Midweek Musing...

Our birdie had babies... well, it's been a few weeks and the babies have flown from the nest, but for some reason, they both flew back into the nest . Here is a picture that I snapped last week. It's really strange... the Mommy birdie is back in her nest today - Mark thinks she's sitting on more eggs but, who knows... It's great having them here and if this continues, we'll just have to start charging rent!


Shayna is really talking now. She repeats EVERYTHING! She says her name, too, which just melts my heart every time she says it. She can also point to various parts on her body and tell you what it is. Elbow was giving her a little trouble, as it is part of an A-R-M. She gets it now. It's so cute when she copies us! We really need to be careful about we say around her! I can't come home from a construction site anymore with a potty mouth! Here's a list of words that she knows: Eye, ear, nose, chin, cheek, lips, teeth, neck, arm, elbow, hair, tushie, piggies (toes), pee-pee, and leg. She is also picking up on letters of the alphabet and numbers. It's amazing how fast this is going. If only she could sleep past 5:30 in the morning!!! Here is a self-portrait of us! Hahaha!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Yay to three day weekends! Today's a Saturday that almost feels like a Friday. How sweet is that? And speaking of Memorial Day, nothing says remembering the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform like taking time off, and doing even less than we usually do. It's like saying, "I am so inspired by your service that I am going to sleep in, then maybe hang out at the beach this afternoon and watch some "High School Musical" sprawled out on my couch tonight. Thanks soldier dude!" Yeah right... Today is my day with Shayna and I wouldn't trade it for the world! I'm going to go outside now to place our flag over our garage while she naps!

Britney Spears- The ANTI-MOM

I can't believe Britney Spears is allowed to be a mom! I saw this picture and can't believe that someone does not slap her! This is so bad!!! That poor little baby!

Back From NorCal...

Last weekend we travelled up to Sonora for Mark's mom's birthday! Shayna is a really great traveler. On the way up, she slept for and hour and a half during her nap time. I had to break out the DVD player for the last 2 hours, but it was fun watching her Baby Einstein videos. I don't know why, but I very much enjoy them, too!

It was great visiting with Art and Lynn. Shayna really bonded with her Grandma and Grandad. Here is Shayna with her Grandma, cousins Cooper & Kaitlyn. If you notice, Shayna has blown out most of the candles and Cooper got the rest! What a fun time!

Shayna also had her

first experience in a pool! She LOVED it and cried when we had to take her out.

She was kicking her feet, splashing her arms, and yelling, "WEEEEEEEEE." It was awesome! I guess that when 2 Aquarians have a baby together their child has got to love the water!

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend celebrating Grandma Lynn's birthday with everyone. The "after kids go to bed" poker game was loads of fun, too! Those Kohnens sure do know how to play! Mark and I actually won $0.35! Look out Vegas...here we come!!!

Random Picture of the Week!

I wonder what the headline would've been for Gore...

The Writing's on the wall...Literally!

Well, Shayna got a hold of Mark's favorite blue pen. What a little Picasso we've got here! You can just make out the nice scribble on the wall on the right side and upper middle. When I came home from work, I brought Shayna over to her portrait (mural) and asked her, point blank, "Who did this?" She replied, "Da-Da," with a very serious look on her face. I'm learning how NOT to laugh when things like this happen, but this has been, by far, the toughest challenge yet! Dumping dirt from the plant onto the floor and Shayna yelling, "Uh-Oh," was the last tough "not laughing" challenge... HUH - that one's a piece of cake. Then I asked her, "Did Shayna do this?" She then nodded, yes, and so all's forgiven...





My second Mother's Day was a great one, indeed! My brother, Josh, flew into Long Beach from Las Vegas on Saturday night to surprise our mom for Sunday. We went to a buffet brunch in Alamitos Bay. It was great hanging out with my little brother and Shayna had fun playing with her Uncle Joshie! Even though it was Mother's Day last Sunday, I consider every day, Mother's Day because I am so blessed with a wonderful husband and our little angel, Shayna!

Random Picture of the Week!

I don't even know what to write...

BLOG TAG - who...??? what...???

Blog Tag - WHAT THE H-E-double hockey sticks is that? Why does Jenna torture me like this? Naw, I'm just kidding! This is fun and I can't believe that I've only had 4...well really 3 real jobs in my life! LOL!

