Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Sickies

We've had sickness flying around our house at one point or another. If its not an ear infection, someone's puking or running a fever.

The Boy wasn't feeling well a few weeks ago and hollered "MOM! I've got a real problem here!" and I ran into the living room and he puked on the floor. Poor guy. He's on the road to better health now though.

And last night I dealt with this from His Brother:


He's fighting double ear infections, on his second antibiotic for that and also fighting something called Roseola. Apparently its an extremely high fever for serveral days followed by a rash. But he's holding his own and we're pushing fluids and doing the Tylenol/Motrin combo. He got a new sippy cup from Santa - and it's helping.


Pray for good health in 2010. This group needs it!

New toys



Spent four zillion dollars on Christmas and he's playing with a paper bag. Happy Holidays, Son.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Sorry for the Silence



I thought we'd be busy after having a second child. I thought the busy days would be when we were going without sleep and making bottles and managing a four year old.

I was wrong. The busy days are now.

So I'm sorry for the silence, and I have about 327 blog posts to put up, and I will get to it. Until I can get pictures downloaded, here is a list of the most recent one-liners from The Boy:

-We were shopping at Walmart and he was trying to pick out a toy. Kyle was taking him up and down the toy aisles to pick something out, saying “Well here’s a spider man thing, what about a Hot Wheels? Here’s a monster truck...” The Boy mentioned that it was a hard decision. Kyle said I know Buddy, but we have to pick out something... finally The Boy says, “Screw it. I’ll just get Hot Wheels.”

-I stopped at a market and got fresh strawberries and was telling him that a farmer in Indiana grew them. I asked him what he thought. He chewed for a second and said, “They just taste ordinary.”

-He was telling me they were learning about Johnny Appleseed. I said, that sounds cool, what did he do? The Boy says, “He grew apples. What do you THINK he did?”

-After giving His Brother solid food, he snacks on Cheerios every now and then. The Boy asked what they were and if he could have one. I said sure and he said, “Dad, you can have one too. Don’t worry, you won’t turn into a baby if you eat them.”

-When leaving the house in the mornings I make sure all of the lights are off before we leave the door and he goes, “Don’t worry, I’ve turned on my night vision.”

-I asked him what he had for lunch and he said, “Meatloaf, Beatloaf.” (From Christmas Story)

-We arrived somewhere, pulled in and he goes, “We’re here, kids.”

-He’s struggling with sitting still through church, which is easily understood when you’re almost five. I had His Brother in his seat and once church was over, The Boy turns to me and points to His Brother and says, “Church is over, can I irritate him now?”

-One morning we were running very late. I mean, we’re hustling to get out the door, I’m hollering at him to find his shoes, I’m digging around for car keys. Finally I said, okay let’s go, and he backs up, holds his hand out to the front door and says, “Ladies FIRST.”

-We took a trip to Brown County and went to the state park. I had His Brother in the stroller and he dropped his toy. I brushed it off and handed it back to him and The Boy says, “Aren’t you going to rinse that off?”

-They have a project at school where if they read five books, they get a free kids meal. He said, “If I read five books, I get a kids meal at Raviolis.” (Fazolis)

-Every now and then I bring him a prize from work. A piece of candy or something from the vending machine. I forgot one day and he goes, “I am so APPOINTED at you.”

-He was darting through the house without any clothes on and Kyle said, “I see your booty!” he goes, “Don’t any body be getting any funny ideas!!!”

-He’s a real bear to get up in the mornings. Finally I got him up and he’s moseying into the bathroom, eyes barely open, eyebrows furrowed. He looks at me and goes, “Why you gotta be so bossy at me?!?”

-His Brother is at that age where he rolls all over and is hard to change and dress. I keep telling him no, no no Dylan, Dylan no no... and The Boy says, “Dylan, Santa’s watching you.”

Update on us:

The Boy: Lost FOUR teeth, getting ready to turn five, excited for Christmas, loves things that make noise like Star Wars and cars that crash.

His Brother: Has six teeth, hollers Momma, Da Da, Uh Oh, and if you say, “How does a clock go?” he clicks his mouth. Crawling and trying to lift his knees to get around faster.

