William's Baptism Weekend

We were able to celebrate the baptism of our nephew and godson William over the weekend. Luckily it was in the cities, so we didn't have to travel; instead, my family came to town. The girls had an absolute blast hanging out with their cousins. My mom and dad and sister Nikki, with her husband and four kids, arrived at our house on Saturday. My sister Terri & husband Aaron came over with William as well. Terri & Aaron just moved back to the area, so it was the first time in quite awhile that we were all together. It was quite interesting at times with 7 kids (ages 6, 3, 2, two at 18 months, and two newborns) and 8 adults, but I think we all enjoyed visiting and spending time together. Thankfully the weather was nice, so the kids spent most of their time playing outside in our yard and in the park across the street.

This morning, we dropped the girls off with Jamie's cousin's family who watched the girls during the church service. Since Jamie & I were going to stand up front during the baptism, we weren't sure how the girls would react so we decided it would be best (and less stressful!) to leave them behind. Then we went to Grace University Lutheran Church for the service. It is a beautiful, historic church that sits right on the U of M campus just blocks from where Jamie works. The baptism took place toward the beginning of the service, and I had the pleasure of holding William during this important event. It was very nice and personal, and it was great to see Terri & Aaron at home in the church that they love.

After the service, we picked up the girls and brought them to the reception at Davanni's Pizza. We had a private room, which worked out perfectly with all of the kids...and they all loved having pizza, of course! We were a little nervous about how the girls would act, since we arrived at the pizza place at the time they usually go down for a nap, but they did great. I think it helped having all of their cousins there to play with! It was actually the first time that all eight Thronson cousins were together since the birth of William & Owen. We attempted to take a cousins picture, but it was tough to get all of the kids to sit still!!! It was a very special day, and we felt lucky to be a part of it.

The girls absolutely love their baby cousins. They get an immediate smile on their face when they see William or Owen, and they keep saying "baby, baby, baby" over and over. It is odd to hear them call other kids "baby" when they are still my babies! :) They love to give them hugs and kisses, and of course they try to poke them in the eyes once in awhile! I guess they don't quite have the being nice concept down pat yet. They have really taken off with talking; Olivia especially will repeat just about anything we say. She recited all of her cousins' names with us this weekend. They are really at a fun age; we've been having so much fun with them this summer.

Our newest nephews William (born 5/9) & Owen (born 6/5): Violet & Olivia:
Jamie & me with William:
Thronson family after William's baptism:

The kids at William's baptism reception, with our cousin's son BJ
(left to right: Olivia, Emma, Evan, Maya holding Owen, BJ holding William, Alex & Violet):
Olivia giving Owen a kiss:
Violet giving William a hug: