Standing

Eliza has learned to pull herself up. She loves to stand. We decided about a week ago to lower her crib. I think that gave her motivation or something because a few days later she was standing in her crib. In fact, now she prefers to stand. She prefers standing or sitting in her crib to sleeping... It's getting a little crazy with her naps. She can stand, she just hasn't learned to sit back down. You can see her red bumps and bruises on her face. She has been falling quite a bit. Hopefully she'll learn the stand AND sit soon!

He is Risen

Easter has become one of my favorite holidays. Not eggs and bunnies, but the real meaning of Easter. I was a little disappointed when I realized we weren't having an "Easter" lesson in Relief Society. But, we had a lesson on temples. It was such a beautiful lesson. A primary class came in and sang I Love to See the Temple. While they were singing I realized that it was an Easter lesson. Easter is about family and eternal happiness. After church we came home and frosted cupcakes and cake for our family dinners. I have been raving to Ben since we were dating about my carrot cheesecake. I finally made it! I wish I took a picture of our kitchen afterward. It was covered in powdered sugar. We had so much fun the mess was worth it. Ben thought it would be fun to make the inside a little Easter surprise. They turned out great. We had a yummy dinner at Hodgkinson's then went to my Dad's house for seconds. It was a perfect day.

I Love to See the Temple

We started the day off with a fun Easter egg hunt at Grandma Hazel's. Eliza didn't get much hunting in but had fun anyway. We all wore our Easter clothes for some pictures. For some reason E bug wasn't in the mood for a photo shoot. She still looked adorable though. We were going to go to the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point but it started to rain. I am so glad because we got some great pictures of Eliza at the Temple. I am still deciding which are my favorite so I just put a bunch on! I LOVE the temple pictures of Eliza. I am going to frame one in her room. I think I Love to See the Temple is one of the only primary songs I still know. I sing it to Eliza all the time. It's our favorite!

Carl Bloch

I was worried about this trip. Taking Eliza and Grandma Hazel to Provo seemed daunting. It was worth the drive. We picked Ben up at work, braved BYU graduation traffic, finally got our iPads, and went in to the exhibit. I heard that there weren't very many pictures, which is true. But the pictures that are there did not disappoint. I loved each and every one. Eliza was getting restless so Ben took her out to play on the grass. Grandma and I listened to the dialog on the iPad's about each painting. I was particularly touched Christ in Gethsemane. Elder Maxwell spoke about this moment of the Atonement.  I stood in the filled room with tears in my eyes. Even Jesus Christ, as perfect as he was, needed comfort in that moment. Our Heavenly Father sends all of us angels when we are in agony. I truly believe that is true.  If you have time before May 7, I highly recommend visiting the exhibit.

Christ in Gethsemane 

Bloch interprets the scriptural text with great sensitivity; the angel tenderly and compassionately embraces the Savior as He takes upon Himself the sins and infirmities of all mankind.

7 Months

Eliza at 7 months...
twirls her ankle
loves water from a sippy cup
smooshes her face into the ground
presses face to the mirror
loves, loves, loves bath time
scoots all around the house
looks like a ski jumper when getting in the bath
doesn't sit still, especially for pictures!
still not a snuggler
sneezes and licks the snot, yuck
curls her toes when trying to put her shoes on, and all the time really
loves feeding herself her "star snacks"
always jibber jabbering
Sneezes and burps very lady like
puts everything in her mouth, but still no teeth
would rather eat her shoes than wear them
blond hair, blue eyed bomb shell
loves listening to music
cracks us up all the time

You are so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine.
Dumbo