Clara's Baptism

A few weeks ago at St. Patrick's church in Chesterton, Clara Catherine was baptized.

She arrived all decked out in her older sister's baptismal gown and her very own Sunday hat.

She was very patient throughout the ceremony and the church service.

But she was seriously interested in everything that was going on.

And even a little amused at the whole proceeding.

Here she is with her parents and her brand new Godparents.

And here she is inspecting her new Godmother's necklace while posing for yet another picture.

Then a quick shot with Mom before getting ready for a round of picture taking in the vestibule.

Meanwhile Noah quietly handled the clean-up detail.

 And Clara got a feel for the lighting.

 One last shot with Mom and Dad before everybody headed to Clara's house for lunch and a little celebration.

Finally before everybody left, there were pictures in the yard - first just the kids.

 And then the whole family.

All in all, it was a wonderful day.  Everything was perfect - good food, good people, and a very, very good baby!

Dan's Change of Command

We recently traveled to Colorado Springs to attend our son's Change of Command ceremony where he would take over the reins of a proud and honored battalion.  The ceremony was all we expected and more - full of pageantry and tradition.

When we first arrived at the parade field that morning, we detoured to the headquarters location where Dan and Teresa would be hosting a reception following the Change of Command ceremony.  Here they are preparing and re-checking to make sure everything would be ready.


Then we headed for the parade field where the entire battalion waited and the viewing stands filled up.


I got Dan's attention for one last shot before the big event.

Here we see Dan (on the right), his new Brigade Commander, and the past Battalion Commander (on the left) standing at attention. 
The Calvary was represented and here they are approaching the viewing stand where the past Sergeant Major's wife was presented with a bouquet of flowers and Teresa was presented with a bouquet filled with fully bloomed and newly budded flowers representing the new experiences and learning moments in her husband's upcoming command.

Next the outgoing Commander and his Sergeant Major along with the new Commander and his Brigade Commander inspect the troops.

After that the Battalion flag along with it's very significant streamers is transferred.  The Brigade Commander takes the flag from the outgoing Battalion Commander and hands it to Dan.

Next the three key participants approach the podium to delivery their speeches.

Dan's was meaningful, heartfelt, and laced with humor.  It's no wonder it was so well received.
  

Finally the entire Battalion passed in review including the Division band.

While we headed to the reception area, Dan paused for pictures and interviews.

Here Teresa poses with two other military wives who were invaluable helpers from the planning stage all the way through the reception.

After the reception, Dan took us on a tour of his offices.  Here's the flag which will remain in the Commander's office throughout his command.  Each streamer contains the name of a location where this Battalion has seen action dating all the way back to the late 1800s.

Here's Teresa trying out Dan's new office for size.  It's interesting to note that numbers represent the positions of the staff in any unit.  When Dan and Dave were Company Commanders they were Dawg 6 and Apache 6.  So the name of this battalion is the Vanguards and consequently Dan is Vanguard 6 as you can see on his desk.  The fascinating and significant thing is that the Commander's wife also has a designation.  It is Household 6 which just give you an idea of the importance of the Commander's wife especially in dealing with the families of all the members of the Battalion.

 We took a couple of pictures in front of Dan's Battalion headquarters and then had a fabulous lunch (in our own dining room at a local restaurant) before Dan returned to assume his duties as the new Battalion Commander and the rest of us headed home.

All in all, it was one of the proudest days of our lives and one in which we mused on the amazing journey that led to this day.

With Bluebirds Sometimes Two's A Crowd

Early this Spring I bought this bluebird feeder.  The advertisement was that bluebirds and only bluebirds would be smart enough and the right size to go into the feeder.  I also bought bluebird nuggets - tasty little treats sure to attract bluebirds.

For several weeks no bird went near the feeder and I began to feel like the gullible consumer that would swallow anything including the theory that bluebirds would enter an enclosed space to get bluebird nuggets.

I also spread some bluebird nuggets and meal worms around the ground and soon realized that the meal worms were being eaten but not the nuggets.  So I emptied the nuggets out of the feeder and spread a few meal worms on the platform of the feeder and even in the doorway.  And to my joy and surprise, they started using the feeder like the private lunch counter it was meant to be.

I really enjoyed watching them enjoy their meal worms and I often wondered if more than one would ever go in there at a time.  Here's a bluebird with a meal worm in his beak.



And here's a bluebird surveying the situation.  This is how they poise to enter their nesting box also.


First they check it out.  Then they jump in and start eating.

One day while watching them, I saw the situation I'd been hoping for.  It looked like there could be two in the feeder at once except that the first one seemed to take serious exception to the possibility of the second one coming in.

The second one hesitated but only momentarily.

 Before he made his move to enter.

Once in, he ignored the angry glare of first comer and dug right into the meal worms.

Finally #1 had had enough and decided to make her getaway while a frustrated robin who can't get to the meal worms tries one more time.

The interloper only thinks about his transgression for a moment before digging in once again.

 Finally he's had his fill.

And decides to vacate the lunch counter himself.  Here he is just leaving the floor of the feeder.

And once again, all is quiet at the bluebird lunch counter - at least until the next drama.
 

Actually I'm very surprised that the #1 bluebird was so unfriendly toward the #2 bluebird.  I'm wondering if we might not have two nesting pairs here.  Especially since I've seen what appears to be two different sets of fledglings.  I'll be curious to see if that's the case.

Hummingbirds, Etc.

I wonder sometimes at how our backyard has turned into such a refuge for birds.  We've worked hard to get bluebirds and although we've always had some robins, now they're everywhere.   Another bird that we've invited is the hummingbird.  We love the sightings but they're so fleeting.  A few seconds, maybe just long enough to reach for the camera, and he flits away as quickly as he came.

So we have the hummingbird feeder right up next to the patio window and we enjoy each and every sighting no matter how fleeting.  But I thought hummingbird feeders were strictly for hummingbirds and no other creature would be particularly interested in them. So I was chagrined for two days in a row to see this most unwelcome visitor.
  

I'm not sure of his identity but I am sure he was uninvited.  Fortunately after a day or two he moved on and we haven't seen him since.  I've managed a couple of hummingbird shots but, even though they aren't great, I feel lucky to have gotten them.
 

I'll keep trying to get that really great but elusive hummingbird shot and if I ever do, you can be sure I'll be posting it.