Barth Family

Look What I Can Do!

2012-01-25T09:57:00.001-08:00

Happy 7 Months to my little man Yesterday! In celebration he showed me his new skill!

Looks like I'll be lowering his crib again this week!

Cheese!

2012-01-21T16:57:00.001-08:00

This kid loves the camera! I just wanted to share a few random pictures from the past few weeks.

Destroying a teething biscuit...

Hanging out with Aunt Brooke one day while I worked.

Watching mom do her hair in the morning.

Happy boy on his drive to visit Pops in Napa. He is so good in the car!

You should all be proud that there are a few more posts below. Enjoy! You never know when I will blog again!

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Get Moving!

2012-01-21T16:51:00.001-08:00

Since Christmas C has been
showing a lot of interest in this whole moving thing! He started off by crawling backwards. It was pretty funny to watch him move away from what he wanted. He also got into some awkward spots...

That lasted for a few weeks and then in the last 6 days he has not only started going forward but also discovered that he can pull himself up on objects.

My left just went from low key to lets get baby proofing! Oh No!!!

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Happy New Year

2012-01-21T16:30:00.001-08:00

We had a blast with our friends the Belos on New Years. We just love spending time with them. It was very low key which was perfect. We celebrated using east coast time so all the kids could go to bed and we could play.
C and his crush Kenzie had to get in one the midnight smooch! They both LOVED it!

I mean, just look at that face... One happy boy!!! Thanks Belos for such a fun night!

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Christmas 2011

2012-01-21T16:25:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! It was very low key on both sides of our family which was perfect in my opinion. C enjoyed all his gifts but to be completely honest he enjoyed the wrapping paper and tissue best.
Here we are at Todds parents on Christmas eve.

Christmas eve was also C's 6mo mark so we kept tradition and got his pictures taken. Here is one of my favorites.

We are so glad both of our families are so close and we get to spend holidays with them!

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Okay, Okay...

2011-12-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

So, I know I have definitely been slacking the past few months with posting pictures. I know 2 sister-in-laws who have probably written me off because of it. Excuse or not, I just never feel like typing anything. So in my pathetic attempt to blog... here are a bunch of pictures!

My two favorite boys before church one Sunday (prob early 4 months)

First time eating something other than milk (4 month birthday)

Pumpkin Patch

Happy Halloween- Todd's shirt said Tootsie Pop and mine said Tootsie Mom

My little Turkey (5 month Birthday- Thanksgiving Day)

Two other adorable Turkeys

Ward Christmas Party

My adorable Family

Maybe if you're lucky I'll do a real Christmas Post!

A Family Forever...

2011-09-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

We had some family pictures taken back when C was 1 month old. Here are a few of the favorites.

And just because I think it's such a cute picture here is one from when we were in L.A.

Busy, Busy

2011-08-31T22:04:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks have been really fun and even more crazy! 2 weekends ago we went to LA to visit my brothers family. Lots of beach, peirs, shopping, food, and cute kids! We can't wait to go back down. We love having them so close!

First motorcycle experience! He loved it!

Last week Todd and I got to go to a Josh Groban concert! It was such a blast to get away! Thanks Jamie for watching C!

Little, I mean growing way to fast Carter is now wearing 3-6 month clothes! Most 0-3 still fit perfectly but the fact is that he is just growing so incredibly fast!

And finally school started for Todd again and work for me! We are both exhausted but grateful we are progressing to the end of "student life" for a while at least. Here is a pic of the little guy I watch playing with Carter. They are 14 months apart!

So like I said... Busier than ever but loving every minute!

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Finding time!

2011-08-18T16:30:00.001-07:00

I'm finally finding a little time for crafts again (my sanity is coming back)! Since. C spits up so much I needed more burp cloths than intended! I found this online and had to make a few.

Just took cloth diapers and jazzed up the center with fabric. The fun twist I found were these hooks!

It's a tag blanket twist but I can always find his binki when I have to reach back while driving. He seems to always wait to spit up until in his carseat anyway so they were perfect!

I think I found my new favorite gift for friends!

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As time goes by...

2011-08-17T16:49:00.001-07:00

Well here are some more pics of the little man just because I have a bunch!

The shirt says it all!

First trip to the cabin.

He is saying "take this bottle away from me and you will be sorry"!

Getting a little exercise!

My favorite position to take a nap during the day. Weird... Right?yet take after his dad ;)

There you have it! A bunch of random pictures.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday afternoon

2011-08-14T14:01:00.001-07:00

I love Sunday afternoons! We all come home and get in our "comfies". For Carter this usually means the pants come off and a onsie will do just fine!

Then we all get a little shut eye...

...

Everyone except the mom! Off to make dinner and then I think I'll feed a baby! Happy Sunday everyone!

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Bedtime Routines

2011-08-02T22:04:00.001-07:00

Carter and I have gotten into our nightly routine finally! We go out for a walk and then come home and take a bath. These are quite possibly his 2 favorite things to do (next to eating)!

Loving the outdoors...

Discovering splashing!

Notice his legs flopped over the edge. Usually his arms are in the water too!

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Flashback...

2011-07-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

So when Carter was 6 days old my amazingly talented friend Liz took his newborn pictures. It seems like such a long time ago! He has already grown and changed so much. Here are some of our favorites!

1 month

2011-07-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our little man is already over month old! Sunday marked 1 month for Carter. He spent the day sleeping. He thought it would be fun to sleep all day Sunday and then give Mommy a present of precious one-on-one time that night wide awake! So much has happened this past month and I am still amazed with this little life we have been blessed with.

At his 1 month mark here are some of the things we have noticed about Carter
-He now weighs a little over 10lbs and is 22in long
-His hair is getting lighter, longer, and crazier
-He loves looking around especially when outside
-He is starting to sleep in his crib more and more
-He is starting to smile more and more (mainly when mommy makes a fool of herself)
-He found his hand the day he was born but more and more he is finding thumb... oh no!
-He absolutely loves bath time

-He loves his daddy and usually takes a nap with him when Todd gets home

I wish time would slow down a little because my little newborn is no longer a little newborn, At the same time, we are anxious for the more milestones he will make and the more we can interact with him.

