Christmas Celebrations

Here's Grant opening up his first gift from G'ma and G'pa Barlow. Thanks!! We acted out the nativity for Christmas Eve. We recorded the whole thing and let me tell you, it was inspiring and a crack-up.
The traditional reading of "The Night Before Christmas" by Grandpa. You might think it had a surprise ending but it didn't actually.
Grant was happy all Christmas morning.

Grant and his new friend he got from Jeff & Suz. He loves it by the way. We've gotten some good smiles out of him while the snowman kisses him with his carrott nose.
This was the other masterpiece I built at the festivities a week ago at Kim and Beth's house. Kim throws a gingerbread party each year and we were priviliged to attend the last 2 years. I was inspired by the "Burj Dubai" that we learned about in school recently. It's not even finished yet but it's the tallest building in the world.
Jen and I were amazed to see this snow before we left Utah. It so fluffy and light that you can blow it like feathers and it looks like the stereotypical snowflakes that you see people make with paper or draw.
Merry Christmas y'all. We love you!!

Framing Masterpiece

While others on BYU campus were writing papers, and doing professional presentations, some privileged members of the construction management major are building Barbie-size houses. Here's the finished project that me and 3 others have been working on all semester. It is for my framing class. It's about three feet wide and three feet deep also just so you know how big it really is. The "2x4's" we used were like 1/2"x1/4". It was pretty good times and I was proud enough of it to blog it up. I've got the last mini model that I made still sitting atop our tv for show. Maybe I should put this one there to replace it.

Hehe

Jenny and I have both gotten some good laughs watching this multiple times. I thought everyone would like it also.

Baby Blessings

July 21, 2002- I gave my first baby blessing. We had given the first discussion to a woman, a friend of one of the members. We were surprised to see that she came to church that Sunday. I don't remember if there was another baby being blessed that day or if the member friend had told her we could, but she asked the Bishop if her daughter could be blessed. He agreed and asked me to do it. The girl was about 1 1/2 years old and was really darling. We sat her on a small chair and placed our hands on her head and that poor girl got the worst blessing anyone has received in the modern dispensaiton. The second we gathered around she started to wail. She screamed so loud that I'm sure even the people in the circle couldn't hear me let alone her mother (I didn't have a microphone). I couldn't hear myself think, and certainly couldn't hear the "still small voice" of the Spirit. It was short, generic, and probably had some poor grammar since I was still kinda new. Needless to say, Grant's blessing turned out much better.

December 2, 2007- Maybe Jen and I were inspired to name him after Heber J Grant. He has always been my favorite prophet because of his determination. The blessing mentioned that Grant would have determination, cheerfulness, a great love for others, and would bless many inside and outside of his family. He would be able to accomplish his goals, serve well in the Aaronic Priesthood so that he would be a righteous Melchizedek Priesthood holder and he would be able to lead his family in righteousness. Sounds like if he makes the right choices, he'll be surpassing Jen and I in no time! We already feel like he's such a good boy. We hope we can be sufficient parents for him. I've been surprised- Even though a lot of people say it, I kinda was disbelieving: He has taught us some great things since he came. I'll save those things for another blog.

More Pictures of Grant just because we like him so much

Awake
Asleep

Grant's First Sunday at Church

DAD and MOM

GRANT

Born With Cougar Blood

Saturday- We put on our blue shirts, got our megaphone, and headed to Lavell Edwards Stadium. Just under 6 weeks old, Grant was able to witness the greatness of BYU football. Tradition. Spirit. Honor. What can we say about the game? It's tough to put into words but it was a rollercoaster of emotions. It's games like this that just make every part of my body start to fidget and shake. What an incredible win for BYU! Although Grant actually managed to sleep through the whole game, I think this picture captures the cougar blood that already flows through his veins. We took this just minutes after the game was over. A couple weeks ago, I caught Bronco doing this same pose after the win against TCU. Maybe we really should have named him Bronco.

Growly Bear

Sometimes he's Guy Smiley and other times..... He's growly bear!! If you'll notice he's nearly the same color as my t-shirt there. (Don't adjust the color on your computer screen. He really is that color) He's usually only growly bear when he hasn't been fed or he's got a belly ache. It wrenches the heart to hear him cry but he's so cute even when he's crying.
Once again, here's a picture of an actual "growly bear" for comparison purposes. The resemblance is uncanny!

