we had mikola baptized at our local church (st. giles) a couple weekends ago. i tried to prepare him a little, but the priest and other families were great and the ceremony went pretty well. surprisingly, he wasn't the oldest or biggest kid in the group of 4. as we neared the end of the service and he started getting antsy, i let him know he'd be getting cake and ice cream if he cooperated and it was very smooth sailing 'til the end.
we hosted a family party at the house after the service and of course the preceeding week was full of house preparations. we have had painters and carpenters here the past couple weeks to squeeze in exterior work before the weather changes. the painter promised me he'd have all the caulk and primer on the front porch covered with paint in time for the party. he did, but no one anticipated the 90 degree heat and 90% humidity of the early october day. the morning of the baptism, i put the furniture back on the porch and all seemed fine, but 2 hours into the party, the porch floor started turning into goo!! but i think a good time was had by all, including a badminton family tourney and a welcoming committee for sig's sister andrea who completed the chicago marathon -- plus the race to the party:) sig's dad was missed, but on the way out of the church, kola's godfather and sig's nephew sebastian found a polish penny on the front steps, so maybe he (and busia?) were there after all...
other highlights of the month included a visit to the model railroad set up at the botanic garden, kola's first trip to an indoor pool, and ethan's fun birthday party adventures celebrating with friends carson, finn, and katie.
as always, thanks for visiting with us:) love, b/s/e/k
