Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Eve 2011

I'm in love with my little family!! I get so much joy out of watching the excitement in the kids eyes with the holiday spirit.

This morning when I checked the baby monitor, I could not see William so I assumed he was awake and playing where the camera doesn't show. Well, I was wrong. This is what I found when I went into his room.



When I asked him why he was in the closet, he told me he was hiding from the trains!
Um...ok!


Tonight we got to open our jammies! Or should I say, William opened everyone's jammies!

Poor Daddy was sick all day, so he was all bundled up while he watched Will open the presents.






This is the first year William is really understanding the Santa thing, and it's so much fun!

Before bed we put out cookies cookie for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph.
It started out as multiple cookies, but Will ate one.
And then he tried to eat the carrot and when I told him no he informed me "carrot make Will fly like Reindeer". 
Then he started to run around the room with his arms out making the "shoooom" flying sound!
LOVE THAT KID!



Santa had hit our house by 9:30!! Gotta love an early Santa!


Santa tracked snow into the house and even left the kids a note.
But boy, that Rudolph is a MESSY eater. There are carrot slivers all over the floor by the door.

But Santa left the kids a ton of presents.


I can't wait to see their excitement while they open them all tomorrow!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

"SANTA!...I know him"

I love any reason to celebrate, and so now that the holidays are here...it's really time to play! I've been trying to do something "extra" everyday for the kiddos. Something with a Christmas theme, and something to build a memory.

William has been watching some fun Holiday movies. "The Polar Express" and "Santa Clause is coming to town" are his two favorites. I didn't think he would be old enough this year to know or understand Santa, but I'm sure due to these movies, he's loving the idea of Santa!

Today we got invited by our friends, the Hallows, to go visit Santa and 2 of his reindeer up at Weber State. 


We were waiting in line when Santa showed up, and boy did William love it. He didn't want to stand in line after that. He kept trying to run to the front just to see Santa. When it was our turn, Will was the only 2 year old who wasn't screaming when it came time to sit on Santa's lap.
As soon as I picked him up to put him on Santa's lap, he started talking his ear off. Neither Santa or I could get a word in.  I was lucky enough to get a few pictures as he took a break to yell "cheese".



Gracie loved the candy cane she got from Santa!




After seeing Santa, we went outside to see the reindeer. After we got home, William asked me why they weren't flying! lol, too cute. I had to explain to him they have to save up their energy for Christmas Night!





I can't wait for the rest of the month and all the fun celebrating we get to do!



Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Gracie 4 months

Wow, the other day I realized it's been more than 2 months since I have posted. At first I turned to Sean and told him "I'm a horrible Mom...I haven't updated the family blog". But I quickly reminded myself that instead of updating it, I'm making memories with my babies!!

Oh, and I also have been  updating my other blog, and there's family ones on there too. So you can get a quick update there from time to time (www.ourthriftyideas.com)

BUT, today we had Gracie's 4 month checkup and I decided that we needed an update on this precious little one.


Here's her stats!
24 3/4' length (65 percentile)
14lbs 13 oz (71 percentile)
16 inch head (35 percentile)

She got shots today, and took them like a champ. She didn't cry for the first one, but started to after the second. William was sitting on the table with her and he started crying too and yelling "ma sista, ma sista". As soon as Gracie heard his voice she turned to him, stopped crying, and started to laugh!! I get teary eyed over the bond these two already have!

She's having a hard time with the after effects of the shots now. She's currently out cold on the couch!


Oh, and today was her first day with Piggies! She's to die for!

Also, she has become a PRO TALKER!!! Check her out


How in the world did I ever get so lucky to have these babies in my life?

Thursday, September 1, 2011

The big 2!

Last week was William's 2nd birthday!!! I can not believe that he is already 2 years old. It seems like just yesterday we were finding out we were pregnant for the first time. What a crazy life it has been having him in our life, and I love every minute of that craziness....well MOST every minute!

To celebrate his birthday we started the day with opening presents!! He was more amuzed with the wrapping paper than opening it. Guess that's what I get for having animal paper!




We then met Grandma at Thanksgiving Pointe to go to the Farm Country. Of course, he was in heaven. He even rode the pony all by himself (after a little hesitation), and went back for another ride!


What was going to be a trip to the Farm Country ended up also being a trip to the Kids Garden as well as a ride on the golf cart in the main garden at Thanksgiving Pointe. What more could a kid ask for on his birthday?!....Arctic Circle!

Yup, we had his birthday dinner at Arctic Circle. He ate french fries, a rice crispy treat, Dr Pepper and a chocolate ice cream cone! He also wore himself out on the play place!

What a fabulous birthday!

On Saturday for his party, we rented a bounce house/slide combo. Wow, talk about the highlight of William's year. He didn't go in the house for almost a complete 8 hours. He LOVED that thing. Probably the best money spent in a long time.

And boy do I have amazing pictures from it.


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Gracie JAYNE Barker

When we were trying to come up with names for our baby girl, I knew I somehow wanted to give her a "family" name. Something that would be meaningful. Especially since William has a full family name, she needed something special as well.

And of course, it needed to be from my side of the family!

