Baptism party

After Jacob's baptism, of course, we had to have a party. Many friendly faces, cake and little stroller cupcakes. cute beyond cute. Thanks to all and all who attended!

 
 
 
 

Baptism: Details

Jacob's baptism was quite the event. Grandparents from both sides (Nana, Papa, Gramma, Grampa) were in attendance, and although uncles and aunts were unable to make it, we know they were there in spirit. Really, the roads were a mess anyway. Grandparents began to arrive the week before the baptism, and by the time Sunday morning rolled around, there was a houseful. Add to this the fact that Sophia and Jacob were both in the middle of colds, low on sleep and high on the crabometer, (is that CRAB-o-MEE-tur or crab-AW-muh-ter?), it was an eventful few days. And yes, Daddy did lose his temper a couple times. One can only say "use your words, please" so many times before you want to give up and place a listing on ebay.

So with all of that, we were understandably nervous when Sunday morning rolled around. But all was well. All children were relatively well behaved. A quick stop for videotape and we arrived at the church with time to spare. We met Marie-eve and Kelvin (the godparents) at the church, and everyone was excited. It's not every day that I wear a suit after all.

Sophia was tasked with helping Russell(the minister) pour the water into the baptismal font. A couple tries later and it was decided that she should have some help, so I held her while she held the water jug and we all together with Russell's help practiced pouring the water.

The service was very nice. Russell presented the story of the ten commandments using Godly Play and both Sophia and William were quite interested, for a little while. Then they wanted to get right in there and play with the props. During the part of the service that wasn't the baptism, Sophia and William played in the nursery and attend a bit of the Sunday school program.

Jacob was absolutely wonderful for the baptism event itself. He was alert and curious and didn't make a peep or anything. He looked around as Russell walked him up and down the aisle, and everyone commented at how cute he is and how big he is getting.

I took this opportunity to (finally) transfer my membership from Wilson Heights UC in Vancouver, to Sunset. Considering how involved I am with the church, it made sense. Tricia remains a member of presbytery since she is an ordained minister.

After the baptism, and after the children had had a chance to nap and the adults recover, We had a little party at our house. Claire and her parents were there, as well as Owen and his parents, and of course William and his parents. Both sets of Grandparents were in attendance, and Barb and her son stopped by later on, which was great. I had been working with Barb on music for the church musical for a while. Not everyone who was invited was able to come, and specifically we missed Melissa (Sophia's God-mother) and the rest of the Wolseley contingent who were unable to come because Taylor and Aiden had colds. It definitely seems a cold-filled winter. Also, and I believe I mentioned this already, the roads were terrible.

Marie-eve made a wonderful cake for the party, and munchies and punch were had.

Overall, a very successful day. Jacob will grow in the knowledge that he has a dedicated community of friends, family and church, and that he will never be alone.


 
 
 
 

Baptism Photos: The Day After

What with all the commotion and confusion and chaos at church after the baptism, and during the party on Sunday afternoon, we didn't manage to get any family photos. The next morning, before any of the grandparntals left, we decided to gather in the upper room to document the occasion.

 
 
 
 

Jacob Baptism

Jacob has been baptized!

Movie Evidence!

Details at 11!

Solid Food update

Jacob has now consumed half a bottle of organic sweet potatoes. in one sitting. That's a quarter cup! and he is happy as a clam

One Month Later, more stats, and solid food!

So sure, we have been remiss in our blogging duties, and sure, we should update daily, or perhaps weekly, but in our defense, we have a baby and a toddler, both of whom have been sick with colds over the past few weeks. Our baby, specifically, seems to be convinced that we are attempting to suffocate him every time we wipe his nose, and he therefore throws a hairy conniption fit. Our toddler is slightly more amenable to the nose manipulation, but she has lost sleep and is crabby, and in case you are unaware, a crabby toddler is the purest concentration of evil in the universe. We have been trying to convince her to use her words instead of whining, but a tired, sick, crabby toddler has little recourse but to whine, and so this is a recurring conversation in our household.

But now, the colds have more or less abated, and normal lives are slowly returning. In the course of the diseases, however, many things have happened and we have been documenting them on virtual film in anticipation of the time when we may return to interaction with the outside world, and it seems that time has come.

In the last checkup a few days ago, Sophia weighed 31 pounds, and stands 3 ft 1 inch tall. Jacob was 12 pounds 11 ounces, (still in the 3rd percentile for weight) and about 25 inches long (64 cms). The doctor suggest for Jacob to start on solids so that he could get bigger ... she's concerned that his head is too small. We suspect some cultural differences, as his head looks perfectly good to us. Regardless, doctors have extensive knowledge that we do not, and although it still seemed a bit early (our baby is growing up!) we decided to give it a try. The other motivating factor is that Jacob is more and more interested in food. He is constantly looking at our dinner plates with heightened attention. If I am holding him in my lap while we eat dinner, and if I am not paying close enough attention, I may look down to find that his hand is deep in the mashed potatoes. So given that interest, and the doctor's suggestion, we decided to take the plunge and start him on solids.

First solid is usually rice cereal mixed with breast milk, and Jacob took to this like bees to honey. I think he has been so interested in food that any addition to his diet is a euphoric experience. He continues to be very excited about food, and will eat a couple teaspoons at a sitting. We have increased the proportion of rice cereal to breast milk making the pablum thicker and more full of texture, and he has continued to be very enthusiastic.

The second food we introduced to him was mushed avocado mixed with breast milk, and he has been enthusiastic about this as well. We will add a new food to his repertoire every few days, just to keep an eye out for allergies, but Sophia hasn't had any problems, and there isn't a history of serious food allergies in our family, so I think we're ok.

Photo evidence:


Ooh. Spoon! lemme lemme lemme



This is Great stuff!



This is my happy face. (it's sometimes tricky to grab a smile when it happens - he was smiling a lot, honest!)



Sophie is a good eater too!

Photojournalist in Training

From time to time, Sophia gets a hold of the camera, and creates a series of stunning photographs. Her composition and use of colour are well beyond what might be reasonably expected for a novice photographer like her. She obviously enjoys breaking from tradition and arranging her subjects in unconventional placements. It is truly art about which one could say "My two-year-old could do this!"

 
 
 
 

On this last one, you can see her blue knit shirt, her jeans, the strap of the camera dangling down, and her index finger. She calls this one, I believe "Self-portrait"

Gymnastics!

Sophia is gaining skills in gymnastics at an amazing rate. She is able to walk along a balance beam with help, and she is even able to climb up a wooden ladder (something that gave her real trouble last season). She loves bouncing on the trampoline, and I think that the exercise and enjoyment that she gets out of it is at least as important as the balance and equipment skills she is starting to understand. Gymnastics is definitely an activity we will be keeping for a few years to come. (sorry for the dark pictures - they were far away)

 
 
 
 

Spontaneous sorting behavior

From time to time, Sophia is a little quiet and we have to look over to see what she is destroying. Today, she was sorting the fridge magnets into colours. definitely related to emergent behavior in chaotic systems, or at least self-organizing maps.