29!

Sign Mara Kate colored for Kane's birthday!

This past Tuesday was a special day at our house. It was Kane's birthday and our little family had a fun time celebrating together. 

Mara Kate and I made one of Kane's favorite cakes (Creme de Menthe). We met him for supper after work, then came home for cake and presents. The girls each gave him a gift and I gave him a "coupon" to get some athletic shoes he has been wanting.

You can't see the individual candles in the top photos, but there were 29 of them and yes, some of them were pink (sorry, Babe, I'll try to plan a little better next time). I guess pink candles is what happens when you are the only man in a house of 3 girls. ha! 

Thankfully it didn't phase him at all! 

 

Kane, you better live it up this year, the last year in your 20's! Take my advice---your older and wiser wife. :)

Evie was very curious about the fire on the cake! :) 

 

Daddy/Daughter Date

Yesterday Kane took Mara Kate on a special Daddy/Daughter date. Mara Kate and I went on a special date a couple weeks ago and yesterday it was her turn to spend some good one on one time with her Daddy. Kane and I had both made it a goal to spend time making some special memories with Mara Kate before Evelyn is born.

Some of the activities we did on our date she chose to do again with her Daddy as she had so much fun with them, but they also did a few different activities as well.

Here's a look at their time together:

*Kangaroo Jake's to "bounce around" for awhile (Kangaroo Jake's is a bounce house of inflatable slides, etc.)

*Ride the carousel at the mall

*Ride the trampoline "jumping" ride at the mall

*Ride the train at the mall

*Eat lunch together at Chick-Fil-A

*Get ice cream after lunch

*Play baseball and soccer at the park

*Go play in the fountains downtown

Getting ready to head out---bright and early. Mara Kate took her Georgia Tech "pocketbook" to hold whatever belongings she needed to have with her.

Bouncing around at Kangaroo Jake's

Lots of fun was had at Kangaroo Jake's---sliding, riding the kiddy rides and playing the arcade games. She earned enough tickets to get a prize---she chose a little frog stuffed animal.

Mall fun---jumping high on the trampoline...

...and riding the little train.

Needless to say they were both exhausted by the end of the day, but they had lots of fun together for sure!

Too Funny

Here's a conversation that happened last night at supper between Mara Kate and Kane. They were discussing what to do after supper was over.


Mara Kate: "What are we going to do after supper? Can we play Wii?"

Kane: "I'm not sure if we'll have time to play Wii tonight. Maybe we could read some of your new library books you checked out yesterday."

Mara Kate: "Well, Daddy, whatever YOU want to do is fine with me."

Kane: "OK, well, I think we should read some of your books together."

................long pause..........(knowing she was really wanting to play the Wii)

Mara Kate: "Well, I actually meant ME---whatever I want to do is fine."


Ha! Isn't this how we all are sometimes? Saying we don't care, but deep down really having a strong opinion! :) I need to write this one down in her baby book!

They ended up having time to do a little of both, so it worked out in the end! :)

Happy Birthday, Kane!

Today is my sweet, thoughtful, hard working and loving husband's birthday!! We are so thankful for him and all that he brings to our family. Kane, I hope you feel loved and celebrated today!

We had a lovely weekend and a nice visit from Kane's parents. They came over the weekend so we actually celebrated Kane's birthday on Saturday while they were here. Kane's mom made one of his favorite cakes and also brought birthday decorations and let Mara Kate help her decorate for the "party"! His mom also brought some steaks and other favorite foods and cooked/grilled for us that evening. It was nice to have a yummy meal at home that I didn't really have to worry about making. :)

On Saturday morning we went to a hardware store/plant nursery to get a few plants for my container gardens as I hadn't done anything with them since before winter. They needed to be refreshed and Mara Kate and Kane's mom actually did all the planting for me. The containers just hadn't been something I'd worried about yet as I have had other things on my mind (a new baby and all that goes with that!). So, I'm thankful to have some new pretty flowers that I didn't have to dig/plant myself. Thanks Tuie for all your help!!

My container on our front porch. I just love the bright pink geraniums.

Saturday afternoon Tuie & Mara Kate went for a walk/ride in our neighborhood. Mara Kate thought she was big stuff riding her tricycle somewhere other than the carport/driveway. Although riding on the actual rode made her a little nervous at first. :) Always my cautious girl!

Kane's mom brought a kit to make some cute puppets and the three of them put on a "birthday puppet show" for Kane and me. It was so cute and Mara Kate did really well speaking for her puppets. She spoke loud and clear!

Aren't these the cutest paper bag puppets? They were part of a Martha Stewart kit Kane's mom picked up for really cheap at Big Lots. Mara Kate has had a blast playing with them!

Kane and his Dad hanging out on the back porch before supper.

The special Barker birthday bear. Kane's mom brought it and put it at his place at the table. A tradition from his childhood. :)

Table set and ready!

Present time!

Sweet card from Mara Kate. She was so proud of it because she picked it out herself "because the little bear on the front was wearing a bow and sometimes she wears a bow too!" and she wrote everything inside and out all by herself! She even got to lick the envelope!

Kane's parents framed his PhD diploma as part of his gift, so now he has it to hang on the wall in his office---FINALLY!

YAY---so official!

And a pair of new boots...a definite need for him right now! He also got a subscription to a chemical education magazine from Mara Kate and I that he had been wanting, to that will be a gift that keeps on giving in the coming year.

Cake time!

