Blessing Day

The special girl of the day

Our little eternal family

On April 8, 2012 we blessed our Gracelyn Michelle Brower. It was a beautiful spring day and just so happened it was also Easter Sunday. We were lucky enough to celebrate with many family and friends. Matt gave her a beautiful blessing. Both our families in their entirety were there as well as Grandma Harris, Aunt Jeanette, Kelly/Julie, Jim & Tamara(Issac,Jude), Braydon Martin, and Grandma/Grandpa Edstrom. We learned from Hallie's blessing to do pictures before and Im so glad we did. My mom made Gracie's dress and Kim made her headband that was extra special because it was made out of Grandma Norr's pearls and cloth. Although we can't name all of our girls after her I was very touched that Gracie had a piece of her with her on her special day. In fact we actually picked the pattern and material based on the headband.
Our sweet girls

With her mommy

With her daddy

Grandma Sheryl(made the dress) and papa


Nate with one of his favorite nieces

Maddie and Nate with the girls

The bishopric, Daddy, Papa, Uncle Kelly, Ez, Kyle, Tyler M., Randy Hatch, Grandpa Brower, Grandpa Edstrom, Aaron and Nick were the priesthood that helped give you a name and a blessing. Daddy talked about loving eduacation and using your mind to learn all you could, being tolerant and nonjudgemental of the people around you, to someday find a worthy young man to take you to the temple, as well as having patience with yourself and others. It was a beautiful blessing Matt did an awesome job.
Afterwards we were able to do the luncheon at Wadman so we would have plenty of space(for future reference this was an amazing idea) I didn't have to clean my house before and after, there was plenty of space, the kids had room to run, and I didn't have to sanitize my house with bleach after everyone left...yeah I'm OCD. We were so blessed to have everyone there to celebrate Gracie's special day.

Easter Weekend

It was a busy and fun packed weekend. My parents made it here Thursday afternoon they helped us finalize some yard work and played with the girls. Friday along with Gracie turning 3 months Matt's mom turned...as Matt would put it "old".

We were able to go to dinner with Ris, Joy, and Brit to celebrate. Originally we were going to go to dinner with all the adults but unfortunately it didn't work out which was dissappointing. My parents were great enough to watch the girls so we could go to dinner and finalize all the food for the blessing.

Friday night my mom gave the kids their Easter. She did cute little packages for the grandkids. Each of them got a new outfit, a toy, and a few other random things. Hallie loved her shirt and has worn it several times already and Gracie got a darling swimsuit and ladybug outfit.


Saturday morning we decided we would do Easter so that Sunday would be left for the true meaning of Easter. The Easter bunny left a trail of eggs for all of us to follow to find out baskets. We knew Hallie was awake when she yelled up the stairs "where did all this candy come from...oh the Easter bunny must have come." It took her about five minutes and some help from Nate to collect every piece of candy from her room to her basket.



Nate and Hallie's findings

Then there was the cheering section


Once she collected all of the candy she found her basket. She got books, a movie(Tangled), and golf clubs. Gracie got some clothes and books she could barely contain herself...for sure.



Nate may act like a tough 17 yr old boy but he really is one of the sweetest kids I know the girls love him.

We got everyone ready in their new outfits and the boys headed off to play some golf while the girls did some shopping.
Rigs is very curious about Gracie and loves headbands...I hope for Nic's sake when she has another one it is a boy!

Testing out the recliners

Once it warmed up and the boys got home from golfing we had a mini Easter egg hunt the kids loved it..even Gracie got in on the action








Kimber brought some AMAZING sugar cookies she got from a store in St. George the cookies and the frosting well I will just say I wish I could have eaten ALL of them and the one I did eat was worth being sick over. Here is Hallie enjoying one of these little jems.


Then of coarse we had to dye eggs...like I said we were really busy.


Then last but not least it was Maddie's 12th birthday on Saturday so we ordered chinese food and had cheesecake before starting up the "spanking machine." It took some convincing but maddie did ultimately crawl through the tunnel(faster than I have ever seen her crawl)

3 Months

Last week(friday to be exact) Gracie turned 3 months. When I typed in the title I put 2 months then sadly realized that my baby is 3 months. The last 3 months have been wonderful since the addition of Gracie. She is a wonderful baby. Very mellow to say the least. She only cries when she is hungry. She is very smiley and is now freeling laughing often which is soo fun. We are loving this stage.
She will now hold toys that Hallie gives her. She loves Hallie and lights up when she talks and sings to her. Here is our beautiful girl celebrating her 3 months with some smiles and laughs.

Gracie Update

What can I say about our Gracie girl except she is growing like a weed. She is a great baby...I don't think I can say that enough. I love when she smiles and her whole face lights up when you talk to her. It melts my heart when Hallie talks to her and Gracie watches her like she just can't get enough. I love her sweet little spirit and her mellow personality. She loves to watch tv and seems to really enjoy music. She likes to be where things are happening. Within the last couple of weeks she has found her hands. She likes to interlock them and suck on them...a lot. She loves to be in motion whether it be in the car or stroller. She enjoys bath time. Sleeps best in her crib while swaddled.

