Here is just a few pics of these last few weeks

This is Jacob holding Ellie. She is not yet one day old.

This was her coming home outfit - I got it at the Gap and I love it!

Ethan giving his new little sister kisses.

Ethan on Christmas morning, PJ's courtesy of Grandma Youngberg.

Ellie is here!!

I went in to be induced on Friday afternoon. By the time I got all the paperwork done I didn't get my IV untill around two. My doctor, Kathy came at five to break my water but because I needed four hours of penicillan (for my GBS) she didn't actually break my water untill seven.

Immediately after that I wanted my eidural! I had it within the next half hour but it wasn't working. He came back three more times to up my dosage. In the meantime I was feeling every contraction and it was not fun. I never planned on giving birth naturally so I didn't take classes for it or learn breathing or anything.

Kathy finally arrived and literally one contraction before I started pushing the epidural kicked in! I gave three pushes - two for her head and one for her shoulders and I was done.

Elizabeth Jean Barker was born December 12, 2008 at 9:33 p.m. She weighed 7 lb. 5 oz. And was 19 inches long.

We came home Sunday morning and Ethan came home Sunday night after spending the weekend with both sets of grandparents. We really missed our sweet little boy while he was gone!

The first thing he wanted to do was hold Ellie and he did such a good job. He was very soft and just giggled at every little move she made. If I put Ellie down to sleep he cries because he wants to know where the baby is at all times. They are best buddies already.

She had a hard time nursing our first night home but after getting some great advice from Aunt Rhonda who is La Leche certified and had five kids of her known, Ellie is nursing much better and my chest is no longer in great pain. Thanks Rhonda!!!

She has her week check-up on Thursday and then her Great Grandparents from Arizona are going to be here on Sunday so we are very excited to have them here.

I will have to post her pictures later because I am typing this in 10-15 minute incriments on my phone while trying to nurse! One day I will be more efficient and get more done but today is not that day!!

I know it has been forever since my last post and since it might be a while again until my next one this one is going to be long and boring!

I am scheduled to be induced this Friday to have Ellie and for those of you who really know me - patience is a virtue that I do not have. I have been ready to have this baby for atleast two months now. I had an appointment last Tuesday and even my doctor was commenting on how much the baby dropped and that I "look" ready. So almost a week ago I was 70% effaced and dialated to a three. When I told her that I was hoping she would say that I was 100% and at a six she just laughed at me. Honestly I was joking! Well, maybe just a little bit joking.

We have everything we need for her to come and I feel more prepared this time than I did with Ethan. I just feel like I know what is coming. The labor part doesn't worry me at all - EPIDURAL!! It is the part when we get home and life settles in that I am not sure how everything is going to work out. When I had Ethan his fat little head did not 'mold' at all and I was incredibly sore when I got home. Even though they gave me pain pills it didn't solve everything. The other thing I am really worried about is nursing. I wasn't able to nurse Ethan or produce enough milk to pump for him. I would really like to be able to atleast pump milk for Ellie not only because it is better for her but I remember how expensive formula was!

Our ward here in Foxboro is being great and already has meals planned for next week. I am really looking forward to having them do that since it will be one less thing that I have to think about.

Jacob I think is a little nervous not only about having a girl but supporting one more mouth to feed. I think it will all work out and there is nothing to worry about but then again that is what he tells me about the pain and nursing!

My Grandma and Papa Barrow are coming up this month for Arizona. I like to think it is just for me and the fact that I am having this little girl and I am sure that they are just telling everyone else that is for Christmas so they don't play favorites. I know the truth!! They are going to stay long enough for Ellie's blessing which is really nice and I am glad they are making the trip up here. (even if it might be Christmas and not for me!)

We are getting all reved up for Christmas and have all our presents wrapped but definitely not under the tree. Ethan would have them all opened in a matter of seconds. I am desperately trying to get everything finished before this Friday (like this post!) because I doubt I will have too much spare between te 12th and the 25th. We found Ethan some good presents at great deals (Thanks Mom!) and I am hoping that they help to entertain the poor boy while I am busy with Ellie and throughout the winter. Thankfully, he has his birthday in February so he will get a new dose of toys to keep him busy indoors through the rest of the cold season.

