Alleluia, He has risen!

Happy Easter, everyone!

We hope everyone had a blessed Easter Sunday.  Ours was very joyful.  A friend of ours was received into the church and Adam was his sponsor.  I made it to sunrise service for the first time in 10+ years?....one of the unexpected joys of being up with a happy baby at 5:30 am.

Two of our friends got engaged yesterday afternoon despite the groom-to-be losing the engagement ring at Easter vigil the night before.  True story.  It must have fallen out of his pocket at mass but he didn't realize it until he had dropped his lady off at her house after the vigil.  So he returned to the church and combed the parking lot with a flashlight in the wee early hours of Easter morning.  No ring.  So he frantically called the priest as soon as the sun came up and asked if it was in the church.The priest searched the church.  Ring found!  Unfortunately, this was after he proposed.  But I think this story indicates that he will be a devoted husband and she a very gracious wife.  We couldn't be happier for them.  And, of course, they now have the best engagement story to share at parties.

On a side note, one of the two Easter parties we attended yesterday had an Easter egg hunt for grown-ups.  Guess what was inside those eggs?  Little bottles of LIQUOR.  Now those were some eggs worth finding.

Alcuin, while lacking the cognitive maturity and necessary mobility for Easter egg hunts did take delight in his Easter basket (though probably not as much delight as Mommy did in making it for him).  Among a few other treats, he got a wooden rattle that he finds absolutely hilarious though this picture doesn't exactly capture his joy:

His grandma also got him some baby musical instruments which he finds thoroughly entertaining.  The kid does love to shake, rattle, and roll.  But mostly just rattle.  It's adorable but when we start to hear those instruments 24/7 the plan is to ship him off to grandma's.  Instruments and all.


 

My Day with the Pink Panda

Today was spent with a pink panda.  Specifically, this pink panda:

If you're anything like my husband, you're asking: "What the heck is that?"  That is Pink Panda, Alcuin's nebulizer and my new best friend.  Seriously, it feels like I sat with this plastic animal ALL DAY LONG. 

Alcuin's had a mild fever and a nasty cough since last week.  Yesterday I did the typical first-time-parent freakout and took him to the pediatrician.  Because my baby's cough could have been life threatening, ya know?  It wasn't.  But the doctor did recommend a breathing treatment.  "Isn't that a bit excessive?"  I thought to myself.  "What happened to the good old days when you tell me to stick him in the bathroom with hot water running and rub Vicks on his feet?"  Turns out I was wrong.  Nothing stops Alcuin's wheezing like this panda does.  I LOVE IT.

Alcuin loves it too.  The little albuterol addict.  

 So that was my day.  Sitting with this bear, dancing in a steamy bathroom with my little man, and of course, the Vicks.  Now the whole bedroom smells like Vicks.  Adam already hates the white noise machine; I can't imagine he's going to be thrilled about the fumes.  And speaking of Adam, tomorrow we will have dinner together for the first time in a week!  Not exaggerating.  That's what happens when your husband coaches track, acts in the school play and agrees to be someone's sponsor for RCIA.  He's a popular guy and I'm proud of him.  He called tonight from RCIA practice to tell me how excited he is that we will have dinner together tomorrow.  Aww.

But seriously, he needs to come home now.  So I can stop staring at this pink bear and talk to an actual person. 

You probably thought this post was going to be way more exciting than it actually was.  I thought so too when I started writing it.  My apologies.  I'm off to sleep in my vapor-filled bedroom. Goodnight :-) 

Happy 5 Months, Alcuin!

On Sunday, Alcuin turned 5 months old. As far as we can tell, he's pretty much your typical rolling-all-over-the-place, trying-to-put-everything-in-his-mouth five month old. He enjoys watching people eat, sampling utensils, and making loud razzing noises during mass : - ) Relaxing times in the baby gym, swing, and/or bouncy chair were always of short duration with Alcuin but now they are quickly becoming a thing of the past. He's managed to escape out of all three at different times, sometimes rather dangerously:

I ain't sitting here all day folks!