day threetwentysix - the trap

the trap















the bait
















the captive

day threetwentythree - part deux

 

day threetwentythree - wagontrain

Apparently I've forgotten how to post, or the baby on the left with the huge teeth ate my blog entry. This is the third time I've tried to get these pictures up and each time I hit publish, the entry disappears into the blogosphere. Suffice it to say, my comments were witty, pithy, insightful and wise beyond my years. I wanted to tell you about the wagon brigade I'm starting with my friend Oliver, the blueberry pancakes I had for breakfast this morning and the uncanny ability I have to balance on two feet while holding on to..............nothing! Unfortunately, I've run out of steam after typing this entry three times, so you get only the teasers above.

day threetwentyone - the tank engine

"Engine" looks really funny when you spell it out. I'm kind of lacking confidence that I spelled it right. Anyway, we finally got some pictures of Thomas the Tank Engine yesterday. I really like this one.

From the background of the picture, I can't tell if he is at the hospital or at SuperCuts. The glove holding his head makes me know for sure that it is SuperCuts or Great Clips or some other chain hair emporium. You even see that he has that sheet around his neck to keep the little hairs off of him. The person must be wearing a glove because she was just giving Thomas highlights. He said, "Give me blondish-brown with hints of pink underneath." Done.

He looks amazingly like Cam (check December and July archives to verify). I can't really think of anything funny to say about that. That is all.

day threefifteen - batteries dead

We left the camera on and now the batteries are dead. Until the recycler juices them back up, this is the only picture I can submit for the week. Kind of derivative and unispired, but it is still me, so it's better than the most perfectly balanced and focused pictures of most kids.

day threeohnine - bignews

Cam called into report the big news this afternoon. His little brother est arrivee, if vous parlez French. This picture of me was taken right after I heard the news, as I thought of the mischief the two Barnhardt boys will soon be having.

His name is Thomas Wylie/Wylly/WhyLee? - we aren't sure of the spelling of the middle name, but we know what it sounds like. The important thing is that he and his mom are fine. 

day threeohseven

After a long day, I come here, hang up my jacket, and then step into Narnia. 

day threeohsix - update

They've tried to take new pictures of me, but none of them are that good. So a few points of update:

We heard back from Breyers. They sent us a form letter about how they try earnestly 'to make sure there are a uniform number of swirls, chips, and nuts in each of our premier ice creams,' and that they are very sorry that our box didn't meet the standard. Bullocks I say. Balderdash.

It isn't surprising that they sent a form letter or that they sent us a voucher for more ice cream, or Klondikes, or anything else up to a six dollar value. What is surprising is that mom bought another half gallon of the same ice cream yesterday, from a different store, and - wait for it - there were no chips in that one either.

Should we write another letter and get another coupon? The decision is up to you. We will determine what to do according to the comments that you leave at this post. It's like a choose your own adventure book, but it is real life.

day twoninetyseven

See the wheels turning. I'm deciding in which order I will take out these final six Cheerios. It is the wait that is hardest for them. "Will he eat me next?" each asks. "And if so, will I die by being chomped by his four teeth, or by the perilous fall from the high chair to the floor, where my fate is to be crushed by his father's shoe?" Each option is as likely as the other. 

day twoninetysix - customer service

I got croup again on Thursday night, so we had another low key weekend. So instead of going on long walks or to the park, we stayed inside. So mom and dad turned their hand to being good consumers. The following is the actual letter they sent to Breyers Ice Cream:

January 29, 2006

The other day my wife brought Breyers home from the grocery store, the third half gallon in a week. The flavor? Breyers Light Mint Chocolate Chip. At least that's the flavor we thought we were getting. We ended up just getting mint, and I know that isn't a flavor you regularly offer.

At first we thought that by some strange coincidence, none of the chips were at the very top of the box. Digging deeper, we found nothing but pure, white, mint ice cream.

"Maybe it melted in transit and all the chips settled on the bottom," we postulated. But now that we are nearing the bottom of the carton, we know that isn't true either.

The more we thought about it, the more interested we've become. Was our gallon the end of the batch, and there were no chips left? Is there some other family out there enjoying a carton of Breyers Light Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with extra chips in it...our chips?

To show you this is no joke, we've attached some pictures. One of the anomalous carton of ice cream and another of our son, who is rapidly approaching prime ice cream enjoyment age. Don't make us spell it out for you...

We don't know how you will remedy this. At the least, we need free ice cream for the next three years. That will get us through law school.

Kindest regards,

Matt and Caroline

day twoeightynine - the hits just keep coming

last week there was a banner number of visitors to the site. i'm proud. really. but here's the rub. how many of you have pictures taken of you more than once a week? what I'm trying to say is that there are no new pictures of yours truly. and here are some reasons why:

i have a rash that my doctor attributes to drool. thus it is on my face, but also my hands, and somehow, the back of my legs. the one place my dad hasn't gone is medical school, so he has no insight. and mom used to work in health care, but she is more into the mental stuff. so we believe the doctor, I guess.

i have new teeth coming in, and it hurts like a bugger. so I'm kind of fussy from that.

mom decided that I didn't need milk at midnight and 4 am anymore. so now I have to fast from 7 pm, when I get my last milk, to 6 am, when I get my first milk. rediculous. I've heard Oprah doesn't eat after 7, and I presume she doesn't get up before 6, so she is probably on a similar eating schedule. but she has years of stored food to supplement those 11+ hour stretches. how did I start talking about Oprah? at any rate, this is just another reason I am not photogenic.

it rained both weekend days in the Classic City, so we didn't go out for any photo opps.

regardless, dad is in a contest at school this week in which he has to wear a suit twice. (let me be clear - that isn't the contest. there is more to it than just wearing suits.) But the point is that maybe dad and I can put on a matching suit and take some pics. And I'm going to Madeleine's (sp? Chris: a little help please) baby shower Saturday, with lots of friends, young and old. We just need to get the shutter going on the camera before the Mimosas start flowing too hard. So there may be lots of occasions for me to have pictures taken.

