Bits and Pieces

1.)Oli made me a card and stuck little "neat" stickers on it.  "Because I know you like the house neat," she said.  Finally, someone noticed!

2.)Jacob has started talking in complete sentences.  He's growing up!

3.)I (think) I feel a little tooth poking through Henry's gums.  I think this is the latest that any of the kids have gotten a tooth.  On the other side of the spectrum, Oli is anxiously waiting to lose her first tooth.

4.)I finished a knitting project before the intended recipient outgrew it.  Now how did the woman at the knitting store know I should make a 12 month size when I said I wanted to knit a sweater for my one month old baby?

 He's doing his "puppy face" which his sister taught him to do.  It came in handy when he caught a cold and couldn't breathe through his nose.

5.)Henry really likes to have mama in sight at all times which means the only way I can get anything done around here is to put him in the backpack.  If I don't wear a hat he pulls my hair out one strand at a time.  Good times!

Baptism

Henry was baptized at the Saturday evening mass.  It was wonderful.  When Father Becker was speaking about the meaning of baptism during the service, Henry looked right at him and smiled.  When everyone applauded after he was baptized, Henry looked around with a look of surprise.  Even since, whenever he hears clapping, he is quite sure it is for him.
In a meditation I was reading before Henry's baptism I came upon this quote which is actually from the Catechism of the Catholic church, "Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ."  I also think of the verse from Jeremiah 31:33 which says "I will put my law within them, I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people."  I hope Henry will always be able to sense God with his heart.
Afterwards we had a fun party at our house with all the grandparents, great-grandpa, and aunts and uncles.  Father Becker even came over.  Nathan made puerco pibil which was delicious and I made a strawberry cake.

Perfect

In preparation for my giant housecleaning extravaganza for Henry's baptism dinner (housecleaning sounds more fun if you call it an extravaganza, don't you think?) we went out to Menards on Saturday night.  Driving home we spotted the ice skating rink at Lake Park and after a quick run home for snow gear, decided to do some skating.  As Oli said on the way home, it was a perfect night.  It was in the thirties and we were the only people skating.  We even got Jacob (who hates anything that might possibly be dangerous) to put on some skates.  He only lasted a few minutes but once he had his boots back on he spent a happy half-hour standing on a pile of snow declaring, "I'm on a mountain!" Olivia is a fearless skater and even though she still falls fairly often it doesn't stop her from practically running on the ice in her skates sometimes.  Even Henry seemed to enjoy the not-too-cold night air.  All in all, a perfect night!