Little Barnes Family

Deagan McCoy Barnes is HERE!!!!!

2010-05-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

Deagan McCoy was born May 2, 2010 at 2:52 am- He weighed in at 8.2 lbs and is 22.5 inches long- The delivery went amazing and fast, which I am so grateful for! It was an awesome experience and we are so glad to have him here safe and healthy! Deagan looks a lot like Max did when he was born but Deagan is definetly more blonde- So Cute! We just love him!!!

Max's 18 MonthPictures & Pregnancy Pictures

2010-05-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

So I had my friend Anna take these pictures of Max a few weeks ago for his 18 month milestone and to get a few cute shots of me pregnant- I am SO excited with how they turned out! Max was a little unsure about the pictures at first, so he gave lots of serious faces and only a few half smiles- still stinkin cute!

Max's Chair's New Look!!!

2010-03-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Rather than buying a new cover for our highchair, I decided to tackle the project of making one-
Before...

After!!!! I love it!!!!

I am pretty excited with how it turned out, and I even was able to get it all done today while Max was taking his nap!!!

Lots of Catch up

2010-03-25T12:49:00.001-07:00

Wow- So much to post about I don't even know where to start! I'm not sure where the time has gone, but it has flown by! I can't believe only 6 more weeks until our 2nd little dude is here! We've been up to lots of fun things, but i haven't been very good about taking pictures, so here are the few we have to document our fun- Beware, it is a long post! In Feb, Jeff and I went to Sun Valley for a long weekend for the annual company trip- It was a blast! We went on a snowmobiling adventure to Stanley for a day- Jeff found this amazing blue one piece snowsuit in a store in Sun Valley- Love it!!!

I wouldn't recommend riding 7 months pregnant- I had been feeling dizzy and barfy all weekend, and the snowmobile didn't help! Good thing I had the backrest and my own handles to hang onto as my daredevil hubby took us flying down the trails!!

We stopped on the way to Stanley at Redfish lake- It was amazing to see it in the winter- There were snowmobile tracks going across the lake, but we decided not to be that daring!

2 days after we got back from Sun Valley, I went to Bryce Canyon, UT for a quilt retreat(more about that later) this is Max and Jeff helping me get loaded in the car for my adventure-

Max has always loved being outside, but now that he is so independent and can run and play, he REALLY loves being outside! He's such a little stud!!

Max got his first ride on a motorcycle with daddy- I think he was a little nervous at first, but he loved it!

Jeff can't wait til our boys are grown up enough to really go riding with him!

Max has become such a little helper and loves to be involved in whatever is going on- He thought it was fun watching me make rolls and watching the mixer stir everything-

I am selling Scentsy and Max loves to play with the tester scents and is always wanting to smell them- He doesn't quite understand how to smell them yet, so he breathes out really hard and then sucks in through his mouth- So funny to watch!

I am not a fan of belly shots, but here I am at 36 weeks pregnant- Our midwife says we are measuring just right, but to plan on another 8 to 9 lb baby- I'm starting to get really nervous for all that is coming- labor, recovery, and most of all 2 little boys! So I just try not to think about any of it! One of these days though, my bliss that is coming from denial will quickly be gone.

Carrying Max is something that has gotten tougher and tougher! He is such a big boy! He doesn't understand the whole baby in Mommy's belly thing, but he likes to pat my belly!

Max has little buckets that he loves to have his 'treats' in. (Cheerios and Fruit loops) It's probably a bad habit, but if he's getting grouchy, we tell him to go find his bucket and we'll give him some treats- He always runs to find it and immediatly goes to the pantry door and waits for us to put some cereal in his bucket- Funny funny!

Today I was putting cheese in bags to freeze, and of course Max wanted to be in on the action. He loves standing on my flour bucket and he got to munch on a cookie and cheese today while I was busy- Gracie was busy anticipating the food that Max would drop-

After going to the retreat, I have been so motivated to get some of my projects done- Thank you Grandma for having us come down!!! This is a bag that I've been wanting to make for a long time and I just finished it the other day- Love it!

The inside- Perfect for a diaper bag or just a fun tote!

My Grandma wanted her daughters, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters who had any interest in sewing to come down for the retreat that she has been doing for 17 years- This was the first year any family went and took classes- There were 8 of us there and it was SO fun to go have a girls week! I will definetly be going again! Jeff was amazing and kept Max for the week so I could just go and enjoy myself- This is one of the classes that I took and I finished it about a week after I got home- One of my first projects to actually be finished!!!

This one I saw done up at the retreat and came home and wanted to try it- Its called an Antique Baby Quilt- I love it!!! I'll be making many more of these!

Here's a close up of the cute fabrics and the back-

Tah-Dah!!!

2009-12-18T12:47:00.001-08:00

It feels like its been forever since I've updated the blog, but we have had a crazy past few months! But we have some big news so I decided I better sit down and do this-

We are so excited that Max will get to have a little brother in May!!! Our due date is May 7th and if you didn't know we were pregnant before now, don't feel bad. We kept this one a secret until almost Halloween and really still haven't told tons of people until now.

