More Balloon Launch

Uncle Reed was a good sport to get up at 5:45 a.m. and come with us.

Cassidy and Braden by the future 'flag flying' balloon

 (30 minutes before lift-off)

Cassidy knew who this was, but Braden called him 'that hamburger clown.'  

This piggybank balloon was Rebecca's favorite.  She talked about the big pink pig balloon with the blue hat for the rest of the day.  That afternoon she took Reed's navy blue baseball cap, put it on her head, and said, "What do I look like?  Do I look like a pig?"  

While at the balloon launch, she announced to Nathan that she wanted to ride in a yellow balloon.  (Yellow is her favorite color.)  He told her that wasn't going to happen, and she burst into tears.  Later she asked me if when she had a birthday and was three she could ride in a hot air balloon.  I told her no, and she was really mad until I told her she could do it when she is sixteen.  Now, every day for the past four days, she has announced, "When it is my birthday I will be three.  When I am sixteen I will be older and I will ride in a balloon."  I kind of hope she forgets by then. 

On a side note, my one regret about the balloon launch is not getting a picture of our buddy, who we affectionately call Mr. Purple Shorts.  He wore them low - lower than shorts should ever go - and they were accentuated by his lovely shirtless belly (we think he was 24 weeks pregnant, just like me.) He deftly accessorized by strategically clipping his flip phone onto the waistband right below the bellybutton.  His lovely companion was celebrating her freedom at 6:30 a.m. by smoking a cigarette down to the nub (these balloons use flammable gases, remember) and carrying a two liter of root beer and a Budweiser tallboy.  Because, really, what's a better chaser for root beer at sunrise than actual beer at sunrise?

Our Little Patriot

We attended the hot air balloon launch early on the morning of the Fourth.  This balloon was the first balloon to fly, and it had the honor of being the 'flag balloon' and displaying the Stars and Stripes.  As soon as it lifted off, before the announcer asked the crowd to join in the Pledge of Allegiance, Cassidy immediately placed her hand over her heart.  Her respect for our flag and our country made me smile.  Perhaps her 4th of July birthday has something to do with it.

Dogpile

Can't you just hear the little kid giggles?

Cassidy's Baptism

Cassidy was baptized over the weekend.  It was a wonderful day.  The service got to be done completely by our family since she was the only one from our ward being baptized this month.  As I suspected I would, I cried through Braden and Cassidy singing I am a Child of God during the program, and most of the way through my mom's wonderful baptism talk on making covenants. During the program I felt that even though I already knew the church was true, I received another witness that the gospel of Jesus Christ is real.  I remember thinking that I did not know how anyone in the meeting could deny the truths of what were spoken that day.  

Cassidy was lucky enough to have two sets of grandparents and two sets of great-grandparents attend, along with aunts, uncles, cousins Olivia and Harrison, and her friends Tessa, Kierra,

Levi, and Isabelle.  Cassie was so happy, and we were very proud to be with her while she made one her first important life choices.

with Grandpa & Grandma Belliston

with Uncle Lee & Aunt Marie

      

with Uncle Reed 

with Aunt Katie

The Littlest Little One

This baby gets the hiccups, which is a first for me.

I've still been feeling kicks down low, so I think my hopes of her having turned yet are unfounded. We'll see at my appointment next Tuesday. It's also the first week I've been able to see her kick from the outside.  

On a good note, I've been contracting less than a few weeks ago.  Really only like 5-10 noticable contractions per day, which is good for me.  (Better than the hour's worth of 4 minutes apart contractions I had at 14 weeks!)

I have a week by week pregnancy book, and this week was a milestone for me in a weirdly clinical way, because at 24 weeks, more than 50% of babies born survive.  I guess thinking about survival statistics makes me feel closer to the end, though it is oh-so far away.

I bought baby socks today at Wal-Mart, my favorite kind that rarely fall off.

Me & The Sibs

(L to R: Me, Lee, & Katie. Reed is in the back.)

Top 10 reasons I love this picture and the people in it:

1.  It is of all four Belliston children, and all four of us have our eyes open.  

2.  It contains Blue Bell ice cream, the frozen confection of our childhood in Texas. (When my parents would splurge for it, that is. This splurge was courtesy of Lee & Marie, who paid big bucks to have it overnight shipped in dry ice for our Christmas dinner!)

3.  It was taken 7 months ago, when I was still thin.  I'm not even close to my full pregnancy glory yet, but this picture makes me long for the return of my pointy chin, defined waist, and pants with a zipper.

4. It reiterates my long held belief that the four of us brothers and sisters look more like cousins than siblings.  

5.  I am wearing white and I haven't spilled anything on it.

6.  Lee is wearing a shirt and he hasn't spilled anything on it.  (Wink!)

7.  Katie is a great aunt.  She plays toys and games with my kids and they love to spend time with her.  She is also a really good example of someone who is fun to be around and kind to everyone.

8.  Reed makes me laugh.  He is just stodgy enough (what with his accounting major, his habit of borrowing clothes from my dad, and his love of holding on to a dollar) to identify with his old married sister - even so, he always has a funny story, and he's not afraid to use it.  

9.  Lee (and his wife Marie) are really fun to talk to.  Sometimes they come over to our house and visit for hours.  Plus, they invite all 3 of our kids for fun weekends away at their condo, which the kids love and talk about for weeks afterward.  

10. It is of all four Belliston children, and all four of us have our eyes open.  

Dentists and Dresses

I came downstairs to sit at my desk and file a receipt, then remembered that my sheets from my bed are in the dryer.  I'm putting off going upstairs because I know I'll just have to put them back on the bed . . . 

Rebecca (and Braden) had the appointment to get cavities filled at the dentist yesterday. It went like a dream!  I had set up a contingency appointment with a pediatric dental specialist just in case it didn't work out, but was crossing my fingers hoping to cancel it because it was going to require conscious sedation (i.e. lots of drugs).  She did fantastically well.  She was so cooperative and obedient, and the dentist was able to drill and fill both small cavities without any numbing shots.  Becca has told me two or three times today, "I went to the dentist and he used his funny stick and his buzzer and his tools and his blue flashlight to clean my teeth."

 

Cassidy is so excited to get baptized this weekend.  Her great-grandma brought her birthday gift early because it was a fancy white church dress to wear on her baptism day.  Cassie made me laugh because she told Grandma Neilson, "Oh, Grandma!  This dress is so pretty and I love it!  All my other friends had white dresses to wear on their baptism day, and I just knew I wouldn't be able to have one so I was a little sad, but it is exactly what I wanted."  I chuckle at those little things that kids get their hearts set on but don't bother to tell their parents about.  If she would have just mentioned to me that it was so important to her, I could have gotten her that dream dress! As it stands, she is lucky to have an intuitive grandma who knows just what little girls want for their birthdays.  

It reminds me of myself a little though, because I never went to a rock concert when I was a teenager:  I was sure my parents would say no if I asked, so I never bothered.  (In my defense, there were quite a few things I wasn't allowed to do . . .)  Years later after I was married I told my dad about my dreams of unrequited concerting, and he said, 'Huh.  You could've gone.'  But in his defense, now that I know how much it costs for a ticket to a concert, odds are I would have been too cheap to spring for a ticket anyway!