Joshua's baptism!

On Sunday, August 29, Joshua was baptized!

The service was officiated by David Kim, a minister ordained in the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) who is also a member of our church.  David is also the executive director of Manna, the Christian fellowship I was primarily involved in back in college, and he was a real mentor to me for so many years -- so it was really fitting that he was the one to baptize our little son.  :) We also had a number of dear friends take part in the service (and at the last minute, too -- sorry for not being totally on top of all of the details!) -- Matt led us all in worship, and Aime and Andrew did scripture readings.

It was a beautiful afternoon service, held at Hope Presbyterian Church down in Lawrenceville.  Joshua, I think, was perhaps a bit overheated in his pretty pretty church clothes, and wanted to play rather than be quietly held in my arms, so he got a little fussy during the first part of the service... And he was definitely voicing his opinions to us all when we handed him over to David.  But as soon as the water hit his head, he calmed down.  Later, one of our friends commented that it was the perfect analogy to how we're all brought into the kingdom -- kicking and screaming, but then recipients of God's grace.  :)

David's baptism charge was to us as Joshua's parents -- to recognize that we are but stewards of his life.  We can't control him or live vicariously through him, but rather, we have been given the awesome responsibility of raising him up in light of God's covenant promises -- to guide him and direct him, always remembering that he is a child of God.  It's a sobering duty, but also a joyous gift.

We were touched by how many wonderful friends came to stand with us at Joshua's baptism.  Part of the service is a series of vows made by the congregation to pray for and stand alongside us as Joshua's parents -- we're so blessed to have all of you in our lives!

And what blog post would be complete without photos?  :)  Joshua's future father-in-law -- um, that is, our dear friend John Jameson took several photos of the service and the hanging out afterwards.  His work is always beautiful, and this was no exception!


Waiting somewhat patiently at the beginning of the service 

David Kim during his charge 

Yup, we were all in blue 

The baptism 

Family photo with David Kim 

Newly-baptized wee lad! 
Erik was telling us that in his family, there's a saying that babies who are loud during their baptisms are destined for the ministry -- they just want to have their own voices heard in church!

Joshua and his future bride -- er, little family friend, Anna Jameson
What a beautiful time of fellowship, as Joshua received the sign of God's covenant promise!

Joshua Watch: Seven Months

J-bear is SEVEN months old!  And there's no question about it now: he's definitely taller than his tiger.  :)


(Side note: I'm SO GLAD he cooperated for this one shot.  His rolling around isn't quite as bad as it was last month, but he's learned that there are so many cooler ways to play than just lying on his back like a baby, so more often than not, he's struggling to get himself in a sitting position so he can better see the world around him!)

And that takes us to the biggest developmental milestone from this month: sitting!  He started sitting up unsupported earlier this month, able to stay upright once we put him down in a sitting position.  And then he had one slightly difficult night in a Pack n Play, which gave him the last little bit of incentive he needed to learn how to get up into a sitting position all by himself!  It's become second nature to him now -- we put him down to play on his back, and within seconds he's rolled over onto his belly, gotten up on his hands and knees (almost -- he still can't quite get his left leg straightened out from under himself), and then he pushes himself up to a sitting position.  Because that's how big boys play.

He's such a willful wee boy, too...  If he doesn't want to be on his back, he won't stay on his back!  And that includes on the changing table.  Sigh.  He can be very determined about wanting to roll over to play with the blinds (we've hidden the string pulls away far out of his reach) -- who cares if he's undiapered and dangerous??  We've taken to pinning him down with one arm while doing the diaper change.  It's surprising how adept you become at one-handed maneuvers as a parent...

It can sometimes be a little frustrating trying to train Joshua away from certain behaviors.  He's certainly too young to understand or respond to discipline.  The rolling on the changing table thing is kind of cute and manageable.  The bigger issue we're dealing with right now is biting while nursing -- which HURTS now that he has two very sharp teeth.  Which leave puncture wounds.  I've tried pretty much everything Dr. Google has recommended, to no avail... Any suggestions would be appreciated, but I think we're looking at the end of nursing.  :(

However!  Joshua more than makes up for these little difficulties with his ever-happier personality.  This month, we've seen so much laughter, and we've learned how to make him laugh at us, which is so rewarding!  The biggest laughs we've seen so far, though, have come from his playing with other little kids.  Jemina, the two-year-old daughter of some small group friends, brought out the first belly laughs from our little guy by coming up behind me and playing peek-a-boo with Joshua.  He was startled, and then just laughed and laughed -- during prayer time, but we'll work on better praying etiquette later.  :)  And the second time we heard Joshua's belly laughter was when he was playing with little Caleb, who is 9 days older than he is -- Caleb kept trying to eat Joshua's toes, and Joshua kept laughing and reaching for Caleb's head.  So sweet to see our boys actually interacting, rather than just playing near each other!

