Quinton's Photo Shoot

Since Quinton just turned 2 and Clara just turned 1, they each had a little photo shoot on Clara's birthday. Quinton doesn't really like getting his picture taken, but he ended up with a few cute ones.

Clara's 1st Birthday

Our baby girl turned 1 on Saturday. It's hard to believe that we don't have a baby in the house anymore, but she is turning out to be such a fun little girl. She is getting better at walking each day. She is really good at communicating with us - she signs "more" says "up" and throws tantrums fit for a two year old. She is doing better at holding her own and wrestles Quinton back now. And she melts our hearts when she gives us her big open-mouth kisses. I wish she could stay right where she is forever, but I also love the girl she is becoming.

For her birthday she got to have german pancakes with syrup for breakfast and then she opened her tutu Mommy made for her. Then we got ready for her party at Grandma Packer's house. Stealing the idea from our friends the Bernts, we had a ladybug theme. Grandma Packer made her a really cute cake. We played pin the ladybug or bumblebee on the flower, baby bottle bowling, and guess the number of cheerios in the jar. It was a lot of fun having family to celebrate the day with us. Jeni, Shari, Andrea, and Brian were all there with their families.

Clara wasn't too into opening her presents, but she did like her Raggedy Ann doll, ball toy, Cabbage Patch doll, puzzle, and all sorts of cute clothes that people were so nice to get for her.

Clara got to really enjoy sugar for the first time that day. She wasn't quite sure about her ladybug cupcake at first, but by the end she really got into it!

After the party we did a little Christmas shopping and took Clara out for her first Happy Meal. It turned out to be a fun day for all of us.

Merry Christmas!

Make a Wish...

This is a great video of Quinton doing his best to blow out his candles.

Quinton's 2nd Birthday!

Quinton turned two last Thursday and we celebrated on Saturday. He is such a big boy now. He speaks in sentences, plays nicely with his sister, gives the best hugs and kisses, and makes us smile everyday. He is the best little boy ever!

We had fun on his actual birthday fingerpainting with vanilla pudding.

Quinton's big present was a play tent and tube.

He enjoyed following a trail of candy to open his presents.

Quinton had crepes for his birthday breakfast. It snowed that day so he played outside with Daddy for a while. Later that day we went swimming with Grandma and Grandpa Packer and had them over as well as Shari, Josh, Triston, and Connor for dinner.

Vintage Baby

My mom found some old baby clothes in the garage that were either mine or my sisters,' so from time to time I pull one of the closet so Clara can model some real vintage clothing.

Halloween

Quinton and Clara dressed as a duck and a bunny this year. They sure were cute!

Clara with her cousin Mackayla.

We went to Grandma Packer's ward party and had fun with cousins Logan, Mackayla, John, Connor, and Triston.

Mommy didn't have the energy for carving this year, but Quinton sure had fun coloring lots of little "Punkies."

Utah

Barry has season tickets for BYU football this year, so we went down twice with him in October to Utah and stayed with his brother Bryant and his family. We have a lot of fun staying at their house. During the second trip we were able to see Barry's cousin Steven and his wife Sabrina sealed in the temple. It was a really special experience and we're so glad we could go.

A young BYU fan.

Grandma and Grandpa Packer were nice enough to babysit while we went to the sealing.

Quinton discovering temple square for the first time.

Had to put this picture up. Clara can be a sensitive little girl sometimes.

The Greenbelt

We made it to the greenbelt in Idaho Falls one beautiful fall afternoon to feed the ducks and geese. Quinton loved it! He also loves playing in the leaves. It took Clara a few times to get used to sitting in the leaves, but she has warmed up to the idea as well.

Around the House

Getting two young children dressed, fed, changed, prepared, napped, and buckled into the car to go anywhere is quite an ordeal so we don't make it out of the house as often as we might like. So we spend a lot of time at home, which isn't too bad because Quinton and Clara keep life exciting. Here are some recent pictures of Quinton and Clara having fun at home. Above is a picture of their favorite thing to do: wrestle with daddy.

Keeping Busy

No posts for a while because we don't seem to have much time or brain cells to spare. Barry is trying to make it through his last year of school. He does well in his classes and works hard at his 3 internship sites. Heather got a job scheduling appointments from home, which has been hard to get used to. Now that Heather's sister Shari moved into the same apartments as us, we have been able to trade babysitting, which is very nice. We also have callings in our ward now. Barry is a teacher in Elder's Quorum and Heather is having fun as the assistant Wolf den leader.
Quinton turned 2 today. It's really crazy. He has been talking really well lately and growing up in so many ways. Our little guy isn't so little anymore, which is mostly sad, but it's also fun to see him learn so much so quickly. Because Quinton and Clara are sick and Barry is gone all day, we are postponing birthday celebrations until Saturday.
Clara is getting really close to walking. She took a few steps last night. Once she gets up the confidence, she'll be chasing right after her brother. She's also sleeping from 8 pm to 7 or 8 am, which has been a huge blessing.

Spud Days in Shelley - Who knew celebrating potatoes could be so fun?