Blessings

On March 2nd we blessed Eliza in church. It was truly a wonderful day! As Tim stood up to give Eliza her name and her blessing it was so reverent and I could feel so many spirits there. I know many of mine and Tim's ancestors were there for the sacred occasion. Eliza was wide awake all before the blessing and was looking around everywhere. She was still awake when Tim stood up with her but by the time he came back she was sound asleep.

Amazingly Arthur and Camilla were both quiet for the blessing. Camilla sat completely still on my lap and Arthur got away from me. He wanted to follow Tim to the front of the chapel but walked really slowly. I kept one eye closed and watched Arthur with my other so I could keep track of what he was doing in case I needed to chase after him. Arthur just watched Tim with Eliza really closely as he walked up to where Tim and my dad were standing in the circle. He made it there just before Tim closed the blessing and when he first got to Tim's side he just reached out to Tim's leg and watched in awe. When Tim finished the blessing and opened his eyes he looked down at Arthur and took him by the hand to walk back to the bench with him. It was so sweet to see Arthur's reaction to it all.

After sacrament meeting I went home with all three children as Arthur and Camilla both had really bad runny noses and I didn't want them going to nursery and getting the other children at church sick. Eliza was also a little sick with some sniffles as her brother and sister love to kiss her and don't understand how germs are spread. Oh well, at least they love each other! Here are a few pictures from that very special day!

Arthur's third birthday was on March 4th. On the day we blessed Eliza Tim had to fly out that evening to go to Kansas for work. He was gone that entire week as well as the one following but was able to come for the weekend in between. It was a long two weeks for the children to not see Tim everyday as they really missed him but Skype is amazing and such a blessing to have for when Tim needs to travel.

Since Tim was gone that week he missed Arthur's birthday as well as my own. I didn't mind him missing my birthday as it wasn't a big deal to me and Arthur is still young enough he doesn't even understand what his birthday means.

We decided we save the family celebration for Arthur until the weekend when Tim was home but I still did a few things to make Arthur's day a little bit more special. We played at home most of the day but I did take him to the store, just a mommy and son outing. Arthur got to ride on a mechanical horse and pick out doughnuts and ice cream to take home.

Later at dinner Arthur finished eating before Camilla and then they decided to play. Arthur started taking bites off of Camilla's plate and then wiping food off of her face with his finger and eating it! I couldn't stop laughing at their silliness. However, it didn't end there. Then Camilla started feeding Arthur bites with her fork and they would just laugh and laugh. They definitely make my life more humorous!

After dinner that night he and Camilla each had a doughnut. We Skyped with Tim so he could sing with us while we sang "Happy Birthday" and Arthur blew out his candle. Arthur got to blow out the candle three times! He loved being able to do so and then, when Camilla wanted to blow it out as well, Arthur made sure she got to do so. It was so sweet of him to take care of her wants as well. He truly is a great big brother to both Camilla and Eliza.

These next couple of pictures are of the brownies I made that next Sunday when Tim was home. Arthur really loves Elephants and so we added a little toy elephant my mom had bought for him previously. He thought it was awesome and loved blowing out the candles again! He also really enjoyed his brownie with ice cream!

These two pictures were taken when we took the kids to Tim's office. It was the first day Tim was back from Kansas for the weekend between the two weeks he was gone. Tim needed to go to the office to get a few things done and we wanted to make sure the kids still had time with him as it was a busy weekend with church things. Both Camilla and Arthur loved seeing Daddy's work and getting to play for a few minutes in an empty office just across from Tim's cubicle. You would have thought it was one of the most fun places for kids to play with how happy the two of them were.

My grandma came for a visit during this time. She arrived on my birthday and spent about a week with us. It was so fun to have her here. Arthur is still asking about "Grandma Annie" and telling me he wants her to come back. She is one of the wonderful women that Eliza Ann is named for.

Arthur brought his pillow and blankets into mine and Tim's room one night and climbed on the bed with them. He then proceeded to lay down and asked to hold Eliza, one of his favorite activities at present time. Camilla wanted to join in as well and it was just so cute to see them be so loving toward one another. It's times like this that I cherish and want to always remember. Sure there are times that being a mom is tough but those instances are nothing in comparison to all of the wonderful and glorious moments that help me see those things that truly matter most!

