Seth Meets the Family

Since we managed to end up in a location that is nowhere near my family and only slightly near Jon's (6.5 hours), Seth hadn't met any of his relatives besides Grandma (yes, Mom, it's really weird to write that) and Aunt Bethany. Fortunately, we were able to have quite a few members of our families come out for his blessing--meaning that Seth got to meet a whole bunch of his family in a very short period of time.

I owe my dad big time for flying my mom and sisters out for the blessing. It was originally going to be too expensive for everyone to come, so Dad was going to come by himself. However, in what was possibly the best Mother's Day present ever, he bought tickets for my mom, Marah and Beth to come out (the Carnahans paid for Kenna--thank you!). So I got to have my whole family there for a few days. Thank you, Daddy!

Unfortunately, not all of Jon's family could come. Aaron and Stephen are out in the mission field, Kade & Elizabeth are in Nevada, and Mary & Scott are in North Carolina. Daniel, Wendy & Jocelyn drove the 5.5 hours from New York to be there (with Wendy in the third trimester of pregnancy), and the West Virginia bunch drove 6.5 hours after having just made a road trip from Scott & Mary's. Basically, it was just really inconvenient for everyone. Which is why we were so glad that so many were able to come (but we missed those who couldn't).

One of the things I've looked forward to ever since we found out we were expecting is seeing my dad hold his grandchild for the first time. It was just as sweet as I'd imagined. He was a little nervous at first, like he didn't know what to do with such a tiny baby, but he was a pro by the time he left. As in a "getting Seth to take a nap without a pacifier" pro. Ask me how often I've been able to do this (never).

I was surprised at how well Kenna & Marah handled Seth. Before I had him I was terrified of newborns, so I guess I expected the same thing from them. Not so--they were fabulous. And let me tell you how nice it was to have someone to pass him off too while I showered. Did I take my precious time in the shower over the weekend? Absolutely.

I LOVED watching our niece, Jocelyn, with Seth. Wendy (her mom) describes her as a nurturer, and it was so true. She loved "holding" him and cried when she had to stop. While he was napping, she sat next to him waiting to put the pacifier in his mouth should he start to cry. She also tried teaching him the ABCs--she sang the song to him twice because he didn't catch on the first time.

Since we don't really have any newborn pictures of Jonny, I was intrigued by what Jon's parents would think of Seth. Mom Blood snatched him up the second she walked in the door and proclaimed, "He looks just like Jonny!" Then Dad Blood got him and said, "He sure didn't get Jonny's nose."

Seth got lots of love from his Blood uncles and aunts. James was especially good with him and even knocked him out without the pacifier (why I can't I pull that off?). I was worried about how Seth would handle being passed from person to person, but he was fabulous. In fact, he slept better when everyone was here! I think he's bored with just me at home.

My mom has more details on her blog, if you're interested.