Christmas and Stuff

So, I'm gonna breeze through the bad things that have happened in the last couple weeks and then we'll move on to the fun stuff. My poor husband was hit by a semi while driving up to Idaho to buy my Christmas present (which I now know is a sweet elliptical machine).

As you can probably tell by the pictures, the truck was totalled. Thus, we move on and will be finding a new truck in the next couple weeks.

On to the awesomeness. ADAM GRADUATED!! So, my mom has all the pictures and I will post them soon. I am so proud of him I can't even tell you. He is still going to finish his second bachelors degree which will only require one class in the Spring and one in the Fall; however, he is also going to start a Masters degree that is all online through Arizona State University for a Masters of Engineering with an emphasis in Embedded Systems. More on that to come in the future, but he figured since his work will pay for some of it, why not continue? So, our life is not quite off the school track yet, but we know it is for the best.

Our Christmas was very different this year. We were unable to go to the Harward party because I was not feeling well and Camryn was definately not feeling well. I really wish we would all get better already. Then we went to Adam's parents' house on Christmas Eve not Christmas and to top it all off it was just Adam and me and my mom for Christmas Eve night. It was different, but good I think. Our kids go 4-wheelers (powerwheels, of course) from Santa and they are just loving them. I got my elliptical machine which I am totally stoked about and also a new digital camera. Adam got a surround sound system and new scriptures. So, overall it was a fabulous Christmas.

So to end this post, I must show you all my beautiful baby. She sings and coos literally all day long. It is honestly the cutest thing. So, here's my baby Cams.

Where has the time gone?

So, this is the thing...having 3 kids makes time go ridiculously fast!!! I look at my blog and cannot believe it has been so long since I've updated. For goodness sakes Camryn is 3 1/2 months old! So, here we go.

Adam: Adam has been working incredibly hard to finish up school. This semester he had 21 credit hours and was working 20 hours a week at L-3. His senior project left him working until the wee hours of the morning (2-3am) in an effort to finish and hopefully graduate. Since that was a success (video to come and maybe an explaination by Adam since all I can say is that it is a car that drives on its own to specific coordinates given to the computer), Adam now just has one more test until he completes his first of two degrees. Luckily he only has 2 classes to finish up the second, so we are really calling this the end of school! I think I'm more relieved he is done than when I finished. Adam was also offered a full time position as a Systems Engineer at L-3; I honestly cannot believe what a blessing this is. He starts full time next week and I'm looking forward to having what is hopefully to be a "normal" future.

Lindsay: Ha, why I even add this paragraph is beyond me. I'm really doing nothing but taking care of Baby, running Reese to school, dance, birthday parties, etc, taking Noah to preschool and trying to not let my house be a complete disaster somewhere in the middle of that. I'll tell you what, two kids was a piece of cake (for me at least), but Camryn has thrown me for quite a loop. It's not so much difficult, as busy.

Reese: Miss Reese is getting ready to start gymnastics. She has been begging me to sign her up for quite awhile and I just have not had the time (or brain to remember) to do it. She still is taking dance and enjoys it most of the time :) She's making lots of friends at school and is just as smart as always! I'm so impressed with her reading, writing, and math skills not to mention her fondness for arts and crafts. She's just my little girl and I can't believe how much she is growing.

Noah: Oh Noah, how I love this little guy. He can be a little terror sometimes (the terrible threes are no joke), but he is really one of the loviest, funniest little boys in the world. He always has to hug and kiss me goodbye, he loves to tell me how much he loves me, and I could sit and listen to him chatter on all day long. He, of course, is still very into boy things such as Spiderman, Star Wars, sports, and the Wii. The other day he came up to me and said, "Mom, you can call me Star Wars," and would not reply to any other name the rest of the night. The next day he wanted to be known as "Spiderman" and the next day for some reason he made me call him "Stripey." I have no idea what goes on in the boy's head, but I love it.

Camryn: Cammers (as I affectionately call her) is growing a lot. She is still only 10lbs, but she is a tall little girl. I'm having trouble fitting her into the clothes that Reese wore as a baby because even though Camryn is as skinny as little Reese was, Camryn is much taller. So I've had to buy clothes that I was hoping I didn't have to, but you can imagine how difficult this is for me ;) The poor girl is still pretty hairless, but dark brown hair with a slight red tinge is starting to grow in. She has been reaching for toys for the last couple weeks and she always wants to be sitting.

