Blessing Day

(I forgot and then was too lazy to upload these photos to Photobucket first and if I don't do that then Blogger makes my pics grainy....)

Marcus was blessed on August 4th by his daddy. It was such a nice day! We had most of our family and friends with us and we were so thankful for their love and support. The blessing circle included Mitch, Kevin, Dave, Sam, Kelly Packard (a good friend from our ward), and our bishop. The blessing was beautiful and full of hope and peace. And best of all was that Marcus didn't cry during the blessing. In fact, Sam said he was smiling the whole time. So sweet.

After the meeting we all came back to our house for a nice lunch and ice cream sundaes. I was so grateful that everyone brought something; I hardly had to do a thing!

Marcus looked so very handsome in his little white outfit. I bought it online from some Catholic store and I was very impressed with it.

Layla LOVED having her grandparents, aunts, uncles, Oakley, and Rhonda all with her at the same time. But we quickly learned that Oakley trumps all. Ha, ha. Sorry guys!

We were so happy to have so many loved ones spend the day with us; my grandpa came from St. George and Judi and Sam and their girls came from California. We really have great families.

A few days before the blessing we took Marcus to my parents' so he could meet his Aunt Judi and Uncle Sam for the first time. Judi said she thought he looked like me, but after holding him for a few minutes she changed her mind and said, "Actually, I think he looks like Mitch." Yep! (Although I have had several people tell me that "he looks like Mitch but with your coloring." He's definitely more olive than Layla was as a baby. I guess time will tell.)

A few other things I wanted to remember lately: Layla's nickname for Marcus is Yucky Baby. She calls him this because she thinks it's "yucky" that he sucks on his fingers.

Marcus started laughing over the weekend. It's the cutest thing in the whole world. The first time he laughed was when Mitch was doing patty cake with him. He also laughs when you move his arms or legs really fast. Sometimes I'll be talking to him while I change his diaper and he starts laughing out of nowhere and I finally realized it's because my bangs are moving. Guess I won't be changing my hairstyle any time soon! :) I've tried to get his laugh on camera, but no luck yet.  I'll post it here as soon as I do.

His acid reflux is SO much better now. We're going to start trying to wean him off the medication soon and see how he does. I've learned not to eat anything the least bit spicy and to avoid eating any citrus fruits or too much chocolate. Also, I can have a Cafe Rio burrito with mild sauce, but not a Cafe Rio salad. Weird, right? I'm guessing it's cilantro? I do miss spicy food ... a lot! When I'm done nursing I will hit up the Indian, Thai, and Cafe Rio restaurants near our house until I get my fill!

Layla had her first experience in a dance class this week. There is a girl named Ashley in our neighborhood who decided to teach a free dance class for her Young Women's service project. I didn't know about it, but our neighbor told me and I decided the morning of to take Layla. I'm so glad I did because she loved it!  And she's actually pretty good for a three year old. We'll have to put her in dance class at some point.

Mitch's summer break from school is quickly coming to an end. I'm not looking forward to having him be busy with school every night. I can't wait until he's done and I'm sure he can't either! He wants to buy himself a Camaro when he graduates. He'll sure have earned it by then, that's for sure! I'm proud of him for his dedication to school though.

I've started getting back into photography again. I have a couple of family sessions lined up and I'm trying to figure out how to advertise more. Once our kids are all in school I would love to go back to school and earn a photography degree. Someday.

Mitch says Marcus must have got his long eyelashes from my brother, Brock.
Mine are pretty long too, but Brock's are super duper long. And thick.

Life is good. Marcus is finally sleeping through the night (7 to 9 hour stretches!) and I'm starting to feel comfortable handling two kids. The house definitely isn't as clean as it used to be, I don't make as many homemade dinners, and I don't exercise nearly as much as I used to (which I miss!), but we're all alive and happy and staying busy.

I love the little moments where my little family is hanging out, laughing and smiling together. I love seeing Layla and Marcus interact with each other. Layla has this cute giggle that she only ever uses with Harvey or Marcus. I need to get it on camera sometime. She is so proud of her little brother and shows him off to all her friends, who usually aren't very interested. Ha, ha. But I'm so glad she loves him so much.

The other day she was playing princesses in her little castle tent and she asked if Marcus could go in and play with her. So I sat outside the tent and held Marcus with my arms inside the tent so he could be her "Handsome Prince" and she could be the "Royal Ball Princess Layla." And I had to make up a little voice for Marcus so he could "talk" to Layla. It was hilarious and so sweet. I can't wait until he's old enough to really play with her. Though he might hate it. Ha, ha.

I love my family! And I'm so thankful for our faith and that Mitch was able to bless our son. It means so much to me.