Carolyn & Schane

2011-12-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

Photo Booth - Jeremy

2011-12-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Tried to take some pics of the kids... but the light conditions weren't ideal and the pics are grainy, so I will try again. HOWEVER, they were still pretty cute... so here they are!!!

Photo Booth - Kelsie

2011-12-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

Photo Booth - Tyler

2011-12-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

Denver Part 4 - wish I had thought to do this before J & E left

2011-12-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

I just really love this sequence of pictures. Kelsie was trying to take Grandpa's hat off the whole time =).

Denver Part 3- yarn!!!

2011-12-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

Denver Part 2 - Happy Birthday Uncle Brian!!!

2011-12-17T18:39:00.000-08:00

Denver Part 1

2011-12-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

misc fall fun

2011-12-17T18:34:00.001-08:00

bubbles!!!!

2011-12-17T18:31:00.000-08:00

halloween fun

2011-12-17T17:49:00.000-08:00

Still Kickin'

2011-09-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

So, yes... my blog pretty much died. And as the months went on, the task got bigger. And more intimidating. And I had less desire to update.

And, yes... I have huge gaping holes in this blog... because I already backed up most of my pics onto our external HD and removed them from this computer. A task for another day... maybe... making no promises here.

Tyler is now in preschool and he is loving it. He goes 3 days a week for 3 hours a day. The first two mornings of preschool he was in my room at 7am: "ta-DAAAA... is THIS a good plan for school clothes?" The second morning he told me to hurry and get out of bed so we wouldn't be late for pre-school (I only had 5 hours b/c it starts at noon).

Kelsie has resumed speech therapy and we try our best to remember to correct her. It's hard to remember b/c I can understand what she is saying most of the time, even when she isn't saying it correctly. She is the BEST big sister anybody could wish for. And probably the BEST little sister anyone could want... almost always willing to go along with what Tyler wants to play. That girl is pretty darn cute!!! Schane asked her the other night who the boss was in our house (expecting her to say him) and she firmly stated the "MOMMY is". Kelsie definitely is MY daughter... with a very stubborn streak... I think my mom must have wished her on me when she was raising me.

Jeremy has a shirt that very aptly describes him "BIG trouble comes in SMALL packages". That boy is into everything. He was up on the table before he turned one... doing a little victory dance or some-such-thing up there. He constantly has scrapes and bruises on his head b/c he just runs head-long into EVERYTHING. He has his own little language... and he asks us questions and chews us out ALL THE TIME using it. Jeremy is quite the tease... taking toys... turning and running when we tell him "no" or "stop"... smiling all the while b/c he knows what he's doing.

Schane is enjoying the hunting season. He hasn't shot anything yet, but he is intending to (and I'm crossing my fingers that he doesn't). I have yet to convince him that putting antlers on a cow and shooting IT is good sport. Schane is still serving in Young Mens... he's tortured with such dreary activities as boating, shooting, biking, camping, etc. Ya, life is pretty hard for him there. He continues to be busy with the carpet cleaning. The summer treated us really well, and we are hopeful that the winter won't be too slow... only time will tell, i guess.

I am pretty busy with my kids. My house is usually a mess (except for the 2-3 times a day when I pick it up). I HATE cooking... especially during the summer. I am getting better and better at using my camera and photoshop. I have a blog: redfinnphoto.blogspot.com and a facebook page: red finn photography. I post new pics there periodically. I am VERY nervous for my first meeting with our accountant on Tuesday... I hope I have been doing the carpet cleaning books good enough... Oh! and I got a different calling: cub committee chair. So I am trying to learn the world of cub scouts.

The following pictures are in no particular order... you've been warned!!!

More randomness... and a few more from Jeremy's b-day

2011-09-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

SOCCER!!!!

2011-09-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

2 weeks, 6 games, he LOVED it!!! Must run in the blood.

this is his "i'm smiling so take the picture already" face.

please take note of his face in this one.... kinda intense, huh?

2011-09-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

Jeremy is 1!!!!

2011-09-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

visit to Colorado in May

2011-09-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

summer fun... month of July

2011-09-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

2011-09-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

2011-09-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Family pictures

2011-09-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

help help help!!!!