Overall, I think we are doing pretty well. I'm very excited for Christmas this year, even though Adam won't decorate till after graduation. 2 days to go and then we will be feeling the Christmas spirit in our home. We hope that you are all having a wonderful season and that you are happy and healthy.

Love,
The Barnetts

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4 Weeks!

I can't believe Camryn is going to be 4 weeks tomorrow!

School Beginnings

Well, finally all three students in our house, Adam, Reese, and Noah, have begun their school year. I can't say which of the three was hardest for me. Adam started 21 credits of school 4 days after I had Camryn, plus he's working 20 hrs a week so that was pretty difficult. I think I'm finally getting used to him being gone so much. The saddest part is that he doesn't get home until 9:30 or later on Monday and Wednesday so the kids don't see him for more then an hour on those days, because they are in bed before he gets home. However, I keep telling myself that this is his last semester and I will survive. Hopefully he will too :)

Reese started Kindergarten this year and I can't believe how big she is. When they did the state assessment she was able to read all the letters and tell Mrs. Moore their sounds as well as count to 100. She's such a little smartie. She's already meeting new friends and she is so excited to go everyday. The hardest part is that it is morning Kindergarten and Reese and I are not morning people. Hopefully it will get easier as the year goes on, but we've been on time everyday so far.

Noah started preschool today. I was pretty nervous about him going because in my eyes he's still my little baby. He has been so excited to go. He picked out his "Superboy" backpack (which is what he has labeled every super hero, in this particular case it is actually Spiderman); however, the backpack is honestly as big as him. He looks so adorable though. He was so happy when I went to pick him up from class. He got to be the "special helper" today and he was so proud. The house was so quiet while he was gone, it was very strange and poor Reese was bored without him, but I'm sure things will start to even out as Camryn becomes more active.

Ok, so I can't go without updating on my little Camryn. At her 2 week checkup she was 6 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long which is quiet a change in length from when she was born. The doctor thinks she might has been stretching a little and it was measured a little long. She is happy and healthy and the doctor said she is as alert as a 2 month old. Unfortunately now she and I have a cold. The poor girl is sniffing and having a hard time sleeping. I'm hoping it will pass by quickly.

No Shortage of Love

Reese literally sits and stares at Camryn until she wakes up. Noah always needs to know where the baby is and as soon as she starts fussing, he makes sure to tell me that she's hungry.

Welcome to the World Baby Girl!

Camryn is now 3 days old and I thought before things got too crazy I would blog about her birth. I went into the hospital at 7 am to be induced because my blood pressure had been elevated for the past two weeks and Dr. Bierer didn't want me to go past 39 weeks. Since I was Group B Strep positive (which I wasn't for Reese and Noah, so I thought it was weird) I needed to have antibiotics for 4 hours before she could be born. So, they started my pitocin at 8:30 and I started having contractions right away. The doctor said he would be back at about 11:30 to break my water; however, he didn't make it back until 1:15. Because of my other two labors going very quickly after my water broke, I knew I needed to get my epidural right away. I wasn't in tremendous pain, but I knew what was coming, so at 1:30 I had my epidural. I quickly realized that I like to be in a lot more pain from my contractions before I have an epidural (I like something to distract me), because Ouch!, the epidural hurt this time! I was soon relaxed and Adam thought it would be a good time to get some lunch. At 1:45 the nurse checked me and I was a 4...at 2:15 she came back in and said I was a 6+....then she asked me, "Now when you say you go fast after your water breaks, what do you mean?" I said, "Well, my daughter was born 2 hours after and my son an hour and a half." She said, "Did you discuss this with Dr. Bierer?" (because he had left the hospital and gone back to his office) and I said, "Well, I tried to." The truth is, I tried to tell him that morning and he didn't seem too interested; he wrote it off saying something about how 3rd babies are tricky and sometimes they take their time and sometimes they are fast. Well, in any case, the nurse decided to page my doctor and tell him how fast I was progressing. Then she said, "We might want to get dad back up here." 20 mins later I
was fully dilated and she actually used the the phrase, "Umm, girl, you better just keep those legs closed!!" She quickly paged my doctor and started calling other nurses and getting things ready. Adam made it back up to the room and the nurse said to him, "Yeah, this is a girl who should not be far away from the hospital when her water breaks, because she would be having the baby in the car!" After waiting 25 mins for the doctor to get there, because that's so easy when your fully dilated and feeling pressure, Dr. Bierer finally made it! I pushed once and then went to push a second time when he said to stop. She was born at 3:12 pm after what we call one and a half pushes. I just burst into tears; she was so beautiful! She weighed 6 lbs 2 oz (for the record I guessed that!) and was 17.5 inches. I call her my little peanut; she is so tiny.