Guy Smiley

How's this for a great pic! He does this sometimes when he's 1/2 awake 1/2 asleep and looks like he's drugged. What a cute little guy!
Here's an actual picture of Guy Smiley for comparison purposes.

Chris' Top 5 YouTube Videos of All Time

The top 5 (in no particular order) videos from YouTube. I like each one for different reasons. The laughing Ada one is actually the daughter of one of my high school buddies. I was going to put the laughing baby one that is more popular on YouTube but this one is much better. The screaming just adds so much. The BYU football one is better if you see the highlights of the whole game and get the whole effect but I didn't think everyone would watch the 15 min. version of the game. OK Go is a classic. They have a couple others that are great too. Ronaldinho e o maximo! At first I didn't think it was real but now I'm at least mostly sure that it's real and really impressive! And what can we say about Miss South Carolina. I personally believe that, like, such as US Americans like her shouldn't get so far in places like such as pageants so we can build a better future for our children. Let me know which one you like best! We'll tally it up and declare a winner for best video ever

Looks like Easter!

It was a special occasion on 3 counts tonight. It was the first time that Jenny & Grant left the house for something besides a medical visit, 2nd - The Halloween Bash Extravaganza put on by Michelle and her family, and 3rd - (we just realized this one) our first family picture with Grant was taken. If you couldn't see the theme here, Jenny is the easter basket, grant is a "Peep", and I'm a chocolate easter bunny. I think the pictures speak for themselves. Although it's not pictured here, it should be mentioned that I won the candy corn spitting contest. Just when you thought we couldn't beat our costumes from 2 years ago of Mario and the Princess, we did it. Looks like Easter in October!

Edward- Double Meaning?

David brings up a good point that should be addressed. It is now apparent to me that Jenny had a hidden agenda as she campaigned for Edward as the middle name. Could it have something to do with a secret love for a fictional, but hunky character in an unnamed book? Was Edward Bunker even really an ancestor of Jenny? Interesting that Jenny always liked Haven until recently, when she became enthralled in the unmentioned book series and suddenly became more inclined towards the name Edward. A very fishy situation indeed.

Middle Name for Grantster

We first want to give a big Thank You to everyone!! Jenny and I feel so blessed to have so many people who love and support us and already love our new addition! We got tons of responses through email, our blog, text message, and phone. When we say our prayers, we're always sure to mention how grateful we are for the wonderful people that surround us in our lives. So, thanks to everyone! We love you. If you haven't got a chance to see Grant, here's some pics for you and we hope that everyone will have the chance to see what we call "the cutest little guy in town".
We've had many ask us what his middle name was going to be and we've been asking ourselves the same question for months now. But they wouldn't let us leave the hospital today without writing it down for the birth certificate. So, after much deliberation and a near stalemate (and a pact that I could decide the middle name of the next boy), We've come to the decision that his name will be Grant Edward Barlow. He was given the middle name Edward in honor of Edward Bunker, a righteous ancestor of Jenny. He led a handcart company to the Salt Lake Valley, and was the founder of Bunkerville, Nevada.

"Edward Bunker was a man of small stature, very energetic, and industrious,always patient and cheerful. He was a man who read a good deal, was well posted in Scripture, good sound substantial reasoner." -Elida C. Haycock

Here's the newer pictures of Grant

Grant!

We entered the hospital at 7:20 am and got right to business. They induced Jenny and soon after, she started to have some good contractions. After they put in the epidural, we had some good wait time where Jenny relaxed and I learned to solve a Rubiks Cube. She went from a 2+ to being fully dialated in what seemed like record time. Jenny did such a great job at pushing and he came out about 50 min. after she started pushing. He's the cutest little cone-headed baby you've ever seen. His hair is a light brown right now. Not quitle like Jenny's or mine. He's in perfect health and so is Jenny. Interesting trivia of the birth- It was exactly 2 years ago that I proposed to Jenny. So, he was born within about an hour or 2 of that moment. That's 1 year 364 days since the day we got engaged. Anyone who wants to come see him here at the hospital- We'd love for you to. If you'd like to see Jenny too, you'll want to wait till tomorrow. She's pretty exausted. Thanks for all your support and your prayers. We love you guys!!
-Chris Jen & Grant

At least we're healthy

David,
I think you forgot to tell the baby that you would be seeing him in the hospital on the 10th.

