- Harper's Baptism -

Welppp, it happened:  Harper was officially dunked into the cult of Christianity and sweetly showered in the love and support of our friends and family!  Now she's one of God's daughters fo' real.  And fo'eva.  We couldn't be even a tiny bit more joyful!

The baptism ceremony was at our home parish, and our great friend Fr. Meconi traveled from St. Louis to celebrate the sacrament!  Hashtag: THRILLED.  It was the perfect day.  :)

[Oh... and here's the BAPTISM VIDEO if you're one of those people who would rather "watch the movie than read the book."  ...Don't feel bad, I won't judge.]

Signs of the cross all 'round. 

[What is going on.....???]

"I need to get to her heart!" 

No one wants to be responsible for planking her over the font?! Okkk, I'll do it.....

"Harper Cecilia, I baptize you in the name of the Father...

...and of the Son... 

...and of the Holy Spirit!" 

 [Oh, and ^^ that was supposed to happen, but somebodyyyyy forgot the water!!! Also, her nickname is not Leo; we didn't know if "it" was a boy or a girl 'til delivery, SO...]

Claps and cheers and cartwheels for the newest Christian on the block!!!

Check out minute 5:30 of the video... Girl LOVES hair washes and head massages, so I wasn't really surprised that she was soaking up every second of this ritual! The typical finger chewing + eye fluttering... Hah! 

Then some blessings for the mother and father...

...and some blessings for err'body...

...annnnd we're done! 

Freed from sin and claimed for Christ! 

"The blessing of the Lord be upon you..." -Psalm 129:8

Welcome to God's family, Harper Cecilia!

So lucky to have these two as Harper's Godparents!!! We love you, Blake and Laura! 

 The grandparents!

And GREAT grandparents! 

 Four generations... :)

And what kind of Catholics would we be if there wasn't a little food + fiesta afterwards...?!

This family is growing by leaps and bounds!  Here we have Brian's cousin, Marko, with 2-week-old Kate; Brian with 6-week-old Harper; and Brian's sister, Sarah, with 9-week-old Murphy.  Poor Murphy; he's the only boy out of six grandchildren, and now we're throwing more girl cousins in the mix! ;)  But he'll stand his own.  These cousins are going to love growing up together!!! 

Whilst the rest of the family was feasting and partying away, we slipped outside for a fewww more family photos. #thatmom #thatwife #callmecrazy  <---But no shame in mah game.

"God gave you a treasure of immense and untold worth and brought a touch of Heaven to your lifetime here on earth.  For He sent you someone wonderful, an angel from above, when He blessed you with a precious child to cherish and to love." 

^^ Touche.

Always marveling at the fact that He placed this little angel in our care... We love her so much!!!

[I'm almost done, I promiseee.]

But there's juuust a few more...

Check out that beautifullll unstained little soul! ;)  

I really hoped Harper could receive her first sacrament in a white gown that was passed down through our families.  First, my mom searched high and low for daysss weeks for my baptism gown but never found it.  Humph.  So thennn Brian's mom let us try on HER baptism gown [holy moly, I was so scared Harper would poop on it and ruin it somehow...crazy heirloom!!!].  BUT, my kid is a piglet and the gown wouldn't button around her neck.  Fail, fail, and more fails.  Finally, a week before the dunking ceremony, we threw in the towel on digging up something sentimental and bought her her very own gown.  [Now this one can be passed down to her kids and her kids' kids and on and on and on...!] 

But even though the gown was new, of courseeee there was still some sentiment:

We cut out a little piece of my wedding gown to patch in the under-lining of Harper's baptism gown  [*gulp*...I was saying, "WAIT WAIT WAIT!" as my mom took the scissors riiiiight to it without even flinching]...

...and also this was the same white blanket I used on my baptism day! 

My mom made this adorable bracelet, too! We are going to lengthen it/add to it somehow for her First Communion and hopefullllly [if we don't lose it like we lose everything else] weave it through her wedding bouquet when she marries the man of her dreams.  Oh man... Let's not even talk about marrying her off yet........!  Be still my heart! 

Anyway...

You are so so loved, Harper Bear!  May God always teach your little eyes to see, your little ears to hear, and your little heart to love!  :-*

"Lord, protect this little girl who's loved so very much!  Show her everything there is to see and hear and touch.  Thank You for Your presence on her baptism day...  May you lead this precious child forever in your way!"