Shortly after she was born we were told that she was SGA or small for gestational age. So, we needed to have her blood sugar tested every six hours for the next day to make sure that she was getting enough nutrients. I also needed to make sure that she ate every 2-3 hours at the most. Her levels were great every time and we were cleared to go home on Saturday morning. We did have to take her to get bilirubin levels tested again this morning, because she was in the "moderate high" level for jaundice. We are hoping to hear that everything is fine tomorrow at her appointment with the pediatrician.

All-in-all, she is a wonderful baby. She does like to eat every 2-3 hours throughout the night, but she has been eating and going straight back to sleep (knock on wood). Reese and Noah just love her! They want to kiss her and hold her and just look at her all the time. We feel so grateful that everything went so smoothly and that we have our healthy, happy baby Camryn home with us. We are looking forward to the adventures of being a family of 5 that are sure to come!

Cherry Hill, Lagoon, and Baby!

Ok, I haven't updated in awhile and seeing as I have quite a bit to do before I'm ready for this baby to come tomorrow, I'm gonna make it short and sweet!!

My mom, Kathy and Ryan, and the kids and me went to Cherry Hill a few weeks ago. It was so much fun! It's nice because Reese is getting to be more independent in the water, so she could swim in the big pool and the lazy river without me having to hold her the whole time. They had so much fun and didn't want to leave. I was just happy to be in the water and have a break from the heat!

On the 24th of July, my mom and our family went to Lagoon. I felt kind of bad for Adam because since there were no other adults besides my mom and me, he didn't get to go on any of the big rides; however, Noah surprised us all by going on all the bigger-little kid rides. They have this mini-rocket ride that Noah just loved. I think they went on it 10 times. It raises you up and drops you a few times. He had a blast and Adam was just glad to get to go on some rides. Reese branched out ever so slightly and tried "Puff" once. She cried, but we were so proud of her for trying it.






Well, tomorrow is the big day!! I'm being induced in the morning and hoping to have Camryn in my arms by early afternoon. Here's hoping for a 6 hour labor like with Reese and Noah. I'm not sure I'm still quite ready to be a mommy of 3, but I know that Camryn is meant to be a part of our family and we are so looking forward to meeting her!

Swimming Lessons

We finished swimming lessons and the kids did so well! I was very nervous for Noah to start his first year of swimming lessons on his own. I wondered if he was old enough to listen to a swim instructor and stay safe. He did so great; he had so much fun every day and his teacher was so cute and good with the kids. Noah kept saying, "my teacher wants to help me!"

Miss Reese is a natural swimmer, she must take after her mommy who was on the swim team at age 5 :) She really got the hang of it this year and can do freestyle, breaststroke, and is getting better at the backstroke. She was so sad when swimming lessons ended. I told her that maybe we would take lessons again this fall, in a couple months, and she said she didn't want to even wait a couple months. It's like music to my ears because I, for one, LOVE swimming! I'm just so proud of both of them.

I had a Dr's appointment a week and a half ago. Camryn looks so great! She is now about 4 lbs 7 oz and her head is finally down, phew. I have another appointment this Friday and then I start going every week! Ahhh!! I have been hoping for this time to go by faster, but now that it's here I'm not quite sure I'm ready. I think the nervousness of labor has set in.

On a final note, Harry Potter was so good! I'm so glad that we got to see it and I already can't wait for the next movie!

