Baby Shower!!

Well this past weekend was a good one and went by way too quickly! The highlight of my weekend was the baby shower that Val & Lyndsey hosted for me and the baby! It was very thoughtful of them to do that & it was a lot of fun!

A lot of friends/family were able to make it to the shower and it was so nice to share in the excitement of preparing for our first baby with all of them. And it's obvious that this baby will be well loved! (And just a bit spoiled!)

The first game/activity we did was to have everyone pick a candy bar (there were 4 different kinds) and each type of candy bar had a different "task" for everyone to do. The guest had to either (1) tell a favorite memory of me and/or Jay; (2) tell why Jay & I will make good parents; (3) give some advice for parenting; or (4) give me an idea of what to do while the baby is sleeping. Some people brought up memories I had long forgotten - but it brought a lot of laughter (and a little bit of blushing from me). Memories involved anything from my cousin Jenny and I having a pizza eating contest when we were little to memories involving Milli Vanilli and Walkmen to memories of when I was a chubby toddler with a belly about the size that it is now! There were some sweet and some funny answers as to why Jay and I will make good parents. And as for the parenting advice and suggestions for what to do while the baby is sleeping - I got a lot of ideas, including my friend Stacy's 3 year old daughter suggesting that I "play cows" and "ride bike" while the baby sleeps because that is what she does while her younger twin sisters sleep! :) It was really a good idea to get everyone involved. My brother even got in on the act (he was the one who told the story of me and my big belly in my little bikini when I was a couple years old!!)

The second activity was for people to write down name suggestions, as we have not "released" the baby name(s) we like. I will say this - someone guessed the one we like the best as of now. We still have almost 7 weeks until the due date to make the final decision! :) We'll try to keep everyone guessing until then!!

Here are some pictures from the event:

One of my gifts was the book "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Suess, which, as my dad will attest to, was one of my favorite books when I was little. He probably read it to me hundreds of times. So, it was fun to get that book to pass on to the baby something that was special to me as a child.

Me with the Gerving side sisters-in-laws (minus Carrie, who had already left when we took it) and plus Val W. who also helped out with the shower. Lexi got in on the picture too :)

Mom, me and Sandy

My friend Heidi got this onesie specially made for the baby - the front says "Lucky Charm" and she got the logos of the two sponsors we have for the softball team put on the back - he's going to wear it for McQuades and State this year to hopefully help the team onto victory!

Tom telling his favorite memories of me and Jay - never one to shy away from talking in front of a crowed - he took the opportunity to be funny but also had a few nice things to say too! :)

Me by the cake - looking large and in charge at 33 weeks! Ha! (Val W. had the cake made by someone she knows that professionally decorates cakes - it has the theme of what the baby's nursery will be - "Champ Snoopy"). In fact, the shower's decor/theme was sports for the little guy.

Again, I just had a great time and really appreciate all the work and planning people put into it - and of course we appreciate all of the thoughtful gifts for our little one!

Jay had the guys over for his annual draft party on Saturday. They enjoyed a day of pizza and watching the draft and who knows what else went on while us girls were at the shower! ;) J/K.

After we unloaded gifts at the house on Saturday, some of us went to Applebees for supper and then I crashed pretty early that night. Sunday evening, Jay got some things put together (the high chair, bouncer, etc) and I got everything put away and organized in the baby's room! It's really starting to come together. Once we get the bedding/decor I will post pictures!

Other than that, we went to some houses in the Parade of Homes on Sunday - even the million dollar + house, which was built by the same contractor who built our house. I just love going to houses - even though I know we could never afford most of them, it's just entertainment to me and I love to see all the ideas that other people come up with (on an unlimited budget!!)

This work week started off a little rough - Jay's foot pain came back - he went to a family doc today though and thinks he has some medication that will help the problem go away better than the last 2 times he's gone in. We'll keep our fingers crossed on that. He conked out on the couch pretty early tonight as he had very little sleep last night due to the pain again. :(

I kind of feel another cold/sinus infection coming on - but hoping to ward that off (which reminds me I should probably get to sleep pretty soon!!) I was able to get out for a nice long walk with the beagles again tonight - I felt like I had to, since the weather is supposed to be cold/rainy/windy for a couple days...

I guess that's about it for now. Just trying to patiently go through these last 6-7 weeks of pregnancy! We're getting very excited to meet this little guy - well he's not so little anymore. By the end of this week he'll weigh between 4.5-5 lbs!! However, we keep praying that he stays put until he's full term - we want him born strong and healthy! :)

Good night and have a good week everyone!!