- Why Harper Cecilia?! -

Tomorrow is our beautiful baby's baptism.  Tomorrow is the day that we proclaim her chosen names to the Lord and He adopts her as His daughter.  Having the honor of naming her immediately after delivery was something so special to us;  it required lots of contemplation and careful planning during the .e.n.t.i.r.e. pregnancy, because we wanted at least one of the names we gave her at birth to also be her baptismal name.  

So why Harper Cecilia?!

Ever since the day I knew Brian was "the one," I regularly forced him to discuss baby names.  Muahahah.  I liked this and he liked that and we didn't agree on much of anything, but for some reason we always referred to our future firstborn as "Charli."  You know, Charli as a nickname for Charlotte [which would be her "official" full legal name].

After we got married, everything was suddenly all about Charli.  "I can't wait til Charli can ride in a little buggy behind our bicycles!" "When Charli's here, she'll sit riiight here beside me at the dinner table!" "Do you think Charli will want to play with dolls or dirt bikes?"  We eventually had to buy a house because "Charli can't live in this small apartment!" and then we had to paint the guest bedroom a certain color because "Charli will want this as her nursery some day!" and then we set aside a separate savings account because "Charli's college tuition will be expensive!" and then we wanted to go on a few vacations because "Charli won't want to visit here when she's a kid so we better go now!" and Charli this and Charli that and Charli everything and hooooooly run-on-sentence that my high school English teacher would totally stab my long-winded soul for.  But anyway, we loved the name Charli and would probably never settle for anything less.

So if Charli was supposed to be our firstborn, then.....

WHY HARPER?!

Oh.

A couple summers ago, Brian had this "work conference" in San Diego.  ["Work conference" in quotations, because there are a few hours of meetings each day and then several hours of golfing and cocktails and poolside chatting and extravagant dinners and and and annnnnnnd.  But thumbs up for being spoiled by a great company, because we hospital slaves would never even dream of that treatment!  ANYWAY.] When the Monday-Thursday business meetings were finished, I was going to fly out to meet him and we were going to extend the time there and make it into a little vacation of our own.  As planned, I jumped an airplane to Cali on Thursday afternoon.  After boarding, I found a quaint little seat on the aisle of the airplane and immediately pulled out my stash of books and magazines and Sudoku puzzles. [I used to be a social butterfly/extrovert, but for some reason after college I turned into a hard-shelled hermit.  I would literally rather lick a lukewarm turd than have to strike up a conversation with a stranger sitting next to me!] The plane took off, and I quickly zoned into my book.  But out of the corner of my eye, I kept noticing this little baby toddling up and down the aisle.  She was maybe likeee...9-12ish months?  Cute as a button, dressed beautifulllllly, just couldn't be a tad more perfect in appearance.  Her mom was a few rows behind me, and I could tell she was one of those prissy moms with fake nails and perfect hair and high heels who was probably having a cow that her daughter was touching things in public [like omggg, germsss. Also, who wears mega high heels on an airplane when you're only traveling with a toddler?!].  I could tell she definitely didn't approve of her daughter roaming freely, but the baby was fussy and fussed even more when she was constrained to momma's lap, so momma let her walk.  Every time the baby waddled by, she would stop by my seat and stare.  And pretty soon, she started stopping by and touching my leg and holding her little stubby arms up like she wanted to be picked up.  I glanced back at super-well-put-together Prissy Momma who just gave me a defeated shrug, so I picked her up.  We played peek-a-boo and looked at pictures on my iPhone and she [literally] ripped through my magazines; then all the sudden, she was all nuzzled in and passssssed out in my arms.  I kept turning around to see what Prissy Momma was thinking, and she seemed relieved and thrilled and flashed me a thumbs up.  What is going on?!  I have no idea, but I love babies so I wasn't complaining!  When the airplane landed, I walked back and gently handed her off to Prissy Momma.  Looking a tiny bit LESS frazzled than before, she said, "Thank you soooo much!  I have no idea what got into Harper; she usually hates strangers."  "Hah, well I do too, so I guess we're a match made in heaven!  She's beautiful.  Enjoy California! "

Harper.

I liked it.  I liked it a lottttt.

As soon as I made it to the hotel, I met up with Brian and told him about the beautiful Baby Harper I made friends with.  Neither one of us had ever heard the name before, but we both immediately loved it!

And just like that:

Goodbye, Charli.  

Hello, Harper!  :)


OK, OK.  BUT THEN, WHY CECILIA?!

