Easter

 

 

Charlie's baptism was beautiful. The Easter Vigil was so special. Charlie and Madi were great. In fact, all the young kids present were great, considering the service is 1 1/2 hours. I think Grandpa Wharton probably won the "poorly-behaved kid in church" title.

Charlie kept himself busy, as usual, playing with the church missals and he was fascinated by the candles that everyone was holding. The Easter Vigil starts with everyone lighting a candle before the lights go on. It is really beautiful, and thankfully, he didn't reach for the flames. Madi and Jules did their best to entertain Charlie and keep him content. We are proud to say that we never had to walk him out, and we completed the Mass without a single Cheerio.

Charlie had a few funny moments. He gave Father Tom the raspberries as we presented him for baptism. He also let out some healthy toots that were audible within a five-pew radius. He was very calm and serene for the actual baptism. He laid his head back as Father Tom poured the waters of baptism over his head. He seemed to love it. He also loved when Jimmy held him up to the congregation like Simba in the Lion King. Everyone cheered and gave him a warm welcome.  While I was holding him during the ceremony, there were a few times when he pitched himself backwards and stared up at the ceiling. I don't doubt that there were angels floating above, his brother likely included.

On Easter Sunday, while Charlie was napping, Madi and I headed over to our friend Ruby's house for an Easter egg hunt. There was an appearance by the Easter bunny, which was actually a Bugs Bunny costume. When we left, Madi asked, "Who was that, Mommy?" I said, "Who do you think it was?"  Madi replied, "I don't know, but they had white hair!" She followed that up by saying that she hadn't wanted to shout it out in case the other kids were listening.

On the way to Sheila and David's for dinner, we stopped by the cemetery to visit Daniel and Grandma Pauline . Easter brought back a flood of memories of sweet Daniel hunting for eggs in our backyard last year. He was so funny because he refused to pick up any eggs that he considered to be "out of bounds" and would possibly get him dirty! He would point at the eggs and grunt, beckoning Murphy and Myles to retrieve them for him. He was such the opposite of his little brother, who is often slobber-laden and will gladly eat dirt or just about anything he finds on the floor...

Aunt Diane and Uncle Rick were able to travel down for the celebration and to meet Charlie and see Madi, the "apple" of their eyes. They were here for a couple of days and we were so blessed to spend Easter together.

We were a bit nervous this weekend because Charlie woke up with the croup Friday night at midnight. He was up for about an hour. I gave him Motrin and took him outside to get some humidity into his respiratory system. He slept in on Saturday and had a decent nap, so we figured he'd be okay for Mass, which he was. By Sunday, his cough persisted, though the 'barking seal' cough of the croup had gone. His runny nose persisted too. So frustrating trying to figure out whether his issues are allergy related, teething related or just plain virus related with all the new germs he's being exposed too. We decided that he would go to the doctor on Monday.

Sunday night was scary to say the least. He was so full of mucus, we were terrified that he would choke in his sleep. It was pretty much a long, sleepless night for Jimmy and me. Charlie seemed to sleep; although, it certainly wasn't quality. I took him in yesterday, and Dr. Bradford confirmed that it seemed to be viral and settled in his lungs. Thank God we took him in.  He is on nebulizer treatments now and medication. Ever tried putting a breathing mask on a toddler for 5 - 10 minutes??  I can't say that it's easy or fun!  Rather than put the mask over his head, I've been kind of holding it over his face as long as I can and making a game out of it. I figure if he gets any of it, he's good.  I am now double-dosing him with Juice Plus to get his immune system built up quicker.

Thanks, Marjorie, for the wonderful pictures!