Two Years ago today...

... we met Mercer for the first time. He was 2 days old and SO SO tiny! We had NO CLUE what we were doing, honestly, and hung onto every piece of advice the social worker in Colorado gave us on how to take care of him.

Good times.

Mercer turned 2 on Tuesday; we had a big celebration over the weekend on Saturday. He had a "Planet Earth / Jungle Animals" party. We painted noses and whiskers on the kids who wanted it... the kids had animal crackers, fruit, vegetables, and a cake with animals on top. The weather was gorgeous, so instead of watching the earth video or doing the jungle art project that was planned, they played outside. Just as well... everyone's been stir-crazy due to all of the rain, snow, and cold weather. We blew up some of the earth beach balls and the kids had a lot of fun with those as well as popping balloons on the grass. I have no idea what the kids are doing here, but it looks cute / they seem to be enjoying themselves.

At daycare on Tuesday, instead of taking cupcakes, we took fruit and blueberry muffins to share with his classmates. The teacher was grateful that there was no icing, and the kids seemed happy with their digs. One kid sitting next to Mercer blew out his candles two times... but, finally, on the 3rd light, Mercer finally got to blow them out. I'll try to get some video loaded soon.

His birthday wasn't the only thing we celebrated over the weekend: Mercer was baptized!

It went AMAZINGLY well! (whew) Several people said he was an *angel*. Mercer was so calm throughout. My vision of "worst-case scenario" was that he would punch the pastor, shimmy down out of his arms, and run down the aisle. But... he didn't even cry, fuss, or wiggle. We were just stunned. Here's a recount of the day's events:

Sunday morning, February 21, we went to the church to meet Elder Neil Blake who presented the three of us to the congregation. Pastor Wells began the service, said a few words, and then took Mercer in his arms.

Mercer laid his head on Pastor Wells’ shoulder as he sprinkled water over his head three times: “in the name of the Father… the Son… and the Holy Spirit.” Mercer – on cue – lifted his head so that Pastor Wells could anoint him with oil – tracing a cross on his forehead.

Carrying Mercer in his arms, Pastor Wells walked up and down the center aisle. He asked the congregation to watch over and guide Mercer as he grows in his relationship with Christ. He remained calm throughout the procession – gazing out at members of the church. We were all amazed (including Pastor Wells – which he told us afterwards!)

We had lots of family in town: Todd's mom & sister. My mom, dad, step-mom, step-sister & her boyfriend. We had friends and neighbors at both events. With back-to-back parties over with -- we're not going to entertain for quite some time! We had a great time, though... and have lots of wonderful memories from the weekend. (Including this shot of Mercer "blessing" us. Funny!