2011-05-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

I entered Kelsie in a small photo contest for hair accessories. It's on facebook on Amy's Button's & Bow's page. PLEASE VOTE FOR HER!!!! Voting goes through May 16th.

You have to "like" Amy's Button's & Bow's in order to vote. Then go to the "Models 1-3 years old" album find Kelsie's picture and "like" it. Thanks for your help!!!

a few more i found

2011-04-05T12:46:00.001-07:00

Update

2011-04-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

So.... a lot has happened in the last couple months.

Schane is no longer working for Groathouse Construction (as of the first week in Feb). After a lot of research and praying and discussion, we have decided to buy into the Heaven's Best Carpet Cleaning franchise. For a long time we were deciding between Pocatello, ID and here (Cody, WY). We feel like we should stay here (Sorry Chris and Cee Cee... frowny face).

So now we are three weeks in, and doing better than we expected. Last week Schane was working very long hours... but he didn't mind as much because he was working for himself. I've had a number of people come up to me and mention that Schane is looking much happier these days. I agree. ANYWAYS this is all still very new and very very scary.

I have found a new outlet... it's helping me cope with all this uncertainty and stress in my life: photography. I've decided that I want to work towards being a pro!!!! It's amazing... we've had our camera for 6 years now, and I'm only just starting to really use it as more than a point and shoot. Last week I started shooting in full Manual mode... where I choose ALL the settings. I am SUPER proud of myself.

Of course, I cannot really work on it all that much... most of my time is spent trying to keep up with my crazy kids. Tyler is on the brink of reading (I think) he can recognize and write almost all the letters and we are working on sounding things out. He will go into preschool in September.

Kelsie is making a lot of progress with her speech. We have a speech therapist come in once a week for a half hour. Every night when we are trying to put her to bed, Kelsie stomach magically starts hurting..."weally weally BAD"!!!! We are talking to her about the girl who cried "wolf". Pretty sure she doesn't get it.

Jeremy clocked in a 20 lbs 6 oz yesterday at a doctor appointment. He just turned 7 months. He started inch-worm crawling a week before 6 months, real crawling right at 6 months, and pulling up onto furniture a week before 7 months. I caught him last week trying to balance while standing. This boy is in the biggest hurry to grow up!!!! He is also EXTREMELY attached to Mom.

We absolutely LOVE our ward here. Best ward ever... seriously!!! Schane and I are playing with the idea of running a 5K. Soccer should start (outside) in about a month... and I can't WAIT!!! We are wishing the weather would warm up permanently instead of teasing us. Oh... and I am BEYOND excited for July 4 to roll around... I have two nephews I need to meet!!!

2011-04-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

more camera practice...

2011-04-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

just practicing with my camera...

George farm

2011-04-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

we had a play date with some friends who live on/by a dairy farm. I took pictures of my friend's kids (not pictured) then headed out to the farm to look at the baby chicks. Then the kids got to collect eggs and feed newborn calves. They had a blast!!!

nose button

2011-04-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

no need to watch last quarter... wish i knew how to edit these videos.

crawling

2011-04-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Small Update

2011-02-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

Jeremy had his 4 month check-up mid-January. His bare-naked weight is 18 lbs!!! It's been an adjustment for me to have a big baby. Tyler & Kelsie both weighed a lot to begin with, but by 4 months they were in the 20% range, not the 90% range. He is wearing 9 month old clothes... the problem being that I mostly have summer rompers for that size... not very appropriate for winter.

Kelsie is officially potty-trained. It was a remarkably painless experience. She is seeing a speech therapist once a week... and we're already seeing some progress. She has a wide vocabulary, but its hard to understand because she switches most of her consonants.

Tyler can write out his name and say his ABCs and recognise a good number of his letters. He can count to eleven, four-teen, five-teen, six-teen, etc... twenty-one!!! (he always leaves out twelve and thirteen, though he's asked where two-teen and three-teen are).

That's the most important things.... UPDATED!!!!

2011-02-04T15:07:00.000-08:00

Quote of the month (January):Tyler: "So did Lehi take his smarshmellows with him?" ... we were reading about how Lehi and family went into the wilderness and dwelt in a tent... like CAMPING... and we always take marshmellows when we camp. Cracked me up.

