PDA (Public Displays of Attention)

I began taking Tanner and Abigail to church (by myself) when they were a few months old.  Back then, I would strap them into their double stroller, push them into the hall attached to the church and they would sit and/or sleep quietly through mass.  Sometimes I would have to take one out to console if the music woke them up or if they were moved by another "holy spirit" (if you know what I am talking about).  Occasionally they both got fussy at the same time.  The ladies that sat around us (all moms, none of which I knew very well) very quickly jumped at the chance to hold one of them, which was so helpful.

Ready for church (8 months old)

As they've grown it has become more difficult to take them both to church by myself.  Once they were able to crawl and walk they didn't want to stay in their stroller and they most certainly did NOT want to sit in the chairs during mass.  They preferred playing with toys on the floor, enjoying a snack, or looking out the window.

All dressed up (10 months old)

I was pretty tolerant of the occasional screech or loud playfulness but there were times where one or both of them would cause heads to turn with a small tantrum or a wave of giggles with an audible "toot" during a moment of silence.  Parishioners would tell me how great it was that I brought them to church each week but I just wanted to hide under a rock.

Easter Sunday (11 months old)

When they were about a 18 months old I began sitting in the main part of the church.  The openness of the hall allowed them to move around so I thought that sitting in the pews might help keep them contained.  It worked...for a little while.  I packed a bag of books, small toys, crayons, and snacks to keep them entertained (pacifiers too, just in case) but after a few months they began getting too unmanageable for me on my own.  After one particularly ROUGH Sunday I began taking only one of them each week.  I alternated each weekend and occasionally brought them both if (and only if) my parents were visiting and would be meeting us at church.

Unhappy (2 years old)

Today I took Tanner and Abigail to church...by myself.  Something I said I wouldn't do again after our "mass mishap" just before Christmas.  Matt wanted to work outside this morning so I decided that I would give it a go, again.  Things were fine until just before communion...when Tanner wanted to draw in his doodle book but couldn't find a pencil (one of the little ones in the pew).  Abigail had hers and Tanner flipped out...he began screeching!  I tried giving him his pacifier, which he defiantly spit out of his mouth on to the ground.  I tried picking him up to console him, which only made it worse. I am sure my face got redder and REDDER as he got louder and LOUDER!  I frantically searched for the missing pencil and only when I handed it to him did he calm down, thank God!  A few minutes later a woman stepped into our pew on her way to communion.  She put a hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eye, and said, "God bless you."
I am sure I'm not the first (nor the last) parent to feel overwhelmed or embarrassed by their children.  I am fairly certain that as parents we think it is much worse that it actually is when we are in the moment.  After mass today several people stopped and told me that they were happy to see AND hear the kids in church.  Comments like this help me realize I am not completely crazy for attempting the feat over and over again.  One of these days we will get it right, right?