...Well mostly because we're Catholic and we ain't never heard of no "Saint Harper."

The Church doesn't require us to name our kids after canonized saints, but..............why wouldn't we?  And of courseeeee, Brian and I needed/wanted our precious Harper to also have a permanent baptismal name.  What does that mean?  It means we choose a special saint to be her lifelong patron; we choose a role model, exemplar, holy life for Harper to walk in the footsteps of.  Even better, she will be able to use the same name/patron we choose now at her Confirmation years down the road. 

And so we [obviously] chose Saint Cecilia! 

...But not carelessly or randomly.

In the fall of 2008, I spent a semester abroad in Rome.  The Eternal City was basically like Catholic Disney World, and my faith life grew and deepened and expanded and blossomed in ways I never even thought possible.  It was during this semester that I came to know and love Saint Cecilia.  She was a noble lady of Rome and eventually became one of the most popular Roman saints.  She revealed her personal vow of virginity to her husband on their wedding night; she told him that the Lord would punish him if he violated her virginity but would love him if he could respect it.  This eventually led to his conversion, baptism, and martyrdom.  Saint Cecilia's incessant preaching converted hundreds to Catholicism as they quickly went to the pope to be baptized.  I remember visiting the BEAUTIFUL Church of Saint Cecilia in Trestevere [a section of Rome]; the church was built right on the site of the house in which Saint Cecilia lived during the second century.  It is also told that she was the first saint to be found incorrupt, and her remains/relics lie in the crypts of her church.  

More importantly, Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of music [and musicians].  Prayers to her generally ask for God's blessings on musicians and the hymns they proclaim to Him.  In growing up with a family rich in musical and instrumental background, I think this is extra appropriate!  [Also, Harper already LOVES all types of music... Maybe it's a coincidence, or maybeeee Saint Cecilia is already actively guiding our babe!]  Her feast day is November 22, and the Saint Cecilia music festival at our church is always celebrated on our anniversary weekend.  Lovin' it! 

The list goes on and on... Her purity.  Her beauty. Her Roman roots. Her music. Her heart for God.  Understandably, we could not think of any saint more unstained or wholly beautiful for our daughter to model herself after. <3

Oh, and it juuuust so turns out that Cecilia is also Brian's mom's middle name!  I love that Harper and her grandma have this special connection!  [Although she told us at the hospital that she spells her's "Cecelia" :).]

So...

Why why whyyyy Harper Cecilia?!

In a nutshell, that's why.  :) 

And some day when we all inherit the kingdom of God, mayyyybe Harper can be the little "harp-er" [or is it harpist?] in Saint Cecilia's eternal orchestra!  I really actually totally love this idea and couldn't imagine anything more perfect. ;) 

Happy baptism eve, sweet Harper!  We are so excited to witness your first sacrament; we pray that tomorrow will be the first day of an eternity of days that you willl put on Christ and follow in the footsteps of your beautiful patron saint, Cecilia! 

:-* 

- #candidcamera: Volume I -

A whole bunch of random snapshots and no good stories to explain them, SO:

Allow the occasional collection of  #candidcamera  posts to commence! 

Genius.

Harper's first month went by in a flash!  Literally like every.single.person in the world has told me not to blink because she'll be all grown up before I know it, and I'm finally realizing how true that is! It's sickening. I need her to stay small and snuggly for a lot lot longer [maybe even forever?!].  


*****

- #candidcamera:  VOLUME I -

Three words for this edition: sleepy, snuggly, and sweet.

a) This every 3-hour feeding habit is a killer! I love spending time with my boo, but my favorite hobby pre-baby was sleeping and the lack of that hobby is slowly suffocating my soul... Fo real. I can normally get by okkk with the 3-hour dealio, but anything short of that schedule warrants an AUTOMATIC momma/baby nap in the morning. 

b) Like my toot face? :)

c) Starting to love bath time! So fun to splish and splash! 

d) Harper's first visit to IHOP, and she slept allllll the way through breakfast! [Likely only because she knew she'd reap the remnants of 'dem pancakes later! Mo' milk, momma!]

e) Sometimes it's just a sh*tty night...

f) I can hold my own bottle!!!

g) First nap in my crib! 

h) Dude, when you suck you have to swallow...  #ptfo

i)  Sometimesss when Daddy goes to work, Harper gets to snuggle and/or sprawl out like a starfish in the big bed... #queenofthehouse

j) That face!!! I could stare at it forever.

