Rosie turns 8 one month from today. She is adamant about getting baptized ON her birthday. We can’t make solid plans until Taylor gets his September schedule on August 21. We’ve been thinking about who would come, and realized that no family would be there. We’d have some people from our ward and a few friends if we had it in Michigan. And maybe Aunt Liz would fly out. We started talking about our own baptisms, and how great it was to be surrounded by extended family, and thought about the possibility of having the baptism in Utah or California. If we traveled, we’d have a aunts, uncles, grandparents, and close friends. However, if we choose one location over another, we’d have the other side of the family feeling left out. I could probably take the day off before, but it would be another stand-by quick trip.

I know that it’s the act and ordinance of baptism that’s the important part. It only requires consent of the bishop and two witnesses. But is it a better option to be with family?

One of the fun things about being a parent is having your child be Star Student of the Week! We had to write a letter to send to school about what we think is special about Rosie. Here it is…

Our Daughter Rosie,
We have always been happy to have Rosie be our daughter. She has always been a joyful child, with a smile on her face and willing to be a friend. She is so diverse, taking after her mother. She loves art, music, and foreign food. How many children say they love sushi, Thai, Indian, Mexican, and Mediterranean food? She even eats all her fruits and vegetables!

Rosie is resilient. She has had an exceptionally hard life to deal with the past two months; packing up and leaving all her friends, family, and classmates; driving cross-country 2,200 miles to Michigan; and having her Grandpa in Utah be in a serious car accident a week after we arrived in Canton. She made sure that Grandpa had plenty of cards and pictures to take to the hospital and rehab center. She has become a world-class traveler. She knows all the things she needs to pack, and what she has to take out for security. She loves having her daddy be a pilot!

I am a lucky mom to have Rosie be my child. Not only is she a wonderful daughther, she is my good friend too.

Love ,
Mom

Here are some pictures that my good friend Zach took of Rosie at Murray Park yesterday. He’s one of the best photographers that I know…if you’re in the market for a photographer (baby, wedding, family, etc…) Zach is your man!

Rosie’s #1 item at the top of her list for Santa is a “Fuzzy orange sweater, size Medium.” I have searched at Target, Gap, Old Navy, Limited Too, Nordstrom, Macys, and even thrift stores with no luck. It can’t be striped, it can’t be cable knit…must be a solid, fuzzy sweater. I’ve showed her other cute orangish sweaters…but none of them have been up to her standard. She thinks that Mrs. Claus will be knitting the sweater by hand…so when I shop for sweaters she says, “Mom, you’re wasting your time!”

So…if you find a fuzzy orange sweater, size medium (and preferably under $30)…please let me know!

School starts in a few weeks, and Rosie was needing her bangs cut like crazy. I found a coupon for a kids’ cut at Fantastic Sams, and it had a picture of an adorable little girl with a shaggy short haircut. The caption said something like “A good haircut will assure you a good seat at the lunch table.” She fell in love with the picture, and I think she actually misunderstood that you had to get that haircut for the discount. (She knows how I get about bargains…)

Anyway, we stopped by FS on the way back home after dinner last night. A cute Thai girl (with spiky hair and blue bangs) took three different types of shears and the clipper to my daughter’s head. She made it a little shorter than the picture, but it looks so adorable. It’s a big change, but she apparently loves it!