It looks like he has already learned some good procrastinating skills and is perfectly content staying where he is. I had a non-stress test yesterday and the kind woman checking him told me that we were both perfectly healthy and fine for me to stay pregnant a little while longer. She said it so cheerfully like this was exactly what I was hoping to hear. :) Well, I am very grateful for the "perfectly healthy" part.

So, as long as everyone is checking our blog for more exciting news......here is a little story for you. I call it "The Attack of the Killer Wasp and yet I Still Didn't Go into Labor." On Monday afternoon, as in the Monday of my Due Date, I was driving down Geneva Road towards 400 N in Orem to go to my Dr. appt. I had just finished my last day at work....hurray!.... and had left the windows down most of the day. I was driving along when I noticed an extra large wasp on the back window of the car, on the inside. Well, although not allergic enough to be hospitalized, my body still reacts pretty good to any sort of insect or spider bite. (Have you seen what mosquitos can do to me?!) This was the LAST thing I wanted to happen before having a baby. It was all I could do to not completely focus on the wasp, but to focus on where I was driving. I just had to keep checking every couple of seconds to make sure he was still back there on the window. I had just gone through a light on 400 and was not even 5 mins away from the Orem Hospital where my Dr.'s office is when the wasp decided to start crawling on the ceiling directly to where I was sitting. There was nothing to do but hurry, pull over and quickly get my soon to be "overdue" belly out of the car as fast as I could. I had left the car on and just had the blinker on. I was over on the passenger side close to the sidewalk hoping no one would notice me and pull over to help. How embarrasing! Anyways, I think this was when Chris ("girl chris") called so she got to get in on the action. I was trying to figure out how to shoo the wasp out of my car without anyone driving by noticing me so they wouldn't try to help and also without getting stung. It wasn't going very well. Finally the wasp just dropped from off the ceiling on the drivers side exactly where I would have to sit to go anywhere. Thats when I lost him. I swear he didn't fly out of the window. I was watching so carefully! This is also when some nice grandpa and his middle-aged son pulled over and asked if I needed any help. So, I told them, "yes, actually" and hung up on Chris. Then I had to explain that I couldn't get back into my car becuase there was a huge wasp somewhere in there. I also made sure to mention I was allergic, emphasis on the allergic part. I was hoping they would assume I meant the "have to go to the hospital kindof allergic" so I wouldn't seem so much like a crazy pregnant lady. They both moved the seats and looked under them and around and fortunately and unfortunately didn't find the wasp. I thanked them for their help, they smiled and drove away and I was left to hope they really did do a good job of checking. Anways, I made it to the Dr. appt. and so far haven't seen any sign of the wasp. So there you have it. The situation was pretty funny. Its best if you try to imagine me, huge and pregnant on the side of the road trying to figure out how to get this wasp out of my car. Good times.

Anyways, no worries. We will definitely keep you all posted as to when this baby finally decides to arrive. Thanks for all of your love and support!

Due Date TODAY

Ummm.....notice that my prego ticker doesn't list any more days left for our baby to arrive? Apparently, our little guy missed that information and still is livin' it up inside my belly. Don't worry, we'll let you know when anything changes.

Bobsledding Barlows

Chris and his two sisters, Julie and Steph, went and rode the bobsled. I was completely jealous! I really should let Chris tell about it. Maybe he’ll just add his comments later.

Anyways, an actual official bobsled driver takes you down the track. You end up going around 70 miles an hour and experience 4 G’s of force. Its not quite as fast as when the sled goes down the track on ice but still an obviously thrilling ride.

Everyone getting ready for the ride.

Chris checking for possible wind resistance. :)

Volunteer guys getting ready to push the bobsled down the track.

Beginning of the Bobsled track.

Ski Jumpers

So, I am slowly but surely, trying to get caught up on all these different things I have wanted to blog about. The combination of our computer having trouble and just not having any time has really put a delay on things.

