Lily & Leo

Our sweet baby Lily got Baptized yesterday at St. Norbert Catholic Church at 2pm and we also celebrated her Ngày Đầy Tháng!  Lily got to have her own private baptism ceremony due to my request (ask and you shall receive!) and I’m so glad it was private because it was very intimate and it really made it that much more special since our Lily.   There are 5 symbols of baptism: the cross, a white garment, oild of chrism, water, and candle.  The cross represents Christ’s crucifixion, his resurrection and salvation of us all. This reflects the ‘turning to God’ in the three promises. The white garment was given to us by the church, and it is the symbol of purity as well as a manifestation of the “new man”. White symbolizes that the stain of Original Sin is no longer upon the child whose soul is wiped clean by the sacrament of baptism. Lily is now a child of God and that heaven is opened to her.  The Oil Of Chrism was put on lily’s chest and later the top of her head, and that symbolizes the seal of the Holy Spirit.  The water reminds us that it is God who gives us life and it symbolizes cleansing and purity and water washes away our sins.  Lastly, the candle is the final symbol in baptism which Khoa got to light, and it is, like water, essential for life. Without light there could be no life on this planet and it particularly symbolizes Faith.  Lily’s saint name is Anna, inherited from her Godmother Jennifer’s saint name.) was the center of attention!  We are so happy God will protect our baby in her journey through life, and will are more happy that she has two godmothers (Jennifer and Leilani) who will love, support, and take care of her through her life as well.  Thank you Godmother Jennifer for lily’s necklace and cross, and to Godmother Leilani for Lily’s necklace and pendant as well!  The necklaces were blessed by Father Kiet Ta as well!  Lily was so wonderful during her baptism, she was asleep the ENTIRE time!  Even when Father Kiet poured water over her forehead, she still remained fast asleep.  She didn’t wake up until we got home and it was time for her lunch!!  Haha!  That’s my sweet angel!  Special thanks to my uncle for video taping Lily’s baptism, she can look back and she what an aswesome mellow baby she was during this event!  Haha!  Also, thanks Kristin for taking picture for me with my camera!!  Thank you so much to all those who made it to her special baptism!

As a Vietnamese tradition, we usually celebrate the baby’s 1 month old milestone, called a Ngày Đầy Tháng.  We only celebrate the baby’s first month and 1 year birthday, but luckily for Lily, we will adopt the Western tradition and celebrate every year of her life as well. =).  During the week before her party, I worked very hard on making a banner and decorations for her party.  I also made cake decorations for her cake, (thanks An & Linda for the ordered caked from Givral Bakery!) and I made French Vanilla cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream, and made decorations for those as well.  I wanted to make cupcake decorations that were cute but also baby related.  So I made love birds to represent the love of her parents that create our precious angel Lily, I made a bassinet to and pacifier for the cute baby items, and the hearts that says Love and baby Lily to show her that our hearts are filled with her love and our love for her, and the pink flowers represents the pretty girl she’s already growing to be!

A couple months ago near the end of my pregnancy, Khoa bought me this cool book that has a bunch of recipes and imaged of cake Push Pops, and I’ve been waiting for an occasion (where I have time and energy) to make these!  Although right now I don’t have as much free time and energy as I use to, I still decided to try to make these.  Luckily, I was successful and made Strawberry Shortcake cake push pops!  I was going to tie a pink ribbon and add a pink rhinestone in the middle of the bow for decoration around the push pops, but I decided this was enough work!  I’ll go all out for her 1 year old birthday!

We ordered Vietnamese food from the same place as we did before for our Baby Shower.  We ordered Nem Nuong, Banh Beo, and Mi Xao, (no egg rolls this time since we decided to have a much smaller party), and my aunt made Fried Rice and my family brought cut up fruit (watermelon, honeydew, mango, pineapples, and LOTS of green grapes).  I also made personalized water bottle labels for Lily’s party as well!  Lily was showered with gifts, attention, hugs, kisses, and lots and lots of love!  Every time I finally get a chance to hold my baby, someone instantly takes her away from me so they can get their Lily fix!  It’s nice to know how much she’s loved!!

I’m so happy to have such a cute, healthy, and strong baby, I cannot be more happy and in love with our Lily.  I hope she looks back and enjoys these sweet treats, decorations, and love I put into making her day extra special!  Mommy and daddy loves you SOOOOO much Lily!!  You can enjoy all the pictures from her special day HERE!