Fine Example of the Things a Working Parent Misses Out on

Here are Asher and his beloved cousins having a dance-off this afternoon.

Sure, the kids are cute, but being in the office is SO rewarding.

*sigh*

Thanks to Stephen for the much-needed dose of cuteness!

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Small Break from the Madness

It's still pretty much chaos around the Barr household these days, but it's beginning to dwindle down. All the necessities are put away. I no longer run around during the evenings like a chicken with its head cut off because it can't find the box containing its brown heels to match the dress that it wants to wear tomorrow, which needs to be ironed but the iron and ironing board are also missing - AND WHERE THE HELL IS ITS JEWELRY HIDING?! It's still a shambles around here, I still feel like a million things need to be done, all the pictures are not hung in their appropriate places on the walls, but the OH MY GOD IT NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW - RIGHT NOW - urgency is beginning to fade away. I think I may just be giving up. It's tempting now to keep what's still in boxes packed up because if I haven't needed it in the past three weeks, chances are I won't miss it for the next year, or so.

Don't get your hopes up, Stephen; you know me better than that.

This past weekend I was forced to leave my mission for home order for a day and night in order to go to Dayton to attend Lydia's baptism. At first, I freaked out at the thought of leaving the house when so much was left to do, but now that I'm back home, I'm wishing to be gone again, snuggling with warm and squishy Lydia in Angela's painfully clean and organized home. Lydia is as cute and sweet in person as she could possibly be, in all her three-week old sleepy glory. It's funny how quickly you forget your own baby being that tiny and helpless...

Speaking of my own baby, as you can see, Asher is clearly moving out of babyhood and into manhood, looking quite dapper in his suit and red apple hat, courtesy of Marmie. He was a giant fan of Lydia and had an awesome time petting her like a kitty cat.

Thanks for having us over, Browns. It turned out to be a nice little mental vacation, complete with a much-needed newborn baby fix.

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Our New Niece

Meet Lydia Rose Brown, the newest member of our extended family. According to The Daily Squink, she arrived at 3:18 p.m., weighs 7 lbs, 14.5 oz., and is 21 inches long. Oh yeah, and did I mention she's GORGEOUS? Well, duh, that one was a given, I suppose.

I'm so sad we aren't there to shower her with kisses and cuddles, but I guess that's for the best, considering Mommy, Daddy, Rowan, Grandfather, and Marmie are all there hogging her, anyway. We will have our time with her soon enough, oh yes. I will make sure of it.

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