Happy 4th Birthday Katie-bug!

My how we love this child!  She is so spunky with her leader make sure the kids do what mom asks personality.  She makes sure we stick to routines and what we say we're going to do.  She's so loving and cuddly.  She's a GREAT big sister and loving every minute of it!  And man she's beautiful.  I just adore her blonde hair and blue eyes and everything about her (about all the kids of course).  I love that she cares for the chickens and puts on her 'chicken boots' to go out and check for eggs and visit with them and carry them around (and send them down the hill in toy dump trucks occasionally).  She always comes with me to go anywhere, even just picking up or taking the kids to school and she doesn't particularly like it when I go to work 2 hours a week.  She's my little side kick for sure.  

We love you sweet Kaity-bug!  Happy 4th Birthday!!!!

Ella's blessing

I wanted to take the opportunity to bless Ella while my sister and Ryan were out here but we couldn't do it on the sunday they were here because Jer's mom Marla was in New York visiting his sister Jamie and their new baby.  So we decided to do it the Saturday morning of their flight home.  I wasn't sure how a blessing outside of Sacrament meeting would be, but it was actually really nice.  Very personal and sweet like her birth and a nice chance to visit with family.

One really sweet thought I had about her blessing was how calm and quiet and peaceful it was just like her birth.  Her birth was sweet and calm and quiet and family was around us.  I just adore her so much and am so thankful to Heavenly Father for sending us a precious little infant and for such a beautiful birth.

It was an image I wish I could have taken a picture of seeing the men in our life who love and care about us surrounding my husband holding our treasured little girl and blessing her with love and blessings from our Heavenly Father.  

Jer's sister Emily, Grandma Etherington, mother Marla, and brother Cameron

Mckayla, Jer's dad Wade, Ryan, Talmy, Jer and Katie

My mom and dad and sister who was so great in helping me decorate.  

It wasn't anything fancy, but simple and pretty,  just perfect

And of course our beautiful star of the show

Wish we'd caught a better face from Talm, he was such a handsome little guy, I mean he always is, but you know.
Can't believe how big my little family is

Thanks to Grandma Marla for Ella's beautiful blessing dress!

Ella was really good the whole morning, but we definitely tuckered her out by the end - Dad, not so much, he's always wired.
Thanks to everyone for coming and sharing our special day for Ella!

A visit from Aunt Stephy and Uncle Ryan

My sister and her husband came from Michigan to meet baby Ella and we're always so happy to have them here!  We went down to visit with my Grandpa Ron while they were here.  He's my last living grandparent and I love him.  It's been hard for him without my Grandma, thankfully he's still pretty able bodied in that he can care for himself, but my uncle and cousin and her 4 year old son live with him and I'm glad he has people to care for him and show him love all the time.

Grandpa has Alzheimers but I think it's been really good lately.  He carries on conversations fine and remembers things pretty well.  He's still the Grandpa I've always known.  He is really thin and frail and that's always hard to see.  I wish I went down more, but I'm grateful for all the times I have taken to go down to Springville to see him.

We got to introduce him to baby Ella and tell him how her middle name Ann is after his wife, my Grandma Ann whom we all miss so much.  I think he was touched and he talked to Ella a bit about how she was up there with Grandma before coming here to Earth.

It might look like he's yelling but he was just speaking sweetly to her.  He talked and talked to her, I loved it!  He was so interested in her.  I thankfully have some really sweet video of him talking to her too

I loved that he so willingly held her.  We didn't have to ask him twice or try to convince him, he readily took her and touched her and stroked her sweet skin.

And thankfully my sister got this wonderful shot.  I have a very memorable picture like this when Kait was Ella's age here with my Grandma Ann, and this will be so memorable for us all.

I'm really glad all the kids came and talked with him too, I'm sure he enjoyed watching them play

 The night my sister and Ryan got here they slept over at our house which was great and I don't have any pics unfortunately, anyway, they stayed at my parents the other days they were with my family vs Ryan's so we spent a lot of time there.

My sister and Ryan are so great with the kids, they play tirelessly, much more so than I do.  We watched a movie with them, played cards

Went swimming

Talmage just adores Ryan and Ryan plays with him non stop and I'm pretty sure enjoys it just as much as Talmage does.  Much of their play is attack the girls  :)

Aunt Stephy made Easter crafts and cookies with the kids.  Katie flocks to my sister

There was much dancing.  My sister was on drill team in high school so Katie was happy to practice "1st persishon", 2nd, pliers, and all the other dance moves she learned from Kayla's dance class (which I"ll get to blogging about eventually)

She really is an awesome Aunt!

We love you guys!!  I'll still keep hoping they move back soon  :)