Joshua also clearly loves music -- just like both his parents!  The surest way to calm him down is to sing to him.  Lullabies, upbeat kids' songs, Broadway show tunes -- he loves them all!  His latest favorite is "Edelweiss," but he also definitely responds to songs from Phantom of the Opera, which his very first babysitters, Katie and Rachel, discovered earlier this month.

And one last developmental bit in this very, very long update -- our kiddo LOVES eating solid foods.  He'll grab the spoon and guide it into his mouth, and hold his mouth wide open to demand more.  We've tried a number of pureed vegetables (sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, squash, spinach), and he loves them all!  Here's hoping we don't have a picky eater on our hands...

If you made it this far, congratulations!  Your reward is a set of photos of the cutest little guy in the world.  :)


Much more fun than being on your back like a little baby... 

C'mon, mama, can't I just play without you getting all paparazzo on me? 

Sitting up, and playing with Mr. Tiger, like a big boy! 

Soooo close to crawling... 

He terrorized that blanket, and then started trying to eat his month sticker, signaling an end to this photo session 

But he's still cute as a button!
Joshua, we love you so much.  It's so exciting to watch you grow!

Visit from Grandma and Uncle Donald!

[We've got a lot of catching up to do, so this is the first in a whole bunch of new posts!]

Last week, David's mom and oldest brother came for a brief visit!  It's been a while since Grandma had gotten to hold and play with Joshua, and Uncle Donald hadn't yet met him.  So you can imagine how much fun was had by all.  :)  Unfortunately, Donald was struggling (mightily) through a pretty bad summer cold, so he didn't get a chance to hold Joshua...  But we've promised him the chance to change Joshua's diaper the next time he comes for a visit.  ;)

Because our apartment is relatively small, the nursery also serves as the guest bedroom.  So we put Grandma up in the guest bed there, and Uncle Donald got the couch in the living room -- which meant Joshua was set up in his Pack n Play in our bedroom.  We were hoping, since Joshua spent the first week of his life sleeping in that Pack n Play, that he would be totally fine with the change... It didn't work out as smoothly as we'd hoped.  The first night, we put him down, giving him his ugly doll and duckie and pacifier as normal, but he started fussing shortly thereafter.  We've been following a policy of letting him cry just a little before going to him, so we went with that for a few minutes.  When I went back to check on him -- he was sitting bolt upright in the corner of the Pack n Play!  It was the first time Joshua had managed to get into a sitting position all by himself.  I guess necessity (or frustration) really is the mother of invention... Thankfully, Joshua got used to the new sleeping arrangement fairly quickly.

We took a day trip up to Poughkeepsie on Thursday to visit Iain, the middle Keddie brother, and his girlfriend Erin.  Iain managed to find a suitably family-friendly brunch place that still fit with his (our) yuppie tastes.  :)  We got a wooden high chair for Joshua, but he found a seat he much preferred:



Then our big excursion for the day was crossing the new Walkway Over the Hudson, an old rail bridge converted into a pedestrian walkway.  It was a spectacular vista, and a really nice walk/hike -- it's not often that you get to walk 212 feet over the Hudson River!  It was a gorgeous day, too -- and of course I took tons of photos!


The gang on the road towards the Walkway


Carrying Joshua's chariot up to the Walkway, while keeping him sound asleep!


He eventually woke up -- and had the most gorgeous diffuse light hitting his beautiful eyes!


The Walkway; a view of the Walkway from later on in our walk


Every time Joshua got a little fussy, Uncle Iain ran ahead to amuse and entertain him


The Mid-Hudson Bridge, the road bridge we took to cross back over the river


The (narrow and vertiginous) sidewalk alongside the Mid-Hudson Bridge
We all (Joshua definitely included!) had such a good time hanging out with family.  :)  We were only sad that the visit was so short!  Looking forward to the next time we all get to be together!