Baby A's baptism (or, that new christian smell!)
It's been a long time since I last saw Laura. We've both had significant life changes in the past year, and they happened around the same time, so we were both in our own little worlds in recent months. I would say her most major life change in that time is now nine months old, crawling, and has lovely eyelashes. :) I haven't seen Baby A since January, when she was a month old; she's a little different now. I got an email a few weeks ago saying if I wanted to come, they were having a baptism on the second. Of course I want to come! You don't have to ask me twice! What's funny is that, a few days ago, I got an email from her mom going, I'm sure you know this already, but we're having a gathering afterward and you're welcome to come. I did not know, actually, though I figured, and shortly afterward I got an email from Laura who'd thought she'd invited me, gone back through her emails, and realized she hadn't. Considering she works full time and has a baby, yeah, I imagine a few things slip here and there. No worries.
The church this was at is pretty close to Laura's parents' house, which was convenient for everyone. Most people don't live nearby--I think I was actually the closest person to the venues--so to have the church be within five minutes of the house was great. It's a newer church, about 20 years old, and I'd never been inside. It seems pretty nice and I liked the stained glass, though it's less old-school stained glass than more like a decal, I suppose, but it was pretty regardless. I was surprised at how many people were there, to the point where, after using the bathroom and then coming in a side door, I really had to look to find people who looked familiar. And I know a decent portion of Laura's family by sight at this point, but it still took a minute. There ended up being seven (!) babies getting baptized, though for a while we only counted six, because in the front row there must have been twins and that didn't become obvious for a while. Despite the large crowd, it went pretty quickly and was over in 45 minutes. Baby A might have been the oldest baby there, but that just meant she was more mature--she didn't cry at all. The babies were all lined up along the main aisle, three on one side, four on the other (the extra baby was in the middle of the front row at one point), so it was easy for the priest to come by and administer rites and oils and things. The baby in the second row on the other side of the aisle was having none of it and cried for much of the time, and definitely wailed a bit when the water touched his head. One other baby also didn't care for the water, but everyone else did okay.
I have to say, I liked this priest. He had a sense of humor, making light of the crying baby ("There's always one!"), commenting on the large number of baptisms ("Only seven today!"), and then of course there was my favorite moment, the one I've been relating to everyone. He'd gone around and put oil on maybe the bases of their necks, and on their foreheads, and he was going to come around and put some on the crowns of their heads. He told us, "It's what gives them that new christian smell," saying it wasn't unpleasant and would last about a week. Heh. Oh my goodness. That's hysterical. Best moment of the ceremony, no doubt. As I said, Baby A did really well, and there were pictures afterward, though I ended up talking with Laura's cousin (part of the girl posse a year ago) and then missed getting pictures of the baby with her godparents. If you remember Laura's friend Anna, she's the godmother, and her husband was the godfather...by proxy. I realized that after I'd gotten up after everything finished and noticed preprinted slips of paper taped to the pews. They gave the baby's name, parents' names, and godparents, except for godfather, one name was listed (Laura's brother-in-law), and under that it said "Proxy"--I was not aware you could do that. Interesting. He must not have been able to make it to the ceremony, though he also didn't make it to the party. His son is a year older than Baby A so we're hoping they're doing okay and didn't get sick or anything. After I got home and mentioned it to mom, she wanted me to email Laura to check on things. I think it's because Laura's nephew was her little buddy at the shower last year and she missed him.
Back at the house, I got to talk to the cousins of Laura's dad for a bit before adjoining to the kitchen with Laura, her husband, Anna, and then Laura's cousin. It was funny--when Laura was ready to eat, she went, Jen hasn't held Baby A yet, and she got plopped in my lap. :) Hey, the priest wasn't kidding about that new christian smell! She is such a cute baby, and she's getting close to walking, judging by how wiggly she was--I'd have her standing in my lap and she'd just keep moving. Sweetie, the chair ends; you can't walk backwards any more. There's a decent group of kids in the family, including another baby who's just a few months younger (five months old tomorrow), and they all seem like they get along, which is cool. It reminds me a lot of my family when I was little. And it was good to be at her parents' house again, where we'd spent lots of time, though it was sad to walk through the door and not hear her dog, Ernie, who passed away last year. I missed his deep woof.