4th of July and Such

Alot has happened in the last week and in an effort to keep up our blog...here is the week's wrap up:


It has become a tradition to run the Kaysville 5k every year on the 4th of July. I ran in 2005, Adam and I ran in 2007 & 2008 (we missed 2006 cuz we were in Texas), and since it probably wouldn't have been the best idea for me to run this year, Adam ran it without me. My brother Markham also ran in 2005, 2008, and this year. So, we woke up the kids at 6:30 AM and off we went to watch Daddy and Uncle Markham race. Adam finished with a personal best time of 33 mins and 27 seconds. We were so proud of him!




After the race, we went to the Kaysville Parade. We planned on boycotting it this year since it has been so dangerous in the past with the kids in the street and all the people standing in front of you so you can't even see...but since Markham's house is right near the route and provides a perfect parking opportunity, we decided to just try sitting in another location. We sat right at the beginning of the parade, in front of the DATC. It was so nice because there weren't mobs of kids and we were able to sit on the grass and enjoy the parade. My kids didn't get as much candy, but they were still loving the parade. We did however get tossed a good handful of candy from Dan Pope! A brush with celebrity. After the parade we headed to our house for a BBQ and then over to my mom's for fireworks. We did some of our own and then sat in the backyard to watch Davis'. Since we had been awake since 6:30, Noah was pretty tuckered out and he fell alseep. Overall, it was a great holiday!!


It was so great because since most of the people don't work at L-3 on Fridays (they work 4, 10 hr shifts), they actually got Monday off instead of Friday. So, Adam was able to help me take the kids to swimming lessons on monday; more to come on that after lessons are over this week. Adam had a great week at work and is already exceling, as usual. He is picking up things really fast and is often assigned to teach the other intern from the U. He told me today how much happier he is working; not that he doesn't miss us, but you know what he means :)


Unfortunately, Reese has really missed her Daddy. She asked me on the way to swimming lessons this week when Daddy would be done working...sadly I had to answer never, but that he would have the weekend off starting Friday. So, on Friday, Adam took the opportunity to have a Daddy/Child day with the kids. Reese made a list the day before of things she wanted to do with Adam. They included: buying an outfit for her webkinz, going out to lunch, making a bird feeder, and riding bikes. Well, they didn't get to ride bikes since Noah's bike had a flat, but they sure had fun with the other things on the list.




One of the main reasons Adam got the time to spend with the kids was because my mom, Kathy, Angie, and I went out to a "baby shower" lunch. I love to go out with my mom and sisters and we had so much fun. My mom made a little paper with questions about the baby like guesses of her hair and eye color, weight, and the day and time she'll be born. For the record, my guess is brown hair, blue eyes, 6lbs 2oz, August 14, 6:00 PM. I'm sure I'll be completely wrong, but we shall see. I got some of the cutest clothes and the softest blanket!! It was so fun; I love you guys.

I'm sorry, I realize I'm quite long winded, but as you know I can pretty much talk for hours! And I'd like to say that next week's post will be shorter, but we've got the end of swimming lessons, sibling class, a Dr's appointment, and Harry Potter this week! So exciting!

Time Flies!

Ok, so I cannot believe that it has been 3 weeks since I did that last blog posting. Time is literally flying by. Which of course makes me quite nervous since August and my due date are rapidly approaching. Yesterday I went to the doctor's and our baby looks wonderful. She's measuring smaller than an average baby, but normal for her growth pattern. Any surprises? Nope! I do tend to have small children. Lets just say that Noah is in the 25 percentile of height and weight... anyway, she's 2 lbs 12 oz right now, so she's on track to be somewhere between 6 1/2 and 7 lbs when she's born. Reese was 6 lbs 9 oz and Noah was 7 lbs 5 oz, so that sounds about right to me. Sadly, he says she has no hair...which again, Reese was born pretty much bald, so no surprises. We did get to see her chubby little cheek, which Reese and Noah thought was so fun. They got to come to the doctor with me since Adam was at work (story to follow). They were so good and I was so proud of my little ones.

So, I have been on a whirlwind cleaning/organizing spree. I go so fed up with the pockets of junk everywhere! And it seemed like no matter what I did, Reese's room always looked messy. So, I've been taking it a room at a time. So far all we have left is the hallway closets, the basement, and the dreaded second half of the storage room. Reese has been soooo wonderful helping me since I'm a whale and it's hard for me to do a ton. She is so willing to put things away, throw things away, or organize things. And I must say, her room has been spotless everyday since we organized it. Yay!

