Swim Lessons

As summer is quickly approaching, Mike and I decided it was high time to get O in to some swimming lessons at the Y. Last summer he spent a lot of time in Mima Cooper's small pool and a little bit of time in some bigger pools. I'm sure I won't attempt taking both kids to a big pool by myself this summer, but in the event that the four of us are at a pool, I wanted O to have a healthy respect of the water. And it's fun to play as well!

 

 

Swim lessons prompted this big ol' smile. Can you tell he loves them!?

 

He's been able to go with Mike, Papa Cooper, and me, too. I think it's great that we can all learn how to play with him in the water! I'll admit, I was less than thrilled to put on a bathing suit and go swim, but with Dad & Papa Cooper out of town & Papa Wade at Bible Study, it was up to me. I actually had a great time....but let's let that be our little secret!

Learning how to kick... going after a floating whale toy.

 

Got it! I love the look of praise on Mike's face.

This is O's least favorite part... getting hair & face wet under the fountain. He'll only go once. I don't blame him!

He does like jumping in, though!

Millie & I were the picture takers that night. She's in the 'I love to touch faces' stage.

Post- Nap

We all know my woes about Owen's way.too.short naps. Over the last few months, I've collected a few photos of O after he wakes up from the 45-60 minute trip to his bed. I find them to be quite funny, and they will definitely find a place in his baby book.

 

 

Is it just me or does it seem like he could use a little more siesta time?

Amelia Margaret, Child of God

April 28, 2013 was a blessed day, indeed! Our sweet Amelia Margaret was baptized as a child in God's Great Kingdom!

Our church does baptisms on the last Sunday of the month, and this was the only 'last' Sunday Mike was scheduled to be in town for the foreseeable future, so we picked this day. It also just so happened to be her Great-Grandpa Wehmeier's (Mima Cooper's Dad) Birthday. It was a special day indeed.

 

It was the beginning of  a blessed and beautiful journey; Millie's journey. I know the Lord has great plans for her.  

 

She wore this GORGEOUS gown that was sewn by hand for Aunt Lindsey 35 years ago. Lindsey's daughter Olivia also wore it, and now Amelia had the distinct honor. The tag says 'Made by Granny (Wade)'. It's adorable and I was thrilled that Millie's arms still fit through the arm holes (it was close, though).

 

I carried her beautiful gown in to the sanctuary and we dressed & primped her there.. I had visions of another long white dress many years down the road. I'm praying already that she'll find a husband as wonderful as I have.

I was so proud to show her off.

We practiced praying before the ceremony. Kidding.

"Ah, what's about to happen?!"

We had Amelia baptized at our wonderful, amazing, God filled church, The Gathering UMC. I probably should have told you about this church long before now, but we feel like it's a great fit for us now and for where we see our family in 5-10 years. This church and our abundant community within it has been a true blessing out of our relocation to StL.

"From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children's children"

 Psalm 103:17

 

 Rev. Matt Miofsky presenting God's little daughter. We did take note of the baby boys being baptized that day, and we'll be contacting them in about 25 years to arrange a marriage. Kidding, again.

 

I love the pride that beams from the faces of her grandparents.

Carson was proud, too. I love that kid.

 

She was so tired after it was all over.

I love this picture featuring Millie's godparents, Claire & Adam Willard. Claire & I were best friends & roomies at Mizzou, and she married a wonderful man, Adam. We feel so blessed to have them as guides, mentors, and prayers for our little baby girl.

 

 

Carson entertaining O during the service.

 

After the service all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and godparents headed to our house for a yummy brunch. We were so blessed that every single family member was present for the baptism, and we're so glad that we live in StL so that they can all know Amelia, too.

She got in some cuddles with all of her grandparents, of course.

"All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13

Owen was pretty good about letting her be the star of the show, but he did pause for this cute pic. Love that color on him.

A great pic of Amelia in the dress to send to Granny Wade's living sister, Frances.

 

Baby George (6mo) was also a hit of the party. I can't wait for the Willard and Wade babies to grow up together!

Aunt Lindsey even got a little snuggle time in with him, too. She did great helping him with those core muscles, because we saw him a week later & he was sitting on his own!

I love the adoring grin Claire is giving to her gorgeous boy.

Her second party dress.

 

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1.

May God's tender love surround you, and may He always guide your life as you grow with Him.

 

Thank you to all of you who supported us on Amelia's baptism day, and thank you to all of you who will shepherd her in Christ's love. We are beyond grateful.

 

7 Months: Crawling

Our Sweetsie Millie Mags is 7 months. Turns out I am still mushy-gushy over this adorable baby girl.

 

Wouldn't you be, too? Love her 'Betty Boop' eyes, all of her chins, and that (still) gummy grin!

 

She l.o.v.e.s this little kitchen, and she already knows how to manipulate the toy to get it to make sounds!

Note the shine of drool on her chin. She's a faucet.... but no teeth to be had.

This was earlier in the month (note the pillow to 'catch' her). She no longer needs a pillow. She's able to get herself from sitting to lying, lying to sitting (rarely), and she sure is army crawling forward. STOP.HER.NOW!

Oooh, have I mentioned she still just gives me goosies I love her so much?!

I'm not sure how I caught this tongue-out action with the slightly crossed eye, but I'll be printing this pic for sure.

 

She's graduated to bath time with Owen. So far no turds in the tub, yet. I'm sure that will be quite the event.

The other day I caught her with Owen's fire truck. She had the remote going and everything.

 It's a good thing he was sleeping.. he's been mighty possessive lately.

 (Side note- I'm really struggling with him these last few weeks.

 Feel free to leave any toddler parenting advice in the comment section).

Miss Millie and her Georgie... enthralled with Cardinal baseball. He has 6 teeth, and isn't he Oh-So-Cute?!

mushy-gushy.

The most special day of the month was our precious baby's baptism. I can't wait to post on that, but here's a teaser.

 She wore the dress that Mike's Granny Wade made for his sister, Lindsey.

She wore it, and so did her daughter, Olivia. It's in amazing shape, and she was stunning in it.

I love her in bright colors.

 

.....and here she is army crawling. I'm so proud of her, but my life will never be the same.

She's at least 6 weeks/2 months ahead of where Owen was developmentally as an infant.

Additional highlights of the month:

• She's needing at least 12-14 oz of supplementation with formula, but I'm still trying to breastfeed her as much as I can!
• She also loves her solid foods. We now have a variety of delights to choose from: oats, rice, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, avocado, pears, bananas, apples, & squash. I'm making her food, just like I did for Owen, and again, I'm having a blast 'scheduling' out what to try next. I think we'll try prunes... my little pooper has been a wee bit stopped up.
• She still loves raspberry-blowing wars, and she'll usually win.
• She is starting to express frustration when toys are taken away. Generally, they are Owen's toys that are not baby-safe! 
• SHE'S SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. Enter heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, SHE'S SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! She also rocks her naps. Generally 2-3/day, and one is long. Today it was 3hrs 20 minutes. Thank you, God, for a child that sleeps well. 

Of course we love all of you, and we treasure your interest in the lives of our precious babies. We are so grateful to God for the blessing of our sweet Amelia.