Ok Dagney....We're Ready!!

I'm at 39 weeks and, according to my doctor this morning, I'm dilated 3 centimeters. His exact words were "I'd be flabbergasted if you made it through the weekend!" That's great news to us since we are definitely ready for her arrival. Josh's dad Dean and stepmom Melody arrived here this past Monday from Washington State. They brought with them the gorgeous crib and dresser/changing table pictured that Dean made out of black walnut from the Moser family farm in St. Killian, Minnesota (this is Dean's mom Dagney's family!). Not only did they come bearing gifts, they have been working non-stop on projects in the house like putting the finishing touches on the baby room, painting the garage and cleaning. We are very lucky and very grateful, thanks Dad and Mel!!

Your Guess Is As Good As Mine!

37 weeks, 5 days and still counting the days until we meet our little one! I went for my weekly check-up today and my OB told me that my cervix is thinning so things are progressing as they should! I welcome everyone to guess the date of birth, size and length of Dagney in the comment section. My co-workers have bets going with a $70 pot...one teacher dared to give Dagney a June birth date and I told her that I will personally hunt her down if her guess comes to fruition :)
Other than that, I have been enjoying my maternity leave and getting lots done in preparation for Dagney's arrival...washing baby clothes, writing thank-you notes, taking walks, packing for the hospital and running lots of errands while trying not to spend too much money. Oh, and Josh could speak volumes about my "nesting" tendencies as he has made almost daily trips to the dumpster with large trash bags and has witnessed first-hand my compulsion to have things look a certain way (Here is where I should include a picture of the inside of my kitchen cabinets...I even impressed myself when I was through).
Unfortunately there have been unpleasant things to speak of like swollen ankles (or "cankles" as I like to call them since sometimes my calf cannot be differentiated from my actual ankle), excruciating round ligament pain, needing to use Josh to propel from one side to another when laying in bed, referring to our stairs as "Mt. Everest" and the occasional hormonal tantrum which Josh could also speak volumes about..............

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.