Zoe's first mass

Today is our first Sunday out of the hospital and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate it than at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. We were excited (and a little nervous for all the germs) to take her to her first mass. Since she hasn't had her shots yet, we figured we'd go to the earlier, less crowded, mass. I dressed her up in one of her many cute outfits (it was kind of cold so I'm glad she actually fit into her coat!) ...

We weren't really sure how to do the whole stroller at mass thing. It was our first time as a family to go out with the stroller so it was kind of awkward at first. We didn't feel like sitting at the very back of the church where most of the babies stay so we decided to go towards the middle where we knew there was a part of the pew that went up to accommodate wheelchairs ... or in this case, it was the perfect stroller parking! Zoe was such a good girl throughout the whole mass!!! She slept for almost all of it and was pretty observant when she was awake. After communion, one of the volunteers approached us and said Monsignor Kevin wanted us to sit in the front pews. He said he wasn't sure what he was going to do but we guessed it was Zoe-related since he said make sure you take her out of her carseat. Yikes!!! So we went to the front pew and took Zoe out of her carseat. After the announcements were read, Monsignor Kevin asked the church if they remember our "We're Expecting" homily that we gave back in December. He said Zoe was at the Cathedral for the first time and he wanted to introduce her to everyone!!!!!!!! So he walked over to us, picked her up and raised her up Lion King style while the entire congregation applauded for her!!! I think the roar of the claps scared her and she ended up spitting out her pacifier and spitting up!!! It was so funny!! How blessed is this child?? We were so honored to have her presented to her church for her very first mass! We made sure to take pictures with her ninongs Fr. Francis and Msgr. Kevin. As a special blessing, Msgr. Kevin called over Cardinal Mahoney and asked him to give Zoe a little blessing!! Again, Zoe is such a blessed little girl!!! Not many people have access to Cardinal Mahoney and to think at just one week old, she got up close and personal and even got him to give her a little blessing =)!

Afterwards, we got a visit from Mike's family. Aunty Isabelle was finally well enough to hold her! I'm sure they'll be great buds sharing their beauty secrets and boy stories =)

Here's the link to the video footage of her presentation at the Cathedral: