A Very Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas! Here are a couple of pictures, from our quick jaunt to Saint Louis and then back home. So much fun!

Jack and Helen both visit Santa!

We passed on the hour long line at Oak Park Mall yesterday for Santa, so today we visited the Zona Rosa Santa. This was the first Santa that Helen went up to and sat on his lap. Before she has just swiped the candy cane and run for the hills! Jack of course had a letter for Santa (probably his 6th letter for this year) and Santa told Jack he would deliver it to the North Pole. They took a cute picture together and it was free! That doesn't happen often. Here are a couple new pictures of the crazy Barrons.

I am done with the snow!

Well, snow is fun, and it is pretty, but I have had my fill for the year! Jack loves to play in the snow though. Helen likes it for a few minutes and then she freezes and says "I don't like it." I keep telling Jack to stop licking his lips because they will get more chapped. The other day, we were eating lunch at Frank's in Parkville. Jack got upset with me and said defiantly, "I am going to lick my lips Mom!" I tried not to laugh, as did Angela and Muddie. I am going to use that line sometime when I am mad! Helen just ran around as usual, making other diners regret that they had come to Frank's at the same time as us. I like to think that I burn off my entire lunch by chasing her around, but it isn't that easy, is it? Oh well, it's just a "phase" right?

Christmas Pictures

We took our Christmas pictures today. "We" was Helen, Jack, Muddie and me. It was a combination of getting Christmas pictures taken, Helen's 2 year pics, and a surprise for Steve's birthday. Well, they had to bring in an extra person because Jack was not wanting to get his picture taken. Finally, he cooperated, while Helen was posing the whole time!
They actually turned out pretty cute. Here are a couple of them......
While we were waiting we walked around the stores. Helen and I were outside of Hallmark while Jack and Muddie were shopping. She was running around too much inside the store so I thought we couldn't do much damage outdoors....right? She was walking on the ledge of the sidewalk when an old security guard walked by and said "Children are not allowed to walk on the ledge". Thanks buddy.

Mom, is it December?

Jack is anxious for Christmas. He has been a little miffed that we don't have the Christmas tree up yet. So, today I told him we would look at Lowe's. He said "No, we are not going to just look, we are going to buy one." And that we did. What a deal! $29 for a pretty Frasier Fir, and somehow I fit it in the car with Jack and Helen. Let's see what it looks like when we get it up. ...

Thanksgiving Trip

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving trip to the Lake! It was certainly a lot of fun!

I can't hang with the big dogs....

Friday night, Steve and I went with everyone to the Puddle of Mudd/Saliva/Deepfield concert at the Uptown. It was so much fun, hanging out backstage, watching the concert from the balcony, chillin.....but I do not stay up until 2 am anymore. Unless someone is sick. Wow, that hurts the next day and I didn't even drink! Helen woke up at 6am ready to go and I was not. It was fun, but I know that I am a total mommy and not a groupie. Good Lord, my eyes were burning and my ears still hurt....I even wore ear plugs.
Jack and Helen had fun spending the night at Muddie's with the cousins....they were tired yesterday too though. Jack and I made it to Meghan's baby shower in the afternoon which was fun. Jack told me after we left that "he had a very nice time." He did ask where the pinata was and if it was a sleepover party.
Another Halloween picture and a picture from the Halloween party at Gymboree!

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year! We went over to Cha Cha and Bryan's house to go trick or treat with the "cousins". They all had a lot of fun and got a lot of candy. We even watched a band playing in a cul de sac in the neighborhood. Lots of fun! Here is a picture of Jack and Helen in their costumes while visiting Kelly and Paul.

2 Days until Halloween

Well, it has been a candy crazed weekend. Our Gymboree Party was Friday night, Helen was Snow White and was certainly the fairest of them all and Jack was Lightning McQueen again!
The hayride was a hit and lasted a couple of hours and the inside party and trunk or treat was also great....probably around 100 people. Exhausting but fun. Tonight is the YMCA Trunk or Treat so that should be fun....pictures to come!!
This Halloween is fun because Helen is walking and Jack is really into it of course!

6 days til Halloween!

We are wearing our costumes for the first time this Halloween, Jack is a Lightning McQueen Race Car Driver and Helen is a Princess tonight (she chose b/t that and Snow White, actually Jack chose and said the princess tonight!) We are going to a Halloween party at St.Pius and that will start the snowball of Halloween fun.....or should I say popcorn ball?
I will post pictures as I get them....here is one cheesy pose by Jack yesterday at Kelly's.

