A Weekend of Firsts

Well, this weekend came and went as we celebrated several FIRSTS throughout its duration!!!

1) Carmen’s 1st Birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET BABY!!! YOU HAVE ALREADY BROUGHT MOMMY AND DADDY MORE JOY THAN THEY EVER IMAGINED POSSIBLE!!!!!)!!!

2) The 1st time we celebrated OUR child’s birthday in our home!!!

3) The 1st time “Grandpa” got to meet his 1st grandchild in person!

4) The 1st time all our family was together in our house since Carmen came home (visitors were limited to 1 family/visit/day until this past Sunday).

5) Our 1st visit to Cabela’s!

6) Our 1st visit to the local Farmer’s Market where Carmen had her 1st taste of Mommy’s favorite “Fish and Chips”!

7) Carmen’s 1st bottles consisting of SOME (not ALL) whole milk rather than formula (I’m pretty sure I just heard Daddy’s wallet breathe a sigh of relief)!

8) Carmen’s 1st time being left by BOTH Mommy and Daddy (mind you, it was for only 10 minutes and it was with someone from church as well as Aunt Sie, who Carmen knows very well and LOVES!!!).

9) The hanging of Carmen’s 1st swing, by both Daddy and Grandpa! She wasn’t too thrilled with her 2nd ride in a swing, but I’m sure that with time she will grow to LOVE it! With the way she enjoys rough-housing and being swung in our arms I’m sure it won’t be long…she just needs to learn to trust the swing the way she trusts us!

10) Carmen’s 1st time hanging out in the yard and crawling around in the grass! Luckily Grandpa had some energy to burn so he cleaned up all the sticks and branches that fell out of the trees over the winter so that Daddy could mow the lawn the next day!

It was a monumental weekend…one we will NEVER forget! We waited what seemed like an eternity to watch as a Sacristan carried our child down the aisle of our church to present her for Baptism. Not only was Grandpa present for the service, but he performed the Baptism alongside our Pastor and Student Pastor. From what we understand, there was barely a dry eye in the house. I’m pretty sure God might have also shed a couple tears of joy! While I sometimes fear pointing out all the THINGS we received since starting this amazing journey will shed a moderately materialistic light on our family, I cannot mention Carmen’s baptism without also sharing how humbled we felt at the many gifts and cards Carmen received from members of our church. We know that there are MANY ways to show someone that you love and cherish them, with money and gifts at the bottom of the list. However, when one expects NOTHING and receives far more than that, it bears mentioning. With that said, many thank yous and expressions of love and gratitude go out to ALL our friends and family as even NOW they continue supporting us in this journey!!!

We also waited a long time to celebrate our child’s first birthday in our home! Trust me when I say it was better than we ever thought possible! Carmen enjoyed the company, the food, her gifts. She dove right into her cupcake, to which I was somewhat chided for the lack of icky, sticky, ooey-gooey messiness (the icing was merely a piece of chocolate melted on top and then spread, which meant upon cooling it basically hardened back into a chocolate bar). We made up for that by presenting her with her very own slice of ice cream cake, plopped right down, directly on the tray of her “eat seat”. It didn’t take long for the ice cream cake to end up all over her hands, on her face, and most importantly…IN HER HAIR!!! Have I ever mentioned that “I don’t do sticky!!!!” UGH!!!!!!! But, being the good Mommy I am I let her make as much of a mess as she wanted (and then left the icky, sticky, ooey-gooey “eat seat” tray for Grandpa and Aunt Sie!!!)!

Needless to say, we had a wonderful and eventful weekend! And as promised (and without further ado) I wish to share some of my favorite pictures with my dedicated readers (not all are from this past weekend, but included are some of my favorites since Carmen came home)!!!

Looking forward to my next opportunity to show off pictures of my beautiful baby!!! Until then, I hope this holds you over!!!

God Bless you all!!! Love ya!!!!!!!!

~ by shoolady on April 26, 2008.