Blessing and Baptism Day

A major incentive for my parents to visit was our decision to bless Owen and baptize Zachary while they were here.

We got a few pictures before the big day, since there is a law that when you dress your babe in white, they will blow out their diaper and the outfit will not be white any longer.

The best part of the pictures were the giggles behind the camera.  Yeah, Brady and I laughed plenty, but it was Zachary and Kate who got the most delight out of cross-eyed Owen and old man Owen.

Giggle, giggle, giggle.

Handsome Zachary!  Zac invited his two "brothers" to his baptism.  His bestie, David, had not been to a baptismal service before.  His mom texted a response to the invitation to attend by telling me that David was "very excited" about the baptism.  We've invited them to attend several parties at our ward over the last year.  According to David's interpretation of Zac's invitation, there would be another party but without decorations like at our ward Trunk or Treat.  There would, however, be a DUNKING MACHINE!  It was the hardest I've laughed in months.

Kate couldn't stand that Zac got to hold Owen while standing up.  She was adamant to have a turn.  The 8 seconds it took to grab a quick shot of her holding Owen were the most stressful of my life since Owen's birth.

The morning of Zac's baptism and Owen's blessing arrived!  Happy Day!

We were nervous that Zac might feel a little misplaced to share his big day with Owen, but he couldn't have been more thrilled to have his baby brother share the spotlight.

We all participated in the service.  Brady blessed and baptized.  Mom played the piano for the service.  Kate gave a sweet prayer even though she was scared.  I spoke on the Holy Ghost.  Dad spoke on Baptism.  The program had a picture of a dad with red hair.  The service was full, and I couldn't believe how many people from our ward turned out to support our family and Zachary, including his "brothers" from school.  It was a super sweet experience.  The best moment, however, was after he was baptized.  Zachary turned to Brady and said, "Dad, that was so cool.  I've been waiting for this day for my whole life."  It was clearly a meaningful event for him.

After serving refreshments and coming home, we were all pretty pooped.

Brady snapped one last shot of the day--me holding my sweet, 3.5 week old baby.  I look worn out, but happy, which is a perfect reflection of how I felt.

p.s.  Owen looks hungry and tired.  A perfect reflection of how he felt.

Grandma and Grandpa Nufer Come to Town

My Mom and Dad came to visit for 10 days.  Owen was three weeks old at their arrival, so naturally Brady and I were in a bit of an "Owen fog" with the unpredictable schedule of a newborn.  Amidst the gassy belly and fussy nights, there was also plenty of Owen-lovin around.

"Owen Fog"

"Owen Lovin"

"Let's see here..."

 Kate has no problem holding Owen when he is sad.  "Mom, it's ok!  I'm okay!  He's fine!  I've got it!" Wail, wail, wail.  What a patient older sis.

 I get new mommy insecurities after baby is born, but I decided that I will regret not having pics with me and my sweet babe.  So I took some and then I posted them.

 I only have a couple things I was able to save from Zachary, and this outfit is one of them.  He's Mr. Right, but he's also Mr. RIGHT NOW.

 Zac, while adoring and loving, is not completely okay with Owen's wails and quick to hand him over and coo at him from a distance.  He said the other day, "Won't it be so fun when he can play with us?"  Zachary is gentle and loving to O.

The day after their arrival, my parents and I caught up.  It was nice to have them stay home and chat for the day.  My mom played with Kate's dolls and Kate was glued to her side the rest of the trip.  Mom and Dad introduced me to Studio C again and we had a few chuckles.

Saturday morning, we hauled clear down to Kekaha for Zac's morning baseball game and opening ceremonies.  Mom and Dad cheered him on.  After the game, Brady took them out to Polihale at their request to see the beach I never shut up about in my letters and blog.  The water was rough because it's winter and there have been huge swells on the island, but it was a pretty day.

Sunday, we spent some time together in the afternoon and took a walk to Sheratons.  Dad showed the kids how to upload pictures on the family history website.

This is one of my favorite pictures from their trip.  Kate loves her grandma.

Zac was gifted this kedama at Christmas last year by one of the Ritchie boys.  He wasn't terribly interested in it at the time, but developed a sudden obsession with it.  He takes it everywhere now and we even found it under his pillow one night.  My dad had a fun time messing around with it, too.

I have a picture of my parents from many years ago gazing out into the water at Kalipaki.  This is an attempt to replicate that memory.

I sent my parents an 8X10 picture of our family from mPix at Christmas time along with their gift.  Before they opened it, my mom said that all she wanted for Christmas was an updated family photo with all five of us.  Oops.  We worked on getting a few options.

I didn't accompany my parents on many of their beach outings.  Owen is too little for sun and I can't cool off in the water yet, either, and I'm still trying to heal.  They took a nice trip to the north shore to watch huge waves and hike part of the Kalalau trail.  They also went boogie boarding several times, out on a catamaran trip, and to Waimea.




One thing they were sure not to miss were Zac's games, which was commitment!  He has three games a week.

My dad also spent some time at his practices, reading his books and taking shots of Zachary's swing.

I went on a walk one night and it was spectacular.

 The sunset and 6 whales hoping around were awesome, but even better was capturing this moment with Zachary hitting balls to Dad and Mom catching for them.  It reminded me of many nights during my childhood.

Another afternoon, we went to Sheratons together.  It was Owen's first beach outing.

 This is one of my favorite moments of their trip: watching them catch a wave with Zachary.

Friday night, we all went out to a fresh fish dinner at Keokis.  Owen was kind enough to sleep through the entire meal.

After a baseball game Saturday as well as preparation for the baptism and blessing the following day, we took Mom and Dad to Kalipaki to attempt paddle boarding again.  They loved it and had success.

Beach trip #2 for Owen.

Showing Grandma and Grandpa drip castles!

Zachary has never liked paddle boarding.  He did a project about tiger sharks in Kindergarten and has avoided deep water ever since.  However, with a little incentive and some encouragement from his grandparents, he went out.  We could hardly convince him to come back in once he figured it out.  He loved it and didn't stop talking about it all afternoon.

We are glad the weather was beautiful for them the entire trip.  We're glad they saw whales, snorkeled with a turtle, and checked out spinner dolphins.  We're happy Mom got to hike on the Kalalau trail for the first time.

My favorite moments with my parents were the simple ones: watching my mom bond with Kate, watching Zac hit balls to grandpa in the backyard, talking to them while they laid on my bed and I breastfed Owen in my chair, and talking to them in the evenings.  Too much time has passed since our last face-to-face visit and I'm most happy that my kids had time to bond with them.