Pumpkin Patches

When did pumpkin patches get so popular and expensive? My gosh, I remember just going and walking around. Now there are so many options and so many people! I guess that is what we get here in KC for having an 80degree day! But, we had fun, made it through the huge corn maze and even saw some animals.
Helen kept saying "neigh" because she wanted to ride the ponies but I know she didn't want to wait in line for 25 minutes. She called the corn in the corn maze "nannies", it is yellow though, so close to a banana.
Jack led the way through the maze and proclaimed that we "won the race". That's right! Can we go across the road to the other farm? Mom and Dad are party poopers and we see the crowds and the very full parking lot and say "maybe next time!" Aren't we terrible sometimes, the excuses and little white lies we tell our children for convenience and patience sakes'?
11 days til Halloween.....

The Wedding!

The wedding was a long, fun day. Jack was perfect as the ring bearer and Helen was happy because she got to see so much of "Baby" Madison. They tried to steal the show....Helen kept saying "baby, baby" and Madison just wanted to eat. Cheerios, the roses out of the bouquet, I can't wait to see all of the pictures!
Jack and Helen were dancing machines at the reception and Jack snapped lots of pictures....at one point I saw him up on the photographer's stepstool taking pictures! What a crack up.
Jack did not care for the much anticipated crabcakes after all. Just stick with regular cake next time.
Wow, we were all tired for the next couple of days, "recovering". Jack slept 14 hours Sunday night! He was exhausted from too much fun.

Practice Night

Jack has referred to the rehearsal at church for the wedding and dinner as "practice". He even asked if he could wear his batting helmet. You never know when you could use a helmet.
He is excited because Grandma Renate came from St.Louis and is spending two nights with us, one night at our house and one night at the hotel. Apparently there is going to be a pillow fight and a swimming party at the hotel. And, Jack informed me that he doesn't want crab on his cakes, just cakes. Sounds good to me!
Helen, by the way, loved the dessert table at the rehearsal dinner. She could walk right up to the table, grab a piece of cake, and deliver it to the table with a big smile! "Cake!" A chip off the old block.
Time for bed, it is going to be a busy day tomorrow, starting with hair at 8am! Yikes!

Last Festival.....A Male Dancer....and One Crazy Mom

wow. what a day. it was our last festival, GladFest, and since we are a democracy at Hay and Barron, aka Gymboree Parkville, we voted and said no to next year at GladFest. Grant it, the people watching is superb and we were entertained at times, but even Jen and Angela and I have limits. so we packed up early on Sunday and high-tailed it out of Gladstone.
Last night was Elizabeth's bachelerotte party. It started off relatively calm, with penis nametag stickers. I got "Limpy" and wore him proudly. Jen and Ang and I took a quick break to go close down our tent at GladFest. I realized later I was still wearing my "Limpy" sticker. Classy.
Then it was on to the Hilton for the entertainment. I think that might be stretching it a bit, because this guy was not entertaining. Well, a little funny, but not attractive at all! And had a little belly. 'Come on dude. He obviously had stuffed his thong, which was a very worn American Flag thong. Should that be allowed? Isn't that disrespect to the flag? Craig had warned us that strippers stuff their thongs. He was so right, definitely a bean bag.
More to come, Jack "needs" to play his game!

One more festival weekend to go....

Oh Lord. It was Liberty Fall Festival this weekend and NASCAR...double doozie. Jack and Steve got to go watch to race on Saturday and Jack has been telling everyone that the winner was the Lowe's driver, #5. They both had a lot of fun. So, either side of our tent at Liberty Festival, we had the smokey joes. They were like chimneys and when the wind was blowing it was so smokey and stinky. I finally asked the one pleasant lady to please move away when she smoked, and if looks could kill, I would be dead. It didn't help. Oh well, I tried.
One more festival to go....Glad Fest, a personal favorite. Can you feel the sarcasm?
And then, the wedding bonanza weekend.....hold on to your smokes, folks.