One of the places that our children love to visit the most is the Disney Store. Both Arthur and Camilla love everything Disney and could play in this store for hours if we let them. We don't let them, but we do go there every now and then for about an hour each time. They play with the toys and the stuffed animals, but most of all they love finding the backpack/roller suitcases and pull them around the store with them. Camilla is definitely a girl because she loves all of the shoes. I see her quite often looking at the various shoes.

Another place they love is the grocery store as children get a free cookie and free rides on the mechanical horses. I love going to this one because they each can ride their own horse. I am sure that my grandpa taught them all about horses before they came to earth because they sure seem to share his love for them. In this picture they were both saying "yee-haw" but they also like to "giddy-up" and click their tongues!

Since they both love Disney so much we took them on an adventure in December to see Disney on Ice. We all enjoyed the family experience and were actually able to get the tickets majorly discounted, which is why we decided to do it.

Well, just before Arthur's birthday we saw that another Disney on Ice show was coming to Denver at the end of March. We knew Arthur would love to do that for his birthday and we know someone that was able to get us tickets that were almost front row for free! Technically they were second row seats which in some ways was better because we could keep our children secured and blocked in so they couldn't run to the ice, which wasn't allowed anyways!

It was amazing! Arthur and Camilla were enthralled the entire time. They did start to get cranky the last 10-15 minutes as it was just past their bedtime but snacks kept them going just long enough to get us through the end of the show. This particular Disney on Ice the characters come to the sides of the ice at the very end and wave the children at the front to come up and see them. Tim took Arthur up and so Arthur was able to shake hands with Simba, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and, of course, Mickey Mouse!!! He thought it was so awesome! I also took Camilla and Eliza up but Camilla just stared for the most part. She did point and say their names but that was about it. Little Eliza did so well through the whole show. She mostly slept but by the end was completely alert and so happy!

This is Arthur at the store trying to decide which treat he wanted to take to Disney on Ice. He kept walking up and down the row and then would stop and put his hands on his waist. It was so adorable and definitely cracked us up!

Family pictures!!!

This was pretty much Arthur's expression throughout the entire show! He was so cute to watch! Actually Tim had a very similar look on his face most of the time, too! ;)

It has been a crazy and busy time these past couple of months but so much fun as well. Already Tim has been out of town on business three weeks of the year and there will be many more to come. He is loving his job and the experiences he is having. This past week he has been working closer to home and is going to be closer for the next two weeks. It's so much nicer when he doesn't have to drive very far, or fly anywhere!

Arthur is growing and talking more in full sentences. His foot is doing alright but we definitely need to do more physical therapy at home to help his tendon stay stretched. He is a very observant and caring little boy. Any time that he sees someone in distress he is immediately there trying to comfort and help. Lately he has taken to rubbing my back when he is tired and, in the morning, he comes to give me a kiss to wake me up!

Camilla is truly becoming a big girl as her personality becomes more evident. She is stubborn and very strong-willed. She knows her own mind and cannot be deterred from what she wants without a meltdown of some sort. She tries to do everything Arthur does and is pretty good at keeping up with him. Her new thing lately is to do something for us to get after her for and then she will laugh and say "ah-ha". She loves running and is actually really fast already.

Eliza is a very content baby for the most part. She sleeps really well, especially at night. I can usually get her to go to bed around 10 or 11 at night and then she will sleep until 7 or 8 in the morning! It's wonderful and helps a lot with taking care of Arthur and Camilla. Especially Arthur as he still wakes up in the middle of the night. Eliza smiles all the time but still won't giggle except in her sleep. It's so funny whenever it happens. During the day she will fuss only when she is hungry or needs a diaper change, and every now and then it is because she just wants attention. Whenever someone walks into her view she is immediately all smiles and coos and if you try to walk away she will immediately start to fuss again.

I am really enjoying being at home with the children. It is definitely harder on some days but we are starting to get into a good routine with three little ones around. I'm starting up my study of Portuguese again as I feel pretty strongly that I need to learn the language. It is a hard language to learn but I do enjoy it. I think I am especially enjoying the fact that it is a challenge as I miss school in many ways. After a year of being graduated from college I am still trying to get used to being just a mom, and not a student as well. It is a completely different experience. I love the little things my crazy children come up with and I am often reminding myself to laugh throughout the day, and even the night. I am truly loving life and trying hard to stay focused on all of my blessings as it makes everything so much better!