The other day when we had a good couple of inches of snow, we got Max all bundled up and let him go out and try out the snow. The pictures are in reverse order, but here is Max after we made him come in. I hadn't ever seen him throw a tantrum until that day. He stood by the back door for a good 15 min screaming and pounding on the door wanting to go back out!

He loved trying to follow the dogs, but he had a hard time walking in his big snow boots!

This is in the middle of Max's meltdown when we made him come in- i really tried not to laugh but it was SO funny!

Max fell a couple times and the poor little marshmallow couldn't get up so Gracie tried to help him- she seemed very concerned!

Such a happy little dude playing in the snow!

After his first little fall in the snow, Max was very hesitant and I think he was a little confused about the cold white stuff all over his hands-

For halloween, Max was a monkey- a SUPER cute Monkey!!! But I was a bad mom and didn't get a picture of him in his costume until after he had decided that he was done with the monkey head piece- here's a little peek at how cute he was

On Halloween we celebrated cousin McKay's birthday and Papa's birthday- Max had fun playing with his cousins in the leaves outside!

What a goof!!

He laughed and giggled when the leaves were thrown and came flying down on top of him

Backtrack-

2009-11-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

October was CRAZY busy for us, but here are lots of pictures from Max's surgery just to get us caught up a little.

It's late at night right now, so sorry for putting all of the pictures in a backwards order, but I'm too tired to change them all around.

Gracie snuck in a nap or two with Max and loved sharing the blanket with him.

During the first day, Max was in alot of pain and we couldn't even move him. He spent a long time napping and watching Baby Einsteins on the front room floor. Poor guy!

After a long morning, Mommy and Max took a much needed nap together.

Max wouldn't even let go of his apple juice when he fell asleep-

He was SO heavy! I carried my sweet boy out to the car, but it was like carrying a duffle bag of potatoes!

They gave Max a bottle of apple juice after the surgery and that was all he cared about- When we finally got to go see him, he was oblivious to us even being in the room. He was just focused on his juice!

While we were waiting for Max to get loopy from the drink they gave him, he tried his hardest to escape down the hallway-

Max and his daddy- He got his own cute little fleece hospital gown!

It was an early morning! We had to be there around seven which meant we left our house around six thirty- too early!

Mommy loving on Max before sending him back to the operating room.

Happy Birthday Maxton!!!

2009-10-02T21:07:00.001-07:00

Max had an awesome 1st birthday! Thank you to our friends and family that helped make it great! I can't believe its already been a year- its flown by! Its been fun and crazy and we love our little Max more and more everyday!
Max started off his big day grinning as usual! He is always so happy in the mornings when I get him out of bed!

I tried to make his birthday special in silly little ways- This is his EXTRA bubbly bubble bath! He also got to have Fruit Loops for breakfast instead of Cheerios. And for lunch, he got his new fav, Peanut Butter and Jelly! Yum!!!

We had a little party for Max and he did pretty well trying to unwrap the presents. He definetly enjoyed to bows more than the wrapping paper though- Funny kid!

I made Max a dinosaur cake (with my mom's help)-Looked pretty cute!

Max was really hesitant to dive into the Dino's head. He sat just dipping his fingers into the icing-

I tried to help him understand the concept of getting dirty-

He caught on quickly and then enjoyed munching on his cake and throwing it around as he excitedly waved his hands in the air- What a cute little mess!

All in all it was a fun day! We are definetly looking forward to the upcoming year to see how much more Max will change- He is now almost walking. He definetly got brave today and walked quite a bit without us coaxing him to do it. Crazy! We love you Max!!!

A few pictures...

2009-09-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a few fun pictures of Max- He's growing up so fast!
Max LOVES bathtime! And I love laughing as he tries to climb into the tub! He tries lifting his little leg and it never makes it very high, but it always makes me laugh as he tries so hard to get himself into the water- I took a picture of his leg lifted, but as I looked at it, I realized that in the act of lifting his chubba leg up, his little manhood was being exposed in the picture- Better stick to the clean photos!

He discovered toliet paper the other day and when I found him, he had a mouthful plus two fistfuls! Gross!

Max got his 3rd haircut on his 11 month birthday- I smashed his big legs into the Bumbo and no, he is not naked in the Bumbo- It just looks like he is! I didn't mean to, but I cut a ton of hair and now he looks like such a grown up little man! Hard to believe he will be 1 in less than a month!

Maxton and Gracie's Secret Hideaway-

2009-08-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Gracie loves to lay under the computer desk where your feet normally go, and lately Maxton has been trying to join her in her little hideaway. Pretty cute!

Happy Birthday to the BEST Husband Ever!!!!

