Our Chesapeake Baby Shower!

Josh and I headed south this past Friday to his mom Connie's condo in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, where she hosted an incredible co-ed baby shower for us on Saturday. She did an outstanding job coordinating the event from the decorations, food and favors to the hysterical games we played (wish I had video of our baby-dressing relay so you could all see Josh's "winning" moment!). Thanks, mom, for a spectacular baby shower!
























Here's a picture of mom with Imelda and Zelda, two friends who did a lot of work to help set-up for the shower.








Our friends from Virginia were able to attend as were lots of Connie's friends and even some past neighbors dear to both Connie and Josh.









Guests decorated bibs and onesies with fabric markers, which were then hung across the windows for everyone to admire.








Guests made renditions of our baby out of play-doh (I really hope Dagney doesn't look like Gumby....). We judged our favorite...a little swaddled baby on the top right.









Another game was Bingo and everyone filled out the bingo cards with items they thought we'd receive and crossed them off their card as we opened gifts. Our friend Todd was miffed that we didn't get the lawn darts that cost him his Bingo win.









One of the most fun games involved multi-tasking. You had to talk on the phone while holding the baby and hanging baby clothes on the line. Venus definitely schooled the boys and won by hanging 7 outfits on the line! Note to self: remind Josh about proper baby holding techniques we learned in childbirth class.....








Josh received a special gift from Dagney. It was an apron that said "Daddy's Tools of the Trade" and contained diapers, wipes, Boudreax's Butt Paste, tongs, a face mask, goggles and baby powder. Nothing like being prepared and facing a phobia head-on! Josh can't wait to put his gifts to use ;)









We ended the day by cutting the extremely delicious cake. Unfortunately I don't have pictures on my camera of us opening gifts - we received so many beautiful and thoughtful baby things that when I get pictures from others I will post them!

Meet Our New Neighbor!

This is beautiful Addison Hilda Stella, 5 lbs. 15 oz., 18 inches, born at 8:31 a.m. on March 20! She's the newest addition to the Stella Family - our good friends and neighbors - Patrick, Alison and 2-year-old big brother Nicholas. We were able to visit Baby Addison on Wednesday night....I held her for at least an hour and loved every minute! I got a little emotional (okay I cried!) just thinking about how close Josh and I are to meeting our own baby girl. In the photo Addison is sporting a cute little bib we brought her on our visit. Congratulations to the Stellas!

I Sneaked a Peek....

Here is Josh in Dagney's room spackling! I don't know what colors he has picked for the nursery but I do know that he has something special planned and he's very excited about it. On his project to-do list all he let me see was the line where he typed "Door is shut until completion"...in other words... "Keep out nosey!". So this is as much as I get to see for now...a little spackling and maybe some primer if I'm really lucky. Next weekend Josh's friend, Rick, and Rick's girlfriend Michelle are coming up to visit and help with the room. I'm so excited!!

Shepherd of the Hills

Josh and I were recently welcomed into the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Sparta, N.J. after a couple of months of attending, learning about Lutheranism and meeting with Pastor Benson, pictured with us here. We are excited for not only us, but Dagney as well, to be welcomed into a very nice church community. Historically not church-goers since childhood, Josh and I have both embraced the routine and enjoy attending each Sunday.

A Warm Welcome to our Sweet Little Nephew!

Meet baby Emmet Alan, the newest addition to the Malisch Family (Josh's sister and brother-in-law) in California! Born March 1st, he weighed in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long. Mom (Jessie), Dad (Adam) and baby are home now and doing great! We only wish we could meet him in person...but it looks like we might get our chance in August when a family trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina is being planned.

My new "baby" is home!

Here she is...my (okay technically "our") new 2004 Honda Odyssey equipped with remote sliding side doors and a very roomy interior that's perfect for a family and schlepping around all kinds of baby stuff. She's in great condition, has low miles and Josh wheeled and dealed until we got a fantastic price. I definitely already feel like a mom driving it, but can proudly admit I kind of like that....

25 Weeks and Counting!

After numerous requests for belly updates I had Josh take some shots of me this evening at 25 weeks, 6 Days! The months seem to fly by. We had quite a scare last week when I was involved in a car accident. I was stopped at a light and a young girl in a Jeep Liberty hit me from behind. After a trip to the hospital Josh and I were both relieved to hear Dagney's little heartbeat (though the nurse had a time trying to keep the fetal monitor on her as she was quite active!). We were notified on Tuesday that the car is being considered a total loss so Josh and I have been looking at used Honda Odysseys...our future plan was to get a minivan anyway...it's just happening a bit sooner than I had expected. I will miss the Maxima! After all this craziness I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit this weekend with a bag of Necco Sweetheart candies (my latest craving - yum). Oh, and in the picture I'm standing in our guest bedroom...Josh has some great plans for turning it into Dagney's nursery so stay tuned.