Calvin's Baby Blessing

So, I did not do a very good job getting pictures of this weekend. May 17th.We planned a huge event where everyone could come to a gorgeous cabin and hang out. Normally we would bless our babies the first Sunday of the month in church. But with everything going on we just wanted to simplify and make it less stressful. We also wanted everyone to be comfortable and have a good time, including us.We had everyone travelling as well, to our little corner of nowhere. Of course I do not have pictures of the cabin, or all the wonderful family who came. UGH.

Here is Grandma Watson meeting Calvin. I think she liked him, and he liked her. They spent a lot of time cuddling.

Grandpa Kenneth Watson, who Calvin is named after. I think he liked him, too.

The men who blessed Calvin.  We did it on Saturday afternoon and it was perfect. So relaxed and special.

I tried to take some pictures later in his cozy blessing outfit. This was something I bought before he was born, one of the only things.I love it, and it will fit him for a long time. We did have a photographer come and do pictures of everyone there and I hope to get those back soon. I am not sure why I decided to do photos 5 weeks postpartum, but I know they will make great memories.  I am thankful for all our family and friends who have been such a support.

Can't get enough Calvin!

I know I posted this on facebook, but so I don't have to upload all these photos here, these are some of the newborn shoot my awesome friend did for us as a gift. It was hot and long but so worth it to get such amazing photos. And it helps when the subject is ridiculously cute. I have my hands full a lot and I often wish I had a camera on my forehead because some of the most amazing moments are when I just get to look down at him. But here are a bunch of pictures I did take...

my goodness he is handsome.....I love this one.

Sorry Scott, I can't resist capturing daddy\baby naps.

I can't put into words how it feels to see that sparkle in their eyes when the devastation was there such a short time ago. So bittersweet. My girls are incredible.

these girls could not be happier to have their baby brother to play with and hold and love.

This is about 8 weeks old, in his outfit for church. I am having so much fun dressing him in all his boy clothes.

I mean...really. She picked him up on her own and this is how I found them. I guess bony little shoulders are more comfortable than you would think, and she held him for a LONG time.And the funny part is, it was so cute I took a picture, then I went back through and realized it wasn't the first time! notice the different outfits from the pics above.  They all help a lot with him, bringing the binky, staying with him, bringing me things. It is so fun to watch. We love Calvin so much, he is truly a blessing and a joy.

Whitney Ballerina

Warming up on the heat vent after dance class. Whitney went on Mondays at 11 while everyone else was at school. It was fun for her and fun for me to be able to just stay and watch her every week because I wasn't juggling anyone else.

This is her spring recital. They were so adorable and did so well with their little dance.

love it.

Easter

The loot. When I went shopping for buckets on our last Walmart trip before baby, I couldn't believe I was buying a blue one, I couldn't believe I would be using it, but I didn't want little man left out. He got a cute Peter Rabbit toy and some Reese's eggs which I may have helped him eat so he could get it secondhand. The girls got lots of cool things and too much sugar and were very happy.

I am enjoying my girls as they grow, they can almost do these things on their own and have fun with it. they love dying eggs.

Easter Saturday I was just telling the girls how we would skip the town egg hunt because it had not gone well the year before.And I was minus one husband and plus one newborn. I was thinking of going to the store and getting some candy and just having a hunt in the yard, when our neighbor called and invited us out to her family's Easter party in Dry Valley. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera. They have a cave in the rock with a stove and ping pong table and all kinds of fun traditions. We ended up being almost the only kids there this year, so the girls got tons of stuff in their egg hunt, which is really great because it is out in the bushes and rocks. They also rolled eggs down a sandstone hill, and we had a yummy lunch. For one Scott got to join us, even though he worked before and after it. Sunday we went to church and relaxed. It was a good Easter weekend.

End of the School Year, Beginning of Summer!

Abby got a bunch of awards, for good grades and good handwriting. She also got 2nd in the school for AR points (a system where they get points for reading books and answering questions on them). Sh eworked so hard this year and did amazingly well.....

And won a Kindle Fire HD for it...what????

Isabel got a few awards, too, for field day and academics.  Poor Sara had to sit through the entire ceremony and did not get anything this year. The lower grades have a lot fewer awards,too. She had her fingers crossed and I could see her little face getting sadder and sadder. So we went over and had her come stand by me. I know everyone can't win everything, but it was so sad. She did amazing in first grade, was a good friend, helper and had way above benchmark in reading. 

Whitney graduated Joy School and they performed such cute songs. She sang her little heart out and knew all the words. 

As soon as the kids were out of school, they started taking down the old one. We have a perfect view to watch it all happen, and get a little of the dust as well. the new school is already built behind it...

we have been battling the weeds, rocks and clay of our back lot for years. We are sick of it so we are attempting to plant grass. Scott did so much work spraying weeds, burning weeds, hauling in topsoil one bag at a time (can't really get dump truck loads here). leveling it and so much more. We laid down attempt number one and the seed did not take. We had to rake all the straw up and try again, we are waiting to see what happens. We might give up and do sod...

our fruit trees are battling through this drought, not really growing much, but they are alive. We even got a few blossoms this year. It is just so hard because it is so much work and Scott is gone all summer, but we'll see what this year brings.

We finally let go of our worries about a trampoline in trade for a fun, healthy activity for the girls to do. Amazon kindly delivered it to our door and it was pretty easy to set up. The girls and their friends love it.

Whitney turns 5

 Whitney has been planning her birthday since her last birthday. Every day, multiple times she would tell me what kind of birthday she wanted, what we would do, what we would eat, what games, what decorations, and the list goes on. She also had many,many different presents on her list over the 365 days.She loves to tell people her birthday is May 30th. She even invited a random kid at swimming lessons to her birthday(today, June 10th)...for next year I guess. So the day arrives and it is our off year for friend parties, and Scott had to work. Also we had a newborn. So we made the best of it. We did a basic rainbow theme, I puled out a few decorations and bought balloons. There is nothing like a dozen rainbow colored rainbow balloons to make a kid feel special.

 I Googled a few rainbow science experiments. this one is "liquid rainbow"  It actually worked quite well, although the tips at the BOTTOM recommended using lighter blue\purple so you could see it better. Oh well, next time. It looked cool with a flashlight or sun behind it.

 This one we did a lot of times as a kid, just water based markers and water on a paper towel.

 The classic celery with food coloring. It actually went really fast since our celery was a little sad and thirsty!

 Dora puzzle

 Finally, Nick Jr merchandised their show "Paw Patrol" which is her favorite show now, she got some of the pups and she loves them.

 Scott and Isabel went north for an appointment and got to Walmart, Whit wanted a pinata and they picked out the minion. It seemed kinda sad to whack him, but they had fun. While it was up on the fridge waiting, Whitney kept saying that he was staring at her and creeping her out....she's funny.

 Braxton from next door demolished it.

 She wanted chocolate cupcakes, I tried rainbow frosting.

Looking serious- but she had a pretty good day, nothing too exciting and a lot of "can I open my presents NOW!?"  Whitney is growing up so fast. She is loving being a big sister, "Calvin is SO CUTE!" she loves people. She loves Mom and wants to be with her all the time. and that is a quote. She knows all her letters and numbers and is always asking us to spell words for her so she can write them. Or paragraphs, it is so cute but takes patience some days. She loves to sing and writes her own songs based on what she is doing or feeling. The grocery store is her favorite place to go and she asks to go every day. (poor Monticello kid). She has an incredible imagination and a huge heart. She had a tough year,too, missing her sister and if you guys could hear some of the things she has said it would break your heart, but she is a brave little girl. She is my little constant companion and we love her so much.