Chris and I spent the weekend with his whole family up in Park City a few weeks ago. It was a ton of fun. Especially, for Chris. He got to ride all the rides! I mostly babysat all of the purses and stuff for everyone. :) But, one of the things that we did that I probably enjoyed the most was watching a show at the Olympic Park. They had ski jumpers practicing their jumps into a pool. It was awesome. Our pictures just don’t do it justice as it’s sometimes hard to see the guys doing their tricks. You’ll have to look close. However, the video of one of their last jumps is pretty cool. It’s pretty interesting. They shoot a bunch of air into the pool right before the skiers enter to soften the landing. That is why there are all those white bubbles or waves in the pictures. It was pretty incredible watching them do this into the pool. I can’t imagine what it is like when they actually are performing these tricks and landing on the snow. Crazy.

Look for the skiers at the top of the ramp.

He is a little tricky to see but there is a guy flipping at the top of this picture.

Video of the final jump. I'm not sure how to make this bigger. I hope you can all see it well enough. It's pretty awesome! They look like a bunch of rag dolls flipping through the air.

Big Dreams and Reminiscing

So, I've had this secret dream...well, maybe not so secret depending on who you are.... of being in a band. I am not really the "get up in front of people and perform" type of person, but everytime I go to a concert of any sort I always think that they look like they are having so much fun and I would love to be able to do that. A couple of weeks ago I went to a Colors "reunion" concert with a bunch of friends and family. I have always loved these guys and their music since I was introduced to them my freshman year, but watching them perform this last time just reaffirmed what a blast they were having up there on the stage. I think maybe I associate a lot of good times and memories with concerts and combining that with my love of music, well, maybe that's where my desire to be in a band comes from. Plus this last week, I got in the mail a CD that my friend Meesh talked about on her blog. I like their music quite a bit but I'll admit that it was the name of their group that convinced me I had to buy their CD. Who can pass up a CD from a group called "The Waillin' Jennys". I should definitely be a part of that group.

And a little more about the Colors concert...... Going to that concert was such a blast (even at 37 weeks pregnant) and brought back such a flood of memories. I truly have been blessed by the people I have met throughout my life. I love that so many of us still stay in touch and are such good friends. And, I love looking back and thinking of all of the good times that I had with so many people. In the words of Summer J, here is a little "shout out of love" to everyone. Thank you for being my friend.

3 weeks and counting

Here is a picture Chris took last week. So I guess that was actually with 4 weeks left instead of 3. I know, I know. I can hear you all thinking it. I am big. Huge, really. Everyone thoughtfully tells me so too. :) Especially, my loving dad. Thanks, Dad! :)

I'm feeling pretty good though. Just the typical uncomfortableness that comes with being big. I am getting more and more ready to have this little baby come and join us on the outside.

Computer access finally......at least for awhile

So, the ridiculous computer store has still not called to tell us that our new power-cord has arrived. Their estimate of a week is quite a bit different than the typical 7 day week. But thanks to Chris's amazing sister Steph, we have computer access again. Hurray! She let us borrow her computer's cord for a couple of days and is actually probably wondering when she is going to get it back...... Anyways, I am going to try to work on catching up on all the missed blogs we have wanted to post. Enjoy!

Cordless and Blogless

Due to technical difficulties, our blogspot is temporarily out of order. (Our power cord is broken and we sent in for a new one but the computer is out of batteries for home based blogging, and my boss won't just let me blog and surf myspace all day(although the receptionist does)). So, we're sentenced to using the internet only when we head over to BYU. And then our time is pretty much occupied with checking everyone's new postings. Keep 'em comin'!

Las Vegas Baby Shower

While we were down in Vegas last weekend my friend Diana had a baby shower for me. It was nice and relaxing with good food and visiting. A perfect combination! Our good neighbor, Keri, let us have it at her house and it worked out great. Thank you so much Diana for all of your work and effort in putting that together for me. I appreciate it so much! You're just great! Thank you to everyone for your generosity and thoughtfulness. This really is the first of things I have started to gather for the arrival of our little guy so it was exciting and so fun to get all of these cute and useful things!

Me & Diana