The Blessing

Latter-day Saints give babies a blessing (baptism can happen at age 8). Paige's was the first Sunday in December.

Paige in the 102 year old blessing dress. My grandpa Ellison (born 1909) wore this gown when he was blessed. I wore it in 1976 and now both of my girls have worn it.

We had lots of friends and family join us for the blessing at our church. I was so impressed that everyone made it for a 9am sacrament meeting!
Of course the grandparents were there:

Lots of local cousins too:
Avery and Zoey were thrilled to see each other, of course. (Gracie seemed pretty happy too, just not in the mood for pictures.)
The blessing was beautiful. I especially liked the part about remembering and respecting your mother :) Also important were the blessings of developing her own testimony by reading the scriptures and being an example to friends and family.

Following church services, we hosted lunch for the family--almost 30 people! Our little apartment can't hold that kind of crowd. We approached a family in our ward (Richard and Linda Smith) a few weeks before the blessing and they were gracious enough to let us take over their lovely home.

Paige's blessing day was one of those truly wonderful days. We loved all our family, we were grateful for the Smith's generosity, and we were happy to celebrate Paige (who incidentally slept the entire way through lunch!)