Mark was present when his oldest niece, Marci, was baptized in Phoenix; he had to miss Allegra's baptism a couple of years back in Boston, and he was determined not to miss the event for his youngest niece, Stella. So, with a little help from a Southwest Airlines sale, he flew out for a couple of days to celebrate not only her baptism but also her first birthday!
Uncle Mark and Grandpa (Jenny and Mark's Dad) had front-row seats when Jenny, Qing, Allegra, and Stella stood by the baptismal font with another family at the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church near where they live, on Sunday 11 March 2001. Stella wore a gown that her older sister and cousin Marci, and other relatives going back to their great-grandfather Schoenleber, had worn when they were baptized. Allegra wore some nice red shoes!
The bonnet Stella had in the photo at top didn't stay on long, as Stella had strong opinions on the subject! Mark has seen dozens of babies baptized in St. Charles and Manhattan Beach, and a lot of them agree with Stella that the cool water is uncomfortable too... (By the way, Mark apologizes for the tilt and blur of these photos; to stay unobtrusive, he shot with the flash off and the camera in his lap, composing with the LCD monitor rather than the viewfinder.)
After the service, Jenny and Qing hosted a couple of families of their friends at a party to celebrate the baptism, and also Stella's first birthday on Monday. The adults from left to right are Nancy, Mike, Qing (with the guest of honor), Suzy, Jennifer, and Chris; playing with Allegra are Mike and Nancy's children, Davis and Delaney. (Grandpa was also there, of course; unfortunately, the photos with him in them came out blurry.)
And what's a party without presents? Stella hasn't quite figured them out, but there was also one for Allegra, and here she shows that she's an old pro! (Stella also had a nice birthday cake the previous evening, but Mark was too fuzzed from jet lag to remember where he'd packed his camera.) Mark had a great time on this visit, which was also his first opportunity to meet Stella. Cheryl was unable to come along, given the long travel time for the short visit, but we hope she will be able to meet Stella too, and the rest of her family, on another occasion before our wedding.
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to Photo Albumnew 21 March 2001, revised 2 September 2002