2009-08-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish Jeff a Happy Birthday! He turns 25 today and I can't even say how excited I am to spend eternity with him- He makes me laugh constantly, loves me unconditionally, puts up with my many silly habits, and is the world's best daddy! I am the luckiest girl ever and I'm so glad to have such an amazing, talented, sweet, funny, & good looking hubby!!! Max and I love you Buddy!!!

Summertime-

2009-08-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a few fun things that have been going on this summer-
I left Max in the bathtub while I put a few things away, and when I came back a minute later, he was proudly showing off his new talent- I now think twice about leaving him in the tub unattended!

While Jeff's family was all here visiting, they decided to have some fun at the park- This is what was seen on one end of the park-

As James launched the ballons, Jeff and his brothers were ready and waiting a few hundred feet away with bike helmets on trying to hit the water balloon with their heads. It was pretty funny~
Max looked cool chillin in the cadillac at toys R us-

He got to sit on his first 4 wheeler- Looks like he's destined to be a rider!

Max had fun spashing in the bath with his cousin Addison! She had fun scooping the water and dumping it out of the tub-

Max doesn't look very excited in this picture, but he loved playing with Alyse and Lexi in the pool- They were great at entertaining him!

Max learned a few weeks ago how to stand up in the crib- He now stands up and throws his binky and then gets really upset- Such a fun new trick!

After a hot day at work, Daddy came home and joined Max in the little pool out back- We've only used the pool twice because after taking half an hour to get Max and myself all dressed in swimsuits and sunscreened up, he was only interested in splashing around for about 10 minutes!

Big Boy!!!

2009-07-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

I was loading the dishwasher today while Maxton was crawling around- I looked down and saw him pulling himself up to the dishwasher door and then watched in amazement as he easily pulled himself up into a standing position and then proceeded to help himself to the utensils that I had just loaded. Crazy!!! He is getting so big!

Crawling Craziness!!!

2009-07-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

Max has been army crawling for the past 2 weeks or so and his new found mobility has made life CRAZY!!! Its been fun watching him explore, but not so fun seeing how dirty my floors are as he scoots along them on his belly. He has been like a little human mop drooling as he goes and wiping it up with his tummy!

His new favorite thing since he has been crawling is the doggy door... Its funny for right now, but once he learns how to go through it, we will have to figure out a new way of life for the dogs.

Max loves to watch Bob go in and out the dog door, and as soon as Bob goes out, Max opens the flap and sticks his head out to see where Bob has gone- When Bob comes in, Max is scooting as fast as he can to follow Bob wherever he is going! Its pretty cute to watch!

Running Behind...

2009-06-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

So here is a little catch up since we have been slackers for the past month- We've been pretty busy just with life in general, but we are all doing great! Max has 7 little teeth and is looking just as cute as ever. He really wants to go places, but isn't crawling yet though, so we are working on that daily!

Jeff got a new toy about a month ago, and he is having so much fun with it!

Maxton loves his bathtimes!

Until about a month ago, Maxton didn't know how to roll over on his changing table- This is the day he figured it out! Luckily I was in the room and he was buckled down by the safety strap!

For Memorial Day, we went with some friends to relax in Donnelly for the weekend. This is in front of The Pancake House-

We have found that Maxton has a plummers crack that likes to pop out every now and then! Its pretty funny to look down and see his little cheeks hanging out!

Daddy and Max taking it easy on the deck-

Look at that face!!!

My little crazy haired man!

Happy 4th Anniversary!!!

2009-05-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today Jeff and I celebrated 4 wonderful years of being married!

The years have flown by and have been filled with lots of love and laughs-
I have the best husband ever!!!

And I'm so excited for lots more happy years!

I'm so glad I get to spend forever with my best friend!

I really am the luckiest girl in the world!

Random Pictures

2009-05-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures that we have taken lately- Not a whole lot has been going on, so hopefully this will catch us up.

We went to a Boise Burn game a few weeks ago where Maxton got to enjoy his first piece of licorice courtesy of his Grandpa James! He really seemed to like it! Unfortunatly he started to figure out how to break off pieces with his little teeth!

We had a mini bonfire in our firepit and Maxton seemed to be just as interested in the fire as Jeff did- hopefully I don't have another pyro to look after!

We went on a little road trip to Salt Lake for work and to see the pro Motorcross- While we were there, we got to catch up with our friend Jake- It was fun to see him again!

Max has been sitting in his highchair to eat- I love watching him try to feed himself before I even open the food. What a funny boy!

Max and Gracie are definetly bonding! Gracie lets Max pet her and pinch her face and Max is nice enough to share his pillow that I put down for him in case he tips over. They are goofy friends!

Little Man Max

2009-04-16T11:01:00.001-07:00

Our little guy is so fun! He is sitting really well now as long as we surround him with pillows for the occasional tip over- I love watching him play and try to decide which toys to play with-

I was finally able to get a big enough smile caught on camera to showcase his little teeth! They are super cute!

