Connor's Blessing Day

This last Sunday, March 5th, was a special day for our family. We took Connor to church for the first time and blessed him. It was a day that we'd both been looking forward to for a long time. All throughout our marriage, each time we witnessed a baby blessing in church, I would dream about the day that Brian would bless our baby. I think Brian started to feel the same way these last couple of years, especially once I was pregnant. It was exciting and a little surreal to wake up Sunday morning and realize that the day had come.

Connor looked so adorable in his blessing outfit! It was fun to dress him up in his white button down shirt, dress pants, and little tie Sunday morning. I'm very traditional and wanted him dressed all in white. It was so hard to find a white blessing outfit that we liked. I seriously looked for two months, visiting I don't know how many stores and searching everywhere online. Each outfit I liked was super expensive (upwards of $60 dollars, some over $100!), and Brian hated some of the less expensive rompers that I though might work. Since we were blessing him in March, I didn't want to put him in short sleeves and shorts, so that eliminated a lot of options. I actually ordered a white satin Christening suit, but it ended up being way too shiny and over the top, so I sent it back. A week and a half before his blessing I found a simple white shirt and tie online and immediately ordered them. Two days later (filled with more online shopping than I care to admit) I found the only pair of infant-sized white dress pants on the internet and ordered them. Miraculously, everything arrived in time for the big day, and it all fit well (after I hemmed the pants to the right length). Whew, what an ordeal! I was so pleased with the result though. He looked so nice, and it all worked with the blanket that I knit for him while I was pregnant. Isn't he just darling?

     

The whole day was perfect and everything went so smoothly. I was a little worried about getting everything done and ready the morning before church. My Mom, Luke, Annie, and Jake spent Saturday night at our place, and I was worried Sunday morning would be hectic with everyone needing to eat and get ready, while I tried to get myself and the baby ready and finish some last minute preparations for the lunch afterwards. It was actually good to have everyone here because they all helped out and we were ready at 10 am just before Brian got back from his church meetings. He was pleasantly surprised that we were all ready on time. Haha!

I was also a little worried that Connor would need to eat around 11:00 am when our Sacrament meeting starts, and that he would cry through the blessing because he was hungry. He eats every three hours now, but the times vary from day to day--the three hour mark may fall at 10 am one day and at 11 am the next--so I can't predict exactly when he'll eat beyond the current day. Also, I'm a first time Mom who hasn't taken her baby anywhere but to the doctor, so I don't have much experience with baby care on the go, and wasn't sure how he would do being out and about for so long and around so many people. Connor usually sleeps from about 11 pm to 7 am every night, but he woke up at 3:30 am Saturday night. That wasn't fun, but it actually set him on a well timed eating schedule for the day. His last feeding before we needed to get ready was around 10 am. He fell asleep immediately after finishing his bottle while I was burping him, so he didn't burp--the only hiccup of the day. He wasn't hungry again til around 12:30, which is when we were headed home. So it went just fine, he did wonderfully, and I know I worry too much.

I was just starting to change and get Connor dressed when Brian came home from meetings. We had time before we needed to leave, so we took some pictures of the three of us all ready to go. I love our little family!

Connor has a very proud Mom and Dad. It's impossible to describe how much we love him.

     

Brian's parents arrived just before we left, and so did Tom with his girlfriend, Sarah. We put Connor in his car seat, and loaded up for the short drive to our church building. We got there early enough that we were able to grab an entire pew and get settled. Our friend Matt from NYC, who made a special trip to come to the blessing, met us at the church. 

I put a bib on Connor before we left, and when we took him out of his car seat once we were settled in the chapel, I noticed that he had spit up all over himself--the consequence of not burping him properly before. Gah! The bib was just a little too big and hadn't shielded his clothes. The top of his tie and front of his shirt were so wet. Luckily I had brought multiple burp cloths, so I spent the time before the start of the meeting trying to wipe him down and dry his shirt. It worked out okay. At least he was in white.

Brian started feeling a little nervous just before it was time for the blessing. I handed Connor over to him and up they went. Layne, Luke, Jake, and Matt all stood in the circle, along with Ryan Putnam from our bishopric. The blessing was beautiful. Connor started to cry at the beginning but calmed down quickly and stayed quiet through most of it. Later I learned that Layne initiated some bouncing that caused Connor to stop crying. After the blessing, Brian held Connor up in the obligatory "Simba pose" so the congregation could get a glimpse of him. 

It was Fast and Testimony Meeting, so both Brian and I got up to bear our testimonies. I just had to get up and express my gratitude for and knowledge of my Heavenly Father's love, wisdom, and guiding influence in our life. The evening before, Brian and I had been reflecting on everything that we've experienced since being married, and once again we felt humbled and awed by how clearly we could see the Lord's influence in everything. He has been guiding us and blessing us the entire time. Because of Him, our hardest trials and deepest heartaches have resulted in some of the greatest joys we've ever known. We still don't understand the why of everything yet, but being able to understand some of it gives us hope and peace that our current and future struggles will turn out okay if we just continue to trust Him. 

I feel like we are in such a good place right now. Life isn't perfect, and it probably won't ever be, but I feel like it's as close to perfect as it can be. We are so happy and feel incredibly blessed to have Connor as part of our family. He is such a special spirit, and I don't know what we ever did to deserve him, but I'm so glad he is ours. 

After the meeting was over we made our way out to the foyer. I was waylaid a bit ecause I was carrying a very cute baby that everyone wanted to see. Brian had to come back in and get me. Haha! We found a spot just outside the chapel to take pictures. Our apartment doesn't have great lighting, or enough space for group photos so we thought it would be easier to take them at the church. Connor was a trooper and tolerated the shuffling well, even though he was hungry. We were almost finished before he really started getting fussy. I'm so happy with how the pictures turned out.

Brian and I are so happy that we could spend this day with our family and friends. It meant so much to us that they were there. Not everyone could make it due to distance, new babies, and work obligations, and we missed them terribly even though we understood. We feel so blessed to have the family and friends that we do. They are all so wonderful and loving, and just plain awesome. Family is so important to us, and we appreciate and love ours more than we can say. We're so happy that we live a lot closer to our loved ones and have the opportunity to see them on a more regular basis. 

Sarah, Tom, Kris (Mom), Me, Connor, Brian, Layne (Dad), Matt

Jake, Annie, Annette (Mom), Me, Connor, Brian, Luke

     

     

   

Although the day started and ended overcast and windy, we did get to enjoy a bit of beautiful blue sky on the way home.

 

After pictures, we all headed back to our place for lunch. I made BBQ beef sandwiches for the main dish. We had macaroni and fruit salads as sides, and brownies and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. It was great to have everyone together, and we enjoyed visiting and spending some time together before they all had to go.  

Our little guy did really well being around so many new people. He didn't have a problem at all being passed between family members at church and at home. He seemed to like everybody. I don't think he cried once while being held by anyone, and if he did it was only because he was hungry or tired, not because he was scared by the unfamiliar faces. We might have a people person on our hands. And of course everyone loved him as well. It really was the perfect day--a great celebration of our Connor.