Santa's Watching!!!!

I'm not sure if Hadley and I mentioned it or not but Santa has sent an elf to live on random shelves in our house.   We named him Seymour and his sole purpose is to report back to Santa on a nightly basis of whether we've been good or not (kind of like what Mommy and Daddy call "Big Brother").  In addition, to Seymour, Santa sent me a special message confirming that he's got his eye one me.   Check out what I received earlier today:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/guest/KzDJuJIMacjRH-YgCGGMvA

Needless-to-say, Hadley and I are on our best behavior.  We know that Santa is watching and we are doing our best to make sure that we are nice!

Merry Christmas to All :-)

Love,
Emerson and Hadley

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Did you know that Santa Claus is coming twelve more days!!!!!  Actually, I got to meet him early (kind of like a sneak preview) before the official day.    Santa Claus made a special appearance at my school this year.   It was a good time this past Sunday not only did I get to hang out with Santa but, also with my friends and we all got a special gift from Santa along with cookies and treats :-).   Mama, Haddie and Auntie all went shopping during my Santa visit.  Once I got home, Auntie and I made sugar cookies and boy did they turn out great!

Here's wishing y'all a Merry Christmas!

Love,
Emerson and Hadley

"Uh yes, the beard is real"  "Dad, can you grow one of these?"

 "Come on Emily, I'm sure we can get into some kind of trouble :-)"

 "Auntie, chop, chop.... time is money."  "Stop smiling for the camera and get to work, these cookies aren't going to make themselves"

 "I'm ready for some serious shopping Mama"

"Boy, those crowds just wear me out".  

Going Mainstream

The holidays bring out the enormous amounts of catalogs and advertisements trying to entice you to buy their stuff.   Mommy happened to open one the other day and within the first couple of pages, she stumbled upon the page listed below.   Can you believe, my name on an ornament!  Who would of thought that Hadley would have become so popular that it's listed on an ornament in a catalog that is most likely mailed out to thousands or even millions.    Mommy and Daddy (and quite frankly most of our friends and family) have not heard of the name Hadley before I was given that name.  Perhaps, my parents were onto something.  Who knows, the name Hadley could be the new Olivia or Sophia?  We shall see.   For now, I'm just enjoying my few moments of fame :-).

Love,

Hadley

(or you can call me Haddie :-)

Christmas Tree Day 2010

For those of you that are in the know, you might recall that every year on the first Saturday of December we go to Butler's Orchard in Germantown, MD to cut down our Christmas Tree.  Auntie Michelle goes with us too.  Although it did not snow like it did last year, it was still very cold and we had lots of fun!  Last year Uncle James went with us so we missed him this year. However, Mommy's friends Eric and Ashley joined us this year and hopefully this is the start of a holiday tradition for them as well.   Cutting our tree down at Butler's wouldn't be complete without Tyler our tree guy.  Every year Tyler shakes out all the dead needles, trims the trunk, and ties the tree to the roof of our car for a safe trip home to Alexandria.  Tyler is really cool... he even gave me pointers for whenever I'm old enough to be a tree guy :-).   I mean this is serious business folks, we cross state lines in order to get the perfect tree every year.  Oh and of course Mommy will tell you that the Christmas tree weekend would not be complete without a trip to the pediatrician.  That's right folks, I'm allergic!  Last year Mommy threatened no more real trees but Daddy said it was a fluke.    Well, well, well, It's official I'm allergic to Douglas fur Christmas trees.  So as sad as it might be, we may need to start a new tradition of picking out a fake trees :-(.  However, there is no time like the present and now it is time to grab a cup of cider or hot chocolate (pick your poison), light up the fire place and relax under the glistening lights of the beautiful Christmas tree.  

On a side note, Hadley and I are working on being very good this year so that Santa will come.   Seamore is a little elf that lives on a shelf in our home.  Mommy and Daddy said that he leaves every night to tell Santa how we are doing and then returns in the morning.   I've been on my best behavior so that Santa will come down the chimney on Christmas eve.  

Hadley and I would like to say Happy Holidays and we'll be back soon!

Love,

Emerson and Hadley

Auntie bought me the best cookie ever!