The FOUR Tag

Four jobs I've had:

1. Working for my dad in Downtown L.A.

2. Hostess at Jerry's Famous Deli in Encino, CA

3. Dungarees Clothing store retail person

4. Geologist (Engineering industry – Project Manager)

Four movies I watch over and over (and over and over and over and over):

1. Anything Teletubbies (why did God invent them?)

2. Brainy Baby

3. Baby Einstein

4. Sesame Street (why do they play the SAME episodes EVERY DAY)

Four places I have lived:

1. Dorms at Sonoma State University

2. Costa Mesa, CA

3. The Pegasus (Lived aboard our boat for one year in Long Beach & Wilmongton, CA)

4. Long Beach, CA

Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. American Idol

2. The Apprentice

3. Survivor

4. Amazing Race

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Hawaii

2. Paris

3. Rome

4. Seattle

Four places I'd Love to Go to On Vacation:

1. France (during the Tour de France bike race)

2. Israel

3. Australia

4. New Zealand

Four websites I visit often:

1. www.Amazingtrips.com

2. www.babyhomepages.net/bartee (Shayna's other website)

3. www.foodtv.com

4. www.babycenter.com

Four favorite foods:

1. Sushi

2. Indian food (far east Indian)

3. Thanksgiving Dinner on a beach in Baja!

4. Shrimp dinner at Benihanas

Four places I would like to be right now:

1. On the couch hugging my Shayna Beth Marie

2. On the couch hugging my Mark

3. On our boat, anchored in some little bay with a south pacific name I can't pronounce

4. In our Westfalia, camping at the hot springs in Saline Valley!

Sorry - I don't know 4 other bloggers besides Jenna and Ansley! Hi Ansley Bleu - miss you!

Random Picture of the Week!

DEAL!

Gotta Love Babies!

Last weekend the Bartees headed south for some fun in the sun - San Diego! Well, actually it was May-Gray... the sun made some brief appearances but that was it. We jumped into the Tahoe on Friday evening and made it down to the Lawrences (see link to the right) in around 2 hours, flat. Shayna had her bottle in the car, then off to dreamland she went. It was great... the pack-n-play was already set up in the guest room (thanks, Jenna & Charlie) so the transfer was pretty much uneventful!

We had a blast with the Lawrences! Here are the kiddos watching some Teletubbies. It's so cute how they all got along.






It was really fun watching the dynamics of the group. Like the textbook "Parallel Play." Here are more pictures.

Here is Shayna enjoying a cookie

with Carolyn.

And,playing in the sand with Elizabeth! What a stellar weekend!

Mid-Week Musing

Tomorrow is Thursday and it used to mean Friday to me because I only worked Tuesday thru Thursday - but now things have changed and I am working on Fridays as well. Bummer - As much as I love being a Geologist and I love being at work (the people there are awesome), I miss my baby! I miss her hugs and kisses and funny faces! I totally envy Mark now because he has Thursdays AND Fridays!

On another note...Congrats to my life-long (since the 5th grade) friend, Jenny, who just had a little girl (Riley Elizabeth) last Friday, the 28th. You can check out her picts at: www.babyhomepages.net/babygirlkenline
What a cutie pie!

Also, our Morning Doves are back this year. They've nested by the chimney again. We first noticed them back when I was pregnant with Shayna in the spring of 2004. They did not come back in 2005 - so we thought they were gone forever! But lo and behold, they're back! Shayna loves to visit with the mommy birdie - but we try not to get too close because we don't want to spook her! She's been there for a couple of weeks now. We will get pictures of the baby birdies when they hatch... so stay tuned!

Cossacks, Baby!!!!

Shayna and I headed out last Friday to Cal State Dominguez Hills (CSDH) to check out some NCAA Division II softball. The Toros from CSDH were playing against my beloved SSU softball team. I've always wanted to go to an SSU softball game after moving back down here, but I always managed to find something else (like work) to get in the way....

I found my opportunity and took it. My last free Friday (I now will start working on Friday's too) Shayna and I made the 20 mile drive over to the field and hung out and watched some softball. I made sure that I was wearing my Sonoma State Softball jacket (with my name embroidered on it, LOL) to support my former Cossack team. Well, the mascot is no longer a terrible Cossack - it is now a "Seawolf," whatever that is... who cares...

Shayna and I were sitting in the stands and some SSU fan asked me, "What circa is that SSU softball jacket?" CIRCA? THAT WORD JUST SOUNDS OLD! I told him 1988 and he said, "WOW, that's old! And you still fit into it." WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? I guess that we're not getting any younger - AND, YES I still fit into it, thank God! and... - GO COSSACKS! -