An important day in the life of Jasper was his blessing day. Baby blessings although not considered life saving ordinances, allow the father to give the child a name by which he will be known on the records of the church along with a blessing for their life. On Jasper's blessing day, we were fortunate to have both sets of grandparents present along with some of our friends. For the past month I have agonized over what to dress Jasper in but ultimately I decided to put him in something sentimental and festive for the season. When I was pregnant with Asher, Cameron's parents purchase an adorable outfit for him. For Jasper's blessing day I was able to dress Jasper in both the pants and the shoes they had purchased. Although no one had any idea the sentiment behind the clothing, it was my little way of including and honoring Asher on our family's special day. We are grateful for all the many people who were so supportive during this pregnancy. Jasper is more than we could have ever asked for and we are feeling blessed beyond measure this holiday season. 

While this year I have felt particularly blessed there have been times in my life when gratitude and feelings of Thanksgiving have been harder to come by. When life is going well it is easy to feel grateful, but when life throws you a couple curveballs that is when your true test sets in. During a particularly hard time in my life when nothing seemed to be going right I started to feel a bit hopeless. One day I got the idea to document five things which were going right in my life; some were big things like having a healthy body and a strong faith in God, but equally important were the small things.  Over the next couple of months I continually read through the list and clung to these things which were going right. 

Since the arrival of Jasper friends and family have continued to shower us with presents galore for him. Some of the sweetest gifts have not been the most expensive or extravagant, but simple handmade gifts like these adorable crocheted baby booties. 

What are some of your favorite gifts to give a new little one?

When I placed the order for Jasper's stocking I thought nothing of all the wonderful possibilities of its use as a prop. However, once it arrived in the mail I realized he might just be able to fit inside of it. To my surprise he was a perfect fit and an impromptu photo shoot ensued.

Tis the season to create priceless photos of your child in which you can later use to entertain or embarrass your child. 

As a family we have been enjoying our days together. At the end of the day we often look at each other in bewilderment wondering where the day went. We seldom seem to make it out of the house before 1pm except on the days we have doctor appointments or concrete plans. Otherwise our days consist of afternoon walks, late lunches out, running errands, and lots of baby cuddles and feeding time.

While our baby sleeps we like to watch him, talk about him or look at pictures of him. We are completely and utterly obsessed and in love with him and we would not have it any other way. Even though Jasper will not remember these first few weeks together as a family, to me they have been a dream come true and will always hold a special place in my heart. 

The first week home with Jasper was a crazy combination of sleep deprivation, euphoria, hormones and visitors. Every time I glanced at Jasper I would be in awe of how this perfect little human being came out of my body and even more staggering- the face that we get to keep him! The mere thought of how much I loved him sent me into a whimper.

Since we were uncertain how old Jasper would be on Halloween we decided to forgo purchasing him an elaborate costume this year. Thank heavens for thoughtful grandparents who saved the day and showed up to the hospital with a Halloween costume for him to wear in the coming days. Despite Jasper's parents being completely brain dead and forgetting half his costume at home, he was still able to be the hit of the day when we paid a visit to Cameron's work.