Showered with Friends!

My final shower was held exactly one month prior to the big DUE DATE. I had some of the most dear friends in my life join me for some baby celebrating and prep. This also resulted in what Mingus referred to "baby bootcamp weekend," as we had babies coming and going all weekend! The shower was actually held in the Rumpus Room that is connected to our Loft. We considered having it in town at the church, but there were complications with that. Obviously having it where I live was SUPER convenient for me (No travel and no packing gifts home!), but I am especially grateful for all of those who made the trip to attend. I know I don't exactly live close to...well, anyone or anything!

I was fortunate to have two close friends visit for the entire weekend. Valto, her husband and two little boys (4 months and 2 years) as well as my friend Kara and her 8 month old came down Friday and stayed through Sunday. Valto, the busy, busy doctor lady that she is, had been hoping to make a family trip to the Valley sometime in September and it just happened to work out that the shower weekend was the best option. Kara, who'd generously volunteered to throw me a shower in Louisville, came down to help with these shower arrangements instead. She did a fabulous job decorating with fall decor--which we all know I love!

I had friends come that spanned all corners of my life--GSP and high school, church and Bellarmine, to friends I've made in more recent years... So many of them were people I do not get to see too often but mean so very much to me. I hate that it is only on these occasions that I see some of them, but better than never. It's fun to be joining my close friends who are already on the motherhood path. Luckily for those who are and brought their young ones, my cousin Ru came down with her kiddos and played babysitter for several hours. She is so great with the little ones--seeing her occupy them and keep them happy made me realize all the more how lucky I am going to be to have her right up the road from me when the Peangling arrives!

My sister Rachel made it to the shower despite getting in SUPER late the night before from a flight traveling back from Rhode Island after being there all week. And not only was she there...but she hosted our games! Seeing how accurately someone could estimate my belly circumference was much more entertaining than I'd anticipated! KelKel had it practically dead one (with Valto maybe an INCH too long) while Rebecca's string made it around me nearly three times!

I received so much great stuff that really and truly rounded out our supply of baby "stuff" we were still in need of and I cannot get over it. In the beginning, Mingus and I browsed Walmart and Babies 'R' Us and were overwhelmed realizing the things we would need--everything from the big stuff like a car seat, down to the little things like first aid supplies and crib sheets--but we have been so blessed by family, friends and loved ones in their support and generosity so that this baby prep has been that much easier.

Thanks to all of those who attended this shower and again thank you to those who attended previous showers or who have sent their love and support in the mail or simply via text or Facebook message or a hug along the way. We feel the love and prayers more than you know.  Here are a few of my favorite non-shower shots from our weekend of fun!

Surprise - The Unexpected Baby Shower!

How blessed we are! 

It would be one thing if I were writing about a shower thrown for me by my coworkers...but I'm not. I'm here to write about a shower thrown for Mingus and myself by his coworkers a few weeks ago. I feel it's not uncommon for an expecting mother to have a shower from the people she spends so much of her day with through work, but it's so special that Mingus works with people that are this excited for us.

I suppose this just reflects yet another blessing of living in a small town and him working for a family-based business. While Tarter is an international company, the people care about each other and about family. Neither of us knew the shower was planned, but it was all spearheaded by Sheila, who is now his boss, but he has worked alongside in his department since he started at Tarter in 2011. They worked with my mom to get me into the office for the event, which actually worked out pretty easily. My mom makes regular trips to Tarter, as The 10th Planet (our family business) does a lot of work for Tarter. And while I may not work with these people, like Mingus, because I have lived here my entire life a lot of them are people I have known for a number of years (ie, I'm not just "Mingus's wife" to many of those who were at the shower.)

So mom made up some story about visiting a baby consignment shop and asked me to come along (I admit this is the most far-fetched part I had a little trouble with... It's not exactly in my Mom's character to use her non-work time to go on a random shopping trip. She didn't have to make up a reason to stop by Tarter on the way, as she actually did have a delivery to make. But while there one thing led to another and next thing I knew I was walking into one of their conference rooms that was full of smiling faces, pastel baby decorations and a pile of gifts! It was so overwhelming and I did not know what to say! I'm pretty sure I was shaking. Mingus wasn't even there yet and had no idea I was there. I had a chance to sit down, calm down and make sure I knew everyone who was there. It was great to faces to some of the names I hear Mingus mention regularly. They brought him down for a "conference call" shortly thereafter. It was entertaining to hear all of their stories about ways they'd been diverting him all day and leading up to the surprise to be sure no one gave it away.

