Brantley's Baptism

Brantley's baptism was on Sunday, May 23, 2010 during the 10:30am service at Trinity Episcopal Church. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I have been putting off writing about it because I just can't seem to find the words to express how perfectly dreamlike the day made me feel. To start with it was Pentecost Sunday, so that in and of itself is a miraculous day in the church year, and Bishop Duncan Gray was the Celebrant of the service. He was visiting from Jackson and presided over the Baptisms, Confirmations, and one Reception during the service. So now you can imagine the families & friends in attendance for Candidates in addition to the people there to see the Bishop, and then the regular 10:30 service goers. It was a packed house. Now know that we have been in a bit of heat wave for the month of May...so to make this the most memorable of days...the air conditioning wasn't working. I don't mean it was in overdrive & not cooling well because there were just so many people, it was NOT working! The only cool you were getting was from the fanning of your bulletin. And our pew was losing bulletins fast as the destruction of them turned out to be a "quiet pastime" for Brantley during the service. She really did keep herself well occupied until it was time for the ceremony. Her Daddy and I, and her Godparents Jennifer & Briggs, presented her as a Candidate for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism and she was blessed by the water and marked with oil as one of God's own forever. Like I said, one of the happiest days of my life...She greeted the Bishop with her signature bottom lip pout when he reached to hold her to bless her with the water & oil. That caused quite a bit of laughter and was a moment I have burned into my memory. Forever I hope. Now being a baptized person and welcome at God's table, she went with us when it was time to receive the Eucharist. Kris knelt while holding her and when the wine was presented to him, he dipped his wafer in & then dabbed it on Brantley's little lips. I kid you not, my heart melted down to my toes...I can cry right now just remembering it. I would pay a zillion dollars to have a photo of that moment.
It was a beautiful service, a beautiful day, and we have a beautiful & blessed life that I try to be thankful for everyday...

Happy Family


Godmother Jennifer saving the day with a quick bottle after the service...


Godparents, Briggs Brantley & Jennifer Doleac, Me, Brantley, and Kris


Loving my sweet girl


Richard, Briggs, Nana (Rae), Brantley, Me, Kris, & Pattie


Afterwards we went to 206 Front to celebrate with our family & friends who attended to witness this happy, happy day!

Mommie & Me Class- End of Session Party

We attended the last class of our Mommie & Me session on Wednesday. The next session doesn't start until the end of June so we will now have some extra time on our hands Wednesday mornings...I have plans but we'll wait and see if the weather cooperates before I get everyone excited. A friend of mine asked me if we would be doing the MM summer session and I told her we would be doing every MM session until they kick us out. It is the one constant piece of her routine that happens every week, without fail, rain or shine. And she LOVES being around the other children.
On Wednesday, in addition to the regular activities that we do, we celebrated 2 birthdays and had "Mommy Food" and fellowship time at the end of class. The best Brantley related part of the day was at the beginning of class though. The instructor spreads out toys in the middle of the room for the children to play with while everyone is arriving and getting settled and Brantley has always watched the more "mobile" babies crawl over and play. But this time SHE did her little army crawl over and started playing with everyone else. I was so proud of her! And she really enjoyed the opportunity to get her mouth on some new things!



Another milestone event was that she kept her shoes on almost the entire class!



The older children in the photo are big brothers & sisters who were already out of their preschools for the summer. They are also graduates of the Mommie & Me program.
And the final shot was for her Daddy who loves how well she photographs "close-up".

So it begins

Brantley has started dating. She has been on two dates with her new friend, Andrew. First to the playground and most recently a swimming pool...It is good for them socially & for their "new environment exposure" development. I totally made that up about new environment exposure but it is probably true & will be proven in a study in the coming years. Here are some photos from their "dates".
Playground:





And the pool...




And one of our current Top Five pictures of the month:

Her daddy says "She photographs well close-up". He is correct.

Spring! Or what's left of it...

Here are some "springy" pictures from our impromptu photo session last week...





But the heat must have gotten to her because she was pooped when we got back inside!

Moving Up...

This week Brantley has officially mastered pushing herself up into sitting position. She accidentally discovered she was able to make this maneuver when she was supposed to be napping. Lately, prior to falling out for her naps, she has been rolling around wreaking havoc on the bumper pads in her crib as she kicks & grabs. One morning she had a superpower burst of strength and pulled herself up to sitting in front of her mirror. She fell back onto the mattress shortly after but the moment made an impression. An impression upon her about the importance of MOVING UP! There's a whole new world out there from that angle! Climb higher!
The older and wiser set reading this are surely laughing and thinking that I have no idea what I'm saying here but I do. I know that when I am running 3 miles a day just trying to keep her out of the garbage and electrical outlets I may have a sentimental thought about when I could lay her on the pallet and go about my business. But right now, watching her try her very baby hardest to do things and then really DO THEM is a feeling like I have never experienced in my life. It's pride, exhilaration, relief, and joy all at once; we win every game.
Here are a few pictures of her in her new playground, post afternoon nap...





And since I am able to watch her in the crib you probably assume that we have a video baby monitor. No, we do not have a video baby monitor. We have a Uniden UDWC23 Wireless Video Surveillance System. The camera in her room has 11 Infrared LED's allowing for night vision with a range of 15 feet. The "baby monitor" selection was Kris's responsibility, as is everything related to a cord and a plug in our house for obvious reasons.