PEA-uke

Six-Six-Six

I am stealing this idea from my good friend Kelly. Braden just had his 6 month appointment yesterday. All seems to be well with him. The doctor said that allergies are pretty normal for babies and we shouldn't worry too much. If things are still bad at a year, then we should be concerned. For now, we are to keep him away from polyester and put cream on the red/dry spots. He is 26.5 inches tall and 17.1 pounds. It makes me laugh because Kelly's baby is 9 months and she weighs almost 15 and she's almost as tall as Braden. He is pretty average for his age.

Here are SIX Things I Love about my SIX month year old:

1. Since he scratches his head raw, we make him wear socks on his hands. I love when he is in a mellow mood, he paws you just like a cat would. I have to get a picture of this.
2. I love how his body gets all tight and shaky when we are feeding him because we aren't giving it to him fast enough.
3. I love when he sits in his exersaucer and just talks to himself and his little toys.
4. I love that he can now put his binki in his mouth. His favorite game is when i put his binki in my mouth and pretend to suck on it. He gets this goofy smile on his face that says, "Mom, that's mine silly, not yours!" He will then grab it out of my mouth and put it in his. Then he spits it out and wants me to put it back into my mouth so he can grab it out again. I also need to get a video of this, it is so funny.
5. I love my nightly cuddles with Braden right before bed. I wrap him up nice and tight. I sit in the laz-y-boy then sing and read to him. He just stares up at me. I just know he is thinking, "Mom, I love you, but your made up songs are so weird." This proceeds with him making a huuuuhuuuu sound. That means he is close to going to bed.
6. I love how mobile he is now. Just yesterday I laid him on the floor near his crib. I went to his dresser (on the other side of the room) to get him some clothes. Next thing I know he is grabbing my legs. It really scared me at first until I realized it was just my rolly polly baby.

Six things Braden loves:

1. Blanket- his eyes get drowsy the moment it touches his face
2. Binki
3. Exersaucer
4. Baths
5. Mom & Dad
6. FOOD-FOOD-FOOD

We've Discovered the Culprit

As most of you know, since Braden was born we have been struggling with really bad eczema. Eczema is a really bad skin rash. In Braden's case it has overcome his whole body. It is the saddest thing to see. It is itchy, red, and just plain uncomfortable for him. We have taken him to the doctor many times in which he has received steroid shots, creams, etc. Nothing has worked. Blake and I decided to take him to a specialist.

I was at my friend's house and she said that her son's skin used to be irritated by polyester. So, for the heck of it I decided to eliminate polyester from Braden's daily life. And guess what, it worked. He still has a minor rash behind his legs and arms, but his skin looks so good now. We are still going to see a specialist because I have a feeling polyester isn't the only thing. So, our big job was to eliminate ALL polyester in our home. Everything is polyester, I swear. Here is the list of stuff we boxed up, no wonder his skin was so bad. I feel so bad for always using this stuff on him.

1. Bed Sheets
2. Some Clothes
3. Most Blankets
4. Boppy Cover
5. Boppy
6. Lov Sac Cover
7. Carpet (we may need to change it)
8. Bath Towels
9. Car Seat (ok, we can't get rid of this, but don't keep him in there)
10. Stroller (we try and lay down a blanket)

Now we have to use 100% cotton on everything. I am glad to know this. To mom's/future mom's out there. If you have any questions about allergies, let me know. I have read everything on them. Here are some cute pictures of Braden in his favorite toy.

This is my favorite photo of him. He is SO happy! He now knows how to pull out and put back in his binki. It is so cute to watch. When you see him stand, he is doing it all by himself. We need to lift up the seat to give him support, but we haven't yet so he is standing unsupported.
Overall, he LOVES his exersaucer and so do mom and dad

Lentil Festival: Day 2

Well, today was Day 2 in our Lentil Festival experience. There was a cute parade followed by the Lentil Marketplace. We had a nice time. It was kind of hard because of Braden. We want him to have his naps, so we were only out and about for 3 hours or so. We had a great time and are already looking forward to next year. Enjoy the pictures of the Lentil Festival Parade. I tried to get all the good floats.

