Wedding weekend

My cousin Jaci got married on Saturday which worked out great because we were able to tag Rachel's blessing on the next day.
The happy couple-isn't she radiant!?

I love this picture-

Cousin Mark humoring me with a photo. Every time I see them with their baby I'm just so happy!

At the reception my grandfather wanted some time with Rachel. He was so cute with her. He was so thankful that he was able to hold her; it made me think of
what it was like from his perspective.
I heard later that he walked around the yard and bragged to
everybody about how cute Rachel is :)

With great grandma

Rachel's blessing

Rachel was blessed this past Sunday because a lot of my family was in town for my cousin's wedding. All of Brian's siblings were able to be there too and we called Nana and Papa so they could listen in. I was thinking about all the people who already love her and have shown her so much support. Thank you so much to all of our family and friends!

Rachel with Aunt Karen

Harris siblings

Harris side of family

Jessop side of family

Four generations of girls

With Grandma and Grandpa (you can tell who all of Grandma's attention was focused on :) )

Our attempt at a family photo

For Nana and Papa

We got a couple more gifts from Nana and Papa this week.
Here is Rach in her cute hat (sorry for the blurry, but she's really wiggly).

Here they are ready for church today-Rachel with her hat and Matthew with his new tie.

Thank you Nana and Papa!

Whew! I'm finally all caught up. Now I can work on cleaning the house for all of my house guests this week, yay!

Matthew's 4th birthday

My handsome boy turned four last week. He is the sweetest big brother. He is a great helper and keeps my on my toes.

He got Buzz Lightyear from Nana and Papa.

Along with a Lightning McQueen fishing pole. He is super excited to go fishing with daddy.

Aunt Becki and Uncle Nate gave him a remote control RC.

Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Chris gave him a couple of little remote control Cars with some accessories (sorry Tiff, I couldn't figure out how to describe them :( ).

A big cheeser for mom.

He wanted a truck cake. My decorating skills are really sub-par, but he seemed happy with the outcome. He supervised the paint job and the other colors are cargo.
This progression cracks me up-here he is smiling and cute . . . .

now he's being a little bashful . . . .

and finally totally hiding his face. This is so descriptive of how he is. He goes from social butterfly to a mute in no time. But it's okay, he's four and he's cute.

Mommy and Daddy got him a swing set (thanks to our friends). We spent most of Saturday putting it up and he loves it. I have spent at least an hour, sometimes more and even in the rain, swinging with him.

Happy birthday Matty!

First bath

Here are a couple of shots of her first bath courtesy of Matthew. Brian was using his fancy camera and Matthew used mine.

Two Months

I am a space case and forgot to take a picture on her real two month birthday, but I took these a couple of days before. The outfit is one from Nana and Papa in Italy.

I adore this picture. She is in the middle of a laugh and her cheek balls look so cute :) Kissing her cheeks is seriously addicting.

Here are her stats-
weight- 8 lbs 13 oz, 10th%
height-21 inches, 20th%
head- I can't remember the measurement, but it was the 50th%
This explains why she really doesn't like tummy time, her head is too big for her body . . .

She is doing the normal talking and cooing which is super cute. She is also drooling more now and she loves her mobile above the changing table.

Things I've learned in the last nine weeks

I saw this on my friends blog (thanks Anne-Marie) and thought it would be a good way to gather some of the random things of my life right now.

1. There is an owl somewhere in the neighborhood. He keeps me company around 3 a.m.
2. I miss milk. A lot. I mean a lot.
3. I like almond milk better than soy milk, but it's still not quite the same.
4. Birds really are first to see the sun and they really do tell everyone.
5. I have the most awesome family in the world, including my in laws and I know not many people can say that so I really do appreciate it.
6. It is easier to find blessing clothes in Utah than Colorado. Thanks mom :)
7. I am in love with our swamp cooler. The upper 90 degree days are starting to get old.
8. The church is awesome. I have had lots of family here to visit, but have had lots of support from all the moms I love and admire too.
9. I miss my friend Ginnie. I talked to her on the phone this week and was reminded of it again.
10. However, I love that no matter how long it's been since we've talked to each other we pick up right where we left off. I guess after knowing each other for . . . twenty years (I had to count) that is what happens :)
11. I am a fan of those big "bag" jammies for babies. They make night time diaper changes in the dark much simpler.
12. The full moon gives me just enough light to make things easier.
13. I love Brian to pieces. He doesn't make any comments about how terrible the house looks even if he is thinking it.
14. I tell Matthew every night (at least I mean to) that I love him all the much and it's true. Even after a hard day I can truthfully tell him that.
15. My dad is super. We have been working as a family to support each other in being healthy and he has lost 20 lbs. I'm excited to see him in a few short days!
16. Prayer has become so much more important to me. I have been praying multiple times a day for myself, the ones I love and those I care about and wish I could do more for. If you are reading this I have probably prayed for you :)
17. I am able to function surprisingly well on how little sleep I get. Some days are definitely better than others, but that is just how it goes. The biggest thing I've noticed is my memory is taking a hit and my blood pressure too.
18. I asked Matthew why he asks me so many questions and his simple, truthful reply was because he has so many questions. I am reminding myself that he is learning and I am hoping that by not discouraging him from talking to me he will still want to talk to me in ten years. (I have to repeat this to myself a lot.)
19. I miss Elizabeth. She came up to visit last week and I almost cried when I saw her standing on my door step. Here she is with my kiddos-

20. I think the most important thing I've learned is that no matter how crabby I'm feeling, my mood is always lightened by one of the following-
* Matthew's laughter
* A spontaneous hug from one of my boys or
* A smile and coo from Rachel.

I am almost caught up with blogs. But now I need to find my camera to post Matthew's birthday stuff. I hope that doesn't take too long!

Bass Pro Shop

A couple of weeks ago Bass Pro Shop had some free activities set up for the kids. I know it's summer so we should be doing tons of stuff outside, but I enjoy air conditioning!

We walked in the front door and the kids jumped into the boat.
Matthew is chaperoning the girls.

The shooting gallery was free and is where we spent most of our time. We even did it twice. Matthew absolutely loved it.

On of the stations was fishing which I thought was a little too complicated for little kids, but they still liked swinging the poles around.

Here they are looking at the baby ducks in the pond.

They also had a craft which I didn't get a picture of and the smores got rained out by one of the many afternoon 20 minute rain storms.

4th of July weekend

We headed up to Rapid City for the 4th of July weekend. I took a lot of pictures so there are more over on the flickr account.
Here are the boys and Desmond, sporting his cone of shame, doing sparklers.

We went to play at Storybook Island. What is it about boys and dirt?

He did some climbing.

The big kids got to play too :)

The cute boys on the train.

This picture cracks me up :) I didn't ask them to pose; just caught them in the act.

We drove to a lodge to see the fireworks. They were alright, but it was missing some Neil Diamond and John Phillip Sousa.

We also spent some time relaxing.

and enjoying baby holding.