Family time

We spent the weekend with Catherine Ellis's greats (my Aunt and Uncle) and Granddaddy (my Dad) celebrating their birthdays! We had a great time spending quality time with our family. People are often amazed at how much traveling we do, but we don't know any different and Catherine Ellis loves all the new experiences! She's gearing up to be one social baby!

When we got to Huntsville, Aunt B was cooking a cheesecake for Uncle C's birthday and Catherine Ellis just had to help:

Cooking with Auntie B

Learning how to make cheesecake

Cooking is fun!

Making music ... shake, shake, shake

Come on everyone - nothing to it!

Hard at work

Auntie B, which one goes next?

Waiting on a phone call from my Daddy!

Whew! All this fun wears me out!

And last, but not least, Miss Emma wanted to give a shout out to the blog world! She's our next birthday coming up in February!

Hey everybody!

Holy Baptism

On Sunday, January 10 Catherine Ellis was baptised into the Christian community! What a wonderful day for our family and friends - Catherine Ellis is one loved child. This weekend might be the coldest on record in decades, but it was certainly a warm and bright one for us. We had friends drive in from all over the Southeast and join us at Camp McDowell for the Holy Baptism.

Most of you reading this blog (if not all) know that David and I met at Camp McDowell and were married at Camp McDowell - so it was the perfect place to baptize our first-born child. The new chapel is gorgeous and provided a beautiful setting for the ceremony. We are so incredibly blessed to have so many supportive and involved friends and family - it was a full house along with many from our church parish who were attending the parish retreat for the weekend.

Thank you to all of those that traveled far and near to be with us and share this special day with Catherine Ellis as she was welcomed to the Body of Christ and a community that will support her in her Christian journey all the days of her life. We love you all!

There are tons of great pictures, but again, we'll hit the highlights. A good friend of mine custom made Catherine Ellis's gown- we've not had portraits done yet, but plan to - it's a gorgeous heirloom gown that David and I can't wait to pass down to our children, their children, etc. The pictures don't do it justice - it's truly a beauty!

Getting ready

Ready for the big day

The ceremony in the new St. Francis Chapel at Camp McDowell:

Headed to the Chapel

The baptismal font

Pledging our support and guidance

The Baptism

Meeting all my little friends

The Blessing

Baptismal candle (to be lit on the anniversary of baptism each year)

End of ceremony (it was COLD in the chapel, 51 degrees!)

The Godparents

My family (L to R: Mom, Andrew, Kim, and Dad)

CE with her Greats (my Aunt and Uncle)

CE and Granddaddy (my father)

Meme & CE (my mother)

David's family (L to R: Stacey, Sam & Shelia)

Proud Mama & Papa

Fabulous friends (that braved the cold and long trip)!

David, CE & Godpapa Adam

CE & Godmother Coco

CE & Godmother Holly

The family with Rev. Huey

Corrie & Susan with the infamous Slick Lizard corn nugget

Good friends and good times!

So as you can see, we had a fabulous day - we couldn't have asked for a more perfect end to a great weekend. Catherine Ellis has a grand life ahead of her filled with people who love her and will support and guide her on her Christian journey of fulfilling God's will for her life!

Thank you for loving and supporting our child!

9 months old

Happy birthday Catherine Ellis! The closer you get to one, the quicker the time flies......we say it every time, but it's so true - we're blessed beyond belief to have you in our lives!

9 months old, January 9, 2010

Who has the luckiest parents in the world - me!

On the move!

In honor of 9 months, here are 9 (and it's hard to narrow it down) things you're doing these days with one to grow on:

• feeding yourself - you LOVE puffs (apple, banana, and we're trying veggie this week) and sitting in a highchair
  
• spending more time on your tummy (finally!)
• scooting - you're so close to crawling
  
• spending hours on your play mat with your toys
• falling asleep on your own and staying asleep through the night (again, we just hope this time is for good!)
• playing peek-a-boo - you now understand the game - you'll pull the blanket over your face and wait for us to say "Where's Catherine Ellis?" and then you'll pop your head out and laugh really hard
• you are saying Dada and Mama and talking up a storm in baby language
• you wave hello and bye bye at the appropriate times
• you recognize people you know and strangers
• you continue to be so happy and quite the social butterfly - the bigger the crowd, the more you turn on the charm

We love you precious child! May God continue to bless you with the same joy, happiness, and love you have blessed us all with these past 9 months.

The best things in life are free

Things like Catherine Ellis's favorite toy - a guitar! It's lovable for all these reasons:

It was free (a gift from Uncle Chip!)
There is no volume control
It lights up
It 'jams' fast, then slow, then fast
It sings "Jam with Elmo, Jam with Elmo" over and over and over
It jams to the theme song from Sesame Street

Now, what is not to love?

Here is a clip - make sure you have you volume up and just imagine this scenario about 100 times a day! Oh the joys of toys! Thanks Uncle Chip - we can't wait for you to experience this in person!

Another free thing is a visit from Aunt Holly - we've missed her this semester and got to spend some time with her Tuesday day. Catherine Ellis and Aunt Holly always have such a good time together - come visit again soon!

Aunt Holly & Catherine Ellis playing

And of course bath time is free and still one of Catherine Ellis's favorite activities!

Aunt Holly assisting Catherine Ellis

I like it....

I love it!

No time like bath time!

Holiday Memories

We made lots of wonderful memories over the holidays - so many that we can't share them all here, but we do have a video of the holidays in fast forward - so sit back, endure our commentary and enjoy!

Happy New Year!

2009 was a great year for us, so we can only imagine what 2010 has in store! Hope you all have spent the day with family, friends and loved ones!

May each and every day of 2010 be all that you dream and hope of.

Happy New Year!

Why is this thing on my head?

Nope, not for me....

Good try, Mommy

Happy New Year, Y'all!