The Bartlett's Blog

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2008-10-29T16:55:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe we're already upon the holiday season. The leaves are starting to change and the air has a crisp feel to it...my favorite time of year. I've already started humming Christmas tunes. Tommy (a.k.a. Mr. Scrooge) makes me wait until after Thanksgiving to turn on the music in the house and car, but the songs are already in my heart (and sometimes in my cd player when Tommy's not around...don't tell him :) I know I may be a little premature, but when the cold weather hits, I just can't help myself!

So much has happened within the last couple of months...we are finally settled in West Virginia, and both Tommy and I are working at the church. Lots of busy craziness, but we are loving every minute of it. Karleigh is "growing like a weed." Already four months old! Hard to believe. Kolton is as silly as ever - I love the constantly talking phase he's into these days. "I do it, Mommy" seems to be his favorite :) My little Mr. Independent. Honestly, I know all you moms out there know what I'm talking about, but it is so much fun just to sit and talk to your children...he has a hilarous sense of humor, and when you start laughing at him, watch out! He goes on and on. Even at two he comes up with the funniest things!

We had his birthday at Chuck E Cheese this year, and he had a blast...Karleigh, not so much. It was too loud and too bright for her taste. Kolton's cousins came and we had a great time.

We were able to dedicate Karleigh to the Lord at church last Sunday night. It was such a special time, as my parents were able to come up for the event. It is a solemn reminder the great responsibility the Lord has placed upon us to raise our children in a godly way! What a precious gift He has given!

Kolton was in his first church program last Sunday. I watched him during practice and was a little nervous how he would react to all those people in the congregation, but he did fine. He just stood beside his little friend Stacey and sucked his thumb most of the time.

I hope all of you have a blessed day!!!

Karleigh Elaine Bartlett

2008-07-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Karleigh arrived on July 3 at 8:52 a.m. She weighed 7lb 9oz and was 19 3/4 inches long! I have more pictures of her, but just not enough energy to post them :) This picture was taken by the nurse while we were still in the hospital (the bow was her idea!)

The date is set!!!

2008-06-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

Finally...the date has been set! Karleigh Elaine is set to arrive on July 3rd...unless she has plans of her own. My doctor decided that a planned c-section is necessary, because of the type of complications I had with Kolton. That's over a week away, but I've started packing already - just in case! This pregnancy has gone more smoothly than the last time, for which I'm thankful. It seems that the biggest worry I have is Kolton and how much I will miss him while I'm in the hospital! Even as I write this, I start to tear up at the thought of being gone from him 3 nights in a row!! Of course, I also cried today when I finished the last book in the Karen Kingsbury series. Boy, are pregnant women emotional! (but, seriously, those characters felt like part of my family by the end!)
As you know, Tommy is currently commuting back and forth from my parents here in Kentucky to West Virginia to work at the church on the weekends. On the days that he is here, we've been able to take Kolton on some outings. One such outing was the zoo...but, of course I forgot my camera, so no pictures of that. I did, however, remember my camera for Ripley's Aquarium, so I'm posting a few of the cute pictures I captured throughout the day.

Here, Kolton is "swimming" like a fish.
When we were at the petting area of the aquarium, I though for sure Kolton would freak out when the man stuck the...what is it? sting ray?? I can't remember, it's way too late for my brain to think clearly... anyway, stuck the "thing" up to Kolton and asked him if he wanted to pet it. Much to my dismay, my thumb sucking son reached down and touched it a couple of times before he stuck his thumb back in his mouth. It's been a couple of days since then, and Kolton seems fine, so I'm guessing no diseases were contracted from the interaction.
One of the few shots I captured of Kolton standing still.
In awe of the "Nemo" fish. He kept screaming "Meno, Meno!" "Dorie???"
Nothing completes a good day like a big plate of spaghetti!

Just Catching Up...

2008-06-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

As hectic as our life has been recently, I haven't had much to post until now. Just this past weekend we moved our things to West Virginia in preparation for Tommy working at Maranatha Baptist Church as Assistant Pastor. Because I'm counting down the days until Karleigh (yes, we finally decided on a name!!) is born, I didn't want to change doctors this late in the game, we decided to go ahead and move our things to WV and just stay with my parents- who live close to my doctor- until she is born in July. Tommy will work part time in WV and come back to stay with us the rest of the week. Not the best set up, but anything is workable for a month, at least I hope it is! Of course, with my being eight months along, Tommy is probably happy about the arrangement!!

As you can tell by my other posts, I'm not the greatest picture person...I always either forget my camera or let the battery die or take a blurry shot...you know what I mean, but Tommy did just get me a new camera for Mother's Day, so hopefully I'll have some lovely pictures soon, but for now I did want to add some of our Easter pictures...