On a side note... last week we had a play date, for the moms that is, with Beckham King (2 months) and MaKynzie Belo(4 months). These three will be friends whether they like it or not. Here is their first picture together.

Pictures galore

2011-07-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few random pictures from our adventures over the past 3 weeks...

Carter's Blessing

2011-07-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, July 16th, was a very cool night for Todd and I. Over this past week we have had all of Todd's siblings in town and for 48 hours I had both of my siblings in town. Since we had them all here we decided to bless Carter. It was such a cool experience to have all of our siblings here and especially all our brothers here to help out with the blessing.

Todd did a fabulous job with the blessing. He is such a sweet and loving father to Carter. I am so lucky to have such a great husband who is able to teach and love our little family so much.

Thanks to everyone who was there! It meant a lot to us to have so many family members present. I didn't get a group photo of the Barth family on my camera but here are a few of the ones I did get.

Book Shower

2011-07-18T09:49:00.001-07:00

My great friend Belinda threw Carter and I a fabulous Book Shower this past weekend. It was such a cute idea. She has had a close connection with my family for a very long time and over the past few years I have been able to get to know her on a more personal level which has been so much fun. She has such a talent for this kind of thing (even if she doesn't think so). It was absolutely beautiful!

Since Carter and I have already had the typical baby shower she wanted to throw one for just family members and since I didn't need much of the "traditional" gifts the books were perfect! The teacher in me was so giddy as I opened up each gift. We were able to get such a variety of gifts.

Today's job is to get the library all set up in his bedroom. I think I need to convince either Grandpa Dan to build a new bookshelf or Todd to let me buy one so his books will all fit!

One Lucky Kid

2011-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

I just want to brag for a second about how amazing my husband is! Throughout 9 whole months of pregnancy... child birth... the first few days of NO sleep... the emotional ups and downs I have gone through... and I'm sure countless other things I have done to him, he has been AMAZING! He is up for at least one of the feedings during the night giving Carter a bottle. He changes almost all the diapers from the time he gets home from work until he leaves again in the morning. He even is cooking dinner each and every night. I don't know what I would do without him. He is truly my best friend and the the most amazing dad! I can't wait till Carter and he can start doing all the "guy" things I know Todd is anxious to teach him.

Little Man has Arrived

2011-07-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

CARTER HINCKLEY BARTH finally made his debut on last Friday-- June 24, 2011. We couldn't be happier with this cute little guy! He is such a stud!

The labor and delivery went very smoothly for both Mommy and Carter. From start to finish it took about 14 hours for Carter to finally get here which wasn't too bad if I say so myself.

Now he is a week old and getting cuter every day. Both Carter and Mommy are starting to adjust to this new life and starting to get to sleep at the same time :) We are looking forward to having Daddy home for the weekend so we can get some extra sleep and help!

We already love this little guy so much and can't believe that he is ours. We feel so blessed to have such an awesome little son!

D-Day

2011-06-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, D-Day has official passed and we are still waiting to see this cute little man! The good news is that if he doesn't get here by next Wednesday I know he will be here for sure that day. The bad news is that it's still a whole week away! I guess I will have one last exercise on patience before he gets here.

The best news is that the Dr. doesn't think I'll have to wait that long but then again she also said at my apt last Friday that it wouldn't be long and to me 5 days was still pretty long!

Oh well, a 7 more days MAX and I'll get to meet this sweet little boy! I can't wait!

Dad's Day

2011-06-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers day to all the dads in our lives...

And most importantly to me... This one...

You are going to be a great dad Todd! I love you!

Birthday + Little Man Update

2011-06-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

No, No, there is not a new little birthday to celebrate in our lives just yet! Yesterday we celebrated Todd's 25th Birthday! He was a trooper because his day was spent doing a bunch of baby stuff! I did my best to make it a fun day but I know it wasn't his ideal b-day. His day consisted of breakfast in bed, lunch at BJ's, shopping for "mommy to be" necessities (he was a trooper), Dr. apt to hear little man's heart beat, and a fun night at work. I don't feel as bad though because as long as little man doesn't make an appearance (fingers crossed he does) he is going to have a birthday weekend as we celebrate birthday/fathers day with my family tonight and Todd's family Sunday. Lucky him!

As for a little man update... Yesterday things were progressing fabulously at my Dr. Apt. He has a very strong heart beat which I absolutely love hearing! After a little help from the Dr. yesterday things could start happening at any moment or things could still take a while. Now that the weather has finally decided to be Summer here in CA I have decided that I am officially miserable! I have a lot more sympathy for all you women who have had babies deep into summer! At least I know the end is near. They won't let me go more than a week over so only 7ish more days for sure unless he comes on his own! I am starting to get very nervous but at the same time I am so excited to start this new journey! Hopefully my next post has a cute little picture for you all to see of our little man!

Candy Land

2011-06-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend one of my good friends threw me a shower for the women from my ward. It was a candy land theme and super cute! She did an awesome job. On top of throwing a fabulous shower she also had time to hand make me some adorable gifts. She made a car seat cover that attaches to the handle of my car seat that is perfect. She also had time to whip up a quilt (in her spare time).

Here is the quilt she made. She is fantastic!

My mother-in-law also finished his afghan she has been working so hard on. It turned out even better than I expected. It is absolutely beautiful. We plan on using it for a blessing blanket too which will be perfect! Thanks Mom Barth! We love it!!!!
It is folded in half in this picture so you can see the border.

I was also able to get a little "fun money" and a store credit for this cute little baby boutique here in town. It allowed me to buy something I never thought I was going to be able to get! I had enough to pick up this adorable Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag. My sister-n-law kept telling me that they are the absolutely best diaper bags and a few of my friends who have them agreed so I was thrilled that I would be able to get one without having to pay the full price. (they can be rather pricey). Todd was making fun of me and took pictures of it so I could blog since he said I was so excited about it. He told me that it's my new love... at least until little man gets here, I think I agree!

