Last Sunday Emma was Baptized at the same church where Elena and I were married nine and a half years ago. It was a beautifully clear, sunny, day and her Baptism was well attended. Approximately 20 of our friends and family members were there to witness Emma's rebirth during this holy ritual. Emma and her Mom looked radiant, and I was beaming. Four other babies were also there to be baptized and one by one they called us up to bless each child. Being shy by nature, I typically dread standing front and center in front of a large audience (there were about 100 people in attendance) but to be honest, when they called Emma Marie's name, the tunnel vision kicked in and it was only me, Emma, Elena and her God Parents in the Church.

The priest asked us all three questions and then proceeded to dip his hand into the holy water and poor handfuls of water on Emma's head. Now Emma loves baths, she never complains, but she hates having her hair washed, so naturally I was concerned that she would throw a fit as the handful of water poured down her face, but she didn't. Then the priest, as though tempting fate, did it again, and I and Elena braced ourselves for the inevitable, but Emma remained surprisingly calm as the cold water spilled down her neck and behind her ears. We let out a collective sigh of relief as we realized we had dodged a bullet. Then the priest did something that only a man with a death wish would do, he dipped his hand a third time into the water to collect yet another handful of water to pour on Emma's head. I gritted my teeth and thought how I could not be responsible for what Emma did to him at this point. Miraculously Emma remained calm. Having got through the father, son, and holy spirit, there was nothing left to dip for and the aquatic portion of the baptism was over. It was a quick and painless ceremony. The priest said some final words and we were off to celebrate (after taking a few hundred pictures of course).

We celebrated at Great Aunt Araceli's house, who is always so giving, loving, and sharing of her time, her house, and her love. Most every Christmas & Thanksgiving is held at Araceli's house which is a huge burden that she shoulders without complaint, and with warm loving grace. As a family, we probably don't do enough to recognize the effort and sacrifices she makes and the huge role she plays in keeping the family united and whole. She is the glue of this family and without her we would be very separate and disjointed fragments.

As always everything was beautiful at Araceli's house, and everyone really contributed to make this day as special as it could be. Emma's Godmother Ceci and Uncle Tony picked up the food we had ordered, and Emma's Godfather Robert and Aunt Lissette had delivered on a beautiful promise they had made to her in a touching card Robert had written to Emma at her Baby Shower. In it he vowed to create a special tradition where he would purchase every cake for her as she grew up. It was the warmest, most original and touching thing I had ever read and the cake they bought Emma for her baptism was as beautiful as the sentiment. Thanks guys. :)

Developmentally:

Emma is really getting better with her hands. She can grab and hold items like a teething ring, but her gross motor skills are still somewhat rough in that she can't seem to find her mouth, so she will do things like open her mouth and pull the teething ring into her ear. It's quite comical. With some practice I am sure she will get it down.

We put her Exersaucer together and sat her in it. It is like the Jumperoo in that she stands up in it, but it is more supportive than bouncy. There are tons of little toys connected to it for her to touch and play with so it gives her something new to explore. We put it upstairs in the office so she has something to do when we are there (which is hardly ever these days).

Emma has started making smacking sounds with her tongue and lips. It's the coolest thing although hard to describe.

Emma now weighs 16 lbs 10.5 ounces. She is now a little over double her birth weight of 8 lbs 3 ounces.

Emma's Tech Tip:

Emma encountered a cool little site while cruising the Internet that she thought she should share with you all. It was featured on NPR this week but in case you didn't catch it the site is called Zillow. Zillow is a neat little web site that allows you to enter the address of any home in the United States and an aerial view of the area centered around that address is displayed. The "killer app" portion of that view is that they superimpose the current estimated value of that home, as well as all adjacent homes right there on the map. It is pretty darn neat. There are a host of other neat features like you can see what comparable homes in the area are selling for, how the value of the home has changed over the last 1, 5, 10 years, etc. I won't go into all the details. You will have to explore for yourself. Emma thought it would be worth mentioning since she says she is a bit of a tech geek and has a lot of free time on her hands, being a baby and all, and that some of you working folks might not have the time to discover during the course of your busy adult lives.