**Road Trip 2012**

As we prepared for our annual Labor Day Branson, MO trip, we quickly realized that Johnny wasn't going to be able to go with us this year. Because of the severe draught, harvest started early which imposed on our vacation plans. After a few long discussions, we decided that Mellany and I would still go, even stretching the trip out for a longer timeframe--making it about a 2 week trip. This way we could really take our time and spend more time with family. 

So, Mellany and I took off on Monday the 27 and headed for KC. We spent Monday through Thursday with my mom, dad, Teresa, Brad & Amiee, Aunt Kay, Amanda, Nathan, Chloe and even got to see the Kelley's while I got my eyebrows waxed. :) It was so nice just hanging out with everyone and not having to be in a hurry to go to the next place.

Thursday, we left for Columbia to see one of my best girlfriends, Samantha and her family....including Anderson who is 2 months younger than Mellany and I've never met until then! We did a few "Columbia" things like visiting the bookstore (would have seen more of the campus if it wasn't raining!), downtown and eating some Shakespeare's Pizza! We were even able to sit and visit IN PERSON versus on the phone....it was so nice! 

Saturday, Mellany and I left Columbia for Branson to meet up with Johnny's side of the family. Branson is always so much fun; very laid back, you can do what you want, but you're surrounded by family. It was so nice! Mellany got to spend time with quite a few people that she doesn't get to spend a whole lot of time with (same for me!) and it was sooooo great! While in Branson we shopped, went to see a show (a must if you're in Branson), swam, took boat rides and ate lots of food!

Friday, we made our way back to KC for another visit with my side of the family before heading out on Monday to come even farther north....good 'ole Nebraska! 

It was so nice to be back and see Johnny again (& Bo....Mellany was screaming when she saw Bo; guess she missed him too!).....we were both beyond ready to see him again! Although, I will say that the trip was very refreshing and I would totally do it again! Mellany is such a great traveller; she only cried once (for her binky--I had to pull to the side of the interstate) in the 22 hours that we were in the car.....I am IMPRESSED! I love to drive/travel so it was really good for me to get out of the house.....and Johnny was so busy with work while we were gone that we wouldn't have seen him much anyway. 

All in all the trip was fantastic, but the Barrett girls are glad to be home! (And I must mention, that we arrived home to a spotless home.....my husband is seriously the best!) 

**As always, I didn't take near enough pictures, so many of these are borrowed/stolen.....and sadly, I didn't get any pictures at my dad's :( 

Loving the new car that Grammy bought. She sat right in the seat and it was like she knew exactly what to do....she had never been in one before this.....she was even playing with the steering wheel, acting like she was driving! 

Mellany 10 months, Chloe 9 months (Chloe is my cousin Amanda's daughter)

...kisses...

Anderson (8 months) & Mellany (10 months)

They had so much fun together!

Love the hills of Southern MO!

Intermission at "SIX"...the show we saw in Branson. It was AMAZING! I would highly recommend it to anyone. Feel free to google them; totally worth your time. 

Vacation is rough.... :-) 

Saying "Nana"

...relaxed...

First boat ride! She's definitely a fan....just like her momma and daddy!

First Lambert's experience.....the rolls were a hit; as was the "roll boy"

Snuggling with momma

Taking a swim...

Back to Grammy...trying to see Uncle Brian

Dinner at Uncle Bagley and Aunt Mae-Mae's

Helping them with their kleenex box...

Final morning with Grammy

had to take a swing on the swingset her momma, aunt and uncle (and a super friendly neighbor) put together the day before...

Saying bye bye to Grammy!

We are now officially ready for fall which includes more harvest, open windows, mums, MIZZOU and Chiefs football, Chili and Pot Roast on Sundays, Birthday celebrations (including a big 1 year old birthday party for the little lady) and the start of holidays!!!! I think it is safe to say this is our favorite time of year! 

{Somewhat} Wordless Wednesday!

Exhausted after a morning at the gym

She can finally sit in her "ride" that we've had since I was pregnant....It is safe to say she loves it! 

mmmm....chicken noodle!

The dealership is so fun!.....

.......but exhausting!

A little shopping at Cabela's

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!! 

