Baptisms and Blessings

So with our two lovely daughters birthdays being 5 days apart, yet still having an 8 year age difference, we were lucky enough to be able to schedule both Brooke's baptism and confirmation and Lilly's blessing on the same weekend. This also worked out picture-wise as Shan was able to coordinate matching blessing and baptism dresses so we could take adorable photographs with our girls:-)
The Griffeths and O'Bryants were on hand with Grant and Grandpa "O" giving talks at the baptism and all the moms and kids singing Brooke's favorite primary song, "When I am Baptized". The baptism and blessing were very special for all involved and we feel so blessed to live in time when the true church of Christ has been restored to the earth along with the divine priesthood authority to correctly perform these ordinances . It was such a special experience for everyone involved and we are all very proud of Brooke and her decision to be baptized.

A little "Cousin"-raderie

Anxiously awaiting to start

"So this is what it's like to be reverent."

A little pre-baptism love

Most kids would want sweets for something like this. Brooke's main request: Green peppers and ranch

"HA-HA!! Reverent time is over!!!"

Happy family pictures on the big day!!

Our two little angels. Straight out of Heaven

Here's Lilly making Grandpa "O" laugh.

Brooke setting another good example for us to follow

"Panda"-monium: Brooke's 8th birthday

Brooke's 8th birthday brought plenty of reasons to celebrate and not just because of her choice to be baptized. Turning 8 in our house also means Brooke is now allowed to have slumber parties which Brooke promptly took advantage of by having a slumber birthday with 3 of her closest friends. She couldn't really decided what theme she wanted between Pandas, or Princesses, or Star Wars so she decided to combine all three and have a "Panda Princess Leia" party. Brooke had all the party details planned out with me getting to test out my face painting abilities and Shan making a feast sweet enough for our Panda Princess. The girls got to make their own pizzas as well as pillowcases and Brooke even got her wish of throwing a whipped cream pie in her Daddy's face. The girls then all snuggled in on the couch for a night of movies. Needless to say, I never knew how exhausting throwing a slumber party can be for the parents but we all had lots of fun making lifelong memories!!

 

Jakie trying to force the Giant Panda into a submission

Even Bry didn't want to be left out of the panda fun

Shan was 5 days away from delivery and still managed an awesome party. Super Mom!!!!!

Brooke and Bry demonstrating their"Panda"-tude

"Just wait till they see what I've got planned for next year!!"

Lilly Progression

So it has been a few months since my last post and as LOT has happened in those months I thought I would take some time to try and catch up on things. First and foremost on the priority and request list, our little Lilly has been growing at a normal baby rate and as such  is quite a bit different than when she was a newborn so I thought I'd post a little progression of her growth over the past 2 months. This will hopefully be the first of a few posts to help catch me up, but lets face it, based on past precedent I can't really make any promises. Anyway, here is Lilly from about a week or so after being born to today with the last few pictures taken today while we were eating at Red Robin:-)

As you can see our little girl has grown quite a bit and has even learned to smile. She continues her good sleeping habits and has slept through the night sometimes up to 10-11 hours at a time. Go Lilly!!! She is just a joy to have around and we feel so lucky to have such a beautiful baby girl