Ethan has been doing much better with his asthma. We have not had to make another ER trip since the beginning of September for our Norovirus. Which by the way - to anyone who has ever had a horrible hospital visit like I did. I called and filed a complaint with the hospital and they are going to pay my co-pay. That is the least they could do I think! Anyway, back to Ethan. His new pediatrician was a resident at Primary Childrens and we have been really happy with him. He tells us the honest truth and skirt around issues and doesn't make me feel stupid when I ask him questions that most people know the answer too.

I have been making most of the last posts on my phone which I haven't learned to how to post pictures from so from here on out is mostly just catch up on pictures!

Last night we went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. Ethan was having the best time and was just running all over the place! We had him leashed so he couldn't run off and it was a good thing because there was a ton of poeple there. I loved how excited he was and he just kept saying "WOW" over and over again. The only problem with that was that he just could not stay still for a picture at all. This is the 'best' picture I could get of him all night long. But if you look closely you can see he is smiling!

The lights on Temple Square were gorgeous and I love seeing the Temple all lit at night. It really stands out against the black sky.

Oh boy. Everyday after Ethan has fallen asleep for his nap I go in and make sure he is covered and that is not contorted into some horrible sleeping position. Well, this day I go in and find him completely comfortable and naked! He went to bed with clothes on, I promise. His shirt and shorts were on the floor along with his diaper. I don't know how this happened! Thankfully he did not wet while he was sleeping or immediately after waking up. I couldn't bring myself to wake him up to put anything on him so I let him sleep like this - though I did cover him with a blanket. I dealt with the nakedness after he woke up!



Thank heavens for washable markers

We have been trying really hard to find some activities to keep Ethan busy indoors all winter long. I finally got this book called The Everything Toddler Activity Book. It has alot of great ideas - this being one of them. It is bath paint. It is just dish soap, corn startch, and food coloring. You jut mix in enough corn startch to make the 'paint' the thickness you want and then add whatever color you like. Wha-la! Bath time paint. And the bonus is that when he was all done all I had to do was run a wet wash cloth over the walls and not only was the paint gone but because it was soap the tub was clean too!

This is Ethan new "comfy" chair for watching his show in. It doesn't look at all comfy to me but he loves it!

Ethan loves books. He has really taken a liking to this Cars book and we keep it in the car for him. Every time we get in he asks for his book. He sits there and turns the pages and points at it and says "car"!

Here is my two cute boys going down the slide at the park.

Ethan was a dinosoar this year for Halloween. This was my costume from when I was two that my mom made for me. It fit Ethan perfectly and he was so cute!


I just put this one up here so you could see the tail on the costume. Disregard the pregnant lady.

In September we went up to Sherwood Hills in Sardine Canyon to take some pictures of Ethan. He had a great time running around outside and playing with the leaves.

Ethan is such an awesome little boy I couldn't ask for anything more out of him. Except to maybe keep his diaper on while napping!

What an awesome boy!

(I acidentally hit post instead of save on that last post!)

We decided to go to a Jazz game here in Salt Lake. Romantic I know but it is something we both enjoy and since I will only be about 3 weeks post pregnancy we don't have a lot of options. We have Bern saving for the past few months and purchased our very expensive lower bowl nearly front row tickets. I have never even spent that much on concert tickets before let alone a sporting event! It will be fun though and we are both realy looking forward to it.

Just as a little note that made me laugh. I was sitting here typing and Ethan asked Jacob for a drink of water. He had one his little plastic cups in his hand. Jacob went to the fridge and got him a bottled water - we have little ones that are kid sized. He took the lid off for him and handed him the bottle of water. Now in the split second before the bottle reached Ethan I knew what was going to happen. You see, when Ethan wants a drink from a cup I get him water from the fridge so it's nice and cold - I pour it in his cup. So what does Ethan do? Dumps the entire bottle upside down and over flows the cup all over the couch. Oh, what a boy! We both couldn't stop laughing. He is getting so big and though we love it we hate it at the same time.

