Explanation

Because of the nature of my camera and the way it labels files I only upload pictures at the end of the month.  So, be prepared for a sudden surge of posts.

Clean and Pure

She's 8 years old!  How crazy is that?  It's seems like both yesterday and a thousand years ago that I welcomed my first tiny miracle to this world, and she's gotten so big, now.

We took pictures to celebrate such an important birthday.

Today was her baptism.  She looked so beautiful, all dressed in white with her Daddy by her side.

When we got home she opened one more set of presents--brand new scriptures and a case to keep them in.

Girls...

It's odd how life works out, sometimes.  I caught this picture of Elena and Lucy at Elena's baptism, today...

...because of this one from my niece's baptism, 8 years ago.

It's the same dress, one of only 3 or 4 dresses to survive the fire because they'd never gotten put away properly.

For the sake of comparison, here are better close-ups.

Ladybugs!

Elena started planning this party as soon as we got done with Joseph's pirate party, two years ago.  I haven't been ready for it, though.  I was pregnant and nauseous for both those birthdays.  This year I got things together.  We made flower hair clips, though I didn't get pictures.  We played Pin The Ladybug on the Picnic.

We ate aphids on a log and flower sandwiches on a picnic blanket.

Daddy made another one of his famous piñatas.

We found an actual ladybug in the grass.

And we ate yummy cupcakes.  I'm really happy with how they came out.

Thank you to everyone who could make it out, we were so happy to have you here.

Beginnings of Birthday Fun

James turned 4!  After Joseph and Grant's birthdays he's got this down.  He knew all about what to do with presents and candles.  It's the first time I've seen him excited about something somewhat abstract.

Boys...

This from a visit to the New Braunfels children's museum.  I don't usually get pictures of the boys without them being blurry from too many wiggles or an akward zoom and crop from a self-portrait.

Lucita, Mi Gordita

I have a chubby monkey.  And I love it.

She got the nickname from the Riverside sisters who love to coo over her at every opportunity.  (The Spanish-speaking ward meets in our building.)  It's funny seeing them saying "Ai!  La Gorda!" to her.

That means she gets to hear three different languages on a regular basis, though.  (Jonathan's teaching himself French by reading Le Livre de Mormon.)   Hopefully this will make her well-rounded in more ways than the obvious one.