I got all the cards out and even got confirmation from everyone regarding their attendance 2 weeks in advance, we placed the order for food and also got everything else covered before the end of last week. I’m usually a procrastinator so this was a huge accomplishment. We were thinking of having Naadan kerala food initially but we would have to pick it from Germantown, which is a good 1 hour drive each way from home. I’m so glad we finally decided to drop that idea (we figured we would end up spending half the day Saturday driving up and down for the food) and decided to order food from Minerva which is just 10 mins from home. The whole of last week was extremely busy too, Achachan and Mummy came back from Florida on Monday (they had a fantastic trip), Anishchayan, Chechi and kids got back from India on Tuesday and Daddy & Mummy came on Friday. Thursday was Daddy & Mummy’s wedding anniversary so we had everyone over for dinner on Friday and also cut the cake. Mummy had made a huge spread – Fried Rice, Caramel Chicken, Shrimp Olathu, Raitha, Rice, Kaachu Moru, Beans Thoran, Fish Vaatipattichathu and pickle. Daddy and Mummy were tired and jet lagged but were happy to celebrate their anniversary with the whole family.
Saturday rolled around fast and all of us were very excited. Sean kept saying ‘Are we having baby’s birthday party?’ and we had to keep reminding him that it was her ‘Baptism’ not birthday. He was confused but happy that a lot of kids were coming over and kept saying, ‘Lot of kids are coming.You have to share your toys. No fighting’. I just hoped that he’d remember at least some of that when the time came and he did (More about that down).
Aji and Achachan got all the last minute errands (like getting ice for the drinks) done in the morning and around 3pm went to Minerva and got the food. It was good to have the van. Everything fit in the trunk and we didn’t have any big spills…except for a little bit of the sugar syrup from the gulab jamun but the lawn bag liners caught all of that. Daddy, Mummy, Anishchayan and the kids came around quarter after 4. Sean was still napping. I got Rhea all dressed. We decided to carry her baptism dress and change her into that after the mass. Mass was at 5pm and we had to leave at least by 4:40pm to be able to make it on time. I was beginning to wonder if we will make it in time, so I woke sean up and got him ready, Aji, Mummy and Achachan also were all set and we were out the door by 4:45pm. Well, just before we left for church is when we thought of taking some quick pictures and realized that there was some problem with our digital camera, it wasnt working at all...it was such a HUGE disappointment. Hopefully we have some good ones on Anishchayans and Achachans camera and some on our video. Achachan had brought a suit from India but it didn’t seem to go well with his shirt so Anishchayan lent his sports jacket (Thanks Anishchayan!!) to achachan. He looked great and reminded me of Oommer (yesteryear mallu actor). We managed to reach church as the first reading commenced. Ittirachen and family were already there. Mass got over around 5:40pm and Aji and I changed Rhea into her Baptism dress. She looked so cute all dressed in white with a tiny white bow on her hair to complete the look.
The Baptism itself started around 6pm. There was another family with 3 kids. The priest had both the families on the pews on either side of the altar. Achachan and Mummy were Rhea’s God parents. Mummy held Rhea and achachan lit the candle. She didn’t cry when the priest poured the water over her head. She loves bath time so I guess she was thinking it was bath time again. We took some pictures in the church and we got Rhea’s baptism certificate. Our lil girl was officially christened - Rhea Elizabeth Joseph.
We got home around 6:45pm. Sean wanted to wear his new kurta pyjama for the party. He was sooo cute in it. Sarah and Suzanna looked gorgeous in their chanya choli.Everyone started arriving by 7:30pm and soon we had a house full of people, kids running around and playing in the basement. It was a lot of fun. Rhea was a happy camper but she was pretty worn out by 9pm (her bed time) and both the ammachi’s took turns to put her to bed. Sean played really well with Sarah, Kavya, Arnav, Arunima and Meherbaan. He shared all his toys even his Thomas the tank engine. We are so proud of him. We had Chicken Pakodas and Vegetable cutlets with dates and coriander chutney as appetizers. Dinner was served around 9 and included Naan, Vegetable Biriyani, Navaratan Kurma, malai Kofta, Butter Chicken, Chicken 65, Raitha and Salad. Dessert was Gulab jamun and Ice cream. For drinks there was wine, sparkling cider, beer for the guys, margaritas for the women and soft drinks for the kids. We also had Red Label but every one preferred to have beer and wine. There was quite a lot of food left and we packed some for everyone. By the time everyone left it was around 11:30pm. It was a fun filled night and everyone had a fantastic time. Rhea slept like a champ till morning after waking up briefly before midnight for her post dinner snack. It was the perfect ending to very special day.
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