He is picking up on a lot of words and I am still trying to convince Jacob that certain words - though technically not swear words for us - certainly are to a little two year old!! We will work on it. Not that Jacob has a bad mouth but you know - CRAP HAPPENS!!

The new words he has picked up ate so random too. Things like watch, cup, rice, cup, baby, story, and tickle. Of course no one can understand him when he says them except me and Jacob but that's what makes it so gosh darn cute!!

ONE MONTH AND COUNTING!!!

Well it's official. I have one month left and I am ready to be done pregnant. I am so tired of not being able to roll over in bed without being out of breathe or just get up off the floor in less than two minutes for that matter! I yhumk Jacob is really getting tired of me asking for a "push" to get up off the couch. I had my appointment yesterday and Ellie is weighing a healthy 5 1/2 lb. We have everything ready for her and after our over nightet in Brigham next week for Thanksgiving I will pack our hospital bag and Jacob will get the car seat in the car.

The only concern at my appointment was that I had lost some weight (due to that nasty little virus I had two weeks ago). If at my next appointment I have not gained some weight back I will most likely have to go on atleast moderate bed rest. Which is nearly impossible with Ethan running around!

Jacob and I have our five year anniversary coming up in January and since we will have a newborn we can't do too much.

It has been a crazy week! So I'll start at the beginning.

The three of us drove up to Brigham on Friday (pictures will have to come later!) and had a great time playing show and tell and visiting all the Grandmas.

Saturday my sister-in-law, Samantha, and cousin, Katie came to moms house so we could all make peanut brittle which has kind of become a yearly tradition for us. Everything went really good and we only ruined three batches!!

On Sunday I went to my friends baby blessing for her new little girl. It was great and the baby was so cute!!

We drove home Sunday after church and all was good - or so we thought!!

Monday morning Ethan started throwing up. Poor little boy! He was miserable and I was miserable because not only was he sick but he had thrown up all over the couch and our bed. I talked tomom and dad and apparently Samantha, Katie, and Mom were all in the same condition as well.

By Tuesday afternoon Jacob and I were in and out of the bathroom every 20 minutes and throwing up just as often. Ethan was doing better but dehydrated. Finally Tuesday night I called my visiting teacher and she took me to Lakeview Hospital. When I got there I was furious!!! They refused to treat me because I was 34 weeks pregnant. Does that sound right to you? I was mad. They said they were reluctant to treat me because they didn't know me. So they sent me still dehydrated and very sick. I plan on calling and complaining.

By the morning I was at my doctors office in Ogden with an iv. While I was there Jacob drove Ethan to Primary Childrens where they put both of them on an iv. They both went through two bags each and I went through three bags. We were all sent home with anti-nausea medicine and orders to drink, drink, drink!

We are all feeling better now but are just exhausted from being totally dehydrated for two days and just from being so sick. I am so glad it's over and I hope we never have to be that sick again! Especially at the same time.

Thank heaven for insurance!!!

On Saturday I took Ethan to our urgent care facility. Not for anything serious; I just suspected an ear infection and was not willing to suffer needlessly all weekend long.

We arrived right after opening at 10:15 and found an hour wait already ahead of us due to a deep gash in the forehead ahead of us. We sat as patiently as a 7 1/2 month pregnant lady and her two year possibly could.

While waiting, a woman walked in with her daughter who could not have been more than 7 years old. She explained to the woman atthe counter that her daughter had been sick for nearly a week and it had been getting much worse for the last few days including a high fever.

As I heard her talk kept wondering to myself why she had waited that long to bring her daughter in. Then I heard the receptionist ask if she had insurance. When her reply was no I instantly understood.

My urgent care co-pay is 15 dollars. For this woman to pay full price was 170 dollars. This of course didn't even begin to include any prescriptions that were to follow.

After thinking about our health this year I am so thankful for amazing, inexpensive (on our part), government insurance. We pay a measly 60 dollars a paycheck for full family coverage.

So far this year Ethan has had one minor surgery, three hospital stays, and countless well and sick child visits. Not mention a minor surgery on my part, a pregnancy, and all the other visits Jacob and I have had throughout the year - including dental.

