Warming Up

It finally began to warm up (much to my dismay), but it has been raining quite a bit. Either way, we've been enjoying being out of school so far. We both graduated in May with our bachelor's degrees. Hooray! Barry does have more school left with his Master's and possible Doctorate programs in the future, but we're very happy to be moving on to the next phase of our lives. Barry is now a PSR worker at A to Z and he's getting the hang of working one on one with the kids rather than in groups. He starts full time this week. It's a good promotion for him and will teach him a lot.

Gage, Quinton, Elisha

On Memorial Day we got to see Jared, Amy and Gage as they stopped to visit Sarah and Josh in Rexburg. It was a lot of fun to see them and all the little boy cousins being crazy together.

Barry turned a quarter of a century old on the 17th! We had a lot of fun celebrating his 25th birthday in Rigby with family. Heather even made him a German chocolate cake (a first for her). We had fun playing bocce ball and going one on one against our spouses at tether ball. Of course Barry went fishing as well, but is still looking to get some good catches.

We were really excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Gardner last month. They came down all the way from Canada and not only did they meet Quinton for the first time, but Barry as well.

Quinton is growing so fast. He now has 1 1/2 teeth and can sit up when he's in the mood to do so. We went on our first outing to the park yesterday and it was sure a lot of fun. Quinton loves being outside.

Brrr

It is really cold today. We woke up to snow. Again. It's really not a surprise anymore, even though it's April.

For conference weekend we went to Oakley and spent some time with Barry's family. It was really good to see Bryant's, Nancy's, and Carmen's families as well as the regular Oakley crew. The trip was great and ended with a bang when Quinton's diaper leaked all over Grandma and Grandpa. He has good timing, that's for sure.

Quinton wrestling with Alec

A few days later we got to see Steve and Tammy and the kids when they stopped by for a day. It was standing room only to have everyone at our house for a while, but it was a lot of fun!

-Steve, Quinton, Grandma, Sophie, Mackayla-

Ben and Quinton

Barry's been trying his hand at fishing for the season, but still hasn't had too much luck. Hopefully some reservoirs thaw out soon for him. He still has fun enjoying the outdoors when he goes.

On Friday I was quite surprised when we went up to Rexburg and there was a party waiting for me at Shari's house to celebrate my birthday. It was really nice of them. I have the best family!

Barry made me a fabulous cake on my birthday.

A Family Update

Quinton is as cute as ever. He can now roll over, giggle, spit bubbles, suck on his thumb, and eat rice cereal! He loves playing with his toys and even has to fight Barry for them sometimes. We're still working on the sleeping through the night thing, but we are close to getting a full night's rest.

The good news of the semester: Barry got accepted into graduate school! So we'll definitely be in Pocatello for at least 2 1/2 more years. We're really excited to graduate and finally be done with school.

First Solids

We were all very excited for Quinton to try out something besides milk. Here he is trying out his new high chair.

He's ready!

Well, maybe.

So maybe it doesn't taste so good, but he got the hang of it!

Mostly he'd rather eat his thumb.

Quinton's Blessing

Quinton is doing really well. He is growing so fast! We had his blessing a few weeks ago and were really pleased at the turnout. My parents, Jeni, and Shari were able to come as well as Barry's parents, Michael, and Sarah along with quite a few of Barry's cousins. Grandma Packer made a cute cake for Quinton!

It's our last semester before we get our bachelor's degrees here at ISU. Barry is applying right now to the graduate program here, so we'll be in Pocatello for a couple more years. The nice thing about staying here is that we do have our own little house, a good ward, and a lot of great friends. I'm still adjusting to life as a new mom, but I'm loving it so much. Quinton is so adorable and his little smiles keep me going. He's just discovered his hands and keeps them in his mouth as much as possible. Barry is doing really well at A to Z Family Services and we're excited for May when he'll get promoted to a PSR worker when he gets to work with the kids one on one.

Holidays

Celebrating the holidays is even more fun with a baby. We went to Rigby for Thanksgiving and to Oakley for Christmas. Barry and I had to get through finals first. Finishing school those last couple of weeks was a little torturous. On one day of finals I had three tests. My mom came to help watch Quinton. I would study, nurse, go take a test, then run home to nurse, study, go take a test, and on and on. It was a very long day. But we're all done now and next semester I only have to take one class that's not online so I get to spend a lot of time with Quinton. I also left my job at the FBI so I can be a full-time mother.

Barry went with his friends Ryan and Aaron and chopped down a tree for us this year since I wasn't feeling up to it with a new baby.

John, Mackayla, Triston, Grandma, Quinton, and Logan all on Grandma's bed

At Home

Bringing Quinton Home

The first two days we were home, things were a little rough. Nursing is a lot harder than it looks! Poor Quinton wasn't getting enough food. We went back to the hospital and got some help and now he's doing much better.

First Bottle

First book

First Bath

We've had lots of visitors - both sets of grandparents, Shari & Jeni & Bryant and their families all came to see Quinton.

Quinton and Mackayla