Jace Richard Packard

Well it's time for a bit of an update! We finally had the baby! Jace Richard Packard blessed our home on January 29,2011 at 3:24 pm. 7 lbs 8oz 20in. We couldn't have asked for a better child. He is such a cute, happy, healthy little boy. I don't think there was ever a happier little boy. He truly only cries when he has a reason. We are starting to feel a little spoiled. I don't think we are going to know what to do if our other children aren't as congenial (and I'm sure they won't be). We are all doing so well everyone is so amazed and all we have to say is we're thankful for all the help we have. That and the easiest newborn there ever was. Both of our families have been so great! Ricky's family just loves having Jace around. He already thinks he needs to be held 24/7 and he probably could be if we let everyone. I'm sure his aunt Katie would gladly take him during the night if we let her. My mom was also able to be here for about a week and a half and help. She was here for the whole first week of Jace's life! He just loved having her around. And she loved it too. We hated to see her go back home to Michigan. But the rest of the family was glad to have her back, especially Tyler. He was tired of doing his own laundry (the poor boy).

Ricky and I are just loving this new adventure. It is the best! I think we could just watch Jace all day if we were able to. He makes the funniest faces when he sleeps. There is nothing better than being a parent.

getting all checked in and ready to have a baby!

He's such a proud new daddy.

A Holly Jolly Christmas

Christmas this year was a little different than usual. Now that I'm 9 months pregnant I couldn't travel home to be with the family as originally planned, so the family was good enough to come to us! Christmas is Rexburg was definitely different, and we really had a blast creating our own fun. We started our break in Salt Lake for my cousin Emily's wedding and then went back to Rexburg for the usual festivities. There we had fun building an igloo, couch sledding (where the boys got a few ice burns), and then we put together the hardest puzzle ever!

December!

It's still hard to believe but our little nugget of joy is going to be here in just about 1 month! Last week friends threw me a great baseball themed shower. Chelsey did such a great job putting everything together. She was an amazing hostess. Ricky was sooo excited to get these cute little baseball things. If he wasn't already over the moon about being a daddy, then these little baseball shoes really did the trick. And look at this little diaper tower! I just want the little guy to get here now!

The weekend continued to get better though, when we had Drew and Cami over on Sunday. We hadn't celebrated Drew's birthday yet so we had dinner with them and then topped it off with LAVA CAKES! They were outstanding! I was afraid they would be complicated to make, but it was so easy I might make them every week! Soooo yummy!

obsession

Fall is here! It's the best time of year, the weather is great, the food is awesome, and there are so many good smells to go around! It also means that Christmas is right around the corner. These are just a few things we love right now. Ok... maybe we're a little obsessed. We can't stop making the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

Our little guy

It's baby time! We're getting so excited to start thinking about babies! The little guy is growing so fast! He's already getting bigger and it's fun to feel him kick and move around. We can even see the kicks by now. I'm finally starting to get a noticeable little bump too. It's hard to believe we're going to have someone joining our family so soon.

Istanbul

Once again I've been slow on the update... Istanbul was definitely one of our favorite places. It took us by surprise. There was so much to see and so little time. We were able to see the Blue Mosque (where we had to wear robes to cover ourselves), The Hagia Sophia, a pottery demonstration, a Turkish rug demonstration, The Sultan's Palace, The Grand Bazzar, and the Spice Market. It was incredible. Ricky and I are thinking about moving into the Sultan's Palace. We felt so at home we didn't want to leave.

Ephesus

After stopping in Bari we went on to Greece, but because it was such a short stop we spent a little while at the beach and then got back on the ship. Unfortunately there weren't a lot of photo ops. Thankfully Turkey was next and it was great! We stopped in Izmir which is about 40 minutes away from the ancient city Ephesus. We were so amazed at how much we saw. We saw the stadium where Paul taught the Ephesians and I couldn't believe how impressive it was! Turkey was definitely one of our favorite stops. Although, the ancient bathrooms were not so appealing without any toilet paper! We also got to see the old library that used to be one of the largest in the world. I couldn't believe how long some of those pillars have lasted. Needless to say it was worth the heat.