I just made a few estimates on what our costs might have been without insurane (including our big delivery in December) and we would have been looking at over 20,000 in doctor and hospital bills.

How do people live without insurance!!

On a seperate note - a much happier one. Ethan will be a dinosaur this year. When I was little my mom made me a green dinosaur costume and has kept it. She made a few adjustments and updates for Ethan and it is stinking cute! I will have to dress him up and take some pictures.

Jacob and Ethan spent all day yesterday in Brigham visiting family so that I could have a day at home by myself - which I have not had since Ethan was born. I have time alone, like nap time. But never a whole day with nothing to do but whatever I wanted!

It was awesome! I spent the day scrapbooking and eating, I confess, more than just a few rice krispie treats. I used my fabulous cricut more than it has been used beforeand I loved every minute. It was definitely a day I needed before Ellie is born. Thanks Hun!!

THE FIRST SNOW!!

Yes, it is only October 11th and we have snow. And we are talking the kind of stuff that sticks to the ground. There is maybe 2 inches and Ethan is so excited about it. Grandma Youngberg bought him a snow suit but we have to wait till Tuesday to get it. The snow will most likely be gone by then but we HAVE to get it!!

I had my 30 week check-up last Tuesday. All is well and Ellie is weighing in at a whopping 3 lb. 10 oz. Right on schedule. She is a very busy little baby who keeps me up at all hours of the night running to the restroom. I just can't help it - I have to have a glass of chocolate mill EVERY night before bed. I have to!!!

Ethan is the most awesome little boy ever. I think I have posted about this before but I am just amazed at him!

Every time we are getting ready for nap time or bed time we are usually out in the front room. That's where we play, rough house, and everything else in the world. All we have to say to him is "Ethan. Do you want to go na-night?". And off he runs into his bedroom.

He climbs up onto the love sac which is by his bed. We have some books that we keep near by and while we are still making our way into the bedroom he picks out a story to read.

We sit down with him and he gets puppy and his blanket, read the story and then he crawls into bed all by himself. We tuck him in, kiss him, and leave him to fall asleep.

He falls asleep without a sound and without moving from where we left him. What two year old is excited for bed time let alone nap time?!?!

Today during nap I went through our routine and once I laid him down I checked the mail. It maybe took me three minutes at the most. I looked in his room and he was out like a light. He hadn't moved a muscle and slept for two hours. Could life be any better?

For some reason the pictures aren't posting from my IPhone so HERE is the one of Ethan in his hospital clothes

Here is a picture of Ethan in his sweet hospital clothes. The little patches ok his cheeks are where they attached the oxygen hose.

Ethan had a slight "respiratory" problem on Friday that led us to Primary Children's Hospital. He was struggling to breathe and retracting quite a bit on his chest and neck so they admitted him to the RTU (Rapid Treatment Unit). My mom came and spent the night at the hospital and Ethan thoroughly appreciated the visit. Not to mention the toys that always accompany Grandma. During the night they had to auction out his chest 3 times by putting down his throat via his nose. It is an awful sight but he can breathe so much better afterwards. He was a little hypoxic (oxygen deprived) so they also put him on oxygen. Once he woke up around 7:30 am he has been a wild man. He feels great but there is just nothing for him here to so or play with. They want to keep him a while longer for observation but I am hoping they discharge us soon. I do have to say though that they have been great here. There is a huge reason we drove the extra 25 minutes to come here instead
of the Bountiful Hospital. They have been great and since their specialty is children it has been much better for all of us.

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Michele Barker

I don't know how this happened except to say that Ethan is all little boy. DIRTY MISCHEVIOUS BUSY PLAYFUL CUTE



Michele Barker

Just a little side note on Ethan's first night in his new bed. I woke up around 1:00 am this morning and decided to go peek in ok him and he was not in bed. I slowly opened the door a little bit more to see where he was and still no Ethan. The gate was still up at his door so I knew he was in there somewhere. All of a sudden I spotted two socked feet under his bed. Yes, he had fallen asleep under his bed. So I went in and pulled him out and held him for a while unroll he settled back to sleep and then pit him back in bed.

