Niels' Blessing/Hollingsworth Reunion

All of my family was able to come into town for Niels' baby blessing except one sibling and her family.  It worked out perfectly that is was around the 4th of July.  Everyone came into town on Wednesday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon after the blessing.  Usually when we all get together it's just for the weekend, so it was nice to have more time together.  It was also nice to have everyone stay by each other without being in the same house.  Brendan's family owns an apartment complex across the street and they had a few empty apartments during the summer so each family had their own apartment.

 We started out the fun with the 4th of July parade on Thursday morning.  Bruce and Jessica were kind enough to get up early and save spots for us at 4 in the morning.  

 All of the cousins together on Hazel and Hattie's cool teeter totter.  Brendan's parents gave it to the girls for their birthdays this year.  

 Brook's cute family.

Dawn's cute family.

 My cute family.

And some pictures just for fun.

 After pictures and a great meal made by Brendan, we ended the evening by watching the Stadium of Fire firework show.  It was spectacular!

 Super Jon.

On Friday most everyone went kayaking down the Provo river, but we somehow didn't manage to get any pictures of that activity.  It actually ended up being a little crazy with a big lightening storm on the river.  After the storm cleared we all went and got shaved iced, then came back home and had some badminton tournaments and water balloon toss.

On Saturday morning Brendan made a huge breakfast for everyone, and later in the afternoon we all went to the new Provo rec center and swam.  In the evening Bill and Merrill made pizza and salad that was delicious.  We ended the night with our own firework show at our house and ice cream cones for dessert.

 Golf cart rides by Grandpa.

And of course Sunday morning was the blessing of Niels.  Brendan gave a beautiful blessing, and after sacrament meeting we all came back to our house for a light brunch before everyone headed back home.

This was the best picture I got of Niels in his cute blessing outfit.  He's actually half asleep in this picture. I was trying to wake him up for the camera.

Four generations.

Hattie Turned 2

Hattie is so fun to have in our family.  It's funny how different she is from Hazel.  She has so much personality and makes us laugh everyday.  She has a very good vocabulary and great pronunciation, and she surprises us with what comes out of her mouth somedays.  She just loves to talk!  Her facial expressions are also hilarious.  She has been giving out dirty looks since she was young.  She doesn't like it when people are staring at her either, especially in church.  She will tell them to stop.  Lately Hattie has been a bit of a bully with other kids.  After I picked her up from Nursery one week she was telling me what she ate and what songs they sang and then she said, "And I got in a fight." Hattie also loves to sing.  She knows several songs by heart, especially church ones.  The nursery leaders told us when they do music Hattie is the only kid that sings and she knows all the words.  We love our sweet Hattie!

Hazel Turned 4

 Hazel has really grown up a lot this year.  She is becoming more of a helper.  She likes to help out with Niels by holding him or keeping his pacifier in.  She also helps Hattie a lot too. Sometimes at night she sings songs to Hattie so she won't cry when I leave the room (only on nights when Hazel isn't crying herself).  She is very excited to start preschool this Fall, and loves to play with her friends.  She really likes meeting new kids.  She always seems to make new friends at the pool and the park.  I did a little questionnaire with Hazel and these were her answers. 

1. What is your favorite color?  Pink
2. What is your favorite toy?  Snowie (her stuffed dog)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple  
4. What is your favorite TV show?  Curious George
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  Watermelon and cheese and crackers
6. What is your favorite outfit?  The shirt Dad bought me
7. What is your favorite animal?  A Giraffe
8. What is your favorite song?  Do As I'm Doing
9. What is your favorite book?  My Lucky Day
10. What is your favorite sport? Soccer
11. Who is your best friend?  Evelyn 
12. What is your favorite cereal?  Kix
13. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Help Daddy do the plants
14. What is your favorite drink?  Milk
15. What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas     
16. What do you want to be when you grow up? A missionary
17. Who is your favorite person from the Book of Mormon? Nephi
18. Who is your favorite aunt? Whitney
19. Who is your favorite uncle? Bruce
20. Who is your favorite cousin? Jon

 Hazel requested a chocolate cake this year, and I made a salted chocolate buttercream to go with it. I thought it tasted pretty good, but of course you can't eat very much or you feel sick.  The other day we were at the grocery store and she saw some of those neon frosting cakes with characters on them and told me she wanted one of those next year.  Maybe I'll have to start getting creative without compromising the taste.

