Finished the Room... Kind Of

I say "kind of" because it's not exactly done until the queen sized bed comes out and we can space the furniture out more, but here are the final-for-now pics:

As soon as he's able to reach the leaves and grab the 'stems' we'll move the furniture around. We also have to remove all of the stuffed animals but, for now, they are living comfortably in and around the crib. This is what Caleb will come home to:

The little touches really made the room come together. The valance and the crib skirt are made out of the same fabric; the little cutouts on the valance match another fabric that will be used in a quilt creation TBD by my mom, aka Nana:

I'm feeling pretty good about what we've accomplished so far and grateful for my mom's help in making it look so good! :)

A Shower to Remember

The best group of family/friends in the WORLD threw a baby shower I will never forget. And to be clear, this was not for me. It was for Caleb. He is the luckiest little guy in the whole world because there are so many people just waiting for his arrival and showering him with a bazillion gifts already, at negative ~4 weeks. He hasn't made his debut and already has somewhat of a fan club.

Much like the last post, I'm going to let the pictures do the majority of the 'talking' here. The shower was at My Other Mother's home. My Other Mother is my best friend Renee's mom and to keep the story short, she has been a second mom to me. Not because my own mom doesn't rock the socks off motherhood, but because I spent lots of time at their house - especially high school years - and because this family is truly my second family. So... I get to her house and see Connor arranging balloons, Renee (Chief Shower Officer) and Sacha and Other Mother arranging the food and Ginger making a fruit salad. It was like Santa's Workshop in January. After a couple minutes of BSing (my forte), I rounded the corner to the living room and this is what I saw:

It was so beautiful and festive... colorful without the pastel blues and yellows that I see in my head when someone mentions a baby shower. It was vibrant but not overdone. It was PERFECTLY DONE! Connor did the flowers and balloons, inside and out, and they were gorgeous!

I saw the frog in the middle of the table and didn't realize he cleverly used the Boon Frog Pod (toy scoop and storage for the bathtub) as the main centerpiece. It was so cute!!!!

The guests seemed to really enjoy the day. I got a few 'thank yous' for not having silly shower games. I have to say... I requested no games, but wasn't the host so I'll just say: "thank you!" to the powers-that-be for making it a low-key but wonderful event. I took pictures of the guests but didn't ask permission to post them here so I will keep them to myself as my personal memory :)  

The presents seemed never-ending and when I got home, I put it out so Paul could see everything. We looked through some gifts that night and other stuff in the morning:



I'm too lazy to go out and take a picture of the real thing in the garage, so here's the photo from BRU. I'm pretty sure the baby doesn't come with it, although we have yet to open the box.



We got two diaper cakes (I wasn't smart enough to take a solo pic of the other one, but it's in one of the pics above). These are so very cool... not only are they cute, but oh-so functional. We didn't have any diapers before the shower and now we have lots! :)



My mom gave this to me. It looked familiar but I was somewhat confused. It is the plate/bowl/cup I used as a kid. I still don't believe she let me eat out of it because it's very breakable yet there are no chips. I am a klutz. I don't see how this is possible.


And clothes? This kid will have plenty to wear since he got tons of super cute clothes on Saturday and, well, I might have done a little shopping before the shower (not posting pics because (a) they weren't shower gifts and that's what this post is about, and (b) I don't want to put them all in the same space because this way I can stay in denial about how much we/I bought):

And finally, blankets, etc. Right now we have 10 flannel blankets, 2 not flannel but warm and fuzzy blankets, a blanket knitted by Grandma Barbara, a colorful safari quilt from Nana, and a flannel quilt, quilted by Nana. I have a feeling I've forgotten some blankets that are tucked away in a closet somewhere so maybe that's not even the whole lot of them. Kid'll be roasty toasty for sure.

As people left the shower, they were treated to yummy sugar cookies in the shapes of a baby carriage, rattle or bear - decorated in blue. These were gourmet all the way. I may have had more than one. May have. My cousin Alex not only got the cookies, she also did the shower invitations and I am so happy she helped to make my day so perfect. I didn't get a picture of the cookies (allllll gone!) but here is the edited-for-privacy version of the invitation (loved it!):

We are so blessed to be given such a hearty start at parenthood. All of the gifts are so appreciated and will be used for sure. I am genuinely touched that so many people came to share the day with me - for Caleb - and it was, 100%, my family and my friends who made it such a happy day to remember.

A special, sincere thank you to Vera, Renee, Sacha, Ginger, Connor and Alex. You did such an amazing job - I can't say it enough - thank you so very much!

A Little Trip Inside My Head

My head is spinning. We're getting closer. 32 days 'til due date to be exact. I have tons to do at work (hence the 15 minute timer I've set for getting this written and posted). I have more to do at home. I feel very much like Doug ("Squirrel!") right now and sometimes find myself sitting idly while my brain races like crazy. Fasten your seatbelts, here we go:

#1: Happy New Year! This is going to be the best one yet!

#2: Picture time! T posted this picture on facebook last week so I asked for permission to post it here:

 And then I altered it:

in case you needed a diagram as to who is who and who is where :)

#3: More pictures! (Well, picture.) T made this for us as a gift and I can't wait to see it in person next month:

We already know where it will hang and don't even have our grubby little hands on it yet!

#4: We met with a pediatrician last week and agree that she fit the criteria we were looking for. She seemed very nice and low key, and also took as much time with us as needed, which we both appreciated. She was open to both Eastern practices and remedies and was ok finding the balance between "let it heal" and "throw antibiotics at it." Her philosophies and ours meshed well. The office itself left lots to be desired, but eh. Not the most important of things on our list. We still have a couple we can check out, but honestly it's not happening before we leave for Nor Cal so I'm glad we liked the first one! We can always change down the road if need be.

#5: I am not hungry but am chowing down on popcorn. As in second bag today. Stress much?

#6: I'm not loving California - or maybe it's my employer  - quite as much as a couple of posts ago. After talking to our Leave of Absence area and the state's EDD department (the people who administer the CA Paid Family Leave program) it seems that I have to take ALL of my PTO before receiving benefits. So, I will get to partake in the program, but since I'm taking my leave in two chunks I won't get that until the last 6 weeks of my leave. I have LOTS of PTO I saved up for the occasion being the responsible person I am. Whatever!!

#7: Mom started sewing baby blankets and the valance already. By next week it'll be the bumper and/or crib skirt. Exciting to see that stuff come together!

Time's up. Must get back to work so I'm not up all night.