He was still in bed this morning at 6:00 when Jacob checked on him.

"Big boy bed"

We decided to get Ethan a BIG BOY BED and oh how he loves it. We purchased it yesterday and didn't get it all set up unroll this afternoon after nap time. Of course we HAD to get the sheets to match his play may and everything he has. Jacob put his foot down on the window curtains I wanted put rest assured I will get them soon.



Ethan has been playing on it all night. Mostly climbing on it and jumping off but he is half monkey. We were going to buy just one single bed for him but purchased bunk beds instead - one for Ethan and one to store for Elie to use later on. They are also made of solid wood so that is a big bonus. Ethan has already added some "character" to his so it will be nice to be able to refinish the beds if needed. He is very excited to sleep in his new bed tonight - he might be up a little late playing!!!

Erhan has been practicing his counting lately. It's never too early too early to start right? We started with just your simple one, two, three. The only problem is that all the fun stuff happens on three. So he knows what order the numbers go in but we can only get him to three!

For example we went to the park and before he would go down the slide he would THREE!! Only he pronounces it tree. And then if someone else was going down he would yell three for them too. What a sweetheart.

So for the last few days he runs around the house yelling three every time he does something.

On a seperate note I am happy to announce that Ethan took a nap in his big boy bed today without crying and without falling asleep on the floor or being rocked to sleep. How awesome is that! May NAP TIME live forever!!! (I wish).

I know it had been a while since my last post but not much has been happenening lately.

We just tend to go through our daily routine and life goes on.

On Sunday we converted Ethan's crib into a bed. We are going to buy him a new twin bed next month and give his crib to Elie. Sunday night was a little rough but after an hour and a half he was asleep on the floor. We moved him back into bed several times that night. He kept rolling out and we kept putting him back in.

After another night of him sleeping on the floor we bought a bed rail for him. Last night he only came out of his room twice and after the second time he got out, shut his door, crawled back into bed, and was sleep by 8:30. It was rarher nice.

We keep a gate at his door so he can't wander the house at night and in the morning he comes to the gate, peeks out and says hi over and over unroll we get him. It's really cute.

We are starting to get quite a few things together for Elie coming in December. Like I said crib and dresser will be available next month when we buy Ethan a new matching set. Clothes are coming slowly and there are only a few other things besides that.

It has rained all day today and Ethan is not happy about it. Wednesdays are our park day and we had to cancel. He loves to play in the sand. He was having such a rough time we had to put in Robin Hood. The old Disney cartoon. It is one of his favorites - right up there with Bob the Builder and Cars.

Well, now that I have figured out how to blog through my IPhone more posts should be coming. It is much easier to do on my phone than the computer.

Ok. I think I have figured out this whole mobile blogging thing with my new phone. We will see how it goes.

It was a rather interesting day here at the Barker household today. It started off normal - breakfast, hanging out in our pajamas, playing cars, and a few other things. Next thing I notice I hear Ethan asking for help from inside our master bedroom. He goes in there to play all the time and closes the door. He is good enough to close them, just not good enough to open them. Then the doosie comes - he locked it. We are't talking one of those nice locks where I can stick a butter knife in and turn it or pop it open with a bobby pin. We are talking a KEYED LOCK!!

And since this is all lucky enough to happen on a Saturday the office here at our apartments is not open at 9 am. Of course I know this because I ran down to the office to see if anyone was there. Why didn't I just call you might ask? I did. They're answering service wasn't working correctly and there was not an option for maintanence emergencies. How convenient. EVERY other time that I have needed something stupid done - it has worked just fine!!

Well, needless to say by the time that a few failed phone calls to the office and a trip down there later, Ethan was in tears and crying on the other side of the door wondering why on earth I had not opened it for him yet even though he could plainly hear me panicking on the other side of the door.

So... what do I do?? I called 911 of course. I had never picked up a phone book when we moved here and the only phone numbers I have programmed into my phone is the pediatrician and poison control. I didn't want to take the time to look up the local police stations number online so that leaves 911. After they got my address and phone number and found out that my wonderful 18 month had locked himself in the bedroom they assured a somewhat over pancicked pregnant woman that her first born would out in no time and that someone was on their way.

