Phew! Fall was crazy, busy, and fun all around! I can't believe it's February and I'm just now documenting things that we did back in October. But, I really want to document these precious moments so here we go...
Back in October, our sweet Lydia was became a child of God as we baptized her at St. Francis Xavier church. She was beautiful in her all-white gown and bonnet. Her godparents are KoKo, Uncle John and Aunt Amy. We were so fortunate to have most of our family come to Birmingham to celebrate with us! Even Lydia's great-godparents from Mobile came. It was a truly special occasion.
Here's our attempt at getting a family picture
Lydia with Koko and Daddy
With Nannie and Papa
And with Grams and Pa
Here's a glimpse at what James and his cousin Thomas did through most of the ceremony... they played/ran all around the church, and played in the Holy Water! Eek! Thankfully, Fr. Bob was so patient and amazing that he calmed me down by saying "It's okay... let them play in the Holy Water. They're just kids." Thank you for being so patient Fr. Bob!
After the ceremony, we had lunch and champagne back at our house with more family.
Hey, Pretty Girl :)
An attempt at a sibling picture :)
It was such a special day for our family. Lydia was so sweet and a good baby throughout the entire ceremony. I truly felt blessed to have our family come into town for it and for a special girl like Lydia. She couldn't be any sweeter and we love her to pieces!
The rest of October was spent doing Fall activities and getting ready for Halloween! We met some friends in James' class at the Pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins for our porch and jack-o-lanterns.
James and Mary Afton
Only in Alabama do you play in a cage full of cotton...
James, Callan, and Nora
I love this picture. And I love that they love each other. My heart melts every time.
Hayride to the pumpkin patch!
We found our pumpkin!
We ended the day with fresh-squeezed lemonade
I think we had fun!
Leading up to Halloween, James would talk about it every day. He would ask questions about Halloween and talk about how he was going to be an astronaut. James and Daddy carved a "minion" jack-o-lantern. I think James liked the gooey inside of the pumpkin :)
This is a good picture I got of James in his costume at his class Halloween party.
Then, on Halloween night, we went trick-or-treating! He loved it and wanted to go to every house in town!
He went door to door with his friend, Nora.
And here's our Chunky Monkey on Halloween. Such a cutie pie, it's so hard to stand! Don't you just want to kiss on those cheeks?!
A few weeks after Halloween, James, Daddy, and I went to Disney World for three days! I will blog separately about this trip since I think it deserves a blog of it's own. But the Disney trip started off our Christmas time celebrations.
Seeing Christmas through James' eyes was so magical. He really understood the traditions and spirit of Christmas this year. He loved to talk about Santa and drive around and look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood.
Christmas Eve we went to an early Mass and then came back home to get ready for the big night ahead! James and I made his first Ginger Bread house. He had so much fun...
We convinced James to go to bed somewhat early so Santa could come and leave his toys. Then on Christmas day, the magic came to life!
Just look at that grin on his face!
Lydia liked playing with James' toys
James got a pair of rain boots and he wore them all day for about a week straight!
James liked playing with Lydia's toys too :)
Still in the boots :)
Happy girl!
Koko came over for presents, too!
Still in the boots :)
The day after Christmas, we went to Nannie and Papa's for more holiday celebrating!
James was feeling pretty sick but still smiled through it
Thomas' birthday party was the same weekend at Pump It Up in Mobile so we went to celebrate. James ran and jumped, and crawled throughout the entire party. He and Thomas have so much fun when they get together. It is so sweet and exhausting at the same time :)
Another Christmas in the books and another holiday full of memories. This Christmas was one of the best yet. Now, bring on the new year and new memories as well!
