Baptism... our princess.

April 2, 2011 Naomi Tamara was baptised

and what a baptism it was...

God Bless YOU Baby Girl!

We had Naomi's baptism in Toronto at the St. Stanislaw Catholic Church

These pictures crack me up. We don't have one photo where every one is looking at the camera and smiling. They are very candid... which is wonderful. Just like the day was. Wonderful.

Tommy (Naomi's Godfather), Kinga (Naomi's Godmother), the Priest, Naomi (attacking the flowers~ anything that pretty should be edible), Mom, Dad and Big brother Mikey.

Grandpa Mike, Grandma Robin, Uncle Tommy, Aunt Kinga, the Priest, Mommy & Naomi, Daddy & Mikey, Babcia Ania and Dzia-Dzia Andrew

Tommy & Naomi before the ceremony

Tommy and Yvonne helping me keep the kids occupied until things got moving.

The Grandparents patiently waiting. They sure clean up nice don't they?

At the reception after the baptism.

Every Princess needs to have at least one outfit change.

I tell you, no one makes this girl smile like her brother. NO ONE.

The trip wasn't just baptism, we got to enjoy Toronto

and the fantastic shopping, time with family and great food.

We got a lot of great pictures. Here we go!

Naomi helping Mama & Daddy shop for a new rug.

You're right Naomi, this rug is really soft... and cool to boot!

Nice, but not quite what we're looking for. Beautiful though.

A girl's gotta keep up with the internet...

Chillin' with big brother

Quality time with Dzia-Dzia

Is my food ready yet Mom?

This giraffe is only so good for so long.

Naomi and Aunt Kinga... meeting for the first time.

Good times.

Mikey is always better to look at than the camera!

My little guy... getting to be not so little.

Naomi loves to pick at the ties in this babies hair...

it keeps her occupied for a long time.

loving Daddy

Grandpa Mike and Grandma Robin enjoying some time with their Granddaughter.

Cheese!

My in-laws wanted to take my family to CN Tower to see the view and eat some fantastic food. Mikey fell asleep on the way there... he would NOT wake up. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he's been like this his whole life. He can sleep wherever and won't wake up being moved, changed... you name it. Crazy! Naomi... the exact opposite.

Lovin' my hubby

I miss my Dad... I wish we lived closer.

Yup, still sleeping... in the restaurant now.

What a view, huh?

Good times, great memories.

This was a great idea... we need to all get together more often.

Aunt Yvonne flew in for the occasion...

Thanks so much to everyone for making Naomi's baptism such a special day. Really and truly it was so special and will be something I carry in my heart always. We went above and beyond for her baptism but, why not? We waited a long time for this baby and I would give my kids the entire World if I could. It was a wonderful day that I can't wait to tell her all about when she gets older. Thanks again to my in-laws for hosting and all your help pulling it off. Thanks to my family and Yvonne for flying in to be there. Yvonne seriously went above and beyond to be there and it is so special to us. Thanks again everyone! We love you all.

Birthday... 4 years old!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE LITTLE BOY IN THE WHOLE WORLD!

Okay, we've been busy. This is the first year (and I hope last) that it's taken me 2 weeks to get the birthday tribute posted. I feel horrible... Mama is very sorry. I hope the party made up for it. We had a party of all parties... at least we thought so. We had balloons, a bouncy house (in my living room), ice cream cake, cupcakes and most important of all about 20 of Mikey's friends over to help him celebrate! What a day. I think the morning after made it all worth it. Mikey comes up to me and says, "Mama, can we do that again today"?

It was Spiderman everything.

Spiderman ice cream cake and spiderman cupcakes.

I can't believe it, 4 years old.

The boys made this their lunch table... it was really cute. When I walked over to see what all the giggling was about, you'll never believe what happened. A friend of Mikey's says to me, "do you know what it means to pop you in the pills"? Followed by and eruption of laughter. Already?

This bouncy house took up my entire formal living room.

It was so worth it... it was super cool! After all the kids left Daddy, Mikey and I got in and bounced and played just the 3 of us. I must admit it, it was a lot of fun! Those fifteen or so minutes with my boys were by far the best of the entire day. At least for me.

Naomi can party with the best. Naomi would not close her eyes until ALL the kids left.

This baby doesn't want to miss a thing.

Enjoying some time with Bea, watching the big kids bounce.

What party would be complete without a pinata?

Apparently not ours! This was one of Mikey's requests, a pinata.

The kid's onto something. It was a blast!

Claire taking a whack at it.

Isabel...

The birthday boy!!!

What a day and what a phenomenal 4 years. Mikey you have turned our World upside down and right side up. Wow! You are one of the sweetest little guys, you blow us away daily. I'll never forget the day your sister was born. Of course you were so excited to meet her but you were so gentle. As you left the room for the first time you gave her a kiss and said, "good-bye sweetheart". You melt my heart again and again. To this day you still call her sweetheart and there is just something so special about it. It's not a name anyone else calls her... it's your thing. It's just another example of how sweet you can be.

