at first we thought maybe a christmas portrait session wasn’t going to happen this year. dave’s been so busy with wedding work, we’ve all been sick on and off, and the days were speeding by. but leave it to amy raab to come to the rescue! she offered her studio — out of the blue studio in annapolis — for an impromptu session on the first saturday of december. hurrah!

this photo is INSANE. so many people have commented that it belongs in a magazine, and we agree. amy captured an awesome moment here — phoebe’s crossed legs and cute little smile were totally unplanned, as was jackson holding his sister’s hand. gorgeous! dave ordered a gigantic print of this for me for christmas, and I know I will cherish it for a long, long time.

jackson couldn’t get enough of this classic-looking tricycle. he’d actually never ridden one before, but he jumped on and started pedaling like a pro. it was difficult to get him off of it!

big thanks to molly’s sister, lynne, who got the kids both sets of outfits you see in these pictures. she has a knack for finding great clothes that look super on jackson and phoebe.

dave and molly didn’t plan to get in on the portraits too, but we don’t have many opportunities for a nice shot of all four of us together! so, that’s how we ended up with this “hat family” shot!

phoebe kate spence was baptized at saint katharine drexel church in frederick, maryland on sunday, sept. 20. we were happy to be surrounded by family, and some friends, as she joined the catholic faith during the 11 a.m. mass. just like her brother, phoebe was baptized via full immersion by the rev. keith boisvert (hopefully someone else got a good shot of that!), and after she was “dunked,” she wore the baptismal gown that molly and all of her siblings wore. most of phoebe’s cousins have worn it as well. (to see more photos from the day, click here.)

when we pulled off the blanket to reveal a naked little phoebe, many in the congregation gasped, and several people were crying as father keith dipped her whole body in the font three times. it was beautiful. above, father blesses phoebe with the chrism.

father keith is a wonderful celebrant, always making the congregation feel at ease, even when a screaming baby or a bashful 3-year-old is threatening to ruin the mass. here, he gives us the final blessing.

a special thanks goes out to lynne and amy, who rushed back to the house to get the corsage and boutonniere for the godparents (molly’s nephew, colin, and sister, beth), after we left the flowers in the fridge!

after mass, the whole gang headed to la paz, a restaurant in downtown frederick. following a hearty mexican feast, during which we all ate way too many tortilla chips, we headed back to the spence house for a delicious cake (pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing, topped with creamery ice cream, provided by amy! woo!). molly picked up the cake from ed’s country bakery at the farmer’s market on saturday — right before she bumped into ‘top chef’ contestant bryan voltaggio! local celebrity sighting!

molly and dave want to say a special thanks to all the family who made the trip to maryland for phoebe’s special day. it meant a lot to us for you all to be here. and to those of you who couldn’t make it — we missed you!