Jack's Final Soccer Game

Wow! Jack's last soccer game (3rd of 3, long season) was great. He played so well and they all received a medal at the end of the game. Jack has been wearing the medal and showing it to anyone and everyone. He is very proud, so are we. Next month, it is flag football!
His team had coordinated a cook out, and Jack and Helen thought that was great. Nothing beats hot dogs, chips, mac and cheese, and cookies and cupcakes. Oh yeah.
Jack even scored a goal on the final game! Woo hoo!
Steve was super pumped, he thinks Jack was the best player on the team. He may be right. :)

Jack's 2nd Soccer Game

Jack had his second soccer game (the last one is Wednesday, long season, huh?) and he did pretty good. Once again, not really fast, but solid as a goalie. Hey, at least he isn't crying like half of the kids or just wanting to sit on the sidelines. He is in the game, loves to cheer and give high fives and thumbs up, and he enjoys the snack and drink time of course!
Helen runs on the field constantly and cannot be told no, it is Jack's game, your time will come! She wants to play, go say Hi to Jack, give him hugs, and give him his water. It is cute, but exhausting keeping up with her!
Maybe Helen will be the fast one.......
We'll see how the season (3 practices and 3 games) ends on Wednesday....it will be a nail biter.

BabyFest Bonanza

Yesterday was like running a marathon! Yowza. We loaded up at Gymboree around 7am and set up our tent for the Kansas City Baby and Child Expo at Zona Rosa. I got home at 7pm and was wiped. I was glad to see the kids and know that they had a fun day! Helen went with Muddie and Aunt Lizzie and Madison to the Weston Red Barn Farm and rode a pony! Jack was at his friend Seth's and with the cousins, so he was in heaven. We had a great response at the expo and met a lot of people, so I guess it was worth it.
This morning we are just hanging out watching Caillou and Elmo and having fun.

The Longest Preschool Meeting

My goodness! We went to Jack's preschool information night tonight at 6:30 and did not leave until 8:30! Wow. Bobby was watching the kids and he called to see if we had forgotten our children. It was a lot of information and a lot of chatty parents......come on people! There is always one in the group who likes to ask strange questions and keep the whole group waiting. Wow. That's all I can say. My brain was on overload....and my stomach was on empty. Snacks, people, snacks! Preschoolers need snack time and so do I.

Jack's First Soccer Game

Wow! Jack had such a fun time, he had a big smile on his face the whole time. Jack makes an awesome goalie. He needs to work on his speed, but that will come with time.
He kept looking over to the sidelines of his fans (Mommy, Daddy, Helen and Muddie) and telling us to cheer and clap!
At the end of the game he proclaimed that he had scored 15 goals. I was impressed because I must have blinked and missed that. Oh well, it is good to have confidence, be proud, and have fun.

Jack's Field Trip to Red Barn Farm

Well, Jack and I went on his preschool field trip to Red Barn Farm this morning. It was a lot of fun, one of the highlights for Jack was riding on the school bus. He was very anxious this morning that we were going to be late and kept telling me to hurry up. Usually it is the other way around!
Jack enjoyed the first half of the tour led by farmer Gretchen but then lost interest and wanted to shop in the store. He did not care anymore about what pigs are used for, goats, donkeys, he wanted to get a pumpkin and an ornament "and maybe a little toy?"
We managed to sneak away from the group and go to the gift shop and find a John Deere toy and two drinks.....we were a little nervous because the head farmer had given us the rules at the beginning of the tour, and I knew we were breaking the rules....but I needed a Diet Coke, Jack needed a juice box and that John Deere truck!
The hay ride was fun, but not so much fun for my back...man, I'm getting old! Jack was like "where are the freakin pumpkins?"
We loaded back on the bus and headed back for preschool and then Jack was starving! So we went to his favorite place "Noodles" (Ghenghis Khan) and had our little lunch date before Helen was dropped back off. Lots of fun for Mom and Jack :)
pictures to come......
we need to rest this afternoon Jack says because his first soccer game is tonight....Big Game!

Helen at Gymboree

Helen at Gymboree!

Helen at her party and Jack rides the mechanical bull!

What is up with my kids? They are so silly and I don't know where they get it from....it must be Steve.

Jack plays Soccer

Jack is playing for the red team through the YMCA here in Parkville. He is really excited about soccer....flag football is next month. This is Jack after practice......

Helen is 2!

We are certainly crazy Barrons! Helen had a grand birthday weekend including 2 dog cakes.

Helen had a lot of fun and stopped opening presents once she discovered her new baby doll.

CrazyBarrons

Hello! Welcome to our blogspot. I am jealous of those of you who started your blog during your pregnancies, but better late than never!
Jack is already 4 1/2 and Helen just turned 2, but I think this will be a fun way to keep track of what we crazy Barrons do and keep friends and family updated!
If you have any tips for me or suggestions, let me know since I am new to this.
Love, Katie, Steve, Jack and Helen