The End is Near!

2011-06-03T15:03:00.001-07:00

I guess since I have received a threatening e-mail I should update this thing before little man gets here! There has been a lot going on but I am a slacker with pictures so I never think to update! I had my first of 3 showers last month and was so fortunate to get such awesome gifts from great friends.(I guess I should say that because I have so many different groups of friends in this area that it just worked out better to split up my showers to those groups... plus 3 fabulous friends wanted to throw them so why not... right?)

My great friends Katie and Liz threw the shower and have some pictures from it that I will get soon. At the very end I took a few and then more of some of the gifts when I got home.

We both feel so blessed up to this point. We have received more than we ever thought we would and are so overwhelmed with gratitude. I have another shower tomorrow and maybe I'll do better at taking pictures so I can update again. Otherwise, he could come at any time now. I'm over 37 weeks which is considered "full term". I am so excited yet nervous all at the same time! I can't wait to show you all how stinking adorable he is!

Easter

2011-04-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

I have the best Easter Bunny! He not only brought me a basket of goodies Sunday morning but Saturday night he dropped these off! He is amazing!

Nesting

2011-04-22T20:58:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of Spring Break. This morning I realized that this is the first and only week I will not be completely exhausted between now and when little man gets here. I won't be off work again until the beginning of June which is only a couple weeks from my due date and I will probably just want to sleep at that point :)
Having said that, today turned out to be a busy day!

6:30 am-- charlie horse in my calf which required me to SPRING out of bed and walk around the room until it relaxed
6:35 am-- attempted laying back down and falling asleep = failure so I decided to get up and go watch tv in the living room
7:15 am-- Got ready for grubby day
8:00 am-- McKae picked me up so we could go garage selling and find her a dresser for her little man. Result= crappy day to go garage selling! Only purchase was a crib bumper she is going to recover that she scored for $3
9:45 am-- Home from failed Garage Selling trip; hubbie at school; start washing lil' man's laundry and putting it away so I don't have to in 8 weeks; decided to go clean out the garage between loads
11:00 am-- hubbie returned home and I made him paint a few items for me and move a few pieces of furniture +laundry
12:00-- attempt an oil change (way too long line, next week), pick up pictures from costco, lunch with Dad Barth, took cans/bottles to recycle center
2:30-- home from lil' adventure with hubbie, put pictures in frames, and back to painting projects +laundry
4:30-- decided we needed one more can of a paint, off to OSH
5:00-- fancy dinner of Mac N' Cheese before hubbie leaves for work
6:15-- hubbie leaves for work and I get back to work +laundry
9:00-- blog update to make everyone happy and realize I am exhausted and have finished all my projects that were supposed to last all next week!

Oh well, at least I finished them!

We have had a huge blank wall in the living room that we could decide what to put up. The other day I saw some frames that were relatively cute at Wally World for only $3 a piece so I bought them and made a collage on the wall. Now I just need a cute little table and lamp to go under them (I'm waiting for Barth family pictures in July before I finish the right half of the collage and for lil' man to get here before I finish the pictures in the middle)

These frames were on the tables at our wedding reception. We repainted all the black ones brown and kept the white ones. I put a few dots on them to match his bedroom. The green background is extra fabric from his crib skirt I made the other day. The vinyl is on order so I can cut out the letters in his name (you can't know that yet so don't ask)and put each letter on a frame.

Survey Says

2011-04-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

I stole this survey from my good friend but I thought it had a good amount of info that friends have asked for. Here is a little snipit of how my pregnancy has been going. Enjoy...

How many weeks: 30 1/2
Was this planned or unplanned: planned
Latest food craving: Anything sweet...and always a diet coke!
Your top two name choices or baby's name: You'll find out when he gets here
Worst Thing about being pregnant: Being a stomach sleeper your whole life and now having to sleep on my side! Lack of sleep is starting to hit!
Best Thing about being pregnant: knowing that in only 9 more weeks I get to hold our precious little man
Are you more scared or excited: excited definitely
Happy or mostly moody: To the outside world, happy... to my poor patient husband- MOODY!
Last time you cried over something ridiculous was: Todd might get mad that I'm outing his weakness but leaving my house clean and happy and coming home to a messy house! Drives me CRAZY! Especially since it is a lot of effort to get it clean now a days!
Weirdest dream you've had since pregnant?: Too many to choose from. I can't even think of a particular dream.
Will you breast feed: that's the plan
When is your baby most active: At night (when I'm on my side, ugh) while I am trying to sleep, thus another reason for lack of sleep!

I'm sure a few of these answers will change as the last 9 weeks happen but for now, I'm feeling pretty good overall. I am just anticipating the arrival of this sweet little boy. Todd and I can't wait to be parents!!

Pictures... finally!

2011-04-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

Still keeping it pretty low key here in the Barth household. Both of us are staying super busy but I have been getting A LOT of requests for pictures so even though it's against my better judgment I figured I'd please everyone.

Here is a pic at 23 weeks

Here is my 30 1/2 week pic

I was amazed when I compared these two pics because I don't feel like I've gotten too much bigger but when I look at the picture I realize that 7 weeks can make a huge difference!

Here is also a few pictures of lil' man's furniture. I finished making his crib skirt tonight (don't worry, I didn't feel overzealous and make all his bedding, just the skirt.

I did have a picture of his curtains but after I finished them, Todd said he wanted them a little different so I had to pull them down again and am now trying to get the motivation to pull out the sewing machine again. Good thing I have 9 weeks left!