2011-02-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

Brotherly love

2011-02-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

Good to know some things don't change!!! This is Tyler with Kelsie.

2011-02-04T13:59:00.001-08:00

2011-02-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Mister Man

2011-02-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

FUNNY... WATCH WHOLE THING

2011-02-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

random january pics

2011-02-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

I found the house full like this when I was helping clean up.

Watercolor fun

2011-02-04T12:53:00.000-08:00

Back in September our R.S. did a service auction. I offered to paint a watercolor from a picture of choice (for the lady that won my service). It took 3 tries, but I finally got one I liked (the last one).

2011-02-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

"What Happens at Grandma's House Stays At Grandma's House"

2011-02-04T12:49:00.000-08:00

2011-02-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

In Front of the Tree

2011-02-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

So... these are my Christmas pictures. I've decided that I don't enjoy Christmas as much when I'm trying to capture everything on film. So I took these pics and a small video and called it good. I didn't get one with all three kids that I really liked, but oh well. Our family picture was pretty good.

2011-02-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas... long overdue

2011-02-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

This year in the Christmas Eve impromptu pagent, Tyler got to be Joseph and Kelsie got to be an angel (she looked a little lost the whole time). We really enjoy Christmas Eve with Judy's family.

2010-12-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

This is what i spent a good part of Nov doing: One for me, plus 6 others (each sibling plus mother-in-law), PLUS 20 more red parts sewn for our "Super Saturday". Please be impressed... i designed it myself after looking at different ones online =)

I've decided that where others love to bake... i must love to make =). these are the ornaments we've made in the last two weeks (plus works-in-progress not pictured). Schane tells me i have to stop... as our 4 ft tree is pretty loaded down. just too much fun!!!!

Judy gave us a gingerbread kit... house already assembled... all we had to do was ice and candy. i decided that even so... i'm not too keen on gingerbread houses... or maybe i just need to find some different icing that actually sticks to the gingerbread. suggestions are welcome =)

2010-12-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

Santa at the Library

2010-12-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

Our library has a "sleepy-time story time" once a month in the evenings. This month it was rumored Santa was planning a stop =). The place was packed, but we had fun!!! Santa even gave the kids a book!!!!

Poor Santa... I told him Jeremy was too young to cry about Santa... but he started screaming the moment I gave him to Santa. What a good sport!!!

Not all fun and games....

2010-12-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

I was trying to catch Jeremy's pouty lip...

I guess Tyler was having a hard time of it too...

2010-12-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

a little laugh

2010-12-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

from november

2010-12-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

2010-12-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

2010-12-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

2010-12-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

2010-12-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

can't you just picture Jeremy saying "save me Mom!!!!"?

Gotta love Tyler's forced smile on this one!!!

Tyler and Kelsie were "pretending it was Christmas" and decorating their chair!!!
The Cody Library does a great story time... we try to go every week... but we are always 5-10 minutes late =)... kinda a joke with me and the librarians.

2010-12-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Lotso pics of my little man

2010-12-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

At his two month check (a month ago) Jeremy was just over 14 1/2 lbs... 90% for height and weight... 50% for head circumference. I know there are bigger babies... but he just seems like a chunk to me!!!

2010-12-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

Amanda and Judy and I went out for lunch one afternoon... in Powell. Of course Jeremy had a blow-out.... and OF COURSE I forgot to pack a spare outfit. Oh well... the car was heated =).

2010-12-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Tyler is 4!!!!

2010-12-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

Tyler turned 4 the beginning of November, and we celebrated at Grandma Wiles' house the next afternoon. He was so cute!!!! after opening each present he exclaimed "I always wanted this!!!" I can hardly believe 4 years have gone by!!!! Time really does fly.

Jeremy's blessing - Oct 31 2010

2010-12-08T13:16:00.001-08:00

Dad took the group picture, and I wanted one of him and Jeremy, since he wasn't in the first one. It was semi-cold which is why we only have the two pics!!!! Schane gave a wonderful blessing. We did cookies and ice-cream in Burlington that night for those who couldn't make it to Cody. We were very grateful for all who shared the moment with us.

Barker visit in Oct (yes, more pics!!!)

