James' Baptism

James Michael was baptized on August 31, 2014 at Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando. It was such a blessing to have friends and family in town to celebrate his first sacrament with us! Here are some pictures from the very special day (thanks to my dad who was the photographer!)

We attended noon Mass and my plan was to feed him all during Mass so he'd have a full tummy and then sleep soundly during the baptism. Well...my plan didn't quite work. He did have a full tummy but cried the entire time.

James wore Tyler's baptismal garment

Getting dressed

 

James's godparents are my sister and brother-in-law, Ashley and Alex. It was such a blessing to have Ashley and her youngest son, John Paul, come join us for the baptism. It was also a blessing to have Tyler's dad stand in as the proxy for Alex. They gave Tyler and I a lot of encouragement and smiles during the baptism while James was screaming! It was good to have them there!

Snapshots: A Week in the Life of James (3)

Day 15: August 19

Drying off after bath time with daddy

Much happier when he is warm in his bathrobe

Day 16: August 20

Going on a walk to visit Mirna and Gianna

Day 17: August 21

Handsome boy

Day 18: August 22

Two week check-up with Dr. Gordon, was feeling a little under the weather that day

Day 19: August 23

First bottle with daddy

Day 20: August 24

Our growing man: almost outgrowing size newborn onesies and diapers

Day 21: August 25

And here's a video of James's "alert time" as we call it. We love to watch him stare so intently and wonder what he's thinking about!

Snapshots: A Week in the Life of James (2)

Day 8: August 12

James's first ride in the stroller on our evening family walk

Day 9: August 13

Sleeping baby

Day 10: August 14

Only way to get him to stay asleep that day!

Day 11: August 15

Family picture at our friends the Days

Day 12: August 16

Historic moment: James's first time watching Major League Soccer

Day 13: August 17

Adorable feet!

Day 14: August 18
(James loves to move his hands!)

And finally a video of him sleeping! Towards the end there is a smile! Because he's so cute while he sleeps and we get to sleep when he sleeps!

Showers of Blessings: {three}

 

Every day is a huge blessing, especially with the arrival of our little guy. However I've found it's important to take time to really thank God for the blessings of each day, especially when we're feeling so tired and just want to sleep! So here is a little review of some blessings of the past week.

-one-

Some friends of ours in FOCUS have been praying for God to provide a child for them to adopt and I just read on their blog that they found a birth mother! Please pray for Amanda and Jonathan as they raise the money needed to proceed with the adoption and that God would bless this little baby and both families involved! Please check out their blog for more of the beautiful story: http://truegoodandbeautiful.net/adoption

-two-

Gianna was baptized on Sunday and it was very special to watch her, but most of all her parents, Chris and Mirna. They were glowing! It makes us even more excited for James's baptism in two weeks!

-three-

Ashley bought us a ring sling and I am so excited to finally figure out how to use it! I get a little intimidated by things at times and once I try them out I usually discover it wasn't as hard as I imagined. I'm excited to be able to do more around the house while carrying James or be able to take him outside on a short walk. Thanks Ashley!

-four-

And finally, Tyler fixed me a delicious brunch yesterday. His breakfast burritos are one of my favorites and we haven't had them in a while. He sauteed onions with bacon and then added the eggs. He finished it off in the oven so the tortillas got a little crispy. Delicious!

Can You See the Resemblance?

Here's Tyler:

Here's Dene':

Who do you think James looks most like? We can see bits of each other in him which is beautiful. I joke that James is like Tyler in the morning, a little grumpy and it takes him a long time to wake up. Tyler jokes that James has my long arms and legs, which could mean a goal keeper? Or basketball player...but we are ruling out football because it's too dangerous. We'll see!

James's First Photo Shoot

On our second day in the hospital James showed us how photogenic he is! We were told that a photographer would come and ask if we wanted professional pictures taken and we could have the photo shoot without any obligation of purchasing anything. So we went into it thinking it would be a fun thing to do but not expecting to buy any of the prints. Well...after showing new parents pictures of their 1 day old baby, who wouldn't melt? That must be how they make all the money. So we ended up buying one of the packages and it came in the mail yesterday! We are thrilled with how the pictures turned out and know we'll treasure them forever, especially when James is older and we can't remember how small he once was!