Baptized!

The biggest event in the last few weeks was baby J's baptism into the Catholic Church. It was truly a wonderful event. Not only did we arrive on time, clean, and dressed-to-impress, both kids had moods that matched the overall pleasantness of the day. J didn't make a peep during the ceremony and E provided a little comic relief when the priest asked for J's name and E shouted out his own.

After a "few" pictures with the family and J's godparents (Uncle Simon and Auntie Leddee), we all had a nice, gigantic lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Again both kids were so well behaved, we counted our blessings. (Though, let's not discuss anyone's tempers after we arrived home after being perfect kids for hours).

Father's Day was splendid too: A nice pancake breakfast (I cannot believe how many pancakes lil'E can munch--way more than I do), a 3 mile stroll with kids/dogs/wife along the creek, a relaxing afternoon, and pizza and raviolis for dinner with the family. Nothing elaborate, but everything almost as perfect as a daddy could hope for.

We also had a quick visit from Aunt Jean and Uncle Harry as part of a California road trip. It was quick, but so great to see them. Per usual, Oma and Opa made a fantastic dinner, taking care of just about everything so Lisa had time to catch up with them and they had a chance to play with / hold the kiddos. E summed it up best when, on our drive home, he told me, "That was really fun."

Other than that, we had one weekend where E battled a tiny cold. It was minor, but we wanted to make sure to squash it as soon as we could.  The fact that it was one of the hottest weekends of 2014 so far, made matters all the more challenging. We managed to stay cool by spending most the time by our "pool" outside. But the most challenging part of E being sick was trying to keep him from "loving" his sister so much that she would catch anything. Luckily, he was well on the mend after a day or two, and baby J has been just fine.

This past weekend was a blast. On Saturday, the ladies (baby J and Lisa) needed to go shopping, so E and I decided to accompany the Balyons to Gilroy Gardens -- a small amusement park just south of us. Though first we needed fuel, so we had them over for some breakfast. At the park, the kids had a great time on all the rides -- carousel, fire trucks, race cars, bouncy fish -- well, E oddly freaked out on the tubs 'o' fun (think: tea cups), but I'm chalking that up as a fluke.

The real hit of the day was the splash park. The kiddos loved all the waterfalls, sprays, and fountains. For me, the best part was getting these mirror images of daddies and their boys. I dunno...it really touches me how the wheel of life turns and how lucky we are to have great people to ride it with.

Speaking of having great people in our lives, yesterday was exciting because Uncle Ron, Aunt Vicki, and Kristi returned for the summer from Arkansas! Kristi got to meet baby J for the first time and E was so excited to show them all his toys and to make "two points" (as he says) in his little basketball hoop with the Razorbacks b-ball they brought for him.

E has been a riot lately. My new favorite thing he does is when he'll randomly ask, "How was work, Daddy?" or "How was church, Mommy?" Seriously, makes my heart want to explode. He's back in swimming lessons and thoroughly enjoying everything except for the back float. He's also picked up his Opa/Oma's love of gardening. The other night we were all eating outside and he finished before us and decided to use his free time tending to the veggie patch.

I know I say this every post, but Baby J is growing up so. dang. fast. She's a "happy baby" (as E says) and smiles almost any time we sing her ABC's. She's cooing a lot too, especially in her baby gym. And, wait for it, the last couple nights, she's slept an 8-hour chunk (now, Lisa and I understand there are still many sleep deprived nights ahead, but these long stretches -- no matter how frequent -- are welcome gifts). And she's already wearing some outfits labeled for "6 months"...though those designations seem even more arbitrary than woman's clothing lines. Sheesh.