So that’s the latest. More “older” postings to come.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Our first nephew!

Catey Noel Costlow is a big sister! Meet:

Holden James Costlow
born September 26, 2009
7 pounds, 14 ounces, 20 inches


Our first nephew and The Boy and His Brother's only BOY Cousin! Congrats to Heather, Mark and Catey. Holden is a cutie and we are so glad everyone is doing well. Holden, we have lots of Thomas Trains and hot wheel cars to play with at our house!

*note: to our knowledge, Holden was not named after James Bartlett, our fish.

*note: total time from water breaking to birth was four hours. As a result, I will no longer be speaking to Heather Costlow, as my births take about four days. Heather, it was nice knowing you.

And to compare, here's Catey's newborn picture.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Note from His Brother


To our blog readers:

Normally I don’t get a chance to write on the blog. My mom hogs it and is always at the computer. Between her and The Boy wanting to get on that thing, I very rarely get a chance to get my thoughts down. Well, that and I can’t type. Or spell.

Or speak, really, but still.

Let me just say, I am sorry to report that my first posting on this blog will be that of disappointment in you, my readers.

You’ve read on this blog the trials and tribulations of this family... their time in Chicago, my impending arrival and my first smile. You’ve heard the funny things The Boy has said and what it is like to live in our home. As such, I would expect you all to, well... I guess the word is “like” us, as you come to the blog voluntarily, so you must care enough about me and The Boy to see what we are up to.

How is it, then, that you could hold out on me? Hold out valuable information that would change my life? My world? But, as good as this information is, I will let my disappointment fade, as I enjoy this newfound bliss.

I am speaking of food.

REAL food.

Not made by Gerber or those folks at Similac. I’m talking the real deal. The same stuff The Boy eats. And I KNOW it’s the same stuff The Boy eats. I’ve seen him and wondered for months what he was doing.

This, my friends, is a little piece of heaven. I was first introduced to it on Friday, and since then, I express my joy with kicks of my feet and waving my arms frantically in the air, as...well, I don’t know how to do anything else.

But this, this REAL food, is where its at. Down with peas and carrots and that “dinner” they call “Turkey and Rice.” Are you kidding me? This is the STUFF.

I’m a bit concerned because the first time I was exposed to it, I inadvertently made a real mess. I was hoping the adult units would cut me some slack because it was (a) my first time, and (b) I am still working on my small motor skills. So I tried to deny the situation. In the end, I accepted it, and luckily, I have been forgiven, as I was also introduced to toast this morning. So it appears I have redeemed myself. See the attached video.

And you, our readers... if there is anything else out there that I should know about, please let me know, okay? Or, maybe I should ask The Boy. He seems to have it all figured out.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

James update

James has been transferred to a rehabilitation unit for occupational therapy. He appears to be doing well. Thanks for all of the candelight vigils and red ribbons posted all around the neighborhood in hopes of good health for him. Looks like he's going to pull through.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Crime Scene

At approximately 1800 on Friday, August 28, Witness #1 discovered the following crime scene:




The victim has been identified as James Bartlett, 2 weeks, Avon.


One suspect has been identified:




Officers responded to a break-in in progress later to discover an attempted break-in and homicide. Paw prints on the counter and floor confirmed the suspects. Upon arrival of the emergency medical team, the victim was originally to be transported into a plastic baggie, where he was going to be returned to Petsmart for our refund of $2.99. Emergency Medical crew were surprised when, upon the attempt of scooping the victim up with a plastic cup, the victim exhibited signs of life by squirming and scaring the crap out the response crew, The Boy and His Brother. The victim has been transported and placed in ICU with a critical prognosis.

These suspects are considered to be armed and dangerous and should not be apprehended.

Friday, August 21, 2009

State Fair 2009

I have been dreading posting this because it just bores me to tears. I mean I love the fair, I really do... but the spouse has an agenda of stuff I really could care less about. But, that's okay, it's all about compromises. I keep thinking to myself, I gotta get that state fair post up on the blog. Now really, if I don’t post it, what difference will it make? Someone will call me and go, what about the fair? Did you go? We haven't seen it on the blog. No, I only have four readers and no one is going to question the blog. And as I said, it's my blog and you're not the boss of me. I put too much pressure on myself sometimes. Anyway, yes, of course we went to the fair. I’m sure you can check the archives for the State Fair post of 2008 where I looked at 42 quilts and a tractor parade and the guy who was desperately trying to sell fried veggies. Well, we did it again this year, and yes, we did win a Spiderman before it was all said and done.

