Lydia Anne is a Child of God

Dennis and I were honored when my brother Andy and his wife Lindsey asked us to be Lydia's sponsors. It was a joyful occasion to witness her being brought to the waters of Holy Baptism.  The newest member of our family is now part of God's family, an heiress to the throne, a child of God.

Each of the Irion kids has had their
name on this banner.

Pastor Hahn with the overjoyed parents.

The whole clan.

Nana and Grandpa.

Our little goddaughter Lydia Anne.

Birthday and Baptism Eve

We arrived in Sebewaing around 6 PM.  Just in time for dinner at Nana and Papa's house.  Uncle Andy, Aunt Lindsey and Baby Cousin Lydia were there.  We all ate dinner together and visited, talked, laughed and had a merry time.  We were all excited for what tomorrow would bring: a birthday a celebration and the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.

Snuggling with Nana.

Aunt Lisa and Cousin Margaret share a laugh.

Two babies eating.

Aunt Lindsey and Baby Lydia.

Mama and Baby.

President's Day Weekend

In honor of our past, present and future Presidents of the United States, government workers and teachers get the third Monday in February off from work.  Whoot, whoot.  This year, the weekend happen to correspond with Olivia's first Birthday.  The three of us packed our bags and headed to Michigan to celebrate the occasion with family and friends.  On our way, we stayed in Illinois, with Bill and Cindy, dear friends of ours from the Seminary.

A birthday present for the birthday girl.

Hurray!

Olivia and Big Cheese.

Morning breakfast.

Eggs in my belly and in my hair.

A February Warm Front

There was a blessed day or two of unseasonably warm weather in Missouri.  What does warm weather mean?  Why a trip to the park of course.  It had been quite sometime since Olivia was able to swing.  Daddy and Mommy were impressed to see how grown up Olivia looks while swinging.  3 or 4 months makes quite a big difference.

Back and forth.

To and fro.

I picked up the blue clogs at a garage sale last summer.
I thought I would have to wait until spring. Hurray for
unexpected warm weather!

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day I helped a friend decorate large heart cookies for her preschool class.  She brought over homemade frosting and fun cake decorating supplies.  We had a couple cookies left over so I made a set for our family.

Almost too sweet to eat.

Dennis sent roses to my classroom.
They earned appropriate oohs and aahs from my class.

My gift to Dennis was a "Map of my Heart"

Dennis has captured the largest portion.

Celebrating James's First Birthday!

On Wednesday, January 12, Jon and Sarah threw a party to celebrate James's birth and their one year anniversary of surviving parenthood.  The party had all the ingredients for a great time: friends, decorations, pizza, cupcakes and laughter.  It was a wonderful event!

Decorations on the wall and friends in the room.

The birthday boy is on the move.

Sarah did a wonderful job with the birthday cake.  James loves Veggie Tales!

The happy family.

Two hands full.

Olivia and Daddy approve this event.

Yum!

Olivia Around the House

These are various shots of Olivia during her daily life.  Olivia has mastered sitting, crawling and pulling herself up. She moonlights in walking around furniture while leaning on it for support.  She dabbles in standing without support.  Daddy has nightly lessons with Olivia.  He is very eager for her to walk.  He says, "Olivia learning to walk is one step closer to Olivia getting her own cup of water and using the toilet."  Well, you can't blame him for looking ahead.

Olivia has four teeth.  She says, "Mama" and "Dada" and "Ca" which I think is that last phonetic sound in book, but who knows.  She enjoys playing with blocks, a large wooden puzzle and stacking rings.  Her attention span has grown long enough to sit through a book.  She sometimes hums when a song is sung to her.  Olivia has fun going to the grocery store with Mommy and Daddy.  In a nutshell, our unbiased opinion is that she is the most fantastic child in the world.

I think I will watch this today.

Yes, peas.

My favorite spot.

All smiles.