I'm hoping no one kills me for saying this, but a few of Jeff's family members have a secret fetish with tags, and after watching Maxton play with his toys, I'm afraid he may be developing that same obsession!

No matter which toy I give him, if there is a tag on it, Max will find it and eat it! Hopefully its just a phase for him!

Sweet Child of Mine

2009-04-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

I love being a mommy- and this is one of my very favorite parts! Nothing beats cuddling with your own sweet baby!

(It was taken with my phone, so the colors look a little funny)

Cousins!

2009-03-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Maxton gets to see his cousin (actually 2nd cousin) Parker at church most Sundays, and while we were over at Paul and Monica's house this weekend, I finally took some pictures of the 2 of them. Paul and Monica are really good friends of ours from the ward, and interestingly enough, Monica and Jeff are cousins. We have loved being in the ward with them and it'll be so fun to watch Max and Parker as they grow up together!

I didn't notice until after I had taken the pictures that Maxton's gut had popped his pants open!

It was a challenge trying to get them both to look at the camera and smile, but the pictures are almost better with their true emotions showing!

What a Mess!

2009-03-27T20:40:00.001-07:00

Jeff went on a campout with the Deacon's Quorum tonight, and I often find that when he is gone, I try to tackle odd projects. Tonight I tried to make strawberry jam by myself. I've done the freezer kind before, but I tried to do the kind you have to cook. I ended up fairly frustrated with a burnt finger, a screaming poopy baby, and a huge sticky mess in my kitchen!

I think the directions said to let the jam sit for 24 hours, so I won't know until tomorrow if it even tastes good!

I kind of spilt a few of the jars of jam while I was trying to clean them up- Luckily I jumped out of the way and just barely missed spilling the boiling hot jam on my bare feet! That would have been really bad!

The little man was in his Bumbo chair (which I now have named his pooping chair) on the kitchen counter through all this mess and he was not happy. Spreading stickiness as I went, I picked him up to find that he had once again pooped in the Bumbo (this happens regularly) and for some reason, whenever he poops in the bumbo, it never stays in his diaper but instead makes a mess up to his ears!!!

So while the dogs enjoyed licking up the jam from the floor, Maxton got to play in the tub! He loves the tub!

Moral of the story- I need to not tackle projects while Jeff is gone- I'm wishing now that I would have settled for a nice quiet evening with a movie!

News from Our House

2009-03-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Last week, Max got his first haircut! It was long on the back and getting thick and longer up top, so we decided to test the theory that I heard at work. Theory: If you buzzcut baby's hair when they are young, it will grow in thicker and faster. I guess we'll see if it is true! He looks so cute with his little buzzed head!
Last Friday, Jeff didn't have to work, and it was nice and sunny, so we took Max and the dogs on a walk to the park that is behind our house. I couldn't help but try out Maxton's new shades since it was so bright outside! He didn't seem to mind them!

I unfortunatly was a slacker and didn't take my camera with to the park, and if I would have, there would have been some great pictures on Maxton's first encounter with a horse! Jeff got a horse in a pasture that is next to the park to come over to the fence, and I wheeled Max right up to him. I don't think he knew quite what to think- He just sat and watched closely as the huge horse munched on some grass that Jeff fed him. So cute!

Also, Maxton has 2 teeth!!! He got them almost a month ago, and I still haven't gotten any pictures showing them. Hopefully we'll get some on here soon.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2009-03-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

We fed Maxton his first baby food tonight! (not including rice cereal) And in honor of St. Patty's Day, he got to try peas! He loved them!

Scariest Night of My Life!!!

2009-03-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

So Friday night started out like any other in our quiet little town of Middleton- Erin, my 17 year old sister, was staying the night after a date with a boy from Middleton, and we had all settled in and fallen asleep when I woke up around 1:15am to voices in the front yard. Gracie heard them too and started barking like crazy as she bolted for the front bedroom window. (She is AMAZING! The best dog in the world! So gentle yet so protective as well! She doesn't bark at all unless something or someone is out front that she doesn't like, so we knew something bad was going on)

Jeff, Erin, and I spent the next 30 minutes in awe as the Canyon County SWAT Team yelled through a megaphone at our next door neighbor to "come out of his house with his hands up" They kept flashing a light at his house and repeating his name, saying they had a warrant and he was under arrest. Crazy! We thought it was kind of exciting and tried to video tape the dozen SWAT men that were positioned behind cars and bushes with guns drawn-

(This picture was taken Saturday Morning from our front room window)

After about 30 min of this, they pulled out of the back of the SWAT van the big black door smashing device! We got a little more excited thinking that now we would get to see some real action! We had our front window open so that we could hear better, and we watched as they formed a big V with shields and guns drawn as they approached the neighbors front door- After yelling a few more warnings, they smashed in the front door- Our house shook from the impact! We heard them tell him to come into the living room with his hands up, and then we were stunned to hear a dozen or more shots fired! The group quickly retreated to the SWAT van, and they huddled around planning what to do as the neighbor kept randomly firing shots at them!