Hazel loves to watch Doc McStuffins, so she really enjoyed getting a doctor kit. She can now do her own check ups.

*For some reason 2 of my posts are not showing up unless you click on them from my sidebar.  Scroll back up and on the left sidebar under August there is a post titled 6 year anniversary and Father's Day if you would like to view them.

6 Year Anniversary

Brendan and I had our 6 year anniversary on June 23.  Since it fell on a Sunday, we started celebrating on Friday. Brendan's parents watched the girls and we took Niels with us.  It was a fun filled weekend just eating and shopping together and relaxing.

 All dressed up after church.

 We stayed in Salt Lake at Hotel Monaco.  It's a cute boutique hotel downtown.  It was nice being in the center of everything so we just walked everywhere to get around.

On Friday night we ate dinner at Faustina.  It was great food.  We loved everything we ate and it was reasonably priced.  We would definitely recommend it. 

We had breakfast at the hotel restaurant Bambara.  It was good food with a fun atmosphere.

 On Saturday we did some shopping at City Creek and then off to Sugarhouse for some more shopping.  We hit up some great sales at the Patagonia outlet and got some winter clothing for the kids.  Our last shopping stop was the Park City Outlets.  Without the girls we were able to shop for hours.  It was a lot of fun.  I'm glad I have a husband that enjoys shopping as much as I do.  Of course we needed a treat before we picked up the girls, and shaved ice from the Shave Ice Barn was perfect.  Brendan's was as big as his head.

We picked up the girls and went home and put them to bed.  They were all worn out from Grandpa and Grandma's house and fell asleep quickly.  When we went to check on them we found them sleeping together like this.  It was so cute!  I'm glad they have each other.

Father's Day

For Father's Day this year the girls and I put together a little hero basket for Brendan.  We got the idea and printables from this site.  Hazel was really excited to give it to him and was great at not telling him what it was beforehand.  She kept telling him that we had a great surprise. 

 Not the best picture of any of them, but we are documenting the day.  Niels is even spitting up on Brendan's arm.  The life of a Dad.

Mother's Day

Brendan got the girls dressed and took them to church in the morning, and I was able to sleep in and get some rest with Niels.  Later Brendan made a delicious brunch for me.  He made crepes with lots of different fillings, a french baguette with brie cheese, and yogurt made from milk from grass fed cows.  It was wonderful!  

Most days are hard and challenging being a mother, but I do love my children and realize what a blessing it is to have them.  Being a mother has made me appreciate my own mother more than ever.   

Earlier than expected

Niels Christopher Rowland 

was born on Friday, May 3rd.  He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and measured 21 inches long.

 Hattie was peeking in his diaper and telling me he went poo poo.

 These were the best pictures I could get of Hattie.  She was just being silly the whole time.

Niels was born 16 days early, so I was a little surprised when I woke up feeling contractions around 2:30 am.  I arrived at the birthing center around 4:15 a.m. and Niels was born at 7:39 a.m.  I have had all of my babies naturally, so when the pushing is over and they place the baby on my chest, it is such a relief to be done.    Everything went really well, and we came home later that afternoon.

It took us a few days to decide on a name.  We had it narrowed down to two, but couldn't decide what we liked best.  Brendan liked the name Niels from a ski movie he watched.  When I looked it up online, it said it was a Danish name that was popular in Denmark.  When I told my Mom about that name she reminded me that was my great great grandpa's name, Niels Rasmussen, who immigrated from Denmark when he was 12 years old and his mom died crossing the plains.  I liked the idea of using a family name, so Niels it was.  Christopher is Brendan's brother's name.

Hazel and Hattie love having a brother.  When they came in and saw him for the first time Hazel said, "Look at his hands they are so small.  Oh and his feet are so cute, but my favorite are his hands because they are small like my doll's."  Hattie can be a little rough with him, but she loves to hold him.  It's crazy we have three kids, but we love them all!