Emma and Alexander's Christening

It was my niece and nephew's Christening last weekend. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, Gareth wasn't able to attend so Rowan and I went up to my sister's with my parents on Saturday.  Rowan was excited about visiting his cousins, and recited their names to us on the journey.  Tom, Lily and Emma are all very good with Rowan, and they had great fun playing together. We were able to stay for a few days and it was nice being able to spend a decent chunk of time with my family.

 I love this photo of my Dad with 2 of

his grandsons. It was taken with my 

mobile so it isn't the best quality. Sometimes

capturing a moment is more important

than the final aesthetic

On Sunday, we all got ready for the Christening and drove the hour to the church (Rowan took a quick catnap and woke up on hearing the word 'cake.' Uncanny).
It was a friendly service, and the vicar was very relaxed.  He involved the children in the service wherever possible, and was quite happy for them to run around the church - if you've ever tried to keep a young child sat still when there's an array of tempting (and fragile) decorations around, you'll appreciate how thankful the parents were to hear this!

I was one of the godparents so didn't get an opportunity to take any photos of the service itself. Emma was also a little shy and didn't want her photo taken so there are no pictures of her here. It's a shame as she was very enchanting in her dress. However, Alex was unable to voice any such protest...

Paula and baby Alex

Mark, Paula and Alex

The friendly vicar. This picture makes him

a little imposing, but he was very relaxed

After the Christening, we went to a local carvery for lunch.  Rowan was somewhat tired at this point (he never sleeps that well when away from home unless I'm in the room with him - thank goodness for the Kindle paperwhite, or those early nights would have felt very long!) and I struggled to cajole good behaviour from him. In these situations you do tend to reach a point of 'bugger it' and just let things slide. As long as he wasn't hitting etc., I admit I wasn't exactly trying to establish good table manners.
We survived lunch, and then traveled to Paula's in-laws for the evening. They are a very welcoming family, and I felt relaxed with them. Rowan was happily zooming around their house (with permission, I should add), and was delighted when he located the mop (for some reason Rowan loves anything related to cleaning).  Along with a sit-on car, this became his toy of choice till we returned to Paula's house.

Alex car jacking in his finery

Christening cake

More cake. Because... cake

Paula and Alex

Cheeky face!

Keeping an eye on his mum's whereabouts

We spent all of Monday and Tuesday morning catching up, and then my parents drove us home. It takes 3 hours to drive to my sister's, and they went back the same day - 6 hours of driving just to take me home; crazy (but kind) people!  I had an excellent few days spending time with family. Rowan was generally well behaved. I think sometimes I forget he is only 2 years old, and expect too much from him.

Driving home

Rowan catching up on his reading