Baptism (Bap tizem)

It was a big week for our family, especially Len. She had her baptism and with that came all the relatives that have been waiting to meet her! She had Great Grandpa Dave, Great Aunt Judy, and her cousin Liam from Pennsylvania as well as Uncle Eric from Mississippi come. Judy told us that the flight attendant asked Grandpa Dave why he was flying and he proudly stated he was going to see his Great Granddaughter. When they first saw her they commented on how beautiful she was and both took turns to hold her.

Judy, Grandpa Dave, and Liam came a few days earlier than Eric and spent those days in Lansford. We made a trip up as well to spend it with them. They had wanted to go fishing but the weather wasn't conducive to that so we went into Minot and took a stroll around the zoo before having dinner. They did get to go fishing and limited out the next day, but Matt and I had to be back in Bismarck to prepare for Len's baptism and Matt had some meetings at work.

On Friday, the family came down in time to ensure Eric was picked up from the
airport. He stayed for such a short time, we made the most of it while we could. We celebrated his birthday (which was the previous week) and Matt and I took him downtown for a few drinks. This was also a big deal to Matt and I as we left Grandma and Grandpa to babysit for a couple hours while we were out.

On Saturday, we had Eleanor's baptism. There was some special things that we specifically planned into her first big ceremony. We did it in the backyard of our
house, under the arbor where Matt and I got married. The bowl containing the holy water was a gift from Janice that I had polished up and those that attended were her parents, grandparents, great grandparents and godparents. We chose three individuals for very different reasons to be her sponsors; her aunt Alaina, her uncle Eric, and Shantelle - one of my very best friends. It was a simple ceremony, exactly what we had in mind. The officiant was a pastor that we had met with while we were pregnant. She wore the baptism gown that I did, as well as Alaina, when we were baptized. After the ceremony we took pictures and enjoyed lunch. It was a beautiful day to celebrate our daughter and the generations that came before her and those that will influence her path as she grows.

On Sunday, we switched gears a bit and made it all about the family. We went to the Superslide amusement park, the zoo to ride the train, and ended the day at Space Aliens. Liam loved it and feel asleep in the car ride home from the restaurant. When we got home, Matt and I took on Judy and Michele in a game of Pictionary. It was a close game, but Matt and I eventually pulled it off. We wouldn't have done it if we wouldn't have had successful situations like swiss army knife, hard drive, and parrot. There was a lot of laughter, for sure.

Monday was our final day before Judy, Dave, and Liam went home. We took it a bit easy but stopped in at the Heritage Center before going out to the farm. Liam took in the cows and equipment and I'm not sure what was a bigger success seeing the combine or feeding a cow.

Best meal: Len's baptism meal that Matt and I put together with the help and additions from the family. We had roast beef and ham on Grandma's buns, with salads from Michele and Alaina, coleslaw and watermelon from Mom, and for dessert - strawberry cake with chicken dinner bars from Mom and apple bars from Grandma. I loved looking at my husband help me in the chicken while wearing my apron - one of the most handsome things a girl can see.

Great Grandpa sits rocking EER in the corner of the kitchen. Activities happen around them.
G-G Dave to EER: Your Grandma is awful loud.
Michele turns around shocked.

After a failed attempt in pictionary...
Michele: See, that's the fleas on the dog.
Judy: You spent too much time on the dog, I got that part.

ALR: how bad was her blowout?
MJR: Well, it was going everywhere.
ALR: was it one of those diapers from the shower?
MJR: Yes.
ALR: Didn't it say something about a blowout?
MJR: yes, the irony was not lost on me.

All sitting on patio enjoying the evening.
Liam: Help.
Michele: Liam! You can't go through the cat door!

Predecessor (PRED uh ses er)

It was Matt's first Father's Day.... I'll admit I was a little jealous, I didn't get to have my Mother's Day this year, even though I was soooo close! But it was a beautiful thing to see him and his daughter and celebrate this relationship. We also celebrated the other fathers in our lives and made trips to see Len's grandpas.

It was her first trip to Lansford and first overnight not in her own bed. While there's room for improvement, she didn't do too bad. Grandma and Grandpa Remynse loved having her there - that was very obvious! Matt got to spend a little one on one time with his dad. They did a little boating as well as citing in the new gun that they had purchased earlier this year. We also took Randy and Michele to Ribfest in Minot. It wasn't what we were expecting but we left happy with bellies full!

