Family Pictures

Jeni took some family pictures for us because these kids are growing too stinking fast!

Our First Walk of the Year

So we got out our double jogging stroller I bought when I was pregnant with Clara, sewed up a hole in it, and got all ready to go on our first walk as mommy and company. It went pretty well, walking around campus and then over to Caldwell park. Of course as we reached the farthest point from our house, Clara decided enough was enough and was done with our little walk. I tried to make it okay by letting Quinton out to run around and I held her for a minute, but as soon as she got back in the stroller she was upset again. So I took a deep breath and started the trek home. That's when our lovely walk turned into mommy sprinting (which was really a very slow jog) the 12 blocks or so home because Miss Clara was very upset. I guess I was nervous that Clara was going to get heat stroke or something because I sure felt like I was. And it didn't help the situation much whenever Quinton would lean over and grab her binky out of her mouth and stick it into his own. Well, needless to say, we made it home and Clara stopped crying the last block or two before it was all over. The lesson learned here is that mommy needs to get in shape and staying closer to home is wise. 

Here's a picture of Quinton in his new booster seat. As you can tell, he is ecstatic.

Conference, Grandpa Jenks, and Easter

We've been busy the past couple weeks. We went to Oakley for conference weekend and Barry's Grandpa Jenks' funeral was that Monday. It was a nice celebration of his life and it was good to see family. Quinton had a lot of fun each day playing with his cousins. We had a couple close calls with some Miracle-Gro and a fall in a hole, but he survived. He tripped and was walking funny and after a lot of debate we took him to the emergency room where he proceded to walk perfectly normal. The nice thing was that they weren't busy and we got to see the doctor that delivered Quinton. Oh, and he got a Dum-Dum, so he was ecstatic. We slept in our tent trailer for the first time and except for running out of propane for the heater the first night, all went well.



Quinton and Clara have been sick lately. I can't wait for them to get better. I feel so helpless as a parent sometimes when there just isn't much you can do for such little kids. Clara looks so sad with her runny eyes and Quinton wakes up from coughing. It really stinks. I think we're on the downhill of it, though. This picture is of Clara the other day. She was so pooped out from being sick that she fell asleep holding her toy in the air.
Quinton is getting really good at letting us know what he wants. He says "please" and "thank you" all the time. Now I just need to get him to respond to me saying "stop" and "no." Having a toddler is really teaching me what patience is all about. I've never really been a kid person until having my own so each day my mothering abilities are definitely stretched and developed.

This first picture is of Quinton's dinner tonight. He must have thought the tomato sauce would make a good facial. It was gross. 

Clara is really fascinated with herself. She was playing on her playmat and managed to get really CLOSE to the mirror and she was smiling and cooing at herself for quite a while. I can't believe how fast she's growing. I packed up her 0-3 month clothes today, which is always traumatizing. Sigh.

Last weekend we went to Rigby and had an Easter Egg hunt before Connor's blessing. It was sunny all day until the kids stepped out the door to get the eggs and then it started raining. But they had fun anyways. Quinton really got into finding the eggs. We had a little hunt the next day at our house and after he got all the eggs we showed him a basket with toys and candy in it. He didn't want that, though. He just took the eggs out of it and was on his way to find more.

Barry only has 3 more weeks of this semester and then he's done! Of course he starts summer school right after that, but it's nice to be moving along. We are renting our place out and moving in a couple months probably to the Idaho Falls area where Barry hopes to do an internship. We'll see where life takes us from there!

Spring Break

For Barry's Spring Break we were lucky to go up to Island Park and stay 5 days in my parent's timeshare. It was fun and very relaxing, especially for Barry who has a ton of school work to do. We swam, slept, ate, drove, swam some more, watched movies, and played with grandparents and my sisters and their families. Barry and I even got to play racquetball. He might have beat me in points, but I think I got him in style. Quinton had a ball playing with Triston and Johnathan as they wrestled around the condo. I think Clara's going to have to toughen up to withstand his rambunctious ways. In the meantime, she was all smiles for Connor. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the fun time!

Here are some pics of the trip:

After Triston left, Quinton was very entertained with Rumikubs and a diaper box!

Since we got back we've had to get in the groove of real life again. Barry's working day and night on papers and I chase Quinton even more now that he discovered climbing. He definitely has a lot of energy! Last Saturday my mom and Shari came and we went to a fair at the Holt Arena, which was a lot of fun.

I just took this picture today. Clara is getting so big! I took out the playmat today and she loves it! She even got ahold of the parrot once or twice.

Getting Older

Quinton is 16 months old today! I have a hard time believing it. Clara will be 3 months old in a week. They are just growing way too fast. Not too much has happened lately. Barry has been working night and day on school stuff and we both use most of our energy to keep up with the kids. We did buy a pop up tent trailer with our tax return and we're excited to go camping soon in it.

 

Clara's Blessing

Last Sunday was Clara's blessing. It was a wonderful day and an excellent blessing. Thank you to all the family who was able to come. It was fun seeing grandparents, Shari, Jeni, Bryant, Amy, and Sarah and their families. Afterward we had dinner at the Boy Scout office. Thank you Grand Teton Council! After dinner Jeni was really nice and took pictures of Clara and us with her fancy backdrop. Thank you Jeni! And thank you to Grandma Packer for the gorgeous dress she made. It really was beautiful.

Things have been going pretty well. Clara has become such a happy baby lately and is sleeping a lot better. She only woke up once last night and went right back to sleep! Unfortunately, though, Quinton was sick and woke up a lot. Poor little guy has a bit of a cough. Barry went on his first fishing trip of the season today. We'll have to see if he brings back anything. I think he's crazy going out when it's freezing, but he sure seems to enjoy it!

Whoa!

Quinton is really getting to have a fun personality. He likes reading books a lot and when I was taking pictures of him last night he started doing what he does when he thinks something is really cool - saying "whoa!" and "oooh". It's really cute.

Busy with Babies

We've been keeping busy lately. We put our house back up for sale so keeping it clean can be a challenge. Hopefully we can sell and find a bigger place, though. We've also been sick this week. Barry got hit the worst and had to miss a day of school. We're on the road to recovery now.

Here's some recent photos:

The smile that makes all the sleepless nights worthwhile.

Quinton loves to wrestle with Daddy.

A dress from Grandma Packer.

Love him in just a diaper and socks

This is Clara and her cousin Connor who is one month one day younger than her.

One Month

Clara turned one month old yesterday. She is growing so fast! We are adjusting to life in our household with a new little one. Quinton is doing really good as a big brother (he just gets a little overexcited sometimes when he's touching her) and we're doing okay as parents. Clara is a little particular about things sometimes and it's not always good sleeping at night. She spits up constantly and cries most of the time. Hopefully she grows out of it soon. Barry started school last week and is doing well.

Is it bad that I think she looks most like me when she's crying?

Quinton discovered an onion one night and played with it on his car for about an hour!

Quinton loves to hold his baby sister.

If only we could all sleep like this.