Christmas in California: Part 4

After church on Sunday we did a mini photo shoot in our Sunday best in front of my parents Christmas tree.

Taking pictures of a toddler is impossible!

My parents and Alice.

Chewing on an ornament, that's safe right?

Most pictures look like this, her trying to get down.

This is the best we could get, accomplished by me holding an ornament in front of her then quickly dropping it down before the picture is taken.

Just for fun, here is last year.  (side note: Stephen lost about 15 pounds since then)

That afternoon we headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house for a big Cooney Christmas.

Alice was very entertained by my dad's water bottle.

It soon became Alice's water bottle, as it became clear that the volume was not decreasing but likely increasing.

Snacks with Boppa.

Trying a candy cane.

This face plus a whole body shiver was hilarious, but she quickly went back for more.

 Fun with cousin (second cousin? cousin once removed? whatever) Emily.

My Boppa handing out presents.

It's always a lot of fun when the Cooney clan gets together.

Alice's Baptism

It was a big day for us at church today.

We became official members of River Community Church (which is an Evangelical Presbyterian Church) and Alice got baptized!

Having grown up baptist and having gone to baptist churches until now, infant baptism is kind of a foreign thing to me.  But Stephen and I have been discussing infant baptism since before I was even pregnant.  After much study of the Bible we agreed with presbyterians that baptism (simply put) replaces circumcision as the sign of being members of God's covenant people from the Old Testament.  It can become a very confusing theological debate and if you have questions, ask Stephen :o)

But all that to say, now that we are members of a church that practices infant baptism, we could finally get Alice baptized.

I was really nervous about the whole thing because I had maybe seen one infant baptism in my life so I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I also was confused on whether Alice was supposed to wear white or not but I think the dress I got was a safe choice, and adorable too :o)

So it started with the pastor giving a short explanation of the meaning of baptism.

Alice did a good amount of squirming, though Stephen had a pocket full of teddy grams to distract her with.

Thankfully a lady in the church started making faces at Alice and that made her give everyone a big smile.

 We also took vows, to raise Alice in the fear and admonition of the Lord and to live out the Gospel in front of her.  And the congregation also took a vow to come along side of us in raising Alice to love and serve God.

Then she was baptized.

It was sobering in terms of our responsibility as parents and encouraging that Alice is now officially a part of the church family.

We got her a pretty Bible with her name engraved on the cover as a baptism gift.

Obviously, it will be more appreciated when she is older :o)

Some pictures we took when we got home.

Christmas in California: Part 3

One day we went to Brentwood to see Stephen's dad and step-mom's new house at a really nice gated community called Trilogy.

Also Stephen's mom and step-dad are moving there too next summer.

May sound a little unusual, but it's quite a blessing to have divorced parents who are good friends with each other and their new spouses too.

Alice running around the clubhouse grounds.

Alice and Papa Wolfe.

Papa Wolfe is making a funny face here because he is making a donald duck noise, something Alice found facinating.

Such a nice community and a perfect fit for Stephen's parents.

We look forward to visiting them there and playing in their awesome pool :o)

Christmas in California: Part 2

Baking day!

It wouldn't be Christmas without some baking with my mom.

My dad and Stephen went and did manly stuff.

No really, they went to the gun range then to a brewery.

Insert: "Arr, arr, arr" Tim the tool man style.

When they left Stephen said, "We're off to vanquish evil."

My grandma and my brother's daughter Kalynn came over to join the girl fun.

Alice was very helpful and threw cookie dough everywhere and played with the spatula.

My mom and Kalynn did most of the work.

Afterward the girls played together a little.

Alice eyeballing Kalynn's candy cane.

That evening we drove around and looked at some of the Christmas lights then over to my grandparents for hot chocolate and cookies.

Christmas in California: Part 1

So on the 17th we flew to California to visit family for Christmas.

I was nervous about flying with an on-the-go toddler but Alice did great.

In fact, Alice did great the whole trip.

I am amazed at how well she handled a change in time zones, change in schedule, different house, lots of unfamiliar people, faces and places and lots more excitement and socialization than she is used to.

She would have made a great Army brat :o)

The first half of our 2 week trip started in Napa at my parents house.

Alice had tons of fun playing with Boppa and Nana (my parents) and their dog Skip.

One of our first nights in Napa my parents watched Alice so we could have a date night.

Our first one since last Christmas!

We had a nice dinner and movie and came home to Alice asleep in my mom's arms.

We, of course, had a day with the Dunnes while in Napa

Tyler and Fox love Stephen and held him captive on the couch to watch Phineas and Ferb with them.

We had some fun at the park.

Best buddies, Alice and Evie.

After that we got some of the best cupcakes ever from Sift (no pics, too focused on eating heavenly cupcake goodness)

Fun day catching up and letting the kids play together.

Part 2 coming soon.