Birthday, Baptism and Brunch

Birthday, Baptism and Brunch...oh my...What a weekend.

A few weeks ago (EDIT:now 2 months ago) we were in PA for Mac & Harper's 1st birthday and Cecilia's Baptism.  It was a whirlwind of a weekend with so many people to see and things to do.  C is a really great traveler, so we are lucky in that respect.  We left Friday night just before her normal bedtime and she slept the entire way.  Being the crazy person that I am thought that buying tickets to the 9:30 showing of the Hunger Games with my family was a good idea.  Sam had to be up super early that morning, which means I woke up when his alarm went off at 4 am.  I usually fall back asleep but it's never restful.  I was working from home that day because Cecilia had a doctor's appointment at 11, and then I got my hair cut at 4.  So it was a day of trying to work while playing with her, taking her to the doctor's, dropping her off at day care, running back out to get my haircut and then getting home and finish packing and hitting the road.  We left at 6:30 and I got to the theater just in time.  Don't know if I would say it was worth it....Anyway...

Saturday was Mac and Harper's 1st Birthday party.  I can't believe it's been a year (and 3 months now) since they were born.  I wish Bren and Devin could still be here in DC so we could have baby play dates all the time, but things are good for them there.  Mac and Harper were adorable as always and watching them dive into their separate cakes was so much fun.  Harper was a bit more adventurous in digging into her cake and mushed it to pieces in no time.  Mac was a bit more hesitant but eventually dug right in too.   I think he wanted to share his with everyone.  Such a sweetheart!

After the parties we spent some time with family, visiting Mom-Mom and the Gadzicki's and then to the hotel where Sam's family was staying.  By bed time Cecilia was ready to be out so she was a bit fussy that evening.  We tried to get her home as soon as possible because we didn't want her to be crabby for her big day.

I was raised at the 8 am service at St. John's from the time I was about a week old.  It's the service that my extended family goes to and they have their "designated pews."  Now that  Cecilia is here I appreciate this extended family even more.  I know it's probably more of an exception than the rule that you see your aunts, cousins and great-aunts and uncles every week.  Right now we can't even say that we see Sam's parents every week and they live 7 minutes away.  I do miss being around family like I had when I was growing up.  Who knows...maybe one day we will make a return to PA.  I think it has probably been 4  years since having (almost) everyone together.  The last time would be in the same place when Sam and I got married.  I know Cecilia was feeling the love. 

We chose Erin(Sam's sister) and Christopher(my brother) as Cecilia's godparents.  She was mostly interested in eating Christopher's bulletin than what was going on around her.  She was a little hesitant about the water being poured on her head and tried to pull herself up from it, but didn't cry.  We had been practicing in the tub for a few weeks.   We got through the rest of the service without any meltdowns and then it was off to brunch. 

We found a place called Brickside Grille for bunch.  When we were looking for places to fit the 20 some people that we had, this was one of the places that accommodate the amount of people and the time frame that we wanted.  A few pluses that they had were giant fish tanks to entertain the kids and at 11 am there was a magician....

When I heard this I thought that I was going to Chuckee Cheese rather than a nice place for brunch  and when the man approached our table I had somewhat forgotten about the magician.  Charlie loved him though and thought his tricks were funny.  William was a hesitant but when he saw there was candy involved he jumped in.  Both of them got laser guns made out of balloons and that helped them run some of the 3/4 year old boy energy out!

What an angel....

We made a brief stop back at my parents house to take some pictures of Cecilia in her dress.  Isn't it gorgeous?!  One of the first things that Sam's mom asked me was if she could make her baptism dress.  It was while I was still pregnant so I wasn't even really thinking that far ahead.  I didn't have any sort of vision as to what it would look like but loved the material she had brought to show me.  I have no skills in that department so I am amazed at how beautiful it was.  She even made the headband to go along with it.  There were a few last minute tighten ups, but all in all it fit perfectly.  Hard to do considering she was growing what seemed like every minute. 

Oh and the shoes!  A neighbor of Sam's parents gave these to us when she was born.  They use them in dedications in her church and I thought they were perfect.  They were just the right size (maybe a little big) that day too. 





She seems so little her now that I am looking back on it all.  But still the same sweet face.  After the pictures she passed out, slept the whole way home, woke up to eat and then went down for the night.  She was exhausted from such a busy but it was wonderful to be with everyone and share her baptism with those who were invovled in mine as well.