A rare shot of the whole family (I usually stay on the other side of the camera when I'm pregnant!) Oh, and you can tell what kind of day Kolton is having :)

Kolton enjoying his Easter treats
Kolton with his "quack quack"

Wow!

2008-03-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I could give a million excuses as to why I haven't updated this in MONTHS, but who really cares when I have much bigger news to share...I'm having a girl!!! Yea!!! We are so excited!! As soon as Tommy and I left the doctor's office after finding out it was a girl, we went straight to the mall and I bought six pink dresses :) I love Kolton and wouldn't trade him for a million girls, but I've always been a little envious when I'm browsing through the few racks of boys clothing and I glance over at the hundreds of selections in the girls section...Tommy says the only reason I want a girl is so I can dress her up with ribbons and bows...and of course that's not completely true, but... :o) On the other hand, picking out clothes may be easier for us with a girl, but picking out names sure isn't. We settled on Kolton Lukas in one DAY...here we are one MONTH later with a girl and still no names on the horizon...We just can't seem to agree on anything. Katy, Madelyn, Julia, Mallory...not one can be both agree on. If this goes on, who has the final say????? I sure hope it's the mother. Anyway, hopefully I'll have more pictures to post soon. I've taken them, but since the move we just use the internet at my parents house, because there was no reason to hook it up for the few months we're living here, and I haven't quite figured out how to load them onto this computer. Until then, thanks for updating your blogs regularly, I really enjoy reading them :)

A little update

2007-11-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

Well, we did make it to Tennessee safe and sound. It has been such a whirlwind two weeks. A couple days after we made it to our new home, we had to pack back up for a trip to Chattanooga for Tommy's cousin's wedding. We got back home on Saturday night, and had to take Kolton to the emergency room on Sunday. He woke up around midnight trying to cry, but not being able to because he couldn't breathe. I have never been so scared in my life. Thank the Lord my mom and dad were close enough to rush over to check on him. After we had him up for a few minutes he calmed down enough to breathe, but he was still really struggling, so we decided to take him on to the hospital (and for those of you who have ever seen my bedhead hair, you know what a treat those doctors were in for :0) He ended up having the flu/croup, and after a couple of breathing treatments he was okay, but they still had to keep him there for a few hours for observation. Thankfully, he is fully recovered now. Needless to say, my poor house hasn't gotten the attention it has needed...we unpacked what we needed and threw (literally) the rest of the boxes in the spare bedroom to tend to at a later date...I've gone to WalMart about 10 times buying something I know I have but can't find in the mass of boxes...although my favorite shoes are in there somewhere, and they, at least at this point,have been irreplaceable. Oh the woes of moving!

We're moving!!!

2007-10-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

After weeks and weeks of praying and seeking God's will, it's official...we're moving! And I could not be more excited!! Now, don't get me wrong, I love my church family and will miss them very much, but after 2 long years of being 10 hours away from our family, we're happy to be getting closer (I know for some of you, 10 hours isn't that far, but it felt like an eternity to this girl!) We have known about the move for a couple of weeks, but just told the church this past Sunday ~ that is why we had to be hush-hush about it (of course, Pastor knew ahead of time). There are tentative plans for next year, but for now, we are moving to Tennessee! Tommy has a couple of classes he wants to take at Crown, and last year some friends of ours started a church just 10 minutes from where we'll be living, so we're going to go and help them out in their ministry. Best of all, I'll only be living 30 minutes from my mom :o) The only bad thing I can forsee is that I'll get used to having my parents around again, and then we'll be off to a different place. But, I'm going to enjoy it while I can! Thank you all for praying for us...and keep it up! Tommy will be needing to find a job, but since my parents are in the area, they have been keeping an eye out for one, and do have a couple of leads...just pray that one of them works out. And, as you can see from the pictures, I need your prayers during the move. For those of you who don't know me all that well, I am somewhat of a neat/clean freak (it runs in my family...if you know them, you can testify to that!) Anyway, this mess is about to drive me bananas! Kolton doesn't know what to think, he just keeps running around and around hitting the boxes and pulling out stuff that I just packed. He's even learned how to tear off the packing tape. Well, I'm now in the midst of trying to organize the chaos, so I must go...Moving tips anyone???

Please Pray...

2007-10-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Things have been so hectic in the Bartlett family these past few weeks! I have started working part time at our school ~Teaching K-4 afternoon class (all girls!!). Plus, I still have Kolton in the room with me (what was I thinking saying yes???) So, needless to say, I don't have much spare time for blogging anymore! On a serious note, Tommy and I are earnestly praying about some big decisions we have to make in the immediate future...I can't go into specifics at this present time, but we would really appreciate your prayers!!! Sometimes in life everything is so black and white it's easy to distinguish the decision we should make, and sometimes it's so gray that it's hard to know what to do. Like Pastor Sexton says...we're trying to choose between the good and the best! Hopefully, I can go into more details soon...Until then, please keep us in your prayers!