We heard them ask each other if they should start evacuting. At this point, we realized that it was getting serious and maybe we should be a little afraid, so Jeff ran to get out one of our guns and load it just in case the man came into our backyard and tried to get in our house. While he was in the other room, one of the SWAT men dashed up to our window and asked how many were in the house- I told him and he replied very sternly 'you need to leave NOW!' We threw on shoes and grabbed Maxton and his blankets (and I forgot to grab his diaper bag!) and we ran to our truck out front with the SWAT guy acting as a human shield for us as we huddled behind him. (Shots were being fired this whole time) We left and saw about 20 men in uniform swarm our front and side yards-

As we left, a neighbor called us to make sure we had gotten out safely, and she assured us that she would keep us posted through the night. We crashed at our friend's house for a long and sleepless night and got a call from the neighbor at 4:30 (we left at 2:30) she told us that they had ladders up to our roof and there were men stationed on our roof as well as surrounding our home. I was just praying that he wasn't in our house! We then got a call at 5:45 from dispatch letting us know that we could go home. We went home around 7:30 to find our home safe and just as we had left it, but our yards, driveway, and Erin's car were all roped off with yellow Crime Scene tape.

We grabbed a few things and went to spend most of the day in Boise, not wanting to be around for all of the questioning and reporters- We later found out from the news that our neighbor, who actually happened to be a very nice guy-not creepy at all, had demanded information from a store owner at gunpoint, so he was wanted for attempted murder. His body was found dead with at least 1 gunshot wound in the backyard kitty-corner to ours at 5:30. We have since then, gone over and talked to his sisters (he was 31 and lived with his mom and brother and brother's girlfriend) and we feel horrible for the family. We were definetly put through a scary ordeal, but its not even close to the pain that they must be feeling- They told me that they had left him there alone as the police had instructed them to do, but now are wondering if they made the right choice or if things would have ended up differently if they had stayed with their brother. Our hearts go out to them! So sad! But in a nutshell, that was by far the scariest thing I have ever experienced! And it is a night that I will never forget!

We're Rolling!!!

2009-02-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

While we were in Vegas last weekend, Maxton rolled over for the first time! I had been trying to get him to roll from his tummy to his back, but he rolled from his back to his tummy on his own! Apparently he already knows how to do things better than his mommy! He's pretty funny to watch- he can only roll to his right side and once he gets onto his belly, he is stuck. He hasn't mastered rolling back over yet, but he is sure exploring what he can do!

Before

During

After

He has also started rolling not only when I want him to, but also when he gets bored with whatever he is playing with- While playing with this toy, which I thought might keep him contained, he squirmed and wiggled and did a bunch of half-roll overs until he made his way out of the toy- Well, his legs at least made it out!

Our Little Marley Man

2009-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

So my sister and brother-in-law, Mandi and Craig, gave Maxton this super cool Bob Marley onesie when he was born. We had him in it the other day and saw my other sister, Erin, with her rastafarian beanie on and decided to see what Maxton would look like as a true Bob Marley fan- We thought it was pretty funny!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

For the past month or two, Jeff has really enjoyed going to the indoor quad and motorcycle races that are close to our house. It just so happened that the last race of the season fell on Valentine's Day, so since I hadn't ever gone with Jeff, and since Jeff really wanted to go, we decided that is what we would do. I was a little hesitant to take the little man, but we shoved the little foam earplugs in his ears and hoped he would be good. He seemed pretty fascinated with watching them race around the small track- And he even fell asleep for a little while until the bigger quads came out- It was pretty fun!

4 Months Old!!!

2009-02-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

So I decieded that I should just start posting as things happen instead of waiting until I need to empty my camera- Hopefully this will force me to post more often and will help me to not miss any of the fun things we are doing.

Maxton turned 4 months last week! I can't believe it! We had his 4 month checkup and he weighs 20.2 lbs and is 27 inches long! WOW! He is in the 98th % for height and weight! What a big boy! I can't believe how much he is growing up!

We are still trying to get Maxton to roll over. He does ok on his belly for a little while, but then gets tired and grouchy, so we are slowly making progress towards rolling over. Maybe someday soon he'll just surprise us and do it on his own-

Yesterday, Maxton had been on his belly for a little while when he all of the sudden let loose and barfed! Gross! He must have been tired of holding his head up because he just dropped his face in the big puddle of puke! Double gross! I pulled his face out of the puddle and rolled him over and couldn't pass up a picture of the cute little puke face!

Best Buddies

2009-01-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

Since we have had Maxton, a common question seems to be "How are the dogs handling having a baby around?" And we always answer that they are handling the adjustment pretty well. Bob is kind of oblivious to the fact that Maxton is even there, and Gracie is definetly curious, but has usually kept her distance. We always watch pretty closely when the dogs are around Maxton and they are good about being calm when we do let them get close to him.