Braden walking to our parade spot. He is wearing a tractor outfit. It is hard to tell, but it's way cute.

Family at the parade
SEL represents
Senior Lentil Queen. This was so cute.
Look at the ugly WSU cougar, Butch. Cosmo is so much better.
Blake & Braden

Washington State Governor Chris Gregorie Tasty Lentils Friend, The Pea
Tasty Lentil
Oldest John Deere tractor and owners in Washington

Braden wanting the camera

The Lentil Royalty.
These girls were really doing gymnastic stunts on this bar while the parade was moving. It was pretty scary to watch.
Daily News Float
Dad & Son (I think Braden's face is so funny. Maybe it's because the horses just pooped and it smelled bad.)
Biggest Football helmet to match the biggest bowl of chili

6 Bagpipers pipping
And what is a parade without a school bus. Well, how about 3 school buses
After the parade everyone headed down to Reaney Park to attend the Lentil Marketplace
After trying a lentil brownie, we had to get some lentil ice cream. It wasn't too bad.

Overall, the Lentil Festival was so much fun. We are glad to live in Pullman and get to participate in this each year. Next year we will be even more active when we don't have a 6 month old.

Lentil Festival: Day 1

Here are the pictures of our Natl. Lentil Festival Friday Night. It was everything I hoped for and more. The lentil chili was yummy and I brought along some homemade cornbread. (Thanks Nicole for the best cornbread recipe.)

Mom & Son rearing to go

My friend Jessica thought it would be fun to make onesies for our kids. This was her creation.

Braden in his onesieAvery in her onesie Look, the Biggest Bowl of Chili in the world. There was 2,000 pounds of chili.
Entering the Lentil Festival

Braden and Avery in their onesies
Us with our chili, Yum!
Dane, Avery, Jessica, & Blake eating their lentil chili Us with Little Miss Lentil Queen, Hailey Nickels

Me, Braden & Sponge Bob Square Pants (with braces)
Crowded Festival- it was a pain to push a stroller through the crowd
Family- Once again in front of the empty bowl of chili
Cleaning out the Biggest Bowl of Chili

Everything Lentil

With the 20th Annual National Lentil Festival arriving, I would like to inform you all of what the Barnett's weekend will look like. I am so excited for the Lentil Festival I can hardly handle it. You can expect pictures galore.

Background: Each year Pullman hosts the National Lentil Festival. You may be asking yourself, "What the heck is a lentil?" I too had this question until I watched the Travel Channel's "Taste of America" show. If you have a couple of minutes and are interested to learn what this festival is all about, watch this complimentary video.

Events (which the Barnett's plan to dominate):

1. Friday, August 22nd - Friday Night Street Fair. This is where you will find the largest bowl of lentil chili (free chili for us) along with kids' land, street vendors, live bands and dancing (Blake's looking forward to this) and you guessed it, a Beer Garden.

2. Saturday, August 23rd -

• 8:00 am - Lentil Pancake Feed
• 11:00 am - Grand Parade, where my good friend's daughter will be the reigning Little Miss Lentil Queen. Yes, we are friends with a queen.
• 1:00 pm - Coronation of Little Lentil King & Queen
• 2:00 pm - (we get a little break for Braden's nap) Legendary Lentil Cook-off where we will sample and judge 6 different chef's creations using, you guessed it, LENTILS.
• 2 - 5 pm - Lentil Festival Marketplace, Farm Exhibit, Main Stage (live bands), Lentil Land Children's Area & Lentil Lane Food Court.

