Baptism

Mary Eileen as she was baptized yesterday, or as Annie likes to say, "Bathtized."

Baby Mary Pic

Thought my limited readership might like to see a picture of Annie, Baby Mary, and I at the hospital when Mary was born. Mary arrived March 31, 2009. She weighed in at 9 lb 8 oz, and was 21 inches long. Enjoy!

Annie's Birthday

In an effort to include more pictures, here are a few from Annie's birthday party. These are actually taken by Pat, since Tim and I are slow to download our pictures and even slower to edit them. Enjoy!

Slings, Sunglasses and Sunhats

Here's an oldie but a goodie. This picture was taken a little over a year ago. Elizabeth and I were at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for a CLC retreat.

Tempus Fugit

Happy Birthday, my little koala bear! It has been a year already? The time has flown by. We brought you home from the hospital and you were such an alert, awake baby. You would nap during the day, and had to suffer through sleeping through the noises of a rambunctious toddler. I don't know how your nervous system was able to deal with it. You took a shine to your older sister right away.

In an effort to keep up with the pace and action, you were rolling over by 3 months of age and army crawling by 5 months. Mommy prompted your first baby grins, but your first genuine laugh was in response to your sister. We sat on the sunny deck one spring afternoon. Your sister was playing peek-a-boo with you from the top of the Little Tykes slide. You sat on my lap wriggling your arms and legs as you giggled with glee as she appeared and disappeared from view.

As you continued to grow and develop, you sat up unassisted the next month at 6 months but showed little interest in being fed any pureed or jarred baby food. We waited a little while to introduce any solids, and once we did, you were determined to do it yourself. Cheerios and bananas have been a staple in the house during the last year. You also love to dip your fingers into yogurt, guacamole, white rice, and noodles, be it spaghetti or lo mien.

You walked by 8 months of age and quickly mastered your skill. You enjoy getting in on the action and excitement around the house by playing chase. You also love to climb. Now that you are a year old, most days you manage to scale either the chair to the top of the dining room kitchen, or the toilet to the vanity to sit in the sink for awhile. Some days you achieve both together. You protest vehemently when I pick you up to safely deposit you on firm ground. You have amazing balance and uncanny climbing skills.

You began speaking around the same time you started walking. Your first word was "mama." You call me when you wake up from naps, and when you need help with your sister. You will also sigh contentedly and say 'mama, mama' when I pick you up, snuggle you, and carry you around the house with me. You also like to say Annie's name too. You tend to clap and laugh or cry and struggle when you say her name. You say "Daddy." You know all your family. You sign for 'more,' 'eat,' and 'bye.' And there are other words you sometimes use, like 'hi,' and 'this'. You are certainly able to make your wishes and needs known.

You continue to laugh and smile. You wake in the morning with a delightful smile on your face. Mama and you spend a few quiet minutes together, changing diapers, playing pat-a-cake or having a nurse, and getting ready to start the day. You continue to smile most of the day as you made various discoveries as you motored about the house. Dad loves to tickle you. You love to play pat-a-cake and have 'Frappe, Frappe' sung to you.

There are many people who love you.

Little Women

"Mommy's Makeup. Ooooh, I'm so pretty. Oooohhh, Annie's a cutie pie. Betta No!"

Beauty Redefined

http://www.jpgmag.com/photos/69556

Check it out. Wow.

We'll Miss you, Mom

Ride the Horsey

The girls and I headed to Burke Lake Park today for a trip on the carousel. Annie had a blast.

New Toy

Our camera broke. It stopped taking pictures. The digital screen went black. The Husband and I went camera shopping. We're such suckers for an up-sell. We went with the Canon Rebel XTi. We're going to cash in some credit card reward points to offset the cost of the camera--before you go thinking we're Richy Rich or anything.

The Husband was tring to get a feel for the settings the other evening. Even playing around, we managed to capture some lovely pictures. Take a look...

Annie is deciding to run head-long down the hill that is our front yard.



Annie telling Daddy that she does not want to smile for pictures, nor does she want to share her popcicle.



Betta peering intently out of the mei tai.

Independence Day

Family got together for the Forth Of July. My sister from Seattle flew in that morning. Here she is, holding Betta.