As we’re going into the building he says, “OK Em... FINE... we can go look at the quilts if you want to...” all with a giddy grin on his face. It’s like watching paint dry, folks. One quilt, 87 quilts, they all look the same to me. He’s trying to get The Boy into it. He’s not buying it. There were games to be played and rides to be ridden and junk food to be had. The Boy knows this.

Then I realize I need pictures for the blog and I said, "Now stand next to Aunt Edna's quilt so I can get a picture for her..."

His Brother did this. I was jealous. Looking at quilts does that to you.

BSU Class of 2024 - another year closer!

$20 got us this, and saved us all from a massive argument:

THEN he had to tell His Brother he won a Spiderman.


Until next year. I can’t wait to see the quilts.

A new family member.


Meet James. The Boy won him at the fair. Instead of taking home a fish in a baggie, I sweet-talked the Carnie into just refilling the basket of ping pong balls in exchange for not taking a fish. I know a guy who can get us one pretty cheap, I said, with a slight point to my significant other.

His Brother gets baptized

We had His Brother baptized on August 9. My sister and her kids came into town because she is Dylan’s godmother, and we had so many family and friends to help us celebrate. I even had two friends from Chicago and friends from Kokomo come! We are truly blessed in a lot of ways.

His Brother was great - smiled at the priest and didn’t cry at all! It was like he knew what was going on and that he had to be a good boy. It was awesome to watch my second child begin his spiritual journey with so many people there to help guide and support him throughout his lifetime.

With my sister being here, that meant all six grandchildren were reunited. Total chaos. They had a blast though and we started referring to them in birth order as numbers. Numbers #4 and #5 (Nathan and Olivia) were best friends and worst enemies, but mostly best friends. #6 (His Brother) held his own and was, most times, best of show. It was fun to have them around and we miss them!







He crashed in the car seat within about four seconds of us getting in the car. Poor guy!



Someone get Guinness on the phone.

Remember my post about two loose teeth? Guess what?


We're in the van yesterday driving home and I was on the phone. As soon as I hung up The Boy says "Mom, I lost a tooth." I look in the rearview mirror and he's got his hand stretched out to me - I said are you serious? He says YEP and has a tiny tooth in his hand with blood dripping out of his mouth! WHILE I'm DRIVING! I couldn't believe it! Kyle says, well is it bleeding badly? Can you see the other one coming in? I said I don't know, I'm driving! Ask Dylan, he's back there with him! The one next to it was loose too, and about two hours later we had this:



My dear friend Suzanne said it best: "This has gone from cute to uncomfortable." Exactly! With the first tooth it was aw... how cute... he lost his first tooth... and with the second one, I was slightly creeped out.

He's 4 1/2 years old. Two lost teeth. So not only is he a big boy...he's growing up faster than he should, which I don't think is really fair. So of course this morning at school was a big deal - he had to announce it to everyone and he's the first member of Miss Katie's "Lost Tooth Club." Big stuff going on.

He talks with a little lisp now which is cute! Another reminder that he's still a little boy, but he's getting bigger. Quick. And while we're on the topic, a few more one liners:

-We have a birthday party this weekend and bought a gift. It was still in the bag and The Boy says, "Mom, you need to make that gift look like a present" (meaning, you need to wrap it). He constantly does this to me - reminds me of things I need to do or how to handle things, like I don't have enough people on my keester doing that. So I said, I know, I will when we get home. He goes, "You could probably use that red bag we have in the basement. I think it will fit in there." And we do, we have a pile of gift bags in the basement. Thanks... I'll get right on that.

-Yesterday it was pouring down rain on my way to work and I couldn't find my raincoat so I put on a ballcap just to keep my hair dry. I ran His Brother into the sitter and got back in the car. The Boy says, "Mom, you need to take that hat off. You look crazy." I said, I just had it on since it was raining. The Boy: "Well, it's not raining in the car."

