Pumpkin

Em took Sam to a Halloween party in H-Town today. Here are the pictures, with special thanks to Grandma for the hat and Aunt Lisa for the socks.

Baby Day

Today's my day with the baby, and things are going well. We've already had some nap time, he spent a while in the bumbo (sp?) while I worked in the kitchen, he's doing some exersaucer time and we're planning a long walk and some attempts at solid foods later.

He's continuing his baby struggle towards mobility. He has a sort of "flopping fish" approach now, where through a combination of turning and rolling he can move several feet. He spends time on the floor, but especially loves the bed which is like a zero gravity chamber for babies--he can really book it there. He's pretty delightful to be around, and stays smiley as long as he's in sight of someone.

He continues to make new sounds. For a while he had an extended bark (or maybe a "quack"?) monologue he'd do that was very entertaining. Well, entertaining when we were awake. It wasn't so entertaining at 6am.

It's hard to believe Sam's closing on 7 months. Depending on how you count it was Friday (when the birth occurred) or will be this Tuesday.

And here are a few more baptism pictures. We're still remembering the happy day.






Here he is exhaused after his happy day.

Baptism

Our Church, With Blue Skies Overhead

Maureen holds Sam

Today was Sam's baptism. It was a wonderful day and he seemed to love every minute of it. He's just such a fun baby it's hard to describe. I know that he won't always be like this, and I won't always have so much time to spend with him, but I am just continuously delighted.

Rho, a Deacon, grabs him next

He woke up smiling and played and then napped on the (now nearly 90 minute) commute to church. He was picked up almost immediately by Maureen, a member who I knew before we began going here, and who would serve as the elder later in the service.


Sam gets passed around a lot, and really thrives on the attention. I think I was more circumspect as a child, but he seems to love being the baby of the church. He was fine throughout the service. Our worship has a mix of music, liturgy, and arts, so he is usally very content. Today he had one brief fuss, but otherwise seemed to enjoy being part of worship.



For the service itself, Pastor Karen asked the questions and performed the baptism, but Alex (a recent seminary grad who works there) preached the Sermon. It was (appropriately) the Pauline text. Sam was engaged throughout the baptism--very focused on what was happening. He didn't seem to mind the water at all.

This is a member of our church and one of the nurses from the hospital, Tekla. We heard she would be there if there was c-section, but she also happened to be working the weekend we were there. She saw him as a newborn and holds him on the day of his baptism

He was carried through the pews and his hand was held by many people. I know that in my Reformed Worship class we discussed the appropriateness of this, but I actually think it's a beautiful reminder for the church. And for adults, our congregation tends to either have many people laying on hands or an invitation to the congregation to come and hug the new member. In many ways, it was just the standard service, and yet it meant and will mean a lot to us, and I hope also to Samuel. We went to part of the session meeting after church and then went out with Samuel.

Sam smiles at Grandma

I think we have felt that this church called us in a unique way. I'm sad we're so far away now, but very glad that we're able to stay involved. And we're very happy Sam could be baptized at the church that loves him so much.

Week Six or Seven?

It's hard to believe how the semester goes. Things always are so busy. I feel like I am beginning to get a hang of courses, even though parts have been a little rocky. I gave the worst grades I've ever given on a test and only had a couple of students come to see me. I'm not sure quite what to make of that.

My parents come tomorrow, so I thought I'd put up one batch of pictures now before the photo flurry of family + baptism. We go to a church that is AV-friendly, so I am sure there will be plenty of images. I'm very excited about Sunday and glad that my mom and dad could come.

Here are some recent pictures of Sam in denim. He's incredibly cute lately and we are continuously in awe of our baby. He is a total little extrovert. We have a baby sitter for a couple of hours on Monday, which will let Emily get up to her school for the day. I may also have a work study student who can help me with Chinese and office work. I'm sort of surprised everything is coming together.

More news to follow...