Our American Tale

Rock-a-bye, baby

Rocking Lucas at grandpa's house in the rocking chair that my mama rocked me to sleep in.

July 13, 2011

The Great Grandbabies

We were missing Brad's little girl and the kids in Oklahoma and Minnesota, but here is a shot of some of the great grandkids together:

Deacon, Devynn, Riley, Bailey and Lucas

Cousins

Lucas with my cousin April's little boy, Deacon. The boys are about 6 weeks apart in age.

Little Buddy

  

Baby Doll

As a little girl, I benefited from my mom's own love of dolls with some pretty amazing gear to play with. This play stroller was quite the prize in my dolly days, since it was a very nearly exact replica of the strollers that were popular at the time. The back reclined, it had a retractable canopy and even a foot rest! I was so fancy! It has been saved over all these years for future grandchildren to play with, though it ended up being us adults that had fun playing!

It's like a little girl's dream come true! A real, live squishy tushy baby to play with!

July 11, 2011

Baby Firsts: Swimming

After a busy day with baptism festivities, we had a relaxing evening swimming and dining in with the Nelsons.

Grandma and Grandpa Nelson purchased a most adorable swimming ensemble for Lucas for his visit. Little Man loves his tubby time, so I wasn't terribly surprise that he seemed very at ease in the pool. I was so glad his first swim could be with the family and Grandma had so much fun with Lucas in the water!

 

July 10, 2011

He is Loved

I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I would have liked at Lucas' baptism party, but here are a few of my favorites from what I did take.

Lucas and Grandma Nelson

Lucas and his Great-Grandpa

Lucas passed out after all the celebrating with Grandma Bakke.

July 10, 2011

 

Lucas' Baptism

The primary reason for our trip was to have Lucas baptised at our home church where we were married. It was such a special day and it was wonderful to be surrounded by all of our friends and family as we officially welcomed Lucas into the church through the sacrament of baptism.

With the summer schedule, the traditional service was at 8:30. Though it was an early morning, it meant so much for us to see so many people in attendance at the service. Lucas was absolutely perfect and slept through most of the service and didn't fuss at all during the pouring of holy water over his sweet little head.

Lucas with his godparents, Ryan and Deanna

With the Bakke family

And the Nelson family

Just us

Our little family with Pastor Heskin

I didn't get many pictures of the party after the service, but it was a lovely event. There were over 40 people in attendance, so it was a busy and very noisy open house, but we were so grateful to see the love and support surrounding our sweet boy on his baptism day.

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. - 1 Samuel 1:27

July 10, 2011

 

This is how we do it

My mom and I are both very detail oriented perfectionists when it comes to our homes, and throwing a party is always a huge undertaking.

While Lucas slept, we worked into the wee hours of the morning making preparations for his big day.

My big project was to do floral arrangements for all the tables. I was quite pleased with how they turned out.

I just loved the framed monogram on the vases - it was such a simple and elegant personal touch!

I ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep, but, staying true to her long standing tradition as a hostess, my mom never made it to bed!

Papa Larry and Lucas

Before Lucas was born, Grandma Colleen kept saying that he was going to be a mini Larry Bakke. While we were on vacation, particularly during our stay in Minnesota, people kept commenting on how much the two resembled one another.

I think Lucas is a pretty good combination of us all, though there are times when I see a tiny, beardless version of my dad in him so clearly it makes me laugh out loud!

Grandpa's little buddy hanging out while mama and Grandma got ready for his baptism party

July 9, 2011

 

Tooooooes!

A friend aptly captioned this photo, OMG these are ATTACHED to me?!?

I just love the excitement in his face!

July 9, 2011