-His Brother learned to make noises with his mouth. He also shakes his head side to side in the "no" motion. So he was doing both of these at the same time and I asked The Boy if it was him making the noises.
me: Boy, is that you?
The Boy: No it's not, it's Dylan.
(Dylan is shaking his head back and forth)
me: Boy, he is saying no, it isn't him.
The Boy: MOM! It IS him! He's lying!

-Sally came to visit His Brother before she takes a trip for a week. The two boys stayed with her while I ran to the store. The Boy was eating Cheeze Its and Sally asked if she could have one.
Sally: Those look good, can I have one?
The Boy: Sure.
Sally: Thank you for sharing. Can I have another one?
The Boy: Okay. But make that your last one.

It just never ends at our house.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

His Brother loves Ice Cream

My first attempt at posting a video. We gave His Brother some ice cream at the state fair... he didn't want to give the spoon back!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Brusha brusha brusha...

The Boy doesn’t stop.

I took him to the dentist last night. He loves going and loves talking about teeth and toothbrushes and toothpaste. Turns out the has THREE loose teeth! Dr. Tom said that’s almost unheard of, especially in a boy, and asked me if he’d ever taken a serious blow to the face. Not that I recall... nothing so serious that I would expect teeth to be loose! I mean he’s a boy... he’s constantly running and falling and hurting himself. So after a series of x-rays he found the culprits - two teeth on the bottom trying to shove their way through, making those baby ones loose. The top one, well, he did chip that one when he was not quite two, so we’ll see who falls out first. Let’s just say he’s beyond excited, and I’m trying to explain that the Tooth Fairy *might* not come to our house, because these are tough economic times and after last night’s visit, she has to save up for braces now.

-We were in the car today talking about seeing his cousins Sophie and Olivia tonight. He goes, “Mom, I haven’t seen Sophie in WEEKS.”

-He was asking me why they live in Florida. I said, well, her dad, Uncle B, got a job there. Remember when we moved to Chicago? That’s because Daddy got a job there. He goes, “Oh yeah... that was when we lived outta town.”

-After our trip to the dentist, I told him we had to run to Target to get formula for Dylan. He goes, “well how many ounces did he last eat?”

-I told him I went to the grocery and he was asking what all I got. I told him I got stuff to make tacos and he goes, “Daddy’s gonna be GIDDY.”

More to come. His Brother gets baptized this weekend and I can only imagine what will be next out of his mouth. With or without the teeth

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Disregard

Okay. Wow. I had no idea THAT many people read my blog, but apparently you lurkers are out there. So, after receiving a jillion emails about people wanting access to it, I decided not to go private. Just don’t try to steal my kids, okay? I mean you can try to find me and come beat me up, but I can probably hold my own and take you on. Now my kids, please just don’t try to steal them. They’re good kids for me but probably wouldn’t be that good for you. So it wouldn’t really be worth it.

So disregard the previous post and keep enjoying the Bartlett Blog. It’s nice to know we have a faithful following. We’re working on getting our own reality TV show. Hollywood’s been calling and the script obviously writes itself.

While we’re speaking of “disregarding” the previous post, I’ve got more from The Boy:

-I’m not sure if I posted this earlier, but he’s got a good line for when he doesn’t want me to tell someone something. Another reason I keep this blog - he’s not always wanting me to tell everyone and their brother the funny things he says. So if it’s between the two of us, he’ll say, “Mom, don’t forget, mum’s the word.” Now this also works if he says something he’s not supposed to say. For example, there is a word that is referenced to a part of the male anatomy which also references a piece of sporting equipment used in that game where you run around a diamond, also used in the game of soccer, it rhymes with “falls.” He likes to use that word on occasion. This is part of having boys; as I’ve now found out, things like that word are funny. All the time. So every now and then he’ll say the word and then go, “Mum’s the word,” as if that excuses him from saying it.

-And instead of saying “never mind...” he’ll go, “OH... okay mom... disregard.”

-We were trying to pick out a movie last night and I mentioned Home Alone because he likes Christmas movies. He goes, “Nah... that movie gives me the creeps.”

