Nana and Alma's Birthday Party

Happy Valentine's Day

As our camera's battery died right before our big Valentine's Celebration last weekend, I only have a few photos to hint at the awesomeness that included good friends, tons of cute babies (and one soon-to-be delivered-by-the-stork), sweet foods and a game which often ended with Joshua faceplanting onto our living room carpet.  Who could ask for more!?!

Neverending Birthday

Due to Joshua having to be in California for a work conference on Alma's first birthday, we ended up creating three first birthday celebrations.  The first was the day before Joshua left for his trip:

 While she ate the strawberries, the cake ended up here ... on the floor ... then in the dog's stomach.

The second was on her actual birthday when my parents came to visit for the day:

And the third was a smallish family gathering when we celebrated my two favorite ladies -- Alma and Nana:

(She ate the cake!)

Happy birthdayS, Alma!

Birthday Party

In 2009, my grandmother became a great-grandmother another five times -- Alma was the last of the 2009 babies.  The family has been celebrating lots of 1st birthdays recently.  Here's another from this past weekend.  Look how cute that birthday girl is!!

Alma enjoyed the pool until she saw me trying to snap her photo.  I still think she is super cute, even when upset.  (Did we mention that she's becoming more attached to me recently?)

Of course, if there is a chance to give Alma a skull-n-crossbones temporary tatoo, we are going to do it as a "tramp stamp".

Let's take another look at that adorable birthday girl -- SO CUTE!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a great long weekend.  From our day at Marsh Creek Lake State Park with Nana and Grandpa to the bbq at Cousin Peter and Janice's house.  Look how cute those kids are!

Blessed

Sunday was such a special day for all of us.  Family and friends came together with us to celebrate Alma's baptism. 

The biggest lesson I have learned (and keep learning) since becoming a mother is how loved and blessed we are as a family.  The support and kind words of our community, along with my tender feelings towards everyone who has shown their excitement for Alma's arrival, is nearly overwhelming.  I feel like the Grinch (you know, the one who stole Christmas) as my heart has grown five time larger in the last few months. 

Thank you all -- for your attendance, support and silent prayers -- I'm more grateful than you can imagine. 

Adam and Jen's Wedding

Adam and Jen's Halloween wedding was such a great event. Quite possibly one of the most enjoyable weddings I have ever attended and easily one of the greatest Halloween parties I've attended.

Jen was beautiful and Adam was all smiles at the ceremony in the little Lutheran Church in Lutherville, Maryland. Once the ceremony started, we were told not to take photos, so I didn't get to capture all of the magic.
After the ceremony, we went back to the hotel where the reception was being held to change into our costumes. Patrick, Carrie, Megan, Adam, Joshua and I dressed as the running of the bulls. I decided to be the bull, since I figured that I was the slowest in the group -- you know, being eight months pregnant and all. We made a grand entrance into the cocktail hour by having a grand chase. Then, later in the evening, we had another chase in which Patrick threw Joshua into the path of the bull (me), I gored him and then (pretend) stomped on him while he was laying on the dance floor. The crowd seemed to like our antics.

I got lot of comments on my speed as the bull. I have to admit that it was nice to have an excuse to run. I've been feeling very fit these days. My pregnant belly feels more like awesomely tight ab muscles more than the burdensome bump that many pregnant women describe. And with this cooler weather, I often feel like going for a run more than I feel like pigging out on food. Thank goodness I have prenatal yoga class four days a week so I can expend some energy. Revelers at the party had great costumes; like this group who dressed as a bouquet of flowers. Cute!

33 Weeks

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of our 33nd week of pregnancy. Everything is going very well. Here are some highlights and updates:

Gender: We are still waiting to find out if we are having a son or a daughter. We would be excited for either and still find the wait thrilling. Neighbors, who are rather nosey in these regards, are all predicting a girl. Although, extended family members are mostly predicting a boy. Joshua and I are still completely unsure of our predictions.

