Yeah, she does :)

We are BFFs... and I LOVE it.

Blessing

We blessed the babe on Sunday, July 3rd.
[In the LDS Faith a blessing is bestowed upon an infant, usually done by the father. The purpose is to name the child before God, and present the name of the child by which he/she will have in this life. Also during this time blessings are given to the child that will carry with them throughout their mortal life.]

Brad performed the blessing and it was beautiful. He was a nervous wreck (imagine that?) but as always he did marvelous.

Here she is before our church meeting.

Here she is in the beautiful dress my aunt made especially for her with love.

My parents flew out for the occasion.

After the blessing we had a barbeque at our house.
My talented sister-in-law Andrea made these strawberries. And, yes, they are as good as they look. I ate a ton of them.

Matthew and Nancy came to support us.

And in case this blog post didn't have enough pictures of the Apple, here is collage of pictures of just her! ;) I'm a first time mom, who was completely swept off my feet by this child, please bear with me.

This is the darling cake Nancy made. Amazing. And it was so delicious. Nancy is a phenomenal cake decorator if you didn't notice.

Umm, yeah they were up to no good.

The feast. Only Matthew cooperated.

Andrea watering my wilted flowers.

It was a wonderful day surrounded by our loved ones.

Gratitude

Tonight as I rocked my darling baby to sleep I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Grateful that I could rock my baby. Grateful that she is healthy. Grateful that I can hear her cry. I am grateful for those first 2 weeks of sleep deprivation because it meant my baby was healthy, grateful to have the opportunity to have those first 2 weeks.

My dear friend gave birth to her baby girl yesterday. A day that began as one of the happiest turned to one of the most devastating and painful. In the moment she got to hold her baby and set her eyes on the most beautiful being she has ever seen, her baby was taken from her arms. Her baby was born with a congenital heart defect, a sad surprise in the words of her mother. Her heart was born on the wrong side and is missing a ventricle. The baby was flown to a children’s hospital to be seen by top cardiologists, and will undergo the first of 3 major heart surgeries on Wednesday.

With a baby two months old my first moments after birth are still vivid. I can only imagine the pain of my dear friend. The emptiness she is feeling, and I begin to feel terrible that I complained about those first 2 weeks. I had the audacity to complain when my dear friend and so many others would give anything to have those first 2 rough weeks. I am grateful for the most extraordinary experiences and opportunities my beautiful baby brings to me. Grateful she came into my life safe and sound.

I am grateful for the reassurance I feel from the Lord; knowing there is a higher power Who is in control, and the knowledge we can seek Him.



"I will say of the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress: In Him will I trust."
- Psalm 91:2

Foto Fly

My sister-in-law kept telling me about this photographer studio called Foto Fly, and I finally went. The photographer tried so hard to get her to smile but the Apple had none of it, for 45 minutes she was the most serious baby, she must have felt the same way about it as her father :) I still think she took some cute pictures.

But this is how she really felt.

I'm in love with the ruffles.

Definitely, one of my favorites.

Here she is in her blessing dress. My aunt made the dress for her, in less than a 2 week notice no less! It is beautiful.

She is not sure what to think of this.

Family Photos June 2011

I was a little hesitant to do family photos right now. I gained 40 lbs in the pregnancy and have only lost 20 pounds. Which means I have an extra 20 pounds on my short frame and the weight is distributed in all areas. But I wanted pictures with the Apple young.

As you can imagine it was quite the deal to get 2 adults, 1 baby, and 2 curious border collies who can't sit still, to all look good for one picture.

But of all the photos this one is my favorite. I love the fun angle and just the candidness of it. But because of the angle I don't know if it will work, hmm.


Outtakes:


And so far it's a tie between these two:

Mommyhood in Full Swing

First day at the zoo. We went to the zoo with my friend and her cute baby. It was so much fun. Apple didn't appreciate it as much as I did. It was a beautiful day (a bit hot) but blue skies and sunny, good entertainment, and great company.

Here she is in her animal outfit for the zoo, it only seemed appropriate.

My beautiful friend and equally beautiful daughter.

I like her bright eyes in this one.

I always find it cute when babies love babies.

We dressed up little S in the store.

Baby elephant, makes me want one and then I see the piles of poo.

Me and the babe being mooned by a baboon.

Tuckered out.

After her nice long nap (3 hours and I had to wake her up) I gave her little souvenirs. I named the elephant Horton, and then we read "Horton Hatches an Egg."

Family Reunion (2011)... kind of

It was a bit of an odd year, since the campgrounds were closed, so we camped up the hill, but it wasn't a campground so it was really roughing it (a.k.a the woods were our restroom). But we enjoyed our time in nature and with our family.

Browne Lake is the Disneyland for dogs.

The babe's first camping trip.

My favorite picture. I am so glad I captured this moment.

Dixie was pretty well behaved. Children were running all around her and putting their faces in her face and she did fantastic. However, she still has a problem with Uncle Dave.

The first morning. I later learned from my email newsletters that when you are in nature to put your baby in neutral colors because bright colors attract bees. Luckily, it was still cold so no bees.

BUT there were mosquitoes. I was doing some clean up and the Apple was crying but I just figured she was being fussy then I look over and see a mosquito on her eyebrow sucking my poor helpless baby's blood, cowardly mosquito picking on a baby. I am apparently a very protective Mama, and got Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the mosquito. However, the head was too small to leave behind to warn the others :)

Here is she is all warm for bed. I LOVE the hat. Andrea was a dear and let me borrow warm clothing the hat included. A big thank you. The babe did fantastic I thought she would wake up multiple times in the night, but nope she only woke up once like her normal schedule.

Our camp.

Every night I thank her

I've watched way too many Lifetime movies. One in particular left a lasting impression. A woman was soaking in the tub, while in the tub someone came into her house and abducted her tiny infant. Now, more than ever that movie haunts me. When I am alone I hate taking a shower or a bath because I am afraid someone will enter my house and take my baby. Tonight, Brad had to work late, but my ankle was hurting me, so I thought a good soak in the tub would be relaxing. While sitting there I kept thinking of the scenes in that movie. Very quickly a relaxing bath turns into an anxiety attack, and I quickly get out and run to my babe. To only find her here:

She is always here now. And I realize how silly I am because nothing is getting past her, and it makes me appreciate her all the more.