pink purse. girls just have way better toys than boys...and clothes too. fortunately, while browsing a site full of disney pajamas, he chose the Lightning McQueen pj's over the Pretty Princess pj's....but i could tell it was a difficult decision for him to make.

*baby-with-an-almost-definite-name will be here in less than 2 days!