Summer's blessing day

This last Sunday, we blessed Summer during Sacrament Meeting at church by her Daddy. This is an ordinance performed for babies in the LDS church. The baby is given their name and blessed with inspired words to live their life by. My husband, along with a few of my very talented friends, performed a musical number, "Be Thou My Vision" On a gray and snowy(yes, snow in March!) day, the clouds parted and the sun shone through the big windows in the Chapel while they sang (and it happened during the blessing too) :) It was a very special day. We had friends and family come with us, then we had a family dinner at our house after church was over.

Summer was so pretty in her blessing dress. My mom had a dress for her that matches the dress Brooke was buried in. My mom worked with a friend to alter Brooke's dress to fit her tiny self. She just happened to get a set of two, when she bought them over 10 years ago (anticipating granddaughters :))...amazing how those things work out. Brooke was given this beautiful afghan from the NICU at Seattle Children's Hospital. It was donated by a generous organization called Project Linus. Summer loves it...being cuddled by her guardian angel :) It was a special way to honor both the girls.

Daddy getting Summer ready for her big day

Our beautiful girl

Me, Summer and my friend, Melanie

Grandma Julie cuddles

Summer is always good for a big smile!

Aunt Rachel

Morgan, Summer, and mommy

Ryan entertained us with his enthusiastic piano playing

Uncle Charles

Grandpa Tom Cameron

Tom is a great big brother!

Daddy cuddles in Summer's room...to escape the 10 kids running around the house! :)

Aunt Debbie, Summer, and Micaela...notice the March snow through the window!

Grandpa loves the babies :)

Jared...

...is so cute, I can't resist his face :)

He poses for me when I pull out the camera :) Good boy!

Summer makes a good pouty face...she inherited this from me :l

Family photo

Andrew 6 1/2, Morgan 3 1/2, Tom 10 1/2, Summer 8 months

Nice socks!! They ARE clean though :)

Another outing with the cousins

In Feb., during Mid-Winter break, we renewed our Science Center Pass and spent the day playing and watching an Undersea Imax movie. As usual the kids had a great time!

Crazy kids come in pairs!

This is a cool shadow wall...my kids usually spend a minimum of a half an hour in here every time we go to the Science Center!

Now they are getting REALLY creative :)

Connor, Tom, Micaela' friend Katelyn, and Micaela getting ready to watch the 3-D Imax movie

In the butterfly house

Tom and Connor waited a long time for a butterfly to land on them...no luck this time :(

Summer and mom in the butterfly house

Morgan watching the butterflies eat

Connor tries on Debbie's glasses

Now you see her...

...now you don't! Camoflauge wall!

Andrew flexes...

...more muscles

Andrew

The kids in the water wheel

Morgan

Morgan

Little Tom...

...he's happy...he just bought a Venus Fly Trap in the gift shop :)

Tom and Connor

Morgan, the girly, girl

Morgan and Pinkie Pie making a quick escape...

She is so silly :)

Morgan is growing up so fast! She has had most of her influence from her older brothers until recently...she has a friend, Sadie, who is showing her the ropes of being a girly girl. When Sadie comes to play, they pull out all her dresses, shoes, necklaces....etc. The other day, they were holding hands and spinning around...giggling the whole time! Wow, girls certainly are different! They are very cute together. My husband even loves the girls around here...he wasn't so sure he would know what to do with them, but they have wrapped him tightly around their little fingers!

We used to have to fight with Morgan for hours to put on a dress...Sadie can get her in one in under 2 minutes flat!

Silly girls

Playing the piano is a team effort...

Sadie does the melody...

...while Morgan works the pedals.

Good friends...

...I see chocolate fountain parties in their future! (Sadie is my friend, Angie's, daughter after all)

"Happa, Nappa, Yeeeaahahahaha!" The current theme song...Morgan has been watching my hubby play the piano and sing. She has been composing her own one girl show :)

She walks around the house singing this ballad...even her stuffed animals know the words!

Despite this recent discovery that pink is the greatest color ever, it's ok to wear accessories in your hair, and My Little Ponies are the greatest thing since buttered toast, Morgan can still hold her own in our house. She loves dinosaurs and Legos, she wrestles and growls, and loves Pokemon! Maybe she will be like I was and wear her cute pink clothes while using the saw on the scraps of wood outside to build a tree house! We can only hope :)

Baby's got her own blog!

I added links to my 2 new blogs, but thought I'd better make the formal announcement. I decided Summer has so many pictures and updates that she needs her own blog. So, I searched for a name and came up with a real corny one! http://www.somuchsunshine.blogspot.com/ I will be posting regular updates for her there, but still updating this one with our family stuff as well. I am also compiling some memories and lots of pictures of Brooke and have created a blog to tell her story http://www.justtendays.blogspot.com/

Happy reading :) And, by the way, don't be shy...I love comments :)

Hearts and Flowers and a frog

Last weekend was Valentines...

It has always been my job in the past to go all out with gifts, flowers, cards, candy...etc. and my hubby's job to simply forget that holidays exist. Well, a couple of years ago, just when I had decided I was taking on his way, he caught on to how it's done (at least in my family). So now I am the one who is showered with nice, thoughtful gifts and candy. Tom got a card..oh, and a box of cherry chocolates. He usually brought me home a dozen roses from some street vendor in Seattle, but this time he bought some over prices bouquet at the store on his walk home from the bus. :) Isn't he sweet?

I had taken the boys shopping for Valentines for their classes and little Tom talked me into buying the stuffed frog (squeeze it and it makes a kissing sound) "for grandma". He was so sneaky...that night he asked me if I would be mad if he lied for a good reason? He was so cute...he gave me the frog on Valentine's day :)

Tom and I went to our Stake Valentine's dinner/dance and dragged Summer along with us. It was funny to see all the parents there who had left their babies at home googooing over her :) She was very popular! Isn't it sad? You long to have a break, and when you get it, all you do is talk about your kids and get sappy over others when yours isn't there. I guess that is what parenthood is really all about!

The theme for the evening was "Some Enchanted Evening". Somehow my hubby, along with my 3 best girlfriends, got roped into singing the theme song. They did a great job :) They wouldn't let me set foot anywhere near a stage though, so good thing I had to hold a baby !

So, next up is Easter....I am looking forward to all the chocolate I can steal from my kids, he he he!