We got SO much great stuff and the people were so generous; I can't get over it really. We got some awesome blankies--which, surprisingly, we hadn't gotten any regular cuddle baby blankets yet! We even got a handmade quilt in the absolute perfect aqua/green color to go with other stuff I've done in the nursery. I'm in love. We got cloth diapering essentials we were lacking... more clothes, which we don't have a lot of (gender neutral is tough!), some more baskets and such for storage, crib sheets and bath essentials. We also had some awesome group gifts including a walker and a monitor. And then the biggie: our car seat AND the jogging stroller (something we truly did not expect to get yet). Wow!

I still cannot get over the kind of love and support we are receiving from people. It's special for Mingus to know that the people he works with are genuinely happy and excited for him and so many people are praying for us.

The Backyard Baby-Q!

August brought for another wonderful shower with family! We traveled to Newburgh where Mingus's parents and sister did an excellent job of bringing together both sides of his family as well as family friends for a wonderful evening barbecue. 

Rather than the traditional ladies-only afternoon shower complete with pastels and games and finger foods, we had a relaxing backyard barbecue that Mingus and I could both enjoy. We don't get to town a whole lot as is and even when we do we don't usually see a lot of the family. This gave both of us the opportunity to catch up with everyone in the family--well to some degree. Obviously there is only so much catching up you can do in an evening with that many people.

The food was absolutely amazing. His parents, sister, aunt and uncle all contributed to the food. It was a beautiful day--rather warm but their wonderful neighbor Peggy lent her outdoor furniture for the backyard, which had just perfect shading to keep everyone comfortable. Purple, green and yellow decor brightened the atmosphere.

We were blessed with many warm wishes, the opportunity to meet the newest member of the Harris family: Isabelle. She was only a week old and itty, bitty! We were given so many wonderful gifts as well. We are pretty much set with bathing necessities. We got fun books and toys as well. We were really excited to get the diaper bag we registered for, which is a chocolate brown and is actually a backpack style bag. Jon is the one who found it at Babies'R'Us when we registered and was equally pumped to have gotten it. 

We also got an extra fun gift we weren't expecting. It's a full-size red kiddo wagon with rubber wheels and everything. Obviously it's not something the Peangling can or will use right away (although I can imagine some great photo ops!) but any baybo/kiddo in the Valley needs a red wagon for growing up and I'm SO glad we have one now!

We're so blessed to have such wonderful family and especially to have them praying for us and excited and supporting us. Thanks to them for giving us a great celebration and a wonderful time with everyone. 

Oliver with baby Isabelle

The expectant ladies!

Mingus & Grandma Lily!

The Baybo-SPLOSION Shower with the Fam!

My first baby shower was last weekend and it was fabulous! I honestly think part of it's fabulous-ness had to do with the fact it wasn't just for me! I always feel slightly awkward about showers for me. It's one thing growing up as a kid opening presents in front of everyone on your birthday, but as an adult it feels a little strange. For the wedding it was extra weird to me because these were all people who were probably going to also buy me a wedding gift... and it's not like the gifts I was being "showered" with were things I needed in order to get married. At least with a baby shower I feel SO grateful that people are willing to help me out with the (what seems like) millions of essentials I'll need in order to take care of this little child growing inside of me!

But in this case, the shower was not just for me. The Dixon family hosted a shower for Michelle, Jo and myself. So not only did I feel extra grateful for the support I was getting from my family, but all of the attention was not solely on me!

On top of it being spectacular just because I got to share it with two of my closest, best friends, the fam did an excellent job with everything about the shower. It's the first baby shower the family has had in, wow... over 11 years? These babies are quite an excitement among the fam! 

Jo's sister, Belle, spearheaded most of it. We had it a little earlier than showers traditionally come, but I am more than OK with being able to already scratch things off our list. She designed super cute invites and she and her mom prepped the Rumpus Room at the family Hall for the shower. They also shopped for small gifts to give to us preggo ladies every time there was a door prize. Our cousin KK organized the games. I'm not always a fan of shower games but she did a good job picking out fun ones. Maybe, in general, I just like baby shower games better than wedding shower ones. My sister, Rachel, coordinated food. Since we had it on a Sunday morning it was brunch themed. It was complete with quiche, fruit, coffee cake, donuts and a trifle. Our cousin Jerusha decorated the Rumpus Room and she went all out with it. She and sister Als were up past midnight working on the room the night before and they really transformed the space making the event that much more special.