Kane's mom used trick candles so it took forever for him to get them completely blown out. It took Mara Kate a minute to realize that they kept relighting, but she got a huge kick out of it once she saw the humor of it! ha!

The birthday boy!

Yummy cake---Andes mints mixed in. It was very moist and tasty! Kane even packed a piece to take with him to work today. :)



Mmm!

Kane's mom hung a strand of birthday cake lights on the front door as part of the party decor---so of course we had to get a picture of him standing in front of the lights. :)

The Final Chapter

Yesterday when I got home from running errands there was a package on my door step for Kane. Inside was 2 hardback, bound copies of his dissertation. It is literally in book form now!

This is sort of the final chapter for the grad school journey. Even though he has officially had his Ph.D for almost 9 months (wow--hard to believe how time has flown since then!) and it's been 5 months since he walked in his regalia at the Georgia Tech graduation ceremony, it's still cool to see the end result of his 5 years of hard work in a book form! When he defended his dissertation it was printed and stuck in 3 ring binders for all his committee members, but somehow this just seems way cooler than that!

Kane had fun flipping through the book last night and said it brought back lots of memories. Sort of interesting when his life/job has been one of teaching for the past two semesters to think back to the way things were as a student. I'm so thankful for the change of routine for him and that the student days are behind us, but it is fun to look back and remember those days sometimes---those days that at times felt like they would literally never end!

The second copy we'll repack and ship to Atlanta to his adviser, Dr. Bottomley for him to keep in his office (it's just what you do) and I'm guessing the copy we keep will be stored in Kane's office.

Once again, my heart fills with great pride as I think about the huge, huge accomplishment this was for him and it makes me so thankful that he finished the course well!

Way to go, Babe!!

The book!

Seeing his name on the binding just makes me smile! :)

I also like the acknowledgment page as Mara Kate and I are both mentioned and thanked for our love and support. Sweet!

Naptime

Mara Kate and Kane have been congested and dealing with coughs the past few days. After a rough night Friday night where Mara Kate kept waking up coughing and not being able to get back to sleep, we were all pretty tired by Saturday afternoon. We decided to just lay down for a bit to rest and Mara Kate was the first one to crash. Kane dozed for awhile and I ended up not being able to fall asleep, but did enjoy just laying down for a bit. At one point I grabbed my camera and snapped the picture below as I thought it was just so sweet to see two of my favorite people snoozing together. These are the little sweet moments I want to remember.

Zonked out

Sweet, Thoughtful Man

I am married to a sweet, thoughtful man. On occasion Kane and I do date nights "in" rather than out. Our usual drill is for me to put Mara Kate to bed while Kane runs out and picks up a cheap $5 Hot n Ready pizza from Little Ceasar's and then we sit on the couch while we eat and watch a movie together. It's a fun thing to do on occasion and it's especially easy on the budget.

The other night he left to get the pizza and came back saying they were running a special---"flowers when you ordered pizza"-- Yeah, right. :) He had made an extra stop while out to pick up these pretty tulips for me. I've really enjoyed them the past few days---thanks for thinking of me, Babe!

Alumnus---It's Official!

Friday night we drove to Atlanta for Kane's Georgia Tech graduation. He defended his Ph.D back in July and has since started a new job using said degree, but he officially walked on Friday.

His Mom drove in on Friday morning and went with us to the ceremony which was so nice. We ate an early supper in Atlanta then headed to Tech. We dropped Kane off early while we went to find parking. Mara Kate ended up falling asleep just a few minutes before we got to Tech so we sat in the car for about an hour before going in to let her get some rest. Once inside we found seats and waited for the ceremony to begin.

Of course, Buzz was present and although Mara Kate didn't want her picture made with him, she did want to know where he was at all times.

Buzz

The graduate giving a BIG smile in the processional

The Ph.D graduates are the ones up front in gold. The rest are Masters graduates.

Kane about to head across the stage. I wish could have zoomed in better.

Being hooded by his Advisor, Dr. Bottomley.

It's over---Yay!

The completely chaotic and crowded hallway after the ceremony. My cell phone had NO reception in this building and it's a miracle that I was able to find Kane in this mess.

Dr. Barker with Dr. Bottomley

Proud Wife!!!

Sorry there are not any pictures with Mara Kate or Kane's mom. Mara Kate had a bit of a melt down during the ceremony (due to a sore throat and a fever that crept up while we were there). We ended up leaving the ceremony immediately after Kane walked and went to Walgreens to get some Tylenol for the fever. We got the medicine in her in the parking lot and headed back to Tech. We were thankfully able to find another parking spot when we got back and Kane's mom graciously stayed in the car and let Mara Kate rest since she really wasn't feeling well while I went in for the remainder of the ceremony and to find Kane afterward.

Other than the fact that Mara Kate felt so bad it was a good night and we even stopped and got milkshakes on the way home! A fun memory!

For No Reason

Don't you just love getting flowers for no reason whatsoever?!

I sure do!

Thanks, Sweetie!

Grad Gifts

Here are the gifts I got Kane for his big accomplishment!

A Shorter College (where he will be a professor starting in a few weeks) T-shirt, a nice new name plate for his desk as well as a candy dish for his office, which has the Georgia Tech seal engraved into it's surface.


Close up on the Ga Tech seal

Close up on the name plate ~ I like how "Dr. Kane" sounds. :)

Still just SO, SO proud of my smart, hard working husband!!