Introducing Conrad!

Gwendolyn gets to meet her new little brother today...but not before a trip to the park and a short shopping trip.

He. Is. Adorable.  Rockstar parents Tom and Sarah in the background.

Conrad Cross Barntsen
April 28th, 2013
8lb 7 (close to 8) oz
21 in

Week recap and week ahead

Extra frosting, extra sprinkles

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Jake made a pit stop in Hastings before heading out on a road trip.  Mike, Sarah, and Lydia joined us as we celebrated Grandma's birthday with our first grill out of the season.  And cupcakes, of course.

The weekend before, Grandma and Grandpa Sinclair spent the weekend at a bed and breakfast and joined us along with Tom, Sarah, and Gwen for dinner to celebrate Grandma Sinclair's birthday.  We had our favorite local pizza...Spiral Pizza.  For dessert...angel food cake and strawberries with whipped cream.  (Sorry - I had my camera out and Tom was helping me look at settings but I have no picture documentation.  I am not sure why I didn't take any pics?)

And regarding Tom, Sarah, and Gwen...their newest addition and our newest nephew has arrived!  Conrad was born this evening.  I cannot wait to meet him! Tomorrow I get to spend the morning with Gwen.  

As far as the week ahead...this will be my first week of being a full time stay at home mom.  Previously I worked Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as every other Saturday.  While I will miss everything about work (I loved my job!) I don't think I will have a hard time enjoying our evenings playing outside now that spring has finally arrived.

Thanks for checking in and stay tuned for upcoming pics!

Rub a dub dub

"Okay Lydia, listen.  On the count of three we're going to make a really big splash so we get our moms wet!"

"Three!"

"See.  Funny, huh?"  (Lydia is contemplating the male species).

wah wah wahhhhhhh

This is what Nathan says to me anytime I start complaining about the weather.  Or anything else for that matter.  

Snapshot

Step away from the fridge.  Nobody is getting into my snacks.

Mom might be just as excited about Jacob's new toy.  I had one of these as a kid and LOVED it!

Just a little longer...

Dragonflies will return...

Water fights will be held in the backyard...

Picnics will happen more often than not...

Butterflies will hatch...

We'll be eating corn on the cob...

Roads will be made...

We'll be relaxing by the lake...

Wearing sandals and riding bikes...

Going for stroller rides...

Doing backflips...

Jumping into the pool...

Cruising on the 4-wheeler...

Walking through the sprinkler...

And catching a few rays...

but as I sit and look out at the ice and snow on this cold April day, I am reminded that we're going to have to wait for the good things that will come.  Eventually.  And for the sake of everyone's general well-being I hope it is sooner than later.

WordWorld

Natron has long been a point and grunt talker, but in the past couple weeks he's been talking up a storm.  It's still a lot of babbling, but it seems like he's adding words every day now.  Scott captured a couple words on this video, along with some footage of his eating style, which can generally be described as getting as much food in as fast as possible and worrying about the chewing later.

This child is nothing short of a handful (and earful of fake crys and bellyful of laughs), but he is also pretty darn cute.  Not that we're biased or anything.

So without further adieu, we present "more, please" by Nathan, preceded by a short demonstration of speed eating blueberries.

Springtime? in Minnesota

Jacob decided to take advantage of the wintry spring weather and get one last afternoon of snowmobiling in on Saturday.  He's lucky that Dad has a friend (Ben) who was gracious enough to loan us his kids' snowmobile for the winter, which they officially outgrew this year.  Jacob and a couple of his friends have put quite a few hours on this machine this year, and he has officially added this toy to his Christmas List already.  And we can't blame him...a 5 year old getting to cruise around on his own snowmobile for hours on end?  If that's not living the dream I don't know what is.

Needless to say, Saturday was a great day to be Jacob Sinclair.

Girls weekend (2nd annual)

Missy is contemplating our book club pick this month.

Staples. 

Mandy and Krista enjoying happy hour.

 We eat really well at girls weekend.  No hot dogs allowed.

Awesome.  

Something was REALLY funny.

Sarah enjoying one of Missy's specialties.  

Sara H's went straight to her head.

Guacamole queen:  Don't leave home without her.

Looks like someone has a signature expression.

Sadly my new camera doesn't have the setting where it shoots a whole bunch of pics in a row.  At least not that I can figure out.  

Anna and Marie 

Our second annual girls weekend was a hoot as always.  There is always plenty of great food, chocolate, shopping, wine, sleeping, relaxing, conversations and laughing.  Couldn't ask for a better group of girlfriends.  A special thanks to Denny and Lynne (Sarah's in-laws) for letting us relax at their beautiful lake home.  Already looking forward to next year!