 "Uh Oh, Rudolph isn't the only one with a red nose this holiday season"

 "Daddy, here let me show you how it's done" 

 "Dog pile!!!!"

 "And a 1, and a 2, and a 3.... I'll blow this tree down"

 "Dear Lord, Baby Jesus in the manager.... you're so tiny and small"

 "So Auntie, now that we cut down our trees.... what about that one?"

 "Come on people, let's get the show on the road"

 "Tree shaking at it's finest"

 "Yea, I'm in with Tyler (our tree guy)... he's sharing all of his trade secrets"

 "Choo Choo!!!"

 "Auntie, what are you waiting for, get in"

 "Mommy spends way too much money in this little red barn"

"a true sign of a great day :)"

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to PaSa I go...

On Monday, Mommy's maternity leave was up so I had no other choice than to start daycare with PaSa.    I say that like it's a bad thing.... It's not a bad thing especially since I've heard Emerson talk about how much fun he had with PaSa.   Of course, I did love hanging out at home with Mommy but who knew that there would be other kids my age that I could play with.   10 1/2 weeks and I'm already making friends :-).  Mommy told Daddy yesterday during dinner that she can't believe how much I've grown.  Daddy agreed and started to get sentimental of little things (for example, Daddy said " this will be the last time we will be using a diaper bag after this"... "really, I heard Daddy say that").   Geez, I think Emerson might be right, our parents are officially dorks!  So here are some photos to mark the occasion:

Love,
Hadley 

"We're going where?"

 "Mommy, I'll try to say PaSa's name but it might take me a while"

"Mommy, did you hear that?"  "PaSa said that she's going to give me a manicure:-)"

Turkey, Dogs & Cats....

So this past Thanksgiving was one of lots of fun and excitement.    Auntie Michelle came over with her dog,  Jacques, which was soooo much fun!    Jacques and I played inside for hours that we never made it outside to play.  I was bummed when Mommy made me go to bed for my afternoon nap but, I guess it was good since Jacques took a nap too.  As for sister, I felt a little bad for her since she didn't get to play with us much.    Perhaps when Haddie is a more mobile we'll hang out more.    Later on, Daddy and I watched some football and grazed on more Thanksgiving snacks.   Mommy said that this year she got smart and (thanks from a tip from Auntie Anne) ordered her turkey from Whole Foods so that all she had to do was put it in the oven.   Of course, Mommy and Auntie Michelle did make stuffing so the meal was somewhat home made :).  Oh and Bob got to hang out with Jacques too but something tells me that he wasn't too thrilled (see photos below).

Hadley and I hope that you all had a Thanksgiving as relaxing and wonderful as ours.

Love,

Emerson & Hadley

"Jacques, do you really think you would get to rest?"  "Come on, let's go"

 "Jacques, and this is how you sweep... take notes"

 "It's hard work but somebody's got to do it"

 before the cooking festivities began :-)

 "Daddy, please can we get a dog?"  "Haddie told me that is what she really wants this year"

 "Are you serious, the turkey is going to take how long?"   "Oh, I'll be way hungry before then!"

 Bob checking out the competition

 Mom's low stress turkey

"Mommy,can you tell Santa that I'd like one of these for Christmas"

Fabulous Francesca :)

Friday, Mom took Haddie on another lunch date... it's like that all she seems to ever do these days!   However, Friday's lunch date was with her long time buddy - Francesca.   Francesca is the daughter of Mommy's friend of 34 years - Anne (but we call her Aunt Anne and her husband Uncle Frank).  Anyways, it was really cool on Friday as you will be able to see from the photos below.  Sister told me that Francesca gave her some pointers on sitting up in a big girl chair, starting to walk and game playing with the Moms in a little game called "Fetch me my toys".  Francesca (Frankie as I like to refer to her) and Haddie had a great visit and I'm sure with time they will be plotting ways to torment our Moms (I can't wait!).

Love,

Emerson

Hadley ~ "Check out Francesca's form.... no slumping in her chair for this girl". 

 Francessca ~ "Stick with me Hadley, I'll teach you everything I know!"

 Francesca ~ "So what do you think Haddie.... should we head to the mall or the park?"