Today I was playing on the floor with Maxton when Gracie (who loves to cuddle) decided that she was going to get to know Maxton a little better. I couldn't help but take pictures- it was so funny to watch Gracie lay next to the blanket very innocently and then inch her way closer and closer until she was cuddling with Maxton.

Catch Up-

2009-01-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

It seems like the past month has flown by! Here's a brief overview of what we've been doing... Get ready, there's lots of pictures!

Christmas Eve was spent at the Barnes' and after a great dinner, singing Christmas songs, reading the Christmas story, and the candy bar game, we couldn't pass up all the new snow, so two HUGE snowmen were built around midnight- So fun!
On Christmas, we decided to do a little comparison of Aislyn (7 months) and Maxton (3 months)Maxton has just about passed her up! Crazy!
The Sunday after Christmas, Maxton finally got to meet Grammie and Grandpa Jay- It was fun to see them and they seemed to enjoy meeting their great grandson! Grammie was amazed by how big he was and kept saying "Oh my! He is such a big boy!" It was pretty cute! Maxton also got to hang out with his cousin Addison! It was so fun to see you Derek, Julie and Addison!
Maxton is always ready to take a snooze with whoever will let him cuddle up!

He is becoming a lot more active and aware of his limbs- he is reaching and grabbing and starting to pull things to his mouth- He loves to lay on his changing table and play with his lion mirror that hangs over him-
He is a smiley little boy and he sure loves his daddy!
Maxton loves his bouncy, rocking, noise making car! Its so funny to watch him in it!

Right now we are trying to teach Maxton to roll over- He's starting to get the hang of it- I can't believe that soon he'll be 4 months! Crazy how fast time goes!

Our BIG Project

2008-12-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I started a new project right after Thanksgiving- It was our goal to have it done by Christmas, and we barely made it! It is so nice to have it done though, and I love my kitchens new look! We started out with cabinets that were a honey oak color, and now we have gorgeous antiqued cabinets! I love them!!!

Before-

During-

After-

The Hat

2008-12-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

I bought this hat for Maxton when he was a newborn, and it finally fits him- He looks so cute in it! He is smiling a lot now, and has a huge smile! I think the chubby cheeks make his smile even cuter!

Waiting on Mommy....

2008-12-07T20:13:00.001-08:00

Today, Jeff was watching Maxton while I got ready for church, and when I got finished getting ready, this is what I found...

Apparently I took too long!

Cousins!!!!

2008-12-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend, we went to Burley to help Jeff's sister, Janae, and her family move. It was fun to see everyone and especially to see how Maxton and McKay compared in size. Maxton was born Oct 2 and McKay was born Oct 31, so they are pretty close in age-

Maxton had his 2 month doctor's appointment on Friday and he got his first set of shots- That explains his stylin bandaids- He weighs 14.14 and is 24 in long! He is in the 98% for his weight and the 90% for his height! What a big boy!

Maxton

2008-11-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

Maxton is now probably close to 13 lbs! He is a tank! Super cute though! We put him in his little bear bunting outfit for the first time this weekend, and he looked so cuddly and funny! What a stud!

He is also starting to smile if we really work at it- it takes a little while to coax them out of him, but when he smiles big, it is so worth it! The picture is kind of a half smile, but still cute!

I know they say letting your baby sleep with you is a big no-no, but I love to cuddle with Maxton in the mornings after Jeff has left for work- and he looks so cute with his little head on the huge pillow!

Spoiled Puppy!!!

2008-11-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know that a 2 year old dog isn't really a puppy anymore, but Gracie is just such a sweet dog, that she'll always be a puppy to me- Anyway, we tend to be pushovers when it comes to our dogs, and Gracie has learned to sit under our feet when we are in the kitchen in hopes that we will accidently drop some of the human food that she enjoys so much! Sometimes we drop food on purpose just to see if the dogs will eat it... we have learned that they will eat pretty much anything except pickles! Saturday night I was making a dessert for an Elder's Quorum party, and thought it would be funny to drop some whipped cream for Gracie- She really liked it and looked so funny with it all over her face! And P.S.- her eyes are really a pretty brown... they look kind of messed up and scary in these pictures!

Jeff's Fun Fishing Trip

2008-11-23T17:50:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Jeff got to go on a guided fishing trip for a day. He went with Colorcraft and had a great time- He said the last time he actually went fishing, he was 5 years old and hated it! He was hoping this trip would be more exciting than what he remembered fishing to be- They left Thursday and stayed in Riggins, ID and spent Friday on a speed boat going up and down the Salmon River fishing for Steelhead. Jeff caught one, but it was native, so they were only able to take it out of the water long enough for a quick picture. (They weren't even supposed to take it out of the water, so Jeff feels pretty lucky to have gotten a picture with it) While taking the picture, the fish squirmed and slimed Jeff pretty good! I guess a slimy coat is the price he had to pay for breaking the fish rules!

