All we need now is the BABY

This last week was a lot of fun for Alex and me. We finished buying the last "few" things on our baby-preparedness list. I'm sure we got a lot we probably won't end up needing, but I'm such a planner that I am happy to have everything just in case... and this is the first baby so he gets a little spoiled. Thanks to so many generous people in our lives we had a lot of gift cards and were able to use those to pay for much of what we still needed. We also had some cash stockpiled that we put away whenever we had some extra just for these baby necessities we knew we'd need.

Here is the nursery... full of clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, diapers, wipes, towels, books, toys, and so much more! We went with the firetruck theme and I think it came out really, really cute. I did the decorating when Alex was working and I'm really excited for him to see it for the first time when we comes home in a couple days. It is firetrucks and dogs- two things Alex really loves! If I know my baby boy and my husband like I think I do this boy will want to be just like his daddy. I can't wait to see them together and I think our son will really like his room someday.

The other wall

The wall opposite the crib

And we had two other things to get that aren't for the baby, but are things we wanted for ourselves when we add this baby to the family. The first was a love seat that completes the den. The sofa reclines and gives us an extra sitting option in our small home. I can picture myself holding the baby in this spot... and can picture Alex relaxing with the baby while playing his video games. The other thing we need to get is a new camera. The one we have now is a little old and the battery lasts for about 10 minutes. Not good when we know we'll want to get all our labor, delivery, and hospital pictures without worry. Also we want to get really great pictures of our precious baby so we'll get a new camera this week.

Here is the new couch, with pillows I bought but may be returning... I am test driving them this weekend.

This baby will have some amazing grandparents!

Our parents have been so good to us lately.

My mom bought us a beautiful glider and ottoman for the nursery. I can't tell you how many of my baby pictures show my mom rocking me in her rocking chair. I know those were precious moments for my mom and I'm sure that is why she was so eager to select a chair for me and my baby to enjoy too. Silly Alex thought this was his new video game chair. I had to tell him no!

A gift from "Granna"

Alex's parents bought us the crib and dresser, which is a beautiful cherry wood. I thought that was generous enough but this last weekend when I came home from Lori's shower I saw that Alex's dad had purchased an awesome jogging stroller and car seat! Maggie and I tried the stroller out yesterday on our walk. A very smooth ride and moved very easily through the grass. Maggie walked right next to it, was calm, and didn't pull on me. She approves, even when she noticed all the people out walking giving us weird looks for walking a baby-less stroller. This jogging stroller is great because it can lock the car seat in so we can take walks using the car seat and before the baby is big enough for the stroller alone.

Gifts from "The Grands"

And my Aunt Anne- not this baby's grandparent, but his Great Aunt. She had Lori and I each pick out a Moses basket and cradle. Right now it is set up in our room which is where we will likely have the baby for the first little bit of time. And the basket is very portable so I can move it downstairs and have a little place for the baby to rest or lie while I do little things. Oh and I know when the baby comes the pillow, blanket, and bear can't be in there!

A gift From Great Aunt Anne

Showered with blessings

So much has gone on lately and I have been really bad about blogging. But it is not all my fault. I haven't taken pictures and we all know what happens when you are left waiting for other to share their pictures.

Shower #1 was at my school. My friend Janice and all the 4th grade teachers did a wonderful job throwing me a shower. So many teachers took time out of their day to stop by and send their well wishes and lots of generous gifts. We got a bunch of gift cards to Babies r us and target, lots of cute clothes and an assortment of baby essentials, diapers, and a Pack n Play from 4th grade. Sadly no pictures to share. My mom was there and took some but she doesn't have a camera cord so I can never get her pictures.

Shower #2 was for Lori and her friends. I felt super pregnant and made her look like she had a flat stomach when she stood next to me! Her friend, Stacey, came all the way from the East coast of FL and with my mom threw a beautiful shower.

Shower #3 was for me and was the day after Lori's. My best friend, Jenn, did a beautiful job throwing a very classy and yummy shower. I was so glad Lori was able to be there and my Aunt Anne came for the weekend too. Everyone was so incredibly generous and we got all sorts of wonderful gifts. Lots of clothes, a baby bjorn and a bouncer, diapers, a moses basket and cradle, an assortment of books to start our baby library, a monogrammed blanket, blankets and a changing pad and diaper genie... and so much more that I can't even remember right now.