You have a huge heart and truly enjoy helping others. If I need your help making your sister happy so I can finish cooking dinner, you do it with pride. No one can make her giggle like you. You really enjoy helping us from helping Mama clear the dinner dishes to helping Daddy pull weeds or wash the car. It truly makes you glow to help others. Sure you can be more stubborn than an ox but your charm makes up for that. It's just amazing to watch you grow up. I know you are going to do something amazing with your life. You have charm, you're charismatic, witty and determined. It's a combination that will only lead to great things. We love you so much and are so proud of you. Happy Birthday Love!

Beautiful

It's beautiful to see how much these kids love each other already.

Oh my love

This is how I find Naomi after every nap... all smiles!

This is the first thing Naomi does when she's on the changing table,

try and get those toes in her mouth.

This is the second thing she does on the changing table,

when all else fails put the curtain in your mouth.

Mikey knows that winter is coming to an end and he's excited for spring. Yet, he's been having so much fun playing in the snow lately. I guess it's more fun when you know it's only gonna be around a little while longer.

Fun!

Nothing like your Daddy to keep you warm.

Our family... my loves.

Creating

Finally! Mikey has been wanting to build a snowman ALL winter.

Finally, the snow was just right for their snowman.

I think you guys did great!

I didn't do to bad myself... zucchini quiche. Yum!

Birthdays

Birthdays seem to be on our minds today. Today is Tamara's b-day. Tamara is my late sister-in-law. I was not fortunate enough to get to meet her. Tamara is also who we named Naomi Tamara after. I must admit, I often think of how nice it would be to have her around. I never had a sister and it would have been so nice to have a relationship with her. I know my husband misses his sister so much. How could you not? I love the stories I hear about her. She was one of those people that draw other people in... a magnetic personality. Everyone loved her. I've never blogged about her before as for fear of getting something wrong or hurting someone. So, I hope I don't do either. I can say for sure, that 39 years ago today a beautiful soul entered the lives of our family and today she still lives on in our hearts, even those hearts she didn't meet in person she remains a very big part of. We love you and miss you.

Happy Birthday Aunt Tamara!

5 months ago today... can you believe it? I can't!

Naomi has figured rolling out. She can roll from side to side... with great speed. She also can sit up on her own, that is until something catches her attention. Then she forgets what she's doing and she's like the leaning tower of pisa. At least she's catching herself with her elbows. She has also discovered her feet and spends a great deal of time trying to get her toes in her mouth. It's the cutest thing to watch. Crawling... no not yet. She still needs to work on her upper body strength. When on her tummy she gets her butt up in the air and pushes, thus scooting herself forward. Ultimately not very affective however as her little face ends up red and usually covered in drool. Thus a very unhappy and annoyed baby girl.

Playing with the camera is always fun for Mama.

Got it! Apparently Naomi wants to dabble in photography as well.

Birthdays. It seems to be the topic of choice for Mikey. All he can talk about is his upcoming b-day party he wants to have. Of course he's going to have a party... once he decides what kind of theme that is. One moment it's spiderman themed and the next it's pirate themed. When I ask if he wants both he says no. Well, that's a start I guess. We are going to Toronto the week of his b-day for Naomi's baptism so we decided it would be nice to have a b-day party for Mikey before we go so he can have something that is just his. A day all about Mikey, where he can have all his friends over and just have fun. And a spiderman cake too! (That much he knows for sure, we must have a spiderman cake)

Feeding... well let's just say I back tracked and stopped feeding her anything for a while. I don't know why I keep second guessing myself. I think I'm afraid she'll be a picky eater like her brother. Ultimately after thinking about it way too much I really feel that I did not make him a picky eater. Daddy was a picky eater. I was a picky eater. Am I surprised Mikey is a picky eater? No. He had me fooled though. As a baby I started with baby food and quickly switched over to giving him soft food he could gum off our plates. He ate fantastic! I mean this kid would eat anything I put in front of him. I remember bragging to other Mom friends of mine how lucky we were that Mikey was such a great eater. Then, he turned 2. It seemed that day by day, week by week he started refusing to eat things one by one. Now his diet is very limited. It's very frustrating. He is very hard to feed. So of course you want to try and prevent this if at all possible. I just don't think I'm buying it that you can.

Anyhow, I've started feeding her pureed food. I'm making her baby food. I love it and so far she loves it. If I give her some jar baby food, it's a chore to get her to eat. If I give her the baby food I made, she gobbles it up. This week she's eating butternut squash I made for her. I think it's her favorite. It is delish and it's beautiful too.

Yum!

Happy eating everyone... picky eaters and all.