Saturday, May 21, 2011

Happy Birthday, Joseph!






Today we celebrated Joseph's 6th birthday! He actually wont turn 6 until June 10 BUT our little man may make his appearance early and we just couldn't risk missing this occasion.

We invited Joseph's entire class of 20 kiddos. We also invited some of his friends from preschool. We had a pretty good turnout; 23 kiddos!

The kids spent about a half of an hour on the bounce houses then they were taken to the field where they played soccer. When the pizza arrived, they all came in to the party room. We ate lunch, cake, and Joseph passed out his goody bags. Guests left happy, full, and ready for an afternoon nap! An absolute success!

Joe and I are already thinking about next year's birthday party. We're thinking that it's going to be a joint party- baby's first birthday and Joseph's 7th birthday! I'm excited!

Baby Showers

Now that I've had the last of my three baby showers, I want to share a little bit about each one. First, I'm so touched by the generosity of the people around me! I've only known these people for less than two years and yet they are so giving of themselves!

My fist shower was in April. It was really amazing! It was Panda-themed which is awesome because I think pandas are the coolest bears. The food was all Asian-inspired. Crab mondoo, fried rice, egg rolls, gyoza, tangy chicken, GREEN sorbet punch (yummy!), and the coolest panda cake! The center-piece included a Panda Bear board book (which I got to keep), stuffed panda key chains, and fortune cookies. The decorations were lanterns, with black, white and green Mylar balloons. It was really incredible. One game required guests to construct, using baby magazine pictures, what they thought my little man would look like. There were some FAR OUT pictures and it was pretty funny. The next activity required guests to draw on quilt squares. I choose my favorite and the winner got a prize. The squares will be made into a quilt for baby in the future. Grace is busy in graduate school at the University of Washington and if she gets it done before my little man turns one, I'll be completely grateful! Thank you Grace and Candi for such an amazing shower! I got clothes, diapers, and a lot of essentials that I really needed!

My second shower was also in April. Mary hosted this one. It was at Monica's Waterfront Cafe in Silverdale. We feasted on stuffed croissants (ham and Swiss, bacon and cheddar, portobello mushroom and sun-dried tomato), Ranger cookies, and pomegranate-blueberry punch. The center pieces were pansies in terracotta pots that lined the middle of the table. Mary had three fun games. The first required guests to fold or tear a blue napkin behind their backs to make a onesie. It was hilarious, for sure! The products were as varied as they were creative! The second one required guests to put a plate on their head and draw a baby. Some of the babies looked like Picasso pieces but it made it all the more fun! The third game, and perhaps my favorite, was a worksheet in which people had to match a language with the word baby. I surprisingly did quite well although I was no match for School Liaison Officer, Dr. Heather Carrell, who missed just a few. I scored more baby necessities like 2 bathtubs, bath products, clothes, blankets, and toys. I got Joseph didn't fare too poorly, either! He scored a monkey swinging toy, a Lego racing toy, Toy Story Operation, and building blocks (that he's supposed to share with little man when he turns 2).

My third shower was at work. The ladies that I work with are amazing cooks and all brought a delectable variety of culinary specialties. Chicken adobo, sushi rice, pancit, lumpia, fresh fruit, cakes, fried chicken, and so, so, so, so much more! The director bought a cake and there were plenty of sweets to graze on all day. Every time I went into the lounge, people encouraged me to take another plate. What could I do? I couldn't very well be rude, could I? The staff chipped in together and raised almost $300 in cash! I think that will go straight to diapers and wipes! I also got some really cute baby outfits and baby supplies.

My heart is absolutely swollen with gratitude. I can't believe how generous people can be! It makes me feel so good that my little man will be entering a community of such loving people.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Pregnant Picts

34 weeks

February (5 months pregnant)

I haven't taken as many pictures during this pregnancy. Last time I had gained so much weight that I was completely camera shy. This time I swore that I wouldn't gain as much weight and I'd get more pictures. It turns out that it doesn't matter how much weight I gain I still feel like a picture-phobe.

Trip to the ER




You'd think that since I'm 36 weeks pregnant a trip to the ER wouldn't sound out of the ordinary. People go into labor all the time, right? Well today after my 36 week OB appointment, Joseph and I headed to McDonalds for a little morning snack before school. When we pulled into the drive-thru, he mentioned to me that he had stuck his finger in a toy he'd received at Gabriel's birthday party this past Saturday. I pulled into a stall and tried to twist the thing off. After a few minutes of unsuccessful twisting and pulling (and hysterical crying), I decided to proceed to Target to get some oil or soap. Joseph was in such high spirits I was sure that taking it off wouldn't be a big deal. When we got to the bathroom, I quickly realized that this was not going to be as easy as I thought. Not knowing what else to do, I headed BACK to Naval Hospital Bremerton to take Joseph to the Emergency Room. I told Joseph that I wished he hadn't got his finger stuck and he agreed. 15 minutes later, he looks at me with tears bursting from his eyes and says, "I shouldn't have gotten it stuck on my finger!" I felt so bad that he felt bad about it. I reassured him that everyone makes mistakes and that next time he will know not to put his finger in anything. When we got settled into our exam room hospital people kept coming in to investigate the boy with the toy finger. They would peer in and smile while approaching the bed. Joseph didn't know what to make of it. It was a little like being a celebrity. It took one on-call surgeon, two nurses, an HM3, two surgical tools, and 20 minutes to get the thing off. Between being involved in a vehicle "incident" (as USAA phrases it) and a trip to the ER, this has been an eventful week, for sure!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Fay Bainbridge Island State Park


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For mother's day this year we went camping on Bainbridge Island. Joseph had a birthday party to attend at the Aquatic Center so Joe thought it'd be nice to spend some time camping. At first, the weather was supposed to be beautiful. Then the news reported that it was going to rain miserably. We went anyway. We're glad we did because it ended up being beautiful! On Saturday we hosted our friends, the Schultzs. They brought over gigantic marshmallows for s'mores and snacks. We all had a great time!