13 and Counting

2011-03-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

13 weeks (give or take... probably give knowing my luck) till we get to meet our little man. This morning while laying in bed we were discussing how 13 weeks seems so close to us now. Before we thought June was so far away and now we are realizing that we have a lot to do during the next 13 weeks. The anticipation is starting to set in that we will be parents soon. We can't wait to meet him and see his cute face.
Other than getting a few of the big things, like baby furniture, set up not much has been going on in our world. I am still working all day every day while Todd is going to school during the day and working at night. One day we might actually get to see each other for longer than a few hours. As soon as that happens, I'm sure we will have something more exciting to blog about. But for now... 13 weeks is all the excitement on out minds!!!

Wheels

2011-02-18T15:40:00.001-08:00

Todd gave me permission yesterday to go to Babies-r-Us without him! He is such a brave husband! He even gave me permission to get our travel system we wanted since I had a great coupon and the brand we wanted never goes on sale. We figured that since it is a rather pricey item, we probably wouldn't be getting it for our shower so might as well get it with a good deal! Because I am such a dork and super excited for any baby purchase I figured I would show you all how stinking cute my set is! Enjoy :)

It's more greenish yellow than the true yellow it looks like in the picture. We can't wait to have our little man in it!

Oh yeah, we get our crib tonight! Any bets on how long it will be before I force Todd to put all the furniture together? (I'll give you a hint, not long:)

New Ride

2011-02-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

We inherited a car this Christmas from my Uncle. It's nothing fancy but it runs great and will work perfect for a putting around town kind of car. Because we have that it made us have 3 cars. When there are only 2 drivers in the house 3 seemed a little overkill so we opted to sell our 2 cars we already had and buy something a little bigger and newer.

It only took a few weeks to sell both our cars which left us stranded with only 1 car sooner than we thought. We looked in town and online and finally settled with a car online. I was terrified to buy a car that we had not seen or driven but after talking with the owners and seeing pictures we decided to go for it. Once our friends picked it up for us they said that it was in perfect condition not a blemish on it.

We picked a 2008 Saturn Vue. The picture below is not of our actual car, we are going to go get it next week (it's safely with some friends now). It is black with tan leather inside. I can't wait to get our new ride!

Little bump

2011-01-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

Well I figure it's about time I put something more formal on here about the bump that I am currently sporting. (Note... this is a long post, Sorry!)

We found out right away that I was prego because right off the back I got really sick. After going to our first ultrasound (10weeks) we discovered out why... there wasn't just one little guy in there, there were 2! Here are 2 pictures. Baby 1 on the left and baby 2 on the right.

I went in the very next week (11wks) so we could date the twins more accurately with a higher tech ultrasound. At that appointment the tech could only find one... So now we were a little confused. From that date I had to wait 4 weeks (15wks) to go back to the dr. and find out what the final consensus was. That wait was torture! When it finally came in we had another ultrasound to find out that yep, there was indeed only one now. At this point I started feeling much better, still sick regularly just not as bad. They said that what had happened was vanishing twin syndrome. Basically one baby doesn't get enough of the essentials it needs to survive then dies off and the other baby uses the nutrients remaining to continue growing strong. At this ultrasound the dr. also expressed to us that she was pretty sure what we were having and shared that with us. Because it was still so early we choose to wait and find out for sure at my next ultrasound before we shared with everyone.

Yesterday (19 weeks)we went back to the dr. for our 4th ultrasound of this pregnancy (not common but we think its cool to have so many pictures). The tech we had was really funny and very knowledgeable. She shared all sorts of information with us about our little man. Yep that's right, LITTLE MAN! We are so excited to have our little guy here in June. He will be such a huge part of our family and we can't wait! Here are some pics of yesterday's ultrasound.

He is kicking the tech who is poking at him too much!

You have to look closely but this is a zoomed in pic of his face. You can see his eyes,nose, and upper lip. His hand is also close by his face as it has been in all 4 ultrasounds.

Cabin Fever

2011-01-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Todd was asked to joing the Young Men on their Snow Camping trip. it just so happened to be in Pinecrest where the Barth Family Cabin is so we decided to take advantage! We went up Friday after work and Todd joined the boys for the night while I along with a girlfriend attempted to warm up the place.

Saturday our good friends Nate and McKae joined us for the day/night. It was a fun adventure for the 4 of us because McKae and I are only about 3 weeks apart from each other due with little ones. We played lots of games, watched a lot of ESPN, and ate way too much food!

On Sunday the boys thought they were 10 again, put on all their snow gear and headed for the sledding hill. It was funny how much faster they got going at their "old" age compared to the little kids next to us. McKae and I even got in on the action for a very short sled ride with our hubbies at the bottom of our run (maybe 10 feet long) to catch us so we wouldn't land on our tummies.

We had a blast at the cabin. We are looking forward to having our little one with us then next time we head up there!

Notice Anything???

2010-12-19T21:17:00.000-08:00

See anything different about our blog?

~Merry Christmas~

Love,
Todd and Whitney

Turkey Day

2010-12-19T15:18:00.001-08:00

This Thanksgiving Holiday was one I won't be able to forget ever! Thanksgiving Day itself was pretty normal. It was our year to spend Dinner with Todd's family. I love that both of our families are very relaxed and low key about holidays. We had a fabulous dinner and ate a ton of fabulous food. After dinner we headed over to my parents house to see all my extended family and enjoy a little dessert. We love being so close to both of our families. It makes it so nice to see everyone during the holidays.

Now for the part I won't forget. My brother Justin and his family were able to join us the weekend before Thanksgiving to play for a few days. They were gone during the week but then returned the weekend after Thanksgiving. That same weekend my other brother Nate and his family showed up. This was the first time we have all been together as a family since before Todd and I got married.

We didn't do much but sit around and chit-chat, eat, and take family pictures. I only have one picture on my camera from the week but it's of 2 of my favorite kiddo's. We can't wait until we get another weekend where we can all be together again!

They were very focused on the episode of Curious George they were watching!

COLORADO!!!

2010-12-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

For my birthday this year Todd let me go to Colorado. I haven't been back there since I lived there when I was 9 years old. I have always wanted to go back. I really loved living there. This summer my good friend Heather and her family moved there so why not go now that we had a free place to stay. My friend Tara and I left and were there for 5 days.

