8 is Great

We have been preparing for Natalie's birthday and baptism for the past six months, so it was exciting for the time to finally arrive! We had our last discussion before her baptism. It was so sweet to go over all the gospel principles we discussed and realize that we truly have fulfilled our duty as parents in teaching the gospel to our children. Of course there is always room for improvement and we will continue to strive and struggle at times, but we are giving our best effort and it has paid off with this precious soul!

They practiced the ordinance, which I remember doing with my dad at a family home evening before my baptism. 

And then we did one more thing I have been looking forward to for a long time! When I was in college I was the TA for a professor who had a personality test that helped teachers be able to connect with students and understand the best way to teach them. I have showed it to all my siblings and parents even because I loved it so much lol! Kent and I gave the test to Natalie and I was pleasantly surprised by the result! She is a Blue/Green with the blue winning by 2 points, then Gold, then Orange. This just proves my bias because I hadn't pegged her as a high Green because green is my lowest color by a long shot! She LOVED getting to talk everything over and go through tons of scenarios that when seen through this model now make total sense. Knowledge is power! She has brought it up so many times since this night and I'm grateful that she can now feel more comfortable with who she is and not feel so confused at other people's choices. I am grateful that I can now understand her better as a parent and a teacher and know how to better respond to and motivate her!

In preparation for her baptism, Natalie read The Book of Mormon all by herself! She finished 10 days before her birthday (in the car on the way home from a barbecue with friends). 

We are so happy for her to have completed this goal!

This summer after her pastry shop bake sale, Natalie got to pay tithing for the first time on money she had earned herself. She also got to have her baptismal interview with our bishop on the Sunday before her birthday.  

She decided that the theme for her party would be "8 is Great!" and do everything in eights. We made these invitations to send out to cousins and family for a party. 

The aquarium has baby penguins and Natalie LOVES them and has been begging to get to buy this little stuffed animal for the entire summer....

So for her birthday date with Kent guess where they went? And guess what she convinced him to buy?? Penny the Penguin joins the family lol! Kent said they had so much fun together and that she talked the ENTIRE time!

We wrapped all of her presents and got everything ready for the party the next day once we got all the kids to bed that night. 

She got out 8 of her favorite books, or a book representing a favorite series, to decorate the table. 

We let her open 8 presents that day.

An 8 is Great necklace we found at Desseret Book, and of course Penny lol!

We made peppermint ice cream, which was one of the 8 things she wanted to eat at her party.

We handed down our old camera to her. As you can see she was ECSTATIC! 

There is never a dull moment at parties around here! 

Seth was doing this HILARIOUS dance/walk thing that had all of us laughing so hard, so of course he kept doing it! He is such a character!

Once everyone arrived then we got the party started!

After dinner everyone got to decorate their own cupcake, with 8 different choices of toppings of course!

Then Natalie got to open the rest of her 8 presents.

She has been dying for a scooter ever since Caleb got one so she was super excited that the boys got one for her!

They had to go test it out! She was in 8 year old heaven!

Then Uncle Karl busted out his balloons as promised! Natalie was so pleased to get a matching penguin for her Penny, who she named Patrick.

Winner. Seriously, what a great talent!!

Then we played Disney Scene It (house rules) until we had our fill. It was such a fun party with family! We feel so blessed to live here near so many important people we love!

Ever since she was little Natalie has always wanted her door decorated so that the first thing she sees the morning of her birthday is a celebration, so of course I had to keep up the tradition!

Here she is eating the last bite of her birthday breakfast!

We spread out the opening of presents throughout the day. 

Here she is deciding what to build with her new set (even though we already have 50 billion legos, hey what's a few more?).

Then we had her open a specific one from Grandma and Grandpa MacKay...

So that she could wear an American Girl shirt on her birthday! She ran upstairs and changed right away!

Then she opened the other presents inside the present and was set for several hours enjoying it all!

We got her this cute poster to put up in her room. =o]

The primary president rode over with her twins to drop off the baptism jumpsuits. 

We went on a short errand just so Natalie could ride with no booster seat in the car! =o]

She got to select from the menu for lunch. 

And then right before quiet time she got to open the present she had been begging for since we moved here- a big bike with a basket!

Kent had to help her at first because it really is an adult bike so it was a little harder to maneuver. 

But she got the hang of it by the time I got back from putting Seth down for his nap.

She got a nail polish kit from Jenna, because she has been obsessed with nails ever since I let her paint her own for Melissa's wedding.

Her Activity Day Girls leader came by to introduce herself and give her a little welcoming gift. Natalie was so excited!

We face-timed with Grandpa MacKay so he could see her open a present. She also got to talk to other relatives on the phone throughout the day. 

We had her favorite dinner- pasta with black bean sauce. 

Then after a family member who shall remain nameless finished their meltdown/temper tantrum Natalie got to return to birthday bliss and open presents and have her cake!

The present we saved for her to open last was her new full set of scriptures. It was so cute because when she saw that's what it was she said "Whew! I was worried I wasn't going to get any after all and would just have to keep reading The Book of Mormon over and over!"

The week in between her birthday and baptism she rode her bike and we started school and we got ready for the relatives to arrive. 

We looked through all her special books I had updated. 

We went shopping for a baptism dress. She insisted on trying on every style in her size, and on getting a picture in each one silly girl! =o]

She decided on this one, and I like it the best too. 

We got to take the MacKays to the aquarium with us and we got to hear all about the baby penguins from one of the observation scientists who was there. It was so cool!  