I loved everything I got... Even though I am going to cloth diaper, I got quite a few regular diapers which I know I'll use and be glad to have on hand. I did get a couple more cloth diapers, diaper rash cream, shampoo, wipes... I got our bath tub, a feeding pillow, an activity mat, humidifier and a wipe warmer. Jerusha and Als win the creativity award. Jerusha's gift came in a cupcake box and looked like a bunch of fluffy icing cupcakes, but they were rolled up onesies (with a sock in the middle for color). Each onesie she had a custom design on it--we each got nine and they were all different and so cute! Als made us each a mobile and I love ours! Mingus was even extra excited about it. It has little farm animals and such. So cute and so personal!

 It was a great first baby shower experience for me and the Peangling. We grateful for all those who came and everything we received, but most of all we're grateful for a family who is so supportive and we know is sending prayers our way.

All of the Cousins!

Baby Growth: Weeks 22, 23, 24 & 25

I can't decide if time is moving quickly or slowly... Here we are, halfway through summer...yet, at the same time, 18 weeks seems forever ago and I still have awhile to reach 40! Either way my tum-tum is growing, but the best news is the Peangling is very active with all sorts of movement going on in there on a daily basis. We're continuing to slowly acquire the things we need. We're grateful for a bassinet from Mingus's parents. His sister Cassie is also letting us use two of her carriers--including the large, metal framed back pack (at least until she needs them again!) 

We've also gotten some of our first cloth diapers. Thanks to Cassie's mommy experience (and cloth diapering) she and her mom introduced me to Cottonbabies.com and their random "seconds sales"--a great way to get some of the best brands at a low cost simply due to minor defects like a flawed stitch. If you're a cloth diapering parent, sign up for their email announcements to be the first to know when one of these sales takes place.

We are partway through our birthing classes offered through our hospital. I'm really enjoying it so far. There are about 10 couples in the class and the instructor is a labor hall nurse at the hospital. I learn and retain so much more this way--hearing it from someone--than if I were to read a lot of these things online or in a book. I appreciate that the hospital offers this. This week was the second of three classes and we also got to tour the women's care unit at the hospital and see the rooms we'd be in and even how the monitors work. It definitely adds a level of comfort for what's ahead.

I'm actually into week 26 but I'll post that picture with the next batch. I'm looking forward to my first shower this weekend. It will be a joint shower for myself, Michelle and Jo thrown by the family during our Hurray Day family festivities. I'm MOST excited about getting to see the both of them. I got so used to seeing Michelle EVERY week when I was traveling to Louisville for work and staying at their house, but now it's been over a month since I saw her and her growing belly! I have not gotten to see Jo since the celebration at her parent's house in early June; however, we touch base at least weekly. I'm pretty sure the three of us did a lot of registry comparison when we got those set up a few weeks back. It's nice to compare notes. Having each other has been very helpful. I'm currently registered at Babies 'R' Us, Walmart and Amazon.

My previous 4 weeks of growth: click here.

Baby Registry Basics: The Car Seat and Stroller

I hope you're not reading this post in hopes to gain knowledge on the 'basics' of putting together a baby registry. I'm sure The Bump or elsewhere could do a much better job than this first time mama.

I, on the other hand, am just getting a handle on my registry. A date has been set for the first baby shower and it's sooner rather than later--which I am TOTALLY fine with; I'd rather know what I have and don't have more than a month before the baby comes. Michelle, Jo and I are having a joint shower in the family and it's going to be at the next quarterly get together. (The last one was when we announced our pregnancies.) That's less than a month away!

So I've spent the last four or five days doing a little more in depth research on the bigger items. I was grateful that Jo passed along a very nice document her sister-in-law (who just became a mother last November) made for her. It included the list of items she felt were most important during her motherhood so far and notes about the exact brand she had--some of which she recommended and others she advised against and instead recommended things she'd heard good reviews on. She also included links to many of these items. You know, it's great that you can go online and read reviews for items, but the truth is EVERYTHING has some sort of drawback or complaint. It feels much better to hear feedback from a personal connection who you can have a two-way conversation with.

