Hold it...steady...

Most of you probably don't know that we are training the kids to join the circus. Seeing as how the economy is going to the dogs, we are selling our belongings, stashing away the money, and hitting the road with Barnum and Bailey.

Sunny days!

What a beautiful day! Almost HOT! We spent the majority of the day outside, and both kids were loving it. It's a workout hauling them around in that stroller! Both kids really enjoy going for walks, Patrick anticipating landmarks on our familiar routes (the bridge and water, the horses, the cows, the tractor and pile of mulch, etc). As evident by the last picture, Lucy is getting much more used to Patrick and his antics. In fact, she finds him very interesting and quite funny!

Lucy's Baptism

Today was Lucy's Baptism at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. She received the sacrament from Fr. Jim Blessinger. This was an extra special day for us, because the day of her original baptism was February 17 -- the day she was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia/RSV. The weather was beautiful! Our family from Indy as well as our family in town were all present to celebrate this occasion. Lucy wore Mommy's baptismal gown and she was angelic all thru mass and the baptism following -- but she didn't like being blessed with the oil or holy water! Her godparents are Uncle Mike and Aunt Molly. The bottom picture captures Patrick's behavior very well -- he only made it through about half the mass and rolled around on the altar during the sacrament. Looking back, the only time Patrick didn't cry at his own baptism was when he was blessed with the holy water -- figures that his sister would be exactly the opposite! Everyone returned to our house where Lucy received some beautiful gifts (including her stitchery and quilt from Grandma Bretz) and we had a nice meal.

Introducing cereal!

We introduced a little bit of rice cereal tonight after our dinner, with hopes that it might help cut back on the night feedings. I went back and forth about starting now, at 4 months, or waiting until 6 months, but decided that she was ready to give it a shot. Lucy wasn't quite so sure about it, but Patrick sure thought it was funny! And, of course, he wanted a bite of it as well. He never cared for cereal as an infant, and that still holds true in his toddler years!

Patrick is famous! Our photographer is using his series portraits in her advertisements this year. We are so glad that we decided to go with her, as well as do this series -- it is amazing how much he changed over the course of the year. And his 2 yr picture is coming up next month! We've been practicing singing "Happy Birthday" and when you ask him how old he will be on his birthday, he proudly states "Two, Mommy" and holds up each pointer finger.

Double Wide

We are starting to get some nice use out of our double stroller, and today was PERFECT weather for a walk. Lucy is finally strong enough to sit beside Patrick and they both lasted 2 miles! We'll be putting some serious miles on these wheels this season...

Spring Break!

The kids and I headed up to Indy this week to spend spring break with Grammie. The weather was, of course, horrible, so we went to the Children's Museum both days! The first day we visited the train exhibit and played in the Playscape. The second day we visited the dinosaurs, Science Works, and the Curious George exhibit. Patrick loves taking things apart and putting them back together, which is a trait that is usually only fun to see at the Children's Museum (ie: where in the heck are the batteries to this flashlight???). That is his father in him. Needless to say, good naps were had both days as the kids ran and played and wore themselves right out. We had a great time, but we were all happy to see Daddy yesterday :)