I've got quite a few pictures from Alice's baby blessing last Sunday, so buckle in!
My parents flew into town last week for Alice's blessing in our church. It was such a special occasion. Jack was over-the-moon to spend the week with his grandparents. He was not, however, over-the-moon to join in for pictures. So that's why he'll be mostly absent from this post. I'm thinking of dressing Alice up again next Sunday just so I can snap a picture of her in her dress with her big brother, who really does love her so very much. Jared's parents and younger brother drove up for her special day, too. It was wonderful to be with both of our families all day.
^^Alice wore the dress that I wore at my own baby blessing 30 years ago. It is the dress that my mother brought back from the Philippines when she served a mission there in her early 20s. I am so grateful she saved it, and that she was here to help me get the beautiful dress looking white and new again, and get Baby Alice dressed up in time for 9:00 church. The booties were made by my Grandma Roper (or perhaps her mother? I will have to ask you about them, Grandma) decades ago. I purchased the bonnet for her myself. So it was special to have her wearing something from each generation of mothers before her.
^^The pictures uploaded backwards. These were taken outside of our home at the end of the day when Alice was out of the bonnet and pretty tired. The pictures from the beginning of the day will be at the end.
^^I just love her wonky newborn head of hair!
I'm kind of sad we didn't take a picture of me and my Mom together with Alice! I guess that's the problem with being the photographer and forgetting to jump in more often. Next time we are together in Utah we'll have to get a picture of me and Alice with my mother and grandmother.
^^The best shot of her pretty dress! Lots of beautiful embroidery on the front.
^^The other problem with being the photographer is that when you DO think to hop into a picture and hand the camera off, the result is sometimes blurry. Still sweet though!
^^Good lighting in the upstairs hallway, a moment away from the party.
^^Actually, this is probably the best detail shot of the dress.
^^Sunday family dinner! We had pork carnitas with Mexican rice and lots of yummy fruit. Plus a Costco apple pie for dessert, and we made good use of the pebble ice machine Jared's parents gifted us for Christmas. Now that we've lived near Jared's parents for over a year, I feel I'm just starting to get the hang of hosting Sunday dinners. I've still got a ways to go before I'm at the level our parents and my grandmother are at, but each time I learn something new to make the next time flow better.
^^Outside of our church after the blessing. It was a bit drizzly so we snapped these quickly. I meant to purchase myself a new dress for Alice's blessing day, but I completely forgot! Fortunately I was able to find this thrifted, hand-sewn dress in the back of my closet that fit my postpartum body. It tore a bit halfway through church but otherwise was a nice choice.
^^Jack making an appearance in this post
^^Jared gave her a lovely blessing. He blessed her to be healthy and safe and a light to others throughout her life. I made a voice recording of the blessing, so I'm excited to transcribe and print it out. Jack's baby blessing was very quiet and I didn't think to record it--whoops. I supposed this is Alice benefiting from not being the oldest/guinea pig child. It was the loveliest, most special day. I'm so grateful our parents were able to be part of it.