-He wanted me to fix a Lego piece and I was feeding His Brother. I said, I can fix it if you hold his bottle, so he handed me the piece and then held the bottle. He goes, “Dylan, now would be a REALLY good time for you to start holding your own bottle.”

-We were watching some show where they were talking about the New York subway system. He asked about the Subway in “Imbly-app-olis.” I told him we don’t have a subway here, but we had a train in Chicago, and the subway is like a train but it goes underground. It went like this.

Me: We don’t have subways here.
The Boy: Yes, we do.
Me: No, we don’t, we had a train in Chicago but not a subway.
The Boy: Yes, we do. There’s one right by my school, it has a yellow roof.
Remember Mom? When I went to Peter Rabbit? (He meant Subway, the
sandwich shop)

And there you have it.

Monday, July 27, 2009

For the children's sake...

The blog is going private. I don't feel comfortable having pictures and my life story posted out for the entire world to see.

If you want to continue to tune into the happenings, email me.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Another good one-liner

The kid doesn't stop. I gotta write these down while they are fresh in my mind.

We were driving to school today and The Boy said, "Daddy doesn't go to work this way." I said no, he takes the highway. His response?

"Yeah... he takes the highway. We don't. We take the low way."

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Our 100th Post!

One hundred posts.

Hard to believe I had something important to say, and then 99 more things to say after that one.

I started this blog when we moved to Chicago to keep our family and friends updated on what we were up to. It's turned into much more than that - a place for me to write what I want and not care what people say or not say... because it's my blog, and you're not the boss of me. It's also an "online scrapbook" of sorts, to remember what we were up to, see how our lives have changed, and to record the one-liners of The Boy. I hope blogspot never goes away, because I have two years of memories on this thing.

So happy 100th post to The Bartlett Family 3 (although we are Bartlett Family FOUR now... which I never envisioned when writing our first post!) and here are some one-liners from our favorite four-year-old:

-Last night The Boy asked me to get something for him and I was feeding Baby Brother. I said, sure, I can get it, can you hold his bottle? And be careful how you hold it, because he starts jacking around. The Boys says, "Dylan, now would be a good time for you to NOT jack around since I'm trying to give you your bottle."

-Last night Kyle and The Boy were talking about going to the Children's Museum today because it's raining. Kyle mentioned the idea and said, I think they have something about Legos going on right now, and The Boy says, "Sure. We can go see that Lego Convention."

-(This one will make me mother of the year) As you can read in our previous post, the boys camped in the backyard. I slept inside and on Sunday morning, Nathan kept coming in and out of the house trying to get me to come outside. I tried to procrastinate as long as I could, because getting out my cozy bed to go lay in a tent just wasn't appealing to me. He finally tries one more time and hollars into the back door: "MOMMA! Get yer A double S out here!" At least he didn't say the word, but we realized we need to stop spelling so much in front of him. Duly noted.

-After more than a week home with Kyle, he told him yesterday, "Dad, you're the best dad ever." Thanks, Buddy... we try. It helps to have a kid like you :)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Summer Camping

The Boy has been talking about wanting to go camping. He wants to make a fire, do smores, sleep in a tent, etc. So before venturing out into the wilderness, we borrowed a tent and a fire pit and tossed it all together in our backyard. He loved it! I personally loved that I was able to go inside and sleep in my own bed. The weather here has been colder than normal, so it was perfect for camping.

Gotta get yer gun and ammo if you're going to be camping (in Broad Ripple, where wild animals are everywhere...)


These two strapped their sleeping bags on their backs, walked the streets terrain of Broad Ripple to find the perfect campsite.



Big Brother helps out

This is awesome. I taught The Boy how to feed his brother. This now frees me up to do something in the ten seconds it takes him to get tired of it, and for Baby Brother to start bellyaching that he's not shoveling it in fast enough.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Photo Shoot

Miserable experiences were had by all at Portrait Innovations in Westfield as I attempted to get a good picture of both my boys. They were running behind, kids everywhere, it was at least 90 degrees and my oldest didn't want to smile. Happy Father's Day Kyle - here's an overpriced picture of our brats beautiful children... :)