We also went out to eat for Natalie's special birthday dinner at the traditional location, The Old Spaghetti Factory! Sadly, the trolley at this location doesn't seat large parties and Natalie was devastated. 

She still hadn't cheered up by the time we ordered. 

But after some delicious food she was back to the happy go-lucky girl we love!

At just the last second when we thought they had forgotten, they brought out a candle in her spumoni and we all sang happy birthday to her!

It was a great evening!

She requested this picture of her feet lol!

That night we read about baptism in her new scriptures before she went to sleep. She is such a sweet girl. And she was so ready!

The morning of her baptism we read these special books during breakfast. 

We decorated the cupcakes for the open house. 

Didn't they turn out cute?!

Then Natalie got to take her "birthday bath" in the jet tub in the master bathroom, using her baptism day towel! 

And then because Kent is a saint, Natalie and I got to peacefully take pictures at the temple while everyone else finished getting the house and kids ready. It really was such a peaceful beautiful time. Despite the wind!!

When we got home we rushed over to the stake center because we felt like we were running late... and there was no one else there! I even called the primary president who was on vacation poor woman to be sure we were at the right place lol! So we took some pictures outside and then got some seats in the front of the chapel. 

I took Natalie back to change into her baptism suit. She was so excited and smiling so big the whole time! And this is just such a classic picture! I love it!!

We are so proud of you Natalie! We love you!

The talks and the musical number organized by the stake were sweet. There were four girls from our ward being baptized! We were in the second group to go back. Natalie looked filled with anticipation as we walked to the back of the font room. I gave her a hug and asked if she was ready and she said yes and stood at the foot of the stairs. I couldn't see the kids from where I was standing behind her, but I could hear them bustling around in front of the font trying to get a seat and Seth kept yelling "water!" over and over. Then things quieted down when Kent entered the font and reached out for Natalie. They told me later it was super hot! She was worried about her toe popping up but it didn't. They gave each other a big hug after the ordinance and then came up the steps and I wrapped Natalie in her towel. We went into the connected bathroom to change into her white dress and we talked together about how joyful we both felt. It is such a sweet memory! We joined everyone else in the chapel and then each of the girls took their turn being confirmed. Natalie was peacefully excited if that is even possible as she sat down surrounded by a circle of priesthood men who loved her! It was a beautiful blessing and I wrote as fast as I could and was grateful my mom and Melissa took notes too. Natalie gave everyone a hug in the circle and then sat with Kent's arm around her on the front row during the last talk.

When it was over we were in a hurry to get home but were obliged to take these pictures first lol!

Then it was time for the open house with food and family and fun! We were overjoyed to celebrate this wonderful day! I was so thankful for all the help we received in setting up that morning because I didn't feel stressed at all!

And of course the guys turned on the game! =o]

Our sweet neighbors brought Natalie a gift!

And both my parents and Kent's parents had a special baptism themed gift to give Natalie. 

That night after everyone had left, Kent read the kids the story of the white dresses and I have to admit that I shed tears of joy and gratitude to not only have the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but to have the priesthood in my home! We are SO BLESSED!!

Thank you for making the choice to be baptized Natalie! 

The next day was Fast Sunday and Natalie got to fast for the first time, and bear her testimony for the first time in sacrament meeting. She had been wanting to bear her testimony for YEARS but we told her she could do it in primary or at home until after she was baptized, so this was a momentous day! She spoke about the Holy Ghost, and her testimony of The Book of Mormon. It was so sweet and she smiled so big as she skipped back to her seat! That night I recorded in her blessing book the notes from her Confirmation that I took, as well as the ones Melissa and my mom took. It was a beautiful blessing!

Then the Sunday after that we gave her this baptism book from Grandmom and Grandad to fill out about her experiences.

It was so cute to see her bust out her new scriptures ready to mark everything from the book. 

One of the things in the book is to have a picture of her primary teachers and class, so here they are! There are actually two classes for this age group.

Another thing Natalie has really been looking forward to about turning 8 is getting to be part of the Activity Days program! She and Kent got to go to a Daddy Daughter activity, where they apparently won one of the minute-to-win-it games by a landslide!

An event both of us have been looking forward to since moving here to Utah is going up to Temple Square for the Women's Conference together once she was old enough. We couldn't get tickets, so we waited in the standby line, but didn't end up getting in. Natalie was heartbroken! But by then end of the first talk while listening in the tabernacle she had stopped sobbing about not getting to "meet the prophet" and actually had a good experience.

Here we are outside the assembly hall.

I love my Natalie! Oh yes I do!

Luckily we went with friends so that eased the blow too.

Unluckily we tried to go to Iceberg afterwards for a shake and it was a ridiculously long wait and so we all ended up eating ice cream at like 10pm even though the next day was Fast Sunday!

And this wasn't just any Fast Sunday either. I had been studying and praying and researching and preparing for this day for a long time! This was the night we had "the big talk" with Natalie! I wrote this book about The Plan of Happiness and procreation because I couldn't find one that I liked and that said things just right, and I'm so grateful that I did! For years we have been teaching the kids about families and the Plan and respecting their bodies as temples, but especially over the past six months I have been having leading up discussion sometimes with everyone and sometimes with just Natalie. And you know what? It was brilliant! She was so ready and the Spirit was there and Kent even said it went great! I have had a couple follow up opportunities since, and I can't even express the gratitude that I feel to have these lines of communication open and that she can KNOW what is right and good! It was such a fulfilling and rewarding experience, and she told me she feels so grown up and special to have such sacred knowledge.  

8 truly is great!