Baby Blessing and Other Fun

Hello all! This week's hot topic is Miss Riley Mae's baby blessing. It has been a long and wonderful week of preparing for her day. We were able to get so many great pictures and had so many special moments. The weather was gorgeous allowing us to enjoy a beautiful weekend. We hope you enjoy reliving the fun with us this post.


Riley's blessing weekend was made even more special because James' Mom, Dad, and brother Joel were able to come. James' mother had been texting Brittany all week to make plans to come up and surprise James for the weekend. They both (Mom Anderson and Brittany) enjoyed trying to be sneaky for a good cause. And it worked out that in making preparations for the baby blessing luncheon we were also making preparations for the family to come up. Pretty sneaky, huh? 


It was so nice having them here! They worked hard to be able to come and drove all night from California in order to be here. Not only did they do that, they came with gifts for everyone! 


Dean got a Nemo toy that actually swims! It is so neat, and of course he loves it because it's a fish! They also bought him a t-shirt that says "Mom's little slugger" that will be perfect for the summer.

For Riley, they selected a sweet "fuzzy" pink bear that makes womb sounds, plays music, and has a white noise setting also, and we can tell it soothes her. She also got an outfit that says "Dad says I'm cuter than words" because James is always sending cute photos with captions like that. 

For Brittany (and Riley) a huge bag of cute baby girl clothes from Auntie Janine! Brittany's favorite gifts though, were the special crocheted shoes and shawl that Riley was able to wear for her blessing day. The shoes were made for Mom Anderson's baby blessing by her great-grandmother Milius, and the shawl was made by her grandmother Hyde for James', and his brothers and sisters, blessings. So special! What a great thing to be able to tell Riley when she gets older. 


For James, they brought up a family recipe, called Bean Soup; he was able to have a father's blessing from his dad; and they even left his graduation cards and gift for him before they headed back home. What sweet thoughts and gestures from loving parents. We are so grateful for our family and that they want to do such wonderful things like that to bless our lives. We hope we can show our gratitude by following their examples and striving each day to be, and do, good. 

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As for the blessing, it went so well! We were all able to get up early enough to get ready and be to church early to make sure things were in order. James was able to have his father and brother, and a couple good friends in the circle with him and gave such a sweet, spiritual blessing. Riley slept through the whole meeting and got loved up by everyone. We both bore our testimonies, as well as Mom Anderson, and the meeting was so beautiful. 


After sacrament meeting we all gathered in the foyer to take some photos before walking back home for the luncheon. It turned out so nicely! We had BBQ chicken salads with black beans, tomatoes, avocado, cheese, ranch, olives, and tortilla chips inspired by Gringos. Mom and Dad Anderson brought up delicious rolls (shout out to The Cinnamon Roll Lady), and we had no bake Oreo creme pies for dessert. 


Please enjoy all the photos.

 (before leaving for church)

 (in her stroller for the short walk to and from church)

 (the back of the dress)

 (the gorgeous shoes she wore)

 (so glad they fit her!)

 (Princess Riley Mae Anderson on the beautiful shawl)

 (by this time, after we got home, she was pretty hungry)

 (the long dress)

(we're so happy she's our girl)

 (Brittany, Dean, James, Riley, Mom, Dad, Joel) 

 (our little family)

(us and the Nielsen's: Amanda, Cameron, and Shayla)

 (Dean and Grandpa Anderson)

 (Dean and Shayla enjoying the beautiful weather)

 (our handsome boy!)

(Shayla was so cute with Riley, we loved it.)

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We were also able to accomplish some other family fun this week. Dean getting a haircut, going to a new frozen yogurt shop (Kiwi Loco) in town with one of their promotional coupons, and enjoying a beautiful evening in the park splashing and throwing an airplane around. Brittany even found a wall clock that she liked that was affordable! Hahaha. 


Ready for more photos?

 (Dean after his haircut)

 (Riley with her dad)

 (James and his Dad being goofy at the park)

(what a couple of wonderful men!)

 (Dean and his Grandma Anderson)

(They had so much fun together)

 (He just stood there looking at the water for the longest time)

 (Then he discovered how fun splashing was)

 (Brittany's new clock)

Thank you for making our week so memorable Mom, Dad and Joel. We love you so much!!! 


Love, 

The James Anderson Family