The big item I'm trying to decide on now is the car seat. I know it is a more costly item, but it's one of the most important when it comes to safety. We all know I will save a penny any chance I get, but I've decided this is one item I don't want to skimp on.

My dilemma was two-fold:
(1) Understanding the seat variations! Infant....convertible.... toddler...etc! Convertible sounded ideal in the sense I can just keep on using it--more bang for you buck (penny-pincher here, remember?) However, on the flip side I still want to know what is best AND I am keeping in mind that I hope I'm blessed with more than one child and, if so, I plan to have them in somewhat close proximity... meaning I'll probably need multiple seats at some points in my early parenting career.
(2) Deciding on a the pros/cons of a travel system: a car seat that fits into the stroller unit and you buy together...another cost savings. 

The piece of the travel system I am leery of is that getting the RIGHT car seat is very important to me. The stroller is a less pressing matter simply because I don't think we will have as high of usage as some people being where we live. We are not super social and the things we do go out for would probably result in us using a carrier or just bringing in the car seat. The stroller that would probably be most useful for us would be a jogging stroller or at least one that is a three-wheeler. This could also be used on our gravel roads and easily in the grass/fields. Of course, only select travel systems come with this style of stroller--but I don't want the stroller to dictate which car seat we select.

I also went to Valerie for input on the matter. Not only is she an experienced mother but now that she has #2 and they are close in age, she can kind of be my eyes into the future. 

She and Jo's sister and law both have the Chicco Keyfit 30 infant car seat and are both very happy with it. Much to my dismay it is one of the most costly on the market....but it's one of the most highly rated. The additional selling point in my book is that Valerie's not-quite-two year old was still using this seat (weight limit 30#, height limit 30") it right up to the time the newborn came. At this point, Sam was big enough to move onto a larger toddler sized seat while new baby Max could take over and continue getting use out of the infant seat.


This seat does come in an option for a travel system--also costly--but as of now we are going to skip that. I believe Valerie did go with this, but she admitted that her jogging stroller has gotten much more use. We will probably choose a jogging stroller to add to our registry but may even end up checking baby consignment shops for one. Again, I feel our use of the stroller will be limited. 

The other piece of the Keyfit is that the extra bases are rather costly. As of now we only have one vehicle we can keep the car seat in anyway.

My second choice for a car seat would likely be a travel system. I have heard good things about the Britax B-Agile and B-Safe Travel system. The stroller is a three-wheel unit and part of it's selling point is that is is agile and gets around easily--including in packing it up.

I'm still working through the rest of the registry and have started a short registry on Amazon that is sure to grow. I also plan to register at Babys-R-Us and Walmart. I hope Mingus and I get a chance to at least do Babys-R-Us this weekend since we will be traveling and there aren't any too close to home. I only plan to register for specifics on the things highly recommended to me or are of major concern to me--which is a limited list right now. 

If anyone has feedback on car seats, strollers or the gear and supplies most important to their early months of parenting please let me know. We plan to cloth diaper and breast feed are two other pretty major choices that will affect our needs. I'm loving any advise I can get right now so bombard me with it!

April Showers bring... Babies and Weddings!!

How is April almost over? I swear it was just last week when I blogged...right?? Where has the time gone? Oh wait... I know...

Showers! Parties! And MORE Showers!!!

My Fridge is running out of invitation room!!

First Weekend: Easter with the Dixon family.

Second Weekend: Jon's Birthday

Second Weekend: Kelli's Baby Shower for little Aiden

Third Weekend: Holly Jo & Michael's Stock the Bar Wedding Shower

Third Weekend: Holly Jo's Family Shower

Oh and don't you worry... the month's not over yet! One more weekend! That mean's I have another wedding shower! Plus we have a family gathering, which makes for a second wedding shower PLUS a baby shower I, sadly, won't be able to attend! 

I'll have a shot breather at the beginning of May before I have four BUSY weekends: Bachelorette in Nashville, bachelorette in Chicago, wedding in Lexington, wedding in Louisville! Let the fun commence!!

Lots of love to all my friends during this happy, wonderful time in their lives! God is good!