Introducing a new character

This, dear readers, is Daniel. Daniel, who is six months old, is the son of our very good friends Al and Michelle. He was baptized at our church yesterday evening and my husband has the honor of being his godfather. Daniel's oldest sister is his godmother, and Michelle assured me that Jesus would certainly understand and approve if I labeled myself "Auxiliary Godmother," a title which is not officially recognized by the Church, but which I feel has a certain jazzy ring to it, plus a promise of Presents Yet to Come.

Daniel is all that is cuddly and snuggly and adorable and obligingly molds his small self to the form of whoever is holding him. When not being cuddled, snuggled and cooed over, he is a manly sort who enjoys propping himself up on his elbows to see the toys on his little gym, plus sitting in this bouncy seat and kicking the toys so hard and so fast, his legs are blurred in the photo above. That picture makes me smile every single time I look at it.

In the four years since I started writing InsomniMom, all eighteen of you reading here have met my husband; Meelyn and Aisling; my two nephews, Kieren and Dayden, and my niece, Kiersi. You've met my parents, otherwise known as Poppy and Nanny and my brother, Pat, as well as my sister-in-law, Angie. My Grandad has figured in a number of posts, fussing about the food served at his assisted living center and annoying my step-grandmother. So it's been a while since I've had a chance to bring in a new character, and I'm very pleased that it's Daniel. Especially since we love his parents and siblings, especially since we have such an extra-special connection to him through godparenthood and, well, auxiliary godparenthood.

So my husband is going around telling people that he can make them an offer they can't refuse (and I'm happy to add that he resisted having anyone murdered while he was standing up in the front of the church as Daniel was being baptized; ref: The Godfather.) And I'm happily planning outings to the zoo and to Conner Prairie and the Indianapolis Children's Museum and buying him books galore because my husband and I are all about the reading. And we're doing some reading ourselves, about children with Down syndrome and how they learn and grow and love....

I feel that we're on a most exciting adventure. We've never been godparents before and I'm looking forward to discovering how to be a good one.