Name and a Blessing!

Josh's brother, Brian and mom, Barbara were here... so we decided to go ahead and bless him. Dieter came up as well... and it was a lovely blessing. Maybe he's going to be like Papa Tom... doesn't like ties??
Brian, Josh & Dieter... and Tanner
Our little family

Daddy & TIB

Grandma Barlow & the little guy

Go Gators!

Brooklyn on the block.

Makenna's turn!
Makenna swimming freestyle.

Brooklyn swimming her first butterfly race.

Makenna swimming in the backstroke relay finals.

Tanner Israel Barlow

Welcome Tanner!

Tanner Israel Barlow was born on June 17, 2009 at 12:23 a.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and 20.5 inches long. He was supposed to come via planned c-section on June 24... but he had other plans. At about 6pm I started having crazy contractions every 3 minutes... called the doctor a couple of hours later and he told me to go in to the hospital. We weren't ready for this little guy quite yet... but were able to get a babysitter to stay overnight and off we went. Once we checked in the contractions were painfully consistent every 2 minutes and not going away. So at about 10 p.m. they told us that they were going to do the c-section as soon as an operating room opened up. At about midnight they took us in to do the spinal... and out he came... healthy and quite big for being a couple of weeks early. His name was chosen at the last minute although we had done some research prior. We liked Tanner because of the example of N. Eldon Tanner (a former member of the First Presidency of the Church... who served faithfully for many years... including the reading of the 1978 revelation on the priesthood as President Kimball wasn't well enough to do so). Israel comes from "Israel Barlow," the first member on the Barlow side to join the church. He was a bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith and founded Nauvoo. He crossed the plains as a pioneer and has a large posterity.

First photo!He's not too sure about this yet!!!
Zack came to meet Tanner first as the girls were in their last day of school.
Big sisters=diaper changers... right?

Zack finally held him after a couple of days.
Michael & Nessa (my cousin) came to visit!

Ten perfect toes!

Going Home!!

We wish they could stay like this forever... or at least more than a few weeks!

Last Day of School!

Thank you for a wonderful school year teachers and staff! Josh did a wonderful job getting photos with the girls' teachers... considering he was on the way to the hospital to have them meet Baby Tanner and pulled them out early! Brooklyn & her 2nd Grade Teacher, Mrs. Swain.
Makenna and her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Olson.

Don't Fall!!

We went on a little Saturday afternoon bike ride to get some ice cream. It was too close to drive... too far to walk. People were looking at us like we were absolutely crazy.

Josh & Zack riding scooters.The girls are ready to roll!

Ducklings

Makenna's kindergarten class did a project with ducks. They watched the eggs incubate... then hatch, etc. The children were allowed one night to have a sleepover with the ducklings... Kobe & Fluffy. I... being the ultimate pet-hater... decided that I could be nice for one night at least. So we picked up the ducks from the classroom.

Darling, right?

The ducks swimming in a clean container of water... this lasted for 1.2 minutes.
Makenna's little write-up

If you thought this was a great idea... and want your own little ducklings... THINK AGAIN. This is what they did to their bed after a night of peaceful rest! In case you can't see it... it's lots of poo mixed with a little water and food.

Church...

... can do this to me sometimes, too!