Fun With Oatmeal

I went to the store with Hannah, Gracie, and Adam on the morning of October 20th. Dan was still asleep and because it was a fast trip I left him home with Kenny. Kenny was working on the Halloween costumes and when Dan woke up he decided to let him eat his oatmeal by himself. Dan did just that and he enjoyed himself. Wouldn't you!?!

Kenny would like to point out that Katie neglected to mention that he took the pictures of Dan and by the time Katie came back home from her leisurely shopping trip Kenny had already finished feeding Dan, cleaned up the mess, had Dan in the bathtub, and was back at work in Katie's little Halloween costume sweatshop as ordered, lest anyone should get the impression that he's a derelict father who just left the mess for his overworked wife... which is usually a safe bet, but wasn't the case this time!

Another Tinkerbell Cake

Gracie's Tinkerbell cake.

Sarah was 'helpful' and put the candles in before I got a picture.

Gracie couldn't decided what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. Hannah was full of suggestions, "I want a castle cake." Me: "It's not your birthday." Hannah: "Well then Gracie wants a castle cake." Gracie: "No I don't." We went through this with all the suggestions Hannah had. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I suggested cakes for Gracie and she finally decided on and Tinkerbell cake. This was very good for me because I had made a Tinkerbell cake for Sarah Kate when she turned 6. We still had the cake pan and so I didn't have to go buy one.

Waiting patiently for her cake.

Eating cake and ice cream.

Gracie was very happy with her cake and was very excited to eat it. She asked me about 25 times during the day if it was time to eat cake. Finally after the presents were opened it was time for cake. We lit the candles, sang and then Gracie blew out the candles with a lot of help from Ben. Ben got in trouble and we lit the candles again for Gracie to blow out by herself.

Blowing out the candles with Ben's help.

Gracie kept burning her forehead while trying to blow out the candles. This is how she fixed that.

When it came time to cut the cake, Gracie knew exactly which part she wanted, the hair. Everyone got their chosen part of Tinkerbell's face and enjoyed eating it. It was a great end to a wonderful 3rd birthday.

Eating birthday cake the Newbry way.

Happy 3rd Birthday Gracie

Gracie with her presents.

Gracie turned 3 on October 19th. It's so hard to believe she's 3, but at the same time it's hard to believe that she wasn't already 3. She's such a cute girl who plays so well with the older kids and fits in so well with them. She has changed so much over the past year and has grown up a lot. I love watching my kids grow up and change and Gracie has definitely done that over the past year. She is no longer a toddler, but has started become a big kid.

Opening her presents.

Just being cute with her presents.

We've been looking forward to Gracie's birthday for many weeks. I think Hannah is just as excited as Gracie is. Maybe she knows that whatever Gracie gets, she gets to play with also. Every time I would ask Gracie what she wanted for her birthday or what kind of cake she wanted, Hannah would quickly respond. Too bad it wasn't Hannah's birthday. We did, however, manage to get Gracie some good present, with and without Hannah's help.

Gracie with her Barbie. Hannah insisted Gracie wanted one of these for her birthday.

Some fun things about Gracie: She's such a good big sister to her two little brothers. She's begun playing so well with Daniel and when one of the boys cries Gracie is often there to help out. She's also best friends with Hannah. I just love watching those two girls together. Oh how I wish I had a sister like they have. Gracie is a very comical girl. She's always doing goofy things to make herself and other laugh. She's not yet potty trained which has been annoying to me, but she doesn't care (I think that's part of the problem.) She's our most confident kid and doesn't mind being on her own, for the most part. We even lost her in Walmart last Christmas time, that was a very scary. She hates to take naps, but loves to give kisses before bed. She's very loving, always giving hugs and kisses. She loves to sing songs and dance around. She's such a fun girl who we feel very blessed to have in our family.

Gracie's bouncy ball.

We weren't sure at first if this would be a good present. We took a chance and it was a good idea. This was by far her favorite present.

Hannah has a ball just like Gracie's and they had fun bouncing together.

Dan And The Tub

I just love pictures of my kids in the bathtub. I don't know what it is about bath pictures that I like so much, but there's something. Anyway, Dan was in the bathtub one day and Kenny decided to snap a few pictures of him. Dan loves the bath, but only when he's in it alone. For some reason he doesn't really like baths with Hannah and Grace, maybe it has to do with them crawling all over him.

Adam's Blessing

Adam Patrick Newbry

We held Adam's blessing on Sunday, October 10th. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful blessing. Both sets of Grandparents came up for the blessing along with Kenny's sister Karen and her family and my Aunt Cindy. It was so nice to have family make the trip up to join us. The blessing itself was wonderful and Adam did very well, keeping quite during the entire thing. Kenny did a great job. He didn't once call Adam Daniel, which is often done in our house, and when saying his name he did not call him Adam Patrick Holderness (Kenny's uncles name is Patrick Holderness and he was afraid he was going to screw up the name.) I was able to listen to the entire blessing because my kids were scattered around the benches with there cousins and Grandma's. The only unusual part was when Gracie snuck up to the front of the chapel to join the men and the blessing. That little girl is so sneaky. No one saw her go, but I did quickly walk up and retrieve her before the blessing started. I feel very fortunate to have a husband who holds the priesthood and is able to bless our babies. It's such a wonderful feeling to sit in the stands and listen to your husband bless your new baby. I am one lucky Mommy.

Our (not so little) family of 8

With Grandma and Grandpa Gass

With Grandma and Grandpa Newbry

Mom, Dad, and baby Adam

I wanted to share a little side story while I'm thinking of it. Way back 4 1/2 years ago we were blessing little baby Hannah Beth. We were supposed to be moving to Virginia and were kind of in between houses at the time so we held her blessing at my parents house over conference weekend. During her blessing Kenny blessed her that she would always stay close to her brothers and sisters. It stuck out in my mind so strongly that day. I've often brought it up to Kenny as a way to tease him about our family. I'd remind him that he used the plural words of brothers and sisters. I love thinking back on that time now that we have our complete family. We have managed to get brothers and sisters for all of our kids. I really do believe those words all those 4 1/2 years ago were said for a reason and that they stuck in my mind for a reason. I think it was God's way of letting us know we weren't done yet.

Grandma Newbry holding a very happy baby Adam. (Thanks Grandma for sharing your pictures.)

Grandpa Newbry holding Adam

Adam sitting in his bouncer watching everyone during dinner.

I have a similar picture of Daniel in the same bouncer after his blessing just over a year ago.

After Sacrament meeting we headed back to the house for lunch/dinner. We had hot sandwiches and salads which turned out wonderful. It was very simple yet yummy at the same time. It was so nice to visit with family and to watch my kids play with their cousins. We've been so busy lately we don't get to see family that often. I will forever be grateful for the men in my life who were able to take part in Adam's blessing, for the family who made the trip up to share in our special day, and to God for giving me such wonderful children.

A picture of Dan hurt eye. Dan was walking and pushing the girls doll stroller when he slipped and slammed his fame on it. Poor guy. I guess that'll teach him to play with girl toys. :)

Our sandwich meal.

The kids table.

I love sleeping babies. Happy blessing day Adam.