Olivia's Dedication

Well, dedication day didn't go quite as planned.  Mostly because Olivia was still on the powder formula that she hated.  The thought even crossed my mind that I should have gone out and just bought a Ready to Feed bottle to make sure the day went alright, but I was trying to not give up the formula fight so soon.  (And switching back and forth is not good for her tummy.)

Anyway, my mom had given me the gown that I was dedicated in.  I'm pretty sure she was also dedicated in it, but I can't remember for sure.  It was big on Olivia.  Not just the length--I know it is suppose to be that long.  It was falling off her shoulder and wasn't really comfortable for her.  I decided ahead of time that I'd just try to get some pictures of her in it and then she'd have her own (more modern) dress.

Well, this is how those came out...

As you can see, she was not a happy camper!  I had grand plans to do this whole photo shoot with a nice background and natural lighting and blah blah.  That went out the window after the first two minutes.  We got a few of me holding her and then aborted the mission.

We got to church and she was hanging in there--not her happy self, but not melting down either.  

Don't you know that the minute the music started, she started crying!  I took her out to the lobby and tried to feed her, but she was refusing the bottle (which then made her cry harder).  UGH!  I finally got her calmed down and went back in right before it was time for the dedication.  We had to go back stage and wait for a minute and she was squawking.  I was so nervous that we were going to get on stage and she was going to have a complete meltdown.  The girl has a nice set of lungs on her!  Then they said we were going in alphabetical order and we were LAST.  My thought was "Great, I can't even get our part out of the way and jet if I need to".  Thankfully, she fell asleep and was in a half asleep state through the whole thing.  I had grand plans to hold her facing the audience.  You know--looking all cute in her dress and bow.  Yep.  Again, didn't happen.  At that point, I was willing to hold her any which way I needed to in order to keep her calm and quiet. 

Don't mind the fact that I look large and in charge in these pictures.  

I obviously need to get rid of this baby weight and fast!

Our Pastor's wife whispered "You made it through it baby girl!" to Olivia after the prayer.

Here is the video. Hopefully the audio is loud enough for you.  Our friends sat in the front row, so this is as good as it gets.  Sorry about the little girl next to us.  She is a huge distraction!

Our friends that also moved here from Ohio were suppose to come and celebrate with us, but they got sick.  Wil and Alycia came and were our photographer/videographer.  Thank God for them.  We also went out with them afterwards to celebrate.  Part of me was a little sad that it was just us.  I remember traveling to Indiana for my nephews dedication.  I remember going to my nieces baptism and having the party at my sisters house afterwards.  I sort of felt sad that Olivia didn't get that.  No family... no party... no cards or prayers or words of encouragement...  But on the other hand, it's not really about the celebration or who is there.  It is about the act of giving our daughter back to the Lord and promising to be good examples and raise her up in the way she should go.  For that, the most important people were there and I am grateful. :)

We have some coupons for some cheap pictures at JCPenney, so we will hopefully be getting some 3 month pictures done in her dress.  Here's a picture of when we were trying the dress on the day I bought it.  It's a little better than the pictures above.