While I waited for someone to come I grabbed Ethan's bucket of cars and tried to keep him occupied by 'playing' cars with him under the door. That didn't last long. So I broke out the big guns. The one thing that works like magic in our house.

COOKIES

These are by far the cheapest cookies ever made but worked wonders this morning. As soon as one little cookie showed under the bottom of the door the crying stopped and I had a happy little boy once again. A big thank you to Grandma Youngberg for discovering this wonderful snack and even giving us this box!

About five or so minutes after I hung up with the operator a very nice police man knocked on my door and cracked the lock for me. He was very nice and told Ethan not to do it again. Ethan was so happy to be out (not evident in the picture above - but he really was!) that he even gave the police man a high five.

As soon as the office here opened I called and complained about the answering service not working and requested (or required - however you would like to look at it) the key or a new door knob. They have yet to come and do anything about it so right now we have a make shift way of keeping the door open. We shoved a dish rag between the back of the door by the hinges and the wall. That way Ethan can try as he might to get that door shut but it will never happen. At least for a while!

Last week was suck a tornado! It felt like we had been gone forever - nope! Just five days. It was alot of fun to see all my family in Arizona and of course to celebrate my Great Grandpa's 100th Birthday and my Grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. It was also quite a bit to process and accomplish in five days.

This is Ethan infront of the oh so luxurious hotel we stayed in in Bisbee. The San Jose Logde (with adjoining Bar)

First we stopped in Bisbee where my Great Grandpa (Floyd Harris) has lived his entire life. Born in 1908 he rarely left and if he did it was for work and then he always returned to his hometown. He still has an amazing sense of humor (though you have listen carefully) and still loves his meat for dinner. We held the party in a Baptist meeting hall. It was the only place in Bisbee large enough to hold everyone and was VERY close to where Pop's assisted living center is. I must say, though, standards of quality and cleanliness are quite different on the Mexican border than they are here. When we arrived to help set-up there were LARGE bugs everywhere and might I also add that in the 100 plus degree weather there was no air conditioner!! Despite it all everything went off well and the cake tasted amazing!

Floyd Harris - September 12, 1908. Still going strong and loving every minute!

This is Bisbee. It is an old mining town that is mostly tourists now. It is a beautiful place and reminds of somethig I would see back in Europe with the houses stacked ontop of each other throughout the mountains.

This home was built by Lanetta's (Floyd's wife grand father, my great grandmother) Not quite sure why they painted blue and have not kept up the yard and appearance of such an old home but it is very evident that they want Betty for mayor. My grand mother grew up here as well as her two sisters.

Bisbee is litterally a few minutes drive from the Mexico boder.

The town just across the border, Naco, is not a tourist town like many others. They take border patrol very serious here and at night you can see the fence lit for miles in either direction. You also can't walk outside without seeing a border patrol driving through the streets - usually more than one.

Next we made the wonderful 5 hour drive through the Salt River Canyon (which I am glad to say is over). Along our drive we stopped for a while in Tombstone to take some pictures and go through a few shops. When we got to Show Low there was much to be done to get ready for my Grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary Party. We were very worried that it would rain - and it did. We had a tent for the food and crowded most of the chairs under the tent or trees and everyone stayed dry and had a great time. The food was great, pictures were great, and better than all of that...everyone survived!

This is one of the actresses in Tombstone. They were just setting up for the day and she was more than willing to take a picture with Ethan. Even though Ethan was not to willing to take a picture with her.

The next day we drove to Phoenix and went to the Diamond Backs game with Grandma and Pop. We purchased some t-shirts, hats, and other goodies at the game store and Ethan was very good through all of it. We had some ice cream half way through the game and were lucky enough that someone in Phoenix knew that no one would come to a single game if the ball park was not covered and air conditioned. Thanks to who ever you are!!

I think Ethan ate more of Dad's ice cream than he did. He crawled right up ther and didn't leave until it was all gone. He has had ice cream before but apparently ball park ice cream is much better than what we serve at home.

Ethan and Pop got to be really good friends during our visit. It did't take long once Ethan found out where he could get treats from.

