Superbowl, Zacchaeus, Playtime, and Baptism

A few weeks ago we got together with friends to "watch" the Superbowl. I put watch in quotes because what it really boils down to is the guys watching the game and the ladies watching the kids and chatting. This Superbowl was no exception to that. We had a good time, though. Had stellar food and great company. Here's a picture of most of the kids (minus Grady and Brooke)-

Grant continues to be a sponge - absorbing new information daily. His memory fascinates me. He remembers things we did months ago and also makes connections easily. With all of the events surrounding the presidential race and inauguration, one thing he would say quite often when seeing the White House on TV is "mommy, I went there!" This puzzled Eric and I because he's never been there, but Eric and I went there about 2 years ago, so we just wondered if he was confused because we've told him we've been there. However, one time while watching TV and seeing the White House, he expanded on his comment a bit and told us that he went there with his cousins Tim, Luke, and Aaron. That's when it clicked - we visited Mackinac Island this summer and he was confusing the White House with the Grand Hotel. It is unbelievable to me that a 2 1/2 year old can put that together, having not been on Mackinac since early July. In addition to remember places we've gone, he's also got quite the repertoire of songs in his memory bank, but one of my favorites is Zacchaeus. So...I thought I'd get him on video to share with everyone. Normally, the "you come down" is a bit more forceful than what you see in the video, but it's still cute.

Last Sunday was Brooke's baptism at church. To say I was nervous about the whole thing is an understatement. For those of you that witnessed Grant's baptism, you would know why. Wait a minute - you didn't even need to be in the church to know what was going on - I think anyone within a mile radius of the church heard. Let's just say he wasn't the most cooperative kid, unless you consider screaming bloody murder the entire time cooperative. To top things off, there was another family having their son baptized at the same time. I felt soooo bad. Anyway, I had high hopes that this special day would be a little less chaotic. And...it was. Brooke was great. No crying at all. It was so wonderful to have so many family and friends there to witness her being officially "welcomed" into the church family, without the kicking and screaming.

Pastor Jonathan baptizing Brooke

Family picture time! This picture would be better had my son's pants not been hiked up to his knees with his red socks very visible!

This was the best pic I could get of brother and sister.
Full length shot of her dress (still can't figure out how to flip the pictures!). Love the smirk! The dimple hasn't disappeared!

Because we've never had any four generation pictures taken of my side of the family, I thought that this would also be a good opportunity to do that as well. Patience was running low, so these were the best shots we could come up with -

the Lohman ladies (and Grant!)
the Grotenhuis gang

After church, we had a family dinner at my parent's house. There were a few members of the family who were missing, however - but for good reason! My cousin Lindsay, her husband Eric, and their daughter Tori welcomed a new little boy into the world - Joel Matthew. Congrats to them.

Joel and me, my mom and Brooke. I thought Brooke was so tiny but wow - once I held Joel, what a difference 2 months makes!

I love this picture of Brooke and my dad!

Brooke is becoming more and more interactive each day. One things she's really been enjoying lately is "playing" on her playmat. What it ultimately amounts to is her batting the toys and "talking" to the star at the top that lights up and plays music. Nothing exciting, but it really shows how much she's growing up!