Yes, on Sunday morning, our baby angel was baptized! What a truly beautiful, blessed, memorable moment for our family. But of course, like most beautiful, blessed, memorable moments, there was a lot of preparation involved that was anything BUT beautiful!
First, of course, came the invitations. For weeks before the big day, I searched and searched for ones that I liked - if you know me, you know I like to have things JUST so - but really couldn't find one that jumped out at me. So I decided to make one. I tried several different angel pictures and other types of designs, then finally settled on this.
Simple and sweet, which is what I wanted. I printed them off, and off they went! Forget that I completely forgot to put OUR names on it!
We decided to have the reception at our house, so that we could easily set things up beforehand and just have to run home and pull out the food the day of. I got to work planning what we needed - chips, dip and salsa, of course, plus sandwich meats, cheeses, rolls. Vegetables and fruit would round out the spread, along with sodas and bottled water. I made multiple lists to remind myself of everything we needed. Why multiple lists, you ask? I'll tell you - I don't know. Of course, there also had to be cake. There was no doubt that I would make it myself. Mom came through with her old cross cake pan, and I got to work looking for a design. I found a stained glass cake on the Wilton website that I feel in love with, so stained glass it would be.
The week of the baptism, I took a half day off of work on Friday for cleaning, errands and food prep. My first order of business was making the icing for the cake. Quick and easy, into the fridge it went. Then I loaded Makenna into the car, and we headed out to shop for a gift from mommy and daddy. We then hopped over to Party City for a tablecloth and some serving trays, then hit Michael's for the piping gel I needed for the cake. That night, I baked the cake and cleared out its spot in the fridge.
Saturday, Chad and I were up bright and early, ready to clean the house from top to bottom! He got to work on the yard, and I got to work on the cake, getting the icing base down. Over 100 degrees outside translates to at least 80 degrees inside...which translates to melting icing. But fear not! I just popped it into the refrigerator when necessary, and all was well! We cleaned bathrooms, did laundry, dusted, shoved items in closets (yes...I'll admit it), straightened counters, swept floors. We had our shopping list all ready for the last-minute items...and then Chad was called into work. WHAT?!?!?!? We almost had a Major Mommy Meltdown, but I tried to stay calm. He headed out, none too happy about the situation, and Makenna and I hit up good old Kroger. Once we were back home, it was cake time! I knew that I could clean when I was groggy and sleepy, but there was no way I could finish that cake half asleep! It turned out pretty darned fabulous...if I do say so myself.
Makenna woke up much earlier than usual Sunday morning, at 6:52 a.m. I know this because she woke up crying, which is VERY unlike her, and I immediately looked at the clock. We both stumbled out of bed to get started. Feed the baby, shower, vacuum and mop floors, pick up toys that are laying around, get dip bowls ready to go, get OURSELVES ready to go, pick up the meat trays, ice the drinks, set up the table...WHEW! We dressed up our little cutie in her beautiful baptism dress, then raced out the door to get to the church.
Once we were at the church, our family began to arrive, and Chad and I guzzled down sodas to get some caffeine into us. We were TIRED. I still had that nervous, slightly stressed, nauseous feeling that you have when you have been rushing around and are just starting to come down from that high. When it was time to be seated in the church, I didn't even have time to look around or think about what was coming at all. I just rushed in and sat.
Not long after, our pastor called us up, and the choir began to sing their song: "Makenna Paige, God claims you. God helps you, protects you and loves you, too." I barely heard them as our family and Makenna's godparents got up and took places at the front of the church. Chad held Makenna while we renewed our vows and promises to God and to the church. Then, our pastor took Makenna, put water on her head and baptized her in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. She was very confused about what was going on, but such a good girl! After that, we all placed our hands on her head for another blessing, and Dr. McKee walked her down the center aisle for everyone to see her. He let her know that she was now a disciple of Jesus, and that in order for her to become a faithful follower, she would need to know the stories of Jesus, so those stories could become her stories. Makenna cooed and talked, looking up at him with her sweet little face, and I could not have been prouder that she was our daughter. All of the stress from the weekend just melted away, and I was just plain happy. THIS was what it was all about, not the food, not the party, not the house cleaning. Our little girl was officially being welcomed as a child of God, with our families and her amazing godparents there to celebrate with us. There is no feeling like that in the entire world.
Dear Makenna-
Today, you are six months old. I can't believe it has been a whole half a year already! You have grown so much and been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. Each day, it feels like we couldn't possibly love you any more, and then the next day comes, and we DO!
Your first month was quite exciting. The day you were born, we were so happy to see your sweet little face for the first time!
Your second month, you were getting bigger and really started to interact with us more. We tried on your tutu for the first time, and you were adorable!
You started babbling and cooing, which was the most wonderful sound in the world. You lost your umbilical cord, so we started baths in the sink, which you DEFINITELY did not like at all! Once we got your bathtub, you started to LOVE bathtime, and you still do!
We visited the doctor, and you did so well with your shots! I was such a proud mommy. We celebrated your first St. Patrick's Day at a party with some friends, and you were looking adorable in all of your shamrock-covered finest!
During your third month, you started being able to control your head much better, and you were really reaching and grabbing for things a lot! You were the smiliest, happiest baby ever and loved playing on your Baby Neptune play mat. You liked to see your reflection in the mirror and play with the rattles. As soon as you turned three months old, we moved you from your bassinet to your crib, and you started sleeping through the night! We were so happy, because we were ALL getting much better rest and feeling much better in the mornings. You started really wanting to pet the kitties, especially Kashka, and interacting with some of your toys. Tummy time was not your favorite, but you did well for a few minutes at a time. Such a big girl!
We cheered for the Mavericks and got excited for Texas Rangers opening day. It was a fun-filled month of sports, for sure! Luckily, you had an outfit for everything!
Just a few days shy of being four months old, you rolled over from your back to your tummy for the first time! You sneaky girl, you did it when mommy wasn't even looking! We got your jumper all set up for you, and you loved playing with all of the toys around the edges. Plus, it gives you a great leg workout! You really started laughing out loud during your fourth month, and you apparently thought sneezes were the funniest thing in the world!
Daddy's sneezes
In your fifth month, you have become a little rolling machine. You will just roll yourself all the way across the living room and are trying to get into everything you can get your little hands on! You have really started "talking," your favorite "words" being, "Mamamamamama." (Needless to say, this makes mommy very happy!) Occasionally, we get "ba" in there, too. You had your first "sick" visit to the doctor for pinkeye and a sinus infection, but the whole time you were sick, you were still as sweet as you could be. You never acted like you felt badly at all, and we were VERY thankful! You have also become - GASP! - a champion hair-puller. The first thing you want to do when anyone picks you up is pull their hair, and it HURTS! You've discovered a love of watches and are always trying to get them off people's wrists. You especially like watches with lots of bling, of course. :-) You are trying SO hard to crawl, but haven't quite figured it out yet. But you are sitting up by yourself and really getting your balance down! We celebrated your first Fourth of July, and you were totally fascinated by the fireworks.
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
Sorry, folks, but this is a long one! I can't help it - it was one jam-packed weekend!
After months of patiently waiting for a good time to go, and one successful road trip under our belts, we took Makenna down to College Station to meet "the gang." We had been dying to get down there to see everyone, so we were more than excited that the time had finally come. Chad's mom, Maria (aka, Grammy), decided to hitch along with us, so she could visit with Chad's brother, Colin. It was a great plan - we would take her car, which has more room in it than mine, and have some extra company for that three-hour drive.
Packing the car was all kinds of fun - multiple bags for Makenna, her pack and play, her Bumbo, the doggie crate for Grammy's new dog, plus all of OUR bags for the weekend. Cramped? Just slightly, but we managed. As we started to pull out of the driveway, I remembered we had forgotten Makenna's cooler of bottles inside. Maria put the car in park, I hit the garage door opener, Chad ran in and grabbed it, ran back out. We started to pull out again...and Chad was missing his phone charger. Repeat. FINALLY, we were on our way.
