Clara Grace

We welcomed Clara Grace Jenks to our little family on Friday, December 19th and we are so glad to have her! She is such a sweetheart. She weighed 6 lb. 2 oz. and was born at 7:45 am. 

We had to be at the hospital early that morning. Unfortunately, there was a big snow storm and driving was pretty rough. It took us twice as long to get from Rigby to Blackfoot than it normally would. But once we got there they checked me in quickly and prepped me for surgery. I was so numb from the spinal tap that I didn't feel a thing. In fact, as I was laying there with a sheet in front of me (I guess they don't think it's a good idea for a person to see their own body cut open) I asked the doctor, "When are you going to start cutting?" and they said, "She's already almost out." I was a little surprised. Once I got to see her and her big, dark eyes I was relieved. She was beautiful. She did kind of have a look on her face like, "Why did you rip me from my nice, warm home?"
The nurses were nice to watch her so I could get some sleep at nights. On the day we left, the nurse said to us, "She sure is spunky!" A few minutes later Clara spit up all over her nice going home outfit. I think it might have been an omen for things to come. Now we're recovering at my mom's house.

The night before we left for the hospital.

Quinton was excited to meet his new sister and has been having a lot of fun as we stay at Grandma and Grandpa Packer's house.

Preparations

It's been a bit longer than usual since our last post, but things have been a little crazy around here with finals for Barry and preparations for the new baby and Christmas. Since our last post, we had Quinton's birthday party, which was a lot of fun. Even though he started off the night with a fat lip from falling, he still had fun playing with his cousins and eating cake. He even dug into the frosting before we cut him a piece!

For Thanksgiving, we went to Oakley and spent a few days with Barry's family. It was nice to see them and the food was great! The day after we went Christmas tree hunting (well, it was mostly Barry because it was so cold and Quinton was not feeling very good) and got a nice tree that we took to my parents' house since that's where we'll be for Christmas.

Quinton sure is growing up. He has 6 teeth coming in! Almost all of them have broken through now and he's been a real trooper through it all.

Quinton inherited the spaghetti-lover gene from his mom and thoroughly enjoys getting into a bowl of it. You can see his classic scowl in the second picture. He gives us this look when we aren't doing quite what he wants. Silly boy.
Barry made it through his first semester as a graduate student with flying colors! We're so proud of him and all his hard work. Now he has a month off so we are getting ready for the baby to come. We're having her by c-section this Friday at the Blackfoot hospital in the morning. It's nice knowing when it's going to be and I'm definitely looking forward to not going through labor. We'll probably get to leave on Sunday and then we'll be spending a little while at my parents' house for the holidays and to have some extra help which will be really nice. A few of my friends in our ward threw a little shower for me so I could have a few girl items. It was so nice of them!

First Birthday

Quinton turned one year old today! It's hard to believe how much he has grown in such a short time. We sure love our little guy so much and he makes our lives more wonderful than we ever could have imagined. We had a lot of fun and tried to spoil him the best we could.

After a fun bath he had his first Happy Meal at McDonald's.

We went to the petting zoo for a little bit, but it was kind of cold.

Later we got his pictures taken and then played on the toys at the mall

.Then Quinton had his first taste of pizza and dug into a big slice of cake just for him.

.Finally he got to open a couple presents.

Needless to say, by the end of the day he was ready to go bed and so were his parents!

Quinton had his first haircut a couple days before his birthday.

He wasn't quite sure what to think.

Halloween

We had  a lot of fun for Quinton's first Halloween!

We carved pumpkins and Quinton played in all the goop.

Quinton dressed up as a lion.

We went to Grandma Packer's in Rigby for a fun Halloween dinner and dressed up with the cousins.

Johnathan (dinosaur), Mackayla (Dorothy), Logan (Cowboy), Triston (devil), Quinton (lion).

Then we went this past weekend to Oakley and visited Barry's parents. We took Quinton trick-or-treating to friends and relatives with Grandma Jenks and Barry's Aunt Jenny. Quinton was a little bewildered by it all, but sure enjoyed his first candy-eating experience. It was a nice relaxing weekend. Barry and I even went fishing for a little bit while his dad watched Quinton, which was really nice.

Quinton is growing up so fast. He is very independent now. He is walking everywhere and getting into all sorts of trouble. He is loving to read books now. He even likes to feed himself with a spoon every once in a while, but then he ends up using his hands by the end.

We stayed busy one week refinishing a wardrobe I got off freecycle. It's nice to put Quinton's clothes in since he doesn't have a closet in his room. Here are the before and after pics.



Barry and I stay pretty busy. Barry's program at school requires a lot of time and energy and he is doing great. I stay busy chasing Quinton, being pregnant, and doing some transcription. We're excited for our little girl to come.

Autumn

It snowed this weekend! I know most people are bummed out about a snow storm in October, but I am grateful. I have a hard enough time in the heat when I'm not pregnant, let alone when I'm carrying a bun in the oven! So the cooler weather has been a blessing.