This was the result after the baseball game. We didn't get out of parking lot before he fell asleep. Usually if I try and take him out of his car seat he wakes up but he was so tired he stayed asleep long enough for me to carry him up to my grandparents hotel room and stayed asleep while I removed his shoes and socks and slept until I had to wake him up to get ready to go the airport.




















After a flight home and a good nights rest we are all doing a little better and are very happy to be sleeping in our beds again. There is nothing like a good, long, tiring, vacation to remind you how much you miss home - not to mention your awesome husband who had to stay home and work.

Sorry it has been a while. We have been really busy lately and haven't gotten much done.

But here are some pictures of the new addition to the family.

Craig and Samantha Youngberg had Aiden Samuel Youngberg on August 1, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. He weighed in at 9 lb. 8 oz. (wow!!) and 21 inches long.

We have been on a guitar hero kick lately and Ethan just loves it!! He gets "his" guitar and starts to rock out while we are playing the songs on the tv. When we are done and they started cheering on the screen he drops the guitar and screams and claps his hands. How cute! I love this little guy. We are already starting to prepare for our trip to Arizona in August. Time really sneaks up on us especially these last few months. So if I start planning now then I won't be caught off guard in 3 1/2 weeks when it is time to leave.

We have almost stopped nap time completely now and boy is it an adjustment. Not only for Ethan but for me and Jacob as well. It is much harder to get things done and there is certainly less time for me to do things for myself as well. Today was especially rough and we missed church completely because of several tantrums and throwing time out incidents. But we are recovering and the day seeems to be getting better (knock on wood).

My little rocker!

Our 4th was pretty quiet. Jacob had to work and Ethan made a mess of the house! We were going to go Thanksgiving Point with my cousin Katie and her husband Kai but something came up and they weren't able to come so we found somewhere closer to home to see fireworks. They didn't start untill 10 that night so Ethan was up all day long and was so tired!!

We bought some sparklers and he thought those were the coolest thing on earth untill he realized that I was not going to let him hold one and then a few poo hoo's kicked in.

When the fireworks started though he was all eyes and pointing and brought out his cute little "santa laugh'. He just sat there and stared and went 'ho ho ho'. It's this little chuckle thing he does!

Last Wednesday Grandma Barker had a pool party at her house for all the grandkids. The water was so cold but most of them couldn't keep out. Ethan on the other hand just couldn't get in the water. Even I thought it was freezing and whenever the kids got out of the pool they immediately started shivering and had to wrap up in towels.

Ethan would the kids splash water on him but he would not have anything to do with the pool. It was so cold!

Ani had the best time playing and was as cute as ever.

Cannon was the man with the squirt guns. He got everyone all wet and despite his shivers refused to get out and get warm.

Poor little Quentin couldn't even pull the trigger on the squirt guns he was shivering so bad so he had to get out and warm up a few times during the party.

Little Abby was too little to get in the pool but her little hat was just the finishing touch on sweet outfit. What cute little girl.

This past Saturday my parents rode the Frontrunner up to Salt Lake to visit us. Jacob had to work so me and Ethan met them at the Gateway and we did a little shopping. It was so hot and Ethan was having a great time RUNNING everywhere. Thankfully we had bought him one of those little monkey backpack things that is also a leash and I promise that he only fell a few time when he got to the end of his rope! All the other kids there were having such a great time in the water fountain but I hadn't brought Ethan's suit. Well...they were on sale at Old Navy so we got him one and this is what happened!

This was before we bought his swimsuit and he was just watching the water shoot everywhere. He does this laugh where he just says "who who who" over and over again in this kind of chuckle. It is the cutest thing ever.

At first he was a little timid to get in the water because he couldn't quit figure out how and where it was coming from. I had to keep him from putting his face right in the hole in the ground so he wouldn't get a shot of water in the face.

After a little persuasion from me and Grandma Youngberg he finally got into it and had a lot of fun playing around and saying "hi" over and over again to the other kids.

What a cute little wet boy! He played for almost half an hour but after a shot of high pressure water up his shorts he was done and did not want to continue.