Stella's godparents, Emily and Marcus, arrived Saturday evening. They spent some time hanging out with Stella while I prepared some dinner. Stella was in a good mood, but she was ready for a nap. Emily held her, and she fell asleep in Emily's arms. It was so sweet! After Stella went to sleep for the night, we stayed up for a bit - maybe a little late since we were all pooped - hearing about Emily and Marcus's recent move to Minneapolis. In the morning, we all got up early to get ready for the 8 am mass.
Of course, I was stressing. Not only did Stella find her gown and bonnet (thank you, Jessica!) terribly uncomfortable, I didn't get much sleep. The little piglet woke up at 4:15 am for her night feeding and change, and we put her in bed with us. We put her down parallel to us, but, well, here's how she ended up:
How can 11.5 lbs of baby take up most of a king size bed?
Stella decided that she HATED the bonnet, so we just took it along. Chris tried it on, but unfortunately, it didn't fit :(
Emily and Marcus gave her this beautiful Pearl and Aquamarine bracelet. She wore it with her ensemble:
In typical Ratcliff fashion, we all made it to mass by the skin of our teeth. Amazingly, Stella was an angel. Chris and Kerry sat behind us on the pew since we ran out of room, and Stella was mesmerized by Chris until about the Homily, and then she pooped out on me. She slept for the rest of mass and woke up just before 9 am.
Well, from that point on she screamed and screamed. Father Mark could barely speak over her, and Derek and I were doing our best to console her. It was often hard to concentrate, and I was a little flustered.
Here Derek, Stella, and I are, waiting for Father Mark
With Emily and Marcus
Getting Started
I think you can see the embarrassment on my face and the absolute misery on Stella's
Trying desperately to console her
The actual baptism
Chris went to light her candle
But had trouble figuring out how to get up there, so Father Mark had to go help
When it was over, Derek, Stella, and I made a fast break for the car for a diaper change, feeding, and a wardrobe change.
She was an angel in J. Christopher's
We had a lot of fun, and Chris even broke out the napkin man, haha
She finally pooped out on Daddy
While at J. Christopher's, she opened a gift from Kerry and Chris:
The lamb is a rattle - so sweet!
When we came home, Stella got a wardrobe change, feeding, diaper change, and a nap. Meanwhile, we spent some time with Emily and Marcus before taking them to the airport. Minneapolis sounds so awesome that we think we need to move there! We're so jealous, and besides, we think Stella needs to see her godparents more often! :)
And here's a better shot of her candle:
Now, we can burn this candle every year on June 5th to celebrate the anniversary of her baptism :)
Today was such a wonderful blessing, and we're so thankful to get to share it with such wonderful friends, celebrating such a beautiful and perfect daughter! All of our love to Emily and Marcus and Kerry and Chris. Thank you for making our girl's day so special!