We started our trip up at a ski resort called Breckenridge. It was FREEZING but absolutely beautiful.

After Breckenridge we headed down to the Denver area. We went and saw the Denver Temple one evening. We also went to Parker which was the town I lived in.

I also got to go visit for a day my best childhood friend Jaime! She lives in Boulder and we had a blast shopping (which is what we do best). Sadly, I didn't get any pictures while I was with her so I guess I will have to go visit again soon!

Fall

2010-12-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

We had the chance to go to the corn maze again this year. We went with our good friend Tara as well as Jon and Sarah. We got lost in the corn maze for a while and then ended the night doing our favorite thing... Pumpkin Blasters!

The school I worked at this fall had their annual Halloween Parade. I took a few pictures of my students. They all dressed up pretty cute!

Notice the boy in the pink granny outfit...

All the 3rd Grade teachers decided to dress up as Pirates. Here we are!

Were Still Here...

2010-12-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

Don't worry... we haven't died but life has been rather crazy around here! I PROMISE we will update next week with a fabulously wonderful holiday post! Until then... Happy Holidays!

Blankety-Blank Weekend

2010-08-29T20:48:00.001-07:00

This weekend we went to one of my only 3 cousins weddings. It was such a nice weekend. They are going to UC Santa Cruz currently and my cousin has a deep love of the ocean so it was perfect place to have a wedding. Her hubbie is from the UK which made the evening full of fun, laughter, and an awesome accent. It was also nice to catch up with relatives I haven't seen in a while. Here are a few pics of the weekend.

Fabric-Finished

2010-08-15T14:49:00.001-07:00

I found the perfect fabric for $3 in a fun home fabrics store. Here is the final product!

I used ribbon for the ties

Final project of the summer

2010-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: This is in NO way an announcement of any kind...just know that before you read ahead.

A few weeks ago my friend gave us her rocker-glider that she didn't want anymore. It will be perfect when we have kiddo's. It was a little outdated so I decided that before I put it in the garage and forget all about it I should make it worth the extra space it is going to take up.

Here is an example of what it looked like before (I didn't take a picture so I found one similar online)

I sanded it down completely, primed it, and painted it a creamy white color, then finished with a coat of polyurathane.

My next step in the project is to get some fun fabric to cover the awesome green color the pads are. I am thinking something like...

or

or

or

or

or maybe

I guess I will have to pick something eventually but all I was really worried about was getting the tough part done. The fabric is going to have to wait!

The End is Near

2010-08-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that summer is already almost over. Our summer started off pretty slow yet crazy but picked up in the middle of July with a lot of fun.

We were able to head up to our families cabin a few times. The first time we were able to go all of Todd's siblings were there which was really fun. It was especially nice to be able to see Todd's brother and his family who came from Utah.

Right before a great dinner

All the kids playing an eventful round of duck-duck-goose

We were able to go back again this last week by ourselves which was fun. We had a few friends come up as well for a few days to keep us company which was a blast. Sadly though, I am not the best with my camera so I never took any pictures, oh well. Lots of hiking, swimming, and reading made it a wonderful week!

In the middle of our two cabin trips I was able to head off to San Fran with my Stake YW Presidency and enjoy a girls day. We had a blast eating and shopping!

All of us on Bart after one very long day!

Summer also included gaining a new niece Adele Ann Blank who was born the end of July. We can't wait to meet her when their family moves back in November (they live in Australia)!

I love this picture because you can totally tell which brother is super excited and which is ready for some much needed sleep!

Keeping Busy

2010-06-21T15:59:00.001-07:00

I have had a lot on my plate these past few weeks but every now and then I get a little down time. I am not the best at relaxing so here are 2 things I have been working on.

I have made 2 baby blankets for my friends. I forgot to take the little boy blanket picture but here is the little girl one.

I also made some festive 4th of July deco with McKae today! I think they turned out pretty cute!

Dear Mom,

2010-06-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

I figured since you are gone right now I will give you a sneak peek on a few of the projects I have been working on since you left. Enjoy!

Love Ya!

Let the Summer Projects Begin

2010-06-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Back a few years ago my parents got a new kitchen table and I got their old one. At the time we had a friend who offered to paint the table for us since I wanted it black. When they painted it they never put a protective coat over the top. That would be fine except I had the table in storage for over a year before we got married and into our own place. The paint started chipping really bad and pealing off so it needed a face-lift.

Having said all that, one of my projects on my list of "to-do's" has been to refinish this table. (here is the only pic I could find, but you can see how the paint is chipping and scuffed)

So I sanded it down, re-painted it, distressed the edges, and then put a much needed protective coat over the top!

Half sanded half not

1st coat of Paint

Finished Top

Finished Bottom

The only thing missing now is the chiars being finished. Those will have to wait for another day!

Dancing+ School= CRAZY

2010-05-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Dance festival has consumed our lives for the past few months. The performance is in 9 days so the countdown has officially began! We are so excited to see the kids perform and at the same time, so excited to get our Tuesday/Wednesday/Saturday's back again!

I also took over a maternity leave for a friend at a school for the last few months of school so I have been crazy busy getting a classroom ready for open house. As blessed as I am to have had steady work for so long this school year, I am exhausted and definitely ready for Summer!

Todd has been working really hard this semester both working and taking some ridiculously insane science classes! He is free during the days and I am free at night. If only our schedules matched!

Maybe we will do something fun to post about soon! We are ready for a well deserved "get-a-way"!

Family Pictures

2010-04-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

I want to make it a tradition that we always take pictures as a family once a year! Its still just the two of us so they look more like engagement pictures but either way I thought I'd share a few of our favorites. My friend Liz took them for us! She did fabulous!

An Anonymous Friend

2010-03-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

I just came home from a typical CRAZY Sunday visiting 2 different wards and found this on my front porch... the card says it's from ?

Thank you my friend, who ever you might be... you definately brightened my day!