Names: While we have narrowed down the list, we haven't pinpointed the winners yet. We have a top three list for both genders, although that list adjusts occasionally.

Exercise: Joshua's mother gifted us with some awesome birthing classes through a local yoga studio (Yoga Child). The classes have been a great way for us to think about and discuss both labor and raising a child. Like pre-cana for parents. The six weeks of Saturday classes come with free prenatal yoga classes. I have been attending at least three days a week. It has been a great way to stay fit and to gain a community of expecting women.

Morning sickness/heartburn: The first 5 months of pregnancy, I suffered through some amazing morning sickness, which affected me every night around 7 p.m. I had a few weeks of feeling great but now I'm starting to get heartburn. Bummer, but it was to be expected since even when I am not pregnant I often get a good bit of heartburn.

Free time: In my first two weeks of being home full-time, I have baked over 14 dozen cookies, a bunch of pies, a few loaves of bread, made a few quilts and arranged most of the closets in the house. Most of the baking was for neighbors, many of whom are not feeling well these days. I just hate to see elderly neighbors suffering though chemo and tons of doctor's appointments. My hope is that the treats will lift some spirits.

Preparation: We have also been doing a lot of work on the house to get the baby's room (and let's face it, the whole house) together. Lots of moving furniture, patching walls, and the like. Next weekend, our street is hosting a multi-family yard sale. We are looking forward to getting rid of some furniture and old books.

Medically: Since the doctor felt that I was measuring a little on the small size, we had an additional ultrasound last week. The ultrasound showed a healthy, good-sized baby. They estimated that the babe is approximately 5 lbs now, which is great. Once again, the ultrasound photos weren't the clearest ... the last time the baby wouldn't sit still and this time the baby decided to cover his/her face with both hands. Ha! SweetPea is shy.

Baby shower: My best friend, Kate, hosted an awesome shower at our house yesterday. It was so wonderful that a bunch of women could gather to celebrate the upcoming birth of our child. I felt very blessed to be surrounded by such wonderfully supportive and loving women.

I would have been happy to just have a day with these great women, but the gifts we received were an added bonus. It is touching that family and friends are so generous. In the same way that I still look around our house and see all of our kitchen utensils, towels, and everything else we received for our weddding as a sign of the support and love of our families, as I put away all these soft baby clothes and useful supplies, I just imagine the nest of care that is going to cradle this babe as we welcome him or her into the world. That is so special to both Joshua and me, although sometimes it is a bit overwhelming to realize how blessed and loved we are.As can only be expected, Kate made tons of tasty food, had fun games (a matching game with celebrities and baby names -- i.e. Homer is Richard Gere's child, Reignbeau is Ving Rhames child, Ka-lel (Superman's birthname) is Nicolas Cage's child), cute napkins (see photo above), and even a craft project for everyone!

The project was to decorate onesies for SweetPea. They came out so well. Here are a few:



CUTE! My mother even wrote "Sweet Pee" on the bum of one of the onesies, which was one of the funniest comments of the day! Thanks to all the women who joined us!

Elk Lake with the Chisholms

We just returned from a week-long adventure-cation with Joshua's family in Central Oregon. We stayed in a cabin along Elk Lake and spent the week hiking, swimming, fishing, eating good foods, watching a campfire every night and enjoying lots of family time. Needless to say, it was great!

Having time with 4 year-old Hayden was great. Here he is hopping around the cabin with a balloon hat Joshua made for him.
The family also threw us a surprise baby shower. Their gifts were so thoughtful and sweet ... although the idea that we will have an actual baby to put inside the clothing is still a little more than overwhelming.
The party decorations included a pinata, which provided an evening of entertainment as we tried to hit it with rocks. We decided that it would be more interesting (and it ended up being more challenging) than stringing it up and beating it with a stick.

We are already planning on doing this trip again ... summer 2012, anyone?!