Witches, Goblins, and Baby Blessing!

Asher was given a name and a blessing on Sunday. We were a bit unorthodox, and had the blessing at our home, rather than at church. And on Halloween! I wonder how many people can claim Halloween as their blessing day? It seemed like the perfect day for a blessing to us, since we knew all of our families would be in town, and no one in Utah celebrates Halloween on Sunday. We had such a large crowd, and tables were set up all upstairs for dinner, so we headed to the basement family room to bless him.Another benefit of having the blessing at home: I got a picture of everyone gathered to give the blessing! Asher was a bit angry about the whole situation, and cried during almost the entire blessing. Oh well!
Proud Papa!

Two of my three men!

So sweet. I had to scramble on Thursday to find a blessing outfit for Asher, after I realized he was too big for the one that Jonathan wore. Thank goodness for secondhand stores!

Adam, myself, and Asher

Great Grandpa and Grandpa James, Adam, Asher, myself, and Mom and Dad James

Grandma Patty, Dad Atkinson, Adam, Asher, myself, and Mom Atkinson

It was a great day. We ended up having 54 people over for it! There was lots of good food, yummy soups and salads and desserts. Thank you everyone who came and helped out! A wonderful way to spend Halloween.

Now, for our actual Halloween on the 30th. Taylor was the Little Mermaid:

And Jonathan was Buzz Lightyear:

I had grand ideas before Halloween. Jon was adamant for months about wanting to be Buzz, so Taylor was supposed to be Jessie, and Ash was going to be one of the little aliens. Then, Taylor saw her best friends Ariel dress, and HAD to be Ariel. So, before Adam came home from California, we stopped by the disney store and picked up costumes for the kids. It was a great surprise for them! And they were adorable on Halloween, even though they didn't match. I dod match Asher to Taylor, though. He was a shark! I didn't get a picture that day; I'll have to dress him up again and take one.

Adam was pooped when he came home from work on the 30th, so he stayed home with Asher and I took the kids out. In the rain. Not even half way through, Jonathan was done. After he laid down in someone's yard because he was soo tired, I decided to take him home. Then Taylor and I headed out to finish up (the rain had stopped at this point). We walked a couple of streets away, to see a spooky house we had driven past all week. It was quite the payoff! It was creepy, but they took it easy on little Taylor. Once we got to the door, they had 4 buckets of full size candy! Taylor took one, and the woman at the door then told her to go to town and take whatever she wanted. Score! We will be going to that house every year now.

It was a busy, but great weekend. Now it's time to clean up and recover! Ash sees his pediatrician today (6 month check up), and to make sure his cold is just a cold. Cross our fingers for an uneventful appointment!