Noah has finally learned to ride a bike with training wheels. Now in his defense, he's such a little shorty that until about a month or so ago he couldn't even reach the pedals. But, yesterday he up and started riding and did not want to get off that bike for anything. Also, to my delight, he does not allow me to help him go to the potty anymore. I hear, "I do it myself!!!" I was wondering when that stage would hit. But I'll let him do whatever he wants as long as I don't have to change diapers!

Well, now to the most exciting news. Adam got the Co-op Systems Engineer job. Hurray! We just cannot believe that we've been blessed so much. We are truly thanking our Heavenly Father daily for this answer to our prayers. So, he's just in his first week, but he is enjoying the atmosphere, the people, and the experience. He doesn't really know all that the job entails yet, because he is still in the orientation stages and it just happens that his manager is out-of-town, but he is excited. He already has found a guy that he likes to jest with about the difference between Weber's and the U's engineering programs. Well, Adam got a cubicle three times bigger than him so can we say score one for Weber? :) Since it is just a Co-op position, we aren't sure what will happen after he graduates in December, but of course we hope that they will keep hire him full time. For now we are just so excited that he has this great opportunity.

We hope you all are having a great summer and Happy 4th of July!!!

Our Little Dancer

Reese had her dance recital last night. She did so wonderful. I am so impressed with how much she has learned this year and how much she loves to dance. She continues to impress us every day. Adam and I really can't spell out anything any more because she knows how to spell and read sooo much. She loves to do arts and crafts and is such a great drawer. I love all the cards and pictures she draws me and I tear up every time. She is growing up so fast. We love our Dolly so much and we are so proud of her!

Also a couple more updates. The baby is growing perfectly. As of June 12, she is 2.5 pounds. She looks right on track. I'm in my third trimester and it's hard not to assume that I will be induced two weeks early, or in 9 weeks, like my other two pregnancies; however, this pregnancy has been to the extreme so who knows! I had to take a 3 hour glucose test because I failed the screening test. Talk about a pain! You have to drink this sugar orange drink which has MORE sugar than the first glucose test, but first you need to have your blood drawn. Oh yeah, and then you get to come back every hour, for three hours, and get your blood drawn. My poor arms were bruised and by the end I was shaky and weak due to not eating for so long plus the crazy jolt and drop in sugar. Well, I survived and passed! Thank goodness.

Adam is now working at the DATC as an Adjunct Assistant Electronics Professor. Basically he is the teacher there in the evening to help the students. He will have to teach lessons every once and a while, but for the most part, he is just there to answer questions. He also just had an interview for a Co-op Electronics Engineering position at L-3. Our fingers are crossed, but it's a tough position and one that they said has always been filled by University of Utah graduates. In any case we are very grateful for the job at the DATC and Adam has enjoyed his first week there.

Noah is potty trained! A-woohoo! He caught on really, really quickly! In his first week he had 5 zero accidents days in a row. Then he only had one bad day and was back on track and dry ever since. Potty training Reese was such a struggle for me, probably because she was younger, I was pregnant with Noah, and Adam was working and going to school so I was doing it all on my own. I have been so grateful that Adam has been home and is working in the evening right now so that he can help me! I think it really sped things along. Yay for no diapers...for the next 9-11 weeks at least :)

Well, I think I have gone on long enough! Love you all and hope all is well. Oh and I am going to take a picture of my garden and post it soon. I got a tomato on one of my plants! Yay!

Oh! One more thing, I promise! Happy Temple Anniversary Babe! Six years ago today, Adam and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Bountiful Temple. I love you hun and I'm so glad that we are an eternal family.

The Big Ultrasound

Well, we've found three things out about our baby Camryn: (1) she's very healthy, (2) she's very cute, and (3) she's very stubborn. We had our ultrasound yesterday and it was so much fun to see her. Unfortunately we didn't get the best view of her face because she insisted on having both of her hands in her face at all times. In fact, you can see in the pictures below that she actually has her arms crossed right in front of her face. Is this some sort of sign about her personality? I guess we will find out in 3 months!

Lots of Updates!

