Madison Rose Becomes Princess of Christ!

I was privileged to witness my little Madison Rose become a princess of the Church on Sunday.  Yay!

I got to her mom’s house early enough to catch her still asleep.  I snapped a few pre-bath photos because she’s so darn adorable and I simply couldn’t resist.  

When she woke up, I got to watch her while mom, Theresa, and dad, John, got ready.  I was only too happy to have her all to myself.  We played a fun game of peek-a-boo on the floor with her fuzzy blanket, we practiced rolling around both in the crib and on the aforementioned fuzzy blanket, I let her chomp on various fingers because the poor thing is teething something fierce, and finally, I showed her the small figurines of Mary and Jesus I had given to her parents for their wedding.  

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Then she showed me her Winnie the Pooh light, her swing, and her underwater themed night light that played some really awesome music.

Next, she decided she wanted to chomp on my fingers some more.  I happily obliged.  :)

Pretty soon, though, it was time to get her gussied up for her big day!

Theresa and I decided to keep her only half-dressed for the ride to the church.  After all, her gown was super long, so trying to buckle her into the seat safely would’ve been a problem.  We put her in her special onesie (the same design Mary got for Vince 4 years ago!) and a warm pair of pink leggings.

We also decided to put the bonnet on instead of the headband because the bonnet was so cute!

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When we got to the church, I quickly slipped the gown over her head while Theresa tied it in the back.  I got the honor of carrying her into the church, but before we went in, a bunch of photos were taken by mommy and babci (babci means “grandmother” in Polish).  

Once inside, I discovered that the cry room is next to the sanctuary.  THE SANCTUARY.  How cool is that?  Normally the room opposite the sacristy is used for storage of choir stuff.  They decked theirs out as a cry room complete with children’s books, pews, and a bathroom.  VERY family-friendly!  The partition that separated the sanctuary from the cry room was made up of windows.  Most of the windows were closed, but two were open (and I think that’s due to their condition… they might’ve been broken).  I didn’t mind, but I wondered if the crying children distracted the priests (which was later confirmed by my friend, Frank, who works at the parish).  

Ah well.  I still love the idea of the children being so close to the Mass.  They can see EVERYTHING up close and personal.  Besides, I think Jesus would approve of having the kids so close to Him, too. 

Madison was great throughout Mass.  She barely cried, and when she did, her parents or babci soothed her with a few bounces and all the pretty stained glass. 

After Mass, it was time for her baptism!  She cried a bit given the fuss of all the guests chattering loudly around her.  I was surprised to see how many people were there for the baptisms - four in total.  Guests took up the front half of the church.  Fr. Ferrier, my Latin teacher from high school, was the presiding minister.  

The baptism, itself, was great.  Fr. Ferrier explained the different symbols and the importance of Catholic identity.  He said the prayers and offered photo opportunities for the families after each individual baptism.  I caught a few shots of the chrism blessings which was nice. 

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The whole family after the 2nd chrism blessing.

I also snapped a photo of Tim, Madison's godfather, holding the lit Baptismal candle.  It's a bit grainy, given I was using my iPhone for all these shots.  However, I thought that was an important part of her sacrament.  We need to remember that we are supposed to act as bearers of Christ's light for her.  To be a godparent isn't to feel warm and fuzzy because we've been given a special title since we're such good friends of Mom and Dad.  To be a godparent is to be a bearer of Christ's light - a protector of that light for Madison.  So I snapped this shot after asking Tim to hold it for us.  

I hope to have some more pictures from her Mom soon.  I'll likely share some of those, too (assuming Theresa gives me the ok... you'll give me the OK, right?).

:)

So if you guys could shoot a prayer of thanks or two up to Heaven for giving us a brand new little sister in Christ, I'd appreciate it.  I'm so proud of this little peanut.  She's a sweetie and I can't wait to enjoy this journey alongside her.  May the Lord forever bless and keep this little Reese.  <3 <3 <3