It's a Baby Shower!

for: KCB
date: May 16, 2009
time: 2pm
place: KBC's Mama's house
r.s.v.p.: KCB's Mama
registered at: BRU and www.gogonatural.com

I had my first baby shower on the 16th, and I got so many wonderful, amazing, and awesome things for Little Rocker! This was the shower for my mom's side of the family. I was thrilled with how many people came (I hadn't seen many of them in years), and it was a great opportunity to catch up and spend time with family. I also got to see my wonderful cousin Sierra...MIA for oh so long, lol.

Some of the amazing gifts included:
* adorable clothing sets for Little Rocker
* some safety items for our home, like plug protectors and a plug-in fire alarm
* beautiful hand-knit sweaters, hats, and booties from Cousin Dorothy - these were made by my late Aunt Francis and made my mother cry. :-)
* more beautiful hand-knit sweaters, hats, booties, and blankets from Aunt Anna Marie
* a super cute bank, made out of a coffee can and a hand-knit dolly - this seems to be a family tradition, and I'll be sure to post a picture of it!

My mom did a spectacular party-throwing job! I know she had been stressing over this for a while, but the outcome was amazing. She hired a hospitality school graduate/receptionist at her office to prepare and serve the food. This girl was awesome! She made a fruit bowl out of the melon, and it had little flowers all over it...again...created out of the melon! Very cool!

All in all...this shower a huge success, and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. RJ and I got some great things for our little boy. He's going to be the best dressed kid on the block! It's also nice to know that there are so many wonderful people who care about my little boy and want to shower him with love and help us out so much. It's great to have a support network, and it's pretty obvious that we have a great one already!

<-- This is the hand-knit bank. Aunt Anna Marie also put 5 silver dollars in there for Little Rocker. I bet he'll think that's pretty darn cool, when he's older and knows what money is!

In just one year...

...so much has happened in our lives. RJ and I were married just 4 days before he graduated from his master's program. He worked so hard to get that degree, and he's an amazing teacher. If only the market for finding a job in education wasn't so crappy right now!

Then we moved...twice...just to get somewhere that we're still not planning on settling down! Sometimes I miss the little apartment we lived in before settling down here. It was adorable, there were three rooms, and it was below our friends. The layout was far more ideal for having a baby than our new apartment. I would definitely take the slightly smaller size to have that place back again; honestly, who knows how long we'll be up here before RJ and I can get to Florida.

Then in November we found out we're expecting a little one. Oh, how shocked RJ was to hear that one, lol. It's not that he wasn't excited, but he was soooo concerned about how we would make everything work. I loved him even more for being so nervous at first...it showed how much he really cared about our little family being able to make it in the big world. It took about a week for him to get really excited about us having a baby and now he's been by my side for every step of the way. He absolutely cannot wait to be a daddy, and each day he gets more adorable when he comes home from work. The belly kissing and talking to Little Rocker and all of that...I love it. My two men hanging out. I can't wait until Little Rocker is born and they actually get to hang out. RJ is looking forward to that soooo much, and it makes me smile every time I think about it. We are going to have a baby...WOW...a baby. Who thought we would, or could, be expecting this perfect, wonderful, amazing, little miracle? We never expected that expecting would be so amazing, but we're hooked to the idea of this little boy about to enter our lives...in a BIG WAY! lol There will be crying, probably by myself and the baby, and laughing and smiling..maybe some more crying in there. We just can't wait for it.

We also took our honeymoon...finally! We spent 11 magical days in Kaua'i, Hawaii, and would have loved to spend more or move there. Island living would be sweet. Especially if you could have no work-related responsibilities. We could spend every day on the beach with Little Rocker.  RJ could teach him how to surf (after learning himself), and our little family would spend the evenings watching the hot Hawaiian sunset. Wouldn't that be so nice? Ahhh, what a life that would be. :-p We decided that it wouldn't work for us, however. Mainly because we're not completely loaded and Hawaii is expensive! Anyway, we had so much fun on our truly romantic honeymoon. Maybe someday...we can spend a second honeymoon there. Just to remember what life was like before we started having babies!

I spent too much of my student teaching thinking about what life will be like when this baby comes, and now here I am, a stay at home mom, waiting for my little one. My graduation ceremony, while amazing, was the most uncomfortable evening of my life. The burning lights made it about 85 degrees in the gym and that, combined with frequent hot flashes, made me want to hurl...or pass out...or both, lol. I can honestly say that I'm a little surprised I didn't fall while crossing the stage and make a huge pregnant fool of myself.  Thank God, that didn't happen and the ceremony went off without a hitch. The woman directing my row was awfully concerned for me, though. Apparently, my face was bright red and it looked like I was having trouble breathing...lady, welcome to pregnancy...this is nothing! I got to see many of my grad school friends after the ceremony, and I met my friend Mary's beautiful adopted daughter. She was more gorgeous than she was in the pictures, and I am sooo happy for Mary and Michael on their wonderful family addition.

::sigh::

Life is good.

Our First Anniversary

For our first anniversary, RJ took me to a little restaurant on Park Ave. called Jines. A few people had told us it was very nice, so we thought we'd check it out! The patio was beautiful. We got to people watch while we enjoyed dinner, and it was nice having romantic time alone for a change. Things are so much different when everyone is tired after a long day of work!

After dinner we went to Abbott's for ice cream sundaes. A perfect end to a lovely first anniversary dinner. :-)

RJ and me before heading to dinner.

Beautiful little Maryland Monroe

Maizy Dukes being as cute as can be

Weeks 29 - 32: Squash

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.


My big boy is a mover and a shaker for sure! He loves to kick and punch me. Today, while I was tutoring, he was kicking the hell out of my left side. My belly was flopping all over the place. :-) I love to watch him kick. I've also noticed that he is a huge fan of curling into the tiniest ball possible and staying completely on my left side. I'm not quite sure what's so special about that side of my ute, but Little Rocker definitely likes it better than the right.

I'm Done!!!

I'm finally done with school, and now I get a full year off! This is exciting news for me...no work...no school...and I'm getting a baby! :-p

I'm spending my first day off by choosing the games for my shower on May 30. Then I'll head over to Office Depot. I will be tutoring still, but it's only twice a week and I love it.

::sigh::

This is going to be a great summer.

The Beauty of Our Baby

RJ took these amazingly artistic photos of me today. I swear, he is becoming a great photographer...I must be rubbing off on him! It is so fun to document the last weeks we spend without our baby boy here. I hope Little Rocker appreciates the beauty of these photos when he's older. I can't believe there's a beautiful baby boy in there - just waiting for Mommy and Daddy to meet.