March Madness

2010-03-18T21:21:00.001-07:00

As crazy has this month as been for the two of us, we don't really have many pictures to prove it. Besides me working 3 jobs, Todd working 2 jobs and going to school, Stake Dance Festival which we are very involved with, church callings, and trying to work out… we never see each other so don’t be offended if you never see us! This is the kind of busy we have been. Luckily we have had a little time to do a few things we like to think of as fun and exciting.

Back at the beginning of the month one of Todd’s best friends was married in the Oakland Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony and the day couldn’t have been more beautiful.

The Tulips were absolutely amazing! They were huge!

They were married on a Friday morning so, in order to have a zero stress morning we went up on Thursday night to Oakland. The most exciting part of going up early is not the “awesome” hotel we stayed at in the heart of Oakland but for me the excitement of going to IKEA! Todd is always a great sport and puts on a happy face as I walk around IKEA for hours. It is always fun to day-dream and figure out each other’s likes and dislikes. I even was able to come away from the trip with a new bed headboard and footboard and dresser. LOVE IT!

I also have been working hard to perfect my pizza making skills. I know this is random but I was really proud of it. I have made pizza a few other times since we have been married but these were the first pizza’s that were actually round! This was Todd’s “manly” pizza with all the different meat on it (he doesn’t need to know that the crust was whole wheat). The pizza that actually turned out better I didn’t take a picture of, but it was my yummy Hawaiian pizza.

Next, since it is getting to be such nice weather here I decided it was time to decorate for spring. Here are a few of the little decorations I threw together. All this for under $10!

And finally today since I didn’t have to work and Todd had a break after class we decided it was time to set up the back patio for the wonderful weather we’ve been having. We pulled out all the patio furniture and washed it all off. It was gross but as always, turns out fabulous in the end. Now it’s time for a bar-b-q… who’s coming???

Nursery doesn't scare me!

2010-02-23T10:39:00.001-08:00

It seems that these days with being the Nursery Leader I tend to go up and down when my desires to have kids. I think that the reason wards put the young marrieds with NO kids in nursery is a means to warn them what they will be getting themselves into. I have come to realize though that I will most likely never have 9 3year olds at any one give time in my house (except for maybe a birthday party or two but parents will be there then). So, their little trick isn't working very good on me anymore!

So until we are ready for our own kids.. these two little cuties are welcome in our home anytime!

We love when the Belo kids come to play. Addie likes to walk in and go right to the closet where we keep the toys. There aren't many for her to play with so we are always coming up with other ways to keep ourselves entertained. This last weekend it was playing on me like I was a jungle gym. I don't mind it, it's good exercise, right?

Thanks Katie and Steve for giving us a baby fix once and a while! We love it... and your kids!

Love is in the Air...

2010-02-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

I have been getting some flack that 1) we rarely update our blog and 2) there are rarely pictures of us...more of the places we've been without proof that we really were there. The main reason for that is not because Todd doesn't like pictures but I am a typical girl and hate pictures of myself so I never take them. I am working on it. I will try to take more pictures of us and the few adventures we go on.

Having said that, here is a picture of us at Natalie's wedding last December.

What a beautiful day it was!

Do you remember my last post when I showed you this cute project I had ahead?

Here is what it turned into! Todd helped me sand it and we both took turns putting layers of paint on it. Just don't look too close. The pait we got when we painted our bar stools was too dark of red and this was more of a pink color. Maybe next project I'll mix the 2 paints together and I can finally get the right shade of RED!

Overall, I think it turned out pretty cute. My parents got us that light behind it for Valentines Day. I had seen it at the store with my mom a while back and she went and snatched it for me. Thanks MOM and DAD! I love it! (Todd does too, he just doesn't get as excited about lights as I do<3)

I also made our valentines for our friends this year. I think they turned out pretty cute. I found on some website someone who had used candy canes for hearts on cards. I went over to Wal-Mart and guess what, they still had some and for a crazy $0.17 a box! That was the best bargain ever! I loved how they turned out.

Hopefully if I ever get my own classroom someday I can do this project with students. I can't beat the price and they turned out adorable!

And since it is almost Valentines Day I figured I would just make sure you all know how fabulous my husband is. He is truely the most amazing man I have ever known. He has been my friend since I was 12 and my best friend since I was 17! I am so fortunate to be able to spend eternity with him. Such a lucky girl!!!

"Candy Canes"

2010-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Apparently not many teachers have been sick this week so I have been home all week trying to keep busy. The other hard part is that it has been raining all week long (at this very moment it's hailing with a side of thunder and lightening) and I don't want to go out. Todd realized that I was going crazy so he bought me some fabric I have been wanting to make curtains for our living room! I was so excited... PROJECT! I think they turned out pretty good. I even had a little extra to make a few throw pillows. Anyway, here is the final product. I think they turned out pretty cute. Todd thinks they look like candy canes!

Slowly but surely we are adding all the little touches to our place and making it our home. Next project, refinishing this little shelf to use as a end table.

Christmas Virginia Style

2010-01-20T15:33:00.001-08:00

We had a blast in Virginia this Christmas. We made a last minute trip out there to spend the holidays with my brother Justin and his family. The kids had a fabulous time on Christmas morning! They were shocked to see that Santa had come and brought so many fun gifts.

Porter enjoying the "rain stick" he got from his cousins in the Philippines/Australia.

Sienna doing a "sassy" pose in her new gloves, hat, and scarf.

It was about 15* when this picture was taken. I'm absolutely freezing!

We went to the air and space museum out by the Dulles Airport that they used in the movie Transformers. This is the plan that transforms during it. Todd had to have a picture with it!

We had a lot to be grateful for this holiday season. We are so blessed to have the families that we have and the support they give us each day. We are so glad we had the opportunity to be with Justin's family this Christmas and New Years. We are already looking forward to going back soon. We can never get enough of them!

We love Mrs. Barth!