Messiness...

2007-09-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't know why my last few posts have been centered around food, but anyway...After talking to my mother on the phone the other day, I decided it was time to start teaching Kolton to feed himself. Thinking of the mess that was sure the follow this decision, I was hesitant...but my mom brought to my attention that he was over a year old, and the mess wasn't going to get any less as he got older, so I might as well get it over with. He has been feeding himself with his fingers for a long time, but still, I was surprised at how coordinated he was at getting the spoon in his mouth (some could say it is a talent genetically passed down from his parents :o) Needless to say, he very much enjoyed eating his Dannon yogurt by himself, and I've noticed that since we've started with that, there's no going back...chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes, oatmeal...he thinks he should be feeding himself everything... Close up of the messiness...he's taking this feeding thing very seriously!!
As you can see, he really does love food! :o)

It's the little moments

2007-09-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

This evening was nothing out of the ordinary...Tommy had a youth activity, but since Kolton hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days, we decided it would be best for Kolton and I to just hang out at home this time. So, after Tommy left, we played a little bit with the new train set Mamaw Bartlett got for him, then we watched Reba (something that we definitely only get to do when Dad's gone!), and after that it was snack time...we had Chinese for supper, and you know how that doesn't stick to your ribs very long! So, as usual, I sat Kolton up on the counter and he "helped" me make our graham cracker and peanut butter and strawberry cream cheese snacks (he loves them...and so do I!) As we were working, I couldn't help but think about how often I take these little moments for granted. I had to stop right there and thank the Lord for all the blessings He has given me in my life. A wonderful husband and a healthy son, good food to eat, a nice home to live in...and the list goes on and on. I get to live these little moments every day, and so often I'm busy rushing around doing work, that I don't take the time to dwell on them and really, truly enjoy them! So, that's what I'm doing tonight ~ as my sweet little boy is asleep in his room, and my precious husband just called from the activity to say "I love you", I'm taking the time to dwell on and thank the Lord for the little moments that make up my wonderful life.

This and That

2007-08-17T19:02:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, none of my family were able to be with us on Kolton's first birthday. Of course, they couldn't be left out of the celebration, so last time we were all together, we had Kolton a "pre-birthday" party. So, he had some good practice eating cake for the real thing! I think he loves chocolate ALMOST as much as his momma!!
My family always gives the best gifts...this bib is from my cousin Denise...and I love it ~ but I put it on Kolton backwards so I don't stain it!

Kolton's actual birthday started off with a big delivery from Gram and Pop. At first he wasn't too sure about all the balloons. He liked them from a distance ~ as long as Daddy was close by.

Then he let them get a little closer and a little closer until I had to take them away from him because he wanted to "kiss" them and I was afraid he would pop one and suck plastic down his throat!
As I said earlier, we decided against a party and took him instead to Busch Gardens for special time with Mommy and Daddy...I know you're probably thinking what our family thought, "they just wanted to go for themselves..." But, as you can tell by the look on his face, Kolton has a great time there too. He is a major people watcher ~a trait that he unfortunately got from his mother ~ I've been caught staring at people more times than I care to admit~so, he loved being strolled around watching the people go by. (You'll have to excuse the a little too up close and personal picture of myself- and cut me a little slack, it was over 100 degrees and my makeup had long melted off.)
He was tuckered out by the end of the afternoon. Don't you just love thumb suckers? They are such good babies!
On a different subject, I did get a couple new pictures of the wedding. I know I post alot of pictures of Kolton, but I'm equally proud of my husband, so I thought I'd stick one in here of him...looking all spiffy (sp????) in his tux...he's with his bro Travis.

And one of all the guys...with Kolton there in the middle looking like he was made to smile for the camera...you'll have to click on this picture to see it up close, it is so cute, even if I do say so myself!! :o)

Happy Birthday Kolton!!

2007-08-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with a cloud of disbelief hanging over my head. My baby boy is one year old today! Even now, hours later, I still can hardly comprehend that a full year has past since he was born! I was looking through some of his old pictures, reminiscing about those days gone by, and thought I'd post a just a few of them to document his first year of life.
The days when you could hold Kolton with one hand are loooonnnnggg gone!!! I can barely tote him around with both arms and a hip :o)
It took him forever to start "beefing up", but once he did, the rolls were so cute.
He thinks he's the stuff here! He had just started pulling up at the beginning of the summer...(we went a little overboard on his beach gear !)
This is one of the most recent pictures of Kolton ~ he was much more interested in the grass than the camera!
We're off this evening to celebrate his birthday offically...since Tommy's position in the church, we opted out of having an actual birthday party (we couldn't pick and choose who to invite...it was either everyone or no one.) He's already had a pre-birthday party with my family, so we decided to just take him out for some fun with mommy and daddy, since he won't remember anything anyway...but don't worry, he still gets to dig into a birthday cake!