I cannot believe how much has happened in the last few weeks. First was Noah's 3rd birthday! We had his party at Kangaroo Zoo which, for those who don't know, is a place full of those inflatable toy things. It was so much fun. Noah is in love with Wall-E, so I decided to make him a Wall-E cake. I think it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. I can't believe how big Noah is getting, he is so adorable and he knows how to tug at my heart strings.

Next was graduation! I still don't think I believe it's over yet. The day came and went so quickly. One of the best parts was that my wonderful sister Shelice flew in from Georgia and surprised me! I was so shocked and so happy! I wish that she could have stayed longer, but it was so wonderful to have her here. I'm so proud of myself for finishing school; it was so worth it! Now on to my preparations for the GMAT and graduate school. Well, ok, I think I'll take about a year and a half off first :)

After graduation we decided to take our yearly trip to St. George. Adam and I love St. George and frequently talk about moving back there if the chance arose. I think it was our most eventful trip down there. We swam, went bowling, saw Earth (excellent movie, highly recommend it), saw the dinosaur tracks, went to the family fun center, walked the temple grounds, and took a daytrip to Las Vegas! I think we were exhausted from our vacation. It was just a fun trip together and it is so fun to just enjoy time with my husband and kids. I think my favorite part is watching Adam with Reese. She loves learning new things and Adam of course loves science, so he would just sit and teach her and tell her everything about everything at the Shark Reef and the dinosaur tracks. She just soaks everything in and is really just the smartest little girl in the world.

Ok, I promise this is the last thing. Mother's Day. My husband is the best. He made the yummiest french toast for me for breakfast, then he barbequed the best steaks at my mom's house for lunch. He then cleaned my mom's entire kitchen and did the dishes! I know! I honestly feel so lucky to have him and I can't believe he has stuck around through all my grumpiness, which includes when I'm not prego.

Well, I think I've written enough to last a little while at least. I hope everyone is doing well and I'll write again after our 3D ultrasound on Wednesday and after we finally plant our garden! This is shaping up to be a pretty busy summer!

The New Swingset

We've been promising Reese we would get her a swing set forever. The first summer we lived in this house, we spent all our attention (and money) on the inside of the house. Last year, we completely remodeled the backyard and it was done by mid-July. By then we just never got around to finding the swing set we really wanted. Adam knew that he wanted one that would last our kids for a long time, and he knew that he wanted it have a playhouse. Well, Backyard Adventures was having their April sale to get rid of all their 2008 models (they were like 50% off) so we headed there. The playset is amazing. It's not quite done yet, they were back-ordered on the parts for the monkey bars and the upper loft that goes on top of it, but the kids are grateful to have what is up so far. We are so lucky to have kids that play so well together. In the last 3 days they really have spent all day together outside, and the best part is I can just open the sliding glass door to see and hear them. The video below is minutes after the assembly people left, the kids could not wait another second.

Spring Break

Well, Adam and I have had a very fun Spring Break. First I'll talk about our anniversary on Wednesday, then I'll go back to our fun family day on Tuesday. So, Adam and I have been married for 7 years now! I know, it's amazing how fast time goes. We decided to spend the night away from the kids, so Grandma and Papa volunteered to watch them. We went out to dinner at Chef's Table (where Adam had roses on the table for me). It was so yummy and romantic. Then we spent the night at the Anniversary Inn. All in all it was a great day and it was so nice to spend the time alone together. And thank goodness my morning/all day sickness has FINALLY subsided and I feel so much better! Here's to another 7 years with my wonderful hubby!

Since it was Spring Break for us we decided to do some fun activities with the kids, along with spring cleaning. On Tuesday we decided to ride the frontrunner train into Salt Lake and go to the Gateway. We went out to lunch at Applebee's and then went to the Planetarium. Now, you must understand that Adam is a definate science geek, so this was like a dream for him. The cutest thing is that Reese just pours over everything that Adam tells her. She has such a thirst for knowledge and has so many questions about everything. She had such a great time with her daddy learning about the universe and all sorts of fun science things. While we were there we decided to go to the 3D Under Sea movie. Reese was a little nervous at first, but she warmed up to the glasses and had a fun time. Noah loved the glasses until one of the fish snapped and ate another one and scared him, then he wouldn't put them on after that. It was such a fun day with the kids and they loved riding on the train. It was a great adventure, although one I'm glad I don't have to do every day.