Chris's Blessing Day

We originally planned Chris's blessing for the last Sunday of October, but we had to cancel at the last minute because Kelson woke up sick. We rescheduled it for the Sunday after Thanksgiving, which turned out to be a good thing. We were able to have all of our family there. We blessed him in my parents' ward in Baker City, the same ward that I was blessed in. My parents, my brother and his family, my sister, and all of my mom's brothers and sister were able to come. Chris was blessed by his father with his grandpa, his Uncle Jeremy, and his great uncles Donny, Jerry, and Kendall in the circle. It was a very special day.

 Chris was blessed in the same gown and cap that I was. It belonged to my grandpa Baxter, who was born in 1906, making this a very old gown. When Sarah wore it, she had a diaper blow-out on it. Chris scratched his face and bled on it. My children are determined to ruin this heirloom. Luckily both stains came out. They must not make fabric like they used to.

We were so glad Aunt Katy got to be there for his special day!

 The advantage of blessing your baby when he is 2 months old is that you get smiles in the photos.

 Our happy family

 This little boy was blessed to come into such a wonderful family!

While we were all dressed up nice, we even managed to get our Christmas card picture for the year!

November: More Fall fun, the zoo, and a happy Thanksgiving

We had a beautiful November here in Idaho. The weather was so mild that we could still enjoy playing outside even as we kicked off the holiday season. 

 Sarah has been struggling a bit to settle into her role as big sister. She would still very much like to be the baby of the family. She definitely has her sweet moments with Chris, though. One day Cinderella climbed in to Chris's crib to help in the battle to get him to sleep. Best part: he actually went to sleep!

 Oh, life with a 3 year old. On this particular day, Chris was actually taking a nap, and I was letting Sarah watch a movie while I grabbed a few minutes to get something done. I came back in the room to find her sitting in a mountain of Cheerios snacking away. I just left her there. She was happy.

 Chris has been smiling!

 Kelson had a meeting in Boise, so the kids and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to spend a day at the zoo. Sarah was super excited about the carousel.

 Chris was not happy in the stroller, so he ended up in the baby carrier sleeping for the whole trip, and I pushed around a stroller full of all of our junk while Sarah rode holding on to the front. Time to find a double stroller. That is a classic Sarah face, by the way.

 By the end of the day, Sarah was riding in the baby seat.

 A second round on the carousel was necessary. Sarah has been talking about the carousel ever since.

Chris slept through his whole first trip to the zoo, but at least he got to wear his zoo shirt.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend with family in Baker City. As is tradition, we baked a ridiculous amount of pie. Cooking with Aunt Katy was a very popular activity.

Kelson got up early on Thanksgiving morning to run in the local 5K turkey trot. 

We went to my Aunt Diane's house for dinner and had a wonderful time with all of our family. We haven't been able to spend Thanksgiving with my family since we got married, so it was extra wonderful to be home this year.

Kelson entertained Sarah at dinner by making dolphin sounds for her stuffed dolphin.

When I told Sarah we were going to make pies, she insisted that we needed chocolate. She couldn't wait for that slice of chocolate pie. 

We finished up the day by going to see Moana with all of the kids. What a fun holiday. We have ever so much to be grateful for this year.

Chris: 2 Months

Our little man is 2 months old! You know those adorable photos I took with a little sign for each month and the same stuffed animal to show how much Sarah had grown? Apparently I'm not as good at things with kid number 2. This picture was taken the day after Chris turned 2 months, so I'm going to count it.

Chris at 2 months:

• Chris has finally learned to smile! He was so grumpy for his first 6 weeks or so of life that we didn't get a lot of happy looks from him. The smiles have finally started coming, and they are adorable.
• His reflux medication kicked in, and he started sleeping at night. He is still up about 3 times most nights between 7 PM and 8 AM, but that is a HUGE improvement. 
• He made a new best friend - his cougar pacifier. The cougar helps keep the pacifier in his mouth, and it is nice to cuddle. 
• We finally figured out how to get him to nap. He actually likes to fall asleep on his own, as long as he has his pacifier. Now he is napping like a champ most days, and he is infinitely happier.
• He is weighing in at 12 pounds 9 ounces, and I can't find the paper to tell me what his height was. However, I know that he is in the 30th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Even though he is on the lower end for weight, he is getting the cutest chubby thighs. So squishable!

Sarah: 3 Years Old!

Our Sarah is 3! 

I would have done a formal photo shoot on her third birthday, but these photos I took a few days earlier capture her so perfectly that I didn't bother.

Sarah is very fond of climbing on the giant boulders in our flower bed. She also has this strange love for, as she says, "looking at the dark." We will find her on the back patio just sitting in her little chair looking at the night. The sun was just going down when I took this photo, and Sarah was looking at the dark. Notice that she is dressed as a mouse. This is also a common occurrence around here.

Sarah is the queen of funny facial expressions. This is one of her favorites, and it is always accompanied with the question, "Is that what you said?"

Highlights for Sarah at age 3:

-She is a crazy, silly, energetic, loving little girl

-If we can talk her into wearing clothes at all, it has to be a shirt and pants or pajamas. No dresses or skirts unless it is Sunday or we are playing dress-up.

-Still not sleeping reliably through the night, but she does sleep in until 8 or 9 in the morning, which might make it worth it.

-Looks forward all week to visiting Grandma's house

-A major animal lover, whether they are real or pretend. She spends most of her days playing with her stuffed animals or her little people animals.

-Sleeps every night with her elephant, bunny, and zebra

-Favorite foods include pancakes, couscous, popsicles, smoothies, and all kinds of vegetables

-Favorite movies are Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella and Finding Nemo

-She is our beautiful princess, and we love her so much!

We had a party for Sarah with her cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Hindman's house a couple of days before her birthday. Sarah, naked as usual, led everyone in a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday.

 She was very excited about her new horse and her Doc Mcstuffins doctor kit.

 Blowing out candles without any clothes on is a dangerous business.

 Sharing breakfast with horsey the next morning. Grandmas give the best gifts.

 From Mom & Dad she got a vintage doll house and an Anna dress. She read a story to her dolls and insisted on a black crown to wear with her new dress.

 On her birthday, we took her to a children's stage production of Peter Pan. In spite of her face, I promise she really enjoyed it.

That afternoon, we had a Winnie the Pooh birthday party with a few of Sarah's friends. Grandma gave Sarah a whole set of Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals. She may be a little bit spoiled.

We had veggies from Rabbit's garden, Tigger Tails, Hunny bears, Kanga's Pita pockets, and Piglets in a blanket for dinner.

And beehive cupcakes for dessert

After a few rounds of pin the tail on Eeyore, tossing honey balls into a bucket, and making Pooh characters out of balloons, Sarah got to blow out some more candles. Happy birthday Sarah!