September

On the first Saturday of the month, my mom offered to pay for us all to go to Big Surf for one, last summer hurrah. I just felt too stressed to go. So much to do. And it was too hot to take Tanner. So I sent Trav and he hung out with my mom and sisters instead of me. Ha. I think the other husbands were maybe at the dunes or something, I can't remember. Does my husband love me or what?! I was sad to miss it. I hate when life gets so overwhelming that even doing something fun feels stressful. :( 

Date night to Kona Grill. 

Tanner is still our third wheel which is fine by me. He's such a good baby. We didn't realize this place is largely a sushi joint, so of course.... when in Rome! But first, whenever cheese fondue and pretzel bites are on the menu, you ALWAYS start with that. ;)

Labor Day. 

The boys wanted to know why this was a holiday so Travis started spitballing about how it came about because of the first workers in the country, and this nation was founded on hard work, yada yada yada. He kind of gave me a "whatever" look so I googled it and guess what... he was pretty much right, lol. 

As with most 3 day weekend holidays, we met the fam at the pool!

At first we were going to take the easy route and just get a whole bunch of fiesta burritos from Tia Rosas. So we started asking everyone at the pool how many burritos they thought they'd eat. When Craig heard we were getting Tia Rosas he perked up and said, "Oh, um I'll take a salmon taco." Those of us taking orders looked at each other and just busted up laughing. Of course Craig would order a salmon taco. The boy who knew what his favorite dish at Cheesecake Factory was at age 3. I think this incident will be laughed about for years to come.

Oh yeah, and then we actually ended up with pizza and wings. 

Look who fits in the baby stroller!

This was allowed only once with close supervision. ;)

Saddest thing about this poor baby... he suddenly started getting eczema really badly. I have a suspicion it's relate to vaccinations, but I can't be sure. It just started right after his first shots. It breaks my heart into a billion pieces. It's the worst on his face, but it's also pretty bad on his right shoulder and arm and a little on his left shoulder. He barely knows how to reach for a toy and yet he is able to scratch at his face so I know it must be painful. If he busts out of his swaddle in the morning, he'll get at his face and be bleeding in spots. Arghhh!!! I hate it so much. The doctor said to take long baths, use unscented lotions and detergents (which I already do) and just slather in Aquaphor. I read that it can be relate to a dairy sensitivity so I went off dairy completely. I also switched to that crazy expensive formula that has pre-digested (I know that sounds gross but I'm probably explaining it wrong) enzymes that are for babies with dairy allergies. I did this for a solid month (probably even 5 or 6 weeks) and didn't see any drastic improvements so I gradually started buying regular formula and eating dairy again. These pictures are from September, but an update (as of February) is that it's gotten much better. I have an ointment from the doctor that I'll use when it gets super bad, but usually I just use Aquaphor and it keeps it under control. It's not hardly on his face anymore either. I have cut way back on his vaccinations. I have always done an alternative schedule with my kids but Tanner is getting an even more delayed schedule. 

I loooove this style. Set back headband braid into buns. 

We all love Mondays because they're Lindi days!

They asked if they could take off their clothes and run in the sprinklers. 

Whenever I can say yes, I try to. :)

Their twinner shirts. They were helping me make snickerdoodles and were expert cinnamon rollers! :)

Reading scriptures with Grandma's glasses! How cute is this?

Nothing gets done unless the baby comes along. I just try to avoid smacking him with the handle.

Mmmmm, not thinkin he's a mohawk baby.

I made the Primary slideshow for the end of the year so I got some pics of my cuties with their classes. This is Collin's last year in junior primary! He has had some amazing teachers.

Tanner is a hot commodity at Grandma Dog's house where there are no other babies. Specifically, Aunt Karen and Olivia are his biggest fans. 

Olive had her 4 year well check up and Collin was sick so he got to come along too. Poor boy. You can really tell when he's legitimately ill... his whole countenance loses it's zest and sparkle.   

Scorpion hunting. BLECH!!!!! We found one under the water barrels. I can't even. 

Is everyone as obsessed with their babies as I am? I honestly wonder if it's normal. I want to eat his face off every.single.day. I thank Heavenly Father for him constantly. I study his perfect, almond eyes, the shape of his nose. His eyebrows, his lips. I just can't get enough of him!!!! He is a prized gift and the sweetest little guy. I marvel at his perfectness and feel overwhelmed with gratitude at the joy he has brought me. How am I so lucky? He is yummy and squishy and the best thing I could ever ask for. 

But babies only last so long... then they grow up into these crazy yahoos. Haha.

Soccer games in the heat. He was a champ all season.

I love this onsie!!! The snuggle is so very real. 

He was being a fussy buckets but I know he loves Grandpa's kisses and snuggles!

Still dancin' it up in her ballet, tumbling, tap combo class!

Women's conference!! It's so fun watching with my sisters and mom. We all gathered at Grandma's house afterward to eat and visit. I love these women. Girl cousins are a special blessing. I love how the older we get we are all able to be friends and enjoy being together. After we ate, we all went around the room to share something we loved from the talks. It was after this conference that it was announced that there will only be ONE Women's conference a year and ONE Priesthood session a year! Wow. That's a pretty big change. It kind of makes me sad, but less meetings are probably a good thing because of the stress it creates on all the church leaders. That's probably not why they made the change, but it's what I thought of.