I'm out. It's 6:50. Time for my nightcap.

day twoeightytwo

We sat around the table, looking at proofs, and decided that this was definitely a good picture. But I also have the look of a model that is a little more adult than I currently want to portray. It's as if I'm the cover boy for Louis Vitton's new stripes and courdoroy overalls line. But I'm not this serious. It's just a picture.

And why am I being so tight lipped? Is it because tooth number three has pierced its gummy captor? Or is it because mom and dad have now watched the first five of six discs of the first season of 24, but only I know where disc 6 is hidden? 

day twoseventyfive - croup d'etat

I'm almost over it. My first bout with something that has a name, as opposed to say, 'a runny nose.' I got croup last Thursday. It was terrible. Horrified mom and dad, kept them up all night. The most inhuman noises imaginable were protruding from my swollen larynx. Imagine what R2D2 would sound like with asthma while at the same time barking like a seal. That was me. The doctor put me on 'roids, which agitated me further. I beat up three kids at the nursery at church. I called it 'cleansing the temple,' but the pastor and mom were unconvinced. Nonetheless, my throat swelling went down, and I started sleeping the next night with the help of Walgreen's largest and loudest humidifier. I think we are out of the woods now.

It's going to be 70 degrees in the Classic City today. Perfect baby jogger weather. Perfect road bike weather. Unfortunately, dad is starting back to skool today. Perfect weather for sitting in the library and relearning all the law he forgot in the last month.

day twoseventy - population explosion

In the past few days, there has been a lot of baby action. I don't even know where babies come from yet, but there seems to be no stopping them from doing so.

Lydia Kent Welch, born just before the new year.

Ellie Kate Huck is now officially Turner's little sister.

Mary "Haven" Gaylord comes in yesterday. I don't know if the quotation marks are part of her name or if that is just the way that her dad chose to announce it. Knowing her mom, the quotation marks might be a permanent part of the name.

Samuel Grey Birkey is rocking the North Shore. See new link to the right to see the friendly blog competition.

But just to let you know that I am still the cutest:

new year's eve

Blair (see arrow) had been married about two hours at the time this picture was taken. He was clearly unprepared for his wife to be so excited about an infant within the first few hundred minutes of marital bliss. 

day twosixtythree and day one

Things are going splendid. Made it through my first Christmas without an inordinate number of pictures taken of me. Right now I'm hanging out at my grandparents' house up Virginia way, waiting eagerly for cousin Connor to get here via the Birmingham redeye. Mind you, that's Birmingham, AL, not UK. Then again, the teeth are equally bad in both places, and it takes an equal amount of time to get here from each place.

So 'day one?' you must be asking. Well, it was Sam Barber's day one just a couple of days ago. (see above) Big brother James is taking it in stride, albeit with a sad face. I don't know if he is just tired with the new baby around, or upset because no one really adheres to the law of primogeniture anymore. I think he'll be OK in the long run.

Lots to look forward to in the coming days.
- First shared bath. I'm thinking this will be with Connor, but I haven't asked yet. Am I being presumptuous?
- First night-time wedding. 2nd cousin Natalie is tying the knot on the eve of Y2K+6.
- First time staying at a hotel named after the head of an animal.
- First time staying at a hotel.
- Getting over my first bout of Montezuma's Revenge a.k.a. the Delhi Belly a.k.a the 'Shoot'n'Toot'. That's the last time I eat at a roadside taco stand in Boone's Mill, VA.

day twosixty - figgy pudding

twas the day before Christmas, and I was wearing my first Christmas sweater. I can't remember any of the other verses to that story. Regardless, Merry Christmas from all of us, but especially from me. You only get one first Christmas you know.

day twofiftyseven - almost famous

I have a few minutes to get in an entry while dad is mesmerized by the Baby Einstein DVD. But anyway, you folks wouldn't believe where people are visiting me from. We just figured out how to track the hits to the world's second greatest website. (you have to admit that Google is slightly more useful than the Barritt Blog).

So, here's just a sample of who has visited us in the past week.

One of you works at Booz Allen in No.VA
Somebody is in Seattle.
One person in Plano, TX.
Buena Vista, CO.
Lots of Atlanta action.
NYC - Uncle P has nothing to do but read the blog since he's trapped at work during the subway strike.
New Jersey. Hopefully this was Bruce Springsteen.
Portsmouth, NH.
Harrisonburg, Roanoke, and Richmond,VA
Somewhere in Kansas. Who is that? Leave a comment if you know who you are.
Raliegh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Durham, N.C.
Greenville, S.C. (What up Cam!)
Birmingham, AL (and they are checking from home and work - chief residents can be slackers from what I hear - Connor, you need to talk to your folks about this).
San Jose, CA
Evanston, IL. (There's going to be even more hits when Baby Barber Deux shows up in the coming weeks).

And there is one hit from the Philippines.

OK. The DVD is over. Have to go tend to dad. But in the meanwhile, help keep the gospel of Barritt spreading to all the nations.

day twofiftyfive

Cam was showing me how you have to use the hips and the arms when you are boxing out for a rebound. 

day twofifty

I'm back and on the attack. Scroll down for live action.