Unfortunately, I don't have pics because the camera battery died, but the girls loved the fireworks display done by friends' HOA. Annie stood on the street shouting, "Boom! Boom! Fire up der!" and clapping and jumping around. She was heard down the entire street. Happy 4th everybody.

The Evolution of a Babywearer

So when I was pregnant with Annie, I saw the Snugli's and the Bjorns at Babies R Us. I'd recently gotten a hands-free device for my cell phone and when I saw those carriers, I thought, "A baby hands-free device is brilliant! I will so need one!' And I registered for a Snugli. I got the Snugli at a baby-shower.
The idea of a hands-free device for a baby is brilliant, but a Snugli not-so-much. It wasn't comfortable to wear and the material that was responsible for keeping the baby attached to the straps kept coming undone. It was fundamentally unsafe.

My pediatrician recommended the Dr. Sear's Baby Book as good reading on the care and raising of a newborn. Dr. Sears goes on at length about his NoJo baby sling. The sling seemed to make sense, so I got one of those. It worked so-so for awhile. Here's one of the few pictures of me wearing the NoJo, although there are loads of the Husband using it.

Then a distant relative noticed that I was trying to wear the baby and turned me on to babywearing and all the wonderful options that are available out there. I stumbled across both thebabywearer.com as well as NINO. She helped me find a mei tai of my very own. A mei tai is an Asian-style baby carrier. It has a peice of fabric to support the baby's body, and long straps to comfortably and safely tie the baby to the mama's body. Below is a picture of Annie and I at Merrifield Garden Center.

I got pregnant around the time this picture was taken. I used the mei tai for another six months, until Annie started to walk and my belly popped. Once Annie could walk, she wasn't interested in being carried until she'd perfected her new skill.

With the second baby on the way, I knew I wanted a better ring sling than the NoJo. I picked out an Ellaroo lightly padded ring sling in Lilac passion and my mother in law purchased it as Elizabeth's birth gift. I have lots of pictures of the Husband wearing it, but none of me. It's currently on loan at the moment. When it makes its way back to me, I'll post a picture of me wearing it.

During the same time that I acquired the Ellaroo ring sling, I was looking at a forum called The Baby Wearer. I was learning lots of information about babywearing and parenting in general. There are avid babywearers on this forum, and some people even develop collections of carriers, or at least keep an eye out for beautiful carriers. I think the carriers are nice, but nothing ever made me think, "OOOh I want that" until I saw a Sakura Bloom ring sling.

The Sakura Blooms are double-layer duponi silk. The color combinations are eye-catching and breath-taking. And the silk is so luxurious. I sighed over these for months, thinking I would never have one. My mother-in-law offered to make me a double layer silk ring sling for my birthday (can you tell that I have a great mother-in-law?) and I busied myself looking at fabric samples to choose a great color combination.

The Husband suprised me with my very own Sakura Bloom as a birthday present. I wear it everyday.

You would think getting one of the most lovely things you've ever seen would create contentment, yes?

Weelll, the summer is upon us, and we'll be at the pool and at the beach. Doesn't it make sense to have a carrier that's waterproof? I've ordered a solarveil ring sling and it's on it's way now...I'm sure there will be more to my evolution as a babywearer as I continue having kids.

Maybe one day I'll even wrap my kids up in a long peice of fabric.

Elizabeth's Baptism

Betta was baptized awhile ago...March 3. We asked good friends of ours, John and Nicole Freeman, to be godparents to Elizabeth Claire. I don't have too many photos, but here is one that shows off the gorgeous baptism gown.
My mother in law made the gown from my wedding dress. There is also a matching bonnet to go with the coat and gown.

The baptism was lovely. Many good friends and family came. We enjoyed having everyone. I really love baptisms. I love welcoming a new member into the Body of Christ; I love that the little one is now free from the stain of original sin; I love having a living saint in my house.

Cherry Blossom Adventure

Last Wednesday, a week ago now, the baby and I went to go see the Cherry Blossoms in the Tidal Basin. We went with another baby and mommy friend.

Here is a shamelessly cute picture of the baby...


trying to grab a clump of cherry blossoms and wad them into her mouth. I let her chew on a grape instead...




while she put forth game effort, I don't think her heart was in it. She was perked up by this furry fellow...




Overall, I think a good time was had by all...




Save the brutally rebuffed.