Christmas Part 1

The big highlight of Christmas week was Colin meeting the Hantz cousins from France for the first time.  Although they were in the states when Colin was born they were unable to meet him then so he couldn't wait for the day to finally come. 

Right away he warmed up to cousin Sarah,...

cousin Pierre,...

and cousin Augustin!

 

After spending lots of time playing around the house and getting to know each other we headed over to Gee Gee's for the Illumination Reception.  It was a beautiful evening with many special family moments.

All of us at the reception including Aunt Jayne and cousin Judy.

Colin enjoyed lots of cuddle time at the reception with Nana.  "Mmm, Nana I love the taste of your thumb!"

Gee Gee and her great grandchild:

Family portrait:

The next day we surprised the kids by going to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.  Aunt Jen O came along and was a really big help.  Before we hit the aquarium we stopped off at an Irish restaurant on the Inner Harbor called Tir Na Nog (Mommy and Daddy stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Ireland with the same name!).  We had a great meal and really enjoyed our time with Aunt Erin, Uncle Thomas, and the kids.

Once we got to the aquarium Colin was a little frightened by the giant shark mouth. Ahhhhh!!

Sarah was afraid of the shark coming after her too!

Pierre absolutely loved all of the exhibits.  For a four year old he really had a long attention span and explored each glass intently.  Here he was dragging his finger back and forth across the length of the exhibit while the turtle followed along.

Aunt Jen, Sarah, and Pierre were all excited to find the cast of Finding Nemo in one of the tanks (can you find Nemo's Father, Nemo, and Dory?).

Colin, on the other hand, was more fascinated by the crocodile staring right at him.

After spending lots of time in the aquarium we wrapped up our visit by watching the dolphin show.  As you can see, Colin enjoyed it!

He shared lots of giggles with Sarah while waiting for the show to start.  Click here to see them in action.

We are missing photos of cousin Augustin from the day because he unfortunately got sick as soon as we entered the first exhibit.  Poor little guy.  Aunt Erin spent the day with him in the complimentary guest room watching the same video over and over.  This was only the beginning of a looong week of illnesses...more on that to come...

Back at Nana and Grandpa's house that evening, Sarah showed off all of the ways she can hold Lilly.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:  (check out Colin chillin in the background)

Pierre and especially Sarah had a great time with Lilly.  She almost couldn't handle all of the excitement so we had to give her "nap-time" in her cage each day.  It was good preparation for when Colin starts to harass her!

We spent more time at Gee Gee's house the next day and Colin decided he wanted to take a stab at sitting up on his own.  Not too shabby! 

Silly cousins:

That evening, Daddy's friends, Ajay and Travis, came over for a visit.  We went to downtown York for dinner and truly had a great time catching up.  Colin stayed awake the whole time and was just like one of the boys.

Merry Christmas!

Colon's Baptism

(NOTE: The title of this post was not a typo.  Turns out the deacon was confused about the pronunciation of Colin's name and repeatedly called him Colon throughout the ceremony.)

Daddy made it home from deployment just in time for Colin's Baptism and we were so excited to share this special day together.  For church, Colin wore the same outfit Daddy wore for his Baptism.  It kept Colin nice and warm on the cold December day. 

He also wore the bonnet that Mommy and all his godparents wore on their Baptisms.

As usual, Colin was awesome in church.  He absolutely loves the music and all of the people.  After mass, we put a baptismal gown on over Daddy's outfit. This was same gown Mommy and his godparents wore.

Mommy and Daddy were so honored to have Colin baptized.

Colin's godparents are Mommy's sister, Aunt Jen, and Mommy's brothers, Uncle Connor and Uncle Hunter.  Uncle Hunter could not be there since he is living in Germany but he was there in spirit!

Passing time before the ceremony with Nana:

and Grandpa:

Everyone ready to begin...

...including cousin Liam.

Blessing Colin with the Sign of the Cross:

 So reverent just like Daddy through the whole service.

As sweet as can be:

Baptized in the Holy Water. 

Colin was a little stunned at first but didn't cry.

Mommy had to lean in and give lots of smiles so Colin knew everything was ok.

Aunt Jen drying Colin off:

In the next part of the ceremony, Colin was anointed with chrism.  (Everyone commented for a good week how good his head smelled from the chrism.  Even after several baths you could smell it.)

Uncle Connor lighting the Baptism candle.

What a beautiful ceremony!

 Many of our friends and family members joined us.

After the ceremony with Deacon Michael Bahn.

Our little family:

The godparents (minus Uncle Hunter):

Colin and Mimi:

Nana and Grandpa:

Cozying with Nana:

With GeeGee

The whole Derry Family celebrated with us.  Uncle Anthony actually flew early that morning from Chicago and drove all the way from Philadelphia for the ceremony.  We were so happy to have them all there!

We continued the celebration back at Mimi and Pappy's house for lunch and some delicious cake.

Colin did some playing with cousin Joergen:

While cousin Liam passed out on Uncle Connor:

Colin enjoyed some time with Grandpa before he and Nana left to pick up the Hantz cousins who flew all the way from France for the holidays.  We missed the Hantz's at the ceremony but felt them there in spirit!

After taking the party in, Colin relaxed with Daddy.  He started fading around this time but screamed like crazy when we tried to put him down for a nap.  Therefore, Colin did not sleep one wink the entire day.  I'm not really sure how a five month old stays awake from 8am till 7pm but he did it! (And this wasn't the first time he's done it either).  He didn't want to miss the party, it was all for him after all.

Colin's Baptism was such a special day for the entire family.  We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and family in our life.

(Aunt Jen Derry made Colin this sweet video with her photos from the Baptism.  Thank you!!  Click here to watch.)