2010-12-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

2010-12-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

Not my part

2010-11-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

It was the primary program in our ward today, and Tyler has been practicing his part all week long: "I will obey Heavenly Father by doing the right things." He's been interchanging Heavenly Father with Jesus and sometimes God, bu I figured it was ok.
Anyhow, he said his part so good that they had him come back up to help with another part. He got about halfway through the other part (repeating after his teacher) when he realized what was happening. He stopped and turned to his teacher and said "But that's not my part!!!" Congregation laughed. His teacher confirmed that it indeed was NOT his part and read the rest.

Tyler came up to Schane right after and said "But it really WASN'T my part and everybody LAUGHED at me!!!" Anyways, he got a lot of people telling him what a good job he did in the primary program, and he made sure to let everyone know AGAIN that "really that wasn't my part". Pretty sure the whole ward is clear on that now.

Pretty cute!!!

Three cute kiddos

2010-11-12T09:04:00.001-08:00

Tyler and Kelsie's were easy to choose because my camera died after 3 minutes, and I was lucky to get a decent one of each of them. Jeremy's was harder to choose, but I think this is my favorite (though I might like the b/w version better...).

tiny photo shoot with nice camera

2010-11-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

from camera 1

2010-11-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

2010-11-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

We got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Chipman in their new place. Grandma was a good sport about holding a screaming 6 week old while I took a picture!!!!

Playing with Aunt Ju-la at Chuck-E-Cheese

2010-11-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

misc pics

2010-11-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

I don't remember why he was nearly-naked, but YES that IS an imprint of a binki on his back. hehehe.

Kelsie is really the sweetest sister any baby brother could want. She just loves her "jemmy".

This is what I would call a "blackmail picture". Classic!!!

painting pumpkins

2010-11-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

what a great idea my friend had!!! We had a blast!!!

Halloween in Cody

2010-11-10T15:07:00.001-08:00

Cody shuts down main street for 2 hours (this year it was the Friday before Halloween. talk about organized (or not-so-organized) chaos!!! It was fun, though, and got trick-or-treating out of the way =).

family pictures

2010-11-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

We took some family pictures while we had spare bodies to work the camera skills and give us some direction. Unfortunately, we had to wake all three kids up from naps to do the pictures. I think we got some good pics ... I think I like the ones in the grass the best =). Thank you Barker men!!!!

At the very end, we just did silly pictures... I love them!!!!

buffalo bill dam

2010-11-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

these pics are from dad's camera. i have yet to load my camera onto the computer =). like always, I wish I had been more diligent taking pics, but I was too busy enjoying my fam!!!

2010-10-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

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2010-10-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

caught a smile - at the very end

video from 2 weeks ago

2010-10-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

2010-09-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

Schane says I'm cruel to record Jeremy like this, but I just thought his little foot was too cute!!!

2010-09-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

Tyler told me he wanted me to listen to a new song of his. This is the first time I've had the presence of mind to grab my camera!!!!

2010-09-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Kelsie are always so concerned when Jeremy cries. This was the second go-around of recording the song - the first time didn't work. Thus, Jeremy is crying a bit more in this one... sorry.

pics from this week

2010-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

pics from 1 week ago

2010-09-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

Kelsie chose out her clothes this day and got herself dressed. She is wearing leggings (inside out) with jean shorts on top. You cannot really tell, but her jacket is on upside-down.

Pics from 2 weeks ago

2010-09-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

One week old

2010-09-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is the "photo shoot" we did when Jeremy was 1 week old. He is a very content little guy. We had a doctor appointment at 6 days and he weighed in at 8 lbs 12 oz, so obviously he's a hearty eater. Seems like his days and nights are a little mixed, but last night he slept for a full 2 hours 3 times (eating every 3 hours), so maybe we're fixing that.

Sibling pictures

2010-09-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

Big Brother and Big Sister

2010-09-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Kelsie are such good helpers!!! They love baby Jeremy... sometimes too much. They pretty much run to get me as soon as he makes the slightest noise-- very cute to see.

Grandma Barker

2010-09-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Mom just left this morning. It was so nice having her stay... she got me back on my feet. It's amazing what a week can do for you.

Tyler & Kelsie

2010-09-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Baby's here!!!

2010-09-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

We named him Jeremy James. He was born 1:28 pm on Sept 1. He weighed 8 lbs 10.7 oz and was 22 inches long.

