Smiles

At almost 8 weeks, Caroline loves it when I come to get her out of bed. She smiles at me like I'm the most fantastic thing she's ever seen. It makes my day!

Newborn pictures

The big weekend: part 2

Caroline's blessing was really nice. Paul, both grandpas, Tom, and our friends Steve and Jake were in the circle with Jason. I'd like to point out the random kids playing in the background. Clara wanted to go play with them and became increasingly unwilling to be in the pictures.

Ashley and Savannah.

Jason's family.

 

My family.

We are so glad Paul came out to visit. We always love to see him, and as a bonus he brings us honey from his bees that he keeps on his balcony. The taste of the honey changes depending on where the bees travel. This honey tastes a little minty, which is different, but yummy. The girls love their gigantic Cadbury candy bars he brought them.

The big weekend: part 1

This weekend was jammed full of excitement and activity. Uncle Paul flew in on Friday from London for Jason's graduation and Caroline's baby blessing. He hadn't seen the sun in months, so we played outside all afternoon. The girls climbed all over him and wanted to play games on his phone.

 

I love it when babies fall asleep all squishy like this. This was probably the longest Caroline had been outside.

Sunday morning was Jason's graduation! We are all so proud of Jason! It seems like the 4 years have flown by and crawled by at the same time. We couldn't have done it without support from our parents and the Lord. The ceremony was only supposed to be from 9:00-10:30, but it went until 11:15! We had church at 1:00, when Caroline was going to be blessed, so we ate a quick lunch at the reception and then raced home.

Jason's parents and grandmother flew in, and my parents and sister Ashley and her husband Tom came up, too. It was a full house, but so much fun! Clara and Savannah were in heaven, with so many people to play with. Jason's mom came a few days early to help with the baby, which was a big help. Grandmothers are wonderful, aren't they?

Clara and Savannah attacked Jason after the ceremony. They love his "funny hat" and his robe.

Caroline

I was induced on Thursday and Caroline Grace was born on April 26 at 4:39am. She weighed 10lb 7oz and was 21 inches long. Jason and I guessed she would be in the 9lb range, but we weren't too far off! My parents brought Savannah later in the morning, and she was a little wary of the baby, but when she came back later she wanted to hold and hug and kiss Caroline. Clara was ecstatic to come to the hospital after school. Every time the baby would move or make a sound, Clara would say, "She's waking up! She's going to cry!"

When we got home from the hospital Sunday, the girls eagerly descended on Caroline and passed her back and forth a few times before church.

Valley Falls State Park

My parents came into town last week and we actually found somewhere new to take them! Valley Falls was about 40 minutes out of town, and we took a picnic dinner. Savannah calls it a "micmic." The falls were really beautiful, but apparently you can be fined just for touching the water because the currents are so dangerous.

Croquet, conference and bathing suits

I was induced on Thursday and uploaded these pictures early on in the day. We've just been hanging out, enjoying Jason's company. We "played" croquet in the backyard and Clara perfected her bigfoot walk. :) It was pretty cold but Savannah refused to put on pants or socks.

Snuggling with my girls during General Conference. 

 Trying out the girls' new bathing suits in the backyard.