Mary Frances was baptized on Saturday night at St. Patrick's Church--the same church at which Libby, and cousins Claire, Corinne and Declan were baptized.
Along with Mom, Dad and Libby, Grammie and Papa Hanna, Aunt Reen, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Lauren, Claire, Corinne, Declan, Grammie and Papa Yandek, Uncle Tony and Aunt Nellie, and Aunt Holly were all there to celebrate.
Uncle Jerry and Aunt Holly were there as Mary's godparents, and Fr. Mark DiNardo did the honors, which included the traditional St. Pat's bib and showing off of the baby. Which, I'm pretty sure, makes everyone just a little bit nervous. For her baptism, Mary wore the same gown worn by Libby, Daddy, Uncle Tony and Aunt Holly. Aunt Fannie brought it back from Italy before Daddy was born way back when...
With five kids under the age of six in the family, there was a pretty good chance that some one would have a meltdown during Mass. The good news is that everyone was pretty well behaved. Of course, Mary cried during the actual baptism. And Libby decided she wanted to walk/run all over church. She chatted up the parishoners in the pews, played hide and seek at the back of church, and tickled Jesus' feet on the giant crucifix hanging in the back of church.
After Mass, everyone went back to Mary's house for some more celebrating. It was a good night, a good party, and another important milestone in Mary's life!
With Thanksgiving already over, the Christmas season is in full swing for Libby and Mary! The little ladies are growing up fast, and Libby is totally into all things Christmas. For example, she "Ho, Ho, Hos" all over the house, she plays with her Little People nativity set, and will gladly pull ornaments off of any Christmas tree and share them with family and friends. She was even using the ball ornaments as soccer balls at Lowe's on Saturday afternoon. The employees had to love that display!
Libby really does love the winter weather--she always wants to put on her new coat, she doesn't have to be told to wear a hat (especially her sweet Browns hat--Dad is so proud!), and loves wearing her "sleep shoes" at night (better known as footie pajamas for those of you who aren't fluent in Libbyspeak). Oh, and Libbyspeak is in full effect! She is constantly asking for "Papa", "Holly", "Mommy", "Sissy" and "Daddy" (sorry Grammies!). And the best is when she reads books to herself. Libby will sit and go page by page, yammering aloud until the final, understandable, "The End." Super cute!
Thanksgiving was a fun holiday for the ladies, as they had breakfast with Grammie and Papa Yandek and Aunt Holly. Then, it was off to Grammie and Papa Hanna's for dinner with the whole family, including their crazy cousins. By far, Libby's favorite part of the meal was the whipped cream. Her dinner consisted of one slice of pumpkin pie with three separate servings of whipped cream. Loved it!
Mary has been doing some growing as well. She tries to sit up all the time, she is sleeping pretty much through the night, and she is really starting to vocalize. While she won't have any clue about Christmas, and all of her presents will invariably become Libby's presents, it's going to be a great Christmas for the whole family!