Jeff also thought it was really cool that they got to see so many big horn sheep on the trip- the sheep were just on the sides of the river hanging out-

What's Been Going On

2008-11-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a little of what's been going on in the past few weeks at our house-

Maxton made his first appearance at church a couple weeks ago- He was such a stud!

We had a few Halloween outfits for Maxton, so he was dressed in orange for a week!

Maxton has been pretty fussy and colicky, so we tried putting him on the dryer as someone suggested- he liked it, but we may need to get a larger laundry basket!

Jeff, along with family and friends, blessed Maxton this past Sunday. It was amazing- Jeff did a great job and Maxton didn't cry or fuss at all! (I was really stressed that he was going to scream through the whole thing) It was great to see all of our family and friends and we really appreciate the love and support that they've given us- I'm so lucky to have a beautiful little boy and a great husband who honors his Priesthood and is so in tune with the spirit-

Picture Day!!!

2008-11-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

I have a very talented aunt, and two weeks ago she came up from Utah to take newborn pictures of Maxton. We played dress up with him and he did SO good! He stayed awake for 2 hours of pictures and didn't fuss with all the clothes changes! I was a little nervous how he would do for the naked pictures, but he only had 1 little accident! I am so excited with the pictures and love how they turned out!!! Here are a few of my favorites...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-10-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

Pictures

2008-10-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Maxton is already 2 weeks old! He is back up to his birth-weight and seems to be getting bigger and looking older everyday! Its been so fun watching him change-
This week, Maxton had his first bath... He obviously loved it! Ha! He has quite the set of lungs when he is mad! He has had a couple more baths, and has done really well- no more screaming during bathtime!

He is so cute with his chubby cheeks and puckery lips! We just love him!

I LOVE being a mommy! My mom took this picture last week when Maxton and I were taking a nap at my parents house and I thought it was pretty cute- I love being able to hang out with the little guy and snuggle with him!

Such a Cutie!

2008-10-10T19:46:00.001-07:00

Our little guy- 1 week old-

It's hard to believe how much Maxton has changed in just 1 week! He is SO cute! We just love having him in our little family!

Maxton has already found his thumb! I caught him the other day with his little thumb in his mouth and although I don't want him to be a thumb sucker, I thought the picture was too cute to pass up!

I think he definetly looks like his daddy-

Say Hello... To our new little guy!

2008-10-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

After being induced Wednesday morning and 18 1/2 hours of labor, Maxton Jeffrey made his grand entrance into the world Thursday, October 2, 1:31 AM! We are so happy to have him here and love the little guy more than words can express! Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs and 12oz, he is quite the chunk! So cute!

Words can't even describe the feeling!

One proud Daddy!

Both of our moms were there for the long night, and they were such a support and help! We couldn't have done it without them!

What a stud!

Waiting...

2008-09-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

We are now down to the final days- all we can do now is wait...

We've been waiting patiently...

Today we weren't very patient! We are so excited for him to arrive, we decided to try out a few of the home jumpstarts to labor- Including Castor Oil! SO GROSS!!!! Hopefully he comes soon!

Ready for our Boy!

2008-09-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to family, friends and lots planning ahead. . .we have got a serious stash of diapers and wipes!!! Check it out! We have collected over 1000 diapers, 1068 to be exact and 2746 wipes! Oh Yeah!

X-Rays

2008-09-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

We had a follow up today for Jeff's surgery- It has been 2 weeks and the doctor said Jeff is progressing well and the healing process looks like it is going well. They took more x-rays to see how the bones were healing, and let us take home some photocopies. It's hard to see where the bones actually broke, but with the crazy directions that the screws are in, you can kind of tell how bad the break was.

The breaks on Jeff's wedding ring finger went up into the joint, so he is really going to have to work to get his finger to straighten and bend the way that it used to.

Jeff now just has to wrap his ring finger and wear two straps around his fingers that work as a splint but still allow for some movement.

Update-

2008-09-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Jeff is doing really well, and he went to his first check up/physical therapy appointment today- He is determined to progress quickly, but it will definetly be a lot of work to get his grip and range of motion back to where it was-

He only has a few stitches on his middle finger, but there are quite a few more than we were expecting on his ring finger-

Only In Middleton...

2008-09-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

For our combined Young Men and Young Women activity tonight, they decided to play mud Volleyball... Our Bishop flooded part of his pasture, and the youth and leaders had a great time! Jeff is in the Deacons Quorum and I am a Laurel Advisor, so we both got to go watch the craziness- We both had good reasons to stay out of the muddy mess, but it was definetly fun to watch!

It looked like a lot of fun, and Jeff and I would have both liked to play... Maybe next time!

Everyone started out pretty clean...

No one stayed clean very long-

The Bishop and leaders were the ones to watch out for!