The Shaheens were in town at the end of the month for Lily's birthday so we met them for a quick (like two hour) visit. Megan was actually with them this time so I was excited!

Since we were driving all the way out to Scottsdale, I decided it was finally time we try this Shake Shake business. My expectations were low. And I was pleasantly surprised! My burger was legit. And nacho cheese on top of crinkle fries?? Um, yes please! And this chocolate custard with chocolate fudge, chocolate chunks, chocolate sprinkles and chocolate voodoo was magical!

Since it was conference weekend, we begged them to come over Sunday morning for breakfast and to watch the first session with us. We love any time we get with the Shaheens!

Tanner's Blessing

We blessed Tanner on September 3. 

We was 3 months old, so not much of a tiny newborn anymore.  I feared he might not fit into his blessing outfit that Grandma Ann gave him, but it fit just fine. 

As I've mentioned before, I dealt with quite a bit of anxiety after his birth. I think I even carried it in my chest at times I didn't realize. This dawned on me when Travis walked up to the front of the chapel to give him his blessing. All the men in our family who had come, got up and walked toward the front, slowly forming a circle around my precious baby. There were quite a few men... 10 to be exact. And as that circle formed, I felt as though heavenly arms wrapped around me and my son. I had the most calming sense of peace settle on my spirit. It was safe and reassuring and protective. It was like an unseen circle of angels were around Tanner and I had it confirmed to me again that priesthood power is REAL. It's tangible and eternal and binds families forever. Those men held my baby, but because of the priesthood that they held, I knew he was really in God's hands. I will never forget how safe that felt. Literal peace calmed anxiety that I had been holding inside for months. And I felt gratitude pour out of my heart. I am SO GRATEFUL for this gospel. I don't know what I did to deserve these blessings. Travis gave an absolutely beautiful blessing. He always does. Thanks to smart phones, I was able to record it and have it here. 

"Our dear Heavenly Father, by the authority of the Holy Melchizedek priesthood we take this baby in our arms to give him a name and a blessing. The name we have chosen for him is Tanner Lindblom Evans.

At this time we direct our attention towards Tanner. And Tanner we give you a blessing at this time that as you are beginning the journey of your earthly, mortal life that you'll know and remember the rich and strong heritage that you have. The gospel in your life through your family. You have had many before you who have sacrificed and gone through much so that you may have the gospel in your life and have the many blessings that you do. Tanner, we bless you that as you grow in your mortal body that your spirit might stay strong and that you might keep that connection with heaven and your Savior and those who have gone before you. that you might have continual direction in your life to guide you and lead you and help you to always have a testimony of your savior and his sacrifice for you. We bless you that you will know you are a loved part of a large family and that there are many who care for you and watching out for you and that you might go to them for guidance and direction and comfort and peace throughout your life. We bless you that you'll be an integral part of your family and be a support in whatever way you can. Bless you that as you grow through the church, grow spiritually, that you will always feel of the love of your Savior through your life. Bless you that you will keep that strong bond that you have with your mother. And always know of her love and sacrifice for you and everything that she does and her eternal love for you. We bless you with these things and say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

It was fast and testimony meeting and I knew I couldn't stay sitting when I had so much gratitude in my heart and a chapel full of my family. I don't remember everything I said, but I do remember expressing appreciation for the men in that room. For the priesthood that they hold and honor. I felt a very distinct and special gratitude for the blessings of the priesthood and wanted the men to know that I KNOW it's not easy. It's not easy to remain spotless from this wicked world. It's an uphill battle and being worthy of the priesthood means that they make hard choices every day. They choose to avoid evil and be different from the other men of this world. They look away from pornography. They turn down the drinks. They keep their language clean. They spend their time serving others and going to church and other priesthood meetings. And oh, how I (and everyone who is blessed by it) appreciate it. The priesthood is powerful. I witnessed that again today. As I look at each of the faces in this picture I just wish I could let each of them know how much it means to me that they have chosen to lead a life following Christ. That they are worthy to use His power on this earth. It blesses me and my family and I can FEEL that distinctly. It makes a difference. THEY make a difference. And I am profoundly grateful.

Unfortunately, we didn't get Casey and President Haws in the picture.

Goodness gracious, I love him!!

Ugh, the only thing I don't love about blessing days is the way I look in pictures. Puffy and tired. Every single time.

Our little poser. She got all the girls doing it.

We get lots of comments about how he looks like his siblings. Yep, we make one kind.

But most specifically he looks like Collin and Olive. He's a Lindblom baby. I guess his middle name fits! He is dark featured and seems like the brown eyes are sticking around.

We didn't host a lunch for everyone at our house afterward. I kept debating if we should, but in the end I was just too tired. Since the Haws were in town we had them over, though. I made liege waffles with fresh, Utah peaches, which turned into quite the production. They stayed and visited all afternoon then we had the normal Sunday dinner at the Evans. 

Blessing day complete! Mr. Tanner is official. :)