Today's the Day the Teddy Bears have their Picnic

So today was the home shower. There were about 25 friends and family that made it out for our Teddy Bear Picnic. My Mom and my friend, Crystal, flew up from New Mexico to partake in the festivities. I'm not sure why I wanted a teddy bear picnic shower, but it sounded cute and hey, I like cute.

My friend Stephanie headed up the shower organization, while both Grandmas were in charge of the details. We had boxed lunches loaded with sandwiches, chips, and bottled drinks. Teddy bears were strategically posted to ensure the playful ambiance. It was a tight fit, but it just made everything feel more cozy.

After lunch, we played "Guess the Bees in the Honey Pot." You had to guess the number of black jelly beans amongst a baby bottle full of yellow ones. Then we did "Guess Mommy's Girth." Most women find this game humiliating, as some guests are not as tactful as others and take a HUGE amount of ribbon. Most of my party goers were pretty conservative for me. The winning guess was 41 inches and Steph's mom hit it right on the nose! Then we played Baby Bingo, but things got wonky and we only played one round. There were 6 winners, in case you were wondering.

Shortstop was showered with lots of love and many, many clothes. Let's just say that this child will never be naked!

(left to right: Shortstop's Grandma Pat, Great-Grandma Boyce, Mommy, and Grandma Rita)

It was such a lovely day and I wanted to thank all of you for making my pregnancy so enjoyable. It makes me think that we should do this pregnant thing again sometime.

Me with Crystal (top) and Steph (bottom)

A Shower of Love & A Shortstop Update

I was lucky enough to have a reason to ditch work Friday. Eric's work threw up a baby shower. With only about two weeks to plan, everything was just perfect. There was a Mexican pot luck and this absolutely delicious cake from Costco (yellow cake with strawberry filling, oh yeah). Even though it was held in the middle of the day, we had an impressive turn out.

I really enjoyed opening all the gifts and oohing and ahhing over all things tiny and pink. But I'm really gratefully that Eric works with so many people who genuinely care about him and his family. Everyone was amazing and I had so much fun meeting staff and getting reacquainted with those I had previously met.

Thank you all so much for caring about our family so very much. We truly appreciate all the love and hard work you put into throwing this lovely party.

Shortstop Update: After the party, we headed over for our OB/GYN appointment. Shortstop's heart rate is 148 beats per minute and she is showing signs of being head down. I've gained another 1.5 lbs and my belly is measuring 33.5 cm. We both are doing great and because every is right on target, I have a feeling that she will show up around her due date. However, I had this dream where she was born on April 28th, so we'll have to wait and see.

As far as pregnancy related things go, I have openly declared that I refuse to waddle. I even wore high heels today, just to make my point (and they happily matched my outfit). I feel that pregnancy is such a beautiful time in a woman's life, why would you want to ugly it up by waddling? For those of you who waddled, don't be too offended. I am a Scorpio, which makes me a bit stubborn. Even if I have to walk all crazy, I will whatever is necessary to maintain my sassy runway strut.

28 weeks (7 months, 2 days) 33 wks (8 months, 2 days)

Valentine's Weekend

So we celebrated Valentine's Weekend by sharing our time with family and friends (honestly, we see each other enough as it is :0) I went to my co-worker's baby shower on Saturday and Eric hosted a Coffee Party on Sunday.

Saturday: I couldn't just do the old stand by and buy my coworker, Mina, a gift card or some item off her registry. So, I cheated and bought a quilt kit and made her baby boy a quilt. It's full of texture with flannel, cotton, and chenille squares and circles. I added a touch of red yarn for anchoring and aesthetic purposes. I hope that the baby will like it. Mina's mom made her baby shower cake (pictured below) and man, was it amazing. Marble cake and rich buttercream frosting. I'm drooling just thinking about it. It was a lovely party and Mina and her husband were totally showered in love.

Sunday: Now, I'm sure you've heard of wine tasting parties, where everyone brings a bottle of wine and everyone gets a sip (or two out) from it. Then they score each one a variety of parameters and then the group discusses things (if you even make it to this step). So based off this premise, the coffee party was born. He invited some of his coworkers, his parents and a few friends. Even though I can have some caffeine, I chose instead to stick to the sweet bubbly euphoria known as soda. The party lasted about 2.5 hours and I hope and pray everyone was able to sleep that night. Good clean fun, in any case.

Our godson, Phoenix

However, you spent your Valentine's Day/Weekend, we hope that you spent it with someone you care about.

Showering Baby Phoenix

Friday night, I went to a baby shower to celebrate the approaching arrival of our friends' (Jow and Angela) baby. They are having a boy and at the time of this posting, the plan is to name him Phoenix. As we have mentioned in a previous post, Joe is deployed right now, but there is a good chance he'll make it home for the birth. They are scheduled to induce labor Tuesday night.

We met at a Mexican restaurant, El Tequileno, and enjoyed some tasty margaritas. There were only a handful of us, so the evening had a very "ladies' night" feel to it.

Angela's mom, Judy, read us this cute story about the baby in the womb, complaining about being bored. He's was tired of playing tag with himself and can't wait to see if his new room has a view. I believe the title is "Ma, There's Nothing to do in Here" by Barbara Part (don't quote me on this).

Angela got hooked up with a ton of baby stuff and I was very happy when we started to chow down on cake.

Joe and Angela have asked Eric and me to be the godparents, so we're super excited to see our new godson.