{Somewhat} Wordless Wednesday!

This post is a little short but I've added a video to "make up the difference". This one is quite special to me ;-) You have to keep watching though and I'm sure you'll figure out why! 

Playing with momma's flip flops

Going through some junk mail....she loves junk mail!

Walking alongside just about anything she can find....

....including momma!

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!!

Jumpin' Thursday!

This is a little on the long side, but it was too funny (at least for me) to not post. It would be so nice to have THIS much energy! 

{Somewhat} Wordless Wednesday!

M loves the washing machine

Snuggles with da-da (& bunny)

A little afternoon reading...

Playing with Noah!

Snuggles for Bo-Bo

Tea Party with Morgan

Nothing like wind blowing through your hair :-) 

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

~10 Months~

• After utilizing the "Crying it Out" method, Mellany is once again sleeping through the night and in the afternoon. She had figured out that if she cried we would come and get her. So after about a week of her fighting sleep, us picking her up and trying to put her back in her crib, trying to figure out what was wrong etc. etc.....We realized what she was doing. After 45 minutes of her crying one night, she just went right to sleep. The "crying it out" became less and less until eventually, she just whines if she wakes up when we put her down and that's it! It feels really good knowing that we did the right thing! 
• Over the past month, Mellany has tried quite a few new foods. She's still taking the bottle, though most of the time I think she would rather just have table food and isn't really a fan of drinking water out of a sippy....so we have a long way to go on that. This month she has tried: Broccoli, Chicken, Turkey, Mac and Cheese, Kiwi, Mango, Watermelon, Birthday Cake, Spaghetti, Mixed Berries, Puffs and Yogurt Melts. She loves them all! She has especially grown to like fruits....I'm thinking she takes after her momma on liking the sweet food! 
• New Discoveries: Mellany loves knobs....specifically any knobs that are on drawers. She really likes to pull the drawers out and unload as much as she can out of it. 
• Accomplishments: Mellany can pull herself up really well now and can even move along furniture/toys. She becomes really proud of herself when she does this! Her pincher grasp has also really improved over the last month...she can pick up just about anything with her little "pinchers" :-)  
• She's amazed by my blow dryer and will watch me dry my hair the entire time (this is 15-20 minutes!)
• Mellany also loves to watch the washing machine. I know that any time I am doing laundry, I can count on her to sit and watch contently while I finish, just because she really likes to watch the laundry spin in the wash. 
• When Johnny and I brush our teeth, she is in awe.....she will watch us for the entire time.
• She is really getting the hang on finger foods....she loves her puffs! (This has helped tremendously with the pincher grasp!)
• Her conversations are increasing....conversations with toys, us, or herself. I love to just watch her have conversations. 
• She has found her tongue and nose and she loves to put her finger on our tongues and noses. Out of the blue she will sometimes just stick that little pointer finger out to touch our tongue or nose. 
• She is wearing 6-9 month, 9 month and a few 12 month pieces. She is just so long that a lot of things are really short in the torso for her at this point. 
• She is beginning to understand the phrase "no". 
• The girl hates, yes hates, doorstops. If you hit our doorstop and it vibrates, she will scream. If she is crawling past the door, she will crawl clear around it.....staring at it the whole time. 
• Baby Babbles: Mellany is continuing to say "da-da" and now she is also saying "Bo". Whenever Bo enters the room and she sees him, 8 times out of 10 she will say "Bo". It is so cute....she just loves her "bo-bo". Of course, I'm still waiting on ma-ma! We're also working on 'bye-bye' and waving at the same time (as well as playing pat-a-cake) and it is slowly but surely coming along. 

She's really getting to such a fun stage....every single day brings something completely different! 

10 Month Photo Shoot

.....I had to have Johnny's help on this one and they still aren't that great!

!!Video's!!

Mellany sure did have fun over the weekend and luckily we were able to capture a few pretty neat moments! 

She LOVES to read! This touch and feel book is one of her favorites. The video is kinda long, but still pretty cute in my opinion.....especially when she leans in for a kiss with the bears on one of the pages. 

She got a new toy from our friends this weekend and she really loves it. It won't be long before she's totally mobile!