Day 2

Our first night home with Dagney went a lot better than I expected. We took turns sleeping and taking care of little pump'kin; both Jenn and I feel fairly refreshed today.

We would like to take some time to acknowledge all the thoughtful gifts, wishes and prayers we received during the birth week of Dagney Maria Bunkers. Thank you all very much, it was all so much appreciated.

Dagney Daddles Home

Dagney made it home today, but before she did she got some special photos taken. Clearly Dagney is the new center of attention at the Bunkers' residency!

Dagney has been a wonderful gift. She has only been with us two days but she seems to enjoy sleeping during the day instead of during the night. Cross your fingers for us as tonight as we take Dagney through night #2.

I also had to sneak in an extra picture of Mommy! She has been a true example of what greatness and motherhood is truly about.

We both love you very much... mommy Pump'kin!

Hello World!

At 5:42 PM May 20th, 2007 Dagney Maria opened her eyes for the first time and Mommie and Daddie could not have been more happy to welcome her into the World. Dagney weighted 7 pounds 8 onces, she measured 20 inches and has the most beautiful strawberry red hair and is soft to the touch.

Both grampas, all three grammas and one gotta patiently waited all day and were eager to hold her.

The Day Has Finally Come!

We celebrated my father's 59th birthday today. Although we were hoping to give grampa something in the 7.5 pound category, we got him a tasty coconut cake and a bag of his peppermint patty treats!

We should really be recapping all the wonderful things we did for my father, however most of the work has been coming in our direction; a new garage door opener, putting up pictures, painting the garage and grilling every night for us. It is an amazing amount of work despite his multitude of lunches and his sporadic union working hours.

Congratulations Dad!

And it looks like Franz Ohaus has the 18th booked, so lets cross our fingers.

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!