Missed Activities (things we didn't sign up for early enough because I only researched the festival today, but will participate in next year):

• Tase T. Lentil 5K run/walk
• La Tour de Lentil 100K bike ride
• 3 on 3 Basketball (only for 3rd to 8th graders- guess we will need to wait 9 yrs for this)
• Boards & Blades Comp (Blake plans on refreshing his skate boarding skills for next year)
• Microbrewery Tasting Tent (we still don't know about this one. we very well may be drunkards by next year)

What to Expect:

Over the next couple of days you can expect many pictures and good stories. I am hoping this weekend will be all I am hoping it will be. I know I have been talking about getting a picture with Braden and the Biggest Bowl of Chili and it's finally here. I hope all the lentils don't make the gas content in our house rise.

Back Out, Stomach In

As most of you know, Blake and I have been struggling for the past several months to help Braden sleep through most the night and take good naps. After Saturday night, where Braden woke up EVERY hour and then was awake at 5:30 am, we had ENOUGH. We got our game plan in order. Swaddle Braden, give him kiss, lay him down, leave the room. If he cries, wait 5-10 minutes, go back in (for less than 30 seconds) re-wrap, kiss, lay him down and leave.

Our game plan started with Sunday night. We each took 2 hours segments through the night. We expected it to be pretty bad, but it wasn't. I was only up once in the night for 30 minutes and Blake the same.

Last night was even better. He went down at 9:00pm, woke up 12:30 am to eat, went back down until 5:30 am. Ate again and then woke up in the morning at 8:30. What was the trick? He hates sleeping on his back and loves sleeping on his tummy. Anytime he sleeps well it's because he is on his tummy. So, BACK OUT, STOMACH IN. That's what makes mom and dad happy.

Kamiak Butte & Carrots

Finally, our yard is done and now we have time to enjoy the beautiful Palouse in which we live. We decided to head 10 miles out of town to hike up Kamiak Butte. It is a 3 1/2 mile hike. We decided to head up the steep section first and then stroll down the easier part on the way back. Let me tell you, I couldn't believe how winded I was hiking the steep part. It got my heart pumping. Here are some pictures from our lovely hike. At the bottom there is fun video of Braden eating carrots for the first time.

Blake and Braden getting ready to hike

Palouse through the trees
Me at the summit. I couldn't believe how out of shape I was.
Blake and Braden at the summit
Look at how beautiful the day was
Blake and Braden looking over the Palouse

Our family on top of the summit
Looking up on the summit
Back side of the hill
In the far distance you can see Pullman

When we got back from vacation, we decided to start Braden on real solids. Here is a cute video of him eating his carrots for the first time. We once again, couldn't feed him fast enough.

Ohio Day 8: Columbus Zoo

We had a long morning before we flew out in the evening, so Mallory and I decided to take Braden on his first zoo trip. What better zoo than Jack Hanna's zoo. He is the guy who always goes on TV shows with the animals. It was very family friendly. Overall, the 3 hours we spent there was worth it. Enjoy the pics.

Columbus Zoo

Sea Turtle
Sting Ray
The enormous manatees

Mom & Son on Manatee
Braden with the manatees
Mallory, Braden and the penguin.
Braden riding the pig. This one is for you Tim.
The Orangutan cage

Braden with his Orangutan mama
Sleeping Leopard
Mob of Kangaroos. There was only a thin rope to separate us from these roos.
Koala, very close to us
The 2 baby gorillas were playing with each other like any brother and sister would. The older one in back would latch onto the little one and not let him move. Finally mom Gorilla (left) helped the baby. But then the baby felt confident and started to pick on the older one again, almost saying, "haha, mom is here and you can't touch me." Once mom left, big brother made his presence know again. It was funny to watch.

Mom & Son riding the Gorilla
Braden & I in the Reptile Building
Braden loved this snake. Look at his eyes & mouth. He kept bonking his head to try and grab the snake. Thank goodness for the glass. He also loved to watch the turtles. This was Braden by the end of the day. Fast asleep and ready for the plane.

Overall, this was a very fun trip. I probably won't be heading back to Ohio anytime soon. It was nice to see family and enjoy our time with each other. We had a 45 min. plane ride to Chicago, followed by an extremely LONG 3 hour layover. After which we had another 4 hour plane ride to Spokane. Braden was asleep the whole 2nd plane ride, so I just read. Nice trip!