Annabelle's Baptism

Well, we finally had Annabelle baptized! It was supposed to be done in December but we rescheduled because it was too crazy with Christmas. Then it was supposed to be a few weeks ago but I got sick. I had my wedding gown made into Annabelle's baptismal gown and I was hoping it would still fit her and it did. She looked so pretty! I made two headbands to match the gown and good thing I did because after she was blessed with the water, the first headband broke. Oh well! A little glue and good as new.

Rob and I had Annabelle baptized by the minister who married us, Reverend Ron. He ministers to a small congregation at a local ethnic Hungarian church. Both Rob and I have Hungarian blood so we were drawn to the church for that reason. Plus Reverend Ron is so much fun! We've gotten really involved in the church lately, so much so that we became their newest members. I've been looking for a church to call home for a long time and Rob is a very reluctant church goer so this is wonderful news. The congregation is tiny and mostly elderly Hungarians but despite its small size it is big on warmth and welcoming. To keep the church running, they make strudel, nut/poppyseed rolls, and kifles weekly. I've started to help out with the weekly baking as much as I can with baby in tow. So far I've really just observed and helped clean up. Last week both Rob and I helped make donuts and had a great time getting to know our new congregation better (and inside my heart was warmed by my husband's enthusiasm and involvement). We made over 300 dozen and brought in over $1500! But back to the baptism...

Annabelle is lucky to have two wonderful godmothers, my dear friends Josephine and Dolly (her godfather is Jojo's husband Steve). Jojo lives directly behind me and we get together often to chat and bake--something we both love to do! Jojo is Italian and loves to bake lots of cookies for big events so we thought it would be nice to make a ton of cookies for the baptism. In the past two weeks I've gone from strudel-making to donut-making to cookie-making! We started last Wednesday and baked seven varieties: kifles, Hungarian nut nuggets, butter spritz, chocolate/cranberry biscotti, apricot/walnut biscotti, cocoa kisses, and pignoli cookies. In addition to the cookies we also made deli meat/cheese platters, as well as veggie and fruit platters (my wonderful mom helped too).

The baptism ceremony was lovely. Annabelle was so adorable! She was very quiet the entire time and kept gazing up at Reverend Ron as he spoke. She didn't cry one bit when he poured the water on her head (three times too!) and she was calm and collected as he carried her around the church to introduce her to everyone. She's going through bouts of separation anxiety so it was no small thing that she was so composed. We were so tickled pink with her and everyone at the church just loves her to pieces! The reception went well and everyone loved the baked goods and food and most of all they loved the little guest of honor Annabelle. Such wonderful memories! I'll try to get more pics up sooner or (likely, knowing me) later.

Our little blessing with her Mommy and Daddy