Francessca ~ "Aunt Re, I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not but Haddie and I are a pretty big deal ya know!"

Will Shop For Food!

Mom took Haddie to her very first Mall today and gave her a taste of what it's like to shop.   Haddie wasn't so interested in the shopping (who could blame her) then she was getting to hang out with her new friend, Ainsley Parker Lee.   Ainsley was 1 month and 1 day younger than Haddie and she is the daughter of one of Mommy's good friends - Ms. Lauren.    Haddie told me in the car today that Mom and Ms. Lauren also took Ainsley and her out to lunch too.  Geez, the shopping didn't sound like that was fun but if we are talking about food at Cheesecake Factory, well that's just different!  My advice to Haddie was, next time ditch the shopping and go straight for the food.  However, something tells me that as my sister gets older, she will enjoy the shopping experience much more.   Oh and sister said that Mom made Ainsley and her pose to mark the occasion and below are the snapshots to prove it.  

Check out the girls below!

XO,
Emerson

"Ainsley, close your eyes and play like your dead"  "Then when they're not looking, we can make a run for it"

 "OK, so I think our Mom's are distracted by the yummy cheesecake, when I say go, run as fast as your little legs will carry you" 

" check it.... we have almost matching blankets" "I'd say that's as close to sisterhood as two baby girls can get".

A Gift for Mom

 As most of you know or have experienced for yourselves, every year in the fall it is inevitable that you will have to take a school picture.  Personally, I think it's God's way of ensuring that all the Mom's out there get snapshots of thier little boys and girls growing up. (a gift for Mom so to speak).   

This is my second year of preschool with the whole school picture tradition thing and so far it's not that bad.   I mean really, my Mom had a scheduled photograhper to come into our home at my 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and 12 month mark.  Needless to say, I am well aware of how to smile when the word "CHEESE"  is spoken and how to work the camera :).  It is now my job as a big brother to prepare Hadley for the marathon of photos that our parents will take of her.   I just hope that she is up for the challenge.  I think that she will be able to handle the flash, endless wardrobe changes, and working the camera overall.   It will be great to see Mom and Dad act like fools trying to get her to smile (I used to really make them work for my smile.... you can't just give it to them, you gotta make them earn that smile! Shhh, don't let them in on that little secret).

So, I leave you with my fall 2010 school pictures and will update you once the spring 2010 photos are here.

XO,
Emerson

Ms. Tracey (on the top row) and Ms. Tiana (to the left of me, blonde hair) are my teachers this year.

"Growing Up Barr"

Hooray so I see that you've found my new blog!  Well, I guess it's not all my blog anymore since my new sister (Hadley) is also apart of it too.   I'm at least a co-author and until Hadley can actually speak, I'll be doing most of the writing :).  

So you might be wondering about the title of this blog "Growing Up Barr", huh?   Coming up with a title for Hadley's and my blog was tough.  We originally thought that "Raising the Barr's" would be great (hence the URL name) but then Hadley and I figured that was something our silly parents would write from their perspective.  Thus, we kept the URL (to keep our parents happy and make them feel included in some sort of way) but decided to title the blog "Growing Up Barr" so that you could follow our adventures of  how we see growing up as a Barr kid is really like. 

For those of you that followed Emerson's World http://emersonmaxwell.blogspot.com/ ,you know that my new little sister arrived into this world on September 17, 2010.  So far she's pretty cool but, I imagine that will change over the years as I get older and she starts to cramp my style :).   However, for right now, I'm a proud big brother and look forward to sharing with you our life of "Growing Up Barr".

Here are a few snapshots of us recently, enjoy!

XO,

Emerson & Hadley

PIZZA!!!! I just love it and this was a shot Mommy caught during our weekly movie night.

Haddie is definitely plotting her escape in this photo for sure!

 

 Sister wants to know, what the heck were our parents thinking when they dressed me?  She says she feels like a boxer on this day!

I think Haddie has a little gas here... hee hee :)

 She looks better here.... I guess the gas must have passed:)

My buddy Savannah invited me to Chuck E. Cheese and I just loved this game.   I'm convinced that a career as a race car driver is possibility for me, what do you think?