Makenna did great at the start of the trip. She was happy and comfy in her carseat, and we had lots of peek-a-boo time before she fell asleep briefly.
We stopped in Bellmead for dinner, a diaper change and a potty break, and then it was back in the car. After another 30 minutes, Makenna started to get hungry again. And she CRIED very pitifully (and LOUDLY) to let us know. Trying to be the resourceful mom, I pulled out her bottles to give them to her in the carseat, since we were in the middle of nowhere and didn't have a place to stop. Yeah. GREAT idea, Mom. It calmed her down briefly, but then the real trouble started. She had to BURP. Middle of nowhere, no place to stop. I had no way to do it! She SCREAMED and bawled her little eyes out for at least a good 20 minutes. And yes, Mommy bawled her eyes out with her. It was terrible not to be able to help her! Finally, we reached Calvert, TX and were able to pull over. After a big burp, she was feeling much better and ready to keep going.
As we continued, Makenna started rubbing her right eye, and there was greenish-yellow gunk coming out of it. My immediate thought was, "If she has PINKEYE, I'm going to FLIP." We got into CS pretty late, dropped Grammy off and briefly said hi to Uncle Colin and Amy, then headed to the house of the Wallace Clan, where we were staying. Even though it was over an hour past her bedtime, Makenna managed to stay up and entertain Damon and Krissy for a little while before we got the pack and play set up and got her to sleep.
Saturday morning, Makenna woke up in her usually happy, quiet mood. But one look at her confirmed my fears - her right eye was matted, pink and swollen, and she was stuffy as could be. We had been fighting a stuffy/runny nose all week, but this was worse. We cleaned her up, and while Chad fed her, I called her pedi. An eye infection and possibly a sinus infection. Since we were out of town, the nurse suggested taking her to an urgent care facility or the ER (ER?!?!?) to get checked out. NOT how we wanted to start our day, but we threw on some clothes and headed to Brazos Valley Urgent Care, where we were the second people in the door. Diagnosis - pinkeye and a "sinus" (nasal) infection. (Did you know babies don't actually have sinuses yet? I didn't!) The PA let us know that the pinkeye was probably just the infection from her nose that had moved up. I was so sad for our poor little baby, but of course, she was in a delightful mood, and you would never have known she was sick. So we headed to Target for her Amoxicillin, and it was back to the Wallaces' to rest up before lunch.
Makenna napped for part of our Wings 'N' More lunch (YUM). Luckily, she woke up in time to visit with Mikey, Pam, Mike, Leslie, Damon and Krissy for a little while! After that, it was up to The Theatre Company to try to catch some folks there. Bad luck - most of the people we had gone to see weren't there! We visited for a little while, then had time to kill before dinner. So what did we do? We had dessert! A DELICIOUS, AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL Strawberry Tart at LaBodega. Man, I miss those. Makenna hung out and watched us eat, and even chewed on Daddy's finger for a little while. SO CUTE.
Sunday morning, it was breakfast with Damon and Krissy, then chicken fingers at Layne's with Adrienne, Grammy, Uncle Colin, Amy and Michelle. Makenna was still sniffly, but still sweet as could be. We went back for one last visit to Spoons (and a visit with Miss Mandy!), then hit the Wallace house one last time to visit with their boys, Braden and Liam. I think Makenna liked Braden just a bit. :-)
By then, it was WAY past time for us to head back home. We were sad to leave all of our friends, but glad to be getting back to our own beds. We had some fussies on the way home, but nothing like Friday night had been. She was just worn out, so she slept pretty well!
Overall, it was a great trip, even with the urgent care visit. It only served to remind us how blessed we are to have such a wonderfully sweet and good-natured baby, who can smile and love on everyone even when she isn't feeling well.
So, how about road trip number 3, you ask? I think we'll just stay home for a while...