2009-12-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

I have been working at the same school this entire school year so far covering for a 5th grade teacher who was out on maternity leave. The Friday before Christmas was not only the last day before Christmas, but it was also my last day! My students definitely make me feel like I did a good job! Here is my LOOT they gave me!

I'll post Christmas festivities as soon as we get home from VA! We are out helping my brothers family during the holidays!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2009-12-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

November was a crazy month all around. We started the month off with our anniversary. The next week we went to Monteray to celebrate our anniversary plus my birthday! We had a great time and enjoyed the opportunity to get away.

This year for Thanksgiving it was our year to be with Whitney's family. Whitney's mom left 2 days before Thanksgiving to go be grandma so we were left with her dad to be the hosts of 4 British visitors and Whitney's family. Her cousin is engaged to a guy from England. His family just so happened to coming to the states for a visit and it happened to be during Thanksgiving. We made sure to give them a true American Thanksgiving. We went all out which was fun but a little stressful not having mom around. Overall it was a fabulous day and we realized how much we had to be thankful for!

As for Whitney and her attempts at crafts... SUCCESS!!! She and McKae King found a cute wreath made out of ornaments on a friends blog and they decided try it. They turned out great! they were both very proud of them. Whitney has since made another one for her mom in different colors and is in the process for making one for Cami in exchange for some bows she made.

December has started a crazy month and has no signs of slowing down. We are headed off to Virginia to spend Christmas and New Years with Justin and Hannah. We are going to miss our California families but are excited to go be Aunt Whitney and Uncle Todd.

Happy...

2009-11-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Anniversary!!!
I can't believe that it has already been a year! It's been a fabulous year and we can't wait for many more to come!

The beautiful flowers Todd bought me and our cake... Haven't tasted it yet but Todd made me wait a whole year to eat my favorite flavor so you bet were going to try it tonight!

FALL!!!!

I love the fall! The smells, colors, and everything fun that comes from it. Here is our little patch of decoration on our front porch.

We also went to the corn maze a few weeks ago with Mckae and Nate. It was a blast! It's amazing how even though there are a thousand people there, you don't run into too many while lost in the gigantic maze!! Thanks Kings for inviting us. We had a blast!!!

Projects, Projects, Projects!

2009-10-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

So.... if you know me, you know I love holidays. I grew up in a house where my mom always decorated for holidays so now thats all I want to do this time of year. (Right now I'm on a pumpkin kick) Last year I wanted a Christmas Tree really bad. So Todd got me one! It has fun colorful lights on it along with all of our silly ornaments. The only thing that was missing was a tree skirt. I decided that since the holiday fabric just came in I should get some while it was still there (and cheap). So I made a tree skirt. If i didn't make it right away, I know I probably wouldn't have done it at all!

The other project that has been keeping us busy, mainly Todd, is this tv cabinent. My mom called one morning and said that she and her girlfriend had seen this when they were walking that morning. It had a FREE sign on it so they went back and got it for me while I was at work. When I got home it was sitting on our front porch. We worked hard on sanding it... and sanding it again, and after 12 cans of spray paint....

We got this!!!

I absolutely love how it turned out! I think Todd thinks I'm crazy! He didn't think it was needed but it's so much cuter than what we had before! Now I can hide all his nintendo stuff! Gotta love FREE!!!!

Wicked!

2009-10-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

Last month we had the opportunity to go see one of my favorite musicals. Wicked!!! It was my third time going but Todd's first. We started our day by going to the temple for a good friends sealing. Then we hopped on to Bart to head into the city.
We had a blast seeing Wicked with our good friends the Jacksons and Mauchelys. After the show we all headed back into Pleasanton and met up at Cheesecake Factory for a delicious dinner and dessert! Overall it was a long day but soooo worth it!

A little about us!

2009-09-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by my good friend TaNelle! Here it is...

What are your middle names? Lee and Christopher
How long have you been together? together--- as friends probably 12 years... as a couple off and on probably 4ish years
How long did you know each other before you started dating? 6ish years
Who asked who out? I waited until Todd got brave enough
Whose siblings do you see the most? Considering mine live on the other side of the country and in the Philppines... definately Todd's
Do you have any children together? Not yet...
What about pets? If only we could agree on a dog
Did you go to the same school?Just BYU-Idaho.
Who is the most sensitive? definately me!
Where do you eat out most as a couple?My parents house!
Where is the furthest you have ever traveled as a couple? Virginia/DC
Who has the worst temper? If I had to pick i guess maybe me but I think it's a toss up!
Who does the cooking?Todd used to cook, until I made him realize that I could. OOPS!
Who is more social?Definately me!
Who is the neat freaks? Me again! Todd could care less. I drive him crazy with it.
Who is the most stubborn? Todd!
Who hogs the bed? I will admit it.. it's me!
Who wakes up earlier?I do. Work starts much earlier than school!
Where was your first date? Before or after the mission?? We'll go with after... dancing in Sacramento
Who has the bigger family? Todd! lots of sisters and a brother
Do you get flowers often? every now and then
Who eats more? TODD
Who sings better? Todd- his whole family is great! That is one area I definately don't fit!
Who does the laundry? Todd washes, I fold
Who's is better with the computer? Me
Who drives when you are together? Todd usually.
Who picks where you go to dinner? Which ever of our parents are paying!
Who is the first one to admit when they are wrong? Me... Todd's too stubborn to ever admit he's wrong!
Who wears the pants in the relationship? Todd with somethings, me with others. It's a tossup!
Who eats more sweets? We both like them!
Who cries more? ME!
What's your best day together? Probably the day we went to our friends sealing and then to SF for Wicked... it was a great day!
Where did you honeymoon? Lake Tahoe (Thanks mom and dad Barth)
Favorite date night? Red Box and me actually staying awake through it!
Favorite TV show to watch together? NCIS
Couple I imagine us growing old like? either of our parents would be just fine with me!

Thanks TaNelle... I was due for an update! I tag... McKae, Katie, and Natalie!

Our Crazy Summer!!!

