8/4/07 - Lydia's First Trip to Charleston, SC

Daddy Dane takes Lydia for their first swim together

"Sheez doing zee backstroke!"

The future's so bright...

Our baby girl gets blessed!

Lydie waits patiently for the baptism ceremony to start
(this patience doesn't last very long...)

Lydia meets her great grandfather Guy for the first time
(Side Note: She looks like her mommy did as a baby in this picture!)




Lydia's First Trip to Charleston

We took Lydia to Charleston for her baptism at Peace Lutheran Church on Saturday, August 4th. She did fabulously on the ride down...it only took us 4 and 1/2 hours (we were expecting to spend at least 5 hours on the road for a trip that normally takes us a little under 4 hours). We stopped once to feed and change, and we no sooner got back on the road when she made a BIG stinky that could be detected from the front seat. Her mommy climbed into the back seat to verify, and she asked Miss Lydia a question: "Did you make a stinky?" to which Lydia responded with a ginormous smile. Her mommy repeated the question, and Miss Lydia again responded with a big grin. Stinky confirmed! Her Mamie and Pappy were pretty glad to see her and graciously volunteered to let her sleep in their room in order to take the night shift. I don't think they put her down all weekend!

On Saturday, we made some food and got her out the door to the church about five minutes before the ceremony was about to start. It's amazing how time takes on an altogether different meaning when you have a child. "Five minutes before the ceremony is about to start" translates into "Wow...we're doing pretty good on time!" Even if we had been there ten minutes ahead of schedule, something would have surely deterred us from starting the ceremony. No doubt it would have been delayed by projectile reflux or perhaps another anomoly: "The Poo of a Thousand Wipes," as her daddy likes to call them. This may also be referred to as a "Two-Man 'Tink" by her Mamie and Pappy because decontamination requires two sets of hands (Side Note: this nomenclature was created when Lydia's mommy apparently made a memorable mess during a vacation trip). Anyway, enough about Number Two. We apologize to anyone who may find this type of discussion vulgar...

Miss Lydia was very patient as we worked her into her ceremonial garb and was content to rest quietly in Daddy's arms...up until the Pastor started to speak. Because it was a private ceremony, the Pastor took the time to impart some background to those in attendance: the reason for baptism, the distinction between sinning and being born into sin, the role of the godparents, and the biblical significance of Lydia's name - all of which Dane and I missed because we were having a difficult time hearing the Pastor. When it was time to begin the ceremony, she calmed down again - as if she understood the significance of the event. She was an angel for the remainder of the ceremony...she did not even mind the water being washed over her head! After the baptism, everyone went to Mamie and Pappy's to eat and swim. Lydia took her first dip in the pool with her Daddy and did quite well after the initial adjustment. She did NOT like wearing those sunglasses though. She spent the rest of the weekend in somebody's arms. We were all very sad to leave on Sunday, especially Lydia who got very accustomed to being cuddled every minute of the day. She did even better on the ride back to Raleigh though; she settled down after the first ten minutes and slept the whole way home!