December 9, 2012 = the day we had Katie Wynn baptized. Prior to December 9, our sweet little girl had never cried during church, pooped during church, or spit up on a gown. December 9, 2012 = the day all of that changed. It was a big day for all of us. Doc and I were playing handbells as half of a quartet during the service, and so we had to go up to the church early to practice. Thank goodness Doc's parents were in town! They stayed at our house with all three kids and made sure everyone got showered and ready for church.
Fast forward to the service and my dad started out holding Katie. The plan was that she'd get baptized right after we greeted one another - not too far into the service. We were right in the middle of the first praise song when I felt my dad tap me on the shoulder. "She just filled up her diaper and it doesn't smell so good..." Crap. Literally. I grabbed the diaper bag and the baby and practically ran to the women's restroom. Thank goodness someone was in there to help me! Her gown was huge and I was envisioning it getting royally messed up. With the help of a friend, I was able to get the diaper changed in no time. Of course, just as I was washing my hands, she spit up on her dress. Crap again! I grabbed her burp cloth and got that cleaned up and ran back into the sanctuary just in time to toss my dad the diaper bag and walk up front.
Here we are with our preacher as we make our vows to bring Katie up in the church. (See the burp cloth in my hand? Was worried we'd have Spit Up Round Two while we were up there. That didn't happen, thankfully. Instead, we had Diaper Fill Up Round Two, right there in Doc's arms in front of God and everybody. Luckily he and I were the only ones who could hear it.
Her below-the-waist activities ended just in time for Doc to pass her over to the preacher to be baptized. And that is when my sweet little angel started crying. You can't really tell in the picture below but she didn't really want that water on her head!
I happened to have her pacifier in my hand so we were able to plug her up so Brother Tom could walk her down the aisle and show her off to the congregation. I'm pretty sure that Doc and I had both sweated through our clothes at this point, and we still had to play handbells! When we made it back to our pew, we passed Katie down to Doc's mom and she immediately fell asleep. Doc and I had just enough time to put on our gloves and head back to the front of the sanctuary to play during the offertory. We played O Come, O Come Emmanuel and I think it was our best run-through of it. We had struggled in practice but we pulled it off! Phew!
I wish I could tell you what the sermon was about that Sunday, but my mind was all over the place. Did I look like an idiot standing up there? Why did she cry? I hope she doesn't get diaper rash since I haven't changed her diaper. Did I play all of my notes? Will everyone be up for taking pictures after the service? So on and so forth...
Doc and I had invited all of our family over for lunch to celebrate Katie's baptism, but I quickly got the word out that we had to take pictures before anyone could leave. They were all good sports.
Katie-bug had quite a crowd!
Fist pumps for Jesus!
Here are Doc's parents with our kids.
My grandmother was able to get a smile from Katie.
One of these days I'll get a decent shot of all 7 of my parents' grandkids. Either that or I'll stop trying.
Like I said, we invited everyone over for lunch after church. For a brief second, Doc and I had considered cooking but we wisened up and let someone else do it for us. We had a catered lunch of poppy seed chicken, green beans, layered salad, and homemade rolls. For dessert we had strawberry cake and chocolate cake. It was delicious! (And so much easier and less stressful than cooking ourselves!)
Have you ever seen that quote that goes something like, "Grandparents' houses are where cousins go to become best friends?" I think that's true for these two munchkins. They are best cousin friends.
Here is my mom with two of her besties, Leslie and Jenny. I love this pic of you gals!
Have you ever fallen asleep at your own party? Poor girl was worn out.
The lunch was delicious and we all had a good time. It was such a good day, even with all the little mishaps! You better believe we all needed a nap that afternoon, though!
A day or two later, I dressed Katie back up so I could get some pictures of her in her gown. My photo shoot didn't go so well so I actually had a photographer friend come take some more professional ones, but here are a few that I was able to get.
I have to brag on my mom because she made Katie's gown by hand. Isn't she amazing?! I mean, look at all the detail on the skirt! She did all of the shadow-work embroidery and pin tucks by hand. And the scallops and lace edging. She's crazy talented!
The lace on the sleeves had a ribbon running through it.
I wish I had a picture of the back so you could see the big bow on it too. It was a beautiful gown and I gave my mom a very short amount of time to get it done. Thanks so much, Mom! You rock!
(She pooped during the photoshoot too...must be something about that gown that just makes her feel good and relaxed...)