Seriously, so blessed!

I don't think I've posted enough about what a good baby Grant is. He is calm, content, and just plan old happy. He falls asleep on his own in his crib, eats every 3 to 4 hours during the day, and sleeps through the night. He wakes up in the morning kicking, cooing, and smiling and just loves the attention he gets from his big sisters. I don't know how I got so lucky, but he makes being a mom to 3 as easy as can be (the 2 and 5 yr old are a different story).

The weekend after Ben's graduation we blessed Grant in our ward in Orem. Ben's parents were still in town and my parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle were able to come too, as well as some friends. It was a lovely day to spend with family and a great time to focus on our perfect little boy.

Ben gave Grant a beautiful blessing which I will always cherish. Grant wore a cute little linen bubble and was wrapped in the same "Bethlehem" blanket we used for Claire. He was blessed by his father, along with his two grandpas, my grandpa, my uncle, and our friend Robbie. That evening we had a delicious dinner in Heber prepared by my mother, aunt, and grandmother.

The Blessing Outfit - Front

Back 

Getting dressed with Great Grandma and Honey

The Group

Grandparents

Great Grandparents

Grant's Blessing

We will be blessing Grant this Sunday, April 29th in our ward in Orem at 1pm. All family members are invited to attend and dinner will be at the Heber House at 5pm. Hope to see you there!

Graduation!

Yay! Ben did it! Today he graduated with his Master's in Religious Education. What does a Mormon do with a Master's of Religious Education (other than become a seminary teacher)? . . . He pastors his own church! Just kidding. He does just about the only other thing you can do with that degree, since we have a lay ministry, he becomes a chaplain. Ben accepted a chaplaincy in the US Army; which was our whole goal and the entire reason for even applying for the program in the first place. We have already received our first assignment and report to Fort Knox, KY in August after Ben completes the officer training course this summer. After a combined 15 years and 4 degrees at BYU, we are excited to be moving on with the next phase of our lives and into the real world! We are also sad to leave our family, friends, and home. We've spent the entire 10 years of our marriage in Utah. Well, I have . . . Ben has spent about 6 years of our marriage here due to deployments, internships and training assignments. It's going to be quite the culture shock, don't you think? Here are some pictures of our last couple of days; Ben's parents drove out from Michigan to celebrate with us.

(Warning, Paige is hamming it up in every photo she's in!)

Thursday:

Happy Family

Happy Grandparents

Waiting for the Car

Friday:

Sandy, always seeing the world through rose-colored glasses :)

Yay! It's finally Daddy's turn!

be-hooding

So proud!

Ben's classmates with their program director, he's retiring!

 (minus two who already had to report for military training)

Joseph Smith building courtyard

Yay! The Y

I'm going to kiss you because I'm SO glad you're done!

let's not ever do school again

Sad

I love these ladies. . . and I'm REALLY going to miss them when we move!

Afternoon Snuggle

One of the best parts about having a baby is having a great reason to sit down in the middle of the afternoon to cuddle.

Big baby

This is my not yet four-month-old in a 6 to 12 month outfit. After Paige, who would have thought that I would ever have a big baby? I love everything about this chubby little boy!

My Preschooler

Paige's reading ability is improving rapidly. She's also been leaving self-written notes all over the house for the past several months. I love reading them and having to sound them out to find out what they say. She loves to repurpose things that I'm planning on throwing away, so it's no surprise that Paige snatched up this box, destined for the recycle pile, and made it hers. It should read, "Paige's Special Box". I love what's inside too, a children's book on the Sacrament and lipgloss on a rope that she got at Easter; plus some small cardboard pieces that she also rescued from being recycled. It doesn't take much to make her happy!

My View

This is the view from my "craft" room into the playroom. Am I a mean mom or a genius?

Moving on

Have I mentioned that we are moving? In 3 1/2 weeks. . . to Kentucky! The last three years of uncertainty while Ben finishes graduate school are coming to an end. He graduates in less than two weeks and we'll move two weeks later. We won't actually make it to Kentucky until August, after Ben spends the summer in South Carolina at Chaplin basic officer leadership course and the kids and I live it up at Honey and Papa's in St. George. We are sad to be saying goodbye to our first home but excited to move on with our life in the military. Let us know if you're interested in renting a four bedroom, two bath house in South Orem, close to everything. It'll be available mid May.

Happy Easter

We spent our Easter weekend in beautiful St. George with my parents. It was quick, but fun!

(Yes, this was the best picture I got of the girls, sigh.)

Sweet Baby

Grant gives me the sweetest grins when we're cuddling and nursing in the morning. He gets so excited when I come to get him out of his crib; it's one of the best parts of my day.

Time for Tea

Paige just set up an elaborate tea party on the living room ottoman and then went to her room to get dressed for it. I cleaned up the tea party while she was gone, thinking she was done playing. She came back wearing this get up and happily posed for a picture before going on to set up yet another tea party.

A Quilt for Grant

I finally finished the binding on Grant's quilt! Actually, I should say that I finally started it. Once I began, I finished it relatively quickly, but it did take me all of General Conference. I made the pillows to match his bedding a while ago; they normally reside on the chair by the window. I'm just so glad that it's all done, and I don't think I'll be making a crib skirt. I'm also happy that I learned a new skill, I can appliqué and bind. Two weekends ago at sisters weekend I learned how to piece. I'm not sure how much quilting I will be doing in the future but at least it doesn't seem so daunting now. It does take a long time! People, if anybody ever gives you a quilt, appreciate it! And know that they either love you a lot or they love quilting a lot. Thanks, Beth, for all your help!

(by the way, this is my first post using blogger on my new iPhone. I took the pictures with my phone too. This is so much fun!)

Grant Smiles

Grant is a great smiler. And has been since he was about 6 weeks old. Here are a few pictures my friend Kendra snapped the other day while I was talking to him out of frame. Poor kid has to chill in his sister's hand-me-down pink seat :)

Quilting/Sisters Weekend

A couple of weekends ago my sisters (minus Jen & Jenny), cousins (minus Emily & Jordan), Mom, Aunt, Grandma and I all got together in Heber for a weekend of quilting. We spent Thursday night til Sunday morning together and by the end of the weekend we all had a complete quilt top! Pretty cool considering that at least 4 of us have little to no quilting experience. I love that Paige is going to have a quilt on her bed made by so many of the most important women in my life (and hers).

Ann and Beth organized the quilting (Thank You!), Grandma and Grandpa took care of the food (Thank You!), mom did the prizes (Thank You!), and Papa watched my girls for the weekend so Ben could study (Thank You!). No kids were allowed with the exception of the nursing babies, Coco and Grant. We also managed to fit in a fabulous game of cards, which I am only mentioning because I won :), and a trip to my Aunt's quilt and gift shop, Seasons of Home, in Midway. I think everyone there would agree that although it was a lot of work and we all went home exhausted, it was totally worth it and so much fun!