Baby Blessing

What a fun week it's been!

On Labor Day we celebrated with some good friends where we learned a bit about the history of Labor Day, played Quiddler and Triominos, and had some amazing food and way too many desserts (I think there were 4 or 5). Oliver was an amazing baby, and woke up when he was hungry. After I fed him he pooped on one of the grandchildren there, and she still loves him. We met some amazing people from our church and just had an awesome time! I love this family so much and am grateful that they became our friends so quickly after we moved in. They have introduced us to many great people and have taught us a lot about how to be loving toward everybody.


On Tuesday Oliver had his third baby shower. I guess I haven't written about any of them yet. The first was in April in Tucson, when a lot of people still didn't think I was showing, although I was already in maternity jeans. That's where we got everything we needed for the baby so that we only had to buy the big stuff. The second shower was thrown here in New Hampshire by some of the ladies Matthias has had the pleasure to work with. I'd heard so much about them and it was great to meet them and they all loved to get to play with Oliver (who was 2.5 weeks when it was thrown). Even though I originally thought we had plenty of clothes for our baby, I have sure been grateful for the ones he got there! Especially since the weekend after the shower he had many leaky diaper episodes for a couple of days! The third was thrown by some ladies from church, and I had so much fun and feel so much more prepared for the winter now! We are so blessed to have so many good friends to help us out with Oliver! He is so cute in all of his outfits, and I love how I think of our friends every time I clothe him. Don't worry, I remember friends with all of the blankets, bath supplies, diapers, toys, binkies, nail clippers, etc. as well. So to any of you who are reading this whom I may have missed giving a thank you for some reason, thank you, and I do think of you!

On Tuesday night my dad flew in, and he got to meet Oliver for the first time. He (Oliver) was sleeping the whole time, but Dad got to enjoy playing with him anyway.


On Wednesday, Mom, Dad, Oliver and I took a drive around the city, visited Matthias at work for lunch, and went to the Millyard Museum in Manchester. It was really interesting, and I learned a lot. For instance, not only were brown paper bags invented there, but also Velcro and the Simon game. Oliver blew bubbles in his sleep the whole time we were there, and I learned again that I shouldn't be on my feet for hours at a time.


On Thursday Dad, Oliver and I went to Harvard to visit my good friend Amanda. She had some time to kill in Boston area while she was traveling, so we met at Harvard to have a Gilmore Girls -esque experience. It was really good to see her, especially since who knows when we'll be able to see each other again. She loved Oliver, we got her a Harvard shirt, and Oliver had a blowout that got cleaned up in the Women and Gender Studies building. We also saw an archaeological dig going on in Harvard Yard. Parking and traffic, however, were insane.


Thursday night Oliver got to meet my grandparents--his great-grandparents. He loves them, of course! That night we went out as a family for food at the Puritan Backdoor Restaurant. The food was amazing, and fun was had by all! I love sweet potato fries!

Matthias stayed up late that night to pick up his parents from the airport, but Oliver and I both fell asleep while waiting up. However, when we needed to go take them to get their rental car, Oliver was excited to meet his other grandparents!






Thursday was spent with lots of fun and family, and that evening we went to the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival. The food was amazing, but the weather was cold and we had to take care of poor Oliver. I had him in nice warm clothes, but about 5 minutes into the festival his diaper exploded and his backup clothes weren't nearly as warm. We ended up wrapping a spare jacket around him to keep him warm, but I felt so bad for our poor cold baby! Luckily once he was warm enough things were fine.


On Saturday I didn't want to take Oliver out anywhere because we'd done so much already and I could tell it was wearing on Oliver with how fussy he was at night. Plus his mommy was getting tired too. So everyone came over and we just hung out all day. We took family pictures





Played Sudoku


All amongst lots of talking and laughter. It was really fun. That evening Matthias took some of the family to go pick up chimis. Apparently they aren't used to so many gringos in their part of town, let alone with a guy who speaks with a Dominican accent, so they thought the group was hilarious and even through in an extra chimi.

Yesterday was the baby blessing. My mom made Oliver's little blessing suit, and we got the traditional knitted blessing blanket from Matthias's mom. Oliver was amazing and even opened his eyes when Matthias held him up to show him off. The Spirit was there so strongly. I am grateful to have a husband who is a worthy holder of the Priesthood. Oliver is such a blessing in our lives already, and I am excited to learn and grow even more with him.


Now all of the extended family is gone and we are just enjoying our little family at home in our apartment. Hopefully Oliver gets used to not having lots of grandmas around!