By the end, they had tackled anyone who wasn't muddy enough-

5 Weeks Left!!!

2008-09-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

So this is what I look like with 5 weeks left- I feel huge, and people keep asking if there is more than one in there- but I guess all of this will be worth it once our little guy gets here. Jeff and I are getting more excited and more anxious day by day- We can't wait to meet the little man!

A LONG Week-

2008-08-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

This week started out pretty eventful and is just now starting to slow down a little-

On Monday night, Jeff had his first football game of the season with the Boise City League- He has played on it for the past few years, and was definetly excited to get this season started. In the last few seconds of the game(literally) Jeff dove for a guy's flags and came up off the ground with a finger that looked pretty messed up. His left ring finger was looking like it was either broken or dislocated pretty badly.

We splinted the finger Monday night, and on Tuesday, Jeff had an appointment with the family physician. After a few x-rays, the doc told Jeff that the break was out of his league and that he had scheduled Jeff an appointment with a specialist on Wednesday. We went Wednesday afternoon to the appointment and talked to the Physician's Assistant for the surgeon. He did a florascan of Jeff's ring finger and middle finger and found that the ring finger was broken into about 5 pieces between the knuckle and first joint and the middle finger was broken just under the top joint, closest to the fingernail. We sat forever waiting for him to get a hold of the specialist, and they ended up scheduling us an appointment to see the surgeon first thing Thursday morning. They also told Jeff that surgery was most likely needed and to come ready for surgery on Thursday. So after the appointment Thursday morning with the surgeon, it was decided that surgery was necessary on both fingers and that they would fit us in that afternoon.

We went straight from that appointment over to my doctor's office for our 34 week appointment where we were told that all is looking good as far as the pregnancy goes.

We showed up for surgery at 1:30 and they took Jeff back to do his arm block at 2:30. Jeff's mom came shortly after to sit with me during the surgery. His dad came around 5 and around 5:30 the surgeon came out to explain what he had done. They ended up putting 6 screws in Jeff's ring finger and 2 screws in his middle finger. The doctor was pretty confident that the screws were Jeff's best bet for having full use of his hand and was convinced that with physical therapy, Jeff should be able to return to normal.

After getting home, we started a very long night. Jeff gets fairly sick when he takes pain medication, so we tried to ease him into it- Bad idea. The arm block that had kept his whole arm numb wore off around 2:30 am and Jeff was almost in tears from the pain. We tried to give him more pain medication, but nothing seemed to help and by 6:00, after practically no sleep, Jeff's body had had enough and he got really sick- We have spent today trying to catch up from the sleepless night and trying to keep the pain away without making Jeff sick again. He is doing better now for the most part, and hopefully he will keep improving. We took a few pictures to document this little adventure-

Jeff was anxious to just get in and get the surgery over with-

In the recovery room, Jeff was in good spirits, but was pretty worn out.

We spent the day sleeping and trying to recover from the long day and long night-

This is the splint that they put his hand in- his hand is pretty swollen and bruised.

Summer Fun

2008-08-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

In July, Jeff's family was able to all get together to spend a weekend relaxing and having some fun- We had a ton of fun spending a day at the lake and Jeff was in Heaven when his dad arrived with 2 jet ski's- I don't think there's anything that could have made him happier than spending a day racing around on a jetski! So a HUGE thank you to James for letting Jeff have a day of fun and thrills!

It was so nice to have a few days to just relax!

Jeff is a Barber!

2008-08-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

Jeff is over the Deacon's Quorum in our ward, and he loves to give the boys a hard time- After he had fun joking with 2 of the boys about having a dead cat on top of their head, they decided they would come over and see what magic Jeff could work with the clippers- They left with haircuts that matched Jeff's and their moms were so thrilled that Jeff had convinced them to get rid of the moptops that they had- Its fun seeing how well Jeff works with them and how much fun they have with him- He is a great leader for them and they definetly look up to him.

Before he completely shaved their heads, Jeff had fun giving them a clown haircut and a mohawk!

The Press Box

2008-08-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Color Craft has been doing the painting for the new BSU Press Box and today, since the work is almost completed, Jeff's dad took us up for a little tour of the sky high addition.

It was definetly a once in a lifetime experience to see it all since we probably won't ever pay $40,000 to rent out one of the fancy suites for a season!

Before we walked through all of the suites and other seating, we got to go all the way up and walk around on the roof- The views were amazing!

After seeing all that there was to see, Jeff, his brothers, and his brother's friend challenged each other to a hundred yard dash- Jordan won with Jeff just inches behind!

Aislyn

2008-08-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

Aislyn Suzanne Hessing is our first niece on the Miles side- She is such a cutie! I am so excited our little boy will have a cousin close to his age to play with!

The Beginning...

2008-08-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I have decided to finally start a blog- It may not be anything grand to start with, but hopefully we'll start taking more pictures so that we can keep everyone updated- Our life is definetly not super exciting, and we don't have a lot to post about, but I'm sure when the little man arrives in a couple months, we will have lots of stories and pictures to share!

*Little Barnes Family*