Another Post!! Yea!!

2007-08-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it's not as if people have been holding their breath for this post or anything, but I still feel bad for not writing anything in so long. I'm still waiting on pictures of my little cutie in his tux (I got so carried away with other things the day of the wedding - like keeping his white tux clean!! -, that I didn't take one picture of him, so I'm relying on other people to get some to me.) I do, however, have a couple from the wedding, so I thought I'd post those.

For those of you who don't know, Travis and Joanna are my brother and sister-in-law ~ They were married on August 4th. This is a picture of them the day they got engaged. Here are some of the groomsmen with Travis about two hours before the wedding...at Wendy's
Travis and Joanna after the wedding...
Leaving the church ~ they had to come back 5 minutes later because they forgot the key to their new apartment :) If you look, you can see Tommy in the background. If you look REALLY closely, you can see Kolton in his white tux...hopefully I'll get better pics than that soon!

Still Alive and Well..

2007-07-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

I looked at my blog today and couldn't believe it has been such a long time since I've posted anything. I mean, my life is boring, but not THAT boring :) Actually, I have been on the road for the last few weeks, and between the driving and visiting with family, I don't have time to sit down and write much of anything. Tommy's brother Travis got married last week, and Kolton wore a little white tux that matched Tommy's, so, when I get home, I'll have some really cute pics to post!

Norfolk Tides Game

2007-07-05T12:26:00.001-07:00

I am not usually a spur of the moment type of person. I enjoy going out and doing different activities, but I like to know what we're doing at least a day ahead of time, so I can plan everything out ~ If we need tickets, I like to have them beforehand so we know where we're sitting, I like to have time to pack up everything Kolton will need, and I like to have time to make sure the house is straight and all the dishes are washed (I have this phobia that something will happen to us while we're out, and someone else will have to go into my house and sort through all my stuff, and I at least want everything to be neat and clean) ~You know what I mean; I like to be prepared! Anyway, Tuesday was NOT one of those times. We were in the middle of grilling steaks for supper, when Tommy said that since he didn't have to get up for work the next morning, we should go out and do something. I agreed wholeheartedly, thinking he wanted to go to Marshall's, or the mall, or if I was really lucky, Wal Mart (he hates going there with me!) But, no, no, he had something else in mind...he wanted to go to a Norfolk Tides game at Harbor Park ~ they're a minor leage baseball team. He loves going to their games, and I didn't want to rain on his parade, so I said that was a great idea...and it was, I just wish he had thought of it a day before so I would be ready. So, since the game started at 7:15, and it was already well after 6:00, we wolfed down our food, I left the dishes (!!!), grabbed the diaper bag and started throwing in anything I thought I would need, and ran out of the house without even stopping to look in the mirror...Needless to say, we had a great time...and I'm starting to figure out that spur of the moment adds some spice to life.

I even remembered to grab my camera...

Kolton was not quite as excited as we were...
I couldn't resist taking a picture of my handsome husband...

The game ended up being really, really crowded. By the time we got there, there was standing room only ~which was ok with us, because Kolton won't sit still for long anyway.

This was the first time Kolton had ever seen fireworks. We thought he was going to be scared, but when they started going off, he looked at me, then looked at Tommy, and starting squealing with laughter. It was so cute!

Around the House

2007-07-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

I thought I would add some updated pics of Kolton for those of you who haven't seen him in awhile. In the last few months, he has turned into quite a chunker...if you've been around him lately, you can attest to that fact. I've had to start adding weights to my workout routine at the gym just to carry him around (I'm just kidding...sort of). As I was posting these pics, I realized I need to get the camera back out, because even these are at least a month old. Anyway, there will be more to come soon...

He is such a ham...everytime I pull out the camera he starts laughing and, well, doing this. (You can't really tell, but he has six teeth)

This is his new trick ~ Carrying things around in his mouth with his teeth. He's just starting to learn how in this pic, but now he can crawl like a madman and still keep whatever he's holding onto in his mouth.

Old blue eyes...

Talk about a sin nature...He KNOWS he's not allowed to play with the tv remote, but as I came around the corner into the living room, look what I found him doing...You can tell by the look on his face he know's he's caught. I just happened to have my camera handy.

I guess it's time...

2007-07-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been putting this off, because with an 11 month old baby, finding the time to sit down and work on the comptuer is a difficult task, but now it's "Daddy and Kolton time", so I'm giving this a shot. It's been so nice catching up with old friends, and I want to join in. So let the fun begin...