The next day, we spent it with Grandpa Perry. We made a quick trip out to the farm but ended up coming back to town for lunch and a stroll around the zoo. The weather was warm but the breeze helped! Was good to get out, Matt and I hadn't made it to to the zoo yet this year.

I am struggling a bit as we are coming up on 6 weeks old. She has officially grown out of some of my favorite outfits that I had picked out before she was born. It's a weird thought of wanting her to grow up and gain weight but realizing that she really is changing and growing right before our eyes. Matt thought she grew and changed while he was in Denver.

Best meal: It's a toss up... the first rib plate we had at ribfest with the peach bread pudding or the pizza that we had at McKenzie River! Ahhh, and then there's Randy's pizza, both deep dish and flat style.

MJR takes EER upstairs and puts her in her crib.
MJR comes back downstairs, sits in recliner.
ALR: Did we actually get her laid down for sleep before 10:00?
MJR blatantly stares back: Why do you say things like that!!

Convivial (kuh n-viv-ee-uh l)

We may finally be settling into some normalcy. Some may call it a routine, but that may be a bit of a stretch. We've come a long way since week two where things got a little dicey on how to do this motherhood/parenthood thing. Some normal things are finally happening - like the previously mentioned shower and solo walk. She's also occasionally giving us longer spurts of sleep at night, like four and a half almost five hours. I will admit the first time that she did this Matt and I had to do a life check.

This past Sunday, Auntie Alaina threw Len and I a baby shower. It was a wonderful day. With the help of Grandma Di, she decorated the house so nice and prepped a nice spread. Was great to have everyone come over and show Len off. She was on her best behavior too! She was thoroughly passed around the circle and never fussed or fought and just ate up all the attention and cuddles. We received some an amazing amount of stuff and Len will be the best dressed baby in town! It was actually overwhelming to receive all the kindness and love.

Matt wasn't able to partake in any of the shower details as I had to drop him off at
the airport on Sunday to fly to Denver for work. This was a big thing for us as it was my first nights truly solo and his first time away from the both of us. We asked Michele to stay a few nights to help out. Was nice to have an extra set of arms...and she had no problems loving Len. The only one who has struggled is TonyDanza, he doesn't like sharing the attention.

Best meal: Well, it wasn't a meal, but Alaina made beautiful cupcakes for the shower and they were pretty tasty too!

ALR and Michele talking in kitchen watching EER
EER rolls onto side.
EER suddenly rolls further onto stomach.
ALR gives Michele shocked look.
Michele: I had told Judy that she is already rolling!
ALR: Did that just happen?
Michele: Yes.
ALR: I don't think I'm ready for that.
ALR and Michele stare at EER
ALR: That seems a bit early.
Michele: I told you she is advanced.
ALR: I'm glad you were here to witness that.

Singular (sing ghuh-ler)

Len is one month old today!

This means that I've officially had a baby for 4 weeks. That after 39.5 weeks, I had a child, not a watermelon, and then they let us take her home. And even after supervision and guidance have determined that we can keep her. I will ignore the fact that my maternity leave is half over at this point. I will also ignore the fact that it took me a month to find enough of my own groove to take a shower without somewhere here to watch her, just in case AND we also finally took a solo walk, just her and I. These were small victories that I've been striving towards for some time and just haven't had the ability to conquer.

She had her one month check today with Dr. Anderson.
Aside from the appointment interfering with Len's eating, she behaved very well. She weighed in the 86% and is measuring in the 88%.

ALR after the appointment: So, one month old... how do you think it is going?
MJR: Good, she's alive.
ALR stares.
ALR: Seriously, that's how you are looking at this? Pass, Fail?
MJR; Well? 

Ablution (uh Bloo-shun)

Well, everyone survived the first bath.
I've been waiting weeks for it to happen. That cord stump hung on way too long and I was so glad when it finally gave way. In celebration, we prepped the tub, reviewed our action plan, made the baby naked and dove in.

Within second of putting her in her little tub, she peed. We shouldn't be surprised, this seems to be her signature go to card and both Matt and I have had separate incidences regarding peeing when we weren't prepared. We continued to forge ahead as she seemed content/okay with this new activity.

Then it happened, she decided to poop as well. This required more water changing. She remained calm through this as well. She didn't get too worked up until we washed her head, which she decided she did not care for.

In the end, we had a clean baby - well, for the most part.

ALR; okay, I think I have all the shampoo off.
MJR: Wrap her up in a fresh towel.
ALR and MJR work together to get her in a towel.
MJR: Ahh, we are peeing Again. We are peeing again.