Logan's Baptism

During the trip to California, Logan was baptized!  It was a wonderful ceremony and it was fun to get the families together.  Here is what happened:

Friday July 5th was the start of the weekend of fun.  Kevin and Tara arrived with Luke and Andrew (we’ll call them KTLA for short ;)) at about 2 pm.  After some failed nap attempts from all 3 children present (must have been bad nap mojo in the pack and play!), we all settled in to play and have fun.  Charles’ friend and Logan’s godfather Adolfo and his wife, Onie, and daughter, Music, arrived a little later.  All together, we had Luke = 3 yrs old, Music = 1.5 yrs old, Andrew = 1 year old, and Logan=0.5 year old.  It was a fun spread of kids to see running around.  Andrew was even so inspired that he took his first steps alone while at Grandma’s.  Logan was definitely the least mobile, but he enjoyed watching everyone run around, and kids always like babies, so they were very interested in him.  My parents arrived a little after Logan went down for the night, but it was fun to have everyone get to visit and enjoy Tina’s amazing lasagna.  It was quite the treat for all!  She also made her famous chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, which Charles loves.  Grandma got the special treat of feeding Andrew cheerios.  Andrew would tug on her sleeve and she would put some cheerios on his placemat.   It was very cute and since nothing pleases her more than feeding people, and Logan was off limits, she was very happy.

On Saturday, it was an early morning for all with lots to do.  As someone who can get ready in minutes and is always on-time, if not early, having Logan has really mixed things up.  In my head, I will think “okay I have to do x, y, and z, that will take 5 minutes.” But somehow it always ends up taking 15 minutes (or more).  In some ways, I think Logan has helped me let go of time and really enjoy each incredible moment with him, but it is hard when I have to come back to the real world.  So, the point of this is that we barely made it to the baptism on time (well probably late, but on-time enough).  I dressed Logan in his cute little outfit in about 30 seconds (thankfully he cooperated) and it all worked out.  I also learned to remember to budget my own time a bit more.  I thought about watching him and getting him ready but didn’t really factor in time for me to shower and get ready.  Thankfully there was plenty of family to step in when I realized that!

The baptism was in the chapel of the Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church in Arroyo Grande, California.  It was a nice small room and quite full considering that 6 children were being baptized.  I’m not sure if it is the new policy change (no more purgatory for babies), cultural, or random, but Logan was by far the youngest baby and the next youngest was probably and year and most were over 2 years old.  Logan looked very dapper in his white outfit complete with bow tie, vest and little shoes.  It was darling.  Sadly the bow tie got lost, but hopefully it will turn up.  The ceremony was a little bit of an assembly line considering all the babies, but it was nice and casual, which, as a parent of a baby, was a relief because I didn’t want to worry that I had to keep him happy or risk ruining the day for others.  Logan actually was the best (maybe because he was first, or maybe since he is too young to care as much, or because he is awesome ;P) and didn’t cry at all when the water was poured on him.  Some of the other kids put up quite the fight!  The priest was relaxed and pretty funny and after one kid was screaming for some time he announced, “thank god for chastity!”  It was quite a hoot!

A little bit about the godparents:  We chose Charles’s Aunt and Godmother Christina (aka Tina) as Logan’s godmother.  She is a wonderful woman whom we both love very much and we feel she can not only share this love and light with Logan but also her faith and her commitment to God that is a big part of who she is and how she lives her life.  We are honored that she has agreed to be Logan’s godmother.  Logan’s godfather is Charles’ friend from school, Adolfo Dela Rosa.  He and his wife are active members in their church (and in the choir) and I am happy that they will get to share their passion for music and church with Logan as well.  Charles is also one of Onie’s godfathers, so it is fun to have it go both ways. 

After the baptism we all drove to Blacklake Golf Course where Billy (Charles’ Uncle, Golf Pro, and awesome guy!) had arranged for us to get the banquet hall.  We had a lovely buffet breakfast and the kids were able to run around and not be confined.  Logan, after all the baptism excitement and lack of morning nap, was tired and fell asleep in the car and slept in the room for another 30 minutes or so.  Then we opened his gifts and cut his cake and lastly, Billy took quite a few people on cart rides to tour the golf course and see their (He and Aunt Josie’s) new house, which is also at Blacklake.  It was a wonderful really special party and overall such a wonderful and really special day.  We are so grateful to everyone for making it so awesome, but especially to Tina, Josie, and Billy for the planning, and my family and Adolfo’s family for travelling. 

The last item in the weekend of fun was a trip to Avila Barn!  We love going to the barn every time we visit.  It is part farmer’s market, part zoo, and part souvenir shop.  It is just up our ally!  The kids (KTLA and Adolfo’s family) all really loved the animals and Onie and Luke fed the goats and other animals lettuce.  It was great to get some more time visiting and to share one of our favorite spots with everyone.  When we were done, KTLA and Adolfo’s family all headed home and we went back to Grandmas.  It was so much fun to see everyone and have them all be there to celebrate Logan and his baptism!

Pictures will be on flickr shortly!