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Click HERE to see a few more "family portraits" we shot last night...

Dancer in the Making

I was worried she wouldn't like it. Not so much because I wanted to live vicariously through her...but that she would be too shy or intimidated to enjoy something I enjoyed so much as a young girl. To my relief, Anslie LOVES her dance class! For her first two classes she pretty much just stood there and watched what the teachers and other students (most of them had already completed a year of dance) were doing. On her third class, however, she started to join in on the fun. She is such a cutie and really loves dancing! On the way to her class the other day she told me, "mama, I'm 'cited for my dance class. I'm 'cited for my teacher. She's pretty!" It warms my heart knowing that we have found an extra-curricular activity that she can look forward to each week. And it's even more fun that I am able to share something with her that I have such a deep love for. And if I do a little living vicariously, as long as she is having fun, what's the harm in that?!

The slide show below is full of pictures from her first dance class. I tried to document her entire experience from the time she woke up to the end of her class. I will also include a couple videos once I can get them formatted properly (so check out this post in a few days).

Zachary's Blessing

We were surrounded by friends and family. The spirit was strong. My husband was inspired. My baby was beautiful.

What a wonderful day! Zachary was given and name and a blessing on August 8th and it was such a sweet moment! Zac was as darling as always and amazed everyone in the circle with his sweet cooing and yawning as Kevin blessed him with strength, health, happiness, a desire to live the Gospel and to serve a mission, the ability to take his future bride to the temple, and to have a love of learning and a testimony of the scriptures.

I was a proud mama and so happy that we were able to have so many of our loved ones share the experience with our family. And what do proud mamas do best? Feed the people they love!

After the blessing we invited everyone over to our house to enjoy grilled chicken, caesar and pasta salads, hummus and pita bread, fresh fruit, and a delicious chocolate fountain.

With our spirits and our bellies nourished, it turned out to be one memorable moment in our son's life.

My Two Kids

Another excuse to post pictures of my two adorable babies! What can I say? I love my kids and I think they are cute. And I also think it's funny how the progression of pictures tells a tale of sibling rivalry, even at their young ages. Too funny.

It starts with me trying to take a picture of Zachary...and guess who wants in the picture too?

So I let Anslie in and all of a sudden she's no longer happy to be part of the project.

Zac's more than happy to oblige me while Anslie proves to be difficult.

Now she's starting to warm up....

See how she's peeking at Zac through the corner of her eye? What is she planning?!

Alright! There's my girl and her beautiful smile! But wait...see how he's sneaking a peek back? Uh oh...

Yup, I knew that was coming! Guess Zac showed Anslie. That's what she gets for stealing his lime light.

I guess I should be prepared for a lifetime of this stuff, right?! :)

Taking a Break...

I have a lot of photo editing to do and even more to blog about. We have had an insanely busy two weeks and I have so much to share! Stay tuned for several new blog posts. Until then, I will leave you with these two photos. Have you ever wondered if an almost-three-year-old's inability to color within the lines would carry over to painting toe nails? The answer is YES.

We Have a Smiler!

Zac has been officially smiling for about a week and a half now. I was finally able to catch it on "film"! Isn't he so stinkin' cute?!?!?!?