We have been having a lot of fun lately. We have been gone almost every weekend to some event or another. Barry got to go to a BYU game last month and he also caught a big ol' rainbow trout at Hawkins reservoir, 19", 2 1/2 pounds. He had fished for a while that evening and caught it just at dark when everyone else was heading home.

The weekend after that we went to Rigby and went to Shari's Walk to Remember in honor of loss through miscarriage, still birth, and infant death. Jeni also had a dinner that night that honored all of her hard work as she earned her Woodbadge beads. Go Jeni!

The conference center.

The next weekend was conference weekend and we were lucky enough to go down to Utah and stay with Barry's brother Bryant and his wife Shauna for a couple of days. We went to temple square, Barry's mission reunion, and just had fun shopping and playing in Utah.

Barry and Quinton at the SLC temple.

Quinton loves playing the piano, especially with his cousin Alec!

This past weekend we went to Rigby again and got to go to the temple and do initiatories on Thursday. It is nice to be able to go and feel the peace there. It's nice having Grandma Packer nearby to watch Quinton. On Saturday we went to the temple again to see my stepbrother Brian, his wife Teresa and their son Logan get sealed for time and all eternity. It was the first time I got to see a family member do something like that in the temple. It was very special.

Quinton loves playing with his cousin Triston whenever we go to Rexburg!

First Steps

I just wanted to post a quick note to say that Quinton is getting dangerously close to walking. He has taken up to six or seven steps when he goes from mom to dad. He has even ventured from the couch over to mom without any help. He's so cute and I can't believe how fast he is growing up!
We had a fun weekend. Barry got to go down to Utah to a BYU game and I went to Rigby/Rexburg and hung out with my mom and sisters. With fall here everything seems to be so busy. Our weekends are not as free as they used to be, but we are excited about the fun things we get to do.

Busy End of Summer

A lot has sure happened and time has flown. In August, Barry went on a hiking trip with his brothers to the Green River Mountains in Wyoming. He had a blast camping, hiking, and fishing, but came home very sore and tired. Quinton and I were sure glad to have him back. It's hard without Daddy around, but he had a lot of fun.

I stayed with my sister, Shari, that weekend and it was good spending time with my family as always. Jeni took a ton of pictures of Quinton to celebrate him turning nine months old. He is so cute, but mischievous too. In most of the pictures he is grinning because he's about to put a stick or a leaf in his mouth.
 

This is Quinton feeling REALLY mischevious.

Quinton really is a happy baby. Here you can see his toothy grin. He has six teeth now!

We sure love our little guy a lot. He is growing up way too fast. I've never been good at taking pictures and I'm starting to regret it because he changes so quickly.
Well, just a few days after Barry's hiking trip we packed up and headed with my parents on a very long trip up to Seattle and then on all the way to Burns Lake in British Columbia to visit my grandparents. We traveled probably over 3000 miles total and sure felt it by the end. It was worth it, though, because it was so fun to get away and see those we love.

We stayed with Steve and Tammy for a few days in Auburn, which isn't too far from Seattle. Steve took us sight-seeing one day and we got to go Pike's Market, the temple, and Snoqualmie Falls. Their kids are so good and Quinton had a fun time with his cousins.

 
At the market there's this wall outside in an alley where there are millions of pieces of chewed gum stuck to the wall. Not the most beautiful thing we saw on our vacation, but definitely noteworthy. Yuck.

Quinton getting to know his cousins Sophie and Rachel

Snoqualmie Falls

After driving the next half of our trip through Canada, we stopped at my Aunt Linda's in Prince George and went up to Burns Lake and finally got a chance to rest. We took it easy the rest of the week with my grandma and grandpa. Their house, yard, and view are so beautiful! Barry got to go fishing a couple of times with my grandpa and even though they didn't catch the salmon they wanted, they still had a good time. I got to see a lot of my cousins who were there getting ready for Kerry's wedding. It was good to finally go to my grandparents' house after all these years.

Barry went fishing with Grandpa Gardner

Here we are on the Francois Lake Ferry. It is a regular thing for people up there, but cool for those like us who only visit every once in a while. (Quinton wasn't feeling well.)

Quiton with Grandma and Grandpa Packer

It was a wonderful family trip, but we were glad to be home. Thanks to my parents for sticking it out with us in the car for so long and driving at night a lot so Quinton would sleep. Quinton picked up a few things on our trip too. He started playing peek-a-boo, waving bye-bye, and even climbed a whole bunch of stairs at grandma's. What a big boy! The day after we got back, Barry started his Master's program. He is liking it a lot so far and enjoys learning about counseling families. Quinton and I spend our days around the house, he cruises along the furniture and floor looking for stuff to put in his mouth and I chase after him.
 We did have another ultrasound and know for sure now that we are having a girl. Hooray! Only about three months left until she comes. Crazy! I'm just glad I have been feeling so good compared to last time.

Barry made an apple pie on Sunday with his mom's pie filling. It was scrumptious!