Her hair is filling in and it looks at this point to still be dark. She is getting more and more into laughing all the time..usually when surprised. She quite often finds someone or something to stare at that brings a smile to my face..I always wonder who it could be? I love to get up with her in the stillness of the night and just enjoy the quite time with her. I have really been struggling with my ulcerlative colitis and just recently switched treatment plans in hopes of curing it rather than treating it. I was having a particularly hard day. I had finished feeding her and was tucking her back into bed when her face lit up and a smile filled her face I could have sworn that I heard a voice say, "It will be ok mommy we will figure this out you just have to be patient." I stood watching her for a long time with tears streaming down my face as she quickly fell back to sleep. It was truly one of Gods tender mercies. I'm so thankful for her sweet spirit and her thin veil that has once again enlightened our lives. I think my kids help me find perspective in life...what an eternal perspective.

Hallie Update

I still hold to the stage that each child is in is always my favorite just as I think the stage Hallie is in is my favorite she continues to grow and change and then that stage becomes my favorite. She has gotten to the stage that she says and does some of the funniest things and continues to display her personality more and more. Some include Nate asking Hallie if she spoke Spanish to which she responded, "Im Hallie, not Dora." In sacrament meeting last week as the priesthood brought around the sacrament Hallie got excited and said, "look mommy they have baskets just like the easter bunny." First thing we do when getting up in the morning is go potty on day 3 of potty training Hallie went potty, jumped off the potty, hugged me, and told ME she knew I could do it and was so proud of me. haha
The past week we have done potty training and just let me tell you I would rather do just about anything other than potty training. I attempted to potty train Hallie just before her 2nd birthday and before Gracie arrived which failed miserably..I don't think she was ready. But having turned 2 1/2 this week I decided it was time she is way to smart to not understand what to do maybe just lazy. The 1st day went great 3 accidents all day it was day 2 and 3 that were just about enough to pull my hair out. I had to remind myself often that Hallie is 2 and we are learning together. Gerber thick training pants and water proof pantie covers have been my saving grace. We have spent a lot of time talking while she is sitting on the potty. I stared asking her some questions the other day and was quite surprised that she was giving me full answers. Some of her responses were her favorite color is green, favorite food sausage and bacon, and favorite place to go is on a walk. She seems to do the best when she is naked. Thursday I let her run around naked most of the day and we had NO accidents. She would be sitting on the floor playing and quickly get up and run to the bathroom...to bad we can't go everywhere naked. After a week she still isn't asking to go but will sit on the potty when I remind her. We are and will get there and I refuse to go back. I will say before I start this story that we always sing when Hallie sits on the potty, various songs and sometimes just made up silly ones. We were in Walmart yesterday and Hallie needed to go potty(adds a whole new hardness of getting out of the house) we went in the bathroom and she sat on the potty and said mommy you need to sing so I began to sing...quietly. After a moment she said you need to sing louder like this and started singing her potty song at the top of her lungs she proceeded to go potty and then said, "now that wasn't so hard now was it".. I couldn't help but laugh and I heard some giggles from the other stales. Which leads to my next thought.
Hallie loves to sing and has gotten very into princesses. She loves to wear long shirts or skirts she spins in a circle and dances while singing. She loves to sing everything and anything. This morning I found her on top of the kitchen table singing songs from little mermaid. We have been watching a new Disney movie at least once a week for movie time. She is very into pretending. While cleaning out my closet the other day she asked if she could get married. I said that was fine and had no idea what she was talking about she returned after a few minutes dress for her "wedding" in her dads golf hat and our decorative plant.

She has figured out how to pedal her bike and had her 1st official haircut. She is a super helper and wants to help and ask questions about everything we are doing. She still loves to read and lately we have found her sleeping with books with her light on when we check on her right before we go to bed.
I have realized lately now that we are settled into a schedule with Gracie that I have been spending significantly less one on one time with Hallie. So now at least once a week during Gracie nap time we have mommy/hallie time. We paint our fingernails, take bubble baths, watch movie/cuddle/eat popcorn, play in her play room, read stories, or whatever she wants to do. She will often ask where Gracie is or wants her to have her involved in what were doing. Often times I am surprised that Hallie isn't resentful towards Gracie but are extremely grateful that she isn't.
Now that the weather is warmer and RSV cases are decreasing we have been getting out a little more. Hallie is such a loving little girl and has missed all her little friends alot. She is very sweet and tenderhearted. She is always concerned for others but isn't afraid to stand up for herself. The other day at treehouse she was "planting" carrots in the garden area with a shovel and watering can. A little boy twice her size came into the area and tried to take her shovel and watering can out of her hands to which she pulled them back and told him that taking without asking was naughty. This was the same day we went to treehouse with Rosty. On the way out Rosty was crying and was ready to go home Hallie walked up to him and held his hand. I typically hate pictures like this because they see posed but this occurrence has possibly changed my thought process.


I often sit in awe, Hallie is so confident and self assured. I can only hope that she continues to realize what a special daughter of God that she is and the potential she has. Our lives would certainly be dull without her beautiful smile and shining eyes. We are so blessed that she is a part of our eternal family.

Spring Time=Yard Work

I think the title to the post says it all when the weather gets warm our attention gets turned to the exterior of our house and the ways we can improve it...this spring has been no different. We have expanded our garden and Matt and I are trying together to find our green thumb so that we can be more self sufficient. Hallie has loved helping to plant and loves playing in the mud. Gracie on the other hand just loves to sit in her bouncer and watching.

Among other projects Matt and his friend Isrel poured a new concrete step, a garbage can slab, new fence posts, a new water spigot, and a place for my new planter.




This past week we had new curbing put in(pics to come) and on the agenda for this week is new plants, mulch, painting our front steps, and grass.(weather permitting) More updates to come.