Sweet Relief!

Background info: Seth is most definitely a cuddly baby! He loves to be held tight and all day long! This can be very frustrating at times. It seems many days I watch the house get more chaotic and cluttered as I cradle my sweet baby in my arms. Yes, I know I can do much with one arm, and believe me I do, but he insists most of the time that I hold him tight with both arms. I have been at my wits end about all this! And now that we are moving to a new apartment in Logan, I have been worried about getting us packed and all cleaned up. To make things worse, Seth won't sleep in his bed, he wants to be held! We have to fool him into believing he's being held by rolling blankets up tight in his bassinet and wedge him in the middle of them (being extra cautious that the blankets are below his shoulders...I'm scared to death of...well anything that could happen)

Well, all of that is over now! Thanks to some great advice, I went out and bought a mobile (we never needed to use any antics to get Grace to sleep on her own, she's always been a great sleeper. At six weeks she was sleeping through the night! So this is very new to us) Well the mobile works!! Last night I was able to feed Seth, put him in his crib, (first night trying it in his crib and bedroom) turn the mobile on, and leave. Five minutes later I checked on him and he was actually asleep!! Sweet Relief was ours!

This morning I put him down for a morning nap in the same way and it actually worked twice in a row! What a happy day for us!

Simply Irresistible!

I couldn't resist sharing these pics of Seth in his blessing outfit and some more from his special day. Some I had to take later because he just wasn't a happy boy when we tried to take them on Sunday. Others are pictures that Tarl (Deyk's brother) took.



They are both just so handsome!
The Barrett family's most current family picture.

Seth's Big Day

Seth was blessed yesterday, Sept 12th. It was a beautiful day! The blessing was wonderful and we were so happy to have the love and support of our family and friends.Kind of a family picture...uh, these are from my camera, but Deryk's brother Tarl took some very nice family pics and we'll get those soon. (Thanks Tarl, you are the best!)
Proud Parents! Seth is such a sweet baby. We love and adore his spirit. What a blessing it has been to have him in our home. He hasn't had the easiest first two months of life, he's been sick(he got a yucky virus), has had to have a few tests and still has a few more to be done, but we know he'll overcome whatever obstacles he may face, and we'll be here to help him through it.
3 Generations!
What a sweet Daddy, so loved by his babies!
My parents. So precious!

My favorite Pics!

So I like to try my hand at photography once in a while, and my favorite subjects are my babies. I took Grace's pictures when she turned one and they turned out okay, so I gave it another try this year. Here are a few of my favorites.

Just Because They're Cute!

My babies are cute! Gosh, I adore them!

Biker Chick

Safety first!
Thanks uncle Stevo for the ride on the hog...okay, it's far from a harley, but still super fun for Gracie and a bit more safe.

The many faces of Seth's

Both our little ones are so expressive!! I love it! And I'm really enjoying getting to know my little baby and all his faces!


But the best expression is that cute little smile!

YNP and Me Plus Three

Summer is coming to an end! Monday morning will be the official end of our summer. Boohoohoo!

Ah well, we'll have a fun school year anyhow!

We decided to go on a final road trip to Yellowstone National Park for an end of summer bash! We had a great time and did all the touristy things there are to do (even though I've been to the park quite a few times, the majority of our memorial and labor days were spent in Yellowstone or Jackson since we only lived 1 hr and 15min away). Went to the paint pots, stopped at all the little stops along the way to Old Faithful, and we even ate at the Old Faithful cafeteria. It was a little expensive, so we bought one plate and shared it...it was yummy and filling for all three of us! Not a bad deal, really.

When we had all the fun we could possibly have in the park, we headed to West Yellowstone. We shopped, ate ice cream, and finished our fun day at the Playmill. We saw Beauty and the Beast and it was absolutely wonderful!! Poor Grace was scared of the beast, we had to take her out to the lobby were the beast himself (waiting for an entrance through the audience) tried to calm Gracie's fear by giving her a crown, an Gaston gave her a sucker. Sadly their efforts were in vain, but she fell asleep in Deryk's arms and we were able to enjoy the rest of the play. It was fun to see my old high school buddy, Cameron, who played the clock. He was great!! Such a talented actor and singer.

Such cute smiles from our sweet and happy baby boy!

Such beautiful scenery! Yellowstone is so amazing. So much beauty in one area! I love it!

Mmm! Yummy Mac and cheese at the Old Faithful Cafeteria.

My handsome boys taking in the view!

Gracie watching in wonder at the elk in the field. (She thought everything was so neat. When she saw one of the paint pots bubbling and different colors oozing out of it, she exclaimed, "awesome! Do you see that?"

I took this picture in our car! The buffalo was so close I couldn't zoom out any farther to get his whole body. He was just walking along the side of the road. It was just a few feet from our car (and the rest of the traffic, of course. So cool!

All in all, it was a great trip, perfect for ending the summer of fun we have had!

Such cute cousins!

Gracie loves her cousins, and I love watching them play together. (And sometimes refereeing!)Eva, so much fun and energetic! Gracie LOVES her to death! (mostly because she gets everything she could ever want when Eva is around...devoted attention and the absence of having to share her toys, Eva caters to her every need)
Brylee, one cute and super-charged ball of energy!! So much fun to have around! Gracie loves her when she's not playing with any of her own toys...I think they are super funny to watch together. It's definitely a love-hate relationship they have going on. Maybe Grace will learn to share after all!
Ah... Smooch-a-roo!
Ethan! AKA Efers! Cutest little guy and the most humorous toddler I've ever met. Grace's partner in crime!
All my nieces and nephews are so cute, I'm happy they get to be a part of our lives!

"Happy to Gracie"

Gracie turned two on Wednesday, the 18th! And ever since she's been singing the happy birthday song, though she sings it, "happy to Gracie" Kind of cute!

We had a great day! We had birthday cake for lunch, opened presents, went to a matinee, Shrek: Forever After, and then on a family walk to try out Gracie's new wheels!

Checking out her shiny new bike!

She's off for a test drive!

Her new desk! She's such a studious student already...she's learned a lot with both her parents being students her entire two years of life!

Cake for lunch?? There really isn't anything that can beat that...pretty much the best day of our lives!

It was such a fun day that Gracie just can't wait to have another birthday!