2009-07-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

This summer started off a little crazy in the Barth Family. In the beginning of the year I was asked to be the 4th year counselor at Turlock Stake Girls Camp. Along with being in charge of 30 girls, I was also in charge of the "overnight hike" the 4th years go on. Luck for meTodd was asked to go as preisthood for the hike. The girls did great all week with not too much drama! Aside from being up sick all night (FYI- NOT prego sick) the day before we left on our 13 mile hike everything went perfectly. The only problem now is that Todd told me we are no longer aloud to have girls... I think girls camp was a little of a shock for him!

4 days later was Todd's birthday and the day my mom and I headed to Australia to visit my oldest brother and his family. We had Todd's b-day dinner on the way to the airport as well as presents in the car.

My mom and I were in AU for 2 fun weeks. I'm just glad that my awesome husband let me go for that long. I guess the perk for him was dinner out with my dad and a few rounds of golf!

Vanessa and I petting a Koala

My mom and I at the beach...

These are 2 of the many beautiful birds that are all over

The swimming pool from the Sydney Olympics

In front of the Sydney Opera House

Hanging out with the Kangaroos

We had a quick trip up to the cabin for the 4th along with Todd's parents and 2 of his sisters.

Finally on July 10th our good friends McKae and Nate King were married in the Oakland Temple. They are such a cute couple! We had a blast up at the temple with them and then that night at the reception.

Jamie, McKae, Me--- The Turlock Girls--

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day was started off with a wonderful morning of sleeping in. I don't think I've slept in for at least 2 months! It was great. Poor Todd wasn't able to sleep in though and was up by 7am. Then we relaxed and cleaned up the house a bit. Later that afternoon we met up with Whitney's dad and grandpa and played a nice round of golf. The weather was perfect... our games, not so much! We ended the night off with a great dinner at MiMi's Cafe and a trip to the grocery store. Overall we had a great Memorial day!

Our Place

2009-05-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

So, this post is mainly for the siblings who live out of state and the country. We thought we would give you a little tour of our place.

Our Little bathroom

The Piano

Kitchen/Dining room... notice the lovely CARPET under the table. We eat extra cautiously!

The bookshelf next to the loveseat (Todd didn't get any pictures of the whole wall with the loveseat on it)

The awesome hand-me-down couch that has been passed down from uncle to brother to us!

The office bookshelves. Sorry about the chair in the way.

The bedroom

Virginia

2009-05-25T21:12:00.001-07:00

During spring break I had planned to go to Virginia to visit my brother and his family but while when I bought the tickets my brother surprised us and bought Todd one too! We had a blast while we were there. It ws sad to have to come home back to reality. Sienna, Porter, and Whitney- Pay no attention to the fact that Whitney just woke up!

I absolutely love this picture of the DC temple. I couldn't resist with how beautiful the tulips were.

Out in front of the Washington Monument

Handsome little Porter

Sienna and her new bike

We had so much fun visiting the sites and just spending time with everybody. We can't wait until we can go back.

A Weekend at the Cabin

2009-05-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

A group of us went up to Barths cabin in Pinecrest. Todd, Tara, and I went up on Friday night right after work. Heather joined us the next morning bright and early. Tom, Natalie, and Jacen joined us later Saturday night.

We spent the day playing games and EATING food.
Notice how the girls are the ones in the kitchen... thanks for the help boys.

I was really sick that weekend so most of the time I was in bed or by the fire keeping warm.

Tara and Heather

Tara was definately excited for the weekend away from life.

I do...

2009-01-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official. We were married on November 1, 2008 in the Oakland California Temple. It was a cold and VERY Rainey day in Oakland but we were determined not to let that ruin our day. We had a lot of support from family and friends who were positive even though they too were completely soaked. Todd was able to have 3 of his 4 siblings there which was great. His sister was expecting a month later and was advised not to travel out of state but she was there in spirit. Whitney had 1 of her 2 brothers there (Justin). Unfortunately Justin's wife and daughter couldn't make it on account that she too was expecting and due the same day as Todd's sister and couldn't travel. Whit's other brother and family sent their love from Australia where they live. We joke because it rained on his wedding day 7 years ago so he just sent the rain to let us know he was there in spirit. Luckily we were able to get a few breaks in the downpour to get some amazing pictures.

The reception later that night was at Whitney's parents’ house in Turlock. We lucked out and didn't have any rain until we were driving off after our reception. Everything turned out perfect and we were so happy. There were a ton of people who came to support us which we are so grateful for and feel so blessed.

After the reception we headed off on our honeymoon. Todd's parents lent us their time-share and we headed up to Lake Tahoe for a week which was such a great way to relax after 2 months of wedding preparations.

Now the wedding is over and life has begun. It has it's been a wonderful 2 months and we can't wait for what’s more to come!

Our Story

2008-09-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

After who knows how many years of friends/dating, it's finally official!

We're getting married!

For those of you who don't know, we have known each other for years. We met when we were in Jr. High when we both started ballroom dance where Todd's mom taught. Over the years we became good friends. After graduating high school, we both headed up to BYU-Idaho where we dated a little before Todd left on his mission to Missouri for two years. While on his mission, we wrote each other "AS FRIENDS" (at least that's what Whitney says). In October of 2007 Todd returned home and by December we knew that we both cared about each other more than just friends. We started dating in the beginning of December for about a month before Todd left to go back up to BYU-Idaho where he finished up another year of schooling. Those 7months were filled with quite a few phone calls, a few text messages over the limit, a couple trips to Idaho for Whitney and a trip to Pennsylvania for Todd (Whitney's Family reunion).
Todd finally came home in the middle of July. 5 weeks later it was official!
Todd proposed on August 22, 2008 after a wonderful dinner, and a nice walk through the park. It was perfect for the two casual people we are! That leads us to today! After much deliberation we have finally picked a date and stuck with it. We are sealing the deal on November 1, 2008, in the Oakland California Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are extremely excited to start this journey together and are grateful for the love and support each of you continually give us.