Alaina's Baptism

My little girl is growing up so fast. Less and less is she doing the "back arch, stretch and curled up knees" position when you pick her up. *Sigh* I would love for her to stay a newborn, but at the same time there is so much to look forward to. I am still wondering if she will be this raven-haired girl with Rob's beautiful blue eyes. She still has dark hair so far, surprisingly, she has stopped losing it (or drastically slowed down) though I can still see blonde peeking through underneath. Her eye color is still also questionable. They aren't the slate grey they were anymore, but they do appear to have blue and brown in them. Only time will tell....which of course means--- she has to grow up. *Sigh*

Oherwise, this little girl talks A LOT! Tons of cooing and just blabbing. The other day she sang with Kylan and I to "Old MacDonald." (I SWEAR!) Ky never cooed or talked this much this early on. It is incredible!

Alaina's baptism was on Nov 16th. It was actually a bit chaotic. Alaina nursed a bit longer than expected prior to church, so by the time we were ready to walk into church, the music was already beginning. I found Rob, but the Godparents (my brother Joel & and his wife Jamie) were MIA. At our church the baptism normally happens after the first song or two--so I was a bit panicked. I told Rob to go find them while I got Alaina prepared. Then I noticed Kylan was missing. ARGH! So Rob found Joel & Jamie and then I sent him to find Ky--but luckily Nana & G'ma Jan were bringing him in by then. --Can't you just sense the tension!? Too often my life feels like this---but I guess it does keep things interesting! :)

The baptism went great. Our Pastor handed Ky the baptismal candle to hold (yes I know--very scary! We had no idea he was going to do that.) Ky did pretty well holding it though and Daddy helped. The pastor then told us that the candle was to remind us of Alaina's baptism and how she is to be a light of the world. He then told Kylan that his sister was the light of the world and he was to help her become so. Then the pastor asked Kylan to say that his sister was the light of the world. Ky's response, "She is the light of the world and she is a baby and she wears diapers!" (No joke that was his response!) How funny!

During the actual baptism, Alaina was awake and she didn't cry! YEAH! Always a little scary when someone holds your head over a big bowl of water. We were very proud of both kids--particularly Ky for not setting anything on fire :) After the baptism we came home and had a nice brunch with the family. I am sorry it all ended so soon as it was a good time to visit with family members we don't see enough of.

So I added pics of my two latest crafts. After my first pair of slippers I made a second pair. They came out pretty cute too....I just want to perfect the seams on the sides before I try to sell any. I am going to try one more pair out of sweater material. We will see how it goes... The other craft is Alaina's baptism gown. Yup, I made it. I couldn't bring myself to spend $40+ on a dress she was going to wear once. I spent about $6 on the dress I made her. The material is a cotton with embroidary on it that I already had. I had bought it at a "going out of business sale" at Hancock fabrics intending to make a skirt for myself. However, the baptism was a perfect use for it. I used a retro 1950's pattern for it. (99 cent sale at JoAnne's). The pattern was pretty easy over all and I am already envisioning other dresses I can make for her with it. The only downside of the pattern was the neckline. I had to adjust it and make my own pattern for a collar because the one in the pattern was almost doll-sized (ridiculous--did babies in the 50's really have a neck with a 7 inch circumference?!) Oh and I also adjusted the length to make it more of a true baptismal gown. Not too bad for a pattern...

Let's get to the pics....

Ky is working on dressing himself. He is actually doing very well--so the one picture of him is his head stuck in his shirt. FUNNY! He is very good about putting on underwear and pants by himself, but shirts are still a strugggle. As long as I put them on over his head he can do the rest. Not too shabby for a two-year-old :)

Speaking of which (I know, I am off-topic--but it's my blog and I am allowed to do so), I have been really struggling with dealing with Kylan lately. The boy is very mature for his age and sometimes I know I am expecting more out of him than he is capable of (or ready for). I think with the added stress of another kid, I am just wanting him to be more independent on so much. Even Rob gets stuck in this rut. I have to remind myself--he is just 2! I NEED to make sure I am taking the time to teach him things--and not just expect things out of him. For example, I OFTEN get very frustrated when he doesn't keep up with me. I need to remember that 1. his legs are much shorter than mine and 2. this world is just a giant playground to him--everything is new---and so distracting. While I may have seen it before and it is all 0ld-hat to me (Does that terminology make me sound old or what?), everything is brand new to Ky and he is trying to figure out what things are and remember them for future use. He really is learning every step of the way. How selfish of me! ARGH!!! Here I am trying to rush him and he is just trying to make sense of this big world. I wish there was no such thing as time. Perhaps then I could walk at the leisure pace of a 2 year old and also learn things. ARGH!! Don't you just sense the frustration. I am working on it though--and am really praying for guidance. Ky --I am so sorry bud, but this parenting thing is also a big learning adventure. I am sorry I get mad at you, and I raise my voice. I am really not mad at you, I am just mad at the timed world we are bound to--and sadly you will learn all too soon about this terrible concept of "time". Okay enough of that...back to the pics..

Alaina now LOVES baths. It is funny how they don't like them at first and then they really enjoy them. Speaking of which--a bath to Kylan is like a vacation. HE LOVES IT! Especially since his Auntie Wendy got him Thomas the Train bath toys. OH YEAH! And now he has recently discovered the joys of bubble baths. I need to buy him some of his own bubbles---he is using all my nice stuff...but he does smell good afterwards. Ahhhh--roses! :)

So funnies from Kylan...

Kylan told me he had a baby in his tummy and his name was Jose. Yes this was random and out of the blue. It was very funny at the time.

He misuses the word "easy." And I have no idea what word he wants to use. For example, I give him a blanket after he asks for one--he then says "I don't want that one--It's too easy..." Hmmm....

Kylan knows that he has a penis. Yes we taught him the technical term. He asked and we didn't want to give him slang terminology. So now he goes around and he asks--do they have a penis, does he have a penis....and yes he does this openly in stores, at church, etc....Yeah a little embarassing to us, but you really can't explain to him at this age that there is a time and a place for asking this stuff. And yeah--he knows that Alaina and I don't have one and has occasionally asked what we have. So far I have avoided telling him. I really don't need him going around pointing to people saying "Does he/she have a penis or vagina?" I hope this phase ends soon....

Okay that is all for now. The next blog I will have add'l pics of Alaina in her baptismal gown and I will have Turkey day pics. Until then!