Anna Goes Swimming

Last Sunday was a big day for us. Just three days after her 6-month birthday, Anna was baptized at our parish in Pleasanton. We were thrilled to have my sister Bridget (visiting from Ohio) and our good friend Keith to serve as godparents, as well as many other friends in attendance. Anna looked like quite the little angel in her mom's christening gown, which was made by Karen's grandmother. (Interestingly enough, Karen wore the same gown at 6 weeks that Anna fit into at 6 months.)

Given the option of pouring water over her head or dunking her into a bowl, we had considered our little one's strength, level of activity, and propensity to kick uncontrollably in her bath. Asking Father Jerry to deal with a kicking, squirming, and slippery Anna seemed like a recipe for disaster. So we decided to go with the simple pouring. But Anna managed to put on a show anyway. All the parents were wearing name tag stickers with their baby's name on it, so the priest would know how to address the baby as he was baptizing him/her. So of course, as I lowered her over the font, Anna looked up at me, grinned, grabbed my nametag, ripped it off my jacket, and crumbled it into a ball in her fist. Father Jerry got a look of sheer panic in his eyes for a second or two before remembering that Karen had a name tag, too...that's why we are laughing in all of the photos of the actual baptism.

After she was baptized and anointed, Anna got a little cranky - remember, the 2pm start time meant we missed nap time - so we gave her a bottle and she drifted off to sleep. Amazingly, she slept through the rest of the service...and while we put her in her car seat...and all the way back home. It's almost like she knew she had a party to get ready for and had to catch a quick power nap. Whatever the reason, she was an absolute joy the rest of the day and happily entertained everyone who came over to our place for the reception.

A full slideshow of photos from the day is here - enjoy!