Swingin' and Eagles

Annabelle had her first swing ride this week! I took her
over to the park across the street, plopped her in the baby
swing, wrapped a blanket around her to keep her in,
and gave her a little push! She smiled a few times, but
mostly enjoyed looking around and swinging back and forth.
I'm sure we'll be doing this more and more as the weather
continues to improve.

Trev gave Belle her own zoo of stuffed animals the
other day! She was surrounded by most of her animals
and she had a ball rolling around in them and grabbing
them. Belle has a great time playing with dad!

This afternoon we went to a wild bird sanctuary. We saw
eagles and owls and other birds too! Of course we had to
get this pic of Belle as an eagle!

Belle the Eagle cawing at her prey!

Oh this is ladies night...

Last Friday Shannon came up with a great idea... a ladies night! Trev was out working, Nate was going to be studying at home and all the kids were asleep for the night. Nate volunteered to keep an eye on the sleeping wee ones so Shan and I could go out on the town. We went to a fun bar at a nice hotel near our house. We sat in a cool booth listening to a fun band playing cover songs, took a ton of pictures of ourselves (most of which didn't look that great), laughed at how silly we were and enjoyed some yummy drinks! I ordered myself a tropical martini, which is one of the few drinks with alcohol that I actually enjoy the taste of. I'm guessing it is because it tastes more like juice than alcohol! Haha! We're looking forward to our next ladies night out!

Belle's Baptism

Last Sunday Annabelle was baptized. Now we pray that as she grows she will own her baptism. We have vowed to teach her of God's amazing covenant love and only by His grace will we have the ability to do so. We pray that God will grow her faith with every day that passes and that He will give us the wisdom to teach her about the faith that we hold so dear.

Our family on Belle's baptism day

Getting Belle into her baptismal dress which is nearly 50 years old.
My mom (Gramma Kay) wore it when she was baptized and I wore
it when I was baptized too!

Trev decided to start a silly baptism tradition for our family. After Belle was baptized we ate a delicious feast with Gramma Kay and a few good friends. Then Trev had us shoot some hoops on our indoor nerf hoop and when people made a basket we got to spray him with silly string! Trev wanted to do something funny and memorable for the for the momentous occasion and this was what he came up with. Let me tell you, Trev was a pink and green stringy mess when we were finished with him! All in all, it was a wonderful day!


P.S. We did try to get a picture of the actual baptism at church but our cameras seemed to be plotting against us. The images were either too dark or way too grainy to be able to see anything. Sorry!

Gramma Kay's Visit

A little over a week ago Gramma Kay came for a visit. We spent our days hanging out, running errands and going shopping. We meant to go to the zoo but our plans were thwarted by heavy rains. Then we tried to go to the science center but it was closing as we drove up to it. We gave up on a fun excursion and went for a drive instead and rented a movie for the evening. Belle absolutely loved having her gramma here! While Gramma Kay was here Belle started making funny screeching noises and blowing air through pursed lips. We had a pretty fun time watching Belle's funny new antics. I enjoyed having my mom out here too! We always have something to talk about and everytime we're together we spend most of the time laughing and smiling. It was great! We already miss her and can't wait for her next visit.

Belle excited that Gramma Kay was visiting!

Belle wearing her sweet puffy vest from Gramma Kay and
her awesome boots from great aunt Dooby!