How blessed we feel to have this little miracle join our family! He is such a good and sweet baby, and we just feel so lucky everyday we got him! We blessed him on January 8, 2012, the day after Loralyn had her baptism, so it was a busy weekend!
The next couple of pictures were not taken until March 6, 2012, but I put them in because we can see his blessing outfit better than the group ones I took on his blessing day!
He is such a happy baby! We get smiles from him whenever we make eye contact! He is not greedy with his smiles either, so all that is required is making eye contact (sometimes talking gets a few giggles with the smile!) ! What a blessing he is in our lives!
This is his sign language for "I am hungry mom." He is so good not to just start crying! We hope he keeps this wonderful trait! :) He will start by just sucking on one of his fists, trying to put the whole thing in his mouth... if that doesn't work, he adds the other fist, to really emphasize he is hungry! If that doesn't get my attention he will start to complain a little! Not enough to cause too much commotion! Because of this, I can cart him and nurse him anywhere! It is really convenient for the mom! :)
So, this cute hat came with the blessing outfit! On his blessing day it was a little big, but at you can see, in true Schmutz fashion, his head has tripled in size since birth! When I put it on for these pictures, he hardly fit in it! I loved the cute hat, and Steve didn't! He tried to take it off as he was taking him up to the circle for his blessing...I quickly put it back on with a "you better keep it on" smile to go with it! :) 
I really wanted my sister Kristyn to come help me make an outfit for Otis! She had done such a fabulous job with Ray's, that it would have been great to have her come again! Well, I found (after looking everywhere) this cute little knitted one at Baby's R' Us. I loved that it was a pail blue! Steve still doesn't like it! But, it was a great find for me, because it saved me the heartache and headache of trying to make one without Kristyn here to make it! :) As you can see, he is really close to outgrowing his outfit! It is a good thing I finally got around to snapping a few pictures of him wearing it! :) Time is just flying way too fast!
I just had to add these three little troublemakers! Brigham, Tessa, and Ray are the cutest monsters in town! :) You can especially see it from Brigham and Tessa! They are the funniest little trio. Brigham tries to get Tessa's attention, and Ray gets it! :) She loves Ray, and will hug and hang out with him all day, but when Brigham comes around she will put on the cold shoulder! It is so funny! As they have gotten older, she will play with Brigham on a good day, but always has the most love for Ray! Future love triangle? Quite possibly! :) This is them on the porch of our church the afternoon of Otis's blessing! CUTE KIDS! :)
Here we are with Grandpa and Grandma Hall and Grandpa and Grandma Schmutz! We have been so fortunate to have them both here in town! Grandpa and Grandma Schmutz are making plans to move to St. George, Ut, and the kids are really going to miss them being so close!
Here is a lot of the group that had come to support little Otis! The Peterson family, Grandpa and Grandma Hall and Schmutz, Uncle Lucas and Aunt Mary, Uncle Matt and Aunt Caroline with Brentyn, Uncle Jonny with girlfriend Karla, Uncle Sam (and Aunt Anna and kids, but she stayed in the foyer with them...), Uncle Michael, and Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Dave and kids were their too but had to leave before pictures, and The Dickerson family came, but also had to leave before pictures! We were so grateful for all of the support! It was a full weekend, and we loved that everyone took the time for both of our kid's big events! 
Here are most of the men who stood in the circle during the blessing! Uncle Dave is missing and Bishop Sloan and Brother Devenport. It was the first baby we had to put "fillers" in on the Hall side, because only Grandpa Hall was there to represent! We have been so lucky to have Uncles from both sides live in Albuquerque, up until a year ago...all the Hall side families moved out of town! We missed them, but are grateful for the family we call friends and the friends we call family that made it to the blessing! :) And we are so grateful for priesthood holders to help in such a special occasion! :)
Here are a few shots of Steve and Otis a couple of weeks after the actual blessing! I love this one of Otis smiling at his dad! He loves Steve! He will follow and smile at him whenever he is in the room! Dad has got to love that! :)
Between the cute round eyeballs and the chubby little hand, I could just eat this little boy up! 
Daddy is such a gene hog! :) I am sure glad I married such a handsome guy, because all my kids are apples that didn't fall far from their daddy's tree! It was a beautiful day that we celebrated with Otis's blessing! I am reminded everyday what a miracle we have in this little boy! I love Steve and am so grateful he is worthy to hold the priesthood, and can bless my babies when they come into this world!
We started the day with heart shaped pancakes! The kids were very impressed with my ability to make hearts with the pancake batter! It was a fun start! After we got the other kids off to school, it was my rotation for preschool with Brigham's group! They are such cute little kids, and we had a lot of fun! 
We sure are grateful for all of our friends and families that we love! I am especially grateful for my forever Valentine! Steve always is good to spoil me on Valentine's Day! He got me flowers and a spa certificate! Can't wait to get some TLC! 
We sure are grateful for all of our friends and families that we love! I am especially grateful for my forever Valentine! Steve always is good to spoil me on Valentine's Day! He got me flowers and a spa certificate! Can't wait to get some TLC! 
