Clara Smiles

The most exciting event to happen during Clara's first six weeks was when she learned how to smile. All the sleepness nights, the explosive diaper changes, the discomfort of endless feedings are forgotten when she flashes a bright and happy smile at us. Now she smiles easy and often, much to our delight. Here are some of her first smiles.

Ballet Class

Lily has always had a natural talent and love of music and dance. Over the past year Lily has taken several ballet classes that she has loved every time. Here are some pictures and a video of her most recent session of ballet.

Clara's Blessing Day

Today we blessed Clara at church and it was beautiful. Ben blessed her with his dad, a friend from the ward (Jeremy Five Crows), and the Bishopric.

He talked a lot about how she will be compassionate and serve those who have less than her. The point I remember best was that she will see the injustices in the world and fight against them and that she will be a voice for those who don't have one. The image that popped into my head was that of an advocate or a lawyer for those who are disadvantaged and mistreated. Or maybe a social worker. We'll see. I'm excited to get to know my little girl as she grows.

It's always amazing to listen to newborns receive a blessing 10 times their size. It's like a little glimpse into the soul of this tiny bag of potatoes we recently brought into the world. It turns out that babies turn into contributing members of society one day. They don't poop all over themselves and wake the entire household up throughout the night forever :)

We were blessed to have Ben's parents with us for Clara's blessing day, as well as several of our friends and neighbors who aren't LDS. They were gracious enough to join us for the blessing and then to celebrate and share lunch together at the church afterward. It was a small way I could say thank you for all the incredible help they have given to our family since Clara's birth.