It was a good time, and seeing as Scarecrow Fest is this coming weekend, there's even a chance we might get together on Saturday. Two weekends in a row! I feel faint. Actually, so did Laura at one point--I showed her my fancy schmancy new cellphone and even sent her a text. She had to laugh because it took me a minute, but hey, I did it and she has my number. She's only like the third person behind my parents to have it. I did warn her that I still don't keep my phone on, but hey, it might come in useful this weekend. We shall see.
The church this was at is pretty close to Laura's parents' house, which was convenient for everyone. Most people don't live nearby--I think I was actually the closest person to the venues--so to have the church be within five minutes of the house was great. It's a newer church, about 20 years old, and I'd never been inside. It seems pretty nice and I liked the stained glass, though it's less old-school stained glass than more like a decal, I suppose, but it was pretty regardless. I was surprised at how many people were there, to the point where, after using the bathroom and then coming in a side door, I really had to look to find people who looked familiar. And I know a decent portion of Laura's family by sight at this point, but it still took a minute. There ended up being seven (!) babies getting baptized, though for a while we only counted six, because in the front row there must have been twins and that didn't become obvious for a while. Despite the large crowd, it went pretty quickly and was over in 45 minutes. Baby A might have been the oldest baby there, but that just meant she was more mature--she didn't cry at all. The babies were all lined up along the main aisle, three on one side, four on the other (the extra baby was in the middle of the front row at one point), so it was easy for the priest to come by and administer rites and oils and things. The baby in the second row on the other side of the aisle was having none of it and cried for much of the time, and definitely wailed a bit when the water touched his head. One other baby also didn't care for the water, but everyone else did okay.
I have to say, I liked this priest. He had a sense of humor, making light of the crying baby ("There's always one!"), commenting on the large number of baptisms ("Only seven today!"), and then of course there was my favorite moment, the one I've been relating to everyone. He'd gone around and put oil on maybe the bases of their necks, and on their foreheads, and he was going to come around and put some on the crowns of their heads. He told us, "It's what gives them that new christian smell," saying it wasn't unpleasant and would last about a week. Heh. Oh my goodness. That's hysterical. Best moment of the ceremony, no doubt. As I said, Baby A did really well, and there were pictures afterward, though I ended up talking with Laura's cousin (part of the girl posse a year ago) and then missed getting pictures of the baby with her godparents. If you remember Laura's friend Anna, she's the godmother, and her husband was the godfather...by proxy. I realized that after I'd gotten up after everything finished and noticed preprinted slips of paper taped to the pews. They gave the baby's name, parents' names, and godparents, except for godfather, one name was listed (Laura's brother-in-law), and under that it said "Proxy"--I was not aware you could do that. Interesting. He must not have been able to make it to the ceremony, though he also didn't make it to the party. His son is a year older than Baby A so we're hoping they're doing okay and didn't get sick or anything. After I got home and mentioned it to mom, she wanted me to email Laura to check on things. I think it's because Laura's nephew was her little buddy at the shower last year and she missed him.
Back at the house, I got to talk to the cousins of Laura's dad for a bit before adjoining to the kitchen with Laura, her husband, Anna, and then Laura's cousin. It was funny--when Laura was ready to eat, she went, Jen hasn't held Baby A yet, and she got plopped in my lap. :) Hey, the priest wasn't kidding about that new christian smell! She is such a cute baby, and she's getting close to walking, judging by how wiggly she was--I'd have her standing in my lap and she'd just keep moving. Sweetie, the chair ends; you can't walk backwards any more. There's a decent group of kids in the family, including another baby who's just a few months younger (five months old tomorrow), and they all seem like they get along, which is cool. It reminds me a lot of my family when I was little. And it was good to be at her parents' house again, where we'd spent lots of time, though it was sad to walk through the door and not hear her dog, Ernie, who passed away last year. I missed his deep woof.
It was a good time, and seeing as Scarecrow Fest is this coming weekend, there's even a chance we might get together on Saturday. Two weekends in a row! I feel faint. Actually, so did Laura at one point--I showed her my fancy schmancy new cellphone and even sent her a text. She had to laugh because it took me a minute, but hey, I did it and she has my number. She's only like the third person behind my parents to have it. I did warn her that I still don't keep my phone on, but hey, it might come in useful this weekend. We shall see.