We are home now and adjusting to life with a newborn!!!!

Meeting Uncle Tallon and Aunt Kristen

2010-09-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Tallon and Kristen got Jeremy the cutest little sleepers!!! I'll have to get some pictures of him in them and post them later.

Going home!!!!

2010-09-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Also, the hospital took some pics. You can see them if you copy & paste the following link:

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=739b7c9d-d8d9-4bc1-bbfb-c58ea5b4a39c&babyid=45bc0b68-1f16-47b0-a38a-8d1b3b84e24d

Meeting the Siblings

2010-09-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Kelsie were soooo cute when they met Baby Jeremy for the first time. Kelsie was pretty fixated on the binki and kept asking to switch which one was in his mouth. They both were giving him kisses.

They have been at Grandma Wiles' house all week, and she brought them up to see him Friday morning. She took them to the store first to pick out an outfit for Baby Jeremy. She said they were very opinionated and knew EXACTLY what he wanted to get. Kelsie got him a whinnie-the-pooh sleeper and Tyler got him a soft ("fuzzy") brown sleeper (perhaps a little warm for right now).

Jeremy was so thoughtful, and got Tyler and Kelsie more blocks to play with.

Thank goodness they're so cute!!!!

2010-09-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Jeremy is our first hand sucker. He actually has a suck blister on one of his hands from sucking it so much in utero. He is a really good eater, but seems to have his days and nights mixed up right now. That is item number one on our "must fix" list.

The Labor & Delivery Story (feel free to skip)

2010-09-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

So when I went in for my doctor apt on Tuesday (the day before I was due), she checked and I was only dilated to a one. However, both the ultrasounds in the last month showed that my fluid was kinda low and that the baby might be behind on growth (predicted to weigh 6 something pounds). Dr. Cruz was just worried that if he wasn't growing, the baby might be better off out of me. I had no complaints... I was ready to be done being pregnant! So we went into the hospital Tues night to get me ready for induction (start me on Pitocin) on Wed morning. This is the EXACT same thing that we had to do with Tyler (only he was a week overdue).

They gave me a medicine (cervidal or something like that) overnight for 12 hours. With Tyler, just that started consistent contractions which dilated me from .5 to a 3. No such luck this time. In 12 hours I didn't dilate at all.

They started me on PIT at about 8:30. After checking me (I was dilated to a whopping 2), they increased the PIT by a little at about 10. Schane and I kept playing our card game. At about 11 I mentioned to the nurse that if the contractions started coming much closer together, I wouldn't mind my epidural. The epidural guy came about 45 minutes later, which was good, because the contractions were getting painful.

What none of us counted on was the epidural NOT WORKING. But they wanted to wait a little because sometimes it takes longer to kick in. I kept telling them it wasn't kicking in AT ALL. Finally, I sent Schane to see why the epidural guy wasn't trying again (like he said he would).

While everyone was out of the room (about 1 pm), I felt a KLUNK (and heard it on the monitor). I figure baby must have twisted his shoulders or something, because then the contractions were HARD. The second cathiter got put in, but it takes like 10-15 minutes for an epidural to kick in.

That whole time I was feeling like I should probably push, but was too scared to try it until my meds kicked in. I told the nurse to get ready because things would happen pretty quick. She checked and they called Dr. Cruz in a hurry. Everything was all ready and just waiting on the epidural to take effect... which it did. I pushed through 3 or 4 contractions (10 minutes), and out came the BIG baby. Born at 1:28 pm, weighing 8 pounds 10.7 ounces and measuring 22 inches long.

Overall, my worst experience yet... but that just goes hand in hand with the whole pregnancy. I'm much slower recovering this time... must be getting old or something =). I stayed in the hospital as long as I could, and they took really good care of me. This is the first time I needed something stronger that Tylenol or IBProfin to handle the pain.

*****PROPS to all those women who do it natural... I don't know how you manage. Next time I won't even feel bad ordering my meds at a 2.*******

Jeremy James

2010-09-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

Born September 1, 2010 @ 1:28 pm
8 lbs 10.8 oz, 22" long

More pics will come, as will the story ... but maybe not for a few days. Tyler and Kelsie have yet to meet him, but hopefully soon. Gonna lie down and take another nap...