*****

We can't get enough of our little bug!!!  Already collecting a menagerie of photos for volume II, because I'm totally.......  #thatmom

- Business Person of the Year = MY DAD! -

Let this post just be the fifth time I've bragged about my superhero dad earning the "Business Person of the Year" award for 2014!!! It's not surprising he was chosen considering the amount of time and energy he dedicates to his job AND his community [not to mention also finding time to be the best dad and grandpa out there!].  So proud of this guy!!!  He received his prestigious honor at the annual Chamber of Commerce awards dinner a few weeks ago.  Here are a couple pics to highlight the night!

Other award winners...

The State Farm team!

Harper + both of her grandmas...

One proud family! :) 

And then there's A VIDEO, obviously...

Congratulations, Dad! We love you!!!

- ONE month... {Please stop growing!} -

My baby bear was ONE MONTH OLD this week! 

No.

No no no.

Nooooooo!!!

She must stay little forever.

Please stop growing, precious baby!

Over dinner conversation last night, Brian told me that he "stalked" [can you stalk your wife?] my Facebook at work and:

Brian:  Your Facebook timeline is ALL photos of Harper.
Bridget: ...Well...
Brian: ...
Bridget: ...All I do is hang out with her 24/7 so what else would you like me to be posting pictures of?
Brian:  Yourself?

Hellooooo, doesn't he realize I'm a mom now and I'm not NEARLY as cool or funny as I used to be?  Oh my my.  

But really, in a strong effort to not continue being "THAT MOM" who annoyingly posts photo after Instagram after update after video after Snapchat of all things Harper, I am going to divert my energies to updating the blog more often and not posting on my FB timeline as much.  At least now, my kid won't be in yo' face all day err' day; if you want to keep up with us, you're gonna have to make a few extra clicks and find us over here!  [After all, true dedication is not for the faint of heart.]

So anyway, the real point of this post.....

Yes, her eyes are a litttttle watery; she hates.hates.hates photo sessions [#notmychild...wtf??] and literally screams her head off the second she hears the camera bag unzipping.  Why?  I have no idea.  [Same situation for Anna's birthday wish!]

I accidentally cut part of the chalkboard off in attempt to shoot quicklyyy before she erupted.  BUT, at one month old, she loves to snuggle, look out a window, sleep, poop, listen to music, and eat!  I tried all day yesterday to teach her to say "mama," but she decided to stick with her favorite old hat tricks of head-butting me when she's mad/hungry and staring off into space [usually cross-eyed] when she's happy/not hungry.  I guess I can settle for those tricks for a while longer. 

In more exciting news, I took the chubster to her routine one-month well child visit this week.  Her pediatrician said she is perfecto [...nothing we didn't already know...wink wink]; she weighed 10 pounds, 4.5 ounces, and was 21 inches long!  Those measurements put her at 50th percentile for weight and also 50th percentile for height [same percentiles she was at at birth and her one-week visit; girl likes to follow her own curve!].  They said the normal amount of food for a kiddo her age is 2-3 ounces every 3-4 hours; of course Harper downs 5 ounces every 3 hours, sooo we have a little piglet on our hands.  I knew it.  But she rarely voms even a tiny mouthful back up, so apparently it's fine and she just has a ginormous appetite.  [Repetitively patting myself on the back for being a damn good cook; Mom's kitchen is always the best!!!]  After an A+ exam and a Hepatitis B shot in the thigh, we walked out in the clear until the two-month well visit! 

Our day in a nutshell: on the way to the ped + all nakey waiting to see the ped + relaxing after a good report at the ped! 

I literally cannot get enough of this girl!  I have several friends who all delivered within a couple weeks of me, and we have been discussing how crazy motherhood is and how ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE we are with our munchkins! Seriously, it's insane. Like really, who has to turn on the iPhone flashlight app and stare at their kid when they're sleeping at 3am?  Oh yeah, me.  I'm home all day every day with her, but I miss her so much in the mornings after she's been in her crib all night or in the afternoons if she's been in her swing for a couple hours. I could gaze at her for DAYS and kiss her face for weeks.  She is cute as hell.  Ok I'll stop now.  You get the point. ;) 

So anyway:

Harper's a month old, and a month was long enough to force Facebook to "like" us.  <---Pun intended, muahahah.

Also, no one wants to see my kid as much as I do.

...But if there is a rare somebody out there who wants to see a hideous amount of updates...

Follow us on the blog! 

We'll see ya next time. ;)