Sean came up with her first name, Gracie, and for some reason after that it just fell together!

Jay - My Dad is the most amazing man I've ever met. Gracie will grow up to be so proud to have been named after him.

Jane - Jane Mifflin is my Mom's best friend and just like my second mom. She has always been a part of my life and hopefully will always be a part of Gracie's as well.

Somehow putting the two names together sounded just perfect. That's how we came up with Gracie JAYNE Barker.

On a side note, it wasn't until earlier this week that my dad realized that Gracie was named after him!! haha. Although he had the conversation multiple times, with multiple people! I guess that's what old age will do to ya (j/k Dad!)

Gracie with her Grandpa
















Gracie with Auntie Jane

Gracie will be proud to carry that name when she's old enough to realize where she got it. Who wouldn't be proud to be named for these two?

Friday, July 29, 2011

William's first slip-n-slide

What a fantastic night we had yesterday with friends. We scheduled a game night, but ended up just playing with the boys in the pool, on the swingset, and their favorite, down the slip-n-slide!

He didn't quite get the concept of running and sliding, but he loved to have Sean throw him down it!

Here's a fun slideshow where you can see William going down 2 different times!



Tuesday, July 26, 2011

William's first s'more!

The best part of Sunday Family Dinner is the fact that we always have dessert!! This week we had a fun BBQ to celebrate the 24th, and to go along with the BBQ theme, we made s'mores for dessert.

William has never made them before. It was kinda touch and go, because he wanted to play with the firepit or fling the marshmellow off the stick! But we got the mellow nice and golden and he got to experience his first s'more!


Monday, July 25, 2011

Gracie's Noises

I've mentioned on facebook time after time about all the noises that Gracie makes when she sleeps. I've had a hard time learning to just sleep thru it. Today, I caught it on camera during her nap!!

It is funny to see all the faces, eyes openings, and different noises she makes!

Here's the videos!




The sounds are so cute!! But I hope she stops making them soon, cause I know she'll keep William awake once they are sleeping in the same room.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

24th Marquiss Family Dinner

Last night we had a family dinner at my parents house down in PG to celebrate the holiday!
Unfortunately Sean has been on-call for work all week, and was stuck working in the heat all day yesterday.
So I packed up the kids and headed down early in the day hoping my parents would entertain William and take him swimming. Being that I can't "submerge in water" for 6 weeks after the c-section, I couldn't take him myself. We got there, and my parents were already in the pool!! We I threw William in with them, and Gracie and I sat and relaxed while they played.

William did FABULOUS in the water. Earlier in the year I took him to Lehi's city pool, but we stayed in the 2 foot deep section. So the only times he has been swimming were last week when he stayed with my parents, and yesterday. You wouldn't know it though, because he took off swimming with no help but a noodle under his arm. He even slipped off the noodle and went all the way under but kicked himself back up to the surface!! I was so proud of my little water boy!

When he was not in the big pool, he was playing in the sand box, the kiddie pool, or feeding the chickens. That kid is such a non-stop personality that wears everyone out!

I took over 150 pictures last night (can you say I'm addicted to my camera?!) But somehow narrowed it down to not as many!

My parents neighbors have a train they made out of barrels and pull with a 4 wheeler or a riding lawn mower. Dad borrowed it to take the grandkids for a ride. I decided to tag along to get some pictures....bad idea 2 weeks after a c-section! At least the pictures turned out.

Each kid picked an animal that they wanted their car to be.

Hendrix - Cow
Dakota - Pig
Heather/Marley - Goat
Marley - Horse
William/Grandma - Elephant



Spending time with my family is the best!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Family Pictures and Gracie's Newborn's

I am so in love with my family!! I really don't think I can explain the love and passion I have since bringing Gracie into the world.


When I found out I was pregnant I told Sean that I was worried about not being able to care for and love another baby as much as I do William. I felt like there was no way that I could ever have those feelings for anyone else.
My love for Sean and love for William are two completely different types of love, and I didn't know how I could share the "child love" with Gracie too.


My worries were all for nothing. The second the doctor walked around the curtain with our little bundle of joy, the tears started coming and the love for Gracie was instantly there. That "child love" that I had only had for William was immediately multiplied by a million and I knew that I would love her just as much.


I feel that rush of love every time I look at both of my kids. But when I see my family all together, it blows my mind!

We got family pictures taken, and when I was proofing them at the studio, I started to tear up. I can not believe that I ever got so lucky to be trusted with these beautiful children of God. How did I get so blessed with the family I have? My amazing husband and 2 kids make my life better than I'd ever imagined.


Looking at these pictures make me happier than ever!

Isn't my family perfect?!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Swimming night

I haven't been up to doing too much lately, but the on Saturday I was ansy to get out of the house. So we headed to the park but quickly realized it was TOO HOT to spend there, plus the slides were too hot to even slide down!

So we headed back home and switched to a pool party instead! Gracie and I sat back and watched while Dad and Will had fun in the water. I love all the pictures, you can tell how much fun William has with his dad!


I can't wait for the next pool day. Its so fun watching the smile on William's face as he plays.