In the last year...
MARCH 2010
- Had a baby: Quinnton Mel Parks. We call him Quinn. He gets the name Mel from his great-grandpa who was the wonderful patriarch of the family. Quinn's "due date" was on Grandpa Parks' birthday. We gave him the middle name Mel as a sort of guidance for Quinn's life. It meant a lot to Grandma Parks.
- Almost died from child birth.
- Lived, but got bad post-partum depression. It's the pits.
APRIL
- Matt got a job in Park City with Athletic Republic as the Revenue Manager.
- Matt graduated (yes, in that order).
- Matt won the best husband of the year award (not really, but he should have).
- Went back to work when Quinn was 2 weeks old (Tutoring Connection). That was the stupidest thing I did.
MAY
- I went to AZ and OR for a combined total of 3 weeks while Matt moved (with the help of a few dedicated friends -- thank you Manwarings!).
- I returned home to a beautiful little condo in Heber. We began the "real life" (vs. the "student BYU/UVU life")
JUNE
- With the loving help of my sister, Amber, I was able to come out of the depression a bit and started enjoying motherhood...
- Quinn was blessed in church. What a wonderful day. Such a wonderful day I hardly got any pictures.
JULY
- Got laid off from Tutoring Connection. Yep.
- Spent most of our time in Park City with my parents. It was so much fun!
- Did a lot of hiking.
AUGUST
- Continued hiking.
- Went to AZ for Amber's baby shower. I love my sister. I love my sisterS! They are my besties.
- Finally LOVED being a mom.
- Quinn got the stomach flu. I clearly remember this.
- Quinn started teething.
- Still loved being a mom.
SEPTEMBER
- Thought... "we should buy a house now that I don't have a job!"
- Looked for 2 weeks with the wonderful David Medina.
- Found a dog-pit of a foreclosure in Heber and an opportunity to build a new ivory home.
- Decided being house-poor would stink.
- Bought the foreclosure for a great deal. 3B 2.5B, unfinished basement, large backyard full of weeds, disgusting inside.
- Sold our contract at the rental condo.
- Packed our stuff into the Spray's garage and basement across the street from our new home.
- Moved with 2 suitcases into my parent's Park City home until we could move in.
- Quinn got his first tooth!
OCTOBER
- Spent every night fixing up the house. Repainted every wall and cieling, changed every light fixture, replaced the balusters and stained every piece of wood in the house. Wished we could change the floor. Whimpered when we saw our jungle outside.
- Started working from home with CareMinders Home Care.
- Quinn learned how to sit for extended periods of time and play with toys. NOTE: This may look like it's related to the previous statement, but I can assure you it is not. I still love being mom.
- Quinn was Jack-Jack (from the Incredibles) for Halloween and play the part tremendously.
NOVEMBER
- Quinn got the stomach flu again. This time it was bad. Almost hospitalized over Thanksgiving (Pediatricians are nice to nurse-mamas).
- That's the only thing I can remember in November.
DECEMBER
- Spent Christmas with family in Park City. Both sides of the family got to play with Quinn. It was absolutely wonderful!
- Quinn started "rowing". Not crawling. He would switch his arms from side to side while he dragged his be-hind along. Really, it's genius if you think about it. He went really fast and his arms never tired.
- Quinn had 8 teeth by now. Pediatrician said he wouldn't get anymore until around 18 months - 2 years.
- I knew my child was a genius and I REALLY started loving being a mom.
JANUARY 2011
- Quinn continued getting teeth.
- Quinn started crawling... the correct way.
- Quinn and I went to AZ while Matt was away on a business trip. Did some hiking and attended Jim Jarman's funeral. Sad, short, but nice trip.
- Returned to the freezing cold arctic of Utah. Played in the snow with the Manwarings!
- Quinn and daddy went to Cabela's and Quinn loved it (to say the least).
FEBRUARY
- Aaaaah... American Idol. This year Matt is watching too.
- Matt got a promotion at work. He is now the manager over all the accounting department. I don't know what the job title is.
- I told you he deserves best husband of the year award this year too.
- Went to the aquarium with the Manwarings. Quinn would have lived with the stingrays if we let him. We brought him home. But, when he becomes a true toddler, we know where to leave him. Just kidding.
- Quinn learned some serious tricks: high five, feeding himself, clapping, big-boy, peek-a-boo/where's-Quinn, nose breathing and became an expert french kisser.
- Quinn won the diaper dash. He subsequently lost in the championship since he never even left the starting line. We were proud of him!
- You should know the trend of genius continued... yes, these are some seriously amazing tricks. BUT, when he plays peek-a-boo/where's-Quinn he does NOT cover his eyes. In the event his eyes were truly covered for the trick, he would fail to see his mama's elated facial expressions. Only a genius would know that!
- Quinn got RSV. It was a bad one. It lasted nearly 4 weeks. YUCK.
MARCH
- Quinn turned ONE! We had 2 birthday parties. One with his future wife at the Kamas pool. One with family and friends at our home. His love for cake grew tremendously... surprisingly not due to it's deliciously sweet taste. Instead, he loved the mess he could make and the laughs he got out of the spectators.
- Quinn at one: clown, sensitive, mama's boy, daddy's helper, great sleeper, almost walking, scaredy cat, love's babies (especially his cuz, Tucker), independent player, serious ball player, stranger anxiety, loves the Backyardigan's, animal enthusiast, ADORABLE. He's our favorite child.
- Haha... tricked you... he's our only child.
APRIL
- The sun made my flowers grow.
- Started the yard work. SO EXCITED!
- It continued to snow and ruined the yard work.
- Michelle Williams came for a quick visit. It was lots of fun to catch up. But, she still owes me pictures from the week... ahem!
- Quinn started walking. He's neither fast nor good at it, but it has begun.
The moral of the story...
- We're alive and doing excellent. I truly have the best little family. I live a modest, yet exciting life. Not exciting due to extreme adventure... exciting because it is everything I've ever dreamed of. I thank my Heavenly Father for it every day.
